New Graphic - Proof that God Loves Sinners

Here is the latest graphic I made in English and Romanian. You can download them here: English Romanian or click on the image and download it directly. Here is a link to all the graphics I have made so far: William's graphics.

Gospel Quote - Lordship Living

"As Abraham Kuyper famously declared that “there is not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence which Christ who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” If that is the case, then true discipleship is about dutifully and faithfully living out the lordship of Jesus Christ. Discipleship means ordering our lives according to his story, symbols, teaching, and authority." -- Michael Bird

Gospel Quote - Stop Running and Come Home

(Continued from yesterday) "God gave us the car-keys to planet earth and said, “Go have fun!” True, we responded by crashing the car. But don’t miss the bigger point, which is this: Knowing what we would do, and knowing how much it would cost him to repair the damage, God went ahead and did it anyway. Why? Because he loves us and believes in us and hopes that one day we will stop running and come home." -- Paul Ellis

Photo by Ryan McAbee

Gospel Quote - A Reckless Gamble

(Continued from yesterday) "Think about it. In the beginning God makes a planet – perfect in every way – and then he gives his beautiful, shiny planet to us to look after: ‛The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man.’ (Psalms 115:16) You might say it was a reckless gamble, but I say it was an audacious act of love and trust, like when a father hands his daughter the keys to his Shelby Mustang and says, ‛Go have some fun!’”  -- Paul Ellis (Continued tomorrow)

Also Posted Today
Thanksgiving Graphic

Thanksgiving Graphic

Here is a Thanksgiving graphic I made in English and Romanian. They are 1200 x 830. You can download them here: English Romanian. Here is a link to all the graphics I have made so far: William's graphics. Photo by Teo

Gospel Quote - Didn't Wash His Hands of Us

Photo by Lucille Pine

(Continued from yesterday) "But God, good Father that he is, didn’t wash his hands of us. He didn’t say, “What a bunch of screw-ups. They’re no kids of mine.” Instead, he made things right, indeed, even better than before, because he still believes in us, he still thinks the best of us, and he longs for us to trust him back. Is this not the greatest untold story of human history?" -- Paul Ellis (Continued tomorrow)

Gospel Quote - Test vs. Trust

(Continued from yesterday) "This explains the tree. The forbidden tree was not an obedience test, as in, fail the test and God will punish you. The forbidden tree was an opportunity to trust God. Tragically, we didn’t and we paid a price." -- Paul Ellis (Continued tomorrow)

What the Church Can Learn from Country Music

Photo by Bob Jagendorf

I recently read a thought provoking blog post titled Why Country Music is So Popular (and What the Church Can Learn From it) which I really enjoyed. Here is a part of it:

People listen to music for a variety of reasons. My mood and temperament may be the catalyst that helps me decide between listening to U2 or Eric Church.  But when it comes down to it, I am really comforted by the stories, especially the ones that have a God/sin contradiction. It is as if I finally have found a place where people are like me. Now, I don’t have problems with bars, alcohol, or being in love with someone other than my wife, but I do have problems that are just as serious to me. I live the same contradiction that country musicians are not afraid to write about.

Why do I struggle? Why do you struggle? Why do we, who have put our trust in Jesus for our sins, struggle to talk about the contradiction that we live? It is because of our own expectations or the expectations of others? Or is it because of the voices that we listen to. Do we really understand the gospel and the grace of God that is ours in Jesus? Do we really know deep in our hearts who we are now because of Jesus? Do we listen to His voice?

We should learn from country music how to be real and confess our struggles. We are messy and hypocrites, there is no use denying it. But thankfully that is not the end of the song. Because of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives we have hope. We have hope of becoming more like Jesus with each passing day and we have the hope that when we see Him face-to-face we will be just like Him. Not because of wishful thinking but because the Bible tells us so. See 2 Corinthians 3:18 and 1 John 3:2-3.

So let's be real and confess our sins to one another but let's also be hopeful and offer words of hope and encouragement to one another as we learn to open up and admit our weaknesses and struggles. Let's write our own country music songs but let's end them by always pointing to Jesus and the hope we have in Him.

Gospel Quote - The Single Most Astonishing Discovery

"The single most astonishing discovery in the gospel is that Almighty God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, has faith in us. He trusts us. He gives us the freedom to choose, encourages us to “Choose life,” and then lets us decide." -- Paul Ellis (Continued tomorrow)

Photo by Auntie P 

Behind Every Sin - New Graphic

Here is the newest graphic I made in English and Romanian. They are 1920 x 1080 (HD sized). You can download them here: English Romanian. If you click directly on the photo Blogger will open it and you can right click and download it that way as well but they will be a bit smaller (1600 x 900). Here is a link to all the graphics I have made so far: William's graphics

Photo by Texas.713

Gospel Quotes - Making Disciples

"Scripture gives us a number of ways to know who is truly a follower of Christ. For example, those who repent of their sin, trust in Christ, and surrender to his lordship have the marks of a true disciple. Those are foundational responses to the gospel. But did you know that being a disciple also means that you ought to be making disciples? If you’re a follower of Christ, you weren’t made to be a spectator; you were made to be a disciple-maker." -- David Platt

The Story of the Messiah (5:47)

The story of the Messiah as told in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. What does Messiah mean? Check the link to find out.

