Nov 2
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bgoodban added a text contribution The Building AnticipationI imagine, at the birth of John, that even the naysayers of the neighborhood began to start changing their minds about all this talk of a coming Messiah. Can you imagine all the anticipation that began to build up from this miraculous birth? Read more »
Oct 20
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bgoodban added a link contribution Pivotal Pop QuizI was reminded (again) of the importance of the little pop quizzes (aka. pivotal moments) that God allows/orchestrates in our lives. He's been doing it since the beginning, you know!... Read more »
Jun 29
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bgoodban added a text contribution The Purpose of PunishmentThrough this seemingly "mean" passage on what will happen to Israel if they break the covenant with God, I was reminded of God's good intentions behind the "curses" (or punishment). You see, there are some people that believe God will just punish people because he can when we mess up; almost as if there is no real good reason for the punishment other than because that's the way God plays. But this is so far from the truth! If you look at the covenant God has set up… Read more »
Jun 9
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bgoodban added a text contribution Your Heart Beats Like Your god'sAlthough it looks different today, even back in the Old Testament people were worshiping & serving other gods that they created; back then, literal statues, now of days, our "gods" come in all shapes and sizes. A certain celebrity, our own kids, a girl, SEX, the new plasma TV, cable or DirectTV, cold-hard-cash, your dream home, your dream job, your self, etc. We all have gods in our lives. And here's the kicker: everyone serves a god even if they don't serve your god. We… Read more »
Jun 3
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Real love always proves itself with action. Much like living always proves itself with breathing, love shows itself alive with action. "Show your love by walking in His ways and holding tight to Him" is a challenge to prove your love; the way to prove your love for God is to look at your path of action. Have we been following our desires or our cultures (leading us in the direction of more self-recognition, more power, the approval of men, for sex) or have we been obeying God by stayin… Read more »
Jun 2
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bgoodban added a video contribution How He Loves Us!Our story is the same. We didn't do anything to deserve God's love. Oh, how he loves His people! Read more »
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bgoodban added a text contribution Tell Others About The StorySometimes we make life harder than it needs to be. Especially as Christian people. We seem to ourselves in the position of God's attorney rather than the witnesses He has called us to be. The job of a witness is much simpler than the job of an attorney. As a witness, here is what we're called to do: tell others about our story of slavery to freedom & the God who makes this all possible and then invite them into this new way of life. And in many cases, if we are living our new liv… Read more »
May 30
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bgoodban added a text contribution Talk About ItReally like this little phrase. It has such practical implications. If we are people in love with obeying God and following in His way, then an indicator of our heart should be that we talk about it. We all tend to talk about the things we really enjoy. Our kids, restaurants, the Laker game, leading a Bible study. The point is, we talk about whatever we enjoy. Do you talk about God and his Word? Read more »
May 29
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bgoodban added a text contribution God Had A Better Plan In MindGod instructed the Israelites to pass through this land on their way to Canaan; this was merely a highway on their way to the land. However, the king of the land, King Sihon, wouldn't allow it. It must have been frustrating to the Israelites when God specifically told them to pass through without any violence and the king refuses your passage! What is God doing, they might ask. If he refuses they obviously can't pass through peacefully. But God had a better plan in mind. Without the I… Read more »
May 25
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bgoodban added a text contribution From Whiner To Winner: The First StepIf you're like me, you tend to complain. Maybe not out loud, but just because you keep it to yourself doesn't turn it into less of a problem. Whining is a major problem for us because it reveals a lack of trust in Jesus & His work in our lives and a lack of thankfulness for what we have already been blessed with because of Jesus. We think we have so much to whine about when, in reality, we have nothing to whine about. Whiners are losers in my book, but, if you're like me, the… Read more »
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bgoodban added a text contribution The Best Compliment For A CommunityIf you know any of the history of the Philippian church you know that Paul has a deep relationship with the people there. He helped start the church in the major cities of Colossae, Ephesus, Galatia, and Philippi. (And I imagine Paul had strong ties to all of them.) But if you remember, most of the other letters that Paul wrote to the churches were deeply rooted in addressing some major problems EXCEPT for his letter to the church in Philippi. What an amazing choice of words Paul uses here when… Read more »
May 20
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bgoodban added a text contribution The Last Snipet of BalaamJesus got Balaam's attention through a talking donkey, and then God used Balaam to bless Israel instead of curse them like Balak wanted, but just because he did a good thing doesn't mean he was a man of God. "They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword." Balaam must have continued to live his "magical" "superstitious" "pagan" life even after being spoke to by God and used by God if he was with the Midianites. So much potential, but in t… Read more »
May 18
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bgoodban added a text contribution Daily, Weekly, Monthly, AnnuallyGod has set us up for victory. He gives us great tools for helping us to remember & celebrate His goodness. He wants us to start and end each day with remembering Him. He wants us to start each new week with reflecting on Him. He wants us to begin each new month with remembering Him. He wants us to remember His goodness throughout the year at the beginning of the different seasons, harvests, etc. The life that remembers & reflects on God's faithfulness the most, is the life that h… Read more »
May 17
