Faith

Life is Not a Game – Workshop Transcript

note: Members may discuss this workshop in the Message Boards HERE

Obie-Host Hello and welcome to CIR’s latest Workshop:
“Life is Not a Game: Rules, rebellion, and freedom as a follower of Jesus” given by Rich Dixon.
Rich is a respected speaker and the author of “Relentless Grace: God’s Invitation To Give Hope Another Chance”.
You are invited to visit Rich’s web site: http://www.relentlessgrace.com
where you can learn more about Rich and his writings and you can also purchase his book.
You may download the booklet for free which this workshop is about here:

We will open with prayer, after which Rich will speak for several minutes. When he is through speaking

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A Lifelong Reconstruction Project

One of the most sobering chapters in all of Scripture can be found in Deuteronomy 6. In this well-known portion of the Old Testament, we are informed that the Law of God is more than just a series of directives handed down by a Divine Deity. In fact, we learn that obeying the Law is not only a life-long pursuit, but a pursuit that can actually lead to a longer life (6:2). We are also told that obeying the Law is “for our good always and for our survival” (6:24). Further, we are tasked with the mission of not only obeying this Law ourselves, but of passing it on and teaching it to our children (6:6-7). Any one of these three components, when considered on its own, should be enough to convince us that God takes His Law seriously.

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Taking the First Step: You Have the Key

You look ahead with such despair
and feel all hope is gone,
for life has been so difficult
already you feel worn.

But living life in happiness
is not so hard to do,
first make somebody happy
and joy will come to you.

But if you fear rejection
of love you have to give
and fear to reach your hand out
you’ll never learn to live.

The first step is the hardest,
just take it and you’ll see
that life is worth the living
for now you hold the key.
~ Ruth March 1978

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100 Significant Scriptures

This is easily the longest article I’ve ever written. Check out the next few sentences and you’ll see why.

A while back someone asked me to define my “life verse.”

I suppose if I HAD to choose a single passage I’d pick Romans 8:28.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

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The Half Empty Glass Is Leaking

Do you consider yourself an optimist? Why (or why not)?

I’m doing a talk this week for an Optimist Club, so I’m thinking about optimism. I did a little research to find out what optimism is, where it originates, why some folks have it and some don’t.

Frankly, for much of my life I was a confirmed pessimist. I not only saw the glass as half-empty, but I was certain it was leaking and eventually would be completely dry.

I was the second person in this exchange.

Optimist:”This is the best of all possible worlds.”

Pessimist: “If that’s the case, then things can never get any better.”

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Learning God’s Purpose for Your Life

But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves,
not having been baptized by John. Luke 7:30, NASB

We hear a lot about the importance of “purpose-driven lives,” but is it enough to follow any purpose… or does it matter whose purpose we choose to follow?

The above verse in Luke tells us that the Pharisees and lawyers rejected God’s purpose for their lives. Why? Because they hadn’t been baptized by John. What does that have to do with it?

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Are You Wasting Your Life?

“So teach us to number our days aright–that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

What is it to number our days?

One way is to keep a careful record of them. That is a mathematical numbering. Some people keep diaries and put down everything they do–where they go, what they see, whom they meet, the books they read. But mere adding of days is not the numbering that was in the thought of the Psalmist.

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