God FOR us (repost from tumblr)

If the Father’s will is to be glorified by his people bearing much fruit and the Son obeys the Father’s will because of his love for him, then what we have before us is a Son who does not merely delight in washing away man’s sin, but a Son who delights in empowering man to put death to sin and bear much fruit. What we have is a Savior who is committed to us from beginning to end. He not only bears the punishment for our sin (beginning), but he also destroys the power sin has over us, and is also the one who empowers us for the elimination of sin in us until its presence is no more and we stand in the Presence (end).  

When I wrote this on my tumblr, I wrote it as a reminder to myself of who Christ is and how central he is to our salvation while preparing to teach for CB class. But this morning I wanted to know if this would be applicable to small groups. As the lecturer goes on in front of me, I've been kind of in my own world thinking about this (whoops!) and I think this is exactly what we should look like to one another - people who are for one another from beginning to end and a people whose desire and joy is to see those around them bear much fruit and put sin to death. Being a Christian means to radically take eyes off me and set it upon others! 

Take a minute to reflect on how Christ is FOR us, and then ask yourself - "Is there someone who I am for?" and if not, "Who can I be Christ-like towards today? This week? This month?" 

The Truth About Dishonesty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBmJay_qdNc

So I recently saw this youtube video from one of the channels I subscribe to...this is how I prefer ALL my classroom/learning experience to be...I'm just a very visual person :-)

I noticed how we can all be dishonest no matter how "good" we thought we are or try to be. However, when it comes to moral codes or religion we place higher standards on ourselves...so we are less so...but still is that good enough?

Always Remember These Truths Part I

I made this awhile back…

A Bigger God

http://crystalspraggins.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-god-is-bigger-than-oreillys-god.html?m=1

Yeah, it's hard to do...but are we being obedient?

"We should not wait for our feelings to catch up to our need to forgive.  They may never catch up.  We must not put up with mercilessness when we see it in our hearts...Take your soul to task.  Forgiveness is obedience, and we should cry out to God for help as we wrestle with a lack of desire to obey.  And if we make the decision to forgive, our feelings most often follow our lead."

Working through this article on forgiveness:
http://www.ccef.org/sites/default/files/journal-articles/From-Your-Heart-Forgive.pdf

Not finished yet, but already being convicted.  Won't you read it with me?

Daily Routine (Spiritual Gifts)

“10 Days to make a habit” ~ I hear that phrase echo in my head as I’ve heard Jay Leno say to one of his celebrity guests on the Tonight Show…But why is it so difficult to make the changes necessary for a positive habit to stick? A new year started not too long ago and I’ve allowed my life to remain the same and let important changes fall on the wayside. Each morning, I wake up hoping to fulfill possibilities that I’ve left open ended whether it’s simply reading or cleaning/organizing, jewelry making/painting, exercising and making time for friends, to doing my QT’s. But what I end up doing after work is falling victim to exhaustion ~ I let everything fall to the floor; I scarf down my dinner and sit around catching up on my DVR; numb to reality and escaped to every other televised story but my own-then Repeat for the next day and next. I easily neglect the vital changes I should be paying attention to…but how do we change this discipline?

I know that everyone holds their own “spiritual gifts” and I believe mine to be my inner creativity of words and speech. Deep within I’m eager to write and inspire but I don’t do it enough to impact anything big or small. But with our daily lives being so typical and repetitive how do we break out of this pattern of dullness and find our days to be worth living? What makes each day special for you? And how do we rediscover our passion when it remains hidden from our sight?

Just sharing some favored music :)

Thanks Sunny, for creating this blog!!! :D

I've been listening to the Gray Havens (http://www.thegrayhavensmusic.com/) a lot, after hearing one of their songs for the first time after service one day.  And I looove them, so I wanted to share with you all :).

Their website doesn't blaringly mention that they're Christian (at least the parts that I skimmed through), but the songs/lyrics definitely have Christian undertones and significance (almost Narnia-esque, for some of the songs). 

Anyway, if you like narrative-pop-folk music, here's a free download link: http://thegrayhavens.bandcamp.com/.  Or you can just youtube them :).  I think the songs "Silver" and "Gray Flowers" are on youtube.

Welcome to Providence Chapter Small Group!