Sunflower Faith » Sunday Praise and Worship

Resting

Sunflower Faith — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 06:00:06 +0000

Copyright © 2008
This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only.
The use of this feed on other websites breaches copyright. If this content is not in your news reader, it makes the page you are viewing an infringement of the copyright. (Digital Fingerprint:
(38.107.179.230) )

A Day of Rest and Worship

Sunflower Faith — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 06:00:04 +0000

Image from About My Father's Business

Just a gentle reminder to take one day out of the week, to rest and spend in His word.

True Sabbath Rest by Ray Stedman

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work (Genesis 2:2).

We must recognize that the weekly Sabbath is not the real Sabbath. It is a picture or a reminder of the real Sabbath. The true Sabbath is a rest; the Jewish Sabbath is a shadow, a picture of that rest. All the Old Testament shadows pointed to Christ. When the work of Jesus Christ was finished, the shadows were no longer needed.

Some years ago when I was serving in the military in Hawaii, I found myself engaged to a lovely girl who lived in Montana and whom I hadn’t seen for three or four years. We were writing back and forth in those lonely days, and she sent me her picture. It was all I had to remind me of her, and it served moderately well for that purpose. But one wonderful day she arrived in Hawaii, and I saw her face to face. When the real thing came, there was no longer any need for the picture.

This is what happened with these Old Testament shadows, including the Sabbath. When the Lord came and His work was ended, the picture was no longer needed. The weekly Sabbath ended at the cross. In the letter to the Colossians, Paul confirms it to us. He says, Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

The shadow-Sabbath ended at the cross. The next day was the day of resurrection, the day when the Lord Jesus came from the tomb. That was the beginning of a new day–the Lord’s Day. Christians immediately began to observe the Lord’s Day on the first day of the week. They ceased observing the Sabbath because it was ended by the fulfillment of its reality in the cross, and they began to observe the first day of the week.

Though this shadow-Sabbath ended at the cross, the true Sabbath, the rest of God, continues today. That Sabbath is defined for us in Hebrews 4, There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God [it is available to us now]; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:9-10)

That is what the true Sabbath is: to cease from your own efforts and your own works. Well, you say, if I did that I would be nothing but a blob. But the implication is that you cease from your own efforts and depend on the work of Another. This is why Paul cries, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20). This was also the secret of the life of Jesus, as we have seen. He Himself said, It is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work (John 14:10). This is the secret of the Christian who learns it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13). So the secret of true Christian life is to cease from dependence on one’s own activity and to rest in dependence upon the activity of another who dwells within. That is fulfilling the Sabbath.

Lord, teach me to enter into Your true Sabbath rest by ceasing my efforts to please You and serve You in my own strength.

Life Application: Jesus can do much more through us than we can ever do for Him. How do we cease from our own efforts and our own works? Have we found true Sabbath rest in Christ?

From your friends at

RayStedman.org

Copyright © 2007 by Elaine Stedman — From the book The Power of His Presence: a year of devotions from the writings of Ray Stedman; compiled by Mark Mitchell. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice and a hyperlink to RayStedman.org if the copy is posted on the Internet. Please direct any questions you may have to webmaster@RayStedman.org.

The Blessing of the Christian Sabbath by Debra Lohrere

Sunflower Faith — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 05:00:03 +0000

This is a beautiful graphic that was posted on:"About My Father's Business" @ aboutmyfathersbusiness.net

The Blessing of the Christian Sabbath

By Debra Lohrere

In Christian circles, even among those who do believe in keeping the ten commandments, there has still been confusion over the fourth commandment and whether we should be keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day that was ordained, sanctified and made Holy by God at the time of creation.

To be able to develop a close relationship with God, we need to spend quality time with Him. He set aside this day as a special time of communion with Him. It is a time where we can study His Word, and let His Holy Spirit speak to us through it. A time that we can spend in earnest prayer, talking to Him, praising and worshiping Him.

It is also a time that we can look at nature and reflect on all the wonderful creations that He has made. And finally, it is a time that we can spend with fellow believers, to worship together in song and have fellowship with each other, encouraging one another and building up each other’s faith by our testimonies.

God also gave us this special day as a day of rest. In this hectic world with our busy lifestyles it is so easy to get so engrossed in other things that we never have time for God and never have time to just stop all our work and let our bodies recuperate.

Some Christians spend a couple of hours of a Sunday morning attending church, but then the hum drum of every day life catches up with them and they start doing household chores like mowing lawns.

Others go to the footy, or do other secular activities where God is just not a part of it. Sunday keeping Christians often claim that Sunday is the Sabbath, but if they genuinely believed this, then it follows that they would demonstrate it by keeping the entire day Holy and devoted to God, without doing secular activities.

With stress related diseases like cancer and heart attacks on the increase every year, the necessity to take a days break, and bask in the presence of our all mighty father in Heaven, has never been so important. We need to spend time with Him to be replenished and rested.

God gave us His Sabbath day as a blessing to all mankind. A day on which we could spend time with Him to get to truly know Him and fellowship with Him. A day on which we do not have to do any work or labour. A day to rest, away from the worries and cares of this world.

God also ordained the seventh day Sabbath as a day in remembrance that He is the Creator of Heaven and Earth. The Bible says, Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work…”.

The scriptures also show us the true spirit of the Sabbath. Isaiah 58:13-14 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight..”

This shows that the Sabbath is a delight and a blessing. It is a wonderful day and something to look forward to each week.

All Bible references are from the King James Version.

