Seventh Sunday after Sleebo/ the Feast of Holy Cross

Evening

• St. Luke 12:13-21

Morning

• St. Luke 12:48-59

Before Holy Qurbana

• Exodus 12:43-51
• Job 23:1-7
• Isaiah 52:1-15

Holy Qurbana

• I Peter 2:15-17
• I Corinthians 6:9-11
• St. Matthew 5:21-26

by Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros

Scripture: Matthew 18:23-35

23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

29 And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

31 So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee?

34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Matthew 18:23-35 (KJV)

1. Blessed are the merciful

Forgiveness is the expression of mercy, and Jesus has blessed the merciful: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Mt. 5:7). Mercy is one of the eight Beatitudes in which Jesus summarized the true righteousness and clarified the way to the Kingdom of God: "I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of God" (Mt. 5:20). To enter the Kingdom of God one needs to be like God. That is why Jesus, after having spoken of the love of the enemies, concluded: "You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt. 5:48). This same sentence is expressed in the Gospel according to St. Luke in the following way: "Be merciful even as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36). If you can forgive like God, and be merciful like God, you can reach the perfection of God.

Mercy is one of the eight Beatitudes, and it is also one of the seven sentences of the Lord’s Prayer: "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us". The conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer is also suggestive: "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive them their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses" (Mt. 6:14-15).

2. To forgive from our heart

It is the same conclusion we read at the end of this parable: "That is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart" (Mt. 18:35).

Notice how Jesus not only asks us to be merciful and to forgive, but also to forgive from our heart. What if God forgave us the way we at times forgive? We say, for example: "Well, I’ll forgive, but I won’t forget". What if God said that to us? We say; "I’ll forgive, but I’ll have nothing more to do with you". What if God said that to us? We say: "Very well, I’ll overlook it this time, but if this happens once more – just once more – it’s the end". What if God said that to us? Fortunately for us He does not. He forgives us because he loves us from His heart.

3. How often must we to forgive?

The parable of the unmerciful servant is a response to a question Peter asked Jesus: "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and forgive him? Seven times? Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven" (Mt. 18:21-22). That’s four hundred and ninety times! In other words, forgiveness is not an act. It is an attitude – an attitude that is born of the fact that we Christians, who have been forgiven a debt we could never pay, are to go out into the world, armed with the spirit of forgiveness: to heal the hurts, right the wrongs, and change society by the spirit of forgiveness. Jesus came to change the world. We are called to continue his work: we start by changing our own minds, by having the mind of Jesus. And if we change our minds, we can achieve what Jesus asked us to do.

This is a work of every day. In St. Luke we read the same recommendation: "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him; and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, and says, ‘I repent’, you must forgive him" (Luke 1: 3-4).

4. What is religion?

What is religion? Why do we need to have a religion? What Jesus came to teach us, and what new did he teach us? Religion is to be related to God; and the aim of this relation is not to ask God to fulfill our desires, but to reach the fullness of our humanity. And the only way to reach the fullness of our humanity is to be like God, because we were created on the image and likeness of God. Jesus came to restore this image and likeness that were perverted by sin. That is the core of his teaching: God is a loving Father, God is Love, and we are called to be like our Father, by loving without limit and forgiving without limit. The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginnings but not its end. As there is no limit to the love of God to us, and no limit to the forgiveness of God to us, so it must be in our relations to each other. In this way religion does not change God’s mind or God’s purpose, but changes our minds and the purpose of our life. Jesus is the new Adam, the new man, who lived this perfect image of God. Before washing the disciples’ feet, we read in the Gospel of St. John that Jesus "had always loved those who were his own in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was" (John 13:1). During the last supper, he said to his disciples: "A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

And on the cross, he forgave those who crucified him and asked his heavenly Father to forgive them: "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).

5. Forgiveness is a gift from God

Forgiveness is a gift from God. And a gift is not a gift unless it is accepted. Forgiveness begins with our being forgiven first, and our accepting God’s forgiveness.

If we are full of hared, God cannot fill us, because even God cannot fill which is already full. That is why we need to repent: to allow God to empty us of hatred. Then he can fill us with Himself, with His Love and forgiveness to enable us to forgive others.

By forgiving us our sins God gave us his peace. Let us not loose this peace by filling our hearts with bitterness to others.

We have received from the Holy Spirit the gift of forgiveness. Let us share this gift with others. St. Paul said to he Ephesians: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice. Instead be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving one another, as God has forgiven you in Christ" (4:30-31).

