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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

10 Steps

This was posted on the Fans For Christ forum, and I thought it was worth sharing....

1)If God is against it so am I.

2)Every sin we commit starts as a thought in our heart.

3)It is easier to keep the heart clean than it is to clean it after it
has been defiled.

4)It is not possible to fight a fleshly temptation by indulging in it.

5)Small compromises in our walk with God lead to great disasters in our
personal life.

6)Those who do not love the Lord will not help us serve the Lord.

7)Our actions affect not only ourselves but those around us.

8)You cannot fight a fleshly temptation with fleshly weapons.

9)We lose our freedom to choose after we have made a wrong choice our
consequences are inevitable, incalculable, and up to God.

10)God balances guilt with blame as we accept the blame from our wrong
actions God removes the feelings of guilt.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Selling Your Soul?

Did you hear about an online retailer in the United Kingdom that had a clause in its online agreement that the customers agreed to effectively sell their soul to the company?  Seriously....read it here.  Now apparently it was an April Fool's joke, and they're not actually planning on collecting.  And it does prove a good point that most people don't read the disclaimers and agreements on web sites and software.  I'll admit that I don't!  However, it also brings up an interesting discussion.

First, many people may not believe that we have souls at all, so there is nothing to be sold or traded.  As a Christian, I certainly believe in a soul that existed before my mortal form and will exist long after it.  Can I sell my soul?  No, I don't think so.  But I can decide where it will end up.  In 1998 I made a choice that I would follow Christ and give my heart to Him.  At that point my soul became linked with Jesus.  Truthfully, our souls belong only to God, no matter what we do with Him or ourselves.  He created us, and so we belong to him.  But He doesn't force us to be with Him if that's not what we want.  And that's how people can end up in Hell.

A company or individual can't have our souls.  It's simply impossible.  Even Satan can only harbor our souls when we reject Christ.  Whether that soul ends up in Heaven or Hell is entirely up to our choice and what we decide to do about Jesus.  I know what I've done with my soul.  What about you?

Monday, April 12, 2010

Facing Death

This weekend a friend of mine lost his mother to a long-term battle with renal failure.  I know it's hard for him, but it was also an emotional roller-coaster for him to see her like this and mentally draining to help her out when she was so sick.  He did all of it gladly because of his love for her, but I also know that it wore him down.  Her death was still hard on him, though he knows that she is no longer hurting and has gone to be with his father and with Christ.

Death is an interesting thing for us to face.  As a Christian I know that my Christian friends and family will be in a much better place when they die, a place I should be jealous of.  Yet I still have some anxiety about dying, though I know where I will go.  I think that's a natural human fear of the unknown and of things we've never experienced.  Yet for Christians we should almost be eager for death!  Yes, I know that sounds very strange.  But all of the stresses, hardship, pain, and suffering we face on this world will be gone and forgotten once we're in Heaven.  We'll be with God, and will have nothing but joy. Why wouldn't we want that?  Yet we still put off death as long as possible.

Besides our natural worry of such things, God made us to be on this Earth.  We all have a purpose here, and we shouldn't try to cheat His will. Yes, I'm eager to not have to worry about my job, bills, pain, sickness, and heartache.  But I also have a mission here, and gifts that God has given me.  I don't pretend to be able to fully understand what He wants of me or what He has planned.  But I know that I have a purpose here, and in honor to God I will do my best to fulfill that duty.

When a loved one dies, it tears us up. We miss him or her, and cry because of our own loss.  But we should be happy for that person (if they're Christian....non-Christians are another story), and even throw celebrations like some cultures do. They have gone to a better place and are waiting for us to join them.