Posts

The power of repetition

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If we are on our phones for any length of time these days, we cannot avoid seeing all of the sales and “great deals” being offered. ‘Tis the season! If you keep seeing the same ad over and over, even if it’s an item that you don’t need, you may weaken and give in and buy the thing!  There’s a lot to be said for the power of repetition. The same holds true when it comes to God’s Word. There is power in reading the Scriptures over and over. And the beauty of it is that, unlike a cyber ad, the Word is alive and has the power to change us.  It holds everything that we truly need, and not just at Christmas, but always. When we read and reread God's Word, we can see something new in that familiar Scripture passage by the power of the Holy Spirit revealing new meaning to us. Unlike that “must have” item for sale that will eventually become old and lose its luster, and our interest, the Word of God is eternal, never perishes or fades, and has lasting value to our souls. Won’t you trea...

When life sucks

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I'm in a good place these days. But this wasn't always the case. Life was hard, very hard, for a very long time; almost unbearable.  So much so that I started to doubt that God loved me.  As i type these words, I'm not very proud to admit this.  But it's true. During this long spell of trial after trial, I wrote this song, "The Love of God."  Go figure. I still believed that God was love, that He loved the world.  I just wasn't "feeling the love" from Him personally. Been there?  If you have been a Christian for any length of time, I'm guessing you've been there.   Stuff happens.  We live in a fallen world.  And trying to take comfort in God's Sovereignty can only magnify our soreness.  Why?  Because if God is Sovereign (and He is), then why does He allow horrible stuff to happen to us?   It's easy to believe that God loves me when I feel that things are going well.  But I have also believed and felt God's love w...

When the waters are rough

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It was dark.  The disciples were on their own in the boat.  The waters around them grew rough.  The winds were blowing. Scripture does not record the disciples praying, crying out to God, in this tumultuous moment.  They simply rowed faster.  They rowed for almost four miles!   They kept trying to find their way out of the storm in their own wits and ways.  It didn't work. They got out of their fix only when Jesus arrived on the scene.  And boy, what an entrance! Jesus walked on water in order to reach His disciples.  This tells us that Jesus will go to great lengths in order to help us. What mess do you find yourself in?  Are you still trying to "row" your way out of it in your own strength?  That does not prove that you are strong or have your wits about you.  It proves that you do not trust Jesus. Unless Jesus is telling you to "row harder," then your rowing is in vain, friend. Jesus got into the boat with the disciples...

You won't convert the Pharisees

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When there is tension within the Body of Christ, in the local church, it is usually because the wheat do not have anything in common with the tares. This has nothing to do with doctrine, but with the fact that there are very two different spirits abiding within the church: that of the Pharisee's (the tares), and that of Jesus (the wheat). When we are called to "love everyone," that does not mean that we are to set up camp with some of them! Jesus did not hang with the Pharisees when He walked this earth.  Jesus' love was not the mushy, gushy sort of love that we can confuse with real love. Jesus actually said that there was more hope for the whores and tax collectors than the religious leaders when it came to salvation! Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you."  Matthew 21:31 Not exactly a way to win friends and influence people. So don't even bother trying to "win" ...

The detour may be the best way!

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Sometimes, driving down the accustomed road isn't possible.  Sometimes, we need to take a detour. I've decided to start reading the Word out loud every day.  Not sure why I haven't made a practice of this before.  What led me to this "detour" was when I recently looked up the original Hebrew word for meditate from Joshua 1:8.  I was stunned to learn that the original word for meditate actually means to growl, moan, utter, even howl!   Crazy right?! I mean when I envision meditating on God's Word, it is usually in thought, in quiet.  But that usually gets interrupted by other thoughts!   But if I read Scripture out loud - take a detour, an unexpected route from how I usually meditate - I just may end up getting where I want to go after all.  Where I want to "go" is into God's Presence.  I also want His blessings, the success that He promises to His chosen in Joshua 1:8 if they do not let His words depart from their lips. It is not a ...

You're going to blow it, and that's okay

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Are you too hard on yourself?  I know I am. I can demand more from myself than God does! God never, no never, demands perfection from us.  How could He when He knows that we could never reach it? That verse, "Be ye perfect as I am perfect" has been so grossly mistranslated and misinterpreted that it has led many into a tizzy or worse!  Perhaps it might have even caused some to give up on their faith altogether. After all, why bother with an unattainable goal? However! The Greek translation of perfect in this verse is mature.  Be mature.  In other words, grow up! That is something we can work on, pursue, and do by God's grace. But during this maturing process, we will fail.  A lot.  Maybe even more than we succeed. And you know what?  That's okay.  Really. Old habits surface bringing out the worst in us.  Our flesh takes over instead of us allowing the Spirit to control us.  We just can't seem to get it together at times.  And t...

How to pray in God's will

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I was wondering the other day…When the disciples learned that Jesus was going to be unjustly crucified, did they pray against it?  Did the disciples pray that Jesus would not be crucified?  Did they think that it could not possibly be the will of God because in their limited thinking, all they saw was that they were losing their Rabbi, their Master, their Friend - the Messiah. Why would God want their Messiah to be crucified?  That didn't make sense.  Even though Jesus told them over and over about His mission, His purpose - that He was to be sacrificed for the sins of the world, that He would die but be raised up again in three days - they still didn’t seem to fully accept or understand it. The disciples were privy to these glorious truths, told to them directly by Jesus Himself. Nonetheless, when Jesus actually fulfilled the Scriptures’ prophecy by His death, the disciples were heartbroken.  They were confused.  Perhaps they thought in terms of "good" and...