6. The benefit of forgiveness

by John Piper

Scripture: Ephesians 4:32–5:2

And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Last week I talked about what forgiveness is—what it looks like and what it's not. I quoted Thomas Watson's definition which included:

1. resisting revenge,

2. not returning evil for evil,

3. wishing them well,

4. grieving at their calamities,

5. praying for their welfare,

6. seeking reconciliation so far as it depends on you,

7. and coming to their aid in distress.

How Do We Truly Forgive? Gospel-Flying

This week I'm asking, how can we do that? What gives us the freedom and the ability and the incentive and the power to forgive those who sin against us? Some of you have been wronged so deeply and hurt so badly that forgiving would be as great a miracle as flying.

But recall the little poem of John Bunyan:

Run, John, run, the law commands
But gives us neither feet nor hands,
Far better news the gospel brings:
It bids us fly and gives us wings.

Two wings, six feathers.

And that includes the "flying" of forgiveness. So I want God to show us our gospel wings this morning. Forgiving is a flying you can do in the power of the gospel. In fact six feathers are enough for this flight—three on one side and three on the other make two strong wings for gospel-flying—or gospel forgiving.

Two Wings, Six Feathers

I find all six feathers in these three verses (Ephesians 4:32–5:2),

And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

There are two wings in this text for gospel-flying—just like a bird has two wings. Each wing has three feathers. All six feathers are things God the Father and God the Son have done for us without our help. They are all works of his sovereign grace. I am talking to Christian believers now. If you are not one yet, I hope you will listen and be drawn in. What I am describing here about gospel-flying (forgiving) is yours freely if you will lay down the weights of unbelief and trust Christ.

There are two wings. One wing with its three feathers is what Christ did for us before we even existed. And the other wing with its three feathers is what God did for us in our own lifetime. So if you are drawing the sermon today, you need to draw a bird with two big wings each having three feathers, and then write on each feather one of the things God has done so that we can fly with forgiveness to each other.

Wing #1: What God Did for Us Before We Existed

The first feather in this wing is this:

1. God Loved Us with a Special Saving Love

Ephesians 5:1, "Be imitators of God, as beloved children." And verse 2: "Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you."

The first feather in the wing of gospel-flying—gospel forgiving—is the unspeakable reality of being loved by God. But to feel the force of this, you need to know that this is not merely the general love that God has for all the world—the love that gives life and breath and food and rain and protection and family and job and many evidences of his truth and power and greatness. It is an amazing thing to be loved like that, and should cause us to turn to him in gratitude.

But if that is all you know of the love of God, your gospel wings will be weak. This text speaks of love like a Father has for a child and love that moves Christ to take our place in death. Now that is something more than the general love of God for the world. That is a saving love—a love that goes beyond the offer of the gospel and actually undertakes to save us effectively, infallibly. It does what needs to be done to get us forgiven and saved.

Here is the evidence for this: in Ephesians 1:4–5 Paul says that this love of God chose us for adoption as children of God.

[God] chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 he predestined us to adoption as sons.

So God has loved you with a love that is precious beyond words because it is a love that he gave you before you were born and that moved him to predestine you to be a child of God in holiness.

So the first feather in the wing of gospel forgiving is the feather of God's special saving love—call it covenant love. It is not mere general love. It is love that fixed personally, particularly on you as an individual and chose you and pursued you and brought you to himself, because he means to have you. If you get gripped by being loved like that, you might only need one feather to fly.

The second feather is

2. Christ Gave Himself for Us as a Sacrifice

Ephesians 5:2b, "[Christ] gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God."

According to Ephesians 2:3 we were all by nature children of wrath. We all deserve to perish and be punished in hell for the sins of our thoughts and imaginations and attitudes and tongues and hands and whole bodies. But the covenant love of God for us moved him not only to choose us but to give his Son as a sacrifice in our place: "Christ gave himself up for us"—that is, in our place, so that we don't have to perish. "He became a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13).

To feel the full force of this and to make the feather really strong for flying, we need to realize again that this is not merely a general thing Christ did the same for everybody. Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." In other words Christ's giving himself up to die as a substitute for the church is part of a covenant love that he has for his bride.

In love he chose you to be his bride and in love he lays down his life for you. You, individually, particularly, were in view as the goal of his loving and his dying.

Chuck Colson told the story (at the 1994 Ligonier Conference in Dallas, Texas) of a prison camp where 20 men came in from digging and lined their shovels up on the wall as they always did for the counting. When they were counted, the officer found only 19. He demanded that the one who didn't bring his shovel step forward. None did. Then he threatened that if no one stepped forward, he would choose ten men at random and shoot them. A young man of about 19 stepped forward and was immediately taken a few paces away and shot as an example to the others.

