Not Guilty

My cousin shared this video with me today and I just had to re-post it here for all y'all to see. It was the first time I have heard this song, but I will definitely be putting it on my iPod soon. I hope you enjoy it!

Not Guilty by Mandisa

Week 22 - Matthew 5:16

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

To get a better understanding of this verse, I want to back up a little bit to the preceding verses, starting with Matthew 5:14.

"You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

NIV Life Application Study Bible footnotes:

Can you hide a city that is sitting on top of a hill?  Its light at night can be seen for miles.  If we live for Christ, we will glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like.  We hide our light by 

1. being quiet when we should speak, 

2. going along with the crowd, 

3. denying the light, 

4. letting sin dim our light, 

5. not explaining our light to others, or 

6. ignoring the needs of others.  

Be a beacon of truth -- don't shut your light off from the rest of the world.

What a timely verse!  As you enter into the Christmas season, purpose to shine your light so that God may be glorified!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I can post a Christmas song :)  This is ONE of my many favorites but I thought it was a great one to start out with -- A BABY CHANGES EVERYTHING!

Repentance & Humility

From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."  Matthew 4:17

NIV Life Application Study Bible Footnotes:  

The "kingdom of heaven" has the same meaning as the "kingdom of God" in Mark and Luke.  Matthew uses this phrase because the Jews, out of their intense reverence and respect, did not pronounce God's name.  The Kingdom of heaven is still near because it has arrived in our hearts.  

Jesus started his ministry with the very word people had heard John the Baptist say:  "Repent."  The message is the same today as when Jesus and John gave it.  Becoming a follower of Christ means turning away from our self-centeredness and "self" control and turning our lives over to Christ's direction and control.

Don't you think that's interesting?  Jesus began his ministry with this message.  People needed to hear it 2000 years ago and we need to hear it today!

Do you think that we truly repent?  Oftentimes, I think I want forgiveness but to repent means to turn away. I may even think I'm sorry or feel guilty for some sin in my life but do I mourn over my sin?

Sin is anything that breaks God's law or makes God sad.  Shouldn't I grieve if I've made God sad? 

Many times our sin not only affects us but it affects someone else and many times it's someone we love.  Shouldn't we grieve if we are sinning and it's hurting people we love?

Repentance has got to be a part of our sanctification process.  We must continually ask God to show us areas where we need to repent -- we need to turn away.  A constant pruning away of the dead areas in our life is vital so that we can produce healthy fruit.

And as always, in order for us to produce good fruit, we must stay connect to the Vine!
"I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.  Apart from me you can do nothing"  John 15:5

To have a repentant heart is also to be characterized by humility.  Humility is recognizing that it is actually God and others who are responsible for the achievement in my life.

HUMILITY VS. PRIDE

James 4:6  ....."God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

NIV Life Application Study Bible Footnote:

The cure for evil desires is humility.  Pride makes us self-centered and leads us to conclude that we deserve all we can see, touch, or imagine.  It creates greedy appetites for far more than we need.  We can be released from our self-centered desires by humbling ourselves before God, realizing that all we really need is his approval.  When the Holy Spirit fills us, we see that this world's seductive attractions are only cheap substitutes for what God has to offer.  

From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."  

Week 21 - Matthew 4:17

We've spent the last 20 weeks talking about the wheel illustration and memorizing and meditating on scripture that corresponds with each part of the wheel.

Hopefully we have a better understanding of each part of the illustration that represents an important component of a vital Christian life.

We know that we need Christ as the center of everything we do.

We know that God's Word and prayer represent our vertical relationship with the Father.  The Word is our spiritual food and prayer is our direct communication with God.

We know that fellowship with other believers offers the encouragement, admonition and stimulation we all need to stay on the right path.  And witnessing gives us the opportunity to pass on to others all that we have received from the Lord.

Finally, we know that obedience to Christ, where the rubber meets the road, is our response to Jesus by wholeheartedly walking with Him each day.

So, what's next?

The rest of this challenge will be spent memorizing and meditating on general commands of Christ.  There have been books, articles and studies written about the commands of Christ.  We will explore at least 32 of them in the last part of the challenge.  Having a knowledge of what Christ has actually commanded of us, will give us an even deeper understanding of what "the obedient Christian in action" looks like.  As always, we must not only be hearers of the Word but doers!

Soooooo...........here it is!  Week 21 - Matthew 4:17

From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

Any thoughts?  I'd love to hear what's going on in your life, what insights you've gained so far from studying the scriptures, etc.  Leave a comment!

Romans 12:1 Footnote

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship.  Romans 12:1


NIV, Life Application Study Bible footnote:

When sacrificing an animal according to God's law, a priest would kill the animal, cut it in pieces, and place it on the altar.  Sacrifice was important, but even in the Old Testament God made it clear that obedience from the heart was much more important (see 1 Samuel 15:22; Psalm 40:6; Amos 5:21-24).  God wants us to offer ourselves, not animals, as living sacrifices -- daily laying aside our own desires to follow him, putting all our energy and resources at his disposal and trusting him to guide us.  We do this out of gratitude that our sins have been forgiven.

God has good, pleasing, and perfect plans for his children.  He wants us to be transformed people with renewed minds, living to honor and obey him.  Because he wants only what is best for us, and because he gave his Son to make our new lives possible, we should joyfully give ourselves as living sacrifices for his service.

I challenge you to really think about what this verse means for YOUR life.  How might you lay aside your own desires in order to follow Jesus?  In what area of life is God calling you to trust him more, giving him all of your energy and resources?

One Thing

This song is my all-time favorite worship song. I first heard it at Frontier Camp, an awesome Christian summer camp. Then I later heard it at Breakaway, a college campus ministry at Texas A&M. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Sorry the video isn't very good...I didn't have a whole lot of options.

Week 20 - Romans 12:1

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

This is our last verse focusing on obedience to Christ and then we'll be moving on to something new!  I hope that you have been challenged so far -- challenged in your disciplines and in your walk with the Lord.

Everyone is using this challenge differently.  Some have memorized every verse; some have just read the verse; some have taken the time to meditate and study the verse.  Whatever the circumstance, I know that God's Word never returns void.  Any amount of time we spend in God's Word is a worthwhile investment that will yield fruit in our lives in God's timing.

So, I hope you all will stick with us....hang in there....let's continue to learn together what it means to live a Christ-centered life!

Week 19 - John 14:15

If you love me, you will obey what I command.


OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST

The rim (where the rubber meets the road) represents the believer responding to Jesus through wholehearted, day-by-day obedience to Him.

Did you know that God desires for us to care for the widows and orphans?

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Today is Orphan Sunday!  Just a day to raise awareness for all the orphans of the world.

"Learn to do right; seek justice.

Defend the oppressed.

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

plead the case of the widow."

Isaiah 1:17

I heard a statistic recently that if every Christian family took in ONE orphan, there wouldn't be any orphans in the world!  I haven't tried to research whether or not that's accurate but it's worth thinking about..............

If you receive this post via email and have trouble viewing any pictures of videos, visit the blog at www.biblechallengeblog.blogspot.com