Tag Christian

God is With Us

Allen Frederick 10 Comments

image Wherever I go, He is there. So goes the children’s song we sang all week at Vacation Bible School. The words are simple, the melody is catchy, but the message it carries is timeless. The Lord promised His disciples that he would be with them always even until the end of the age.

The promise was not only for that time and that place but even until the end of the age. What comforting words to have heard from the Lord. Jesus was asking His disciples to go into all the world and teach others about the love of God through Christ Jesus. It was a hostile environment in those days to be labeled a “Christian”. I believe much of the same circumstances exist today with the persecution of Christians increasing around the world. Even in America, where freedom of religion is protected in the Constitution, Christians are finding it much more difficult to practice their religion freely and openly. It would appear the spirit of Anti-Christ is alive and well in the world.

Can we rest upon this promise given to the early church in a hostile world today? Do the words of Jesus still hold forth the same comfort as when they were first spoken? Do we as the church in the world today believe that God is with us? I fear that many live their life as if God is a distant relative they visit once a week. Perhaps you place a call to God daily but then go about the rest of your day forgetting that you spoke with Him.

Do you ever pause to acknowledge His presence in your day? Or do you perhaps feel your privacy is being invaded by this constant companion? I would hate to think about being alone at this time in history without the comforting knowledge of God’s abiding presence. I dare not think about what my life would be like without His constant help and encouragement. I tremble at the thought of facing life’s challenges alone and self-reliant. I, like Gideon, do not see myself as a brave soul, but more of a reclusive introvert. Some might just call me a closet coward.

rowboat_2929c I must confess that left to my own strengths, my weaknesses are far too evident. It is only when I rely upon God’s abilities do my insecurities not seem so great. I take comfort in knowing that I have not been the first, nor shall I be the last Gideon to have walked this earthen sod feeling insignificant when faced with overwhelming odds. (Judges 6:15) Nor shall I be the last Israelite who stood terrified in the shadow of Goliath. (1 Samuel 7:23-24) Nor dare I say that I will be the last disciple who fears drowning when confronted by an unrelenting flood of despair. (Mark 4:38)

Some people seem to have an inert ability to face any obstacle stoically. Not I!

However, I have lived long enough to know that God is faithful, and He will never leave me comfortless. He is always there and all I need do is acknowledge His abiding presence and allow him to have control of my life’s circumstances. He will never leave me nor forsake me. He shall be with me even when the world comes to an end. Those are comforting words. But do we believe them?

Do we actually believe that wherever we are God is? That means God tags along with us throughout our days just looking for an opportunity to be there for us. How often do we neglect to acknowledge that abiding presence. Are we like the disciples caught in the violent storm at sea with Jesus asleep in the boat? They exhaust themselves attempting to bail out the boat while JESUS continues to sleep in the stern. Why was Jesus asleep while the disciples were fighting for their lives? (Mark 4:38) Because Jesus knew God was with him and he knew that God was in control of his life. He knew he was one with the Father. Can we say the same? Are we able to find rest in the midst of the storm?

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31 What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?] Romans 8:31 (AMP)

What obstacle do you suppose is too big for God to handle? What in this created world can defeat God? That is right, NOTHING! If God is with you no matter where you are, could it be said then that you are the instrument through which God desires to impact the world around you? Do you suppose that the same God who was with Jesus also resides within you? And the same power that raised Jesus from the dead shall also quicken your mortal body. (Give life to, energize, make fully alive.)

LentFifthAepcl If the Spirit of the Lord is able to resurrect the dead do you suppose that same Spirit is able to work mightily through you to impact your circumstances? Do you suppose your life can be changed for the better because of God’s abiding presence? If God is with you and you acknowledge His presence.do you think  that you can feed 5000, move mountains, or speak in His name and bring salvation to a lost soul? What do you suppose we could accomplish in His name if we only believed he is actually alive and well and living within us?

Wherever I go, God is with me;
wherever I am, He is there.
I’m never alone;
He won’t forget me.
I’m never afraid; I know He’s near.
Wherever I go, God is with me;
wherever I am, He is there.
I’m never alone;
He won’t forget me.
God is near.

Zeros and Ones

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

blessed2c

010001000110111100100000011101000110100001100101001000000111011101101111011100

100110101100100000011011110110011000100000011000010110111000100000011001010

11101100110000101101110011001110110010101101100011010010111001101110100*

see end of article for translation of this binary string

Snowflakes!

“Tell me the weight of a snowflake,” a coalmouse asked a wild dove.

“Nothing more than nothing,” the dove answered.

“In that case I must tell you a marvelous story,” the coalmouse said. “I sat on a fir branch close to the trunk when it began to snow. Not heavily, not in a raging blizzard. No, just like in a dream, without any violence at all. Since I didn’t have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,471,952. When the next snowflake dropped onto the branch–nothing more than nothing — as you say — the branch broke off.”

Having said that, the coalmouse ran away.

The dove, since Noah’s time an authority on peace, thought about the story for a while. Finally, she said to herself, “Perhaps there is only one person’s voice lacking for peace to come to the world.”

image Binary code is the language of computers. A series of instructions that tells the CPU how to handle the data stream. If you were to simply look at a binary code string you would see nothing more than zeros and ones. Unless of course you understood the basic language of a computer. 01000001 does not mean anything to the average person but in the hands of a computer programmer those ones and zeros spell out the capital letter ‘A’. To think a digital picture is simply a series of zeros and ones, on or off, yes or no, true or false. These are the basic instructions utilized by a programmer to get the desired output.

