Pride

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

1 Corinthians 1:30-31

Be proud of the Good News of Jesus Christ! Live like you are!

Friends...

"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

Proverbs 18:24

"We got a good life..."

"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." 

- 1Corinthians 1:26-29

"Every day is ice-cream and chocolate cake..."

"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, 

that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days." 

-Psalm 90:14

1 Corinthians 1:17

"God didn't send me out to collect a following for myself, but to preach the Message of what he has done, collecting a following for him. And he didn't send me to do it with a lot of fancy rhetoric of my own, lest the powerful action at the center—Christ on the Cross—be trivialized into mere words.." -1 Corinthians 1:17 (MSG)

God does not call us collect followers of ourselves. God does not call us to recruit followers of specific ministries or churches either. He sends us to speak in actions and words the unshakable truth that is Jesus Christ.

So often we clutter the story of Jesus with elaborate dissections of scriptures, parables and all of our cute attempts at apologetics. Paul tells us that this distracts our audience from the truth!

We obviously need to discern how quickly and in what manner to explain these things to new believers, but we should not dilute. If we dilute anything by contemporizing it, we "empty the power of the cross."

Top Priority: Loving Others

Life is all about love.

Love is the foundation of every command. It is God's deepest desire for us to develop a love for one another, and love is built through fellowship. Love cannot be built in isolation, you have to be AROUND people.

Love should be your top priority and your greatest ambition.

God says that relationships are what life is about. Busyness is NOT. This love will last forever. The Bible says that faith, hope and love will never die. Love leaves a LEGACY, and your awards and money won't. 

People on their deathbeds never tell their solemn children to promise them to work more or to make more money than they did. They make them promise to love each other. 

God measures our spiritual careers through relationships. The more satisfied and loving relationships we have, the deeper our connection to Him. The most precious gift you can give someone is your time. Period.

Mother Theresa said "It's not what you do, but how much love you put into it that matters."

A section of our day put aside to spend time together is the most sincere offer anyone can make. You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.

"Who do you need to spend more time with?"