Week 12, 2020
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33).
Florida has $2B in unclaimed property. Is it yours? When a bank or other financial account remains inactive long enough, the money gets turned over to the state. You might ask, who forgets about a bank account? But it happens enough that Florida is holding about $2 billion in unclaimed property, including money and items like watches, jewelry, coins, stamps and other collectibles from unused safe deposit boxes.
It is returned if and when the rightful owner comes forward and files the necessary application. Last year $213 million defaulted to the state because it was not claimed. It’s yours if you ask, but not if you don’t.
There is a spiritual parallel here. James (4:2-3) says we do not have because we do not ask God.
Salvation is a good example. Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship, one that comes when we ask for it through the prayer of salvation.
The sinner’s prayer is a Christian term for a prayer that is said when someone wants to repent of their sin, ask God for forgiveness and state belief in the life, death, and saving resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:9-10 says that “if you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Millions have come to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ through church services, friends, and family leading them in a salvation prayer, but salvation is not something someone can do for you. You have to ask for it and pray it yourself.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior.
Salvation? You have not because you ask not.
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
China intends to rewrite the Bible to reflect its Communist ideology. The Committee for Ethnic Affairs has announced a “comprehensive evaluation of the existing religious classics aiming at contents which do not conform to the progress of the times.”
According to reports, “Jesus Christ’s parables” will have to fall “in line with the Communist Party, failing which they run the risk of being purged from the bibles [sic] available to the faithful.”
Many churches and preachers are rewriting the Bible in America these days, maybe not in writing, but in preaching and interpretation. Much of what gets preached from American pulpits is contrary to Bible teachings and that includes many mainline denominations that are Biblically and politically sliding to the left. They call it religious progressivism. I call it heresy. John Grant
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Death rates are increasing for middle aged Americans of all racial and ethnic groups. Suicide, drug overdoses, and alcoholism are the main causes, but heart disease, stroke, and other medical conditions are contributors as well.
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After roughly a decade of rising home prices, homeowners are flush with record amounts of home equity they can tap. But many Americans remain short on cash and are increasingly relying on debt to fund their lives.
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Half of all Protestant pastors feel as though the demands of ministry are more than they can handle; 54 percent find their role to be frequently overwhelming.
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
Jesus’ message is both personal and preset. To us this day. Kelly Knouse
You are what you think about all day long.
Rather than bringing happiness into life, possessions often distract us from it.
The peace of God requires the power of God. Jim Denison
God does His deepest work in the deepest times of your life. Adrian Rogers
The greatest gift we can pass down to the next generation is to instill the value of giving back.
When Told Abortion Kills More Women Than Anything, Abortion Activists Say “They Don’t Count”.
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