The LGF Blog

What the kingdom of God is like

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:49:00 CDT

"What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches." ~ Jesus, Luke 13:18-19 NRSV

The life of a prophet

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:50:00 CDT

To be forged upon the anvil of God's purpose, to be at once His hammer, His tongs, and His molten iron; to hear words that rend the heart, see visions that pierce the chest; to be emptied like an urn, again and again and again until one desires only rest, only an end to the refilling -- and to know one cannnot live without the refilling. To be given words that one dare not speak, and to feel those words churning and boiling in the belly until one must speak them aloud, or die. To be despised, soon or late, by everyone except Adonai -- and to desire it so, while hating it. This is to be a prophet. -- Thom Lemmons

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 09:09:00 CDT

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. ~ Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)

The LORD gives life to everything

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 10:25:00 CDT

You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. -- Nehemiah 9:6 NIV

Allow praise of the Risen Christ to fill you heart each day

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:23:00 CDT

When we wake up each morning, if praise of the Risen Christ were to fill our hearts ... then in the monotony of daily life, an inner surge of vitality would reveal our hidden longing. -- Brother Roger

Always seek to do good to one another and to all

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:38:00 CDT

"And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all." - 1 Thessalonians 5:14-15 NRSV

Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:12:00 CDT

Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen. ~ 2 Peter 3:18, NLT

Think of These Things

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 07:08:00 CDT

Think of these things: whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account. - Benjamin Franklin

The mission of those who follow Christ

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 08:20:00 CDT

"The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; [The Lord] has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners." ~ Isaiah 61:1 NIV

Who we are is embedded in the heart of a holy God

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 07:45:00 CDT

We humans are a hungry lot. We are driven by a craving to know who we are. Yet who we are is embedded in the heart of a holy God. Unless we seek for ourselves in the epicenter of God's grace, we will be forever condemned to walk the arid edges of self-understanding. ~ Calvin Miller

Together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory.

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:32:00 CDT

For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. - Romans 8:16-18 nlt

We are to care about everybody

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 07:05:00 CDT

"If you're going to care about the fall of the sparrow you can't pick and choose who's going to be the sparrow. It's everybody." - Madeleine L'Engle

We are not blessed to hoard, gloat, or become self-satisfied.

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 07:04:00 CDT

Then Jesus used this story: "There was a rich man that had some land. His land grew a very good crop of food. The rich man thought to himself, 'What will I do? I have no place to keep all my crops.' Then the rich man said, 'I know what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger barns! I will put all my wheat and good things together in my new barns. Then I can say to myself, I have many good things stored. I have saved enough for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and enjoy life!' But God said to that man, 'Foolish man! Tonight you will die. So what about the things you prepared for yourself? Who will get those things now?' This is how it will be for the person that saves things only for himself. To God that person is not rich." -- Luke 12:16-21 (ERV)

As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 07:17:00 CDT

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God … It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

~ Marianne Williamson, from A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 06:55:00 CDT

[Jesus said,] "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life." -- John 6:63 tniv

You were born BY God's purpose and FOR his purpose

Fri, 31 May 2013 14:00:00 CDT

The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born BY his purpose and FOR his purpose. - Rick Warren

The kind of life we have chosen is the life of the Spirit

Thu, 30 May 2013 07:53:00 CDT

Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. -- Galatians 5:25 msg

There is a joy which is not given to the ungodly

Wed, 29 May 2013 07:49:00 CDT

There is a joy which is not given to the ungodly, but to those who love Thee for Thine own sake, whose joy Thou Thyself art. And this is the happy life, to rejoice to Thee, of Thee, for Thee; this it is, and there is no other. -- St. Augustine of Hippo

Obedience to God's Word brings true happiness

Tue, 28 May 2013 07:25:00 CDT

When Jesus said these things, a woman with the people there began to speak. She said to Jesus, "What a great blessing God gave your mother, because she gave birth to you and fed you." But Jesus said, "The people that hear the teaching of God and obey it--they are the people that are truly happy!" -- Luke 11:27-28 (ERV)

We must learn to love

Mon, 27 May 2013 07:45:00 CDT

"We must learn to love together as [brothers and sisters] or perish together as fools." - Martin Luther King Jr.

The Greatest Commandment

Sun, 26 May 2013 07:42:00 CDT

"'Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?' [Jesus] said to him, '"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the greatest and first commandment.'" - Matthew 22:36-38, NRSV

Receive the Living Water that Jesus Christ gives

Sat, 25 May 2013 09:15:00 CDT

From time immemorial men have quenched their thirst with water without knowing anything about its chemical constituents. In like manner we do not need to be instructed in all the mysteries of doctrine, but we do need to receive the Living Water which Jesus Christ will give us and which alone can satisfy our souls. -- Sadhu Sundar Singh

Nothing is hidden from God

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:16:00 CDT

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. ~ Hebrews 4:13, NIV

Purity of heart and simplicity are of great force

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:03:00 CDT

Purity of heart and simplicity are of great force with Almighty God, who is in purity most singular, and of nature most simple. ~ St. Gregory the Great

Building a relationship with Jesus is urgent and intense

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:01:00 CDT

Jesus was teaching in every town and village. He continued to travel toward Jerusalem. Someone said to Jesus, "Lord, how many people will be saved? Only a few?" Jesus said, "Try hard to enter through the narrow door {that opens the way to heaven}! Many people will try to enter there, but they will not be able to enter. If a man locks the door of his house, then you can stand outside and knock on the door, but he won't open it. You can say, 'Sir, open the door for us!' But the man will answer, 'I don't know you! Where did you come from?' Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you. You taught in the streets of our town.' Then he will say to you, 'I don't know you! Where did you come from? Go away from me! You are all people that do wrong!'" ~ Jesus, Luke 13:22-27 (ERV)

The chief pang of most trials is our own resistance to it.

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:12:00 CDT

The chief pang of most trials is not so much the actual suffering itself as our own spirit of resistance to it. - Jean Nicolas Grou

True worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:32:00 CDT

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” ~ Jesus, John 4:23 tniv