The Be One Life

Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength together a one.

Appointed Times

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During these days that some people are referring to as uncertain times, let’s remember a promise from the YHWH (God) of all creation that says, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22 ESV)  YHWH established the times and seasons to continue on no matter the circumstances. We can always trust that YHWH is in control. He has appointed days for His children to worship, remember, and celebrate. Let’s take some time to consider these days that YHWH created for us to connect with him, so that we can grow into our calling of being holy.  As Peter said in 1 Peter 1:14-16: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Many people celebrate holidays every year such as easter, christmas, valentine’s day, halloween, and thanksgiving.  Some people only go to church service on christmas, mother’s day and easter. These days can be great times for families and friends to get together, but did you know none of these days are found in the bible?  They are not YHWH’s appointed times. Have you ever considered what YHWH says are his holidays or Holy days? Did you know that YHWH set aside several days in the bible that are Holy, set apart for Him?

Leviticus 23 lists the appointed days of YHWH, they are:

  1. Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11; Leviticus 23:3; Deuteronomy 5: 12-15; Isaiah 56:1-7)
  2. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12; Exodus 13:1-10; Exodus 23:14-17; Leviticus 4:1-8; Deuteronomy 16:1-8)
  3. Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:9-14)
  4. Feast of Weeks or Harvest (Exodus 23:14-17; Leviticus 23:15-22; Deuteronomy 16:9-12)
  5. Day of the Blast or Trumpets (Leviticus 23:23-25)
  6. Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26-32)
  7. Feast of Ingathering or Feast of Booths and Eight Day Feast (Leviticus 23:33-44; Deuteronomy 16:13-17)

These days help to sanctify us and prepare us to live in the presence of YHWH in Eternity (Exodus 31:12-17; Revelation 21:22-27).  Each of the appointed times points us to Yeshua (Jesus). The Sabbath points to the rest will have in Yeshua (Matthew 11:28-30 and Hebrews 4:8-11).  We see Yeshua in the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread in that he died on the day of Passover making him our Passover lamb and He removed the old leaven of sin from our lives (John 19:31-34; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).  Yeshua is also the firstfruit wave offering because He was raised from the dead on the day of the wave offering (Leviticus 23:9-14 and Mathew 28:1-10). This makes Yeshua the firstfruits of the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20-26). The Feasts of Weeks or Pentecost is when Yeshua sent the helper he promised, the Holy Spirit (John 14: 15-21 and Acts 2) The Day of the blast or Trumpets points to when Yeshua will return (1 Corinthians 15:50-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).  When we observe the day of Atonement, we can look to Yeshua as the final sacrifice for atonement (Hebrews 10:1-18). The feast of ingathering or booths points to Yeshua’ return when He will gather up his people to dwell with Him (Matthew 24:29-31; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Revelation 22:1-4). Yeshua and the Apostles observed these days (John 4:16-30; Matthew 26:17-29; John 7:1-39). Paul, the apostle and other followers of Yeshua continued to observe these days after Yeshua’s death (Acts 2:1-2; Acts 12:1-5;Acts 13:14-25; Acts 13:42-49, Acts 15:21; Acts 16:13; Act 17:2-3; Acts 18:4; Acts 20:13-16).  

Observing these days was so important that Paul says not to let anyone stop you from observing the sabbaths, festivals, and new moons (Colossians 2:16).  If YHWH says these are his days and Yeshua and his disciples after him observed these days, should not we, as YHWH’s children, observe YHWH’s appointed times over any other holidays?  The Lord made this promise to Soloman that holds true for all his people: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14 ESV). What actions are we taking to humble ourselves and turn to the way of YHWH so that YHWH will shine his face on us and answer our prayers?

Unity Bound in Peace

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Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. -Ephesians 4:3-4 (NLT)

What is peace? How can we live in it? Peace is not just the absence of war. Peace is a blessing from Jesus; a state in which we are reconciled with God. We have peace when we are one with the Source. Jesus created all things and in him all things are held together. Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Let us meditate on how can we live together in peace after we first accept the beautiful gift of peace from Jesus. It is this peace that bonds us in unity.

Paul, an Apostle of Jesus, wrote in Ephesians 4 that we who believe in Jesus should “make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” We are called to use peace as the bonding agent to keep us united in the Spirit. Being united in the Spirit is not about everyone having to agree about everything, but about the whole body agreeing that Jesus is the head. The unity of the body of believers is motivated by our one glorious hope for the future, the hope of eternity in heaven with Jesus. This foundational hope can lead us a live worthy of our calling!

