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Should Christians Burn Sage?
Smudging, the burning of bundled sage, is an indigenous practice that has been around for centuries. Various people groups throughout history have used this for medicinal and ceremonial purposes. The indigenous beauty blogger, Bianca Millar, says she and her husband burn sage along with other herbs to “thank the Creator for the new day and send up our prayers.” Burning sage is also used by herbalists or alternative healers. Claretha Yeager, an Acupuncturist and reiki master based in Chicago says she frequently uses smudging—or burning sage—to help rid her patients of negative emotions. She claims that sage smoke unburdens people of their negative energy to feel better. Burning sage has …
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What Anchored the Puritans in Hard Times
As we finish out 2020, what should our response be to the circumstances we find ourselves in? Some of the circumstances are hard while others are pleasant. Whether we are in hard circumstances due to our choices, someone else’s choices, or results of a fallen people or creation, we can rest assured that God is sovereign over them all. No amount of whining, complaining, arguing, finger pointing, demanding, or sulking will bring us the joy or peace (well-being of soul) that we long for. The Puritans that helped found our country can give us some insights on how to respond to hard times.[1] The Puritans had a strong moral consciousness,…
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Saintly Superstitions Are Substitutes for Christ
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who demonstrated through His life and His words that He was fully God. All God’s powers and attributes are in Jesus—nothing missing. There is nothing more of God that we can get apart from Jesus. Jesus Christ is over everything. Evil is under His feet. As we sit with Him in heaven, evil is under our feet. So, when life’s challenges hit us squarely in the face, why do we turn to substitutes? What happens when you get tired of waiting for God to answer your prayer? What happens when you don’t see Him rescuing you from a tough…
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Is God Holding Out on Me?
My one-year-old sits in his highchair, cramming watermelon into his mouth. He can’t get it in fast enough. In between bites, he fusses. If there’s not a spare piece or two waiting on his tray, he complains. Despite the fact that we generally give him as much watermelon as he wants, he still fears a shortage. As I watch the scene unfold over lunch, it hits me. My son thinks I’m holding out on him. And in a sense, I am. I don’t want him to fill his mouth so full of watermelon that he chokes. So I give him a piece or two at a time—then wait for him…
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The Voice of a Proclaimer
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken The Voices of Christmas: The Voice of a Proclaimer He came as a proclaimer out of the desert in the line of the great Wilderness Prophets such as Moses and Elijah. He was John the Baptizer, and he was fully consecrated unto God and filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. John was both radical and real, and it was this radical reality that drew people from cities all around into the wilderness to hear his message. At one point Jesus asked, “What did you go into the desert to see? A reed blowing in the wind? A man dressed in fine clothes?…
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The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Clear the way of the LORD! Make straight a highway in the desert for our God! Every valley will be exalted and every mountain and hill will be made low; the rough ground will be made level, the rugged places a plain. Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all the people will see the salvation of the Lord. The LORD has spoken. From Isaiah 40:3-5, the greatest Christmas poem ever written Many American Christians today are running scared. America has lost its cultural salvation, and they have lost their hope. …
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The Voice of a Father
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Christmas. The scent of a beautiful green tree filling the house decorated with colorful balls, shining lights, shimmering tinsel, and topped by an angel. Decorations generously spread from room-to-room, symbols of wonderful family memories passed down from generation-to-generation. I love Christmas and all it represents. One thing I get tired of, though, is pundits who annually quote Bible verses they don’t understand about peace on earth and good will toward men when they have no grasp of how to fill that longing… The human heart cries for deliverance from suicide bombings and ceaseless streams of refugees risking their lives in rickety boats…
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The Sign of Silence
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Four-hundred years of silence. Not a sound. Not a word. Not a prophet. Not a spokesman. Not the screeching of a chair or the clearing of the throat as a speaker mounts a rostrum. Nothing. Just silence. And the nation was getting restless. Oh, they had enough through what God had said previously to live with hope and anticipation. They had His covenants and His promises and His faithfulness. He had kept many of His promises already. He had released them from Egypt and returned them to the Promised Land; He had delivered them from Babylon and once again restored them…
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Las Oraciones de Mi Madre—My Mother’s Prayers
I crawled slowly and ever so quietly towards the door of my mother’s room. Her weeping had awakened me from a deep sleep. I decided to go check up on her so I sneaked over to her room. I waited a bit and sat in the corner of the hallway where I could see her through the slightly opened door. I listened. Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos, santificado sea tú nombre. I felt relieved. My mother, kneeling down beside her bed, prayed and wept. She’s talking to God. She’s having the same conversation as the night before. I decided to stay for a while so I could hear…
