Tag: sin
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Hearts and Ashes
Is, happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, the way you live?
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Greater or Lesser Than Evils
Read: Psalm 119:41–48, Deuteronomy 10:10–22, James 2:14–26 🔎 Focus No 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 believe—and shudder. James 2:19 (NRSVue)…
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Reconciling Fruit
Psalm 144; Isaiah 27:1–6; 2 Corinthians 5:17–21 (ISV) In times to come, Jacob will take root, and Israel will blossom, sprout shoots, and fill the whole world with fruit. Isaiah 27:6 ISV All of this comes from God, who has reconciled us to himself through the Messiah and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 2 Corinthians…
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Know Yourself. Know Your Idol.
The two latest tragedies that are in front of me are the school shooting in Texas, and the abuse scandal unraveling in another Christian denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. Both are incredibly painful. They should be. They are another example of how humanity has fallen and how determined, it seems, humanity is to stay mired…
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Blazing a Way
Nehemiah 9:1-31 “It’s not our fault!” That is proclaimed so much by so many about slavery, racism, poverty, etcetera…and they’re right. Yet, here we have the example of the Jews. It was the fault of their ancestors. However, their ancestors were dead. All things new Often, you cannot figure out the right way without figuring…
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Laying The Bread Down
Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 4:42–44; Ephesians 3:14–21; John 6:1–21 It is tempting to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We can look at society and even many churches (in particular, their leaders), and just give up. There is such a struggle against the darkness and against sin, that it can be overwhelming. At the…
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Let ‘Em Fight
Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 3:4–20; Colossians 3:12–17 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 145:10–18; 1 Kings 19:19–21; Colossians 1:9–14 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…