How can we continue to keep this peace and be one in the Spirit? Paul gives some insight into this in Ephesians 4:2; “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”

Let us answer this call by God to live our lives in peace with one another! This teaching has great application to our marriages. The bond of peace helps us to act as one with our spouse. When we cultivate peace in our marriages by practicing humility, gentleness, patience, and making allowances for each other’s faults because of love, we will be united in the Spirit. Be One in the Spirit!

Unbreakable Marriage

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Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have an amazing marriage that would last happily ever after like the fairy tales?  

 

That kind of marriage does exist and it is no fairy tale.  

 

That unbreakable marriage is between Jesus and His church. Saying yes to Jesus and becoming his follower is like a wedding ceremony where you are becoming part of the bride of Christ, the church, and Jesus is the groom.  During His time on earth, Jesus never married in the traditional sense; however, he did commit his life to his bride, the church. Every disciple of Jesus, comes together as one in Christ to make up his bride, the church.  Ephesians 5:31-32 says,

 

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”  

 

When we confess that Jesus is Lord and submit to him, it is like saying our wedding vows, beginning the covenant of marriage. Jesus established the Lord’s supper as his marriage covenant with us at the meal with the apostles the night before he was crucified as we read in Matt 26:26-28:

 

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

 

When a believer is baptized into Christ, washed with his blood, and transformed into a new self by the Holy Spirit, it is like the Holy Spirit is the wedding officiant pronouncing the couple husband and wife, sealing the covenant, adding the believer to the church and making them one with Jesus.  Romans 6:3-4 (ESV) tells us,

 

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

 

We are no longer the same old person living with sin, but a new, complete person made whole, through the blood of Christ. Best of all, we are part of the bride of Christ, the church, sealed with a covenant the no man can break. This is a marriage of our spirit to Jesus and it is the only marriage that is sealed for eternity.  There is no ‘til death do us part; there is no divorce between Christ and the Church, we are His bride forever.

 

Now that is unconditional love.  

This is the kind of love and marriage we want everyone to experience.  May we always celebrate our spiritual marriage to Jesus through our lives, and let it reflect in our actions so that others may experience Jesus’ love.  

Be One.

God’s Power in Our Prayers

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Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

 

Let us continue to pray with and for all believers everywhere because there is so much power in prayer, dear friends. Why is it that we don’t pray more? God does amazing things for us when we pray. The fullness of God works on us, around us, and through us when we pray. Cultivating our prayer lives is an amazing, life changing practice.

The Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, can be a very confusing concept that is difficult to fully grasp on this side of heaven. While we are certainly not experts on the Trinity (sorry!), we can tell you that the all of the Trinity is at work when we pray. When we are adopted into God’s family through Jesus, God sends the Spirit into our hearts to cause our souls to call out to him (Galatians 4:4-7). Prayer is our intimate and powerful soul connection to God.

There are several parts of the Bible that talk about God working in our prayers. All of the Trinity is present in prayer in Ephesians 6, the Holy Spirit in verse 18 and the Father and Son in verse 23. Romans 8:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit helps us and prays for us when we can’t express ourselves in words. When we sin and ask for forgiveness, Jesus, the Son, is our advocate before the Father pleading our case (1 John 2:1). Whenever we pray to God, the Father, He will answer our prayers and supply us with whatever we need (Matthew 7:7-11; Philippians 4:6; 1 John 3:21).

Isn’t it a blessing to know that God gladly works on our behalf when we pray? This allows us confidently call on God with the assurance that He will hear us and answer us. We pray that God blesses you as you pray for others. So let us pray everyday for our families, our marriages, our friends, the church, and for those who are still seeking the peace that comes from following Jesus!

 

Be One!

How to Protect Your Marriage From Holiday Stress

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‘Tis the season. Bells are ringing. Lights are twinkling. All is merry and bright–or is it? How is your marriage? Are you and your spouse struggling with the effects of holiday stress? For many couples, the holidays are full of extra events, extra commitments, and extra people. All of this “extra” can lead to feelings of overwhelm.

Stop for a moment. Notice your breath–is it shallow and up in your chest? Do your shoulders and neck ache? Is your chest tight? Do you have a dull headache or feel overly anxious?

Instead of enjoying this time of celebration and excitement, are you and your spouse snappy and high strung? It doesn’t have to be this way. With the right perspective, you can take care of your marriage and even grow closer during this holiday season. It all starts with a little marriage soul care.

Here are some simple, yet impactful ways to protect your marriage from holiday stress.

