Month: February 2020
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Connectional Motivation
Mark 8:27–33, Luke 4:1–13 Giving up others to God’s hands can be very hard. It’s interesting that Jesus explained (in basic terms) what was going to happen. It wasn’t could happen; it was would happen. Peter, emotional Peter, didn’t want to lose his friend. There also could have been a bit or, “things are going…
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Chained
Romans 5:12–21, Philippians 2:5–11, Hebrews 5:1–10 (read online ⧉) Obedience is hard. God knows that it is hard for us. That doesn’t excuse us from it, however. It seems perfectly reasonable to draw from the Scriptures that part of Jesus’ unspoken mission was to show obedience and that obedience is possible. There were points in…
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Give Us More to Bear
Psalm 119:9–16, Proverbs 2:1–22, Ephesians 1:17–19 (read online ⧉) There is an old editorial cartoon…2 people come up to a fence with a sign. On the sign it reads, “do not cross over fence.” One person says to the other, “ rules are meant to keep you under control,” and the person jumps over the…
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Bacon Obedience
Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Deuteronomy 11:13–21, Numbers 15:37–41 (read online ⧉) According to some people, bacon deserves its own food group. There is a somewhat true adage, cook bacon and the men will come. Sad, but true. A mercifully short culinary path was bacon everything: bacon mints, bacon gum, bacon ice cream, bacon shaped bandages, bacon jelly…
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Long Road of Obedience
James 1:2–8, 1 Peter 1:3–9 (read online ⧉) “No pain; no gain.” It’s highly likely that you heard this phrase at some point in your life. Often the phrase was/is used in weight-lifting/-training. The understanding is that the resistance (lifting the weight for repetition) will hurt (especially the next day). The result is muscles that…
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Blowing Smoke Into Our Own Eyes
Isaiah 30:8–13 (read online ⧉) Hearing the truth about ourselves is often uncomfortable. We like to hear good stuff, but do our best to avoid that feels bad, or might cause us to look at ourselves badly. We are not alone. When Isaiah is sent to confront the Israelites with a bad report, you can…
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Full Sanctuary, Empty Hearts
Ezekiel 33:30–33, Matthew 15:1–9 (read online ⧉) Let’s be honest with ourselves. Let’s look at ourselves. Let’s look at the lives we lead, the lives we live. Is it us that God is talking to Ezekiel about? Reading only the surface of the Scriptures, of course not. The Israelites had turned prophets into spectacles. Perhaps…
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Gospel Politics
John 8:31–59, Acts 13:46–52 (read online ⧉) One of the biggest struggles we—as Christians in America—continue to face, and will face even more deeply, is the hardness of heart to the Gospel. This will include people who identify themselves as Christians. As it becomes harder to be a cultural Christian, the pressure to not be…