One either has to believe in a God who's terribly prejudiced, or disbelieve the teachings of such exclusionary theologies. Religions have taught us that 'we are better than they.'
God requires his servants to walk in the light, and not cover their eyes that they may not discern the working of Satan.
The Jews did not go into darkness all at once. It was a gradual work, until they could not discern the gift of God in sending his Son.
Discerning the will of God is a very tricky thing, partly because, you know, the little voice in my head can either be God's voice or it can be my own ego doing a magnificent impression of God's voice.
Discernment is God's call to intercession, never to faultfinding.
Schooling people in the ways of ongoing discernment produces a greater receptivity to the tradition of the church and at the same time creates the freedom that will make them more responsive to the will of God throughout their lives.
God requires his people to shine as lights in the world. It is not merely the ministers who are required to do this, but every disciple of Christ. Their conversation should be heavenly.
The wisdom of God's Word is quite clear on believers being unequally yoked. And marrying someone who is not a Christian - who is not a daily disciple of Christ - is being unequally yoked, regardless of what their beliefs might be.
You are not supposed to convert anybody, that's God's job. But at the same time, you can be His disciple and live for Him and when people ask you why are you living for Him, you can show them why and profess your faith.
If you really want to experience God, go and make disciples.
God has entrusted us with his most precious treasure - people. He asks us to shepherd and mold them into strong disciples, with brave faith and good character.
God made you a masterpiece - be blessed, secure, disciplined and equipped.
Perhaps nothing helps us make the movement from our little selves to a larger world than remembering God in gratitude. Such a perspective puts God in view in all of life, not just in the moments we set aside for worship or spiritual disciplines. Not just in the moments when life seems easy.
God who created us has granted us the faculty of speech that we might disclose the counsels of our hearts to one another and that, since we possess our human nature in common, each of us might share his thoughts with his neighbor, bringing them forth from the secret recesses of the heart as from a treasury.
God had to create disco music so I could be born and be successful.
God's plan for enlarging His kingdom is so simple - one person telling another about the Savior. Yet we're busy and full of excuses. Just remember, someone's eternal destiny is at stake. The joy you'll have when you meet that person in heaven will far exceed any discomfort you felt in sharing the gospel.
Obviously, in a sport like golf, we see Tiger Woods fall off. There's not really too much damage he can take from that, although when you watch him and he sucks, and you're like, 'God, you used to be so good but you suck now,' it's disconcerting as a fan.
Our efforts to disconnect ourselves from our own suffering end up disconnecting our suffering from God's suffering for us. The way out of our loss and hurt is in and through.
Black people are on earth for one purpose: to destroy, and not to build. The reason: It's not in them to show respect to anyone - they don't have love. They don't have God. They're angry at their mothers and disconnected from their fathers. They call good evil and evil good.
Discontent with this world gives such a painful longing to quit it that, if the heart finds comfort, it is solely from the thought that God wishes it to remain here in banishment.
