Good morning everyone,

1 Corinthians 4:20- For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.

From an unbelieving perspective our faith many times can seem to be nothing out of the ordinary. In fact most of the time we might agree that when we think of God’s power and even hear about it, we can wonder where it is in our own lives? Life with all it’s opposition can dim our eyes to the things that God is already enpowering within our lives, and without humbly acknowledging that power, we could be asking where is God?

I’ve realized that God shows Himself to people who are expectant and see Him in the "little things" within their lives (Matthew 13 vs. 58). The way we see God’s power in the "little things" is by seeking Him daily and showing gratitude for the power He has given. The bible then says He rewards those who do so, even beyond what we ask or think! (Hebrews 11 vs. 6, Ephesians 3 vs.20).

Ultimately we fall away from Christ because we quench His power in our hearts, leaving us with little encouragement to seek Him day after day. Not pressing in and repenting beyond sins and disappointment to see Him workout issues and problems leaves us bitter, and without a pure heart to see Christ AND His power. Without "seeing" Christ and His power already working at some place in our lives, our gratitude and desire to seek Him fades quickly.

In His Love, Ld

On Tue, Dec 11, 2012 at 10:13 AM, eldoret gentry <eldorets> wrote:

James 4:4-You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

I think definitions that the history of some churches have had when describing how a Christian should not be "worldly" can at times bring more confusion than clarity. What it does is restrict certain acts like smoking, drinking, partying, etc as what "the world" does, but doesn’t deal with the self-glorifying mentality of the world.

So what about "our own little world" that we fight to hold onto? It maybe plain for everyone to see if we struggle with drinking, smoking, and partying. But many Christians struggle with "unseen worlds" of pride and self-image that uses church as an "add-on" to our own glory. So we never deal with a glory-seeking mentality that is like the world and hostile to being made into the image of Christ.

I’ve realized that the easiest thing in Christianity to sacrifice are things that don’t bother my "old self-image". But what will fight you to the end of your life is the temptation to hold onto what exalts you, not necessarily what is best for you. That is why the times I don’t want to change are the times I don’t want to be like Christ, and hostile to God, wanting to be like the world.

In His Love, Ld

On Dec 4, 2012 9:31 AM, "eldoret gentry" <eldorets> wrote: