Thursday, June 30, 2016

5 Ways to Grow in Christ

Hey, Gabriel Girls!

 I trust you’re having a great summer! No matter what you do this summer, don’t forget to spend time with Jesus.

 Of all your relationships, your relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important relationship you will ever have. It will last forever, into eternity. So don’t you agree it’s vital that you keep working on that relationship?

 If you don’t yet have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I urge you to establish one. Click here to learn how to do so. 

 Okay, now let’s talk about five ways to grow your relationship in Christ:
1) Dig deep into God’s Word. God’s Word is the Bible. The Bible and Jesus are actually one and the same, so if you dig deep into the Bible, you will be digging deep into Jesus. Why is this important? Because the better you get to know Jesus, the more you will be like Him, and the more like Him you are, the better your life will be.

 Check out Psalm 119: 1-3: Happy are all who perfectly follow the laws of God. Happy are all who search for God and always do his will, rejecting compromise with evil and walking only in his paths. 

 If you want to be truly happy, follow Jesus! 

 2) Pray.  Prayer is a two-way conversation with God. He talks to you, and you talk to Him. Be sure to do twice as much listening as you do talking, however, because God is far smarter than you are. :)

 I keep a Prayer Journal of my conversations with God. It’s really cool to go back and read over the things God has spoken to me over the years. Most of all, keeping a Prayer Journal will remind you of how much God cares, especially when you’re going through tough times.
3) Obey what God tells you to do. How do you know what God tells you to do? The best place to find that answer is in the Bible. God has written down all that He wants you to do. It can be summed up in two commands found in Luke 10: 27: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  Obey these two commands and you’ll be just fine. :)  

4) Meet with other Christ-Followers. We all need the support of others on our journey with Jesus. Fellow believers lift us up when we are down, and vice versa. The Bible says this about meeting with fellow believers: Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near (Hebrews 10: 25). We do not necessarily have to meet in church buildings, because we are the Church. But we should meet regularly with other Christ-Followers, especially during these dangerous times right before Christ’s return.

5) Tell others about Jesus. I am so thankful for the young woman who told me about Jesus and about my need to be born again. Even though I thought she was crazy at first, I eventually realized that she was telling me the truth. Were it not for her courage, I would not be writing this blog post today. 

So, be bold in your witness for Jesus Christ. You have the truth, and by sharing the truth with others, you will prevent many from spending eternity in Hell.

There you have it: 5 Ways to Grow in Christ. Now all you have to do is put these 5 ways into practice. You will be amazed at how much your life will change for the better!

Now, it's YOUR TURN: What ways do you practice to grow in Christ? Please share with our fellow Gabriel Girls!

You can post your comments in the box below. Thanks! We're eagerly waiting to hear from you. Your opinion matters!

TWEETABLE:


______________________________________________________
Copyright 2016 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

To Become a Gabriel Girl, you need to qualify as follows:
  • You need to be born again. This means that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and the Lord of your life.If you don't know how to do this, click here.
  • You need to have a desire to tell others about Jesus wherever you go and whenever you can.
  • You need to commit to following Jesus by reading the Bible and praying every day and by obeying Jesus' command to love Him and to love your neighbor.
    ____________________________________________________
You can find me on the following Social Media Venues:
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Thursday, May 19, 2016

Are You an Evil-Stopper?

Hey, Gabriel Girl,

 Today's post is a two-for-one. That means I'm writing the same post for both the Gabriel Girls blog and the Gabriel Guys blog.  (You didn't know you had a brother group, did you? Well, now you know!)

That said, here is my huge question to you this week: What are you doing to stop evil in the world?

I hope I'm not hearing silence on the other end. :) 

What I am probably hearing is, "What can I do?"

Great question!  Here are some suggestions you can apply to stop evil in the world:

1-Always stand up for what is right. There will be times in your daily life that your friends or teachers or others will state positions that contradict the Word of God. For example, they may say things like this:
  • Homosexuality and transgenderism are okay;
  • Sex before marriage is fine;
  • There is no God;
  • Science is the ultimate arbiter of truth.
  • The aborted baby is not a human.
Such people will use ridicule or bullying to pressure you into coming over to their position. Don't do it! They will accuse you of being intolerant, ignorant, or just plain stupid. Well, they're wrong!  

You will discover that those who call themselves "tolerant" are the most intolerant of all. If you don't agree with them, they will criticize you unkindly, curse you, and, in some instances, even kill you. 

Truly tolerant people will respect your opinion even if they don't agree with you. They will be kind and courteous to you and engage in friendly discussion. Not so, the falsely tolerant.

2-Stay alert for half-truths. The lie usually comes couched in a partial truth. Otherwise, it would be easy to detect a lie. Satan always tempts with half-truths. Here are a few examples:
  • God is good and won't let anyone go to hell.
  • There are many ways to be saved.
  • What's right for you may not be right for me (and vice versa).
3-Set love as your top priority. We are commanded to do this in I Corinthians 14: 14. Love is the greatest power of all. Love will never fail.

Especially love your brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus said this about us: "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples" (John 13: 35).

In the 1930s, as Hitler was rising to power, Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said this: 
"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." 

The famous scientist, Albert Einstein, said this: "The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." ~ Albert Einstein

Let's not be one who watches others do evil while we ourselves keep our mouths shut. We are Followers of Yeshua the Messiah. We know the Truth, and we have a mandate from our Lord to be a Light in the midst of a world that is growing increasingly dark.

 Remember this: Light will always overcome darkness! Jesus said, "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5: 14). Shine your light into your world!

Now, it's YOUR TURN: What are your thoughts about how to stop evil in the world? Please share them with your fellow Gabriel Guys and Gabriel Girls. You can post your comments in the box below. Thanks! We're eagerly waiting to hear from you. Your opinion matters!

TWEETABLES:

The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.~Einstein (CLICK TO TWEET)


 Silence in the face of evil is itself evil....Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.~Bonhoeffer (CLICK TO TWEET)

______________________________________________________

Copyright 2016 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

To Become a Gabriel Girl or Gabriel Guy, you need to qualify as follows:
  • You need to be born again. This means that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and the Lord of your life.If you don't know how to do this, click here.
  • You need to have a desire to tell others about Jesus wherever you go and whenever you can.
  • You need to commit to following Jesus by reading the Bible and praying every day and by obeying Jesus' command to love Him and to love your neighbor.
    ____________________________________________________
You can find me on the following Social Media Venues:
Amazon Author Central: www.amazon.com/author/maryanndiorio
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/drmaryanndiorio/
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