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bgoodban added a text contribution Publicly Empower Other LeadersThere's a great take-away from this leadership instruction that God gives Moses. Moses is obviously the one all of Israel looks to as the leader; they respect him (most of the time) and have gone through trials and victories with him. But the time has come for a new leader to take them to new places where Moses can't go. It is now God's desire that Moses empower Joshua to continue leading the people of Israel, but as we all know, people have big problems with transferring their tr… Read more »
May 12
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bgoodban added a text contribution God's GraceGrace is getting something you don't deserve. The Israelites certainly didn't deserve victory over the Canaanites because of their constant disobedience and complaints against God, but God showed His great grace and gave them victory. God's grace is so great that regardless of what we've been like in the past, if we cry out to Him in our need He is gracious to us. Read more »
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bgoodban added a text contribution Moses's Disobedience Affects Aaron TooOur sin is not just a personal problem between God and us; the consequences of sin will affect others too. This is why sin is so evil. Aaron, Moses's right hand man, is given the news that he will not enter the Promised Land because of Moses's disobedience and lack of trust with the rock. It's my belief that Aaron knew the instructions God had given Moses concerning the rock and how to get the water out of it, but when Moses decided to use his staff instead of his voice, like God… Read more »
May 11
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bgoodban added a text contribution Tithing the TithesThis shows the importance of always, regardless of where the blessing comes from, giving the best & first portion back to God as a tithe. Even if you are a full-time "church worker" who lives off of the church's tithes, you have got to tithe out of that tithe. It just doesn't get clearer: tithe off of everything God blesses you with. Reminds me of math because you can keep dividing a number and it will never get to zero. There will always be room for giving your tithe t… Read more »
May 9
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bgoodban added a text contribution God lets His Leaders "Bud"There seems to still be a problem with people complaining to God and others when He decides to bless or anoint other people. You see it all the time; most recently with pastors like Rick Warren, Andy Stanley, Perry Noble, Bill Hybels, and Ed Young Jr. These seem to be some of the most talked about, critiqued, dissected, and blogged about leaders; mostly because they seem to have "watered down" the true Gospel because nobody sees their amount of numerical success if you preach the "… Read more »
May 5
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bgoodban added a text contribution Tassels For RememberingAn Old Testament professor & scholar at Biola University told me that if you travel to Israel (like he does every year) and see the Jewish people who follow a rabbi & still follow the Torah, that you will still see these tassels on their clothing. We see reminders of all sorts today: bracelets for causes, necklaces for friends, rings for lovers, tattoos for life metaphors. But none of them go back as far as this one. Jesus was the Master Rabbi, of Jewish descent, and when he stepped in… Read more »
May 1
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bgoodban added a text contribution Delayed Obedience Is DisobedienceMoses gave the Israelites the bad news: no promised land for you! When they received this report from Moses, the next day they repented and were willing to go into the land. But by now it was too late. There is a time when you can finally obey God, but you will still suffer the consequences of your initial disobedience because delayed obedience isn't obedience; you didn't put your trust and faith in God when He wanted you to. Read more »
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bgoodban added a text contribution Wandering Until You DieGod told the Israelites to do an about-face in order to go back into the wilderness. They were on the brink of the promised land, but because they didn't trust and obey God to go into the land and fight, he told them to turn around and go back. (NOTE: God did not reveal to them his purpose of taking them back into the wilderness, he only revealed his intentions to Moses.) If you find yourself or your church going back to the wilderness & desert places you've already been, maybe… Read more »
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bgoodban added a text contribution Look Back Past The ProblemAlthough they had seen first-hand the great power of God through the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the mana, the quail, the pillar of cloud, the pillar of fire, and the sending of fire to kill people, the Israelite people had no trust, no faith, and no thankfulness towards God. Their attitude of contempt pushed God's anger over the edge when they complained about how the heck they would take the land of Canaan. Out of all those past sign and miracles you'd think they would char… Read more »
Apr 27
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bgoodban added a text contribution Complaining Reveals Something ElseThe Israelites aren't doing so good right about now. Just a couple of years ago they were working their fingers to the bone as slaves in Egypt; they were nothing. Egypt owned them and could do anything it wanted with them. Who cares if they got to eat some nice meals in Egypt every once in a while, the fact was still this: they were slaves and could do nothing about it! They hated being slaves! But now, a couple of years later, the Israelites are complaining about the current food and tr… Read more »
Apr 26
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bgoodban added a text contribution Blow Your TrumpetSaturday nights I'm usually feeling one of two emotions: excited for the Sunday or a little nervous for Sunday. And the feeling usually depends on how I'm expecting my music to sound for the worship leading. I honestly feel excited 8 out of 10 times, but those 2 times are difficult for me every 10 weeks. This passage in Numbers encourages me, because I'm experiencing one of those 2 times right now. This passage has taken me to an important memory: the honor I get to experience… Read more »
Apr 21
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We will often not be able to explain why God wants us to move; it might not make sense. Maybe God moved us to a spot for just the night or maybe he moved us to a spot for years. But regardless of how long, when God says move, we must move. God, may I move when you want me to. May I see your presence so that I can stay with you and keep you as the focus for all my movement. Give me the faith I need to move when you tell me to move. Read more »
User Info
Name: Brian Goodban
User Since: November 2008
Location: Bellflower, CA
Website: justbgood.blogspot.com
Contributions: 46
Tags: 109