Christian Paradigm Shifts

I thought I'd make a cover for Facebook timelines. Each month I'll be sharing a new cover for you to use on your personal Facebook page. Enjoy!! Here it is: Just click on image to enlarge and then save the image to your computer.

(click above to enlarge) The new year is almost upon us and I have been pondering what I am going to study. This year I've decided to make my own study guide rather than following a premade study,   I have made my own study guide using a free resource by Robin at Heart of Wisdom (listed under favorite links).   The page that I printed can be found under freebies. I am using the Bible Passage sheet.   Here's a sample of the page (please print out at Robin's site):      I printed it using Georgia Pacific Premium copy paper. I purchased it at Walmart for about $5.   Here's a picture for reference:      I had it bound at my local Staples for about $5.   I am using the One Year Bible chart which is available online. I will be using the New Testament portion. I believe these are the same readings in the One Year Bible.   I plan on using my new Bible I received for Christmas...     Here's what it looks like when

The Voice ~ Matthew 2:1-11 2  Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, in the province of Judea, at the time when King Herod reigned. Not long after Jesus was born, magi, wise men or seers from the East, made their way from the East to Jerusalem. These wise men made inquiries. These men from the East come looking for the One who has been born who will save His people from sin. Wise Men: 2  Where is this newborn, who is the King of the Jews? When we were far away in the East we saw His star, and we have followed its glisten and gleam all this way to worship Him. 3  King Herod began to hear rumors of the wise men’s quest, and he, and all of his followers in Jerusalem, were worried. 4  So Herod called all of the leading Jewish teachers, the chief priests and head scribes, and he asked them where Hebrew tradition claimed the long-awaited Anointed One would be born. Scribes and Priests: 5  An ancient Hebrew prophet, Micah, said this: 6       But you, Bethlehem

The Voice ~ Luke 2:1-20 Around the time of Elizabeth’s amazing pregnancy and John’s birth, the emperor in Rome, Caesar Augustus, required everyone in the Roman Empire to participate in a massive census— 2  the first census since Quirinius had become governor of Syria. 3  Each person had to go to his or her ancestral city to be counted. 4-5  Mary’s fiancé Joseph, from Nazareth in Galilee, had to participate in the census in the same way everyone else did . Because he was a descendant of King David, his ancestral city was Bethlehem, David’s birthplace. Mary, who was now late in her pregnancy that the messenger Gabriel had predicted , 6  accompanied Joseph. While in Bethlehem, she went into labor 7  and gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped the baby in a blanket and laid Him in a feeding trough because the inn had no room for them. 8  Nearby, in the fields outside of Bethlehem, a group of shepherds were guarding their flocks from predators in the darkness of nigh

The Voice ~ Luke 1:39-56 39  Mary immediately got up and hurried to the hill country, in the province of Judah, 40-41  where her cousins Zacharias and Elizabeth lived. When Mary entered their home and greeted Elizabeth, who felt her baby leap in her womb, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth (shouting) : 42  You are blessed, Mary , blessed among all women, and the child you bear is blessed! 43  And blessed I am as well, that the mother of my Lord has come to me! 44  As soon as I heard your voice greet me, my baby leaped for joy within me. 45  How fortunate you are, Mary, for you believed that what the Lord told you would be fulfilled. Mary is deeply moved by these amazing encounters—first with the messenger and then with her cousin, Elizabeth. Mary’s response can’t be contained in normal prose; her noble soul overflows in poetry. And this poetry isn’t simply religious; it has powerful social and political overtones. It speaks of a great revers

The Voice ~ 1 John 2:24-29 24  Let the good news , the story you have heard from the beginning of your journey, live in and take hold of you. If that happens and you focus on the good news , then you will always remain in a relationship with the Son and the Father. 25  This is what He promised us: eternal life. 26  I also am writing to warn you about some who are attempting to deceive you. 27  You have an anointing. You received it from Him, and His anointing remains on you. You do not need any other teacher. But as His anointing instructs you in all the essentials (all the truth uncontaminated by darkness and lies), it teaches you this: “Remain connected to Him.” 28  So now, my little children, live in Him, so that whenever He is revealed, we will have confidence and not have to hang our heads in shame before Him when He comes. 29  If you know that He is just and faithful , then you also know that everyone who lives faithfully and acts justly has been born into a new li

