Tag: god
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What Your Broken Heart is Worth
Photo from: Pixabay I’ll admit, this idea hit me when I misheard the lyrics to “First” by Lauren Daigle. I thought she was singing: “before I bring my need I will break my heart.” The line didn’t quite make sense, but I was convinced that’s what she was singing, and then I read this verse:…
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Being Empty Versus Being Emptied
photo from: mymorningmeditations.com Who hasn’t reached the end of a day exhausted, empty, and totally wiped out? We all have moments like that, and sometimes they come after we’ve done good things. It’s often after VBS, the big retreat, or an amazing series of conversations about the Gospel that we find ourselves feeling drained. Paul understood…
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The Faithful “If”
Photo from: www.spectrumhealth.ie In Philippians 2, Paul explains what the “ifs” of faith can amount to. We read the words “if any” over and over again. Paul explains how the “ifs” we desire can add up to joy. Sometimes it helps to read Scripture backwards. Those “ifs,” for instance, are based on the presuppositions that follow:…
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Praying After Has a Purpose
Photo from: www.missiochurch.com We pray before we eat. Before our days begin. Before we go to sleep. Often, we pray before big events and decisions. We pray as loved ones face difficulties. But we don’t have to stop there. Keep praying after. In our limited sense of time, that can feel futile. Why pray about something…
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Pray First
Photo from: sapch.org I remember when these words sounded limiting –were you ever in that place? Praying first…or really before anything at all, seemed so restrictive. It took up valuable time and energy. Praying first meant either doing something obligatory and then continuing in my own way or having to sit around and wait while time…
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Love Others
photo from: everydaywild.com Love your neighbor as yourself. This, we know well, is the second greatest commandment: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law…
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Love The Lord
Photo from: www.playbuzz.com What does it mean to love the one who defines love? Love was in the mind of the one who thought up and foreknew all that is. His voice boomed with love when He spoke all into being. From the first sin of man to the day His perfect (all-loving!) son was rejected…
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On Jesus’ Team
Photo from: www.huntleyyouthsports.org A few basic rules to keep in mind as we “press on toward the goal.” Simple and straightforward, I pray these help us work together with our spouses and loved ones to glorify God, “running the good race set before us.” Encourage one another Strategize according to what is right Give grace when…
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Not Getting Ahead of God
Photo from: leculentrelesdeuxchaises.wordpress.com From where you are standing, there is much ahead. It might be a ton of busy, crazy, chaotic, and rewarding. Maybe the future is daunting. On the other hand, when you look ahead, you might see a whole bunch of nothing or vast space that could be filled with –who knows? God does….
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The Blessing of Endurance
Photo from: (www.redletterchristians.org) Isn’t it interesting that we tend to count our blessings most when “bad” things happen? It is after a major accident that we are glad to be alive, or post loss that we are grateful for those who truly love us. It seems that we need disruptions to remind us that life…