Month: <span>January 2017</span>

The New Is Here“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Published January 7, 2017

The New Is Here

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

The old year is gone and the new has come. It’s a blank slate. Last year is history and this year is a mystery. Who knows what this New Year will bring? God does! Perhaps your best act would be to place the right foundation on the face of the New Year in your life. That foundation is the Gospel message plain and simple.

God so loved the world He created that He gave sinful man a second chance by sending His only Son as our Savior, not only for us, but for the whole world. God has a plan for our lives in this coming year and for all years to come. His plan is for us to believe in Him and have everlasting life.

Not only does He have plan, but, He has a provision. He sent His only Son as a provision for us. We can take that to the redemption center at the foot of the cross and have everlasting life, gloriously in eternity.

Lastly, He has a promise. We all make and break promises, especially at this time of the year, but God’s promise of eternal life is written in blood and cannot and will not be broken. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. (John 3:17)

No other verse in the Bible so succinctly summarizes God’s relationship with humanity and the way of salvation than does John 3:16 revealing God’s plan, provision and promise. Some consider John 3:16 as the “theme verse” for the entire Bible. John 3:16 tells us of the love God has for us and the extent of that love—so great that He sacrificed His only Son on our behalf. John 3:16 teaches us that anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, will be saved. John 3:16 gives us the glorious hope of eternal life in heaven through the love of God and death of Jesus Christ.

There is no more powerful way to deliver this message than to let John 3:16 speak for itself. God so loved the world (you and me) that He sent His only begotten Son so that all who believe shall not perish,  but have everlasting life.

May this verse be your foundation for 2017.

By John Grant
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

If you don’t know Jesus in a personal way you can begin a relationship with him today. The first step is a prayer telling him you believe He is who He says He is and a second step is surrendering control of your will and life to him.  These can be communicated in a simple prayer (prayer is talking to God):

“Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.”

If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, then you can pray this prayer right now and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.

If you prayed this prayer we would love to hear from you . If you would like to know God deeper we can connect you with an email mentor and/or send you some great links.

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You can learn more about this relationship with a description of four  basic Spiritual laws.
http://www.thoughts-about-god.com/4laws/law0.html

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Thoughts by All thoughts by John Grant Thoughts by Men

Where is God?stars milky way
Published January 5, 2017

Where is God?

stars milky way

It is important to recognize that God dwells in a different realm. He occupies another dimension. “My thoughts are not like your thoughts. Your ways are not like my ways. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9).

Make special note of the word like. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are they even like ours. We aren’t even in the same neighborhood. We’re thinking, Preserve the body; he’s thinking, Save the soul. We dream of a pay raise. He dreams of raising the dead. We avoid pain and seek peace. God uses pain to bring peace. “I’m going to live before I die,” we resolve. “Die so you can live,” he instructs. We love what rusts. He loves what endures. We rejoice at our successes. He rejoices at our confessions.

Our thoughts are not like God’s thoughts. Our ways are not like his ways. He has a different agenda. He dwells in a different dimension. He lives on another plane.

What controls you doesn’t control him. What troubles you doesn’t trouble him. What fatigues you doesn’t fatigue him. Is an eagle disturbed by traffic? No, he rises above it. Is the whale perturbed by a hurricane? Of course not; he plunges beneath it. Is the lion flustered by the mouse standing directly in his way? No, he steps over it.

How much more is God able to soar above, plunge beneath, and step over the troubles of the earth! “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (see Matthew 19:26). Our questions betray our lack of understanding:

How can God be everywhere at one time? (Who says God is bound by a body?)

How can God hear all the prayers that come to him? (Perhaps his ears are different from yours.)

How can God be the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? (Could it be that heaven has a different set of physics than earth?)

How vital that we pray, armed with the knowledge that God is in heaven. Pray with any lesser conviction, and our prayers are timid, shallow, and hollow. Look up and see what God has done, and watch how your prayers are energized.

This knowledge gives us confidence as we face the uncertain future. We know that he is in control of the universe, and so we can rest secure. But important also is the knowledge that this God in heaven has chosen to bend near toward earth to see our sorrow and hear our prayers. He is not so far above us that he is not touched by our tears.

Though we may not be able to see his purpose or his plan, the Lord of heaven is on his throne and in firm control of the universe and our lives. So we entrust him with our future. We entrust him with our very lives.

By Max Lucado

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You can learn how to start a new life with Jesus.  Read this explanation at:
http://www.thoughts-about-god.com/4laws/law0.html

Brought to you by www.thoughts-about-god.com

Comments are welcome – click on the Title (email readers)

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men