This is an older post that I thought I'd share again.... Some of you may be familiar with the following verse - 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) . You may have seen it on a billboard or at a football game. Maybe you have read it in your Bible. Whichever way you have come across this verse, it is a wonderful truth to be taken to heart. The Gospel of John talks about the world (Greek - Kosmos) 73 times. The basic themes are that Jesus made the world, He came to save the world, and His Kingdom is not of this world. Jesus made stars and calls them by name (Psalm 147:4) and the earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it (Psalm 24:1).  He saved the world by offering Himself as a sacrifice on the cross at Calvary (Hebrews 7:27). This allows people the opportunity to be part of His kingdom - His way of doing and being - (Hebrews 7:27). Imagine

The Third Sunday of Advent is Joy...   The baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped for joy... For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy . ~ Luke 1:44    The angels announced to the shepherds a reason for joy ..  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ~ Luke 2:10   The wise men were overwhelmed with joy.... When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy . ~ Matthew 2:10   We sing about joy...     We have a reason to be joyful...   God loves us so much that he gave...   He gave his one and only Son....   So that we could have eternal life...   Eternal life is to know the Father and the One he has sent....   May each day during this season and always...   May we know Him more and more...   Rejoice for the Lord has come...   and...   Will one day come again....     

The Voice ~ Mark 9:33-37 33  At last, they came to Capernaum where they gathered in a house. Jesus: What was it I heard you arguing about along the way? 34  They looked down at the floor and wouldn’t answer, for they had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest of Jesus’ disciples . 35  He sat down with the twelve to teach them. Jesus: Whoever wants to be first must be last, and whoever wants to be the greatest must be the servant of all. 36  He then called forward a child, set the child in the middle of them, and took the child in His arms. Jesus: 37  Whoever welcomes a child like this in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me is welcoming not Me, but the One who sent Me.   The Voice Commentary ~ It is only natural for the disciples to wonder which of them will be His right-hand man. Even the three disciples who have just seen Jesus’ glory revealed in the transfiguration cannot resist the attraction of honor. After all, who has a b

The Voice ` Mark 8:27-38 As He traveled with His disciples into the villages of Caesarea Philippi, He posed an important question to them. Jesus: Who do the people say that I am? 28  They told Him about the great speculation concerning His identity. Disciples: Some of them say You are John the Baptist, [ a ] others say Elijah, while others say one of the prophets of old . Jesus (pressing the question) : 29  And who do you say that I am? Peter: You are God’s Anointed, the Liberating King . Jesus: 30  Don’t tell anyone. It is not yet time. 31  And He went on to teach them many things about Himself: how the Son of Man would suffer; how He would be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes; how He would be killed; and how, after three days, God would raise Him from the dead. 32  He said all these things in front of them all, but Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke Him. Peter represents the best and worst in humanity. One day, Peter drops everyth

    The Voice ~ Matthew 9:32-38 32  Later a man who was possessed by demons and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33  Jesus drove out the demons, and the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed. Crowd: Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel. Pharisees: 34  It must be the prince of demons who gives Him the power to cast out demons. 35  Jesus went through many towns and villages. He taught in their synagogues. He preached the good news of the kingdom of God. He healed every disease and sickness. 36  Whenever crowds came to Him, He had compassion for them because they were so deeply distraught, malaised, and heart-broken. They seemed to Him like lost sheep without a shepherd. 37  Jesus understood what an awesome task was before Him , so He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38  Ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into His harvest field.”   There are many people in the world...   Many who have n

The Voice ~ John 5:25-47 I tell you the truth: a new day is imminent—in fact, it has arrived—when the voice of the Son of God will penetrate death’s domain, and everyone who hears will live. 26-27  You see, the Father radiates with life; and He also animates the Son of God with the same life-giving beauty and power to exercise judgment over all of creation . Indeed, the Son of God is also the Son of Man. 28  If this sounds amazing to you, what is even more amazing is that when the time comes, those buried long ago will hear His voice through all the rocks, sod, and soil 29  and step out of decay into resurrection . When this hour arrives, those who did good will be resurrected to life, and those who did evil will be resurrected to judgment. 30  I have not ever acted, and will not in the future act, on My own. I listen to the directions of the One who sent Me and act on these divine instructions . For this reason , My judgment is always fair and never self-serving. I’m co

