Category: Bethany’s Guest Posts
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What Do You Want God to Think of You?
Do you try to impress God? I admit there are times when I realize I’m trying to dazzle God, eager to hear not just “well done, good and faithful servant” but “Wow! You’re the best!” Pride can easily creep into our good works, worship, and prayers. We don’t always spot it at a glance. Perhaps…
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But Jesus…
There were big things to do. There throngs willing to listen who needed to hear. There were disciples seeking training and teaching. “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” –Luke 5:16 Jesus often didn’t do what we’d expect, and calls us to live differently, too. Join me at Recharge Wednesday for a list of…
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Is This The Change You’re Looking For?
Having just traveled a few states to work in the summer heat, it was admirable how upbeat the youth were. Their mission trip involved hard work laboring to repair homes and make helpful upgrades. They spent a lot of time in one house rebuilding part of a damaged wall. Everything from measuring to cutting to…
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Believing the Best of God
Have you ever told someone a story, only to have them remind you they were there? Sometimes, while we’re talking, we forget to whom we are speaking: of course we remember their identity at a basic level, but we might also assume something of them inaccurately . . . like their presence or absence on…
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Good News When You’re Waiting
“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’” (Luke 2:10) Most of the time, we’re waiting on good news of some kind. We’re checking our inboxes, hoping for the call or the text, and scrolling our social media feeds….
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The Opportunity You Can’t See Yet
You look around and nothing seems promising. The only way ahead, it would seem, is to keep trudging along. It feels wrong and it sounds hopeless. No opportunities have come up and you’re running out of ones to dream up. Hang in there. Nothing is impossible with God. That means that when there is no…
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The Value of Asking “Why Me?”
Reading straight through Scripture, I knew the book of Job was coming next. Sighing to my husband, I began to prepare myself. Job is one of those books that I stiffen up reading. His story begins like a fairytale- prosperity, happiness, abundance. That almost makes what happens next worse. Satan comes before God. He’s been…
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Cleaning Up Accumulated Sin
I dug around in the fridge trying to find space for yet another tupperware container. They were stacked to the limit because I’d been shoving leftovers I had no intention of eating in there just to put off dealing with the waste another day…and another….and another. We do the same thing with our hearts. Sometimes…
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Produce Or Consume?
Patience. A fruit of the Spirit we’d much rather consume than produce. Sometimes when we pray for help to get through our own trials, we forget patience is also part of bearing witness. As Moses prepared to climb a mountain and die when God said it was his time, he told Israel how much patience…
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When It’s Not Over
“The end,” the story says. To successfully conclude the plot of a story, you must wrap up the loose ends. At the end of a person’s life, there is a service to conclude their time on earth. When you get sick, one of the first questions you ask the doctor is “when will I will…