Feel Fragile? You can Have the Treasure that Gives Power Every Day
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Feel Fragile? You can Have the Treasure that Gives Power Every Day

A number of years ago, we ordered a large rather expensive mirror. It was delivered a few days later and left at our front door. The first thing we noticed was that it was covered with stickers warning: Fragile! Handle with Care! So, Rev and I joined together to carefully pick up the box. Unfortunately,…

How to Experience the Good News that will Give You Life and Freedom
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How to Experience the Good News that will Give You Life and Freedom

Rules, rules, and more rules. Interestingly, rules and laws always lead to more and more rules and laws. New ones need to be created to “clarify” the originals. As soon as one law gets passed, people begin to look for loopholes that then, need to be closed by (you guessed it!) more laws. Rev once…

How You Can Believe that You Have Been Given Victory Through Jesus
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How You Can Believe that You Have Been Given Victory Through Jesus

I have to be careful how much I allow myself to watch the news. You see, I’ve always been an emotion just under the surface kind of person. It doesn’t take much for my “feelings” to influence my mood. And of course, the news likes to promote sensationalism. What’s the saying? “If it bleeds, it…

The One Important Worship Truth Every Church Needs to Follow
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The One Important Worship Truth Every Church Needs to Follow

I sometimes wonder what it must have been like for someone to belong to that church in Corinth. Sometimes it seems like their gatherings got a little unmanageable. Remember . . . these last chapters in this first letter to the Corinthians contain Paul’s responses to questions they have asked. He talked about marriage and…

Why It’s Important to Know and Celebrate that God’s Gifts are Equal
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Why It’s Important to Know and Celebrate that God’s Gifts are Equal

“All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” What? If some are “more equal” then there is no equality. This famous quote from George Orwell’s book, Animal Farm has been repeated often and if you’ve never read it, you should . . . it tells us much about our sinful human…

How You Can Avoid Temptation and Live in Victory with God’s Help
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How You Can Avoid Temptation and Live in Victory with God’s Help

I often quote Solomon’s words… Nothing under the sun is truly new. Ecclesiastes 1:9 And since the first sin in the Garden of Eden, people have been saying, “the devil made me do it!” Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the devil. The man replied, “It was the woman you gave mewho gave me the fruit, and…

How to Know What God Wants You to Do With Your Life Today
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How to Know What God Wants You to Do With Your Life Today

The rest of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians holds his answers to questions they had asked in a letter they had written to him. Questions about marriage, singleness, eating meat offered to idols, the “right way” to worship, the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection . . . disagreements they were having in…

Why It’s Good to Be Friends with People Who Don’t Believe in Jesus
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Why It’s Good to Be Friends with People Who Don’t Believe in Jesus

How much time do you spend investing in relationships with unbelievers? Historically, there have been some groups of Christians that have chosen to create their own exclusive communities to remain isolated from the “influence of the world”—people who choose not to be friends with people outside of their faith community. In 1 Corinthians 5, the…

How to Know and Experience the Blessing of Being Honest With God
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How to Know and Experience the Blessing of Being Honest With God

Do you have verses in Scripture that make you squirm because they hold a truth you really don’t want to think about? Today’s chapter has a couple of verses that definitely make me uncomfortable… It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the…

How to Have This Amazing Source of Wisdom With You Every Day
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How to Have This Amazing Source of Wisdom With You Every Day

Do you think you’re wise? Do you want to be? As I was reading today’s chapter and a couple of verses practically jumped off the page: No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not…