Thank you for reading our blog, “A Cord of Three”, from LVC Ministries. We are in the process of moving our blog to another blog site and hope you will follow us there.
If you’re getting your blogs through email, you’ll need to sign up again from our new blog site, which is www.LVCMinistries.com. Don’t forget that Wordpress will send you a confirmation email where you must click on the link to complete the registration. Remember, this email might be sent to your bulk mail or junk email, so don’t forget to look there if you don’t see an email from Wordpress in your inbox. Please let us know if you have any problems switching over. You can send an email to ContactUs@LVCMinistries.com and we will personally get back with you.
We hope you have been enjoying our blogs and are learning more and more on your journey to living a victorious life in Christ!
We will post to the old blog through April 14, 2011. Beginning on Monday April 18, 2011 we will only be posting to the new blog site. We will keep the old blog as our archive, and link to it from the new site.
Again, thanks for following us!
Lisa, Cindy and Vanessa
LVC Ministries, Inc.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
WHAT IS FAMILY!
The other day, I saw a bumper sticker that said “We are all family/We all have value.” Immediately, I thought to myself....that’s not true. But, then I thought “yes it is true, well, partly true.” As humans we are all family. God created Adam and Eve and as their descendents we are all part of the human family.
There are two types of family, the human family and the Christian family. Christians are the children of Gods’ adopted family. An interesting thing happens when you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and find a church to join. You immediately gain a family! I don’t use this term loosely, your church becomes your family. Not only is your immediate church your family, but Christians from all walks of life become your family because all members of the Christian family have the Holy Spirit within them. The Spirit recognizes the Spirit in other believers! So, in that case, all Christians are part of two families....the human family.....and God’s family.
What about the people that have not accepted Christ as their personal savior? Well, they are obviously part of the human family and they are part of the worlds’ family. What kind of family is that? A lost family, a wondering family, a searching family, a family seeking satisfaction but never finding it, a fickle family (running from one fleshly delight to another). A family that does not stand up for each other, but tears each other down (after all, it is a dog eat dog world), a greedy family, a selfish family and a very unhappy family.
Ok, now, what about the value thing you ask? We all have value, because we were all created by God! We weren’t just created by God as an after thought, He put much thought into every one of us long before the universe was ever created! You are very valuable and every person in the world has value! But, unfortunately, not every person in the world is a child of God.
I spent Friday night and most of Saturday with fifty women on our church retreat and that is where I really began to think about what it means to be a child of God, to be a part of Gods’ family. I’m not a night person, so I decided to call it a “night” around 10:15pm, however, most of the women decided to stay up and play a “very loud and noisy game” in the room next door to the sleeping area. Have you ever tried to sleep in a “hen house?” Me neither, but I imagine the noise level in both were comparable. Every time I began to doze off, the noise level got louder. But you know what? I didn’t even think about complaining, in fact, I smiled to myself, this is family and this is God’s love manifested in my sisters! These women are my sisters in God’s family having fun, enjoying fellowship with each other and building relationships!
Saturday dawned bright and early! We were all exhausted. Some of the younger women said that they only got a couple hours of sleep. I guess the rest of us were lucky because we were able to sneak in three or four hours, but we were happy, we were together and we were family!
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” 1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)
If you know that you are not part of God’s adopted family and you know that you are tired of being part of the worldly family please click on the heading “Becoming A Believer.”
Cindy
@copyright 2011 LVC Ministries, Inc
There are two types of family, the human family and the Christian family. Christians are the children of Gods’ adopted family. An interesting thing happens when you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and find a church to join. You immediately gain a family! I don’t use this term loosely, your church becomes your family. Not only is your immediate church your family, but Christians from all walks of life become your family because all members of the Christian family have the Holy Spirit within them. The Spirit recognizes the Spirit in other believers! So, in that case, all Christians are part of two families....the human family.....and God’s family.
