The god of Lonliness

1 John 5:21 (NIV) Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

When we read warnings from the scriptures about idols, we think of ugly statues and monuments that people make with their hands. These idols and false gods were a huge problem for the Israelites in the Old Testament and they continue to be prominent among a vast number of people in the world today. But did you know that there are idols that we worship that are not seen? These are especially dangerous because you c

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Letting Peace Rule

Colossians 3:15 (NIV) Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Everyone wants to experience peace. Many people talk about their desire to see world peace. That is a lofty desire that I can confidently say we will never experience, at least not in this world. There will be absolute and complete peace one day, but it will be experienced when we are in eternity in heaven with the Lord Jesus. But can we

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The Folly of Thinking to Yourself

1 Samuel 27:1 (NIV) But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

David had been running from Saul for a long time. He spent a lot of time in the wilderness and hiding in caves from King Saul. He had quite a few close calls, but the Lord always delivered him from King Sa

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A Work in Progress

Philippians 1:6 (NIV) Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

One of the things that I have said repeatedly when I am speaking publicly is that we are all “a piece of work.” What I mean by that is that in general, we as people are difficult and complicated. We can make mountains out of molehills and turn something positive into a negative very quickly. This is all due to our sinful nature, w

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A Godly Conscience

1 Samuel 24:5-6 (NIV) Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.”

King Saul had gotten it into his mind that he had to kill David, the man that the Lord had used to not only kill Goliath, but who was the one who had also won many victories for Saul and Israel as one of Israel’s

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Knowing God Better

Ephesians 1:17 (NIV) I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

One of the many wonderful things that God has blessed us with is relationships. God is a relational God and relationships are important to Him. It’s obvious how much He values our relationship with Him because of the price that He paid to restore the relationship that was shattered when our ancestor

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The Spirit of Sonship

Galatians 4:6-7 (NIV) Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

When I was a teenager living with my parents, they would allow me to invite my friends over to our home. While my parents did everything to make my friends feel at home, there was an obvious difference between me and them. As comfort

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Seeing Jesus

Luke 24:30-31 (NIV) When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

When Jesus resurrected on the third day just as He said He would, it shook and confused a lot of people. The women who went to the tomb to put the spices on the body as was the custom were alarmed when they found the empty tomb. When they ran to tell the disciples,

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Keep Up With the Spirit

Galatians 5:25 (NIV) Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

When I was a young boy, I loved going on walks with my dad. He was obviously taller than I was and his walking strides were longer than mine. I remember trying to match his steps and in order to do so, I had to include a hop, skip and a jump to keep up. I even tried to match the order of his steps....left, right, left, right. It wasn’t easy to do, but I was determined and enjoyed the chal

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The God Who Counters Instinct

1 Samuel 6:7-9 (NIV) “Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster on u

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Blessed to Bless

2 Corinthians 9:10-11 (NLT) For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.

Many people wonder why Christians emphasize giving so much. We emphasize giving because God emphasizes it. Ther

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Providing for Others Through Jesus

Luke 9:16 (NIV) Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.

The disciples were about to learn some new things from Jesus when they were faced with a large crowd that was listening to Jesus teach. When He finished teaching them, they suggested that Jesus send the people away to find food for themselves, but Jesus shocked them by telling them to give all of tho

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A Goal With Great Results

2 Corinthians 5:9 (NIV) So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

The vast majority of people in the world today do not live in a way that pleases God. This is also true of the vast majority of people who have ever existed. This makes me marvel at the great mercy and patience of God. It wasn’t long after Adam and Eve sinned that the world experienced its first murder. Cain murdered his brother Abel out of jealousy and bitterne

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Learning How to Clothe Yourself

Romans 13:13-14 (NIV) Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

There are things that as believers, should not have to be mentioned among us. The things mentioned in the first part of the scripture passage above are things that may have been part of wh

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From Lowest to the Greatest

Matthew 21:10-11 (NIV) When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

On the day that we know as Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey while a crowd of people waved palm branches and laid their cloaks on the road as He passed by. They shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” among other things. It was a huge happening but when he arrived in Jerusalem,

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