Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce
Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce
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Thursday, December 20, 2018
Saturday, December 1, 2018
2018 DECEMBRIE-4 FELURI DE MEDITATII-CUVINTE DE MANGAIERE,ZIDIRE,IMBARBATARE SI TREZIRE
Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce
DOMNUL ESTE APROAPE- GBV
Sâmbătă, 1 Decembrie 2018
Numai în Dumnezeu rămâne liniștit sufletul meu; de la El vine
mântuirea mea. Numai El este stânca mea și mântuirea mea,
turnul meu înalt; nu mă voi clătina mult.Psalmul 62.1,2
Dumnezeule, Tu ești Dumnezeul meu, pe Tine
Te caut în zori de zi; sufletul meu însetează după Tine, carnea mea tânjește după Tine, într-un pământ sec și uscat, fără apă. Așa Te-am privit în sfântul locaș, ca să văd puterea
Ta și gloria Ta.Psalmul 63.1,2
Fiecare dintre noi avem momente când suntem cuprinși de teamă. Nu ne face niciun bine să tăgăduim acest lucru. Când simțim că ne cuprinde teama, să ne punem următoarele întrebări: De unde vine această teamă? M-a lăsat vreodată Dumnezeu în trecut? N-a promis El că va avea grijă de toate nevoile mele? Își ține El promisiunile?
În Biblie găsim nenumărate exemple despre credincioșia lui Dumnezeu. De exemplu, apostolul Pavel a trecut prin multe dificultăți, persecuții și suferințe, însă a putut declara cu îndrăzneală că Dumnezeu folosește toate aceste împrejurări pentru binele celor ai Săi(Romani 8.28). Acest lucru mărturisește despre faptul că, pentru cei care se încred în El, Dumnezeu schimbă orice dificultate, pierdere sau suferință în ceva bun.
Oriunde citim în Scriptură – despre Avraam, David, Iov, Isaia, Iona, Ioan, Pavel sau alții – vedem dragostea și grija constantă a lui Dumnezeu pentru cei ai Săi. Cuvântul Său este o lampă care ne oferă călăuzire clară atunci când împrejurările sunt confuze. Dacă medităm la el cu rugăciune și ni-l însușim practic în inimă, lumina Cuvântului va îndepărta orice întuneric. Psalmii ne oferă un ajutor special atunci când avem de-a face cu teama.
Dumnezeu, Cârmuitorul suveran al acestui univers, deține controlul deplin asupra vieților noastre. Să nu credem că lucrurile ar sta altfel, din cauză că El nu lucrează așa cum credem sau când credem noi. Dacă citim Biblia și medităm la ea, vom dobândi o încredere tot mai deplină în promisiunile Sale.T Hadley, SrDOMNUL ESTE APROAPE DECEMBRIE 2018
SCRIPTURILE ÎN FIECARE ZI
Jean Koechlin -Volumul V
1 DECEMBRIE
Iuda 1-13
O trâmbiţă poate suna şi numai pentru plăcerea celor ce o ascultă, dar ea trebuie să răsune pentru a-i stimula pe luptători. Iuda ar fi dorit să-i întreţină pe fraţii săi cu subiecte dintre cele mai edificatoare. Însă, în faţa progresului răului care se strecurase deja „printre credincioşi”, slujba lui, un adevărat strigăt de alarmă, s-a mărginit să-i îndemne să lupte cu orice preţ pentru adevăr. Câţi copii ai lui Dumnezeu au nevoie să le fie amintit mereu ABC-ul adevărului creştin, când Duhul ar dori ca ei să se ocupe cu binecuvântări mai înalte (Evrei 5.12)! ,,Aţi cunoscut toate odată pentru totdeauna…” (v. 5). Am făcut noi vreun progres sau, dimpotrivă, am dat înapoi, după întoarcerea la Dumnezeu?
