Want to Win Some Prizes?
Mar0
Tyndale House Publishers is giving away NLT Study Bibles, Apple iPads, and even a trip to Hawaii. Check out the details below:
The New Living Translation Break Through to Clarity Bible Contest and Giveaway
- Visit www.facebook.com/NewLivingTranslation and click on the tab that says “Sweepstakes”
- Fill out a simple form, take a quick Bible clarity survey, invite your friends to join and you’ll be entered to win one of our exciting prizes.
- With each fan number milestone a new prize will be given away.
Grand Prize
Apple iPad 64G and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the fifth milestone
Retail Value: $829.002nd Prize – Already awarded
32G iPod Touch and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the fourth milestone
Retail Value: $300.003rd Prize — Will be awarded when fan count hits: 3500
Kindle DX and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the third milestone
Retail Value: $489.004th Prize — Will be awarded when fan count hits: TBD
Apple iPad 16G and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the New Living Translation Fan Page hits the second milestone
Retail Value: $499.005th Prize — Will be awarded when fan count hits: TBD
Apple iPad 32G and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the first milestone
Retail Value: $599.00Prize Eligibility – Recently updated to include more countries
Sweepstakes participants and winner(s) can be U.S. residents of the 50 United States, or residents of any country that is NOT embargoed by the United States, but cannot be residents of Belgium, Norway, Sweden, or India. In addition, participants and winner(s) must be at least 18 years old, as determined by the Company.
Sweepstakes Starts
March 17, 2010 @ 10:24 am (PDT)
Sweepstakes Ends
April 30, 2010 @ 10:24 am (PDT)
Wait, there’s more!
- Visit http://biblecontest.newlivingtranslation.com/index.php for a chance to win a trip for two to Hawaii!
- Choose one of six passages of Scripture from the New Living Translation and consider:
- How do these verses encourage you to know God better?
- What is God teaching you in this passage?
- How does this passage apply to your life?
- Submit your answer and you’ll be entered to win.
Just for signing up: Everybody Wins! Win a Free .mp3 download from the NLT’s new Red Letters Project. It’s the dynamic, new presentation of the sung and narrated words of the Gospel of Matthew. You win the download just for entering! Or choose to download the NLT Philippians Bible Study, complete with the Book of Philippians in the NLT.
Every day, one person will win the best-selling Life Application Study Bible!
The grand prize: One person will win a fantastic trip for two to the crystal clear waters of the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s North Shore in beautiful Hawaii.
Questions to Ask Ourselves when God is Silent
Mar2
1) Where is my focus? How much have I truly wanted God and how much may I actually be desiring the things of the world (safety, health, physical needs…)?
2) When did I last hear Him and what did He say? Was I obedient with the last message He gave me? Did I learn and grow from it? Was it an encouragement that I need to rest in during this rough time? An exhortation that I still need to obey?
3) What things am I hearing and who is saying them? Am I believing deceptive spirits and worldly advice? Is the Lord speaking in small ways that I’ve brushed off as something else?
4) Am I really listening for Him? Have I limited His response by assuming He will say something particular? Am I open to Him speaking whatever He wants through any means?
5) Have I been willing and able to rest in His presence in silence? Does my faith depend on His affirmation, or can I abide in Him knowing His silence is not an absence?
6) Do I know His voice well or is a personal encounter and relationship with God something I need to put extra focus on? May it be that His silence is a hint for me to look for Him more thoroughly–an invitation that He’s hiding so that I can find Him?
7) How can I simplify my life to make room for the Lord’s voice? How can I position myself to receive more of the Holy Spirit?
Have I forgotten anything? Can you think of other helpful things to reflect on and consider when God seems distant, silent, or absent?
First Things First (Haggai 1:1-15)
Feb0
There is so much more to life than surviving in the ranks of the world, so why is it often so hard to break past the daily needs into the fulfilling and exciting parts of life?
The book of Haggai shows us that we can’t break through the surface level survival needs until we have our priorities straight. God must be our foundation because nothing else is great enough to fulfill us.
Haggai was written after the exile (in the second year of King Darius)–there is peace among the nations and the Jews have returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. It was really a sacrifice for the Jews to return to Jerusalem because they were making so much money in Babylon. So not too many returned, and those who did lost their nice houses and nice jobs, and fertile land and all that Babylon had given them. (Hag 1:1)
When the book begins the Jews have stopped trying to rebuild the temple because they are frustrated and are instead just struggling to survive. They say to themselves, “The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt” because since ceasing the construction of the temple they’ve experienced even worse poverty. But through the prophet Haggai, the Lord rebukes them saying, “Consider your ways!” He shows them they are focusing on rebuilding their own houses before focusing on building the temple, and that is why the Lord Himself has caused them to suffer (agriculturally, economically, and so forth). He says it’s like they’re putting money into a purse with holes, and exhorts them to get their priorities in order–to first rebuild the temple that He may be glorified. (Hag 1:2-11)
We too, must have our priorities in order. I don’t think it’s uncommon to find ourselves caught up in trying to make a better life for ourselves. Perhaps, some of us have even experienced a similar move toward worse and worse situations in the attempt to pull together the basic pieces of our lives (or ministries). Why? The Lord answers here that it’s because we run to our own houses as His lies desolate–we turn to our own needs before we consider Him who has provided everything.
