Willis Soul Caffeine

Stories & Life Lessons Designed to Encourage & Inspire
1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-1-62095-931-2
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet/DL/kein Kopierschutz

E-Book, Englisch, 130 Seiten

'Soul Caffeine' is a collection of short, insightful and encouraging Stories, Bible Studies and Life Lessons from Pastor Dave Willis. Each reading is designed to be completed in 1-2 minutes to give the reader a 'quick jolt of encouragement.' It's like a double-shot of espresso for the soul!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Willis, Dave

Leseproben

1. TWO-MINUTE BIBLE STUDIES
7 Things God wants you to know about Yourself
Your true identity can't be found by "looking within yourself" for the answers. Our identity can only be found by looking to the One who Created us. Here are seven important principles God wants you to know about Yourself: 1. You are Loved. One of the most mind-blowing realities the Bible teaches is that the God of the Universe loves us! He loves you so much He sent His only Son Jesus to rescue you and bring you home. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 2. You Need Jesus. He desires to be the Savior of your Soul, the Leaders of your Life, your guide and your friend. Without Him, your life will never be what God intended it to be. With Him, you can experience all God has for you. Jesus did not come to make you religious; He came to make you alive! "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 3. You are a Masterpiece. You might now feel like it, but how you feel doesn't change who you are! God's sees you as a one-in-a-trillion priceless Masterpiece created in His Own Image. The Mona Lisa has got nothing on You! "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10 4. You are Forgiven. Once you trust Jesus for forgiveness, your sins are no longer counted against you, so don't live in regret! You are not defined by what you've done. God never measures our value by what we've done or by what's been done to us, but by what He has done for us on the Cross. God's Grace takes away our sin and makes us a New Creation so we can live in freedom and peace. "if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." 1 John 1:9 5. You are not Alone. We all have those moments where we feel lonely and abandoned, but even in your darkest hour, God is with you. He has never left your side and He never will. "…God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5 6. You are part of God's Family. Our faith in Christ brings us adoption into God's family. You are literally a Son or Daughter of God and an heir in His Eternal Kingdom. "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! " 1 John 3:1 7. You have a Home in Heaven. Jesus is preparing a place just for you. A perfect place awaits where the trouble and pain of this life will be no more and you'll celebrate forever with your Savior and all of God's Family! "“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am." John 14:1-3 Leaving the Crowd and Finding a Savior
When I was a kid in Sunday School, we learned a little song about a Bible story. It started out with the lyrics, "Zacchaeus was a wee little man a wee little man was he." From the first line of that song, the teacher had my attention for a couple reasons. First off, I thought "Zacchaeus" was a cool name and secondly, I was a pretty short kid so I could relate to the Hobbit-like stature of the guy in the song. As I learned and song and story, Jesus started to seem more "real" to me. To my young mind, this story brought to life the personality of Jesus and it illuminated the simple path to Salvation that He offers us. As I read the story now in adulthood, I still find those beautiful aspects of our Savior's Character and love for all people. I also see the importance of getting away from the crowd if the crowd is keeping me away from Jesus! Take a moment and read this familiar passage of Scripture and the let words sink in. I believe that this story has the power to change your life! The Scripture is in italics and I've added some additional comments in bold to help you apply these truths to your own life. "Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way." Luke 19:1-4 Sometimes connecting with Christ requires leaving the Crowd. Remember that the Crowd can't save you…only Jesus can. "When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly." Luke 19:5-6 Don’t delay your response to Christ. Don't make excuses, just step out in faith! All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” Luke 19:7 Jesus loves imperfect people (and that includes you and me). His invitation to us is based on His goodness, not ours. But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Luke 19:8 Once Jesus gives us new life, we need to start a new lifestyle. Once we've been made right with God, we need to make things right with people. Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:9-10 God’s Healing Power
We all need healing. When Jesus was walking around Israel 2000 years ago, people doubted his ability to "save" but nobody doubted his ability to heal. Today, ironically, Christians trust completely his ability to Save them from sin and Hell but we often doubt his ability to heal us. The Bible teaches that He is "…the same yesterday, today and forever," so if He healed before, He can heal today. Below I've put one of the Bible's most familiar stories of healing along with some practical steps we can apply to our own lives. "A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering." Mark 5:24-29 An Encounter with Jesus brings Freedom and Healing. "He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." Mark 5:34 I believe that most of us want to experience a supernatural encounter with Jesus. We want healing (physical, financial, emotional and spiritual) in our own lives, but we don't always know how to receive these gifts that Jesus is freely offering to us. Below is a simple outline to follow. Remember, Jesus is not a genie in a bottle or a vending machine who exists to give you what you think you want. He is your loving Savior whose plans for your life are much better than your own plans. The healing He brings might not always look exactly like you think it should, but in the scope of eternity, it will prove to be exactly what you need for your good and God's Glory. 1. Believe in God’s Power. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6 2. Pray with Faith. "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up." James 5:15 3. Trust God no matter what. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6 It’s all about Jesus!
The Bible teaches that your life is forever linked to Jesus Christ. He desires to give you hope, peace, grace and purpose. He didn't come to make you "religious," He came to make you alive! How you choose to respond to...