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묵상/스티브 멕베이(Steve McVey)243

To Be Like Jesus? Back in the day when I tried to be like Jesus, I felt like a spiritual failure most of the time. It was a caricature of me trying to be Him. Then a time came when I realized I don't have to try to be like Jesus. It's too draining. Besides, I am like Jesus. I am one with Him. We live in union. That reality suggests something even harder to conceive: Jesus looks like Steve too. .. 2012. 11. 30.
Learning To Live With Imperfection We all have an ideal in mind concerning the things we do in life. We have been taught to be conscientious about what we do and to strive for excellence. There is certainly nothing wrong with that philosophy of living. It is admirable and serves as a good baseline for everything we do. There is, however, a dividing line between being conscientious and being a perfectionist abou.. 2012. 11. 12.
Making Our Days Count Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 There is a benefit to understanding that your days are numbered. None of us are going to live forever in this world. Knowing that we have a finite number of days here can motivate us to make the time we have left really count for eternity. For an eye-opening moment, you can check out one of numerous w.. 2012. 4. 26.
"The Faith of Christ" by C. Baxter Kruger Here is a good article on the faith of Christ by C. Baxter Kruger that I think will help shed light on the question of whether faith is something we muster up for ourselves or is a gift given to us through Jesus Christ upon which we rely so that we can experience all that is ours in Him. . . Way back in the 50’s a debate started regarding the translation of certain.. 2011. 11. 14.
Unalterable Faithfulness The greatest challenge many of us face in the circumstances of life is to calmly rest in the reality of our God’s faithfulness. We intellectually believe His faithfulness is an intrinsic aspect of who He is and we confess that belief in all sincerity and without hesitation. Then the test comes. Life suddenly turns upside down on us and we find ourselves scrambling to reverse this change of ci.. 2011. 8. 26.
Compassionate Gentleness As I was sitting in my chair this morning, I was watching the birds in our feeders outside. We have five feeders and enjoy watching the cardinals, finches, house wrens, redheaded woodpeckers, robins, sparrows, hummingbirds and even the occasional bluebird. I had opened the sliding doors to feel the outside breeze. Suddenly something startled the birds and they all took off at the same time. One.. 2011. 8. 16.
Authentic Peace Early on in my adult life I struggled with what it means to experience the peace of God in very hard situations. I thought the answer was all about saying the right things. When Melanie and I would face financial struggles, I would repeatedly recite verses about God being my Provider and insist I knew that when the time came that the money needed to be there, it would be there. Again and again,.. 2011. 8. 16.
Absurd Forgiveness When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, he wrongly assumed His God would be angry but instead God came looking for Him to take His regular evening walk. When Abraham sent his wife, Sarah, into Pharaoh’s tent to protect his own life by allowing her to have sex with another man, God told Pharaoh that he was on dangerous ground and that he’d better get her out of there right now. The next word.. 2011. 8. 12.
Unfathomable Love How do we handle it when life seems to make no sense? I think about Job, who said, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord!” "Job, how can you say that? Don’t you see that cemetery?" "Yes," he'd say, "but I also see that my Redeemer liveth and in the last day shall stand upon the earth." I see Paul in prison. "Paul, how can you write, 'Rejoice in the Lor.. 2011. 8. 9.
Ridiculous Grace The grace of God stands in a category all by itself. There’s nothing to compare with it because there’s nothing else like it in time or eternity. Grace is expression of the complete goodness of Pure Love toward those who have done nothing and never can do anything to deserve it or reciprocate for it. Either grace is a unilateral act or it’s not grace. The minute we think we owe anything f.. 2011. 8. 7.
The Calf Path Talk about the power of tradition! This poem tells it all. . . One day, through the primeval wood, A calf walked home, as good calves should; But made a trail all bent askew, A crooked trail, as all calves do. Since then three hundred years have fled, And, I infer, the calf is dead. But still he left behind his trail, And thereby hangs my moral tale. The trail was taken up next day, By a lone do.. 2011. 7. 6.
Malcomb Smith and The Real Gospel Thank God for men like Malcomb Smith, who has been proclaiming the pure gospel of Jesus Christ for fifty years. Take the time to listen to this message. It's worth your time. 2011. 6. 26.
Bill Gillham Has Gone Home It is with bittersweet emotion that I learned of the passing of Dr. Bill Gillham, my friend and mentor. Bill has been in steady decline since his dear Anabel took the short step across the veil between time and eternity not so very long ago. My mind can only imagine what a precious sight it must have been when she greeted him on the other side. Bill had more influence in my life than almost any.. 2011. 6. 25.
When Your Husband Isn't Walking With You In Grace Barb grew up in a healthy home where her mom and dad were obviously in love. Her dad was an elder in their local church and her mom taught the young couple’s class in Bible Study. “When the doors were opened, we were there,” is the way she has sometimes described her experience. Due to the way her own family always functioned, Barb took it for granted that a Christian husband does certain.. 2011. 6. 19.
Lie #89 We Need God’s Law to Understand His Righteousness Those who preach the law of God today in the New Testament Church, often tell us that the reason God gave the law was to reveal His righteousness to us, but that isn't true. The Bible clearly states why God gave the law in Romans 5:20. The Scripture says that the law came in so that transgressions might increase. The reason God gave the law wa.. 2011. 6. 15.
