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In: Bible and Theology, Gospel, Grace, Prayer and Devotions, Sin and Holiness

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) It is so easy to read this verse and think about all of “those people” who don’t understand the things of God, or rather who call our own doctrinal beliefs, personal convictions, and religious practices silly or flat out wrong. But I believe the Holy Spirit today is redirecting us from “those people” to “us people.” We each have a body. We live in sinful, broken, corrupt flesh, in anRead More →

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In: Abuse, Legalism, Prayer and Devotions

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” (Philippians 2:1-2) Paul writes these words from prison, where he is facing the possibility of being executed for treason due to his preaching that Jesus Christ is Lord, not Caesar, who claims deity and demands to be worshiped. Paul first seeks to reassure the Philippians that God is using his imprisonment to advance the gospel, and that he rejoices at this even if others areRead More →

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In: Abuse, God's Character, God's love, Prayer and Devotions

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7) This is one of my favorite passages. Often in this world we can start to feel unimportant, insignificant. We may think our petty problems are too small for God to be concerned about in a world full of grave evils. If we suffered the abuse of neglect as children, we may think our human fathers couldn’t be bothered and didn’t watch out for us, so GodRead More →

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In: Bible and Theology, God's Character, Prayer and Devotions

“Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it— the LORD is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (Jeremiah 33:2-3) In verse one, we helpfully learn this prophecy came to Jeremiah when he was imprisoned/under arrest basically. This is the lead up to God announcing he’s fed up with the evil of the Chaldean oppressors and promises to destroy them (strike them down) and restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel (the kingdom being divided at this time.) First let’s notRead More →

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In: Bible and Theology, Prayer and Devotions, Sin and Holiness

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22) According to James, we are deceiving ourselves about what we believe in our hearts when we read the bible, known intellectually what it says, and go out and ignore it in practice. So how do we not turn away from this uncomfortable mirror and promptly forget what we looked like and keep on as we are? In our instant culture and world, we often react by habit and by impulse. If our habits are godly, that is great. If our habits are indistinguishable from our impulses, that’s not so great. Contrary to whatRead More →