In Pursuit of a Purposeful Life

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God is faithful
2007-11-07 04:40:00
God is faithful. Yes all of you who are believers are nodding your head and saying, " Yah I know that already." But no I mean really, God is faithful. He has a plan, a purpose, and a direction that He is faithfully and intentionally pursuing. In my life this plan is to make me more like Jesus Christ, and He is using every circumstance in my life to accomplish this.I am learning to trust that His hand is on my life no matter what I may be going through. These past few months especially have been a time of seeing first hand that He does care and always provides. I had been reading and studying a lot about living a simplier life, of not getting caught up in the materalism that surrounds us, and instead using the wealth of this land to further His kingdom. This was impressed on me more as I spent a few weeks living with a missionary family in NYC and observed how they lived by faith and trusted Him to always provide. My plans for the summer had been made in early spring. I would go to N...
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Shades of Falling Leaves
2007-09-27 09:16:00
The national symbol of Canada is at it's best in brilliant fall colours. Although fall forewarns of the cold winter ahead, it more than makes up for it in the beauty of contrasting colour that is seen across the Ontario landscape. If you were ever to question if God loves beauty, it would find a clear answer in the radiance of autumn in Canada.
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Defining Trust
2007-09-26 09:19:00
Trust is: That childlike faith and rest in the loving care of a Father who is ever working all things for His child's good.
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Salvation - by Grace Alone
2007-09-23 05:12:00
This is My BodyThat salvation is all of grace and none of works is one of the basic and most fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, and it is well taught in this sermon. The Christian's comfort and assurance of perseverance in salvation and a right standing before God is based in the finished work of Christ and His grace, not on their individual performance.
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What would you do?
2007-09-15 04:58:00
This is a great DVD which follows eight Christian teens who travel to Vietnam and witness first-hand the persecution of their fellow brothers and sisters. It will confront you head-on with the reality of persecution today; and make you face the question of, " What would you do?"http://www.ur-video.com/main_page.htm lRemember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. ~ Hebrews 13:3

Follow Him
2007-09-13 08:57:00
Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." ~ Luke 9:23,24Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. ~ Matthew 11:28-30My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. ~ John 10:27,28

God chooses the weak
2007-09-13 05:44:00
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” ~ 1 Corinthians 1:26-31Weak, pitiful vessels we are, and through that there will be no doubt that it is God Himself who transforms us into His likeness and produces much fruit in us. God chooses to show through our lives the greatness, the depth, and the breadth of His mercy, His grace, and His overflow...

Suffering for His name
2007-09-09 06:51:00
And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? - Mark 8:34-37Eritrea Christians Tortured" We need to keep up our prayer vigil for the Christians in Eritrea," says Open Doors USA President Dr.Carl Moeller. "..The government keeps denying that persecution is taking place. But that is not the truth. There are at least 2,000 reasons for praying for our imprisoned brothers and sisters in Christ."Fear none of those things which you will suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days; be faithful unto death, and I ...
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The True Treasure
2007-09-07 07:20:00
If you could be granted one wish, what would you wish for? Would it be a full bank account? A house on the ocean? A new body? Or would you set your sights on something more worthy, more lasting, and much more valuable? What we desire and seek after reveals the true nature of our heart; for Jesus Christ said in Matthew 6 that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." If you focus only on temporal things such as money, possessions or education you are revealing that you are trying to find satisfaction and happiness in things which are worthless in the light of eternity. You are making a treasure of that which will be destroyed. So what is a lasting treasure? What is something you could put a value on, prize, and know that it would last for eternity? Ah, Jesus has the answer for that as well in Matthew 13, " Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that fie...
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No More Night
2007-09-06 09:59:00
No more night. No more pain. No more tears. Never crying again.And praises to the great " I Am."We will live in the light of the risenLamb.All praises to the great " I Am."We're gonna live in the light of the risen Lamb.~ No More Night ~ For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 ~

