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Importance of believing in god
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dd12914-God wants us Fruitful!
Jesus tells us in John 15:8, "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so will you be my disciple". That's the way God sees us, as fruitful! We all have the ability to be fruitful! We all can develop, grow and become who God has created us to be. By choice and decision God wants us to come into the kingdom and then grow. He didn't create people to go backwards, He created us to go forward.
A lot of times we think that things are holding us back on the outside and you maybe facing some very difficult situations but a lot of time the obstacles that are holding us back are on the inside. In our thinking, our heart, what we say to ourselves, etc... One guy said "It's not just what you say that determine your destiny, it's also the words that you say to yourself on the inside that make a difference". How
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Manasseh was the firstborn and his name meant "God has delivered me" and Ephraim, the second born, who's name meant "God has made me fruitful". Now this is how Joseph saw his life. He had been through a lot of hurt and pain but he had gotten to the point were he was living in his dream when his sons were born and he had felt like God had delivered him first (Manasseh) then made him fruitful (Ephraim) but God shows him differently when Joseph's father goes to bless the two son's. Genesis 48:20 says "So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will bless, saying, "May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!" And he set Ephraim before Manasseh". During his last moments with his father, God was showing Joseph that during all of the difficult years that he had stayed faithful and kept becoming fruitful on the inside and that is what produced his deliverance on the outside. God is also saying the same thing to us. He desires us to be fruitful (Ephraim) first and then deliverance comes
Due to Joseph’s exile from his family in Cannon, this resulted in his executive office in Egypt, first under Pharaoh, by God which allowed him to be the redeemer for his family, all of the Egyptians, and surrounding countries during the time of famine. Joseph was able to see the big picture of God working in his life as he states in Genesis 45:5-8. What they intended for harm, God intended for good. Similarly, through the horrific death and punishment Jesus took upon Himself, He alone choose to bear God’s just wrath and punishment that all men deserve for their sins. In doing so, He has become the Redeemer to all mankind for the forgiveness of sins and only hope for eternal life. Jesus foretold of the exact treatment He must suffer in Matthew 21:42, which referenced Psalm 118:22. Again in Isaiah 53:3, it was prophesized of Jesus’ rejection by men.
You can read his story in Genesis, Chapters 37-50. The first note of him concerns his ability to dream and interpret dreams. Joseph was a dreamer and he had a dream. His dream took at least two forms. In one version of his dream he was a sheave of wheat and his family were also sheaves of wheat that had been gathered at harvest and were waiting to be carried in to be stored. In Joseph’s dream, all the other bundles of wheat bowed down to his. In another version of his dream he was a star. Again, his family were also stars and heavenly bodies. Again, all the other stars and heavenly bodies bowed down to his star in his dream.
Chapters thirty-nine through forty-one of Genesis chronicle a portion of the life of Joseph, the eleventh, and most favored, son of Jacob. “The book of Genesis is an account of the creation of the universe (Genesis 1-2), the origins of human communities (Genesis 3-11), and the beginnings of the people set apart by God (Genesis 12-50)” (Hauer and Young 67). The Joseph story begins in chapter thirty-seven, and spans nearly fourteen full chapters; the book ends, in chapter fifty, with the death of Joseph. The narrative of Joseph’s life is well crafted and highly detailed. It is, in fact, the most comprehensive narrative in the book of Genesis. The story flows, from beginning to end as a novel would. “Unique, too, is the somewhat secular mold in which the biography is cast. The miraculous or supernatural is conspicuously absent” (Sarna 211). Although God is mentioned, as a presence, he never overtly presents himself as he did with the many of the heroes that came before Joseph. The ending chapters of Genesis are a coming of age story; the tale of a boy, becoming a man.
...s how Jesus wants people to live. When we act as disciples and conduct ourselves as servant leaders it honors God. It may reflect onto others the good will God gave us and lead others to him. It also gives a great internal fulfillment to help others, not because we are getting something out of it but rather that it helped someone else.
- The more confidence and determination you have in life, the happier you will end up
Jesus Christ, by deliberate intention founded a visibly organized Church. When Jesus selected His Apostles, He had plans for the them and He intended them to be the leaders of His Church. While Jesus was revealing Who He was, He was also preparing the Apostles to teach this revelation to the world. Jesus often preached to crowds of people.
In my life I will encounter many obstacles, but my experiences will help me find a way around them, or if necessary, over them. I will always be influenced by the past and the past is what has made me who I am. Every word that I write with feeling, and every poem or quote that touches my heart, whether it be good or bad, will always stay with me. The words that I live my life by now may not always express who I am, but they will always be a part of me because they have helped make me who I am. Words are strong, but life is stronger. I will never lose my true self in other people‘s footsteps, and that is why the road less traveled has made all the difference in my life.