What about the people that have not accepted Christ as their personal savior? Well, they are obviously part of the human family and they are part of the worlds’ family. What kind of family is that? A lost family, a wondering family, a searching family, a family seeking satisfaction but never finding it, a fickle family (running from one fleshly delight to another). A family that does not stand up for each other, but tears each other down (after all, it is a dog eat dog world), a greedy family, a selfish family and a very unhappy family.
Ok, now, what about the value thing you ask? We all have value, because we were all created by God! We weren’t just created by God as an after thought, He put much thought into every one of us long before the universe was ever created! You are very valuable and every person in the world has value! But, unfortunately, not every person in the world is a child of God.
I spent Friday night and most of Saturday with fifty women on our church retreat and that is where I really began to think about what it means to be a child of God, to be a part of Gods’ family. I’m not a night person, so I decided to call it a “night” around 10:15pm, however, most of the women decided to stay up and play a “very loud and noisy game” in the room next door to the sleeping area. Have you ever tried to sleep in a “hen house?” Me neither, but I imagine the noise level in both were comparable. Every time I began to doze off, the noise level got louder. But you know what? I didn’t even think about complaining, in fact, I smiled to myself, this is family and this is God’s love manifested in my sisters! These women are my sisters in God’s family having fun, enjoying fellowship with each other and building relationships!
Saturday dawned bright and early! We were all exhausted. Some of the younger women said that they only got a couple hours of sleep. I guess the rest of us were lucky because we were able to sneak in three or four hours, but we were happy, we were together and we were family!
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” 1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)
If you know that you are not part of God’s adopted family and you know that you are tired of being part of the worldly family please click on the heading “Becoming A Believer.”
Cindy
@copyright 2011 LVC Ministries, Inc
WE'RE MOVING!
Thank you for reading our blog, “A Cord of Three”, from LVC Ministries. We are in the process of moving our blog to another blog site and hope you will follow us there.
If you’re getting your blogs through email, you’ll need to sign up again from our new blog site, which is http://LVCMinistries.Wordpress.com. Don’t forget that Wordpress will send you a confirmation email where you must click on the link to complete the registration. Remember, this email might be sent to your bulk mail or junk email, so don’t forget to look there if you don’t see an email from Wordpress in your inbox. Please let us know if you have any problems switching over. You can send an email to ContactUs@LVCMinistries.com and we will personally get back with you.
We hope you have been enjoying our blogs and are learning more and more on your journey to living a victorious life in Christ!
We will post to the old blog through April 14, 2011. Beginning on Monday April 18, 2011 we will only be posting to the new blog site. We will keep the old blog as our archive, and link to it from the new site.
Again, thanks for following us!
Lisa, Cindy and Vanessa
LVC Ministries, Inc.
If you’re getting your blogs through email, you’ll need to sign up again from our new blog site, which is http://LVCMinistries.Wordpress.com. Don’t forget that Wordpress will send you a confirmation email where you must click on the link to complete the registration. Remember, this email might be sent to your bulk mail or junk email, so don’t forget to look there if you don’t see an email from Wordpress in your inbox. Please let us know if you have any problems switching over. You can send an email to ContactUs@LVCMinistries.com and we will personally get back with you.
We hope you have been enjoying our blogs and are learning more and more on your journey to living a victorious life in Christ!
We will post to the old blog through April 14, 2011. Beginning on Monday April 18, 2011 we will only be posting to the new blog site. We will keep the old blog as our archive, and link to it from the new site.
Again, thanks for following us!
Lisa, Cindy and Vanessa
LVC Ministries, Inc.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Godly Sorrow
“I’m sorry!” she said as she slammed the door behind her and stormed off.
Have you experienced this scene before? How easy it is to say “I’m sorry” when really, you’re not sorry at all. Oh, maybe you’re sorry you got caught, but not truly sorry for what you did. Just because someone says “I’m sorry” doesn’t mean that they’ve turned from that sin. How can we know when someone truly is sorry? God’s word tells us that godly sorrow brings us to repent, or to turn from our sin and turn to God.