  1. Choose your priorities! Want to relieve stress and cut it off before it starts? Then focus on what matters most. Spend a few moments in silence and ask God to show you what is necessary to focus on during this time of year for your family. From here, begin to think about your priorities and choose 3 areas of importance for this Christmas season. Perhaps you want to focus on connecting with the Creator, remembering Jesus’ birth, or even just enjoying the season with your family. Whatever your priorities are, write them down and focus your time and energy on them as a couple.
  2. Release Expectations. This is the hardest right? It’s not saying that we cannot have expectations, but we do need to hold them loosely. Grasping at our expectations too tightly is a surefire way to end up anxious and disappointed. Instead of focusing on all the things people say the “perfect holiday” entails, how about looking around at what is actually happening in the moment. Be present to what you are currently doing and allow yourself to engage with whatever is in front of you. You see, anxiety comes when we are preoccupied with the future. It is our ego’s way of trying to control things that we have no control over. When holiday stress and anxiety rear their ugly heads (and they will) ask yourselves: What is happening now? What beauty is here? How can we fully engage this moment?
  3. Read God’s Word together. Spend a few minutes each day (you can start with 5) reading the Word. Time spent in God’s word tunes our heart to His and reminds us of what is important. Read a few verses together and have a quick chat on how it can be used to shape your marriage.
  4. Pray together. We all know we need to pray together, but are we actually doing it. Sure, you may pray for your spouse, but are we praying with them? Praying together helps you to grow in oneness because you are seeking the heart of the Father as a unit. You can share you deep needs, desires, hurts, and joys as one. When you pray together, you, your spouse, and God are all in communion in a way that doesn’t happen when you pray separately. Use this short time to not only speak to God, but to invite a few moments of silence in for listening.
  5. Keep regular couple time. Make it a regular practice during the holidays to make time for each other. Whether it is a date night at home or a shopping date, spend some time with just two of you. During this season when everyone and everything is vying for your time, make your relationship a priority. Spend quality time together often.

The holidays are often a time of stress and strain. But they don’t have to be. Choosing soul care for our marriage can keep us focus on what and Who matter most. May you walk through this season of Advent hand in hand and eyes toward heaven.

Be One, Beloved!

 

Gratitude- Life Debt to Jesus

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Have you ever read a book or seen a movie where the hero saves someone’s life, and then in gratitude the saved person dedicates her life to serving the hero? This life debt concept is highlighted in many stories, including Star Wars and Harry Potter to name a couple. The greatest story ever told also has the life debt concept, but what sets it apart from other stories is that it is our story and it’s True. The redemption story features Jesus as the greatest hero to ever live. God loved this world so much that he sent Jesus to save the world by taking the punishment for the world’s sin. Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice to God for us all. If anyone has reason to be grateful, it is us.

Paul, an apostle of Jesus, used this same type of life debt concept when describing the relationship those who follow Jesus have with Him in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15. He says, “Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive this new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.” Those who believe in Jesus are given a second chance with a new life free of the guilt of sin. How great is that?! Does knowing you are forgiven of every wrong thing you have done in your life make you feel grateful?

As followers of Jesus, we live in service to God out of gratitude to Him for his love, mercy, and grace. We are not working to earn our salvation, but because we are already saved by Jesus’ sacrifice. Romans 8:7-11 gives an excellent explanation of how God’s love, mercy, and grace produces gratitude in everyone who believes in Jesus.

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”

Our gratitude for God and desire to spend our lives serving him stems from the love God first showed us. Through our restored relationship, we can rejoice and gratefully give God all the glory. This month, join us as we explore what the Bible says about living in gratitude and how it flows into our relationships with our spouse, children, extended family, and friends.

Be One, Beloved

Discipleship: WWJD

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Discipleship2017Do you remember the saying that was popular in the ’90s, “WWJD”? It was on everything from bracelets to bumper stickers. WWJD stands for “What would Jesus do?” When you had to make a choice, you were suppose to stop and think about what Jesus would do in the situation and do that. While this movement had great intentions and probably helped many people make better choices, we believe there is a foundational flaw. How is one to know what Jesus would do or think, if they don’t know Jesus? How would one know whether their choice is Jesus-like or not if they didn’t know what Jesus actually said and did. The place we get this information is from the Bible, and particularly the gospels. A disciple of anything is simply a “follower.” To be a true follower of anyone, you must know what they stand for and where they are leading you. This is no different with Jesus. To be Jesus followers (disciples) we have to first learn what He stands for, what He teaches, and where He is leading us.

