Tag: Religion
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Toiling With All His Energy
“By what authority are you doing these things?” This was a question posed to Jesus by the chief priests, scribes and elders as he taught and preached in the temple. (Luke 20:1-2) He refused to answer their question, but it’s obvious to we, who have the advantage of hindsight, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, that…
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Before I Was Afflicted
Being afflicted is something people can’t seem to reconcile with a loving God these days. Why all the pain and suffering in this life if there is really a good God in charge of it all? If He can do anything why doesn’t He change circumstances? Why doesn’t He wave His hand and remove the…
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Youth & The Dawn Of Life
Ecclesiastes 11:9-10 9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. 10 Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for…
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The Work We Do
Something I’ve struggled with over the years is finding purpose. Everyone wants their life to count. To be meaningful. To have value. Taken to an extreme, this can cause Christians to endeavor, carnally, to do spiritual work. And it can cause believers to disdain work that seems mundane by nature. Both are the result of…
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Do Not Be Conformed To This World
Have you ever noticed that the world system in which we live, is a mold? In the same way molten metals are poured into a mold and are formed into the shape of it, so are the lives of the masses poured into the mold of the world. Most people who are poured into this…
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Where Is The Fear Of The Lord?
Where is the fear of the Lord? If we gaze across the global landscape, it is an obviously missing ingredient in the vast majority of influential societies. It is probably beyond coincidence that our world is in chaos right now. I think the two are very much connected. In times past, there have been great…
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Receiving A Hedge Of Protection
Often, I’ve thought of a hedge of protection as something God sovereignly gives to people for reasons not practical or traceable. I’ve thought the only thing you can really do practically to obtain a hedge, is to ask for it. Of course, it is true that asking for it helps greatly. Many times we have…
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Freedom
Note: this post was first published on this site October 25, 2017 Freedom—the human spirit longs for it; people steal for it, go broke for it, even murder for it…and then there are people who actually fight for it and find it. This may come off as a strange or mysterious way to describe this…
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A Few Shades Less Proud
I remember when I first discovered I was very proud. It was a shock. I had struggled with inferiority most of my life and I had no idea that pride and inferiority operate together quite well rather than working against one another as I had supposed. The opposite of pride is humility and meekness—not inferiority.…
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Finding Great Spoil
Psalms 119:162 I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. – ESV God’s Word becomes precious to His saints who use it as it is intended. Hopefully we don’t read it as some religious rite, or duty to get out of the way. Rather, we should seek it as life-giving spiritual nourishment…
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Did Not Our Hearts Burn Within Us?
Luke 24:32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” – ESV Two of the disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus when Jesus appeared to them. They didn’t recognize His physical appearance, but after…
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Shepherds Feeding Themselves
Jude is not a popular book by most standards. It’s short, and it uses its limited space to mostly put forth some very stern warnings and convictions. It lists many attributes of fake Christians having snuck into the ranks of those Jude was writing to. The one that stuck out to me is found in…
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Suppressing The Truth
At some point in my walk with the Lord, I had a revelation concerning the seriousness of suppressing the truth. It occurred to me that it is the ultimate form of self-righteousness and evil. Suppressing God’s truth is like saying to God, “Your version of reality is a lie. I’d rather construct my own universe…
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Deception & Revelation: Twin Towers
The age we find ourselves in is fraught with deception. There are more ideas and opinions than ever before. This is a natural outcome of the breakdown of long held traditions. At a glance this seems like a tragedy. Many people are led astray by false teachers and prophets. Chaos and strife become the order…
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In Him All Is Victory
We have heard many times that in Jesus is all victory. This is true, but I’d like to raise the bar a little higher by stating that in Jesus all is victory. Basically this means that not only is every victory we have, found in Jesus, but that if we abide in Jesus continually, all we…
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Fearfully And Wonderfully Made
Psalms 139:13-14 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
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He Is Not A God Of Confusion
1 Corinthians 14:32-33 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. –ESV How many times do we find ourselves in doubt—questioning the will of God, our motives and even the path we are on? In a sense, these questions can be good. A person…
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Dealing With The Curses Of Balak
I am going through a major transition in business right now. My partner and I had two businesses together. We have agreed to separate, with him taking one business and me taking the other on negotiated terms. I have sensed that God has orchestrated this. I believe He has led me to this place, but…
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God, My Compass
There are many things that guide people, that people essentially use as a compass. Money, relationships, entertainment and pleasures of all kinds. Or perhaps in many cases these things are more like treats dangled in front of us, leading us one step at a time to an unknown destination. In our natural state, we are…
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Do We Count It All Joy?
When we first started out on our journey of faith it might have come as a surprise to us that we were destined for hardship. The first few bumps we faced certainly did not inspire joy, and probably caused us to pause and evaluate. What did we sign up for? Is it worth the cost?…
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The Spirit Of Religion—And The Aftermath
I have come down hard on some of the movements in modern Religion in a few posts on this blog. Some of this has been reactionary, coming from my own experience in some of these movements which produced frustration within me and a cry for something better. Something authentic, lacking men’s agenda and filled with…