Trending Part Three

Trending Part Three

I Corinthians 6:19-20 NKJV
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

One of the things trending today for a lot of discussion is marijuana, with states legalizing it for recreational use and some—like the state of Florida—passing medical marijuana use.

1. The THC can alter the way you process information so your judgment may be impaired.

2. It can cause an accelerated heartbeat.

3. It can cause lung irritation.

4. It can also alter your balance, coordination, and reflex response.

5. It can cause people to be anxious, afraid, or panicked.

6. It can make some hallucinate.

7. Babies born to women who smoke marijuana are more likely to be underweight, be born premature, and need Neonatal intensive care.

8. It can heighten alcohol’s effect on your body.

9. It can interact with medications.

Benefits of medical marijuana:

1. It can help with nausea or throwing up from chemotherapy.

2. It can help with stiff muscles or muscle spasms from multiple sclerosis.

3. It does relieve pain temporarily in several afflictions.

Like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke consists of of a variety of toxic chemicals, including ammonia and hydrogen cyanide.

Drinking

Drinking is trending in the general public because of recent studies that are proving that even one drink can adversely affect people.

All you have to do is Google the side effects of alcohol consumption and you will be overwhelmed with the potentially destructive social, personal, and physical power of alcohol consumption.

I Timothy 5:23 NKJV
23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.

Paul said a little wine; he didn’t say a lot of wine. He didn’t say the more you drink the better you’ll be.

Romans 14:14-17 NKJV
14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:21-22 NKJV
21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. 22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

Yet here is Paul—a great apostle that we all admire—saying that it is good neither to eat meat or drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles, is offended, or is made weak.

Verse 22

Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God.

In other words, stop posting your drinking on Facebook. People are going to see it that will say that drinking is okay.

What if your post causes someone else to start drinking and ultimately become an alcoholic?

There are other believers that may be offended with you for possibly causing others to start drinking.

I Corinthians 8:10-13 NKJV
10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? 11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

You will not hear me call a baby—even from the moment of conception—anything other than a baby. I will not call it a fetus or a blob of tissue. It is a living baby growing inside of a woman’s womb.

I John 1:9 NKJV
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psalms 139:13-14 NKJV
13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.

Jeremiah 1:4-5 NKJV
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

Approximately 18 days after conception, a baby’s heart begins to beat with its own blood.

28 days from conception, a baby has eyes and ears.

At 10 weeks, babies can feel pain and have developed tiny finger nails.

Two premature babies hold the record for surviving outside of the womb at 21 weeks and five days, toward the end of the first trimester.

Young people in this country are recognizing that through modern technology there’s a baby in the womb—not just a blob of tissue, as some have described it.

Luke 1:44 NKJV
44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

Advertisement

Trending Part 2

Trending Part 2

Great message on what’s going on in our world today.

2 Timothy 3:1-4 NIV
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—

Matthew 19:4-6 NIV
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ ? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

We are FOR spiritually healthy people who can have
healthy sexual relationships within the timeless
parameters explained in God’s word and created by
God’s design for men and women.

The word is clear that sexuality is…

I. CREATED v4
A. “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them…” v4

Genesis 2:7 NIV
7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Genesis 2:18 NIV
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Genesis 2:21-24 NIV
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Romans 1:22-28 NIV
22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.

1. It is hard to argue away the obvious biological and reproductive evidence that plainly communicates the natural design and purpose of heterosexuality.

Behavior doesn’t dictate my beliefs, beliefs must dictate my behavior!

Sexuality is . . .

II. COMPLIMENTARY

the Creator ‘made them male and female…

Proverbs 22:6 NKJV
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Deuteronomy 22:5 NIV
5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.

Matthew 19:4-5 NIV
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ ?

Genesis 2:18 NIV
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer
two, but one flesh.

WHAT IS MY DEFINITION OF GODLY MARRIAGE AND SEXUAL HEALTH? HOW DOES MY DEFINITION LINE UP WITH THE WORD OF GOD?

1 Timothy 1:6-10 NIV
6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. 8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 NIV
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

FOR ABOUT 1,060 YEARS OF BIBLE SCHOLARSHIP AND EXEGESIS, ALL MAJOR DENOMINATIONS, CATHOLIC, ORTHODOX, AND ANGLICAN INCLUDING 50,000
PROTESTANT DENOMINATIONS HAVE HELD THE SAME TRADITIONAL POSITION ON THIS SEXUAL ETHIC.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NIV
9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:18 NIV
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

6 Ways to Unify When You and Your Spouse Have Different Ideas about Money

 

 

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21 NIV).

A mathematical mind is a gift, and perhaps no one acknowledges that better than those who struggle to follow a simple budget. It can create a stressful environment for couples who come together with different financial mindsets and plans. Disagreeing over money is a common argument, maybe the most common disagreement that plagues couples.

It’s hard enough to create financial stability when we’re on the same page, but what happens when our philosophies concerning finances are completely different?

Here are 6 things that can help when you and your spouse don’t have the same money philosophy.

