"The storms of life make you stronger."
DCA Originals
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Looking out in the storm,
watching the storm of life approach,
regretting the moves of the past,
but humbled by God's grace,
The dark clouds approach,
but in the midst,
the sun peeks out,
watching the storm,
preparing for cover,
Watching the storm,
remembering the battering of the past,
making preparations for a better day,
what else can one do?
learning from the past,
Watching the storm,
telling the lost the truth of what's to come,
making them not follow my footsteps,
Watching the storm,
not worrying anymore,
life has prepared me,
a better person,
There is hope after the storm,
God is with me,
no fear,
no sorrows,
the bright horizon beckons...
Dayne-Christopher Anderson
And be you kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ sake has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32
Over the last 30 years I have had the opportunity to meet a few people I call my friends. The bible says that true love is when someone is willing to lay down his life for another. That for me friends is who a true friend is, someone you are willing to lay down your life for. Over the years I have been in that position about twice, when I was willing to lay down my life for others. You don't think about it, you are just of the mindset. Jesus Christ was a true friend, greater than any other person before. He freely came to earth and suffered and died for the freedom we have as Christians. How else could we have the hope of salvation?
Over time I have also learnt that there are different types of friends you will meet along this road. There are those like sheep in wolves clothing, whose aim is to deceive and destroy. Those I do not classify as friends, but person with the objective of abuse. They seem genuine and real, but deep down their motives are evil. In my short time on this earth, I have had to encounter these persons several times. To meet people like those brings heartache and pain. Oftentimes it is people you have grown up with from birth who bring the most pain. Even in my Christian walk, I have encountered the same. People who should know better, leave you in distress like a man lost in the desert.
It seems that I had set my expectations too high. Which friend when faced with the reality of death would really want to die for me? Which friend is truly committed to loving me with all my flaws and scars? Which friend is willing to accept the pitfalls of friendship? Not many. You see we fail to understand that we must lead by example in all things. We cannot expect everyone to have our same principles and goals in this life. 1 Peter 2:2-24 tells us, "for you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." Jesus Christ laid the foundation as to what we should be. He gave us the best example of the people we ought to be. Even when he was oppressed he did not threaten or use harsh words. He was committed to doing the will of God. This is the example that I must follow and you too my friends.
When people walk on us, we must watch our tongue, we must be always representing God in all things. Too many times I have been quick to just speak without considering what God expects of me. I am supposed to be a representative of God. Oftentimes we hear the saying, "what would Jesus Christ do?". That is so true, when we utter words that are unrighteous, is that of God? Certainly not, God does not act out of anger, but out of love.
You see, we are always going to have all types of 'friends' in this life. Not everyone is going to follow our beliefs or even accept them, but our duty always is to teach them about God, by our example in righteousness. Yesterday, my brother brought a sermon on faith, there was a mention of the fact that how can anyone expect a non-christian to follow us if we say one thing and do another. How can we expect non-Christians to have any interest in God when we do not behave like a Christian? Our friends often look up to us, but what do they see?? Are we examples of Christ? Or do we just say we follow Christ?
Many friends have come to me asking about my faith. I remember one day I went to play dominoes and my friends were just bombarding me with questions. They all believed in God, but they questioned the behavior of people who said they followed God. They said that what they have seen is that people set up 'churches' [the buildings] to make money. They use the name of God to profit themselves. But isn't that true, many people use the name of God to profit, to live high lifestyles from the collections of the poor. And said to them, true Christianity is not like that. True Christianity is about pleasing God. It is about looking at the sacrifice of our savior, Jesus Christ who was willing to lay down His life for all, just as a true friend would. A lot of our friends are searching for God, but what are we doing? I am not doing enough in my own corner. I recognize that there are things to fix about my example as a Christian.
If we all are to reach heaven we have to be friends like Jesus, to love unconditionally, not just by our words but by our actions. Also we have to be willing to follow God's commands, it is by His Word that we learn about love and righteousness. Today I choose to be more of a friend.
This is a message from Bro. Roy Graneau, South Edmonton Church of Christ.
Is the name of the church important?
1. The church belongs to Christ
Mt 16:13-19
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
2. God has placed all things spiritual in one name, not names: the name of Jesus
Acts 4:10-12
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Eph 5:23-25
3. The church is married to Christ, not man
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. Colossians 3:5-7
Over the last three (3) years I have been recovering from a situation where I lost a lot of money in a Ponzi Scheme. In the beginning, the intention was to invest some money and make a good return to plan my future. In my mind though I had some doubts, I was curious by this particular investment as it promised at least 10% per month. I was blown away, my mind racing, thinking about all the good things I could do and the opportunity to make my life better. This is the trap that is laid by greed. It tempts you into thinking that life is not fair and that there is an easy way, than working hard to reach your goals. It tells you that you don't need to work hard, you can do things that will make you rich in a short time. Things which are not necessarily those you would normally do. In other words, you will be moving away from the norm, and into a realm that you think is a blessing.
Greed (covetousness) is a deadly sin, which is bundled with such things as fornication, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence. We covet because we want to be better than others. But God demands a different standard for us. It is truly by hard work that we achieve wealth and peace of mind with God. The bibles teaches us in Genesis 3:19, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." God was speaking to Adam after his disobedience. He had lost paradise, and was now being punished for his disobedience.
You see we may have good intentions, but the devil is always working to entice us to sin. Christians are the main target of the devil. We belong to God, but the devil wants us to be his children. Greed is just another method he uses to reach this objective. During the time of the Ponzi schemes, so many lives were affected. Even preachers lost their way and got trapped into the web of greed. To this day, many are still suffering from the effects of greed.
Ephesians 5:3 explains that, "but immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;". The children of God should never be caught in the pit of greed. We must rid ourselves of any connection with greed, and be satisfied with what God has given us.
We must learn from our mistakes today. I have learnt so much over the last three (3) years, and I keep praying to God daily to shield me from the temptation of sin like these. God has given me food, clothes and shelter, those are the basic physiological things that we need. Praise God..