Other Videos in the Bible Project Series
The Story of Heaven and Earth (6:42)
Genesis Chapters 1-11 (6:11)
Genesis Chapters 12-50 (5:06)

Gospel Quotes - Okay with Not Being Okay

"The gospel liberates us to be okay with not being okay. We know we’re not okay—though we try very hard to convince ourselves and other people that we’re basically fine. But the gospel tells us, 'Relax, it is finished. The pressure’s off.'" -- Tullian Tchividjian

 Photo by Coba

Pastoring & Leadership Related Links

Here are the best pastoring and leadership related blog posts I came across lately. If you are serving others or discipling someone you may find some good "food for thought".

1. The Recipe for a Successful Pastor
2. Questions are the Answer
3. 10 Wise Leadership Lessons I’ll Never Forget
4. What Happens When We Go to Scripture Looking for an Outline, Not for Life
5. Why Trust Matters More Than You Realize (And 3 Ways To Create It)
6. Twenty-One Words That Describe Christian Leadership
7. You Need Others’ Voices

Gospel Quotes - The Only Riches You Are Promised

"Jesus’ death means he has taken on your sin, in exchange for his righteousness. God has shown us “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7). These are the only riches you are promised in this life—the joy and peace that comes with knowing that you have a good and loving God who has saved you at the infinite cost of his only Son." -- Caleb Flores

Being Fully Present - A Christian Perspective

It is obvious that our technology today is having a negative impact on our ability to really connect with each other. Over a year ago I gave a speech at our Toastmaster's Club here in Brașov about this very subject titled Be Fully Present.

How should Christians view and deal with this problem? I came across an excellent blog post today that talked about this issue titled The Presence of Mind to Be Present by Jeremy Writebol. Here is what he had to say:

One practical way that love expresses itself is by our presence with others when we are actually with them. It seems to be the case more and more that whenever my wife and I go out on a date, we notice other couples in the room sitting at the same table staring intently into the World Wide Web on their cell phone. The glow of the smart-device covers their face and the concentration and devotion they exhibit towards whatever they are looking at is obvious. However, it looks rather odd to see two people at the same table staring into two devices and spending a significant amount of time not talking to one another. I often wonder if they are unable to talk and send one another text messages to communicate. It seems that this sort of ailment is occurring more and more these days. And  myself am not innocent.

You can read the rest here.

Gospel Quotes - The Essential Component

"The first essential component of making disciples is “go.”  Discipleship at its very core requires obedience to follow Jesus and make him famous in the nations. By God’s design, the gospel will be proclaimed by His people among those who do not yet know Him, and we as God’s people must go to the nations." -- Todd Engstrom

Gospel Quotes - The Only Trade Jesus Will Make

"There’s only one 'trade' Jesus is willing to make: he’ll give you himself for all of eternity in return for your complete surrender. All of you for all of him. He has no other terms." -- J. D. Greear

Gospel Quotes - Our Vocation

"Mission lies at the heart of God. It doesn’t begin here in Acts 1-2, in fact it began in Genesis 3. Here in Acts the vocation of God’s people to be witnesses of what God has done in and through Jesus Christ becomes our calling. Witness is the vocation of God’s people. Witness involves being keepers of the story, proclaiming the story of who Jesus is, and living out the ongoing reality of the story in this world!" -- Mark Steven

Gospel Quotes - Closeness of God

"Yes, you are called to do good works, but you don't do good works to get God to move closer. The closeness of God was purchased by Christ on the Cross." -- Paul Tripp

What is Christianity About?

Christianity is not about being good enough for God to let you into heaven. Why? Because of your rebellion against God you could never be good enough to deserve heaven. Christianity is about putting your complete trust in Jesus and what he did to deal with your sin so that you could be reconciled to God. 

What did Jesus do? He left heaven and was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life completely fulfilling the law of God. Then in love he willingly went to the cross and paid the price for every sin ever committed. After his death and spending three days in a tomb he rose from the dead proving he was the Son of God and that sin had indeed been taken care of. As Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished!”

Jesus offers you salvation as a gift. But you must receive it, you must take a hold of it. To do that you must first recognize your rebellion against God. That you had turned from God to be your own god and have looked to created things to find life, happiness and satisfaction instead of God. Then you need to turn back to God and take the gift of salvation that Jesus offers you. When you do that your sin is taken care of and you are adopted into the family of God and will live with Him forever in His eternal kingdom.

The choice is yours but remember, what you do with Jesus decides whether you will be with God or apart from God for all of eternity. The stakes are high, don’t take this lightly. Call out to God and seek Him with all your mind and heart.

Related Links
Why Should Seekers Consider the Gospel?
What is Christianity? Jon Oleksiuk (2:14)

What is Christianity? Christianity Explored (3:12)