[9] yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance… [10] Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Cor 7:9-10
The first thing we need to understand is that we all sin, and because of that, we need a Savior who will cover our sins and give us access to the personal relationship we need with God. When sorrow for our sin leads to repentance God forgives us and we are able to stand before Him. If we don’t ask for God’s salvation, then we will be faced with death in this life and in the eternal life to come. To understand more about accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please check out our “Becoming a Believer” page.
In the end, we really don’t know if someone has truly repented, only God knows. But you can see the fruit of true repentance through a person’s actions, given time.
[20] First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. Acts 26:20
So, should you forgive them? Yes! God tells us to forgive others. We are to forgive them with a sacrificial love like Jesus gave for us on the cross. You don’t have to wait until they show repentance. Jesus didn’t wait for us to repent before He went to the cross.
[13] Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Col 3:13
Forgiveness is not only for the person who sinned, but it’s also for the person who was sinned against. Forgiveness heals your heart, and keeps bitterness from growing there.
So, what if you’re the one who messed up and sinned? How do you know you’re forgiven? God promises us, in His Word, to forgive us when we are repentant. When we’re forgiven, God doesn’t throw our sin back in our faces—He remembers them no more. He puts them out of His sight.
[9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn 1:9
[12] as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Ps 103:12
How far is the east from the west? Point your right hand to the east and your left hand to the west. God loves us this much! Notice how much your hand position looks like that of Jesus on the cross. He died so your sins could be removed as far as the east is from the west. What a Savior!
Once you’ve asked God for forgiveness, receive it from Him. If you find yourself asking for forgiveness over and over for something you did way back when, you probably haven’t received God’s forgiveness. You may not even feel like you’ve been forgiven, but don’t go by your feelings. Receive, in faith, that God has forgiven you because that’s what His word says. Then thank Him for his forgiveness. What greater gift could He give us than forgiveness from sin and a restored relationship with Him?
In your process of repentance, make sure you ask those you’ve hurt to forgive you as well. Think about all the people who were affected by your sin and ask each one to forgive you. It’s their decision whether to forgive you or not, but it will give you a clear conscience that you’ve done your best to make things right. God will work on their heart, you just do your part!
What’s easier to say… “I’m sorry”, or “Please forgive me”? “Sorry” could just mean that you feel bad about the situation, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve turned from your sin. Asking for forgiveness means you have accepted your responsibility in the situation. It’s a way to heal the hearts of all who are involved and goes deeper than just saying “I’m sorry.” Asking for forgiveness is not easy, and it’s definitely humbling, but isn’t the healing worth it?
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for sending your Son to die for me so that I can have forgiveness. It’s through Your loving act on the cross that I am able to forgive others with the love you have revealed to me. Show me where I need to ask for forgiveness, and also where I need to forgive, then give me the strength to follow through. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
~Lisa
All Scripture references are from the New International Version.
@Copyright 2011 LVC Ministries, Inc.
We're Moving!
Thank you for reading our blog, “A Cord of Three”, from LVC Ministries. We are in the process of moving our blog to another blog site and hope you will follow us there.
If you’re getting your blogs through email, you’ll need to sign up again from our new blog site, which is http://LVCMinistries.Wordpress.com. Don’t forget that Wordpress will send you a confirmation email where you must click on the link to complete the registration. Remember, this email might be sent to your bulk mail or junk email, so don’t forget to look there if you don’t see an email from Wordpress in your inbox. Please let us know if you have any problems switching over. You can send an email to ContactUs@LVCMinistries.com and we will personally get back with you.
We hope you have been enjoying our blogs and are learning more and more on your journey to living a victorious life in Christ!
We will post to the old blog through April 14, 2011. Beginning on Monday April 18, 2011 we will only be posting to the new blog site. We will keep the old blog as our archive, and link to it from the new site.
