Different lives

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Posted by Jonas in growing faith

Something that have been on my mind lately is why do we act different around different people? Is it ok to act different in different situations. I used to think that no matter where we are and no matter what we do we should always be acting the same. Truth is you can be yourself and act in different ways. There is a certain way to act and behave when you are at work, when you are out with friends, when introduced to new people, when in church and so on. It is ok to do that and still be true to who you are as a person and not compromising who you are.

I do however believe that there is a problem when you start acting against your core values. For me my core value in life is honoring God. I used to think it was ok to push God under the rug during different situations I for example did not think that God had a place in the work place. This is something that I have come to completely reevalute in the last year or so. If you have a relative you do not ignore talking about them in certain areas of your life do you? I believe that it might not come up during certain conversations but we should never, ever deny God and if there is an opportunity to witness to someone that can come to faith it is our duty to do this and do it with passion and compassion! How can God go to battle for us if we do not go to battle for him?

“But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” Matt 10:33 NKJV

Favor

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Posted by Jonas in “View all posts in growing faith”

God can use many different avenues for you to get favor in life. The one we think of most often is financial success a great career with a financially rewarding outcome. We can also get favor by circumstances that we come across by “accident”, being at the right place at the right time, getting the last item of a sale item or getting an open parking space etc. Those are great but that is not what I am talking about today. What I am talking about is the favor of other people. The unexplainable attraction other people feel and how people are drawn to do things for you for no apparent reason. That reason is God. God is prompting them to do something for you and they might not even be Christian! More often then not they are probably fellow believers but they might not be, God can still prompt them to work in your favor. Have you ever been at a check-in counter at an airport and the airline is full so the attendant decide to upgrade you to business class for free instead of bumping you? Perhaps someone you admire invited you to go to a basketball game for no apparent reason? That is favor from God carried out by someone else! The more you walk with God the more favor you will receive in life and it might not always be in monetary blessings. When you are a child of God you should expect favor!

May the LORD now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this.
2 Samuel 2:5-7 NIV

For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.
Proverbs 8:34-36 NIV

A good man obtains favor from the LORD, but the LORD condemns a crafty man.
Proverbs 12:1-3 NIV

Different from other Religions

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Posted by Jonas in growing faith

If you have not yet made a decision to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior it is easy to look at all religions as the same because they are all made up of people who have done atrocious things to humankind. Make sure you don’t mix up religion with God! Christians not God have made some horrible things to humanity.
I see Christianity to be very different from Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, or any other religion. Christianity have the extremely accurate transmission of the eyewitness documents (the gospels in the new testament) so we can trust what was originally written. Only in Christianity do we have the person of Christ who claimed to be God, performed many miracles to prove His claim of divinity, who died and rose from the dead, and who said that He alone was the way the truth and the life. Only in Christianity is there accurate fulfilled prophecies of a coming Messiah. Jesus said that He alone was the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. It could not be that Jesus is the only way and truth and other religions also be a way to God. Either you believe that Jesus IS the way, life and truth or you believe something else. I believe that Jesus is the risen son not only because I have faith in this but also because of the historical facts backing up the fulfillment of the prophesies of the old testament most of all I believe it because he conquered death on this day 2000 years ago!

oneway1

Interview with Pastor Matthew Barnett

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Posted by Jonas in growing faith

I had the opportunity to go out to the Media Camp in Irvine and listen to Pastor Matthew talk about the history of the Dream Center. I am grateful that I get to hear him speak at Angelus Temple each week. Truly an anointed pastor and man of God.

Btw I did NOT ask the question about his haircut ;-)