All posts tagged Jesus

Sacrifice

Sacrifice. It is selfless. Being selfless is hard.

I wish I was a better example of this, but I’m not. Maybe some of you can relate. My hope is that by God’s strength I can be more selfless every new day.

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Jesus’ words in Luke 9:23.

Every day I wake up and I want… I want, I want, I want. Just like a baby. It’s instinct to to be selfish. I’ve gotten to spend the last 3 weeks hanging with family which includes my two year old niece. I love my niece to death, but it’s funny to watch how selfish she is (I’m not saying this of her character obviously, but her humanity). Humans are clearly born with a predisposition to be selfish, it’s hardwired into our brains and for many it stays hardwired.

But, Jesus asks two BIG things of those who come after Him.

1. deny self: Above all, think of yourself last. Selfless.

2. pick up cross daily: Deny yourself to the point of suffering every single day. In Jesus’ time the cross was a device of torture; it killed a person slowly and painfully. Sacrifice.

The truth is, Being selfless is not easy and sacrificing is not painless. But if we truly believe Jesus, it is completely worth giving our whole lives to Him. In my opinion this is the biggest, and most important sacrifice we can give. In essence, this is denying self and picking up our cross daily and following Jesus.

Getting the gospel to the nations will require us to give it all to Jesus. Literally.

Pray with me as I really want this to be true for my life, as well as yours.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:5

 

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by browery on January 16, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Reaching the Nations, Reflections on Faith
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Posted by browery on January 16, 2016

https://nationsminded.wordpress.com/2016/01/16/sacrifice/

Weakness

God knows our weakness. He brought us into the world with it. What have you hoped for in life? What are your dreams and aspirations? We hope for what we cannot see and we are forced to be patient. Our ultimate hope is Jesus Christ’s return, as He comes to take His bride. And because this hope is unseen we wait in patience.

For me waiting is tough. It is what God calls us to do that we might rely on Him more. Read some Psalms and check out how often they talk about waiting. Patiently waiting is not easy, I’ve experienced it much. Whether waiting on God to give me wisdom and discernment or a test grade. Its tough. But we must master it. We must master the awesome skill of patience as we wait on our Lord Jesus Christ to take us home. The coolest thing thus far about this topic is this: God knows its tough! That’s why He has Paul write in Romans 8:26 “likewise the spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning’s too deep for words.” God knows our heart. He knows our thoughts. He knows us far better than we do. Therefore He sent His Spirit to help us in our weakness. He sent His Spirit to lift us up while we await Christ’s return!

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by browery on December 10, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Reflections on Faith
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Posted by browery on December 10, 2013

https://nationsminded.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/weakness/

We ache for fulfillment!

We just crave to be fulfilled. Crave it more than anything. Our childhood dreams, the term, “happily ever after”, the American dream, in all these things we seek to be fulfilled. All of them will disappoint us. So we’ll either give up and distract ourselves passively, or we will continue to pursue these things until it’s all we can think about and essentially distract ourselves in that way.

So what does fulfill us? Sometimes I don’t even know… I could say, only in God do we find fulfillment. But what does that mean?

So here is my thought of the night. Being real with people and/or being real with God is how I experience fulfillment. Being real. Real is fulfilling. I’ve read my bible and not been fulfilled. But have I been real and not been fulfilled? Not that I can remember. Sometimes it can hurt, or leave you frustrated, confused or any number of emotions; but God gives fulfillment in being real.

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by browery on December 9, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Reflections on Faith
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Posted by browery on December 9, 2013

https://nationsminded.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/we-ache-for-fulfillment/

Kindbold: A simple act of kindness that requires some boldness

I created a new word: Kindbold. It is an act of kindness that requires varying measures of boldness. Example: introducing yourself to someone sitting alone in the lunch room. It’s kindness because they have someone to sit with, and it requires boldness on your part. It’s not holding the door open for someone. That is an act of kindness, but doesn’t really require any boldness.

God has used kindbolds a lot in my life. Some of the people that I have had the most impact on are people I have met or really deepened friendships through a simple kindbold. Here are a couple of examples:

  • I sat with a guy who I had seen in our dorm, but never met, over breakfast. And two years later, after we had both moved off campus and didn’t really see each other anymore, he stills remembers that first time I pulled a kindbold and sat with him.
  • One time my roommate and I were riding our bikes home, we had broken expectations and were just frustrated at each other. He stopped me and started a kindbold by asking a hard question and being vulnerable. This has been one factor in our great relationship today.
  • Sharing your story and the story of the gospel are great examples of kindbolds. This requires varying amounts of boldness and really is showing your friend kindness and love.

When we are looking for kindbolds to perform in our everyday routine, my experience is that God uses your willingness for his glory. Kindbolds. A simple act of kindness that requires some boldness. Keep your eyes open for them.

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by browery on November 20, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by browery on November 20, 2013

https://nationsminded.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/kindbold-a-simple-act-of-kindness-that-requires-some-boldness/

The saddest story

I have bittersweet feelings when people say God is all about love. I’m not saying He isn’t because He is. However, when you look around at the world, it’s not a happy place, it has never been happy, and it will never be happy. For the majority, this world has been a place of suffering and after it will be a place of suffering. I’ve struggled with this. God isn’t love then. God lets this happen. God knew when He created the world that this would happen. The world is truly a sad story for many, many, many people.

Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” This is how we keep ourselves sane in this tragic world. There is something far, far, far greater. There is something that is worth God enduring the sadness of seeing so many of His people perish. I don’t necessarily know what it is, eternity with him maybe? I don’t know, but I trust the Father. And that’s about all I got on that.

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by browery on November 13, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Reflections on Faith
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Posted by browery on November 13, 2013

https://nationsminded.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/the-saddest-story/

Heart attitudes

Mad-Kid-by-MDanysThe ministry I’m apart of has 7 heart attitudes. Attitudes that flow from our heart. I often ask myself wheres my heart at? Have you ever done something your really proud of or excited about? I have plenty of times, or bought something your super excited to use? Well, now think of a friend or someone you know damaging it. Well that’s how I felt 5 minutes ago. Thankfully that’s not who I am. My old self would have exploded and explosive emotion almost came out of my heart. Fortunately I’ve been saved by grace through faith in God and those kind of emotions and attitudes don’t fly in His kingdom. Pray with me, as our hearts reflect our relationship with the King. Has someone upset you recently? did you fail this week? Well, remember that the Jesus attitude in us is not one of self pity, rivalry, unrighteous anger, hate, or anything of the like. The Jesus attitudes flow from His Spirit in us. 

Galatians 5:22: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

The attitude that others see in you springs from your heart. If your attitude is bad, your heart is probs in a bad place. If your attitude is good, your heart is probs in a good place. Memorize the fruits of the Spirit and remember the process of Christ’s transforming nature. It might hurt as He snatches away all selfishness, but remember that Jesus is perfecting your faith. Key word: “Perfecting.” 

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by browery on November 2, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by browery on November 2, 2013

https://nationsminded.wordpress.com/2013/11/02/heart-attitudes/

Fear of the transition

With all of our posts so far we have shared our opinions, but with this one I want to hear the opinions of you the readers. We are so grateful that our blog is being read, and hope we have offered some good advice and encouragement along the way. So here you go:

I’m in my final year of college and suddenly I have that same nervous feeling I had when I previewed college. What’s next? What do I have to change? I adore adventure and being spontaneous, and college fosters that so well. Thus, I am slightly scared and apprehensive for what to expect after college. What does the transition to working life look like? What has been your experiences? Your thoughts? We would love to learn from your comments…

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by browery on October 31, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Reflections on Faith
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Posted by browery on October 31, 2013

https://nationsminded.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/fear-of-growing-up/

The responsibility of those who believe in Esa

We have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel of God. We are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Chris, be reconciled to God. Each one has received a gift, use to serve one another as good stewards of Gods varied grace. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Here’s what God said to Ezekiel in Chapter 3 verse 18. If I say to the wicked, ‘you shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

How serious are you taking your responsibility of telling others about the gospel of God: All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and the Gods punishment is death apart from Him in an eternal torment. There is one way for that relationship to be fixed; Jesus Christ satisfied our punishment giving all the ability to know God through repentance and faith in Him.

Pray that God would open your eyes to this responsibility and share this message as often as God allows.

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by browery on October 30, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Reaching the Nations, Uncategorized
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Posted by browery on October 30, 2013

https://nationsminded.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/the-responsibility-of-those-who-believe-in-esa/

The Fear of Alone

In our millennial culture that we adore and subsist in, being alone is not the hip thing. For the average twenty-something person, sitting alone in a restaurant  or coffee shop is straight-up uncomfortable. As Relevant Magazine put it, “The Millennial generation prizes community, which is very good, but it tends to come at the cost of fearing loneliness.” People can and will assume a lot about someone sitting alone. But set aside the thoughts of others. Being alone exercises  your mind, and improves your heart condition.

Going to a coffee shop alone has potential to be awesome. I just had one of the best times with Father I have had for a long time in a local coffee shop, and I was alone. Everyone else was laughing and chatting it up with their friends, and I was alone. I suppose this is easy to write about, but it probably will be a learning process before you and I are able to go somewhere alone without feeling slightly uncomfortable. Regardless, it’s good to get alone sometimes, especially in places where it’s a bit uncomfortable.

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by browery on October 20, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Reflections on Faith
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Posted by browery on October 20, 2013

https://nationsminded.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/the-fear-of-alone/

What are you filled with?

Ephesians 5:18-19, “And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music from your heart to the Lord”

“And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit.” As a drunk gets drunk on wine and no longer is in control of their actions, so we are called to be filled by the Spirit and no longer in control of our actions.

We were discussing about this verse and the question, “what does it mean to be filled?”, was thrown out. I love my friend’s response, “When we are filled, there is no room for anything else because we are full.” So when we are filled with the Spirit there is no room for our selfish desires, no room for friends and family to control us, only the Spirit. Not that we can’t do what we love or be influenced by others, the Spirit isn’t against those things, but we can always put them aside and follow where our filling leads.

An 86 year old man who is still energetic for Christ told us how he fills up with the Spirit every day. In the morning he asks God to be in every part of his body–God, I pray I would only see the things your eyes see, I want to go where you want me to do, so you control my legs today–that’s one example of how this man fills up and is controlled by the Spirit.

Do you fill up with the Spirit? And what does it look like?

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by browery on October 4, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Reflections on Faith
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Posted by browery on October 4, 2013

https://nationsminded.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/what-are-you-filled-with/

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