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A Change of Heart and A Change of Mind
Staying close to God through the Lord Jesus Christ is the most important factor to remaining strong during times of trouble. We must be ever mindful that the sheep that are kept safe from the wolves are the ones who remain closest to the shepherd. Jesus Christ is the True Shepherd. He said in John…
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God Disciplines Those He Loves
More and more, we’re witnessing Christians align themselves with systems of the world. They are adopting worldly philosophies and new age principles; and they are attempting to comingle these with the teachings of Jesus Christ. None of us have a soapbox to stand on. God allows us the intelligence to formulate opinions and the free…
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What the Times Are Revealing
We are living in perilous times, and never has there been the level of confusion, dysfunction, corruption, and disunity that we are witnessing today. Some people are paralyzed with fear and anxiety, while others are falling away from the faith in droves. Increasingly, we’re hearing talk of the end of the world, and although this…
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How to Be Content in Life
John 10:10 is probably on every believer’s list of scripture favorites. It’s the words of our Master Jesus, and he teaches us, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” In this verse,…
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The Rebuilding Phase
Lexi was waiting at the red light, both hands clutching the steering wheel as drivers behind her furiously blew their horns. Two male sympathetic pedestrians trying to get her attention in the kindest way they could, yelled. “Sweetheart, don’t cry! It will be all right!” Tears bolting down her face uncontrollably, the kind words of…
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The Desires of Your Heart
“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4(NIV) The desires of your heart can teach you a lot about the faith and loyalty God desires. These two, faith and loyalty, are very important lessons of God’s love, and they are especially important to our relationship with…
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Distinguishing Hope and Faith
Have you ever thought about the reality that Moses, God’s chosen leader of the Children of Israel, never entered the Promised Land? Of course, he knew about it, and understood the promise of it, but after everything he had endured with leading the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery, he would not be allowed to journey…
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It Will Make You Stronger
When it boils right down to it, either we are going to believe that Jesus Christ is the answer or we’re not. He is the answer to all our questions and the solution for all our problems. All the situations of life will mirror how much of this truth regarding Christ and his power we…
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Selfishness Will Cause Misery
Diane became very offended when her friend, Lee, commented on the fact that Diane never gives anything away for free. It’s not as if Diane is short for cash. She earns six figures, boasts about the fact that she can get just about anything she wants, including the new luxury vehicle she leases every two…
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Walk Through It!
A wonderfully loving, creative, and generous woman who loves God lost her husband many years ago, but in some respects, she is still a grieving widow. She said to me, “He was my life!” She made this statement with so much pain in her voice that it was as if he had passed away yesterday.…
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Know Your Ministry
For many years, we have relied on our faith leaders to do the heavy lifting when it comes to the work of the Kingdom. Many believed that attending service one day a week meant that God’s requirement was satisfied, and we didn’t need to do much more than that. One of the things that history…
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The Pillars of Faith and Gratitude
Hebrews 11:1(BSB) tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.” Our Heavenly Father created the universe in such a way that everything, from the smallest to the greatest, is produced by His faith. There isn’t one thing that exists today that doesn’t…
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The Art of Compassionate Communication
People mean the most to God, and this isn’t a difficult truth to prove. He tells us in Genesis 1:27 that He created human beings in His very own image. He adopted us into His family through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:29(NLT) declares, “For God knew his people in advance, and he…
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When It’s Time to Close the Door
When Gladys opened her own boutique, a lifelong dream had been realized. Her store featured unique and designer clothing and limited home interior items. Her husband, Rich, took a loan from his retirement account to finance the venture, and Gladys had saved for years as well. When they spotted the perfect location, everything fell into…
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Do Ultimatums Work?
Acts 17:26(NLT) tells us, “From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.” For the unmarried woman believer that desires to be married to her destiny partner, Acts17:26 must sink deep within her soul. Society tries to program…
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Why Did It Have to Be So Bad?
Years ago, when my childhood friend confronted her mother about the abuse that they both had endured from her father, it was like I left my body. Having just graduated from college, I was looking forward to spending time with them and enjoying their company and conversation. It had not occurred to me that my…
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You Must Not Ever Look Back!
Galatians 5:22-23(NLT) states, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Many of us learned about the fruit of the Spirit in Sunday School. There may have been cartoonish drawings of various fruits and lessons about them that were made very…
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Sharp Discernment
The common definition of what it means to discern is to perceive or recognize something. This definition assumes the one that is discerning possesses some level of background information on the two or more things they are attempting to discern. For instance, it isn’t too difficult for most people to discern the difference between a…
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The Key that Unlocks His Blessings
During a discussion, Tracy said that they never talk about sex, serious relationship issues or anything pertaining to abstinence at her place of worship. She said her spiritual leader doesn’t preach about subjects that might cause offense to their congregants. She made this remark when someone asked her how things were going with her significant…
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She Saw, She desired, She Ate and Gave Some to Him
Genesis 3:6-7(NLT) states, “The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At…
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You Must Have God’s Hedge of Protection
People are longing to go back to a time that was far less complicated and tumultuous. Politicians are even running campaigns based on it. They are trying to convince the masses that they can make things the way they used to be. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we would do well not to…
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What Happens When We Say Something Different Than What God Says
The odds are pretty good that you’ve heard more than a few teachings on the power of the tongue. Well, I’m of the opinion that we can never hear too many. The instrument that is anchored on our faces, in the center, south of our noses, is the single greatest tool we own to partner…
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The Lifestyle of An Empowered People
God has made us each uniquely different. When you think about this, its pretty mind blowing. Out of the billions of people that have existed, continue to exist, and will exist in the future, no two are alike. We have diverse experiences, backgrounds, talents, and abilities. Our levels of intelligence and understanding are varied as…
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Are You Really That Deep?
We live in an environment where people are experiencing many conditions that stem from a false identity of themselves. Some pretend to have it all together, but inside they are falling apart because they don’t feel secure. From the very beginning, God wired humanity to feel good about themselves, and this ‘feeling good’ stems from…
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Going All out for God
Our Master Jesus said in Matthew 21:22(ESV), “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Every need and blessing are included in the truth he’s spoken in this verse. No good thing is left out, and he would not have told us this good news if it were not so.…
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God’s Plan for Your Life Is Perfect
We have got to start believing that if we follow God’s Word, life will be infinitely sweeter. As history records and time progresses, we see people turning their backs on God in huge numbers. As believers and followers of Christ and children of the One True Living God, we should pause and think about this.…
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You Love Him, but He Doesn’t Love Jesus
2Corinthians 6:14(ESV) says, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” Many single believers struggle with applying the discipline and wisdom of this verse to their own lives. The challenges of being a single person that is looking to cross paths with…
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Why the Lord Said ‘Don’t Do It’
Ephesians 2:8(ESV) says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” There is nothing that any human being can accomplish or attempt to do in life that does not involve God’s grace. We cannot even get up from where we’re sitting…
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Getting to Know the Person of Jesus Christ
Someone said to me, “I know plenty of people that say they are saved, but they are doing the same things I do, and some of them are even doing worse.” A lot of people can be turned away from salvation because of this. They might think to themselves, “What difference will it make if…
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The Blessing of Communication
In modern society, there are countless books written about the art of communication. Just about everyone recognizes how powerful words can be. Not only is it powerful when the right words are spoken, but it can be equally powerful when the wrong words are not spoken, but kept to one’s self. God tells us in…