What will they say about you?

Daniel 6:4-5
New International Version (NIV)

4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

In this we find that Daniel has conducted himself in such a way that he has risen to a high place of importance even with Judah in exile. First we need to take from this that God can use his people regardless of the situation. The King in this case was not a man of God. We often will say, look at “so and so” they are blessed, but they are not Godly, why does God bless them. Perhaps like in this story, they are blessed so that they can take care of God’s people, and bring glory to the father. So Daniel was being blessed by the heathen king, gaining so much favor that his counter parts had enough and desire to have him killed. They plot to destroy him but can find nothing to use against him because he was an upstanding man walking in the ways of God. (please read the entire story of Damiel, there are points to be made about the fact he prayed 3 times a day even if it meant his death, as men of God we must be men of prayer).

If we knew nothing else of Daniel the following would be enough “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

Our prayer should always be that the only way that we can be found guilty is to be set in opposition of our God and his laws. Let the only thing someone can say against you is to make Godliness the target. God is a big God and he can handle the accusations, find comfort under his wing. May our walk with God be so important to us that we can be attacked by attacking it! Is your walk with God this way?

Unfortunately this could happen.

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Repost: what is grace

TULLIAN TCHIVIDJIAN|8:34 AM CT
What Is Grace?
What is grace?

The definition I give for grace in my forthcoming book, One-Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World, comes from Paul Zahl. He writes:

Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. Grace is love coming at you that has nothing to do with you. Grace is being loved when you are unlovable…. The cliché definition of grace is “unconditional love.” It is a true cliché, for it is a good description of the thing. Let’s go a little further, though. Grace is a love that has nothing to do with you, the beloved. It has everything and only to do with the lover. Grace is irrational in the sense that it has nothing to do with weights and measures. It has nothing to do with my intrinsic qualities or so-called “gifts” (whatever they may be). It reflects a decision on the part of the giver, the one who loves, in relation to the receiver, the one who is loved, that negates any qualifications the receiver may personally hold…. Grace is one-way love.

Grace doesn’t make demands. It just gives. And from our vantage point, it always gives to the wrong person. We see this over and over again in the Gospels: Jesus is always giving to the wrong people—prostitutes, tax collectors, half-breeds. The most extravagant sinners of Jesus’s day receive his most compassionate welcome. Grace is a divine vulgarity that stands caution on its head. It refuses to play it safe and lay it up. Grace is recklessly generous, uncomfortably promiscuous. It doesn’t use sticks, carrots, or time cards. It doesn’t keep score. As Robert Capon puts it, “Grace works without requiring anything on our part. It’s not expensive. It’s not even cheap. It’s free.” It refuses to be controlled by our innate sense of fairness, reciprocity, and evenhandedness. It defies logic. It has nothing to do with earning, merit, or deservedness. It is opposed to what is owed. It doesn’t expect a return on investments. Grace is unconditional acceptance given to an undeserving person by an unobligated giver.


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2 powerful words

As I write this here on Saturday morning I find myself in awe. I got up as the sun rose and spent some time walking in prayer. (most would sit but I ache in the mornings and I move to distract from that).
I was walking and praying and I began to worship God and praise him for everything I saw. We then began to discuss heaven and how much more would be there. I realized we have a great gift before us. The God of all the universe created all we see. All the miracles we try to explain and understand. Why does grass grow? Where does the moon go in the mornings? Science is unraveling it and our greatest minds struggle to make sense of it all. BUT GOD spoke and it was. And he found it good. How blessed we are to walk in a world and in a creation He made and it was good.
Lets talk for a moment about the BUT GOD. No I didn't have the cap-lock on. One of the most inspiring 2 words ever are BUT GOD. Read Acts 13 and you will come along and find Paul teaching in a synagogue in Antioch. He is speaking and telling the history of Israel and then about Jesus. He tells of how Jesus was crucified and died. Then he talks of his burial.
Oh but praise be to God on high there is verse 30 "BUT GOD raised him from the dead." In those 2 words a story goes from a history lesson to a gospel.
BUT GOD raised him, and because of his resurrection we have a chance. A lot of people say Jesus died for us. He did. BUT GOD his father raised him up to that he could defeat the grave and guarantee our eternal life. Jesus went from a man who died, to the risen Son of God with 2 words BUT GOD.
Think of all the lives changed by those 2 words. I was a drunk, BUT GOD............ I was a drug addict BUT GOD.........
If you cannot relate or do not have a BUT GOD moment then all that is needed is faith in God through belief in his son Jesus. Call upon him and believe and you too can say BUT GOD....................!
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Manly Men are Servants

Philippians 2:3-5 ESV
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.
In this day and time there are often seen 2 types of men, those who only care for themselves, they can be bold and brash, but this is not manly. Then there are the ones that have been sent to the back corner of life, beaten down, told to know there place, even feminized. These are not manly men. I can assure you that neither of these is what men were called upon to be. I would like to challenge the men in the church today to begin to consider what they have been called to be, men of God.
How do we begin, we must serve, as we serve the kingdom of the Father, he will make us a servant. Many men do not want to be a servant, they see this as not there place. If it was Jesus’s place then it is ours too, a man seeking to walk as a godly man will emulate Jesus. Remember Joseph sold as a slave, became servant to Pharaoh, second in command in all the land. Being a servant does not mean to live a life without success. But how that success comes and whom it glorifies are different, all belong to God.
Review the verse Paul gives us, here was a man’s man, tough guy, converted to the Gospel in an extraordinary way. Paul was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, survived venomous snakes, Stood before kings and lowly guards. He was not someone that anyone would consider unmanly by any means; most of us would have crumpled living his life of servitude. So how does he say a Godly man should emulate the Master?
Do not act in rivalry or competition.
Do not act in conceit or pride.
Be humble.
Place others above your own self.
Look out for not just yourself but others around you (not just family and friends but all persons you are around).
Have these things, why? Because of Jesus who is in you. May our prayer always be to be servants to the kingdom of God.
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Fear the Man of God

1 Samuel 16:4 (ERV)

4 Samuel did what the Lord told him to do and went to Bethlehem. The elders of Bethlehem shook with fear. They met Samuel and asked, “Do you come in peace?”

People often say the church is not moving for God like it should, we see many praying for revival and change. I would like to suggest that what is missing is the fear of the power of God, and the fear of the man of God. God’s anointment comes with a power that commands fear if we are true believers in the kingdom.

When we talk of fear, I would like you to think back to that father figure that you had, in case you did not have one, remember a friend that did? When we used to say, "I can’t, if my Dad finds out he will kill me". We feared the actions that were coming if we failed to do what we needed to do. It did not mean we did not love Dad or that he did not love us. If you did not have that father like person you would secretly wish you your friends Dad. We need that power in our lives. The fear of the consequence is a powerful thing, the fact he has that power also makes you feel safe. The same man you feared finding out what you were doing was the same one you would brag on, "well my Dad can beat up superman". The power that incites fear, also shows love, and protection.

In this case we see that Samuel, the prophet of God, God’s messenger to his people, is coming into town. There is the concern by the people that someone may have done something to bring about the wrath of the father, so they ask, “Do you come in peace?” This shows a fearful respect for God and for the messenger of God. I feel that we no longer show respect for the messengers of God and in doing so we disrespect him. I believe we need to return the fear and reverence for our God and for his messenger. Why are there no miracles, we ask, when at the same we vote over what the messenger of God is allowed to do. Let the men of God do as he commands them to and God will show his presence.


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