Ca şi a doua epistolă a lui Petru, şi epistola lui Iuda foloseşte exemple solemne din Vechiul Testament pentru a ne zugrăvi apostazia morală din zilele din urmă. Aceasta este caracterizată de două trăsături: abandonarea norului, schimbat în desfrănare, şi dispreţul faţă de autorităţi, sub toate formele (2 Petru 2.10,11). Această ultimă tendinţă se afirmă deja în familii, în şcoli şi în viaţa socială şi profesională. Cum ar putea un copil care nu se supune părinţilor să accepte mai târziu autoritatea Domnului?SCRIPTURILE ÎN FICERE ZI VOLUMUL V DECEMBRIE
SĂMÂNŢA BUNĂ
Sâmbătă, 1 Decembrie 2018
„Şi ei dovedesc că lucrarea Legii este scrisă în inimile lor, fiindcă despre lucrarea aceasta mărturisește cugetul lor și gândurile lor, care sau se învinovățesc, sau se dezvinovățesc între ele.“
Romani 2.15
Lucrarea conştiinţei
Cu câtva timp în urmă, în cartierul nostru, cineva a găsit într-o noapte un portmoneu cu 500 euro pe care l-a predat poliției. Cineva a replicat că trebuia să-și țină banii, deoarece nu l-a văzut nimeni. „Te înșeli“, răspunse cel care a găsit banii, „există doi martori: Dumnezeu în care cred și conștiința mea care m-ar fi condamnat dacă făceam altfel de cum am fost îndemnat.“
Despre conștiință (cuget), teologul Ioan Gură de Aur a spus: „Acuzatorul acesta, pe care îl ai, te însoțește, te supără, te chinuie, te biciuiește și niciodată nu se liniștește, ci se năpustește asupra ta și în piață, și între lume, și la masă, și când dormi, și când te scoli; îți cere socoteală de cele ce ai greșit, îți pune sub ochi și mărimea păcatelor, și pedeapsa care urmează. Şi după cum un doctor bun nu încetează de a da doctorii unui bolnav până nu-l vede sănătos, tot așa și cugetul nu se oprește, ci are necontenit grijă. Lucrarea conștiinței este să ne aducă fără întrerupere aminte de faptele noastre rele…“
Cine dorește să aibă o conștiință curată trebuie să vină cu păcatele sale la Mântuitorul. Numai Domnul Isus Hristos poate da iertare de păcate, poate dărui lumina cerească asupra conștiinței fiecărui om.SĂMÂNŢA BUNĂ-DECEMBRIE 2018
CUVÂNTUL LUI DUMNEZEU PENTRU ASTĂZI
coordonatori Bob & Debby Gass
1 Decembrie 2018
TRANSFORMAREA PERSONALĂ
„S-au vindecat de boli, au fost viteji în războaie” (Evrei 11:34)
Cuvântul metamorfoză înseamnă a fi schimbat dintr-o formă în alta. În Evrei capitolul unsprezece, găsim o listă cu oameni celebri, iar printre ei se regăsesc Moise și David. Aveau ei oare slăbiciuni? Da! Aveau ei uneori lupte? Absolut. Dar: „S-au vindecat de boli, au fost viteji în războaie.”
Să ne imaginăm omida care se transformă în fluture. Totul începe lent și timid și este nevoie de multe ore pentru a se putea târî un pas sau doi. Cu toate acestea, când este supusă procesului de metamorfozare, ea devine un fluture frumos care poate zbura pe distanțe lungi prin simpla plutire pe curenții de aer. Aripile fluturilor s-au dezvoltat ca urmare a zbaterii coconului până ce acesta s-a spart. Fără luptă, nu-i cunună! Înțelegi ideea?
Te zbați tu pentru ceva anume în prezent? Te afli în mijlocul unei lupte spirituale? Zbaterile tale sunt cele care îți dezvoltă puterea și luptele sunt cele care îți aduc victoria. Satan nu dorește să știi asta. El speră că lupta în care te afli te va distruge în loc să te dezvolte, așa că el continuă să arunce presiune asupra ta.
Când viața lui Pavel a devenit atât de grea încât a crezut că nu mai rezistă nici măcar o zi, Dumnezeu i-a zis: „Harul Meu îţi este de ajuns; căci puterea Mea în slăbiciune este făcută desăvârşită.” (2 Corinteni 12:9). Cum a reacționat Pavel? El scrie: „mă voi lăuda mult mai bucuros cu slăbiciunile mele, pentru ca puterea lui Hristos să rămână în mine. De aceea simt plăcere în slăbiciuni, în defăimări, în nevoi, în prigoniri, în strâmtorări, pentru Hristos; căci când sunt slab, atunci sunt tare” (2 Corinteni 12:9-10).