1. Define Treasure

Matthew 6:21 is a good gut check when it comes to money. Before discussing (or arguing about) finances, know where your own heart lies. This verse is a good one to meditate on and pray over to find out what the answer is. Write down what comes to mind. What defines life’s treasure to you?

The original Greek word for ‘treasure’ describes “the place in which good and precious things are collected.”  ‘Heart’ refers to the “center of the circulation of the blood, the seat, center, and sense of all physical and spiritual life.” It’s a direct indicator and reflection of what we live our lives by.

Get to know why you value money the way you do and allow your spouse to do the same.

 

2. Put Love First

“Whoever loves money never has enough.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

One of the things I value about my husband the most is his compassion for what I value, even though his mathematical mind doesn’t always understand. And I, in turn, appreciate that he is mindful of our finances as part of the way God has gifted him – something that is a struggle for me. It creates compassion for one another when we choose to see it that way. But it’s just as easy to start throwing stones at our weaknesses, calling each other out for being cheap or disregarding the current balance sheet.

Day after day, it’s not our finances that I put first, it’s love. Seeking God first allows me the proper perspective to receive the blessings of my husband, my family, and the way God has provided for us, and to ask for the wisdom to spend it wisely and appreciate it fully. That daily recalibration of love strengthens my ability to let it flow through me in all areas of life.

 

3. Put Stuff in Its Proper Place

“If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:21).

This verse speaks tragically of the man who could not part with his possessions to follow Jesus. Even those who do not believe in God run the risk of becoming attached to things they cannot take with them after life on this earth is over. For Christians, we know the elated feeling of any blessing or love experienced on this earth is only a fraction of what awaits us after the pain of this world passes away.

 

“Remember where your treasure is.”

As a couple, put stuff in its proper place. Remember where your treasure is.

The local thrift store is one of my favorite places to shop, but it reminds me how our stuff passes from one set of hands to another. Amidst the shelves of stuff, there are always collections of someone’s once precious things now on a shelf for a mere fraction to what it was worth to them.

It’s good to have goals as a couple, but important not to let the lack of something steal our happiness.

 

4. Prioritize Together

“Seek peace and pursue it.” (Psalm 34:14b NIV).

Seek peace patiently in all situations and regarding all financial decisions. The reality is, you won’t agree on everything. Sometimes that conflict of interest is warranted and needed as one partner holds the other accountable. Specifically, for married couples, God made two, one for a reason. (Matthew 19:4-6).

Decide what you as a couple, or a family, are going to stand for financially. It’s OK to enjoy God’s blessings, but important to keep it all in check so it doesn’t rule all that we do. Trusting that God will provide for us is easy when we’re able to pay our debts, but it gets a lot harder when we’ve overextended ourselves. Unnecessary tensions often arise because of it, so it’s important to prioritize spending and saving as a team.

 

5. Seek Wisdom and Revelation

“Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it.” (Ecclesiastes 7:12).

Seek wisdom and revelation as a couple. God’s truth, in every situation, is wise. No amount of money can buy it, and no loss can strip us of it. The above verse literally means that a skill (at that time meaning in war) was more valuable than silver or gold coins.

Wise financial choices serve as armor to protect us in a storm. It’s smart to be prepared, but not to a point where we are valuing our possessions and money over the gifts God has provided for us to get to where we are. I believe this bit of Old Testament wisdom is reminding us to give God the glory no matter the circumstance. It’s important to be responsible but learning to love is the true treasure in life.

 

6. Determine First-Fruits

“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first-fruits of all your crops;” (Proverbs 3:9).

If we aim just to give a certain amount or percentage in a legalistic way, we have missed the point. In our church, we don’t pass a plate or require an offering, yet generosity abounds in our congregation.

Don’t get stuck on a number.

“A poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents… Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything- all she had to live on.’” (Mark 12:41-44)

Let Jesus’ words take the pressure off of the couple struggling to agree on the right amount to tithe. The amount isn’t the point, rather the heart behind it. Giving money to the church or to support a ministry shouldn’t feel forced or uncomfortable.

 

“There are many things we can do…”

There are many things we can do when we come together as a congregation to help others in our cities and throughout the world that we could never do on our own. The work of the church begins when we leave the building on Sunday and go out into the world allowing Christ’s love to flow through us, whether that’s monetary or not.

Prayer is always the most powerful weapon in any war we wage here on earth. And, sometimes, a fight over money can feel like a battle. Here is a prayer to hold close as you seek God’s wisdom through it.

 

A Prayer for Couples Who Don’t See Eye to Eye Financially

Father,

Praise You for the way that You provide for us. Though we sometimes fight over what to do with what we have, we seek Your counsel above our reasoning. Help us to find common ground and compromise. Guide us and teach us how to spend, save, and give with heart-felt and Spirit-guided purpose. Let our legacy, even financially, be dripping with Your love and Your purpose. Over all of our problems, You sit. You are above it all. We lift up our financial worries and woes to You, proclaiming viceroy and peace in Your Name.

In Jesus’ Name,
Amen

 

Trending part 1

Trending part 1

This is exactly what’s happening to our President Donald Trump. He stands up for the truth. The truth is God’s word. He will continue to get attacked.

