NCarolinian

While we wait for the physical manifestation of Christ Jesus, how does Jesus reveal Himself on earth today? Who is Jesus on earth? The answer is two-fold -  those who follow Christ, considered to be the Church of the living God and the hungry, the thirsty, the lonely stranger, the unclothed, sick and imprisoned. God prayed for unity in His twelve disciples then all believers as His representation on earth during the Church Age.  "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. Jesus Prays for All Believers My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—...

Ever heard a song that you have not heard in a while and exclaimed - "Wow! That was great! I really missed that song. I have not heard that one in a while."? I usually proceed to play that song many times over.  Have you ever met back up with a friend you have not seen in a while and said, "Man! I have really enjoyed hooking back up with you and spending this time together. I missed this." I have done this, not because of purposeful neglect, but life.  I also find myself afterward trying to schedule more time with that person.  And have you ever stayed away from a certain food by chance only to find out how much you miss it when you come upon it as an ingredient in a dish at a restaurant or such? I have and then I start craving that food regularly. We, as Christians, need to be diligent about our quality time spent with The Lord. I am guilty of neglect in this area. For whatever reason, I will get distracted from meeting with The Lord - for a purposeful, me...

I have given up. I had a dream once. It started my junior year in High School. From those years until recently I had bouts of depression about this unfulfilled dream in my life. I truly thought this was a God-given path for my life. I heard sermons and teachings about hold on to the dreams God has given you, but now I was well past that point. It's funny, you hear one preach - hold on to the promises of God and then you hear another preach - surrender everything to The Lord . What am I supposed to do - hold on or let go ? Plus, these sermons usually come one right behind the other. Some time ago I decided to surrender my dreams to God - I decided to let go.  I say this as a consideration, not as a certainty for everyone, maybe your dream is really your dream for your life and not God's. In Matthew 10:39 , Jesus says, " whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." "The word 'loses' was translated from the Greek word apollumni, which mean to ...

I have an analogy for us today. A tree has many roots, but then the roots themselves have a plethora of branches off of them. The tree receives the nutrients needed to live from its root system. If there is toxic soil that the shoot-offs of one root soak up, then the root will become polluted and eventually the tree will become contaminated. So, not only is the planting of a tree in good soil important, but the tree cannot continue to focus on the healing of one root. The problem here becomes one of neglecting or overbearing the other roots to compensate for the ailing one and create an unhealthy balance in its root system. We are the trees in life. We have many roots that support our lifestyle, but some roots are well known for being a catcher of  all our attention and a leader to all sorts of suffering in our lives. Roots can be very similar to Icebergs. You can see the top of both and be enticed by what is on the surface, but there is so much more beneath the Root and the I...