Deci, încrede-te în Dumnezeu și învață din fiecare situație prin care El îngăduie să treci!
http://fundatiaseer.ro/
CELELALTE 10 MEDITATII CLASICE- SE GASESC POSTATE IN TOATE LUNILE ANULUI 2016 LA ADRESELE URMATOARE
https://ioan17.wordpress.com/
https://ioan17.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/meditatii-cuvinte-demangaierezidireimbarbatare-si-trezire-luna-ianuarie-2016-pot-fi-descarcate-in-word/
http://nowheresoonthere.blogspot.com/
http://nowheresoonthere.blogspot.com/2016/01/meditatii-cuvinte-de.html
POT FI DESCARCATE DEPOZITATE SI RETRIMISE DE ORICINE .
NIMIC NU E COPYRIGHT, DACA LE PASTRATI ASA CUM LE LUATI NEMODIFICATE SI CU ADRESELE PROVINIENTEI LOR ORIGINALE,
Friday, November 30, 2018
I AM THANKSFUL!From Balarie Kelly’s new book ,,Fear Fighting: Awakening Courage to Overcome Your Fears”
Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce
I just want you all to know – I am thankful.
I am thankful
I just want you all to know – I am thankful.
Every day, I write stories that usually convey:
I am annoyed one way or another, yet seeking more.
I am discouraged by people, circumstances or problems and attempting to see things through new light.
I am thrown off, but working my way back to God.
Many days, I’ve used this blog as a counseling session. I like it this way: I come with issues – God comes with strength. I come weak – the Lord comes strong enough to change me. I come needy, He comes increasingly ready to feed me.
This is our power, coming weak. This is our life change, coming needy. This is our faith, being reliant.
God answers this approach.
But, I don’t want you to ever think, not for a moment, that I am not entirely thankful. You see, my posture of leaning on Him, almost always, helps me discover how He holds me up. It reminds me that, every time, He is faithful. It helps me see that through every bump in the road, He’s the shocks softening the jolting impact of life. He smooths my ride.
I call. He answers as I keep seeking.
I cry. He catches my tears when I focus my mind on Him.
I am in pain. He understands and draws near as I pursue his Word.
I need. As I wait (which sometimes feels like forever), He faithfully and, in His timing, rushes in.
He’ll do the same for you.
What kind of grief do you need to lean up against Him to know he is strong enough to hold it?
The counselor waits.
Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His feathers,
and under His wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
Ps. 91:3-4
Maybe, like me, you’ll come out from an eating disorder, depression, financial trials, huge health issues or relational problems, thankful, in awe, and amazed at what he just saved you from – if you’ll just turn in.
Before you know it, He’ll work: soften your edges, sand off your rough spots, make space for his movement. Love and peace will come busting into your heart.
I’ve found this, after day-in-and-day-out writing on this blog…
I see God’s Goodness in the land of my living grief, fear and guilt – when I run after it – hard.
What all seemed impossible, turned possible. We have the ability to reach God’s transcendent, His abundance. He loves us.
All this is the source of thanksgiving. As God enters the nitty gritty, the down and dirty of your life, you can’t help but lift your arms, lift your voice and give a good shout out to his character.
Today, I am thankful. What might you need to offer to God, knowing that soon enough, by faith, you’ll be giving thanks to God?
Balarie Kelly’s new book, Fear Fighting: Awakening Courage to Overcome Your Fears has been called “A must read,” “Breathtakingly honest” and a “Great Toolbox to Overcome Fear.” Read it today.
Discover how to flee from fear and fly in faith through 4 Days to Fearless Challenge.
I am annoyed one way or another, yet seeking more.
I am discouraged by people, circumstances or problems and attempting to see things through new light.
I am thrown off, but working my way back to God.