Every religion embodies a plethora of recognized rituals that are significant to its teachings. Customs exclusive to each religion can include acts such as: attending a weekly mass, praying five times a day at specified hours, celebrating the transition from childhood to manhood, along with endless others. The similarity shared amongst all religious rituals is that the follower of faith must believe whole-heartedly in what he/she is doing or saying. Dhikr, or the remembrance of God, is a ritual based in Islam that does not receive the attention it deserves from mainstream Muslims, and is highly under appreciated for its value (Robson 238). Its myriad versions allow it to be very personal, whereas other rituals are more structured, which is
We do not simply become awesome men and women of God instantly but through the buildup of character, we do. The theological definition of character development is as Elmer Towns states in Habits of the Heart “Character is result of your discipline. Where a spirituality results in inner power to do good, character results in your habits that make you do good.’ (Towns). Towns basically says that in order for our character to develop is due to our spiritual discipline and the habits that derive from it. Discipline is an important factor in life, specifically for Christians because we need to push ourselves positively towards God. If do not do this correctly, we would not have a very good character and it may not be God’s purpose for a negative character development. Galatians 5:22-23 says “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (NIV) the fruits of the spirit do give us the basic needs of good character development. If we do accept the fruits of the spirit as part of our character development as Christians, we will be living the way of God. Character development through God also shows non-believers positivity about Christianity. As a child, I had severe attitude problems with my family because I was not building up my character the way that God wanted. I can relate to many stories of the Bible with character development but the one that strikes the most importance is in the Old Testament about Samson. God had given Samson the incredible power of strength and he could only have this strength if he did not disobey the three commands of drinking wine, women, and cutting his hair. Samson spiraled away from God’s path and eventually broke the three commands he was given about his strength. In the end, Samson was going to be killed but acknowledged what he had done
There is a story line through Genesis all the way to Revelation, starting at creation to the restoration. Throughout the Bible God has showed us series of events of His great glory. All of the events has shaped our religion into what it is. As followers of Christ we should study and understand the timeline. He sets us, his followers, an example of how to live life to the fullest.
Warren opens this section called PURPOSE #3 You Were Created to Become Like Christ with Chapter 22: Created to Become like Christ teaching that God created us in His image. We are called to shine His image and light into the world. We are similar to God in that we are spiritual, intellectual and relational beings. All people are born with a moral conscious. Christ was sent to restore our image of God and to remind us of why and how we were created. Christ is our connection to God. He is our standard of how we try to grow closer toward becoming more like God. Understanding that we will never reach this destination does not mean that we don 't aspire toward that path. Character development, not personality alteration, is God 's ultimate goal
“If there will be tests at school, there will be prayer at school.” -Anonymous. Some people would sadly disagree with this statement. Prayer is a great way for kids to come together and learn about God and each other. Although some people disagree with prayer at school, I think it helps them to grow together and to love Jesus, based on the reasons below.
Joseph as an individual started as a lost, depressed individual with no insight on what is happening in his life which leads to constant flashbacks to his father. The loss of Joseph 's father pointed out the feeling of how many children across this world might feel especially in places where conflict and war are still existent. This story did have a little bit of the plot focused on racism but the idea of being new and unique dominated the
Jesus cleared this up for his followers in John’s gospel, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (The Holy Bible).” A Christ follower’s formation is represented several times throughout Scripture as “fruit.” Here, Jesus is making it clear: spiritual formation, and being conformed to his image, is something which happens to us. Again, Christian spiritual formation takes its followers in a very different direction. Humans working hard toward a more spiritual life makes sense, but a process where spiritual progress means leaving the work to someone else doesn’t. However, this is seen time and time again in God’s messages to his followers. Another instance happens in John’s first letter, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (The Holy Bible).” Even the most basic function of spirituality, love, is preceded by God loving his children, which grants them the ability to love others. Driving this whole process of spiritual formation then seems to be trust in “the vine” to finish the formative work he
According to Hutchison (2015), “religion is symbolic patterns that consists of values, beliefs, behaviors and experiences” (p. 184). I personal conceptualize spirituality as a vital role in my life that helps me during a time of sickness, forgiveness, and needed guidance. Spirituality helps guide me throughout life during the difficult times I have encountered. Spirituality impacts my life in positive ways that influence and regulate my behavior and health. Health is very important to me; I believe the spirit can heal a person from their sickness. It seems that the spirit heals me every time I pray to be healed from sickness. The spirit gives me strength at a time of weakness. When I feel at my lowest point in life I call on the spirit to pick