Tag: christ
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It’s Almost The (Maybe) Wonderful Time of the Year
Soon the roasted turkey will be packed away for future meals. The pie dishes will be rinsed clean. It often seems that all those thanks are then simply swept away as we hurry to get ready for Jesus coming. We are a people of “next things.” In our present time, the end of Thanksgiving seems…
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Shutting Down Over-Productivity
Lord knows I’m a planner and producer. Productivity could be my middle name. I’ve got files and folders physical and digital stretching my future hopes into step-by-step endeavors. If you’ve got a topic to talk about, I’ve got a project you’re contributing to. The most visited destination in my mind is my idea mill. It’s…
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Why The Best Route Isn’t Up For Debate
God was looking out for my safety the day Google Maps was invented. Before I could ask Siri to give me a detailed real time play-by-play of how to get anyplace (kinda) new I was a regular gas-station-direction-beggar. Attendants in too-many states probably still have scratch marks in their countertops from tracing and retracing directions…
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Where Love and Freedom Meet
Love and freedom are inextricably connected. That’s the way God designed it, and the implications are many: Because He loved us, we are free “The truth will set you free.” But what is the truth? “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall…
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You May Build It, They May Not Come
There’s a popular saying is based off of a quote from the movie Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.” We hear it often, usually in connection with ministries, programs, or facilities that are launching or expanding. However, the whole concept is a myth. Unfortunately, many people actually believe it is a…
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A Time to Search: Cease Striving, Start Seeking
Reconciling the Biblical call to cease striving with the command to continually seek is tricky when you’re in the midst of searching out God’s will for your life. You know that sitting on your hands doing nothing isn’t what God asks of any one. At the same time, you know that moving ahead without his…
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Jesus’ I AM Statements and Your Identity
The unchanging character of God is such an assurance. It seems like everything is always changing- which means there is always something new to adapt to, to embrace, to struggle with. But when we know the great I AM, we have someone to rely on always. What a gift that the unchanging, completely trustworthy, everlasting…
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Starting Well Requires Forward Movement
Part of starting well- no matter what we’re starting- is pushing steadily through the process of learning new things. “First days” and “starting fresh” can feel like being lost in the middle of nowhere while knowing there is a town just miles away. You know just enough to recognize there’s a lot to know that…
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Do Your Excuses Dishonor the Lord?
“Make the most of every opportunity” Ephesians 5:16 says. “Always be ready to give the reason for your hope” 1 Peter 3:15 exhorts. When we think of having an opportunity to witness to others about the Lord, we tend to assume we’ll be sharing because someone else is down or because someone notices something wonderful in our lives. But…
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2 Good Reasons to Trade In Self-Esteem
I have a few qualms with the simplified self-esteem mantra “you are enough.” Mostly because the statement raises more questions than it answers. What are we “enough” for? What qualifies as “enough”? Does “enough” run out, making it not enough? Who determines what “enough” is? How do we quantify “enoughness?” Is there a context for…