Many days, I’ve used this blog as a counseling session. I like it this way: I come with issues – God comes with strength. I come weak – the Lord comes strong enough to change me. I come needy, He comes increasingly ready to feed me.
I cry. He catches my tears when I focus my mind on Him.
I am in pain. He understands and draws near as I pursue his Word.
I need. As I wait (which sometimes feels like forever), He faithfully and, in His timing, rushes in.
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His feathers,
and under His wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
URARE-HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY !
Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce
Dragii nostri,
Va dorim tuturora un Happy Thanksgiving, petrecut in meditatii sfinte de multumire si recunostinta, la adresa Celui care ne-a protejat si ne-a purtat pe brate si in anul ce aproape s-a scurs. Ne insotim bunele urari de cantarea de mai jos.
Cu drag, ai vostri prieteni si frati in Domnul
Primita de la Familia GABOR
Ileana Berki – Multumesc Doamne
Making the Most of Turkey Time: Thanksgiving on Mission
Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce
Article by
David Mathis
Executive Editor, desiringGod.org
What if God had more for our kin this Thanksgiving than the Macy’s parade, tryptophan-induced naps, and NFL football? What if we saw our gatherings with extended family not as a chance to check out, but as an opportunity for Christian mission?
It should be good news to us that we don’t have to be Jedi-master evangelists to be agents of gospel advance among those whom we know best. In fact, it may be better if we’re not.
So before bellying up to this year’s turkey feast, here’s a few thoughts from a fellow bungler to help us think ahead and pray about how we might grow in being proxies for the gospel, in word and deed, among our families this Thanksgiving. These are some practical ideas for what it might mean to see ourselves as sent among our relatives. These suggestions are inspired by Randy Newman’s excellent book Bringing the Gospel Home: Witnessing to Family Members, Close Friends, and Others Who Know You Well.
1) Pray ahead.
Begin praying for your part in gospel advance among extended family several days before gathering. And let’s not just pray for changes in them, but also pray for the needed heart changes in us — whether it’s for love or courage or patience or kindness or fresh hope, or all of the above.
2) Listen and ask questions.
Listen, listen, listen. Perhaps more good evangelism than we realize starts not with speaking but with good listening. Getting to know someone well, and specifically applying the gospel to them, is huge in witness. Relationship matters.
Ask questions to draw them out. People like to talk about themselves — and we should capitalize on this. And most people only enjoy talking about themselves for so long. At some point, they’ll ask us questions. And that’s our golden chance to speak, upon request.
One of the best times to tell the gospel with clarity and particularity is when someone has just asked us a question. They want to hear from us. So let’s share ourselves, and Jesus in us. Not artificially, but in genuine answer to their asking about our lives. And remember it’s a conversation. Be careful not to rabbit on for too long, but try to keep a sense of equilibrium in the dialogue.
3) Raise the gospel flag early.
Let’s not wait to get to know them “well enough” to start clearly identifying with Jesus. Depending on how extended our family is, or how long it’s been since we married in, they may already plainly know that we are Christians. But if they don’t know that, or don’t know how important Jesus is to our everyday lives, we should realize now that there isn’t any good strategy in being coy about such vital information. It will backfire. Even if we don’t put on the evangelistic full-court press right away (which is not typically advised), wisdom is to identify with Jesus early and often, and articulate the gospel with clarity (and kindness) as soon as possible.
No one’s impressed to discover years into a relationship that we’ve withheld from them the most important things in our lives.
4) Take the long view and cultivate patience.
With family especially, we should consider the long arc. Randy Newman is not afraid to say to Christians in general, “You need a longer-term perspective when it comes to family.” Chances are we do. And so he challenges us to think in terms of an alphabet chart, seeing our family members positioned at some point from letters A to Z. These 26 steps/letters along the way from distant unbelief (A) to great nearness to Jesus (Z) and fledgling faith help us remember that evangelism is usually a process, and often a long one.
It is helpful to recognize that not everyone is near the end of the alphabet waiting for our pointed gospel pitch to tip them into the kingdom. Frequently there is much spadework to be done. Without losing the sense of urgency, let’s consider how we can move them a letter, or two or three, at a time and not jerk them toward Z in a way that may actually make them regress.
