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	<title>UpFaith | Culture Archives</title>
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		<title>Weapons</title>
		<link>https://upfaith.org/weapons/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fernanda C]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>II Chronicles 20:1-30 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Our human tendency is to repay evil with evil. It’s easy to like people that treat us well; but, what about those that want to “throw us under the bus?” The Bible directs us<a class="moretag" href="https://upfaith.org/weapons/"> Read more&#8230;</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://upfaith.org/weapons/">Weapons</a> appeared first on <a href="https://upfaith.org">UpFaith</a>.</p>
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<p><strong>II Chronicles 20:1-30</strong><strong><br />
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).</strong></p>
<p>Our human tendency is to repay evil with evil. It’s easy to like people that treat us well; but, what about those that want to “throw us under the bus?” The Bible directs us to always do what is good, regardless of the circumstances, and never do harm to our neighbors, even when we think they deserve it. If we do the same wrongdoing they have done, then we are only making ourselves just like them.</p>
<p>The question then becomes: If I always do what is good and the other person seems to always want to jeopardize me, am I always going to be at a loss? This is exactly what happened to King Jehoshaphat. Three nations united to destroy him, even though years before the ancestors of Judah, in obedience to God, preserved those same enemies. These people should have been thankful, but instead, they opted to declare war to those that had done good to them. What a flop for the king and his people. The good that they had done was being repaid with evil – what to do now?</p>
<p>Faced with a very difficult decision in which Judah would apparently suffer a loss, the king and all the people cried out to God for help and handed over the situation to Him, trusting in His doing. God sent them a word of encouragement, and when they left for war, they took with them a very unusual weapon: worship to God. When they started worshiping, God himself took action towards the enemies of the people.</p>
<p>When we use the weapons of dependence, trust, obedience, and worship to God instead of weapons of destruction which most use, God will go in front of us. Even when we do good but continue to receive evil, let&#8217;s not be discouraged nor give up. Hand over everything to God and let Him resolve it for you.</p>
<p><strong>Against evil, the most powerful weapon is dependence on God.</strong></p>
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<p>The post <a href="https://upfaith.org/weapons/">Weapons</a> appeared first on <a href="https://upfaith.org">UpFaith</a>.</p>
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		<title>New Clothes</title>
		<link>https://upfaith.org/new-clothes/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fernanda C]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>Colossians 3:8-10 When out to buy new clothes, most of the time we wish to find something that will be delightful to our eyes, comfortable, and that will give us a nice, presentable appearance before people. New clothing changes our appearance but does not change us internally. In today&#8217;s reading<a class="moretag" href="https://upfaith.org/new-clothes/"> Read more&#8230;</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://upfaith.org/new-clothes/">New Clothes</a> appeared first on <a href="https://upfaith.org">UpFaith</a>.</p>
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<p><strong>Colossians 3:8-10</strong></p>
<p>When out to buy new clothes, most of the time we wish to find something that will be delightful to our eyes, comfortable, and that will give us a nice, presentable appearance before people. New clothing changes our appearance but does not change us internally.</p>
<p>In today&#8217;s reading text, there is a list of sins which are recurring in our life: anger, indignation, filthy language. When driving in traffic, we may feel irritated or angry with irresponsible attitudes taken by other drivers, and in our thoughts, we may say filthy things or wish something bad would happen to that irresponsible driver for the erroneous attitude he or she has committed. These are pieces of evidence that &#8220;the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked&#8221; (Jeremiah 17:9). There is no possibility on our own to change the inclination we have towards evil. It reaches the core of our being, making our attitudes and thoughts reflect on the evil that lives within us.</p>
<p><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">However, through faith in Jesus Christ, we can be &#8220;clothed&#8221; with new garments that do not just change our external appearance. The only way we can be made similar to Christ is believing that His blood shed on the cross cleanses and purifies us of our sin (I John 1:9). The new &#8220;clothes&#8221; we receive when we believe in Christ, give us the possibility to fight against our evil inclination because the practices that belong to the old life (our &#8220;old clothes&#8221;) are thrown out and substituted with a new mentality, a new character: the character of Jesus Christ (new clothes).</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #3f3f3f;">Because of Christ, we can control ourselves when we get irritated in traffic; we can even get angry but there is no more desire to insult the other driver. Sin is smoldering within us, but we no longer desire it: our desire for life is in Christ.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #3f3f3f;"><strong>Jesus gives us completely new clothes&#8230; Are we going to get it filthy with sin? Why?</strong></span></p>
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<p>The post <a href="https://upfaith.org/new-clothes/">New Clothes</a> appeared first on <a href="https://upfaith.org">UpFaith</a>.</p>
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