Don't expect the live in the deep end of Christianity if your study of God's Word is always in the shallow end.
Don't expect a bountiful harvest if your sowing scarcely. Don't expect a good day at work with a poor attitude. Don't expect people to respect you when you don't respect them. Don't expect people to follow you if you have no idea where you're going. Don't expect to save when all you do is spend. Don't expect to be sensitive with people if you're insensitive to God. Don't expect intimacy with your spouse if you never make time for each other. Don't expect much from people if you are always giving very little. Don't expect your children to obey you when your walk doesn't match your talk. Don't expect God to forgive you when you don't forgive others. Don't expect to grow if you're not willing to learn. Don't expect people to change if you're not willing to change. Don't expect people to know about the love of Jesus if you never tell them about it. Don't expect someone to go the second mile with you if you can't even go one mile with them. Don't expect people to listen when you're always talking. -Danny Kovacs You have longed for sweet peace,
And for faith to increase, And have earnestly, fervently prayed. But you cannot have rest, Or be perfectly blest, Until all on the altar is laid. Refrain: Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid? Your heart does the Spirit control? You can only be blest, And have peace and sweet rest, As you yield him your body and soul. Would you walk with the Lord In the light of his Word, And have peace and contentment alway? You must do his sweet will To be free from all ill -- On the altar your all you must lay. [Refrain] O we never can know What the Lord will bestow Of the blessings for which we have prayed, Till our body and soul He doth fully control, And our all on the altar is laid. [Refrain] Who can tell all the love He will send from above, And how happy our hearts will be made, Of the fellowship sweet We shall share at his feet When our all on the altar is laid! [Refrain] Author: E. A. Hoffman (1900) Tune: [You have longed for sweet peace, and for faith to increase] Source: Lead Me, Guide Me (2nd ed.) #660 ---Elisha Hoffman (1839-1929) after graduating from Union Seminary in Pennsylvania was ordained in 1868. As a minister he was appointed to the circuit in Napoleon, Ohio in 1872. He worked with the Evangelical Association's publishing arm in Cleveland for eleven years. He served in many chapels and churches in Cleveland and in Grafton in the 1880s, among them Bethel Home for Sailors and Seamen, Chestnut Ridge Union Chapel, Grace Congregational Church and Rockport Congregational Church. In his lifetime he wrote more than 2,000 gospel songs including"Leaning on the everlasting arms" (1894). The fifty song books he edited include Pentecostal Hymns No. 1 and The Evergreen, 1873. Note: This is an open letter mainly to young men and women, but certainly applicable to people of all ages.
There is a dangerous pattern that we see in Abraham's nephew, Lot, and it's been seen for generations in our 'Christian' homes. The Bible says that Abraham departed, as the Lord had spoken to him, and lot went with him (see Gen. 12 & 13 for more context). Lot didn't have a relationship with God, Abraham did. He didn't obey Gods voice, Abraham did. He didn't sacrifice much of anything and he never built an altar. Abraham did. Lot just tagged along. Don't be like Lot. Second-hand Christianity will kill you. You need to know God personally. Read the Bible for yourself and pray to God that He will reveal Himself to you, today. Dig deep and learn what His Word says! Don't settle for anything less than what Jesus Christ died for you to have. Get your own faith. Build your own altar! Characteristics of people with second-hand faith: Every families definition of 'family time' is different. For some, it's a sacred event or tradition and violators are held accountable. For others, they only get to it when they get to it. It's unintentional. On one side of the camp, you have those who treat family time as strictly a spiritual event. No laughing, no smiling, no games, everyone must be properly aligned, Bible or hymnal in hand, and so on. On the other side are those who say family time needs to be all-encompassing and fun. It's all about games, outings, activities that awaken the mind and body, good food, the list goes on. Elsewhere, there are are those who try to find a healthy balance.
The Bible doesn't specifically address this concept of family time or movie night. But then again, the Bible doesn't specifically address a lot of things, like if Christians can drink wine/alcohol or if it's okay to smoke. In Psalm 119: 105, we see that God's Word is a lamp to our feet (the things that are close and within view) and a light to our path (the things that are in the future or not clearly seen). We live by faith and Godly principles. We don't walk around in life with a long checklist of things we can or can't do or things we should or shouldn't do. So, is movie night okay for Christians? |
ALTARPRENEURwith Danny & Daniela Kovacs
WHYNo family is an island. Join us as we share candid discussions, Biblical advice & resources to help keep God at the center of your faith, family and career. MICROBLOGS
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