5) Beware the self-righteous older brother in you.
For those who grew up in nonbelieving or in shallow or nominal Christian families, it can be too easy to slide into playing the role of the self-righteous older brother when we return to be around our families. Let’s ask God that he would enable us to speak with humility and patience and grace. Let’s remember that we’re sinners daily in need of his grace, and not gallop through the family gathering on our high horse as if we’ve arrived or just came back from the third heaven. Newman’s advice: “use the pronouns ‘we’ and ‘us’ far more than ‘you’” (65).
6) Tell it slant.
Some extended family contexts may be so far from spiritual that we need to till the soil of conversation before making many direct spiritual claims. It’s not that the statements aren’t true or desperately needed, but that our audience may not yet be ready to hear it. The gospel may seem so foreign that wisdom would have us take another approach. One strategy is to “tell it slant,” to borrow from the poem of the same name — to get at the gospel from an angle.
“If your family has a long history of negativity and sarcasm,” writes Newman, “the intermediate step of speaking positively about a good meal or a great film may pave the way for ‘blinding’ talk of God’s grace and mercy” (67). Don’t “blind” them by rushing to say loads more than they’re ready for. As Emily Dickinson says, “The truth must dazzle gradually / Or every man be blind.”
7) Be real about the gospel.
As we dialogue with family about the gospel, let’s not default to quoting Bible verses that don’t really answer the questions being asked. Let’s take up the gospel in its accompanying worldview and engage their questions as much as possible in the terms in which they asked them. Newman says, “We need to find ways to articulate the internally consistent logic of the gospel’s claims and not resort to anti-intellectual punch lines like, ‘The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it.’”
Yes, let’s do quote Bible when appropriate — we are Christians owing ultimately to revelation, not to reason. But let’s not make the Bible into an excuse for not really engaging with their queries in all their difficulty. (And let’s not be afraid to say we don’t know when we don’t!)
8) Consider the conversational context.
Context matters. It doesn’t have to be face to face across the table to be significant. “Many people told me their best conversations occurred in a car — where both people faced forward, rather than toward each other,” says Newman. “Perhaps the indirect eye contact posed less of a threat” (91). Maybe even sofas and recliners during a Thanksgiving Day football game, if the volume’s not ridiculous. Be mindful of the context, and seek to make yourself available for conversation while at family gatherings, rather than retreating always into activities or situations that are not conducive to substantive talk.
9) Know your particular family situation.
In some families, the gospel has been spoken time and again in the past to hard hearts, perhaps there has been a lack of grace in the speaking, and what is most needed is some unexpected relational rebuilding. Or maybe you’ve built and built and built the relationship and have never (or only rarely) clearly spoken the message of the gospel.
Let’s think and pray ahead of time as to what the need of hour is in our family, and as the gathering approaches pray toward what little steps we might take. And then let’s trust Jesus to give us the grace our hearts need, whether it’s grace for humbling ourselves enough to connect relationally or whether it’s courage enough to speak with grace and clarity.
10) Be hopeful.
God loves to convert the people we think are the least likely. Jesus is able to melt the hardest of hearts. Some who finished their lives among the greatest saints started as the worst of sinners.
Realistically, there could have been some cousin of the apostle Paul sitting around some prayer meeting centuries ago telling his fellow believers, “Hey, would you guys pray for my cousin Saul? I can’t think of anyone more lost. He hunts down followers of The Way and arrests them. Just last week, he was the guy who stood guard over the clothes of the people who killed our brother Stephen.” (53)
With God, all things are possible. Jesus has a history of conquering those most hostile to him. We have great reason to have great hope about gospel advance in our families, despite how dire and dark it may seem.
When We Fail
And when we fail — not if, but when — the place to return is Calvary’s tree. Our solace in failing to adequately share the gospel is the very gospel we seek to share. It is good to ache over our failures to love our families in gospel word and deed. But let’s not miss that as we reflect on our failures, we have all the more reason to marvel at God’s love for us.
Be astonished that his love is so lavish that he does not fail to love us, like we fail to love him and our families, and that he does so despite our recurrent flops in representing him well to our kin.