To be deceived is to think we are right when we are in actuality wrong.

Matthew 24:4 NKJV
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.

Matthew 24:9 NKJV
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

Matthew 24:10 NKJV
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

Christ said this would take place during the last days. Many will be offended. Many are offended today (resentful or annoyed, typically as a result of a perceived insult).

I John 4:8 NKJV
8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Romans 13:1 NKJV
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

Galatians 3:28 NKJV
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Paul stated in Acts 22:4 that he persecuted those that followed the Way (Christians) to the death, binding and delivering both men and women into prisons.

Paul—the beloved apostle, who hated the Romans, the Samaritans, all Gentiles, and who looked down on women—declared we are all equal in Christ Jesus. All those different groups of people that he had hated he now loved.

The answer to racism is God’s love. It turned Paul’s life around and it will turn our lives around.

As long as there is evil in the world, there will be racism and hatred of others.

ROMANS 13:11-12 AMP
11 Do this, knowing that this is a critical time. It is already the hour for you to awaken from your sleep [of spiritual complacency]; for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed [in Christ]. 12 The night [this present evil age] is almost gone and the day [of Christ’s return] is almost here. So let us fling away the works of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light.

Untrustworthiness of Money

Untrustworthiness of Money 

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matthew 6:19–21

My biggest temptation may be to trust in money more than I trust in my Master Jesus. Cash is constantly bidding for my allegiance over my commitment to Christ.  I know the Lord takes care of His children, but don’t I have to save enough money to be secure? Financial planning is prudent and wise, but not to the point of replacing my dependence on God. When I obsess about the need for more money, I am totally trusting in money.

Ironically, our currency carries the not-so-subtle reminder, “In God We Trust,” perhaps engraved by our faith-filled founding fathers as a warning not to waste our energy engaging money as the source of our security. Can we trust money and trust God at the same time? No, Jesus is very clear about the status of stuff in relation to God’s devotion:

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matthew 6:24).

You cannot trust cash and Christ simultaneously. Money is not trustworthy. So honestly ask, “Is my future secured by my savings or by my Savior?” It is impossible to obtain a one-hundred-percent-secured financial future. God knows we need this uncertainty to stay dependent on Him. Frustration and fear become the pattern of those who focus on finances over faith.

“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?” (Ecclesiastes 5:10–11).

The love of money and trust in money are both sins. So how can we responsibly prepare for the future and remain loyal to the Lord? Start with gratitude to God for His daily provision, be a joyful and generous giver, and submit moment by moment to the Lord’s ownership. You know you trust in the Lord alone when your treasures in heaven far exceed your treasures on earth. Treasures left with Jesus produce a peaceful heart.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your generous provision each day. Guard my heart and mind from money’s provocative snare. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Application: Does cash compete with my trust in Christ? How can I aggressively store up treasure in heaven?

Related Readings: Proverbs 23:5; Luke 19:8–10; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Colossians 3:5

Ignite One Another to Love

Ignite One Another to Love

And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities. Hebrews 10:23, Amplified Classic

When I am around loving people my heart is ignited to love. When a friend is patient and understanding, I want to become more patient and understanding. When a stranger smiles and allows me to go ahead of them, I am inspired to defer to the needs of others above my own. When I experience silent prayer over a couple of days with one or two seeking souls, God grows my capacity to be loved and to love. What I am learning is the Lord’s heart for His children is to overtly encourage one another to do good deeds motivated by love, avoiding worthless works.

The writer of Hebrews knew the human heart and mind needs constant reminders of the truth. Most of us, as followers of Jesus for any length of time, know enough truth to live abundantly, but we forget our basic beliefs and behaviors. Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Our Savior and Lord knew we needed to be reminded of His incredible love, sacrifice and salvation for us. Like a sluggish feeling following a smorgasbord, our love needs to be poked and prodded to engage in good deeds. Feelings along with follow through, grow a radical, active love.

“Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or [a]in order that I may glory, but have not love (God’s love in me), I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3, AMPC).

Like hate, love can be learned. Nelson Mandela explains, “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin… If they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite” Christ’s school of love includes a required course in silence. When we quietly listen and look around us, within us and above us, we slowly and surely practice the presence of God. The best students of love remember their first love, and as a result, are compelled to love others. A soul loved well, loves other souls well.

Look around you and observe a shed tear in every home, church pew, cubical and car. When you feel the pain of a fractured heart, and as you share your story of pain and healing, you become a soothing balm for your brother or sister in the faith. The wounded do not need for you to explain their state or even fix their flaws, only to enter into their hurt with the community of your care and compassion. The Holy Spirit living in you ministers deep within a bruised spirit to heal and make whole. An ignited love cauterizes bleeding hearts, so joyfully spread the fire of God’s love!

“For you, brethren, were [indeed] called to freedom; only [do not let your] freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse [for selfishness], but through love you should serve one another” (Galatians 5:13, AMPC).

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I gladly receive your lavish love, so I can happily love others like You love me, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Application: Who needs my love, encouragement and maybe just a tender word of concern?

Related Readings: Philippians 2:1; Colossians 2:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:16; Philemon 1:7