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If you ask God to do something and he doesn’t – or hasn’t yet – what’s your next move? Assume the answer is a permanent “no”? Ask again, but stop at that magical number of three? Give up praying altogether because you’re disappointed? Maybe there’s another way. [click to continue…]
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How would it change the way you approached God if you knew – with confidence – that He was not angry with you? Or even arguing, wrestling or wearying you?
Take a look at this promise:
“For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have made” (Isaiah 57:16).
The essential Old Testament story of the relationship between God and man is one of contention. The Lord had has standards – His Law – and man had his willful rebellion and sinful nature, such that even the finest of the Bible’s heroes is revealed as deeply flawed.
But here the Lord reveals another side to His character, and promises another kind of relationship. It will be one not based on contention or anger, but on revival and rebuilding.
I thought you should know today that this promise has been fulfilled. [click to continue…]
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How blessed is the man who fears always,
But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity (Proverbs 28:14).
“Always” is the key word here. My happiness, or blessedness, is linked to a continual attitude of reverence. The alternative is to harden my heart. No matter what the circumstances, I have a continual choice – fear the Lord or harden my heart. One leads to blessing, the other to ultimate calamity.
Fearing the Lord is not a comic book kind of life, where you’re walking around paranoid of a Big Stick in the sky.
To fear the Lord is to trust Him and to reverence Him. [click to continue…]
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Dave was going through a rough season. Looking back on it now, the load seems pretty mind-numbing. He was being viciously verbally attacked by other people, including complete strangers. His casual acquaintances were keeping their distance, but he had that feeling you get when all eyes are upon you.
He was physically impaired for a while, and his health looked pretty grim at one point. I would say his life flashed before his eyes, but in Dave’s case it was more like his life grabbed him by the ankle and started dragging. Dave was understandably terrified.
Then to make matters worse, one of Dave’s closest, most trusted friends betrayed him. And for some time Dave had dealt with the anguish, disbelief, and downright bitterness that comes with that kind of pain.
But through it all, Dave learned a powerful lesson. [click to continue…]
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Sometimes love goes on the defensive.
An honorable man suddenly finds himself in the middle of a world of adulation and praise. And frankly, he’s earned it. And while he doesn’t refuse expressions of love and kindness, he is firm in giving credit where credit is due: his family, his coworkers, and most importantly, his God.
A woman of excellence finds herself living in a material world of constantly-changing fashions, fads, and styles. A talented home decorator with a keen sense of the latest trends, she nevertheless avoids the temptation to rush out and buy at the first whiff of change. Press in and ask, and she will speak in tones that resemble reverence about a budget, of all things.
A young professional finds himself daily engaged in a world of beautiful people – and not just in physical appearance. He has the joy of working daily with people he considers friends. Confidants. People he both admires and who admire him. But every day he makes the point of telling his wife that she’s his best friend. And he consciously builds careful boundaries around his time, his vocabulary, and even his social practices – much more so than his friends would want. [click to continue…]
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But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always (1 Samuel 2:35).
This promise contains layers of truth. Historically, the Lord fulfilled it during the days of Solomon. But it also speaks of every New Testament believer, and describes the nature of our priesthood. It’s a mistake to assume that the Lord no longer cares about the priesthood just because we’re living in New Covenant terms. He has simply reengineered the priesthood so that today you and I are those priests unto the Lord. That’s why 1 Peter 2:9 refers to us as a “chosen generation, a royal priesthood.”
Are you a follower of Christ? Then you are that faithful priest. Standing before the Lord, representing Him to the people and the people to Him. [click to continue…]
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You live in what feels like a constant state of tension. Even your “good stress” is, well, stress. You check the news at least each day to make sure you’re on top of the latest thing to worry about. Your time is stretched so thin that any interruption or change of plans sends you reeling emotionally.
Your credit cards are loaded to the max, and your life feels a lot like your email inbox – loaded with clutter, junk, and unfinished business – some of which is actually important.
Your best sleep comes after 2:00 in the morning. You avoid those medical checkups because you already know what they’re going to say. Unless, of course, you need to get that prescription refilled.
And then…
…then, somebody comes along and says…
“Let’s worship Jesus!”
And honestly, it just feels like another reason to feel anxious.
What if I were to tell you that if you’re harried and helpless, stressed out or fried emotionally, the Bible actually gets where you’re coming from? If I could show you a way to magnificently worship the Lord Jesus, even when you’re at the end of your rope, would you be interested?
This is an Ovation for the Overworked, overstressed, overeating, over-fill-in-your-blank.
Ready? Here it is: [click to continue…]
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Her second grade teacher had asked for a meeting. Seems that Carrie was not turning in homework – work we knew she had completed. In one or two cases, she didn’t even turn in work she had done in class.
So Robin and I sat down with Mrs. Hillis in Carrie’s classroom to see what we could do about the problem. And it didn’t take long to discover a solution.
Seems a family of pack rats had moved into Carrie’s desk. Not the kind with four feet and no hair on the tail – the human kind. Surely no one person could have jam-packed her storage compartment so full of stuff.
“Um, I think I found the problem,” I said as I raked out an armful of wrinkled papers, various wrappers, and candidates for tomorrow’s trash run. Yep. There was the missing homework, and classwork. She literally couldn’t find it to turn it in.
Simply put, our little second grader had cluttered herself into subpar performance.
That’s easy to fix when you’re dealing with lunch bags and class handouts. It’s another story when the clutter takes place between our ears. [click to continue…]
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Try to watch the video below and not smile.
Try to watch this and not weep.
Try to watch this and not celebrate.
This… is worship.
On April 4, 2010, over 1,300 people, all of them members of Faith Church, celebrated Resurrection Sunday in Budapest, Hungary.
Joy in this lifetime, utterly free
More than the world gives, beyond what you see.
For nations it’s time to rise,
Their hope is in Jesus Christ
If the giants come, just hold on,
The advantage is now on your side -
Jesus will take the final fight!
A light dawned that Sunday morning.
It broke through the boundaries of time.
Hearts are shining, calling to all mankind
Let’s celebrate eternal life!
(Music: Ferenc Balogh Jr., Lyrics: Shelly Matos, based on the Hungarian text by Tamas Pajor (Tompage), Producer: Ákos Nemes
Art Producer: Tamás Pajor (Tompage)
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“Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full” (John 16:24).
Here Jesus rewrites the playbook for prayer. “Until now,” He says, “you have asked for nothing in My name. Up until now, you have prayed, but you haven’t taken on My identity or authority. You haven’t prayed ‘as if’ it were Me doing the asking.”
Praying ‘as if…’ that’s what it means to pray in His name.
Take a look at any situation. [click to continue…]
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