Jesus said loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is the greatest commandment and loving others is the second greatest (Mark 12:29-31). He loves each of us because we are His creation and He died for our brokenness. He did not do this because it was an easy choice. In fact, the the world hated Him at the time (John 3:16-17, Romans 5:7-11). We show our love for Jesus by obeying his commandments (John 14:15-21).

All of us have to search our own hearts and decide whether we want to serve ourselves or if we want to follow Jesus. He says we can’t do both. This month, please join us as we study His word to learn more about being disciples (followers of Jesus). Let’s imitate His example and begin to live and love like Jesus.

Gentleness – Gentle Words

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Gentleness2017Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. -1 Peter 3:15-16. (NLT)
What happened to respect and decency when expressing our views to one another? It seems that we have chosen to turn a deaf ear to truth, and instead focus our attention on the loudest voice in the room. Do we truly believe it is okay to engage in conversation or debate using any means necessary? Even if it means completely disregarding the other person’s humanity or well-being? One of the reasons our conversations have sunk so low in our culture (including our homes) is an underutilized spiritual gift from the Creator–gentleness. Gentleness in speech can make to difference in having a conversation or an argument (Proverbs 15:1).

There’s an old saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” That is so untrue! Words are much more powerful than sticks and stones. It is often words that cause people to pick up the sticks and stones. James 3:5-10 teaches us about how words have a powerful effect on us and can be like setting a forest on fire. Words have the power to both bring peace and start wars. It is up to us to choose our words carefully to build up our relationships instead of tear them down. We should “always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” (Ephesians 4:2)

If someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. Your testimony about how Jesus changed your life may be exactly what that person needs to hear. When we share the words of God with someone, we plant a seed in their hearts for God to nurture and grow. It is not our job to bully people into accepting Jesus. Only Jesus can save and the Holy Spirit works on the hearts and minds of those that hear the gospel to bring them to salvation. So friends, we must answer people who question our faith gently and respectfully. When people see the love of Jesus in your heart play out in our lives, it will be much easier for them to believe the words that we say.

Let us live our lives with love and gentleness towards one another so we can build up one another in our relationships! When we have trusting relationships, we can gently and humbly help a spouse or loved one who has gotten off course find their way back to Jesus. Be gentle.

Faithfulness – Blessed

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IMG_1018“Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” -John 20:29 (NLT)

This blessing is for us! The Creator and Sustainer of the universe and all therein gives us a special blessing because we believe in Him even though we have not seen Him.

The greek word here for blessed is makarios and means happy or content. We are considered content (having all that we need) because we have believed in Jesus without seeing. Does this make us blind followers of some crazy story passed down through generations? Do we have blind faith?

No. It simply means we have faith; an assurance of our hope and an absolute conviction for what os to come.

We see the evidence of our Creator God everywhere. The evidence lies in the intricacies of this vast universe, our beautiful world, and the delicate design of our beings. It also lies in our ability and need to be creative as image bearers of our Creator.

We have faith because God has left His signature on everything good in creation. Romans 1:2 says “for ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

This month, we will be exploring the topic of faith and faithfulness. Ours to the Creator and His to us. Our prayer is is that we would all receive Jesus’ blessing and return to our childlike faithfulness with awe and reverence of our God.

All Things Work Together For the Good

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IMG_1017“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” –Romans 8:28 (NLT)
How many of us love this verse? This portion of God’s love letter speaks to our souls because it reminds us of the big picture. It is easy to misinterpret God’s message to us here and make it all about us. Let us say it plainly friend, it is not about us.

This verse is about God.

Often we make this verse mean that everything will work out the way we want it. Our desired outcomes become the only ones that matter. We start to think “if I do this, then I can make x happen.” We get lost in the details of our lives and take the focus from God to us.

But our amazing Creator is too big for that box. When we shift our focus from us to Him, we see that “the good” is something that will always draw our souls closer to our Creator. When we are focused on only our own good, we often choose things move us in the opposite direction. Putting the focus back on God reminds us that even when horrible things happen, God will use them for His glory and to draw us into deeper relationship with Him through Jesus.

Scripture tells us in James 1:17 that “every good and perfect gift comes from above.” We must remember that all good things come from God. In the Kingdom of God, many things that Jesus considers good (suffering, humility, dying to self) are seen as exactly the opposite in our fallen world.

This month’s theme is goodness. Let’s open God’s word together and explore what it says about this fruit of the Spirit. As we grow together in goodness, we can reflect more and more of God’s light into the world.

The Be One Life

The Be One Life

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