Mar 27
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What are we doing, individually as followers of Christ, and collectively as the Church, to - uphold the cause of the oppressed - give food to the hungry - set prisoners free - give sight to the blind - lift up those who are down - sustain the fatherless and the widow? Read more »
Mar 9
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clinch added a text contribution giving more than enoughAfter the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, during their time in the desert, Moses led them to build the Temple. The Temple was to be built using all of the finest things - gold, silver, bronze, cloths, hides - all of which were given by the Israelites as instructed by Moses. Here's the thing that caught my attention: after the Israelites brought all that they had been instructed to bring, they still "continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning." And they brou… Read more »
Mar 3
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clinch added a text contribution missing the real miracleA few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the par… Read more »
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clinch added a text contribution What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?This one little verse packs a powerful punch. What business is it of mine to judge the behavior of those who do not know Christ? I have a tendency to apply my Christian values to the behavior of others who live in my community. When I see someone steal something or hurt someone, my immediate reaction is “that’s wrong - how could anyone do that?” Well, after reading this verse, the answer becomes pretty clear… …I am applying the character of Christ to people who don’t even know Christ, muc… Read more »
Dec 21
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clinch added a text contribution is serving Christ a distraction from following Him?I’ve read this scripture many times, and have every time, feel like I totally relate to Martha. Problem is, it doesn’t matter how much older or “wiser” I get, I still relate to Martha. I think Martha’s love language (for you Gary Chapman readers) must have been “acts of service” – she expressed her love for people by what she did for them. So it made perfect sense to invest all of her energy on working to serve Jesus. After all, wouldn’t she later learn that Jesus expressed His love for her… Read more »
Aug 4
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clinch added a text contribution Why are you looking forward to Heaven?A coworker was assisting with message preparation this morning, and came by my office while taking an informal poll: Why are you looking forward to Heaven? What about Heaven do you anticipate the most? Wow - loaded question - where do I start? An easy answer for a follower of Christ: to be in the presence of God and to experience Him in his fullness, without the limitations of my physical body and mind. Another easy answer for me: to meet the people who helped shape who I am today,… Read more »
Apr 26
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clinch added a text contribution do you want to get well?There’s a paralytic at the pool who’s been there for 38 years. THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS! When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6) I wonder what Jesus was thinking as he asked that question. Do you want to get well? Do you really? You’ve been lying here for thirty-eight years with your healing just feet away? And you’re still here? Do you really want to get well? The man ha… Read more »
Mar 25
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clinch added a text contribution mom's requestSo here’s what I find interesting about the interchange: She interceded on behalf of her friend. Running out of wine wasn’t her problem, it was the wedding host’s problem. But she knew her friend had a problem, and she took her friend’s problem to Jesus. She talked to Jesus about the problem. Jesus was at the wedding, so he obviously knew the the wine had run out. But she didn’t just assume “oh Jesus knows about it anyway, so He’ll do something about it if he wants to.” Instead, she in… Read more »
Feb 18
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The last half of this verse may seem insignificant, but actually contains a pretty important truth: one of our responsibilities as parents is to take care of ourselves financially so that our children won't have to "save up" for us when we're old. We should absolutely teach our children to take care of the elderly, and to show compassion toward those in need. At the same time, we should teach them that as parents, we are responsibly saving for our old age, so that they wil… Read more »
Feb 11
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clinch added a text contribution Christ's perfection in my weaknessGod was doing great things through Paul, but continued to allow him to be afflicted by a “thorn in the flesh.” We don’t know for sure what the thorn was - a physical ailment, a mental or emotional instability or insecurity, or a significant temptation, possibly. Whatever it was, Paul believed that it limited the effectiveness of his ministry, and he asked God repeatedly to remove it. But God didn’t remove it. Why? Because the work God was doing through Paul was so great that Paul was in… Read more »
Feb 3
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Now there are lots of books that talk about the use of the concept of pruning in scripture, but the following quote from a university agricultural department web site really intrigues me: “Without training and pruning,…fruit trees will not develop proper shape and form. Properly trained and pruned trees will yield high quality fruit much earlier in their lives and live significantly longer.” So pruning is about training. I won’t properly grow without being pruned. If I embrace the prunin… Read more »
Jan 29
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clinch added a text contribution fruit of the spiritI Googled various subjects relating to fruit and fruit trees. Here’s some of what I found: Fruit isn’t something that appears, it’s the result of a process. **So it’s unrealistic for me to just “ask God for patience” and expect him to “give me patience.” Instead, I can expect a process to happen by which he grows patience in me. After a tree is planted, it generally takes three to five before the tree will produce fruit. **So I can’t be too disappointed if I don’t have all (or even ver… Read more »
Jan 27
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It’s always amazing to me how I can read the same passages of scripture a hundred times, and how on about the hundredth time, I see something in it that I didn’t see all the times before. So I was reading 2 Corinthians, (for about the hundredth time), and a couple of things caught my attention that I hadn’t noticed before. Here’s one: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (New International Version) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all com… Read more »