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Peace & Confusion Don’t Mix
Learning to Recognize the Peace God Has Given Us Perfect peace is something we learn to walk in as Christians. We hear about it from the pulpit, and some of us encourage others with the Scriptures about God’s perfect peace. We want people to know that during the most turbulent storms of life, God can…
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Do You Know Your Christ Identity?
Understanding Who You Are and Whose You Are in Christ When we don’t know who we truly are in Christ, it affects how we see ourselves, how we live, and how we respond to the world around us. Think about it this way: when you apply for a job, the job description outlines the responsibilities…
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In Position for What God Has Planned
When You Stop Forcing It We hear a lot these days about “going after what’s yours.” And while there are times when we absolutely need to take action, pursue something, and do our part, we also have to remember that God is the author of our lives. He is not sitting in heaven trying to…
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Sharing in the Weakness of Others
Sometimes People Need to Experience the Love of Christ Before They Need to Hear Our Advice A few months ago, I met a young woman who is twenty-one years old, has a one-year-old child, and is engaged to the father of her child. I saw her recently, and she asked me for relationship advice. She…
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When Relationships Become More Important Than Their Purpose
When God Gives Us People for a Purpose God created us for relationships. From the beginning, He made it clear that being connected to other people was part of His design. Genesis 2:18 (NLT) says, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for…
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Say What God Says
When What You See Doesn’t Match What God Has Said It’s so easy to look at the disappointments of life and simply accept what we see. It’s easier to sink into sadness—to curl up in a ball and cry until there are no more tears left. When this kind of pain greets us every day,…
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If Love Is Real, Where’s the Sacrifice?
We’ve Been Taught a Lot About What Love Is Supposed to Look Like John 3:16 (NLT) “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” When we’re young and moving through different phases of life,…
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Am I Allowed to Ask “Why”?
There Is a Difference Between Questioning God and Asking God Questions James 1:5 (NLT) says, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” How many times have you wanted to ask God a question but stopped yourself because you felt like…
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So Busy Living, We Forget to Live for God
John 15:4 (NLT) “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.” “Life is just life-ing right now.” That’s what we hear, and honestly, sometimes that’s exactly how life feels. Work. School.…
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Remember the Mercy God Has Given You
Matthew 18:33 (NLT) “Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?” What is our immediate reaction when someone does something to hurt us? If we’re honest about it, sometimes that ol’ vengeance nature raises to the surface and we want to get them back, big time. We want…
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Finish Faithfully
Becoming saved isn’t just about avoiding hell, and it’s not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Being a follower of Christ is more than being able to say we’re going to Heaven. When we become saved, it doesn’t mean that we’re then going to live a perfect life. Giving our lives to Jesus Christ is an acknowledgment that…
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Life Before Salvation Isn’t Life at All
Living life outside of salvation is simply existing. True life—abundant life—can only really be experienced through Jesus Christ. He willingly laid down His own life so that we could truly live. The moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we pass from death into life. Colossians 1:13-14 (NLT) says, “For he has…
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You’re Not Single, You’re Reserved
Understanding God’s Purpose in Your Season of Singleness Romans 8:29 (NLT) says, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Before we ever understood our purpose, God already knew the work He desired to…
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You Have Been Set Free
How the Truth of Jesus Christ Breaks the Lies That Keep Us Bound John 8:32 (NLT) “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” We can’t get any plainer than what our Master Jesus has said in this simple yet extremely powerful verse. The truth sets us free, and when it…
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Christians Are Imperfect, But We Are Being Perfected
Matthew 9:12 (NLT) “When Jesus heard this, he said, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.’“ One of the greatest misunderstandings about Christianity is the belief that following Jesus means we become perfect. Some people look at Christians and expect us to always say the right thing, make the right decisions, and never struggle…
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The Stronghold of Fantasy
When the Life You Imagined Competes With God’s Will There was a season when I lived more in my imagination than I did in reality. I wasn’t daydreaming for fun. I was building a life. I had the timeline, the relationships, the victories, and the happy ending all mapped out in my mind. Somewhere along…
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What Are You Still Holding On To?
When Jesus Christ Is Calling You to Let Go The Weight We Learn to Live With Sometimes we don’t realize how much we’ve been carrying until the Holy Spirit begins putting His finger on it. What once felt normal starts to feel heavy in the presence of God. Hebrews 12:1 (NLT) tells us, “let us…
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God Is Not A Punishing God
God Is Light, Not Darkness After talking with a friend this week, I was reminded how many people truly believe that God is a punisher. Outside of His unfailing love and grace, they see Him as sitting on His throne, shaking His finger in shame, waiting for us to mess up. But this is a…
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He Came Looking for You
Before You Ever Reached for God, He Reached for You Romans 5:8 (NLT) says, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” If we really stop and think about that, it is enough to bring us to our knees. Before He cleaned up…
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Don’t Get Too Comfortable
Remaining Watchful, Grounded in Christ, and Ready for His Return Life has a funny way of taking a hard left turn when we least expect it. One day everything seems normal, and the next day you’re dealing with something you never saw coming. One phone call, one diagnosis, one financial setback, one unexpected betrayal, and…
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Is Jesus Christ Your Foundation?
What We Build Our Lives On Determines What Remains John 15:5 (NLT) tells us, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” We’ve been talking a lot about this phenomenal verse lately because…
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Accountability Will Take You Further
Why Spiritual Growth Requires Humility, Truth, and Godly People Around Us Proverbs 27:17 (NLT) says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” God never designed the Christian life to be lived in isolation where nobody can correct us, challenge us, or speak truth into our lives. Accountability is important because there are…
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You Cannot Earn What Jesus Already Paid For
God Never Asked You to Earn What Grace Already Gave For most of my Christian journey, I really believed effort was what made God notice me more. I thought if I prayed harder, performed better, got more disciplined, or avoided enough mistakes, then maybe God would finally be pleased with me enough to bless me.…
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Learning to Abide in Jesus Christ
John 15:5 (NLT) “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” The refinement seasons we walk through are nothing short of uncomfortable. I’m in that kind of season right now, and honestly, it’s…
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His Light Outshines Our Flaws
John 4:4 (NLT) “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” I caught something real this week. The moment I fall short of God’s standard, the pressure hits fast.…
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An Unguarded Heart
What Happens When the Heart Isn’t Guarded in Christ Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (NLT). That verse is serious because the heart is where our desires, choices, loyalty, and direction are shaped. If the heart is left open to anything and everything, life…
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Your Response to Hurt Reveals Who’s Leading Your Life
When the Pain Hits, Who Leads? Getting hurt will reveal something real about us. It pulls on our emotions, and if we’re not careful, it will try to take the lead. Some of us react quickly—saying things we can’t take back, shutting down, or pulling away. But God never designed us to be led by…
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Holy and Misunderstood
The Truth About Being Misunderstood as You Grow in God As I started to grow in spiritual knowledge and maturity, I began to understand why I outgrew certain people—and why some outgrew me. Have you ever heard the saying, “you can’t bring certain people where God is taking you”? It’s real. The reason we outgrow…
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Good Behavior Isn’t Enough
Romans 6:23 (NLT) tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” This verse pulls the curtain back on something many people don’t fully understand—the true cost of sin. I’ve heard both believers and unbelievers say they think getting into heaven…
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Just Say Yes
The Gift That Started It All Before we ever talk about obedience, surrender, or saying yes, we have to start where everything started—at the cross of Jesus Christ. Because what He did there changed everything. His sacrifice wasn’t just about forgiveness, it was about giving us new life, restoring us back into right relationship with…