Mon, Jul 6th - 11:25PM
Taming the Tongue
Everywhere I go, I can't escape the vile garbage that people are spewing out of their mouths. I am not casting judgment upon them. I am just extremely concerned about the complete acceptance of this type of language in our society and the effect it will have on the generations to come. I have even been told within certain church communities that I am too legalistic; that cursing or swearing really only counts if your using God's name. I couldn't disagree more!!
"All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of poison". James 3:7-8(NIV)
James paints a vivid picture for us and I couldn't agree more. After all, how can you disagree with God's word if you call yourself a genuine Christian. The so-called "lesser" swear words that many consider harmless are just the seeds of something more poisonous.
I exhort all who read this post to really consider what it means to be Christian. If we truly want to be like Christ, and to shine His light upon the rest of the world, then we better consider Him before we open our mouths. One seemingly harmless swear word is like a tiny germ that eventually becomes a festering infection.
My prayer is that we as Christians would lead the way in changing what language is deemed as acceptable in our society by truly being a reflection of Jesus for all the world to see. May God cleanse our mouths with His soap so that our children won't be infected by our poisonous tongues. Let us stand firm in the midst of a contaminated world. Amen. http://kurtsalfi-iffy33.blogspot.com
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Mon, Jul 6th - 11:24PM
A Simple Thanksgiving Prayer
As we wind down a weekend of celebration here in the United States, I would like to share a prayer with all of you. How blessed we are to live in freedom; to be able to worship Jesus without any restrictions or fear of persecution. God has certainly spoiled us in this part of the world.
Father in heaven, we come to you in the name of Jesus. Father, we give you thanks for the freedom that you have given us; for the gift of your son Jesus Christ. We ask that you forgive us for our disobedience; that you would cleanse us with the blood of the Lamb. We call upon your Holy Spirit to guide us in our daily walk with Jesus; to show us your will and to help us be obedient to your Word. Show us how to love our enemies as you loved us, and help us be more like Jesus. Lord, it is our humble privilege to fall down before you and to serve you for all the days of our lives. We are not worthy, but we are so very thankful that you called us and delivered us from our own wretchedness. With tears in our eyes, we declare that you are worthy of our praise; that your name is above all. We pray in one accord, in the precious name of Jesus, Amen. http://kurtsalfi-iffy33.blogspot.com
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Mon, Jul 6th - 11:22PM
The Effect of Obedience
In the book of Daniel, we see a compelling story of three faithful Jews. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had an image of gold built and expected all people of all languages to fall down and worship this image when they heard the sound of all the musical instruments playing. He declared that all who did not obey this command would be thrown into a blazing furnace. Upon hearing that there were three Jews (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) who refused to obey this command, he became furious and sent for them.
When the three faithful Jews arrived, the King demanded that they fall down at the onset of the music and worship the image. This was their response. "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up". Daniel 3:17,18 (NIV)
The King was outraged and had the furnace heated up to seven times hotter than normal and had the three men thrown into the furnace. The King looked into the furnace and saw that an angel of the Lord had rescued the three Jews. They were completely unharmed by the blazing fire. King Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed that he verbally praised God, he decreed that anyone who spoke evil of God would be killed, and promoted the three Jews within the province of Babylon.
Point #1: FAITH The three Jewish men state that God is "able to save" us. They confess and believe that God can save them.
Point #2: RECOGNITION AND ACCEPTANCE OF GOD'S WILL They say "but even if he does not save us, we will not serve your gods". They recognize that it may not be God's will to rescue you them from the fire, but they clearly state that they are willing to accept the consequences.
Point #3: OBEDIENCE They stay true to their faith and accept God's will and refuse to worship the gold image. They are in total obedience to God and are thrown into the fire.
The Message: The King may have been impressed by the faith of these three Jewish men. He also may have been even more impressed by their willingness to accept whatever God's will was for them. However, without their total obedience, this incident never would have come to full fruition and as a result the King became a witness to the power of God. In turn, this witness had a profound effect on the King's attitude towards the God of Israel.
In closing, I pray that as Christians we would find strength and courage through the Holy Spirit to remain obedient to God in the face of the most challenging circumstances; that through our obedience we would bring recognition and glory to Jesus Christ; that the words we profess would be validated by our actions. It is my hope that many hearts would be softened by being a witness to the faith and obedience of the true followers of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. http://kurtsalfi-iffy33.blogspot.com
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Thu, Jul 2nd - 7:52PM
Looking in the Mirror
As Christians, we are called to be the radiant light of Jesus Christ in everything we do. Hypocrasy is confessing to the world that you are a follower of Jesus Christ and then not living your life in a manner that is in obedience to His Word. Living the Word is surely very different than being "puffed" up by our knowledge of the Word.
James 1:22-24 Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.(NIV)
The most common excuse that I hear as to why people reject God and the church in general, is the perceived hypocrasy of the so-called Christians acting like pagans.
Jesus Christ fullfilled all of the promises of His Word. He walked the walk. His obedience to the Word was absolute and perfect as He died on the cross for all to be saved.
I exhort all of my bretheren to be "doers" of the Word and not just "readers" of the Word.
My prayer is that as we look into the daily mirror of self-examination, that the Holy Spirit would reveal the truth to us; that we would be in state of continual transformation; and that our lives would be an example of the radiant light of Jesus Christ for all the world to see. http://kurtsalfi-iffy33.blogspot.com
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Wed, Jul 1st - 12:30AM
Peter is such an overlooked character in the bible.
We tend to focus on Paul more often then not as he wrote many of the books in the New Testament. Not only that, his miraculous conversion resonates freshly in our minds.
However, by taking a look at a few biblical events involving Peter, we can learn not only a lot about him, but also a lot about ourselves.
EVENT #1: Jesus confronts the original twelve disciples shortly after many of the other disciples had decided to stop following Jesus because of a "hard" teaching that they couldn't understand.
John 6:67-69 "You do not want to leave me too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy one of God." (NIV)
We can see clearly here that faithful Peter not only confesses his belief in Jesus, but he is also the first one to answer Jesus.
EVENT #2: Jesus walking on the water. After seeing Jesus coming towards the boat, the disciples were terrified until Jesus reassured them that it was He.
Matthew 14:29 "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. (NIV)
Again, we see that it is Peter who acts first. As we know he eventaully cries out to Jesus when he starts sinking but that doesnt take away from his original act of faith.
EVENT #3: Jesus and the miraculous catch of fish. After the resurrection, the disciples were fishing but didnt catch any fish. Jesus appeared to them and told them to throw the net to the right side of the boat and they caught a huge number of fish.
John 21:7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. (NIV)
Once again, we see that it is Peter who is the first to act. The KJV translation says that he "cast" himself into the sea. It almost sounds like he got so excited when he saw Jesus that he just flung himself into the water.
EVENT #4: Jesus arrested and being led to appear before the Sanhedrin.
Matthew 26:58 But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome. (NIV)
Now, when the situation gets a little messy, a little uncertain, a little scary, we see that faithful Peter is now following Jesus "at a distance."
THE QUESTION: When the trials and tribulations begin, do we follow Jesus at a distance?
Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (NIV)
God didnt call us to love and follow him only on Sunday, or only when our wallets are full, or only when our kids are behaving, or only when we need something.
My prayer for all Christians who struggle in their daily walk with Christ, is that we would seek and accept His will for our lives; that we would fully consecrate every fiber of our being to Him who has called us to bear witness to His name; that when the trials begin, we would fling ourselves overboard in faith and follow Jesus in the midst of the raging storm. All the praise and glory be to Jesus for He will never let us sink. Amen.
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Name: kurt salfi