But then as they were dismissing, the shovels were counted again and there were 20 after all. The officer had miscounted.

The difference between what that boy did for his friends and what Jesus did for you is that Jesus knew which ten men he was dying for and he knew that we were all unworthy. But he did it anyway, because he had a very special covenant love for you that is far above human love.

The first feather is that you have been loved with a special saving love. And the second feather is that Christ gave himself as a sacrifice to take your place so that you will never perish.

The third feather for gospel-flying (forgiving) is

3. God Was Satisfied with Christ's Sacrifice

Ephesians 5:2b, "[Christ] gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."

When Paul calls the death of Jesus for us a "fragrant aroma" to God he means that God was satisfied with what Christ did. He did not look down and say, "You can't do that. You can't die for others. Every person has to bear their own guilt. Don't be so foolish to think you can take the curse and condemnation of another." On the contrary, the Father looked down and (with tears in his eyes, I think) took tremendous pleasure in the honor that the Son gave to the Father in obeying his commission—the Father had sent him (John 3:16).

So Christ did not die in vain. God received his offering. It satisfied the Father's justice. It removed God's wrath and judgment.

Be ye glad, O be ye glad!
Every debt that you ever had,
Has been paid up in full by the blood of the Lamb,
Be ye glad, be ye glad, be ye glad.

Words and Music by Michael Kelly Blanchard
1980 Paragon Music Corp.
(ASCAP)/Gotz Music (ASCAP) ICS. ARR. UBP.
Of The Benson Company, Inc., Nashville, TN.

God was satisfied with the blood of Christ. That's the third feather in the first wing of gospel-flying and forgiveness.

That's the wing of God's work before you were born:

1. God loved you with special saving love;

2. Christ gave himself for you as a sacrifice; and

3. God was satisfied with Christ's sacrifice. Your debt is paid.

Wing #2: What God Did for Us During Our Lifetime

The other wing for gospel-flying has three feathers in it also.

1. God Put Us in a Saving Relationship with Christ

God put you into a saving relationship with Christ, so that you are united to Christ like a vine is united to the branch.

Ephesians 4:32b, "Forgive each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."

We are "in Christ." That means we are in a relationship with Christ—we are united to Christ—in a way that makes http://www.MalankaraWorld.com/Newsletter/us acceptable to God because he is acceptable to God. How did we get into this relationship? 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, "By [God's] doing you are in Christ Jesus." God awakened faith in our hearts and put us into a saving relationship with Jesus (cf. Ephesians 2:10, 13; Romans 16:17).

If he hadn't done that, all his other work (loving us, giving his Son to die for us, being satisfied with the Son's sacrifice) would have been in vain. But he did it. He is doing it all. His love will not be frustrated in pursuing you for himself. His personal, individual, particular love is moving him all the way. Nothing will stop him from saving you.

So the first feather in wing #2 for gospel-flying is God's putting you into a relationship with Christ like a vine in a branch.

2. God Adopted Us and Made Us Rightful Children

The second feather for gospel-forgiving is that God adopted you into his family and made you a rightful child of God.

Ephesians 5:1, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children."

In other words realize that when God united you to Christ, you became with Christ a child of God. And heir. This is what God had been aiming at all along. Ephesians 1:5 says that "God predestined us unto adoption."

Some parents have children accidentally. And if they are cruel and heartless parents, they might even tell their children they didn't want them. But God has no unwanted children. They are all planned—from eternity, with great expectation and joy. They are all pursued. Christ's death is like an unspeakably high payment through heaven's Micah Fund.1

The second wing of gospel-flying in wing #2 is the truth that you are loved not just in some random, general, impersonal way, but as a child of God that he sought out and adopted at great cost.

3. God Forgave Us for Our Sins

Finally the third feather in wing #2 for gospel-flying (forgiving) is that God forgave you for your sins.

Ephesians 4:32, "And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."

Review:

Before you were born (wing #1):

1. God has loved you with a special, personal, saving love from all eternity.
2. His Son gave his life for you to take the place of your judgment.
3. God was satisfied by the substitute and sacrifice of the Son. The debt was paid.

Then after you were born (wing #2):

1. God brought you to faith and put you in a saving relationship with Christ.
2. God adopted you into his family as a child of his own.
3. And God forgave all your sins and there is no condemnation.

These are the wings John Bunyan had in mind:

Run, John, run, the law commands
But gives us neither feet nor hands,
Far better news the gospel brings:
It bids us fly and gives us wings.