For more information on this topic please visit the-ten-commandments.org

Debra Lohrere is the author of Christian Prophecy and Investment books investmentpropertybooks.com/christianbooks.html

Article Source: faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS-MAKE A WEBSITE

Sunday Praise and Worship

Sunflower Faith — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 05:10:48 +0000

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
         A very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear,
         Even though the earth be removed,
         And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
³ Though its waters roar and be troubled,
         Though the mountains shake with its swelling.  Selah

⁴ There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
         The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
         God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
⁶ The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
         He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

⁷ The LORD of hosts is with us;
         The God of Jacob is our refuge.  Selah

⁸ Come, behold the works of the LORD,
         Who has made desolations in the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
         He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
         He burns the chariot in the fire.

¹⁰ Be still, and know that I am God;
         I will be exalted among the nations,
         I will be exalted in the earth!

¹¹ The LORD of hosts is with us;
         The God of Jacob is our refuge.  Selah   (Psalm 46, New King James Version)

A Day of Rest and Worship

Sunflower Faith — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 05:00:38 +0000

Sunday Praise and Worship

Sunflower Faith — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 06:10:56 +0000

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. ¹⁰ For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:8-10, New King James Version)

Today is Valentine’s Day.

A day that is set aside,once a year, to “celebrate” love, but how about celebrating a bigger, greater Love, that happens not just once a day or has to be placed on a calendar, but can be and is and should be celebrated 24/7.

It is the love of our Heavenly Father who loved us before we knew of that Love; It is a Love that many try to fight against acknowledging; It is a Love that is not conditionaly but offer freely to any and all who is humble and willingly to just open their hearts to Him.

How so?

Let’s take a look at what the MHC (Matthew Henry Commentary) interprets this passage to say:

Christ died for sinners; not only such as were useless, but such as were guilty and hateful; such that their everlasting destruction would be to the glory of God’s justice. Christ died to save us, not in our sins, but from our sins; and we were yet sinners when he died for us.

Nay, the carnal mind is not only an enemy to God, but enmity itself, chap. 8:7; Col 1:21. But God designed to deliver from sin, and to work a great change.

While the sinful state continues, God loathes the sinner, and the sinner loathes God, Zec 11:8. And that for such as these Christ should die, is a mystery; no other such an instance of love is known, so that it may well be the employment of eternity to adore and wonder at it. Again; what idea had the apostle when he supposed the case of some one dying for a righteous man? And yet he only put it as a thing that might be.

Was it not the undergoing this suffering, that the person intended to be benefitted might be released therefrom? But from what are believers in Christ released by his death?

Not from bodily death; for that they all do and must endure. The evil, from which the deliverance could be effected only in this astonishing manner, must be more dreadful than natural death. There is no evil, to which the argument can be applied, except that which the apostle actually affirms, sin, and wrath, the punishment of sin,determined by the unerring justice of God.

And if, by Divine grace, they were thus brought to repent, and to believe in Christ, and thus were justified by the price of his bloodshedding, and by faith in that atonement, much more through Him who died for them and rose again, would they be kept from falling under the power of sin and Satan, or departing finally from him. The living Lord of all, will complete the purpose of his dying love, by saving all true believers to the uttermost.

Having such a pledge of salvation in the love of God through Christ, the apostle declared that believers not only rejoiced in the hope of heaven, and even in their tribulations for Christ’s sake, but they gloried in God also, as their unchangeable Friend and all-sufficient Portion, through Christ only. (Ro 5:12-14)

Alone? Think you are not worthy to be loved? To broken? In pain?

Let our Heavenly Father be your friend, your Father; He doesn’t say that things will change and stop existing, but He does give you the strength, the hope, the encouragement and the true tested way, to help you through this journey. He won’t leave you alone; He doesen’t think your unworthy….He does love you and it’s a love that is not so conditional that it’s ever to late.

But why wait when you can come to know Him now. So for this and everyday, come know our Heavenly Father’s greatest Love for you, for everyone.

God bless you.

A Day of Rest and Worship

Sunflower Faith — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 06:05:11 +0000

Sunday Praise and Worship-Philippians 2:14-16

Sunflower Faith — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 06:10:39 +0000

.

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

Philippians 2:14-16 (NKJV)

A Day of Rest and Worship

Sunflower Faith — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 06:05:59 +0000

Sunday Praise and Worship

Sunflower Faith — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 06:10:19 +0000

: To find out more on how to participate in Sunday Praise and Worship, come here.

I finally was able to sit down and go through a cookbook I purchased.

I found something that I would like to share with everyone.

The person who put it there said He tried this 6 years ago and hasn’t gotten over it. I tried it 2 years ago and its the best I’ve ever had!!

Salvation Saturation

This is a recipe that almost all ingredients won’t cost you a dime.

However, someone has paid the price for you to receive it.

In order to make Salvation Saturation you must find a person who is lost in their sin.

Once that is located, the ingredients are as follows:
1 Lost Sinner
1 large Dose of Conviction
1 Gracious God (Provided free of charge)
1 Large Glass of Repentance
1 large Heaping of Godly Sorrow

The photo is not my creation but was shared through a Yahoo group.

1 Willing Savior (Provided)
1 Huge Portion of Grace
1 Bloody Cross (Provided by the Savior)
1 New Creature
1 Holy Spirit

Once you have all the ingredients the 1 large dose of conviction will be sent by the Holy Spirit.

It will begin to stir in the heart of the lost sinner.

1 large heaping of Godly sorrow will make him see himself the way God sees him.

The 1 gracious God has already provided the 1 willing Savior and together the 2 have made the way for large portion of grace and 1 heaping of mercy that was shed on the 1 bloody cross.

Once these ingredients have settled in the heart of the 1 lost sinner then the 1 large glass of repentance will be poured into the 1 lost sinner which will produce a beautiful new creature.

After new creation is produced- praise God!

Original content here is published under these license terms:		X

License Type:	1

License Summary: