Tag Archives: religion

Aug31

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on August 31, 2013 by lsgrlr

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Romans 12. “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is Mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Verses 9-21). It would seem I have basically copied this entire Chapter, save 8 verses (feel free, encouraged even, to read them yourself). The words written are so opposite of what we are taught. We should bless and not curse those that curse us. We should over come evil with good. We are taught: fight fire with fire, and revenge is best served cold. Maybe these lesson are why no one smiles anymore. Today let’s put some effort into doing things God’s way. It may turn our frown upside down. 🙂

Aug23

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on August 23, 2013 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Romans 5. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Verses 6-8). At just the right time, (and in just the right way)…Christ came to set us free and be the bridge between us and God. We struggle a lot with Christ’s timing, we want everything NOW. He gives it to us when it is needed, at just the RIGHT time.

Aug21

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on August 21, 2013 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Romans 3. “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good, not even one” (Verses 11-12). This is a very unpopular thought. The prevalent belief is that we (humans) are good. But God clearly states here NO ONE is good. We all fall short ALL of us. We make mistakes ALL of us. We look out for ourselves first ALL of us. Why? Because we are NOT good. But that does not mean we are have no good in us. We are created in the image of God. His good is available to everyday, all we have to do is tap in. Seek God, find good and do it.

Aug19

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on August 19, 2013 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Romans 1. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” Sometimes it is just this simple. The gospel is the power of God. It brings, salvation, healing, and right relationship with our creator. DO NOT BE ASHAMED of it.

Aug9

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on August 9, 2013 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Acts 19. “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, ‘In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.’ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?’ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding” (Verses 13-16). God is the Lord above all. We need to not take Him lightly. The sons of Sceva learned this lesson well. God is still teaching us the same lesson today, the problem is we don’t listen. Here’s a thought maybe, many of the “negative” situations we encounter in life is God’s way of talking to us. His way of saying “I am here”. It is time for us to start listening.

Aug8

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on August 8, 2013 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Acts 18. “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’ So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God” (verses 9-11). Don’t be silent. Don’t be afraid. God will protect you. If God has called you to a task. Don’t be fearful, He has already prepared the path.

Aug7

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on August 7, 2013 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Acts 16. “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, ‘Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!'” (Verses 25-28). ALL the prisoners’ chains where loosened. ALL of them. So why did they stay? Paul and Silas were beaten and bloodied and yet they were singing hymns and praising God. My conclusion: When God is present even prison is peace. We are free anywhere if God’s presence is there (even in jail).

Aug6

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on August 6, 2013 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Acts 15. “After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: ‘Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that He accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for He purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.'” (Verses 7-11). We are saved by GRACE! We couldn’t earn it if we tried. We couldn’t get ourselves clean enough on our own to warrant God’s love. So God sent us grace, then used HIM to SAVE us. Jesus = GRACE.

Aug5

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on August 5, 2013 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Acts 14. “Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe” (verses 19-20). What do you do when things don’t turn out the way you want to? Do you give up, or do you try again? Paul was stoned, dragged out of the city and left for dead. Yet when he came to, he went BACK. We have the power of God living in us, instead of giving up, get up and go back and allow Him to accomplish what He called you to.

Aug3

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on August 3, 2013 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Acts 12. “Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.’ When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, ‘Peter is at the door!’ ‘You’re out of your mind,’ they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, ‘It must be his angel.’ But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison” (Verses 11-17). This is such a movie scene to me: The disciples and Christians are gathered together, praying for Peter. Praying God would rescue him. There is a knock at the door. Rhoda goes to answer. She hears Peter’s voice. She is so overjoyed…that she leaves him outside???? Ummm…okay. She tells everyone Peter is at the door, they don’t believe her. But they also don’t check. They have been praying earnestly to God, who raised Himself from the grave. Who cancelled out their sin and transgression. Why weren’t they expecting Peter? I’d like to say this behavior is confined only to the early church, but sadly we do the same today. We don’t expect God to show up. So here’s a bit of advice, when that knock come at the door, OPEN it. It may be “your Peter” waiting on the other side.