Mere Christianity - why being a Christian is hard.

God warns us to "count the cost" before we put our lives in His hands.

There is daily cost to being a follower of Christ.

"In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

Luke 14

The Cost of Discipleship

25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 n“If anyone comes to me and odoes not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, pyes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 qWhoever does not rbear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not sfirst sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not tsit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 uSo therefore, any one of you who vdoes not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

 

Mere Christianity thoughts - truth of Christianity.

Insert from "Mere Christianity" that I think needs to be heard. 

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If Christianity is true then it ought to follow (a) that any Christian will be nicer than the same person would be if he were not a Christian, (b) That any man who becomes a Christian will be nicer than he was before. 

Just in the same way, if the advertisements of Whitesmile's toothpaste are true it ought to follow (a) That anyone who uses it will have better teeth than the same person would have if he did not use it. (b) That if anyone begins to use it his teeth will improve. But to point out that I, who use Whitesmile's (and also have inherited bad teeth from both my parents) have not got as fine as set of some healthy young negro who never used any toothpaste at all, does not, by itself, prove that the advertisements are untrue. 

Christian Miss Bates may have an unkinder tongue than unbelieving Dick Firkin. That, by itself, does not tell us whether Christianity works. The question is what Miss Bates's tongue would be like if she were not a Christian and what Dick's would be like if he became one. Miss Bates and Dick, as a result of natural causes and early upbringing, have certain temperaments. 

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Something to think about.

A word that came to me at night.. why?

"Hashima"

This word came to me in the middle of the night a few nights ago. 

I had no idea what it meant, I just texted it to myself (as I do when I don't want to forget something)

and then went back to sleep. 

In the morning, the devotion I had for my reading in the "Jesus Calling" book

page 57, starts with "be still in the light of my presence.." 

What?!

This was a reminder that when we try to get ahead of ourselves, we fall on our face.

To be still,

To live in the moment,

To walk with God.

Knowing that there is an eternity ahead of you

But remembering that you'll only get 1 today,

1 "this moment",

1 "right now".

Stop.

Don't go.

Stay.

Slow down.

Be with God in this moment.

Stop trying to get ahead.

It's just going to make things stressful and useless.

1 Corinthians 13:12

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 

Stay here.

See what your reflection shows of your life.

You can only know so much in one time frame, anyway.

Relax.

Enjoy where you are.

And take in what you can.

Don't overload yourself with what you think you should know, what you think you should be doing...

What you think..

Not where you should be.

 

If you click the info tag while you're reading online..

It's interesting what you'll find

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Ephesians 3:16-19

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy pawpaw, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

The Greek for family (patria) is derived from the Greek for father (pater). 

God is family. 

There is family in God.

He is your father figure.

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Click the info tag, see what you might be missing about the content you read! 

Why do people not like their natural hair?

 I was going though drive through at CVS (because that's what I do, lol, multiple times a month). The pharmacist was an older gentleman with rich dark hair and had amazing curls, and I told him what I thought. And then I told him about my daughter having curly hair when she was young and it being hard to keep up the natural beauty with 3 kids and jobs and stuff. 

I love my hair, and I said so. 

He mentioned "nobody ever wants to own their own hair, they want to change it" and I agreed. It's sad. 

Why is that? 

Why do people not want to be their natural beautiful selves? It's so sad.