Illustration results for mark 14

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$3.00 WORTH OF GOD, PLEASE

Tim Hansel in his book "When I Relax I feel Guilty," writes some insights of what most people want from God.

"I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please."

If we would be totally honest, the idea of transformation really scares us. That is because we know that such a radical change would be quite uncomfortable. We realize that with transformation comes a major overhaul of our lives and priorities.

(From a sermon by Scott Chambers, The Mission if You Accept it: Transformation, 2/15/2011)

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Don’t divorce your unsaved husband or wife. Why? Paul gives this reason: The believer may have a positive, spiritual influence on their unbelieving mate. The unbeliever may get saved due to the believing spouse’s example and lifestyle. 1 Corinthians 7:14: “For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.” I think this is what Peter had in mind as well when he wrote these instructions in 1 Peter 3: “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.”

I think a perfect illustration of this is in the life of my in-laws—Harold and Dorothy Wills. When they got married, mom was a believer and dad was an unbeliever. And dad was content to stay married to mom so they never even considered divorce. Now, Dorothy was careful not to nag Harold with the gospel. She simply prayed for him, answered his questions about the Lord when he asked, and endeavored to live the Christian life in front of him. Finally, in 1987, after 48 years of marriage, at the age of 75, Harold Wills accepted the Lord as his Savior. And I’m convinced that my father-in-law is in heaven today because of the patient, faithful witness of his wife, Dorothy.

So let me encourage you. If you are married to an unbeliever and he or she is content to remain married to you, then don’t divorce. Share the gospel with your unsaved spouses. But don’t nag them with it. Rather, pray for them. And live an exemplary Christian life in front of them. Who knows? Maybe your example will eventually lead them to Christ.

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In what some call a denial of a basic civil right, a Missouri man has been told he may not marry his long-term companion. …The man claims that the essential elements of marriage – love and commitment – are indeed present. “She’s gorgeous. She’s sweet. She’s loving. I’m very proud of her … Deep down, way down, I’d love to have children with her.”
Why is the state of Missouri, as well as the federal government, displaying such heartlessness in denying the holy bonds of wedlock to this man and his would be “wife”? It seems the state of Missouri is not prepared to indulge a man who waxes eloquent about his love for a 22-year-old mare named Pixel.

Timothy J. Dailey, Ph. D., “The Slippery Slope of Same-Sex ‘Marriage,’” from the Family Research Council.

The turning point in our lives is when we stop seeking the God we want and start seeking the God who is. ...

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While living in Mississippi I loved to hunt and took every opportunity to do so. One day, our 5 year old begged and begged me to take him hunting. Finally, I acquiesced.

Now every sane person knows that no one takes a 5 year old hunting. But we did go into the woods together. He had his little stick rifle and I, just in case something was dumb enough to show up, carried my shot gun.

We walked a long, long way that day. Toward the end of our "hunt" we had to go up a very steep hill. About half way up I looked down and saw that my little boy was huffing and puffing. I asked him, "Jimmy, are you tired?" To which he quickly answered, "No, Daddy, but my feet are!"

I smiled, reached down, picked him up and carried him to the top of the hill as any good father would do.

There are times when a believer is suffering terribly. The time for their departure comes. Sometimes, I think our Heavenly Father looks down and asks, "Child, are you tired?" To which the answer may come, "No, Abba, but my body is." The Heavenly Father, the perfect Abba, simply reaches down and carries us to the "top of the hill" and that hill is the biggest hill I know of: Mount Calvary.

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WHY THEY SERVE COFFEE

Some of the most humorous and enlightening moments in our lives center around eating and drinking.

Take for instance the interaction between a pastor and young boy in a certain congregation. It seems this particular congregation loved good fellowship and always served coffee after the sermon. One Sunday the pastor asks a little boy if he...

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