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Category: Maturity

Four Ways of Serving God During Christmas #1

Four Ways of Serving God During Christmas #1

In his sermon, “Holy Work of Christmas,” Spurgeon unpacks Luke 2:17-20 and gives “four ways of serving God, four methods of executing holy work and exercising Christian thought.” What are four ways we can serve God during Christmas? By publishing abroad what we have seen and heard of the Savior. They had seen God incarnate—such a sight that he who gazeth on it must feel his tongue unloosed, unless indeed an unspeakable astonishment should make him dumb. Be silent when their…

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Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to…

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The Point Of Prayer

The Point Of Prayer

The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does not always come in the way we expect, and our spiritual irritation shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers…

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We Are Not To Walk By Sight

We Are Not To Walk By Sight

Each day for years, two friends out for a walk passed an empty lot with a broken ‘for sale’ sign lying on its side. The property was full of weeds and dead trees. A tiny, rusted metal utility shed was the only thing that sat on the property. On this particular day, the inquisitive friend decided to look inside the shed, while the other friend waited impatiently on the sidewalk. “What a tumbled down mess,” the friend yelled, laughing from…

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Sheep Or Goat?

Sheep Or Goat?

Growing up on a farm, we never raised goats, although we did have sheep for a short time when I was young. Not having raised both, it was still common knowledge that farmers separate sheep from goats. Why? There are many reasons, some of which include disease transference, dietary and feeding differences, and temperaments. Sheep are gentler animals, they leisurely graze together, and will loyally follow the one who takes care of them. Goats are rough, have a difficult disposition,…

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Intruders

Intruders

They tap at my window, they knock on my door, thoughts without promise come by the score They beckon, they bargain, they love to entertain. Lord, help me to see that they’re clouds without rain. –E.A. Wilhelm Evangelical Christian pastor and author Rick Warren defines four principles for winning this battle: don’t believe everything you think guard your mind from garbage never let up on learning let God stretch your imagination And he also recommends an acrostic for the word…

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On Silence

On Silence

Swiss theologian and Catholic priest Hans Ur von Balthasar (1905-1988), believed that theology is supposed to be the study of the fire and light that burn at the center of the world, and unlike his fellow theologians, he favored deeply personal spirituality. His book titled “Prayer”, published in 1986, simply states: “Harassed by life, exhausted, we look about us for somewhere to be quiet, to be genuine, a place of refreshment. We yearn to restore our spirits in God, to simply…

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Set It Down – Or Carry It?

Set It Down – Or Carry It?

In a dream, I was performing a task and I was very, very sad about it. A man came along beside me and questioned me—not in a challenging way, but in a very compassionate way. He was asking me if I really needed to do this task, or if he could do it for me. I reflected on times in my life where I knew that I was supposed to handle things myself because the Lord had required me to…

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Give It All You Got

Give It All You Got

“Give it all you got” is a phrase that cannot be tied as quoted by any one person. This phrase can be found used by sports legends, motivational speakers, musicians and singers, poets and authors, business leaders, and even Ethel Kennedy herself. It is a phrase that is meant to be words of encouragement. The Urban Dictionary defines the phrase to mean: To put forth all of one’s energy and effort into something; to give it one’s best effort; to…

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Are You Trying To Change Yourself?

Are You Trying To Change Yourself?

Any believer who desires personal change can enter into, pass through and emerge from the seven significant events created with trials, tests, and lessons taught and lived through the life of Jesus. Cooperation with the direction the Spirit shows and guides each believer into is the only way change can occur. Avoid trying to change yourself based what you think needs accomplished or which way you think needs to be followed. Yield only to the Spirit, Who is responsible for…

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