Sex, money, and me

When good things become god things

Everyone has a god. We all worship someone or something. Our hearts are prone to turning good things into god things. We create all sorts of idols that distract us from worshipping the Real God.
For many of us our default mode is the worship of SELF – we rebel against God’s rule over us and in doing so we make much of ourselves, heaping glory and honour upon the centre of the universe… me.
Another dominant god, obvious in a super-rich country, is the desire to worship STUFF – toys, gadgets, properties, cars, clothes, things and it’s really clear that many bow their knee to this god in their mad rush to accumulate more and more.
I don’t need to quote statistics on pornography or divulge the details of what is constantly going through the mind of a 16 year old boy to make the point that SEX is considered the ultimate god among many people – the desire for it, pursuit of it and preoccupation with it shows the object of our worship.
Two questions for you:

1. If we all worship someone or something, who or what are YOU worshipping?
2. How do I know who the REAL God is??? (Stay tuned for part 2)

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Secrets of giving to beggars wisely!

 

The cardboard sign says it all. I am homeless. Please help. The man, aged beyond his years, looks crumpled and dejected sitting on the pavement. I am on my way to the train station, and my train leaves in ten minutes. What do I do?

Jesus gave us the story of the Good Samaritan. That was a clear cut case of need—a Jew injured by robbers is helped by a Samaritan man who showed care and concern. But I am no fool, and I have some questions...

• What if this person wants money for illicit drugs?
• Can I realistically do anything useful to help him if I only see him once?
• Should I try and find them accommodation?
• What can I really do to be part of a longer term solution?

For a long time, my normal response was to avoid people I saw on the streets, especially if I was in a hurry or was conscious of money. More recently my attitude has changed and I look out for opportunities to talk to people on the street and offer help where it is possible.

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Why Is Jesus the only way sef?

 

What makes Jesus so different, that he can claim to be the only path to God?

Imagine you find yourself trapped in a maze.

You don't know anything about the maze except you are inside it and you want out. As you stumble about the maze you come across 'Man A' who tells you not to worry, as there are many ways out of the maze. I imagine you would feel reassured and would appreciate hearing this good news.  

As you continue through the maze you come across 'Man B'. He contradicts Man A, and tells you there is only one way out of the maze. You would now be worried and disturbed, and motivated to try and find the exit. But in good news, Man B reassures you, telling you he knows the way out and he is willing to walk with you. 

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Exposed! 5 things you dont know about Jesus!

 

Jesus is the most famous person who has ever lived. More lyrics have been penned about him; more pictures drawn of him than anyone throughout history. Put simply, Jesus' influence makes Justin Bieber and Oprah Winfrey look like nobodies. H.G. Wells, himself not a believer, once said, 'this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very centre of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure of all time.'

Given his fame, I'm guessing you've heard of Jesus. Yet, there still remains so much misunderstanding around who exactly Jesus was. Here's 5 things you might not know about Jesus:

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5 Steps in Planting a Church or Launching a New Ministry

I’ve learned a few things, many of which I write about here. I’ve also learned there are a few common steps in a successful launch.

It doesn’t really matter what the ministry is…the launching process is relatively the same. You should know I’m a simple-minded guy. But, time and time again I’ve seen simple work. Sometimes we over complicate things.

I’m not saying simple is easy. It hardly ever is. I’m saying that we should not make the steps more convoluted than they actually are and that the more we can simplify the steps into an easy to understand format the easier it will be to complete them.

Here are 5 steps to a successful ministry launch:

Vision – Get a clear, easy to understand, worthy vision that honors God and brings good to other people and for which people can get excited. 

People – Recruit people who love the vision as much as you do. If you can’t find like-minded people, it will be very difficult to be successful in the new ministry. I always believe, and have witnessed it repeatedly, that if God is in this, He has already been shaping the vision in other people’s minds. We just need to find them.

Equip and assign – With people contributing, determine the tasks needed to accomplish the vision. Help people understand their unique role in accomplishing the vision and assign them to specific tasks. Give them the resources they need and make sure they are clear on their assigned role.

Energize – Keep people motivated towards the vision by continually reminding them of the overall purpose and their significant place in accomplishing it.

Release – Let people do their part to accomplish the vision. Give real ownership. Delegate. Don’t control.

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5 Principles of Making Disciples and Enabling Spiritual Growth

Spiritual growth of believers should be the goal of any church. We are to reach unbelievers and introduce them to Christ, but the end goal according to the command of Jesus is making disciples. It would even make sense then,

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Is Jesus God? Did Jesus ever claim to be God?

  Is Jesus God? Did Jesus ever claim to be God? See proof from the life of Jesus Christ and why it's not blind faith to believe in him.

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Reason and Faith

Excerpts on faith from Provocations, a free ebook of the spiritual writings of Kierkegaard.

By faith Abraham went out from the land of his fathers and became a sojourner in the land of promise. He left one thing behind, and took one thing with him. He left

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THE GREATEST ESCAPE !!!

“Anyone here!” I shouted, stumbling half-asleep through the small, sparsely furnished house located in the low-rent district of a large southern city.

 I awoke to find the house empty. My two friends had disappeared. We were planning to begin our trip out West that day, and I couldn’t imagine where they could be.

 I stepped out on the porch, and to my surprise my suitcases were lined up against the wall. My eyes fell on a note attached to one of the suitcases. “Good luck, Charles. We owe everything we have to our god.”

 Panic seized me. Slowly, however, my panic turned to bitterness. I had been

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THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS

Most of us have experienced gut-wrenching circumstances that have left us feeling angry, hurt, attacked or betrayed. The offenses may seem somewhat insignificant or obviously horrendous.

In any case, almost before we realize it, our hearts are streaking down the road at a blazing speed toward the deceptive embrace of bitterness. Like an octopus, it reaches out its ugly tentacles and wraps its many arms around us in an ever tightening grip until our joy, health and sanity are almost squeezed from us. We find ourselves trapped. You’re probably like me and have already experienced enough hurts in a lifetime that, if not dealt with properly, can subtly accumulate into a dark, secret, cesspool of poison frothing in our souls. Everything in life can be tainted and eventually, we become slaves to our own misery.

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