daddy4ms

Happy Thanksgiving from the Martins! We have much to be thankful for.  Thank you God for the many blessings we have received.  Enjoy time with family and friends today.

Let's be honest.  Bible memorization is hard.  Kids do it so easily, but as adults we struggle.  It is so encouraging when that verse comes to mind on that rough day.  Or you have a verse to share with a friend as you meet for coffee or lunch? Bible memorization is a good thing.  What matters most is the motivation.  Are we doing it to prove we are better Christians than someone else? Are we doing it to make God love us more?  Or are we doing it out of gratitude and joy for what God has DONE for us? As a pastoral staff, we are memorizing Colossians 3:1-17 because we want to go deeper in our relationship with Christ.  So, I thought I would share these amazing verses as it might just help me memorize a few more words. 3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3  For you died, a...

I have enjoyed reading a small book published by Mockingbird Publications called Law and Gospel. It is helpful in understanding how both words shape and influence the Christian life.  I finished the book last week so here are some quotes to think about: the Law must continue to convict us of our utter unrighteousness, and the Gospel must continue to save us...So where the Law is a closed fist, the Gospel is an open hand. Gratitude is a natural response to salvation. It does not require coercion or encouragement; to the extent that individual understands what has happened, gratitude will flow organically and abundantly from their heart. The precise form it takes will be different every time, but such is the nature of fruit. Belovedness can actually beget love itself. God's presence and promise are objective comfort, not to be conjured or obtained but only recognized. Thus the wild, absurd, unconditional truth of God's love in Emmanuel--"God with us," just a...

Below are more quotes from Crash the Chatterbox by Steven Furtick. That's because the resistance is always fiercest on the borderline of a breakthrough. God's grace doesn't clear the tracks of discouragement and setbacks. It gives me the power to override the reasons I should stop. And keep rolling.  Every Christian has a calling. And the chatterbox is assigned to interrupt that calling. The ability to overcome discouragement is driven by our intentional decision to reassure ourselves: God says I can. Inner conflict is often a confirmation of your calling. The Enemy only fights those who pose a threat. disappointment is the gap between what I expect and what I experience. Allowing God to fill your gaps means refusing to pretend the gaps don't exist. But it also means refusing to attempt to fill the gaps in ways--or with people--that can't get to job done. Only God is big enough to fill the gap. Don't let what you expected keep you from what God wa...