Dan Gould

Tag: Love like Fire – Hillsong

  • Bible Challenge – 1 Corinthians 6

    “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” v 9-11 (NLT)

    This is quite the list of sins and lifestyles that are not pleasing to God.  Sadly we live in a sex saturated society where lines have been blurred and lifestyles have tried to be justified.  This isn’t a new thing, these addictions and lifestyles were addressed in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.  But they are just that, addictions and a lifestyle that is opposite of what God desires!

    When we ask Jesus to be a Lord and Savior, we surrender everything to Him.  Everything includes everything we were, are, and going to be! Everything means that we face and repent from who we use to be, Confess who we are and the struggles we have, and allow Him to transform us into the person that is more like him.  This may be difficult, you will have to face temptation, but Jesus has the power to take replace all of these desires that cause us to be addicted to these lifestyles, IF we are willing to seek Him completely not holding anything back!

    Today, what are you hanging on 2? May verse 11 truly be said of us!! No more games, no more hiding, no more justifying, Jesus we need you!

  • Bible Challenge – 1 John 1

    “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7

    As a kid/teenager I use to love to play ‘Hide & Seek’! We all know that some of the best hiding places are found in the darkest places.  Usually these dark places are hard to find, but when we find them, we tend to go back there to hide because no-one knows where it is but us.

    As an adult, I have learned to hide.  In fact, I am and expert hider! I hide the real me behind several things like: busyness, work, my title, doing good things, knowing when/what/how to say things, and even trying to look better than I am in public. Sometimes, I am afraid of the light because I have gotten so use to the darkness I find myself retracting to.

    However, I am learning the importance of staying in the Light and allowing the Light of Christ to search out the dark places that I tend to find myself hiding.  Sometimes this process is painful and causes me to experience fear, shame, and brokenness.  But regardless of the pain, the process is always freeing. It brings me to a deeper understanding of Christ love and of Gods grace and mercy!

    Father, I confess that sometimes it’s easier to hide in the darkness than to live in the Light.  Today will you search me and reveal to me the places that I am hiding.  Help me put a deeper faith, trust, desire, and even effort in living in your Light today and each day after this. In Christ Name I pray, Amen!