NCarolinian

1 Corinthians 13 "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." (verses 1-3) The effort or energy that we bring to all situations has to be motivated by compassion if life is to be meaningful. Not only is the lesson - what wolf do you feed within yourself, but does that wolf contribute to The Pack and beyond? What source do you operate from - Love, Hate or Indifference. Jesus does not like the middle-ground. Jesus said to the believers in Laodicea and those whom would take on lukewarmness, " I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are luk...

We are sometimes thrust into situations in life where we convince ourselves that we are the only ones that are going through a particular predicament. This is a bad trick we play on ourselves and a lie. First, there are too many people on the face of the earth for the odds of someone, not having gone through the exact or at least similar issue. Second, if you consider all of human history, then our complaining of the “only one” really gets ridiculous. I don’t mean to discount the feeling itself. I have had this feeling, but it is not based on truth. The feeling is a self-pitty cloud, if you will, that blinds us to what is really happening around us. And if we buy into the lie of exclusivity in a problem, then feelings, NOT based on fact, can arise to complicate matters. Feelings of shame, depression, bitterness and so forth enter into the picture. The key is to recognize our feelings as our emotional response to what we are experiencing and let them run their course, but Do Not a...

I am who you say I am God. It is time I believe and proclaim over my life what your Word says about who I am. I am free, I am a child of God, I belong in His Family. I am chosen, not forsaken, you are for me, not against me – I am who you say I am. Help me Lord to keep your perspective of me in mind, on my lips and displayed in my behavior. Lord, help me not to measure who I am or what I can do by comparing myself with others. I recall what you told Paul to share with the believers in Corinth - "We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." (2 Cor. 10:12) I realize that this takes the specialness of my offering away. Plus, I don't want to be a copy-cat anymore, I want to be me before you Lord. Thank you Lord, that in the challenge of Colossians 3:12 to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient - you also tell us what...

As the hymn states - "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ, my Righteousness." Christ Jesus is my Right Standing with Father God. All of my expectations, desires and needs are found in the confidence I have in my Savior. A person needs an event in their life to spark hope, to establish a different perspective worth holding onto. Jesus did that for all humanity, I have just chosen to accept and believe in His compassionate gift of grace. Father God has loved the world so much that He gave His only Son - Jesus Christ - that whosoever would believe in Him would be saved. (John 3:16)  However, Jesus did not just live an exemplary life for us and die a martyr's death. If He had done only this we would be living for just a good cause and not The Good Shepherd. The Good News is not complete without sharing Christ Jesus rose from death and the grave after the third day from purchasing everyone's relationship gap with Father God through His death on The ...