Was What I Taught In Australia Biblical? I'm used to people disagreeing with me. That is an inevitable part of being a public speaker. Those of us who speak plainly and boldly about God's grace in contrast to the world of religion find ourselves particularly vulnerable to that. I usually don't respond publicly, but my recent visit to Australia compels me to respond to a stirring that has started there since my departure. My recent vis.. 2011. 6. 9.
Johns, Jims and Jesus Consider John: John is a believer in Jesus Christ. At the age of 14, he heard a guest speaker at youth camp teach that Jesus died for our sins and John believed what he heard. He prayed with a counselor at the end of that service and has never doubted that he is a Christian since then. However, here are some things John does not know or believe: 1. That all of his sins – past, present, and fu.. 2011. 6. 7.
Your Sins Are Gone, So Let It Go Think of the worst sin you have ever committed. Do you have it in mind? Do you remember the specifics of the sin — what you were thinking and how you were feeling when you committed it? Now think of Jesus Christ hanging on the cross, his brow, feet and hands pierced and bleeding. His head hangs in agony. You are standing at the foot of the cross when He lifts His head and looks you directly i.. 2011. 6. 4.
Let's Dance He entered into the room, which was filled with noise and activity. There was music, laughter and talking. His eyes scanned the room, searching for that one whose very face caused his breath to quicken and his heart rate to increase. He loved her, yet it was more than that. He wanted her. He wanted her to be his, and not just tonight, but forever. Then he saw her. Across the crowded room, she s.. 2011. 5. 31.
A Longing For Home C.S. Lewis wrote, "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." The video below is Eva Cassidy singing, "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." Listen to the longing in her voice. Wikipedia reports that in 1993, Cassidy had a malignant mole removed from her back. Three years later, during a promotional eve.. 2011. 5. 30.
Stillness Speaks Volumnes One time I found myself lost in the woods alone. It was late at night and a friend and I were going fishing. We had left the car parked on the side of the road and had gone through the woods down to the water’s edge where our boat was tied. The plan was that we would load the boat with the supplies we had brought from the car, then he would take the boat across the lake to a bridge on the oth.. 2011. 5. 30.
Jesus Is Looking Forward To Your Coming It was in the month of December and I was in the countryside, three hours outside Beijing, China. Temperatures were hovering around ten below zero degrees Fahrenheit. I could see my own breath in the cold air of the unheated storage room in the abandoned factory where I both slept and taught the Bible during my time in this poverty stricken community. Fifteen people sat around me in a circle, h.. 2011. 5. 28.
Divine Love Is More Than An Attribute When the Bible says that, “God is love” (1 John 4:8), how are we to understand that verse? Does the statement speak to the core essence of who He is? Are there other aspects of His nature that need to be seen in balance with the reality of His love? Some say that to teach about the love of God the way I do does a disservice in presenting His nature by suggesting that Agape is the defining f.. 2011. 5. 28.
A Great Blog By Frank Viola I recently read Jesus Manifesto by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola and thought it was an excellent book. While my views don't perfectly align with theirs on everything they've each written, this particular book was one that I highly recommend you read if you haven't already. It is a stellar book that points us all back to Jesus. Mike Zenker (GW Canada National Director) sent this blog by Viola to.. 2011. 5. 16.
C.S. Lewis On The Finished Work of Christ What, then, is the difference which He has made to the whole human mass? It is just this; that the business of becoming a son of God, of being turned from a created thing into a begotten thing, of passing over from the temporary biological life into timeless 'spiritual' life, has been done for us. Humanity is already 'saved' in principle. We individuals have to appropriate that salvation. But t.. 2011. 5. 3.
Love Wins After all the prepublication stir about it, I was eager to read Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins. I had never read anything by him before nor had I seen his popular NOOMA videos that have been all the rage for quite some time. So I went into Love Wins with little preconceptions about what it might be. Overall, I liked the book very much. I’m glad it has ignited a fire in the church world beca.. 2011. 3. 29.
Masterpiece Revelations In Philippians 1:8-10, the Apostle Paul said that as we grow in love we will mature to the place where we can tell the difference between that which is good and that which is excellent. The New American Standard Version renders it, "so that you may be able to discern what is best." There are good teachings out there and then there are excellent teachings. Our Father's intent is that we would re.. 2011. 3. 12.
Should We Be Universalists? Trinitarians? Or Just Plain Nuts? Mike recently asked on Facebook, “Steve, if u don't mind me asking, what made u not believe in the Universalist view, but the Trinitarian one instead? What is the major difference in their views? Thanks! God bless!” Like Mike, many have asked and many more wondered about the teachings I’m doing these days. I believe my teachings now are simply a greater and more finely tuned expression of.. 2011. 2. 19.
Grace Revolutions Aren't New Allow me to begin by introducing you to somebody. I’m sure you’ve at least heard of him, but it’s important for you to know him for a number of reasons, not the least of which is because I hope you’ll see him as a distant relative of sorts – a kindred spirit. You may end up identifying him as somebody whose life was a template for the direction you’ll want to take in your own life. .. 2011. 2. 10.
God Uses Unlikely People Many a misguided promise has been made to God during times of crisis. The “If you’ll just let me live . . .” prayer has set more than a few people on a pathway that God never required. Until a person comes to know the heart of God, the default setting is to believe that what He wants most from us is service and sacrifice. Nothing could be further from our Father’s way of grace, but that.. 2011. 1. 27.

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