Tag: response
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Separating Ourselves
Romans 8:31β39, 1 John 4:7-12 π Read βRomans 8:31β39 , 1 John 4:7β12 βπ Focus β”β¦nothingβ¦can separate us from the love of God⦔Romans 8:39 βββ Devotion βThere is a fundamental truth, here, that no Christian should ever deny. Yet, if you read the list of “separators” that Paul notes, what do you see as missing?…
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Greater or Lesser Than Evils
Read: Psalm 119:41β48, Deuteronomy 10:10β22, James 2:14β26 βπ Focus βNo one ever accomplishes good by means of evil, because they are themselves conquered by the evil. On the contrary, evil is corrected by good. St. Barsanuphius the Great You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believeβand shudder. James 2:19 (NRSVue)…
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Seeing Christ In The Lives of Others
Romans 12:16β21 As part of our college ministry many years ago, we asked our college students to come up with their mission statement. It was coached in a business/organization language; it should have been better phrased as a Rule of Life. Mine was: Seeing Christ in the Lives of Others. Yes, the title was my…
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Let ‘Em Fight
Psalm 145:10β18; 2 Kings 3:4β20; Colossians 3:12β17 It can be hard to be rid of wounds. Many physical ones heal with scars, though the deeper body ones may not heal well. For most of us, the emotional and spiritual wounds are the ones with deep and lasting effects. These are the ones that can hold…
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Burning Call
Psalm 145:10β18; 1 Kings 19:19β21; Colossians 1:9β14 One of the issues that has come up in the last year in church-ish circles is the ordination of women. Saddleback took a bold step and ordained women which went against the predominant grain of their partner body (SBC). There was an unexpected explosion in certain circles against…
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Kick or Lift
Psalm 23; Jeremiah 12:1β13; Luke 18:35β43 Understanding that we don’t know the whys and wherefores of life is one step. Accepting it is another. Then the biggest step is not blaming God. Often blaming God is the easiest as it means we have no responsibility. It also means we have no control, so we are…
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Tabled Enemies
Psalm 23; Jeremiah 10:17β25; Acts 17:16β31 One of the things that will make many Christians fall away from the faith is a weak foundation when it comes to trials. We say many platitudes, and try not to think about what happens where we actually tested. If you’ve ever read anything on the many martyrs of…
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Who Is For You
Amos 7:7β15; Psalm 85:8β13; Ephesians 1:3β14; Mark 6:14β29 There are many people in the world who have a person they focus on. That person could be an individual they look up to. That person could also be a person who was the source of a lot of pain or conflict. When there is such a…