Romans 8:28
2007-08-28 05:30:00
All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.God's definition of good is that which works to transform us into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Therefore it is possible for a Christian to suffer - such as persecution- and still call it good because God promises that it IS good. If we only look at one point, there are thousands of God-honouring testimonies from Christians who were imprisoned, beaten, or martyred for their faith; of how their trust and love for Christ thrived under the pressure of suffering.
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Speak, oh Lord
2007-08-25 07:39:00
Speak, oh Lord , as we come to You to receive the food of Your Holy Word. Take Your truth, plant it deep in us; shape and fashion us in Your likeness, that the light of Christ might be seen today in our acts of love and our deeds of faith. Speak, oh Lord, and fulfill in us all Your purposes for Your glory. ~ Keith Getty and Stuart Townend " That the light of Christ might be seen today" ... indeed this is what I desire this morning, that as I go about my duties at work, Christ might shine through. I fall so short of what I should be, but desire to be a reflection of His character to the eyes of my unbelieving co-workers. To share and live out the gospel to them is my commission, yet knowing my weakness and failings, I hesitate. God is gracious though, and provides all I need to live for Him; and it is the Holy Spirit who brings forth Christlikeness in me. I need only lean on Him, seeking wisdom and grace, to find the help and courage I need in any situation.
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The mind of Christ
2007-08-21 08:35:00
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
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Hope
2007-08-05 05:10:00
"The setting of a great hope is like the setting of the sun. The brightness of our life is gone." - Henry Wadesworth LongfellowToday I stumbled across this quote in some papers I was sorting through from a long while ago. It struck me how true it is of my life recently but yet it seemed strangely depressing. Is it really true that when a hope is crushed the brightness of life vanishes?For the Christian I don't believe this needs to be permanent. Yes there will be times when we are overcome with sorrow and grief, when dashed hopes and unexpected disappointments seem to take all the happiness out of our lives. You can see this throughout the Bible and especially in the book of Psalms. David's poems are full of strong expressions of sorrow, anger, pain and tears. Yet after these storms you will see him praising God and rejoicing again; seeming to have rediscovered the joy of life.In Psalm 42 he says to himself : "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?...
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Persecution in China is real
2007-07-28 04:00:00
There is no religious freedom in China . The free Christians that the world hears about, the churches that President Bush visited when he was there, are under the strict control of the government; just as the churches under communist's rule in old time Russia. The true Christians running underground house churches, witnessing, and printing Bibles are constantly being arrested, beaten, tortured, and locked in jail without fair hearings, let alone fair trials. Sadly the world turns a blind eye to the reports documented by religious freedom organizations and lawyers; this is wrong. China should not enjoy the priviledges of being on good terms with democracies when it is all the while hiding its abuse of basic human rights. As trading partners, Canada and America should protest the persecution of Chinese Christians; and those of us Christians who enjoy true freedom should pray for and help in any way our brethren who are suffering.Chinese Persecution
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A Puzzling Thought
2007-07-28 03:39:00
It is one thing to learn how to spell and add from secular sources, and quite another to learn how to minister to people. If I want to learn how to be a godly Christian, I won't be learning theology from a Buddist; if I want to learn how to be a godly counsellor, I won't be learning counselling and psychology from a humanist. This being reasonable, why then would Christians go to secular universities to learn how to be counselors?
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You Alone
2007-07-07 10:19:00
In You alone my strength is foundIn You alone my hope aboundsIn You alone my strength is foundMy life is bound up in YouAnd in my weakness give me still more graceGrace to cast myself on YouIn every trial let me find Your peace and joyAnd grace to humbly walk with YouO disarm me of everything I would lean onSo I will lean on YouJesus, strip me of everything I would depend onSo I'll depend on You ~ It was Your Grace, Mark Altrogge Valley of Vision

Calvary Calls
2007-06-30 08:13:00
watching the sunset from Coney IslandI could squandor my existence, live my life in search of ease, giving all my days to gaining men's applause. Thinking only of myself and all that pleases me, but Calvary calls, Calvary calls.In the mumbling of a stranger, in the clamour of a crowd, I can hear the constant cry above it all. Sometimes it's just a whisper, at times it seems so loud - but Calvary calls, Calvary calls.Calvary calls me to surrender, Calvary calls me to obey; and to a dying world it calls me to be a light along the way. For the cross demands allegiance, I'll give nothing less than all; I'll answer "Here am I" when Calvary calls.If I see a brother broken by defeat and left to die, but no one comes to help him when he falls, let me be the arms of mercy reaching out in Jesus' name, when Calvary calls, Calvary calls.Calvary calls me to surrender, Calvary calls me to obey; and to a dying world it calls me to be a light along the way. For the cross demands allegiance, I...
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