Again, thanks for following us!
Lisa, Cindy and Vanessa
LVC Ministries, Inc.
If you’re getting your blogs through email, you’ll need to sign up again from our new blog site, which is http://LVCMinistries.Wordpress.com. Don’t forget that Wordpress will send you a confirmation email where you must click on the link to complete the registration. Remember, this email might be sent to your bulk mail or junk email, so don’t forget to look there if you don’t see an email from Wordpress in your inbox. Please let us know if you have any problems switching over. You can send an email to ContactUs@LVCMinistries.com and we will personally get back with you.
We hope you have been enjoying our blogs and are learning more and more on your journey to living a victorious life in Christ!
We will post to the old blog through April 14, 2011. Beginning on Monday April 18, 2011 we will only be posting to the new blog site. We will keep the old blog as our archive, and link to it from the new site.
Again, thanks for following us!
Lisa, Cindy and Vanessa
LVC Ministries, Inc.
Monday, April 4, 2011
A STORY WORTH TELLING!
It seems lately that everywhere I turn I keep hearing about God’s love and how much He loves us and how we should reflect God’s love not only to a lost and dying world but also, to our Christian family. Not long ago I ran across a gentleman who stopped me as I was walking to my car. He began to cry as he told me that his wife had just had surgery that very morning and he didn’t have enough money to buy gas so that he could go see her at the hospital. Well, of course, I immediately thought that the man wanted the money to go buy drugs or booze. I gave him the ten dollars that he asked for, but I told him that I was giving it to him for his wife and that Jesus would know what he used the money for. I then said “God bless you” and we parted ways.
Two things about that incident have been bothering me. The first thing that bothered me is that the gentleman said that he had been driving around since 6:00am (this incident occurred around 10 or 11) trying to get enough money to buy gas with. I’ve thought back over that incident several times and I think to myself “ok...the amount of gas that you burned up by driving around, couldn’t you have just used that gas to go straight to the hospital and why weren’t you at the hospital while your wife was having surgery?” The second thing that has been bothering me was my attitude! He didn’t need to hear a sermon from me that Jesus would know what he did with the money. What has been bothering me about that whole episode is that it was not about the gentleman, it was about me, it was about my attitude! Did I show the love of God to this gentleman? I don’t think so!
As Christians, we should jump at every opportunity to show Gods’ love! Doesn’t God tell us in Psalm 50:12b “....for the world is mine, and all that is in it.” So, why should I be concerned about what the man spent Gods’ ten dollars on?
In John 15:12 we are commanded by Jesus to love each other just as he has loved us. I admit when I gave the gentleman the money, I was not doing it out of love. I was doing what a Christian was supposed to do. That’s like me telling God “well, you’re God, you’re supposed to forgive my sins!” But, before creation, God chose to love me! Before I ever heard the name Jesus, He chose to die on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins! It’s not like I was being asked to give up my life for this gentleman, but God did expect me to show His love to a fellow human who needed compassion.
Another thing that bothers me about this incident is not only did I not show Gods’ love, but I was also being hypocritical to someone less fortunate by saying “God bless you!” Instead he should have been saying “God bless you” to me because I was conveying a “pious” attitude by saying that to him without love. In retrospect, I realize now that I should have handed him the money, walked quietly to my car and prayed for both the gentleman and his wife.
Why is this a story worth telling? Because it’s a story about Gods’ love and how I failed to show that love to someone in need. It’s a story worth telling so that I can remember and learn from it. It’s a story worth telling so that the next time God gives me an opportunity to show His love....I’ll remember and hopefully I won’t fail! It’s a story worth telling so that you will remember also.