Fortunately, when Haggai gave this rebuke, the people listened, “obeyed the Lord” and “showed reverence for the Lord.” And as a result, the Lord promised He would be with them and stirred up their spirits so that they would be productive in building the temple! (Hag 1:12-15)
Notice, the promises the Lord gave the Jews were not physical, but of spiritual strengthening. This is so simple: when God’s people demonstrate they love Him more than anything else, He provides them with all the tools to carry out their calling–above all, giving the Holy Spirit: God with us. When the first things come first, the rest are easily carried out.
Many Will Be Deceived
Feb1
Deception is the number one sign Jesus told His believers to look for in recognition of His second coming–deception not in the world, but among believers, even the elite. Warnings against such deception are also strongly proclaimed by the apostles and appear in almost every book of the New Testament–both as something to come and as a rebuke to those churches in which it had already started. This isn’t a small thing; it’s something ALL Christians are affected by, whether they are interested in theology or not. Christians had better be on the alert, asking the Lord to test and refine their hearts, that they may not be deceived.
So in what areas may we have formed a wrong worldview? What are we sure about that we have never tested? How much of our faiths are based in personal revelation and knowledge and how much from social or church tradition?
It’s so easy to see problems in other denominations, churches, and peoples; we had better also be praying into the refining of our own faiths. Those who assume their theology and traditions are solid are often the same who are being mislead. But the Lord will continue to reveal Himself to those who are hungry for Him and fear His ways.
The Positive Side of Illness, Fatigue, and Physical Pain
Jan0
I wrote this over a month ago in the midst of a physically trying moment and didn’t have the energy to edit it into a post. I’m now 21 weeks pregnant, and have been feeling much better: nausea only in the evenings, less fatigue, and the comfort of feeling our little one move and remembering why I’m doing this.
This is what I wrote ten weeks ago:
I’ve pretty much been sick all eleven weeks of my pregnancy, minus a few great days here and there. I’ve had the flu; I’ve had a long-lasting cough that threatened pre-mature contractions; and the normal pregnancy symptoms (nausea, headaches, fatigue) have been enough to deal with on their own.
But while my tolerances have been stretched, this has also been an excellent opportunity for me to see my spiritual weaknesses and to fully depend on the Lord.
There is nothing like having the areas we most depend on ripped out from under us. I’ve always been physically pretty healthy, and didn’t realize how much I’d pulled comfort and strength from my place of good health. Having almost constant pain lately has been quite humbling. I’ve also become aware of other areas in my spirit that need spiritual transformation, which likely would have gone unnoticed without this ‘forced fasting’.
For the first time, I think I’m understanding the spiritual directive to have joy within suffering–to count it my blessing when I experience trials (James 1:2-4, 2 Cor 12:7-10, Phil 4:11). I’m not sure there’s a way to articulate this concept, but it is certainly a blessing to experience such a joy. I have especially have fond memories of spending hours vomiting with intermittent praises to the Lord, and though I also don’t want that pain again anytime soon, it’s really quite amazing that I’d even think in such a way.
To my friends who are also facing physical trials: I want to encourage you not to pray immediately for healing or a ‘fixed’ circumstance, but to first press into the raw love of the Lord. I have frequently been blessed with sudden immediate healing from the Lord upon praying–there is definitely a place for this and it can increase our faith in a miracle working God. But let the Spirit lead you to pray before you assume you know what’s best. I have occasionally been lead to pray for other things: for endurance and strength to face the trial, for the physical manifestation of the Lord’s love and peace, for wisdom and revelation of who He is, for heart, soul and spirit to be transformed into His nature, for the ability to rest in Him despite the circumstance, and so forth. Sometimes the answers to heart issues are much more rewarding than the healing of the physical issues.
I pray we would not miss out on any of the Lord’s gifts, even when they come in painful packages. There is a time and a season for everything under heaven (Eccl 3).
This blog addresses the 'sticky' topics of Western Christianity in an attempt to shake, refocus, and unite the body of Christ, and to reveal the true gospel message to unbelievers.
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