The Voice ~ John 5:17-24 Jesus (to His attackers) : 17  My Father is at work. So I, too, am working. 18  He was justifying the importance of His work on the Sabbath, claiming God as His Father in ways that suggested He was equal to God. These pious religious leaders sought an opportunity to kill Jesus, and these words fueled their hatred. Jesus: 19  The truth is that the Son does nothing on His own; all these actions are led by the Father . The Son watches the Father closely and then mimics the work of the Father. 20  The Father loves the Son, so He does not hide His actions. Instead, He shows Him everything, and the things not yet revealed by the Father will dumbfound you. 21  The Father can give life to those who are dead; in the same way, the Son can give the gift of life to those He chooses. 22  The Father does not exert His power to judge anyone. Instead, He has given the authority as Judge to the Son. 23  So all of creation will honor and worship the Son as the

  The Voice ~ Matthew 4:12-25 12  It was not long until powerful people put John in prison. When Jesus learned this, He went back to Galilee. 13  He moved from Nazareth to Capernaum, a town by the sea in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14  He did this to fulfill one of the prophecies of Isaiah: 15  In the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,      the road to the sea along the Jordan in Galilee, the land of the outsiders— 16  In these places , the people who had been living in darkness      saw a great light. The light of life will overtake those who dwelt in the shadowy darkness of death. [ a ] 17  From that time on, preaching was part of Jesus’ work. Jesus: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 18  One day Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee when He saw Simon (also called Peter) and Andrew throwing their nets into the water. They were, of course, fishermen. Jesus: 19  Come , follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20  I

The Voice ~ Matthew 3:1-17 1 Around the same time, a man called John [ a ] began to travel, preach, and ritually wash people through baptism in the wilderness of Judea. John preached a stern but exciting message. John: 2  Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is near. 3  John’s proclamation fulfilled a promise made by the ancient prophet Isaiah, who had said, “There will be a voice calling from the desert, saying, Prepare the road for the Eternal One’s journey;      repair and straighten out every mile of our God’s highway.” [ b ] 4  John wore wild clothes made from camel hair with a leather belt around his waist— the clothes of an outcast, a rebel . He ate locusts and wild honey. 5  People from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and indeed from all around the river Jordan came to John. 6  They confessed their sins, and they were baptized [ c ] by him in the Jordan. 7  He told some Pharisees and Sadducees who came for the ritual baptism, John: You children of se

The Voice ~ Luke 2:41-52   41  Every year during Jesus’ childhood , His parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. 42  When Jesus was 12, He made the journey with them. 43  They spent several days there, participating in the whole celebration. When His parents left for home, Jesus stayed in Jerusalem, but Joseph and Mary were not aware. 44  They assumed Jesus was elsewhere in the caravan that was traveling together . After they had already traveled a full day’s journey toward home , they began searching for Him among their friends and relatives. 45  When no one had seen the boy, Mary and Joseph rushed back to Jerusalem and searched for Him. 46  After three days of separation, they finally found Him—sitting among a group of religious teachers in the temple—asking them questions, listening to their answers. 47  Everyone was surprised and impressed that a 12-year-old boy could have such deep understanding and could answer questions with such wisdom . 48 

The Voice ~ Philippians 2:1-11 2  If you find any comfort from being in the Anointed, if His love brings you some encouragement, if you experience true companionship with the Spirit, if His tenderness and mercy fill your heart; then, brothers and sisters, 2  here is one thing that would complete my joy—come together as one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love. 3  Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others. 4  Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neighbors’ interests first. 5  In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed. Live with His attitude in your hearts. Remember: 6  Though He was in the form of God,      He chose not to cling to equality with God; 7  But He poured Himself out to fill a vessel brand new;      a servant in form      and a man indeed. The very likeness of humanity, 8  He humbled Himself,