And Jesus said “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:30-31
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son.” 1 John 4:9-10
Cindy
Bible Verse taken from the New International Version
@copyright 2011 LVC Ministries, Inc
Two things about that incident have been bothering me. The first thing that bothered me is that the gentleman said that he had been driving around since 6:00am (this incident occurred around 10 or 11) trying to get enough money to buy gas with. I’ve thought back over that incident several times and I think to myself “ok...the amount of gas that you burned up by driving around, couldn’t you have just used that gas to go straight to the hospital and why weren’t you at the hospital while your wife was having surgery?” The second thing that has been bothering me was my attitude! He didn’t need to hear a sermon from me that Jesus would know what he did with the money. What has been bothering me about that whole episode is that it was not about the gentleman, it was about me, it was about my attitude! Did I show the love of God to this gentleman? I don’t think so!
As Christians, we should jump at every opportunity to show Gods’ love! Doesn’t God tell us in Psalm 50:12b “....for the world is mine, and all that is in it.” So, why should I be concerned about what the man spent Gods’ ten dollars on?
In John 15:12 we are commanded by Jesus to love each other just as he has loved us. I admit when I gave the gentleman the money, I was not doing it out of love. I was doing what a Christian was supposed to do. That’s like me telling God “well, you’re God, you’re supposed to forgive my sins!” But, before creation, God chose to love me! Before I ever heard the name Jesus, He chose to die on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins! It’s not like I was being asked to give up my life for this gentleman, but God did expect me to show His love to a fellow human who needed compassion.
Another thing that bothers me about this incident is not only did I not show Gods’ love, but I was also being hypocritical to someone less fortunate by saying “God bless you!” Instead he should have been saying “God bless you” to me because I was conveying a “pious” attitude by saying that to him without love. In retrospect, I realize now that I should have handed him the money, walked quietly to my car and prayed for both the gentleman and his wife.
Why is this a story worth telling? Because it’s a story about Gods’ love and how I failed to show that love to someone in need. It’s a story worth telling so that I can remember and learn from it. It’s a story worth telling so that the next time God gives me an opportunity to show His love....I’ll remember and hopefully I won’t fail! It’s a story worth telling so that you will remember also.
And Jesus said “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:30-31
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son.” 1 John 4:9-10
Cindy
Bible Verse taken from the New International Version
@copyright 2011 LVC Ministries, Inc
WE'RE MOVING!
Thank you for reading our blog, “A Cord of Three”, from LVC Ministries. We are in the process of moving our blog to another blog site and hope you will follow us there.
If you’re getting your blogs through email, you’ll need to sign up again from our new blog site, which is http://LVCMinistries.Wordpress.com. Don’t forget that Wordpress will send you a confirmation email where you must click on the link to complete the registration. Remember, this email might be sent to your bulk mail or junk email, so don’t forget to look there if you don’t see an email from Wordpress in your inbox. Please let us know if you have any problems switching over. You can send an email to ContactUs@LVCMinistries.com and we will personally get back with you.
We hope you have been enjoying our blogs and are learning more and more on your journey to living a victorious life in Christ!
We will post to the old blog through April 14, 2011. Beginning on Monday April 18, 2011 we will only be posting to the new blog site. We will keep the old blog as our archive, and link to it from the new site.
Again, thanks for following us!
Lisa, Cindy and Vanessa
LVC Ministries, Inc.
If you’re getting your blogs through email, you’ll need to sign up again from our new blog site, which is http://LVCMinistries.Wordpress.com. Don’t forget that Wordpress will send you a confirmation email where you must click on the link to complete the registration. Remember, this email might be sent to your bulk mail or junk email, so don’t forget to look there if you don’t see an email from Wordpress in your inbox. Please let us know if you have any problems switching over. You can send an email to ContactUs@LVCMinistries.com and we will personally get back with you.
We hope you have been enjoying our blogs and are learning more and more on your journey to living a victorious life in Christ!
We will post to the old blog through April 14, 2011. Beginning on Monday April 18, 2011 we will only be posting to the new blog site. We will keep the old blog as our archive, and link to it from the new site.
Again, thanks for following us!
Lisa, Cindy and Vanessa
LVC Ministries, Inc.
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