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Monthly Archives March 2016

Patience is a Virtue

I have always struggled with being impatient.....If I have to wait to get anything, I can get very anxious. I think many people struggle with this issue all the time... Seems like the older I get the more patient I become, however, from time to time- I am tested by the trials of life. I think the hardest thing in life is sitting and waiting for God to answer a prayer. Although I have faith and truly know God will answer all my prayers, I don't exactly know when, or how. So the challenge is to be patient and just wait. Just yesterday I had a very good friend of mine go to church with me, after inviting him several times, he finally decided that he would join. So as we sat there and listened to Gods word, his heart was moved. Jesus had started to tug at his heart.…

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Repent and God will change your Heart

We all know that in this world how difficult people can be, but what if i told you its not the people that are difficult, its how you perceive the people that makes them seem difficult. What if I told you its not people around you that are hard to deal with, but you are the one that is hard to deal with... Many people think that they are living in a world where everyone is out to get them, where everyone is purposely trying to piss them off. However, this may not be true. This is a very interesting fact, but next time you are very angry and start to think very irrationally try and rationalize with yourself. Try to calm yourself down and you will learn very quickly how difficult it is to do that. We as humans naturally struggle with our emotions, with our thoughts, with our…

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Should I give to the church?

This should be a very obvious answer, right? You would be surprised, when it comes to money how stingy people can get. They will give the church dollars but never a twenty, or they will justify why they cant afford to give money to the church. Often times I see the basket when I participate in my monthly tidings. What I mean by see, is look inside. I can't help it, I stare inside, and of course I am never surprised. The basket is empty, I have even seen change at the bottom- thinking to myself, imaging me pulling out a handful of change out of my pocket and dropping it in...How can people do that, is God not even worth more than a handful of change? How much do you spend on coffee a week? At least $20?.... I remember when I was taking a class at college, It…

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Why do people repent and fall in sin- Repeatedly? Part 2

Yesterday I discussed how many people repent and sin, repent and sin...on this vicious cycle. I wanted to further discuss this issue. I wanted to discuss how it doesn't have to be this way. I wanted to tell you, that it is possible to not sin. Okay, so I talked about how important it is for us to make a decision to stay committed, now as we further get into the theology I wanted to explain that it isn't impossible In the Old Testament, yes, it was impossible not to sin. But the sole purpose of Jesus's coming was to clean the slate, to remove the burden of sin off of our blood. To send the counselor, the divine power, the advocate who is the Holy Spirit to allow man to stay away from sin (sin from Adam and Eve which caused the fall of man). So for those that have fully…

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Why do people repent and fall into sin- repeatedly?

I noticed growing up this was a common theme among lots of young people. I would constantly hear things like; "oh, I am a Christian now.... I quit partying, I follow Jesus now." Only to either see or hear about them a few short months later, how they were seen drunk, or swearing like a sailor at the local Bowling alley. What happens to people after they repent? Is this repentance authentic? When young people repent are they born again?... These are all very good questions when you approach the topic of repentance... I too haven't lived a very solidly paved Christian lifestyle my entire life. I have walked away from God, I have fallen into sin, and I have even been upset with God. So what happens after you repent? Well, people repent for different reasons. This may be because of guilt, shame, hating their life, or being pressured…

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Disappointment- Dealing with Rejection

Have you dealt with disappointment in the last few months? If you haven't then you aren't reaching high enough. The truth is we will all deal with disappointment, rejection, fear, anxiety, or pain in our lifespan- its inevitable. You must remember though, if it happened then God allowed it, therefore it has a purpose. You may not know the reason now, but you will eventually. God is incapable of making mistakes. We as humans have a huge desire to be accepted. From an early age we are conditioned to look for acceptance. As early as grade school we try to impress everyone we can, although we are told to be ourselves, we ignore that as we try and impress that one girl, that one boy, or that one teacher. We spend our lives trying to impress our parents, we as kids love to hear our parents so- good job son,…

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God’s Timing vs. Our Timing

How many people have a hard time waiting for something they want. I remember as a kid I had the hardest time in the world waiting for some sort of event. I would get so anxious. I would stay up at night and not be able to sleep. We measure everything based on time; how long we work, how often we eat, when to go to bed....and so forth. So the idea of time is our livelihood. So when we want something in life its no surprise we want to attach time to its outcome. The correlation between time and events is the only way we process things in our brain. The reason why solitaire confinement in prisons is cruel and unusual punishment is because the person is unaware how long he has been sitting in there. He is unaware if its day or night, summer or winter, lunch or dinner.…

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The Tongue of a Serpent- Gossip, Slander, Rumors

This topic must be addressed because I think many people underestimate the severity of its power! I have noticed among the Slavic culture (not only of course, but mainly) the idea of gossip and bad mouthing people is a norm. Sadly, this happens among the so called Christian circles. If you sit down and have a cup of tea at a Russian household its just a matter of time before someone will say something negative about someone else.... People love doing this. So whats so bad about saying something that's already true, right? If a person is in sin why not address that sin in front of all your friends, or family...? What harm can it cause, Right? This mentality is precisely what gets people in trouble. People simply do not understand the power of the tongue. They think that bad mouthing someone will not bite back. Ironically, I experienced this first…

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Spiritually Empty

I think as Christians we have all gone through this at one point, and for those that aren't Christian just yet...just wait, you will eventually . I have to admit something- for the last few weeks I have been mentally in autopilot. I have been doing the bare minimum in life....it seems like a routine that we need to do over and over again. I have done the bare minimum at work, in my personal life and in my spiritual life. The last few weeks, I go to church on Sunday, I pray practically everyday. And I read the Bible when I have time....Well this sort of routine will eventually leave you spiritually empty. This mainly happens in life when we are either disappointed in a certain outcome (didn't get a job that you wanted, didn't go on that vacation that you needed, didn't date that girl you liked, etc...)…

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Word-4-Thought | Written by: Vitaliy Kravchenko
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