The Be One Life

Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength together a 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!

Self-Control – Discipline to Answer the Call

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Self-control2017For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. -2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

Self-control–it’s that final aspect in the list of the fruit of the spirit that seems to trip so many of is up.  All of the other aspects give us a green light; we interpret and readily accept them as character traits to embody and put into action.  We want to be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, and gentle, right.  Then we read self-control.

And something inside us shifts.

Instead of us exploring how we can practice self-control, we shut down a bit because of what we have learned about self-control. We have been tricked into believing that self-control is all about what we don’t do; what we shouldn’t do. When we think about self-control in only this way, it limits our understanding of the power of the Spirit.

See, self-control means we have the discipline to do the work we have been called to do. It helps us to do good for others and to do well for ourselves.  Self-control allows us to see the freedom that comes with having the choice of saying either yes or no.  The more we become like Jesus, the more we will exercise self-control.  Though He is the master of self-control, He is known for what He actually did; not what He avoided.  And like Him, we will be known for both living and living well.

What a blessing!  Self-control moves us toward freedom.

This month, we will be exploring what God’s love letter to us says about self-control.  We are praying that you will join us as we learn to embrace the we freedom gain as we become more self-controlled. #thebeonelife #selfcontrol #fruitofthespirit

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.

The Be One Life

The Be One Life

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