As Christians, we are part of a master plan much like those zeros and ones are a part of the binary code of a computer program. When lined up in the right sequence wonderful things can happen. What happens when one of those lines of computer code becomes corrupted? The whole program comes to a crashing halt. If a zero is supposed to be a one then instead of the predicted results you will get unpredictable outcomes.

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Just like one snowflake alone does not seem to make much difference when joined with other snowflakes, their combined weight of ‘nothing more than nothing’ can cause a pine branch to break. Zeros alone will not cause a computer to operate, but when you add just a single one you begin the journey toward a positive output.

As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist (be the one), fulfill your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:5

Timothy admonishes us to endure hardships, to put up with opposition, to withstand the storms and fulfill the ministry set before us. Each of us, who have been redeemed from the curse of sin and death, have been placed in the body of Christ to do our part. We have gone from a zero to a one. It might appear that by yourself you seem so small and unable to accomplish much, but together with the rest of the body of Christ you are able to accomplish greater things than you could have imagined. Evangelism is simply each “one” making another “one”. Each on fire Christian ignites another. Simply turn an off to an on, a zero to a one.

How could one person chase a thousand or two people make ten thousand flee? Their rock used these people to defeat them and the Lord gave them no help. Deut 32:30 (GW)

Where else besides binary code can 4 = 100 or 27 = 11011? In scripture we find similar arithmetic where God was able to route thousands of the enemy by a few men of God because he fought with them. In His math 2 = 10000. So you do not have to be many, just be a one in the right place and God can do great things through you. Now if we all line up in our rightful positions in the body of Christ and be ‘THE ONE’ we will see great things of God accomplished for and through us.

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. Revelation 3:15

God does not want you to be a ZERO but to be number one. To be number one you simply have to be “turned on”. God desires for us to be hot not cold. He wants us to be “on fire” for Him and the work He has set out before us. Be the “one” placed where God can use you and watch how much happens when we hold our ground as “one” in the binary code of life. Or do nothing and be a zero, a place holder, turned off, and tuned out. The choice is yours, choose to be a “one”.

* translation to above binary code string is: do the work of an evangelist.

“Pop Goes the Gospel” Blog Carnival November 30th Edition

Allen Frederick 4 Comments

jesusinaboxWelcome to the November 30, 2008 edition of Pop Goes the Gospel. As usual I received many more submissions than I could include in this edition. In order to make every edition the best it can be I choose only the best submissions from each author and only allow one article per author to be published.

All article submissions must meet the guidelines set forth on the article submission page and must set forth a clear Christian perspective in the article. If you have submitted an article to this Carnival and do not see it published here please check the submission guidelines again to be sure your articles meet the requirements set forth there.

Now that all the rules and regulations have been laid out on with the carnival.

Gather up a few minutes and be sure to stop by each vendor and sample what they have to offer. All of these authors have taken the time to present to you a sampling of their wares free of charge. The information contained in one of these articles may be life changing for you. So feel free to sample each offering and then be kind and submit an offering of your own for the next edition of ‘Pop Goes the Gospel’, where the Gospel intersects culture. Until next time Eagle out.

Culture

A Sower presents Will We Be Sodom? posted at A Sower’s Heart. A thought provoking article answering the questions has America become like Sodom? The author cites the Sodomites were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned. Sounds a little like God’s condemnation to the church in Laodicea.

Church Life

JCL presents Tithing on Gross vs. Net – What Exactly is Gross Income? posted at The Real Estate Investing Journey, saying, “A Christian perspective on tithing as it relates to real estate investments.”

Kathryn presents Did Jesus Giggle? posted at Living the Proverbs 31 Life, saying, “It is okay to enjoy life!” Kathyrn presents a well written article on Jesus and laughter. I say God has to have a sense of humor because He puts up with me. Besides a merry heart does one good as medicine. If we all laughed a bit more perhaps we could laugh ourselves well.

Education

Trevor Watkinson presents Servitude is Personal Development for Christians posted at SaveYourSweat.com Blog, saying, “Why having the heart of a servant is important!” Trevor has been an active contributor to this blog carnival since its first edition hit cyberspace and he is back again with another fine article on servitude. Putting others before self, he explains, is the biblical way to achieve success.

Family

ChristianPF presents 5 Bible verses about money every Christian should know posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog. ChristianPF another frequent contributor to this blog carnival comes through once again with a fine 5 point financial primer. His 5 bible verses about money should help you stave off economic disasters. Try them you may just like them. I do.

Tiffany Partin presents Fathom Deep: Sounding the Depths of God: This Thursday is NOT Turkey Day! posted at Fathom Deep: Sounding the Depths of God. Reflections from the Thanksgiving table. The true meaning of giving thanks. Thank you Tiffany for another fine post.

Unlike a Thanksgiving dinner choke full of every imaginable side dish and dessert this edition of ‘Pop Goes the Gospel’ may not appear to be filling but once you sink your teeth into each entrée I am sure you will come away full. So until next month be blessed and be a blessing to others.

That concludes this edition.

Be sure to submit your blog article to the next edition of
Pop Goes the Gospel
using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page.

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