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Living The Solution – Online Newsletter |
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July 25, 2005 ISSUE |
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Opening Thoughts:
People often struggle over the concept of God. Just what
is God like? Does God exist in a body? Is there truly an
inerrant written word – i.e. the Bible or Holy Scripture – that
can be trusted as God’s message?
I think that God is always going to be part mystery. Who
can know the mind of such a supreme being? The danger for
Christians, or believers of other faiths, is becoming convinced
that we have all the answers down pat. Fundamentalism typically
refuses to view the mystery and the questions as a way
of driving us deeper into a trusting relationship with
God.
Our approach at Living the Solution is to welcome seekers
and encourage questions. We have beliefs, but we are willing
to go deeper in discovering the truth, a truth we believe
is revealed by God as Holy Spirit. In this issue I invite
you to explore some of the basic discourse on Christianity
and God that forms the backbone of our site and you can
take a tour by reading our feature article.
Peace and joy,
Tom Gilbert
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IN THIS ISSUE
Feature Article: Finding Our Way Around the God Subject
In The Spotlight: New Christian Music
Daily Thoughts: Free Through and Through
Prayer & Sharing Requests
Quotable: Dreams Come True |
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| FEATURED
ARTICLE |
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Finding
Our Way Around the God Subject
By Tom Gilbert
The search
for a concept of God – a higher power or Supreme
Being or creator of all – is, I believe, a
part of who we are as humans. You can deny it, but
my opinion is backed up by the experience of countless
others. Not everyone is happy with the idea of God,
but we all seem to wonder whether there is one, and
if so, what is this God all about?
Christians believe that God is manifest as Spirit, but also chose to enter
into our world as a divine human – somehow the perfect combination of
God and human. The “Word made Flesh”, the Christ and messiah, we
believe to be Jesus of Nazareth.
One of the things I find in my spiritual journey is that we need to see more
and more how important Jesus wants us to become fully human. As the consummate
human being he gave us clear directions on how to overcome the many short comings
we possess that have kept us in conflict over the years. Jesus, as revealed
in the Gospels, kept making the point that the Father (God) wants us to know
Him and that we know Him through love. The way of loving is not sappy, sentimental
or easy. Jesus pushed the point of being of service, helping others, especially
the less fortunate, and being willing to stand firm in our beliefs to the point
of great persecution and even death.
How willing are we to embrace that way of life? I have to admit my ongoing
failure to live that way. My motives are often good, but my actions speak otherwise.
The best way for me to continue on is to daily do something that Christianity’s
core beliefs encourage. Pray, be grateful, help others, get out of my selfish
desires and study scripture and other spiritual writing. And repetition reinforces.
Read more here.
Discover more thought provoking articles
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| IN THE SPOTLIGHT |
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New Christian Music
Living the Solution has a great selection of Christian music on sale. New releases
and all time favorites.
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here|
See more at our Spotlight Specials page
Our Living the Solution online store
has resources to help you grow spiritually. It’s
secure, extensive with many great gift ideas!
Visit our
online store
There is something for everyone. When you shop with us,
you support our ministry – thank you!
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DAILY THOUGHTS & REFLECTIONS |
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Free Through and Through
Jesus said, "I tell you most solemnly that anyone who chooses a life
of sin is trapped in a dead-end life and is, in fact, a slave. A slave
is a transient, who can't come and go at will. The Son, though, has an
established position, the run of the house. So if the Son sets you free,
you are free through and through.
(John 8:34-36 – The Message)
What is a life of sin? Is it a life of a serial killer,
a drug addict, child molester, or a person who cheats on their spouse
on a regular basis? Yes all of these are lifestyles of sin, but living
a sinful life is more than the just living or doing the "BIG" sins.
It is living your life with you in control rather than living your life
given over to God's control. It is you doing what you want to do when
you want to do it without regard for God or anyone else. It is putting
yourself first and God and others last. By contrast, living the life Jesus
came to give us, the life of freedom, is seeing what the Father is doing
and joining Him in doing it, listening to the Father and then doing what
He asks.
Jesus came to set us free from the death trap of sin and He showed us
how we were to live our lives as well; He saw what the Father was doing
and did it. He heard what the Father was saying and said it. He did nothing
of His own accord. His heart was to have the heart of His Father — a
heart and love for His created people, a desire for intimate personal
relationship with them, a heart of love and compassion, grace and forgiveness,
a heart of understanding.
Jesus' greatest desire was to see the Father's will done, was to see God's
created people set free from the sin of Adam and Eve, and to see us restored
back to what the Father had created us to be in the beginning. By being
completely given over to the will of the Father, Jesus was able to do
His (Jesus') greatest desire; He was giving the desire of His heart because
He followed after the Father's heart.
God has given us all deep desires in our hearts, but we will never see
those desires fulfilled until we connect our heart with the Father's and
live as Jesus did, doing the will of the Father. I know it sounds like
an oxymoron, give up your desire for God's and getting your desire, but
it is no different than, "Whoever loses their life for my sake will
gain their life, and whoever seeks to save his life will lose it."
So the question is, are you free? Are you, or is God, in control
of your life? If you are trying to make things work on your own,
trying to fulfill your desire apart from God, how is that working
for you? How would you like a life that is free and full? Then
seek God, seek His heart, find out what He is doing and what
He is saying, what He has placed in your heart, and go and do
that. Go do what the Father is doing and saying to you. Follow
His lead and heart and you will be free.
Live it with Passion
Pete Reinbold
Get daily inspiration with a Scripture verse and commentary
at
Daily Thought
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PRAYER REQUESTS & RESULTS |
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Prayer works. It really does.Submit your prayer
requests and we will pray for them.
Of course, we keep your information confidential.
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My thoughts are shared regularly on the pages of
our web site, especially on
the Journal pages.
We welcome and appreciate your feedback. If you would
like to submit an article please see our writer's
guidelines.
It is our hope that the content of Living The Solution will
stimulate you to deepen your faith. That is certainly a result for us in both
our writing and reading. If you would like to see articles on a particular topic
or you have comments please let us know.
Send an email
Quotable: Dreams Come True
"Dreams come true. Without
that possibility, nature would not incite us to have
them.”
—
John Updike
Copyright 2005 Living the Solution, all rights reserved.
Tom Gilbert
Editor/Web-servant
Living The Solution
www.livingthesolution.com
P O Box 25584
Albuquerque, NM 87125-5584
Toll free 1-800-399-2564 ext 105 (US only) or 505-247-3232
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