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Rejoicing in the Results of the Fear of the Lord
Scriptures contain over 390 verses that have to do with some sort of fear of the Lord. Obviously, it is an important subject to God. When we fear (have an awe, respect, or reverence of) the Lord, we can expect certain results that cause us to rejoice! Our attitude toward evil is affected when we fear the Lord. We will develop a hatred of evil (morally objectionable behavior) (Prov 8:13) not only in others but in ourselves. It is easy to hate evil in others, but it takes humility to see our own evilness as just as bad. We will hate evil so we will turn away (leave a set…
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Confident People
Do you ever find yourself looking up to or admiring a confident person? Their confidence could be in their job, a skill, parenting, cooking, a sport, a hobby, a subject, or life in general. They just seem to know everything and are confident on how things should be done. Over the years, God has brought into my life people that are confident. At first, I admire their expertise and confidence. Then at some point, I become intimidated by them. I feel inadequate and insignificant. Then as the years roll by, I recognize their shortcomings which are actually sins. Recently, the Lord revealed some eye-opening ideas concerning confident people. My attraction…
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Loving Well in a Blame-shifting Culture
In a home full of young children, among the most common things I hear in the house is why the other sibling is most definitely responsible for wrong doing. Most recently, my eldest son ran up quickly behind my middle son for a sneak attack, smacked him on the bottom and sent him flying further then was intended. I heard the raucous just in time to see my middle son chasing my eldest son with lightning speed, armed with a heavy school backpack, which successfully gave a retribution blow to the fleeing child. Needless to say, as I approached the angry middle son first who had just hauled off and…
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Mary, the birth mother of Jesus
Luke 1:46–55 forms part of the optional lectionary readings for the third Sunday of Advent, which is December 13th. The focus is on Mary, the mother of Jesus. A short time after Gabriel departed, Mary made preparations and quickly traveled from Nazareth to an unnamed town in the hill country of Judea. This is where Elizabeth and Zechariah lived (Luke 1:39). Mary possibly journeyed 50 to 70 miles by herself, which would have been a considerable distance for a single, pregnant teenager in her day. Perhaps Mary went to stay with Elizabeth to be secluded from inquisitive friends and neighbors. The privacy would give Mary an opportunity to reflect on…
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Their Son Was a King
We became first-time parents in a government building in a foreign land. There was no pomp and circumstance. No parade. No party. No family. No fanfare. And although our adoption agency properly prepared us for such a low-level event, that first-day was not the norm for most first-time parents. Joseph and Mary became first-time parents in a cave[1] in a city faraway from their home of Nazareth. There was no pomp and circumstance. No parade. No party (except with shepherds).[2] No family.[3] No fanfare. And although angels properly prepared them for the significance of this birth, their first-day was not the norm for first-century parents, especially parents of royalty. You…
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Remaining faithful to the Lord
November 1st is the twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost. It’s also traditionally observed as All Saint’s Day in many faith traditions. In this case, Matthew 5:1–12 is part of the lectionary readings. Jesus announced that God’s kingdom was drawing near (Matt 4:17). This raises the question: What attitudes and actions are appropriate for a citizen of God’s kingdom? The Messiah answered this question in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5–7). Although Jesus’ primary audience would have been His disciples, there was a larger crowd of people who listened to Him teach (7:28). The ethics Jesus taught in His sermon contrasted sharply with the legalism of His…
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Jesus as Lord Deserves Our Loyalty
Listen to this blog as a similar podcast: Loyalty is the quality of devotion or attachment to somebody or something. It’s both a feeling and an action. Some of us by nature tend to be loyal. Others of us are more skeptical, preferring instead to be mavericks out on our own. Loyalty is being tested everyday in homes and businesses and human relationships across this planet. Who demands your loyalty or has the right to it? Do they receive it from you? How good are you at remaining loyal? Loyalty affects how you approach life—God’s way or the world’s way. We can’t know all that’s ahead for us, but we can choose to…
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un-cursory
Victoria Monet shares a poem relevant to many conversations about race on social media. In her poem "un-cursory," she highlights themes of humility and redemptive relationships in light of racial reconciliation.
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Lessons Learned in Narnia
Eustace “There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” C.S. Lewis, Voyage of the Dawn Treader pg. 1 Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Philippians 2:3 (Net Bible) If you, like me, have fallen in love with C. S. Lewis’ world of Narnia then you may be quite familiar with Eustace, one of the main characters inThe Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Though you may remember him well, you may not think quite so well of him. He does begin as most definitely “a…
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A False god to Bring You Comfort in “The Shack” (“The Shack” Review, part 2)
“True worship must worship God as He exists, not as we wish Him to be. The essence of idolatry is the making of images of God. An image is a shadow, a false representation. We may not bow before a statue or a figure, but if we make an image of god in our mind that is not in accord with God’s revelation of himself, then we are not worshipping in truth….” writes James R. White. “If we love Him and worship Him as He deserves, we will not dare to ‘edit’ Him to fit our desires.”[1] “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing” (Matthew…
