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Ask, Seek, and Knock
“Name it, claim it!”, “Just believe!”, “Ask for whatever you want!”, “I want these circumstances to change!”, “You don’t have because you didn’t ask or have enough faith!”. These phrases circulate through our culture. Some of these phrases can seem to be supported by Scripture. But if we look closer, we can see the fallacy these phrases propose. You may or may not have fallen into the trap of asking God for whatever you wanted to make your life easier. Or maybe you have asked for things but the answer was “no” which left you angry with God, disappointed in God, or confused about God. Maybe you have doubted…
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Counterfeit Hopes
People place their hope in various things depending on their beliefs and backgrounds. The secular world finds hope in money, success, respect, security, health, relationships, work, pleasure, science, and reason. It is easy to see these things are wrong to place our hope in. Christians find their hope in God and in particular the gospel (Jesus taking the punishment for their sins providing a way to have a relationship with God and transformed lives). However, Christians unknowingly rely on other things for their hope. These counterfeit hopes replace the true hope of the life changing-power of the gospel. I recently read a book, How People Change by Timothy S. Lane…
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Thankfulness As Our Purpose
As the calendar winds down on another unprecedented year, we gladly enter this joyful season of giving and thanksgiving. Many of us feel a gentle nudge toward understanding God’s call to purposeful daily life. Have you ever asked God about His will for your life?
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Give Thanks In…
At the height of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln formally scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November. He implored all U.S. Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation” (History of Thanksgiving). With Thanksgiving just 17 days away, families and friends are making preparations for food, festivities, and football. We excel at making external preparations. But are we preparing internally for Thanksgiving? Are our hearts ready to give thanks? With the political intensity of the last several months, it’s easy to forget that…
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Walking in Circles
A wiser woman once told me that, much like the children of Israel, God sometimes leads us in circles. We learn and relearn life’s lessons as we walk through similar circumstances again and again. If you look at the geography, there wasn’t much room for the children of Israel to wander in the wilderness. Instead they trod the same paths over and over again for forty years. And amidst those circular trails, they learned dependence, obedience, and trust. I’m not suggesting that the circular seasons of life are punishment. Israel wandered in the wilderness because of their disobedience and unbelief. But I also know that God disciplines those he loves…
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The Process is the Point
I am a “cut to the chase” kind of girl. I like to take the shortest route and find the end as quickly and efficiently as possible. If I can skip a step or two and come to a viable conclusion—perfect! Done. But, last year, at a writer’s conference, I was challenged with these words by Lysa TerKeurst, “The process is the point.” These are the kind of words that keep popping back into frame as I rush through life and bemoan my circumstances. They echo in my mind as though God Himself fashioned those words just for me. The process is the point. The trials are relevant. Our…
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Knowing the Ending
Generally, I don’t want to know how the plot ends. I like to watch the movie, read the book, or see the game and discover the outcome for myself. However, that changes when the conclusion really matters. It’s one thing to enjoy a story as it goes along and quite another to live through the unknown when the outcome seriously makes a difference. Being a fan of the Texas Rangers, I have been watching the baseball playoffs. On Monday I realized that I didn’t like the television commentators, so I muted the sound and turned on the radio. It was quickly apparent that the radio was ahead of the video…