It bids us forgive—and give us gospel wings. If you believe in your heart that God has done all of this for you and in you, you will fly. You will forgive.

Closing Remarks from Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon tells how his heart was set on wing by the pardon of God:

My life was full of sorrow and wretchedness, believing that I was lost. But, oh, the blessed gospel of the God of grace came to me, and with it a sovereign word, "Deliver him!" And I who was but a minute before as wretched as a soul could be, could have danced for the very merriment of heart. And as the snow fell on my road home from the little house of prayer, I thought every snowflake talked with me and told of the pardon I had found, for I was white as the driven snow through the grace of God. 2

But years later he added this:

To be forgiven is such sweetness that honey is tasteless in comparison with it. But yet there is one thing sweeter still, and that is to forgive. As it is more blessed to give than to receive, so to forgive rises a stage higher in experience than to be forgiven. 3

It rises higher because it is gospel-flying. Spread your wings with me in these days at Bethlehem and let's fly together.

References:

1 The Micah Fund is an adoption ministry at Bethlehem that helps covers the cost of adopting minority infants who might otherwise have been sacrificed in abortion.

2 Volume 15, p. 156, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit.

3 Volume 31, pp. 287f., Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit.

By Robert Schuller

Three teenagers boarded a bus in New Jersey. Seated on the bus was a quiet, poorly dressed man who sat alone and silent. When the bus made its first stop, everybody got off except this one man, who remained aloof and alone. When the kids came back on the bus, one of them said something nice to him and he smiled shyly.

At the next bus stop, as everybody got off, the last teenager turned and said to the man, "Come on. Get off with us. At least stretch your legs."

So he got off. The teenagers invited him to have lunch with them. One of the young people said, "We are going to Florida for a weekend in the sun. It is nice in Florida, they say."

He said, "Yes, it is."

"Have you been there?"

"Oh, yes," he said, "I used to live there."

One said, "Well, do you still have a home and family?" He hesitated. "I - I don't know," he said, finally. "What do you mean, you don't know?" the teenager
persisted.

Caught up by their warmth and their sincerity, he shared this story with them:

"Many years ago, I was sentenced to Federal prison. I had a beautiful wife and wonderful children. I said to her, "Honey, don't write to me. I won't write to you. The kids should not know that their dad is in prison. If you want to, go ahead and find another man - somebody who will be a good father to those boys."

"I don't know if she kept her part of the bargain. I kept mine. Last week when I knew for sure I was getting out, I wrote a letter to our old address; it's just outside of Jacksonville. I said to her, 'If you are still living there and get this letter, if you haven't found anyone else, and if there is a chance of you taking me back - here is how you can let me know. I will be on the bus-as it comes through town. I want you to take a piece of white cloth and hang it in the old oak tree right outside of town."

When they got back on the bus and they were about ten miles from Jacksonville, all the teenagers moved to this man's side of the bus and pressed their faces against the windows. Just as they came to the outskirts of Jacksonville there was the big oak tree. The teenagers let out a yell and they jumped out of their seats. They hugged each other and danced in the center of the aisle. All they said was, "Look at it! Look at it!"

Not a single white cloth was tied to the tree. Instead, there was a white bedsheet, a white dress, a little boy's white trousers, and white pillow cases! The whole tree was covered with dozens of pieces of white cloth!

That is the way God treats you and me. It is a promise from God that He will forget the past and erase the record we have rolled up. It is a promise that He will throw away the black pages of our book and give us the kind of big welcome that the Prodigal Son received from his father, who said, "My son that was lost is found and is home again" (Luke 15:24).

by Wes Hopper

"To love your enemies means to banish from your mind your fears, hates, jealousies, angers and resentments, all of which are self-created, for these are your real enemies." Dr Joseph Murphy

This is a hard task for many people, because it's so easy for us to carry these resentments around. We always have very good reasons for them!

I've had people tell me, "Wes, if you only knew what he did, you'd understand why I'm so angry!" But they don't understand that what happened, or what someone did, is not the issue.

The issue is what carrying that anger around is doing to you now. Supporting you in living a calm, balanced life of joy, abundance, peace and productivity is not what anger or fear does.

As Dr Murphy points out, our enemies are not the other people, the enemies are our thoughts about them. The other person or situation is not hurting us now, but our thoughts about them are unbalancing us physically, emotionally and spiritually.

So we must love our enemies. I know there's probably some folks who are thinking, "OK, I'll do that, just as soon as I get even!" But that's the wounded child in us stamping his or her feet and holding their breath until they turn blue.

