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Resolve or Renew? That is the question!
If it didn’t work last year, then it most likely won’t work this year either. Last year I resolved to overcome at least this one weakness. I failed. Every year we work on the same old bad habits hoping this will be the year that we can become resolute enough to really conquer that stubborn habit, sin, or physical flaw. I could be the poster child for setting New Year Resolutions. I’ve been making them for the last 50 years. As teachers we know that practice makes perfect, right? So you can imagine that after 50 years of attacking the same problem with the same solution of self will and…
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The Bible
Have you determined to include in this New Year a better understanding of God’s Word? Can you explain the purpose of the Bible? Can you defend its accuracy and historicity to those who may question it? I couldn’t for most of my Christian life. In this blog, you will read some facts you’ve likely never heard before. I hope it strengthens your ability to trust in and defend the Bible. Growing a deeper love and appreciation for the most sold, most read book of all time! The Bible exists so that all might acknowledge the sovereign Lord God, through Christ Jesus, and come to dwell now in part, and later…
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All is Well
We travelled at night on our way home from Thanksgiving, on highways surrounded by emptiness. Leaving family behind and reflecting on what this past year revealed about our country, world, and my life triggered some concern and sadness. It doesn’t take long to develop a gloomy character or holiday funk. Then, interrupting my downheartedness, streaming through the car speakers, came the beautiful Christmas song “All is Well” by Michael W. Smith. I sat there in the darkness, repeating in my mind, but all is not well. In fact, I could create quite a list of situations I would love to see changed. Couldn’t you? None of us have to search…
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Born Under the Shadow of a Cross
What will you tell your Children about the Christ of Christmas this year? Perhaps they are old enough to learn that Isaiah calls Him a man of sorrows; and is it any wonder? From the moment of His conception Jesus was feeling loss. With loss comes grief. And yet somehow, in the very midst of grieving, our Lord found joy. “…for the joy that was set before Him…” Hebrews 12:2b Scripture gives us a glimpse of the eternal infinite God. We know that He created time, space, and matter out of nothing, Genesis 1 and John 1:3. Then, Galatians 4:4 tells us that when it was appropriate, God Himself stepped…
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Give Thanks IN Everything
When it comes to reading the Bible, each word matter. Take a look at 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. At first glance it can seem Paul is calling us to radical, unrealistic happiness. But look at each word—even the tiny ones—and you’ll see he’s calling us to something far more significant. Rejoice always. Paul doesn’t say be happy always. He calls us to be joyful always. That doesn’t mean we’ll always feel good. He isn’t calling us to act okay when life is not. Instead he’s challenging us to shift our focus.…
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Is America a Post-Christian Nation?
Several months ago, I read the statement, “America isn’t a post-Christian nation—yet.” Would you agree with that statement? According to Pew Research, Christians continue to make up a majority of the U.S. populace, but their share of the adult population was 12 points lower in 2021 than in 2011. Self-identified Christians of all varieties (including Protestants, Catholics, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Orthodox Christians) still make up 63% of the adult population. But wait a minute! Before we think that we’re still a Christian nation or ever were, shouldn’t we establish some kind of definition of the term Christian? Did you read the varieties of…
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Predator Thoughts
But suddenly there appear these huge shark-like thoughts that have been inserted by the enemy of my soul. Thoughts of shame and worthlessness, reminders of failures and past sins.
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Finding Rest After Intense Ministry
I just completed four weeks of back-to-back events where I taught, trained, and cared for both incoming and seasoned global workers. It required long days and focused attention. My team and I faced many challenges both logistically and relationally. I needed the Lord’s strength to listen, listen again, and offer words of comfort and help. It was intense, it was good, it was right, and I am understandably tired. I can relate to Jesus’s disciples. After following in Jesus’s footsteps for a year, he sent them two by two out into the towns in Galilee to minster (Mk 6:6–13; Mt 10:1–11:1; Lk 9:1–6). Scripture doesn’t say how long this missionary…
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The Upward Call of God
“Not that I have already obtained this—that is, I have not already been perfected—but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14). I started the year 2024 with new goals and plans. That was six months ago. The thing is, I also began the year bringing along everything from the…
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The Lord Says, “Listen and Pay Attention to My Female Prophets”
Did God commission men and women to prophesy—to speak authoritatively on his behalf? Is there evidence that the Lord says, “Listen and pay attention to my female prophets?” Ancient Near East scholar Christopher Rollston notes, “The fact that certain biblical texts presuppose that there were women prophets, there can be no debate. There were women prophets in ancient Israel and in Early Christianity. And the term that is used in Hebrew and in Greek for women prophets is the same as the term used for men prophets.”