For our own sakes, we forgive and we let go. We release the person and the memories, simply wishing them well on their journey. We take the lessons and are wiser in our choices.

As we entertain these new thoughts, we feel the peace that comes with them. We can sense our neurons rewiring themselves into new and more peaceful networks.

Now we can get our focus back on what we want to create, and start that process. It feels good.

by LeAnn Rice

Ingredients:

■ 8 slices of bread
■ peanut butter
■ favorite flavor of jam, preserves or jelly
■ 3 eggs, beaten
■ 1/4 cup milk
■ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
■ dash of cinnamon
■ butter for griddle or skillet
■ powdered sugar
■ syrup for serving (see note at bottom of recipe)

Directions:

Spread four slices of bread with peanut butter and four slices with jam. Put together to make four peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

In a flat dish, combine the eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon.

Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat. Melt enough butter to coat the bottom.

Gently place one sandwich in the egg mixture, turning over to coat each side. Transfer to the griddle or skillet. Repeat with each sandwich. Cook for approximately four minutes per side or until golden brown.

To serve, cut each sandwich in half diagonally, or into triangles. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with a little drizzle of pure maple syrup.

by Suzie Eller

" ... Keep your eyes open to this Temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My name will be honored there,' and listen to the prayers that I pray at this place. Listen from your home in heaven and when you hear, forgive."
1 Kings 8:28-30 (MSG)

Claire sat on the floor with a wad of tissues in her hand. Her husband had left her three days earlier for someone else.

Sitting there crying, in her brokenness she sensed God whisper, "Pray for him."

Fists clinched, she shook them at the ceiling. "It's too soon, God. If You love me, You won't ask this of me. You are focusing on the wrong person. He's the one who should be kneeling and asking for forgiveness."

In 1 Kings 8, we find the story of God's temple being built, a temple where God's presence would dwell. It took seven years, a labor force of over 130,000 and King Solomon's leadership to complete the temple. It was built with cypress, olive wood and cedar, and inside the doors were overlaid in gold. When the temple was completed, Solomon stood in awe as God's presence filled it (verse 10), and he began to pray.

He could have asked God for many things. That the temple be a place of power where his kingdom would shine. That his enemies, and those of his father, King David, would be slain. That the sinful man would walk through the doors and be condemned for his sins.

Instead he asked that God's Name be honored in the temple, and the magnificent structure would be a place of forgiveness.

Scripture declares that we are His temple. Three days after discovering her husband's secrets Claire hadn't eaten. She hadn't slept. Her temple was crumbling.

By asking her to forgive so soon, God wasn't showing a lack of compassion over her pain or her husband's abandonment, but a sign that He knew her well. By asking her to forgive, God was asking for a place to move into the demolished areas of her life.

Forgiving would allow Him to fill her with His presence, putting His Name there forever, no matter what her situation.

Daily, Claire walked intentionally in her relationship with God, reading the Bible, talking honestly with Him, listening to worship music. This became her sanctuary as she went through the most challenging parts of an unwanted divorce. The more she nurtured her heart and His presence inside of her, the less room there was for sadness, grief, anger, and loss.

And then the day came. She knelt on the carpet and she told God, "I forgive him," and she meant it.

A deeper meaning to the word forgive is "to abide" or "to set free." Claire experienced both of these as she made room within her heart, mind and soul for God's presence and forgiveness to dwell.

It's been nearly a year. She is still beginning each day with God and inviting Him to fill her up with Himself. Moments of joy now surprise her just as grief once did.

Dear Lord, I knew instinctively that one day You would ask me to forgive, but today I understand why. You want to move in to the demolished areas of my life and let Your presence shine. Help me to begin to forgive with Your help. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Reflect and Respond:

How are you currently filling the empty places left by unfaithfulness or hurt?

What do you feel God nudging you to do differently? List one way you can begin to intentionally walk into a deeper relationship with Christ, regardless of your situation.

Power Verses:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price." (NLT)

"Why shouldn't I?" he said.

"Well, there's so much to live for."

"Like what?"

"Well, are you religious?"

He said, "Yes."

I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?"

"Christian."

"Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?"

"Protestant."

"Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"

"Baptist."

"Wow, me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"

"Baptist Church of God!"

"Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God or Reformed Baptist Church of God?"

"Reformed Baptist Church of God!"

"Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?"

His new friend replied, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915."

To which Philips replied, "Die, heretic!," and he pushed him off.

Funny? Yes.

But only because it's so often sadly, tragically, true of our spirit.