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Why Are You So Sad?
There are only two books in the bible named after women, Ruth and Esther, in the Old Testament. I personally love them both, but the Book of Ruth is the one from which I draw the most relatable encouragement. I marvel continually at Ruth’s devotion to her mother in law, Naomi. I’m also deeply in…
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The Treasure You’re Looking for Is Close
The notion of a ‘Critical Question’ is something we talk quite a bit about in our teachings. The word ‘critical’ in this context is not referring to an unfavorable or harsh judgment. It is related to something that is desperately urgent. A critical question is one for which the answer is so monumentally significant to…
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No Weapon!!!
There are some people who don’t like surprises of any kind. They don’t want surprise ingredients in their foods, don’t want surprise birthday parties, spontaneous trips, or surprise gifts. The idea of being presented with anything unexpectedly is a no-go for them, and they are not amused. The irony is that in life, some surprises…
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Press Forward
Jesus Christ gave a strong, but short and to-the-point warning in Luke 17:32(NLT). He said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” For this warning to hit our hearts and minds as impactful as it must, we need to know a little bit more about Lot’s predicament. He was Abraham’s nephew, and when Abraham left his own father’s land…
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Sometimes Our Desires and Dreams Need to be Tweaked
John 10:10 is a verse of scripture that is probably on every believer’s list of ‘scripture favs’. In this verse, our Master Jesus speaks so plainly about who the devil is and what the devil came to do; and most importantly, Jesus Christ tells us very poignantly why he, himself, came to the earth as…
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When the Lord Tells You Not to Do Something, and You Do It Any Way
I was moved by a testimony of a woman who met a man after she had given up on the prospect of ever getting married. He is someone who had almost given up on life himself. His name is James, and he lived in a small southern town where he had been a high-school football…
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Never Beg A Man for His Time
Many of us partition off our lives into sections. We categorize them in terms of the areas where we want God’s involvement and the areas where we do not. When it comes to relationships with men, many of us tell Heavenly Father, “I got this.” We proceed along the routes that feel organic or comfortable…
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God Is Your Provider
Believers should take time every day to reflect on what God has done for us through the Lord Jesus Christ. We should be so incredibly thankful that He has saved us, and not only this, He has chosen us to be His sons and daughters. Romans 8:29(NLT) tells us, “For God knew his people in…
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It Is Better to Give Than to Receive
Dear Heavenly Father, Acts 20:35 tells us the amazingly wise words of Your Son, Jesus Christ. He said it is better to give than to receive. Father, this is a very basic lesson You’re teaching us, but we still don’t have it firmly in our consciousness. You have charged us with the call to feed…
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Do You Need A Course Correction?
Proverbs 14:12, 16:25(NLT) says, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” The path that seems right is the one most people will take, and it is the one that most people are on today. It’s a comfortable path, one that our fore-parents and parents may have been…
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Can You Get Him Back?
Jesus Christ asked in Mark 9:23, “What do you mean, ‘If I can’? Anything is possible if a person believes.” In this healing miracle that transpired in Mark 9:14-27, a father asked Jesus to cast out a demon that had possessed his son, but this father was not fully convinced that it was indeed…
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Struggling with Low Self-esteem
Dear Heavenly Father, Many of us are struggling with low self-esteem, and it is causing us to indulge behaviors and attitudes that prevent our happiness and success. Some of us stay in relationships with men who are abusive and don’t honor us. Others of us have friends that take advantage and don’t truly appreciate who…
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Are You Willing to Do What He Asks?
1John 4:8(NLT) tells us, “But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” Our Heavenly Father has given us everything we need to know about Him in this one verse. He is love, and since we are His children, He has an expectation that we will aspire to be love…
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Remembering the Sacrifice of Christ
Many believers today are experiencing tremendous challenges in their marriages, health, finances, and overall well-being. The pressure of our circumstances puts our backs against the wall, and we feel as if we don’t know what to do. We’ve prayed constantly to the Father about it, and there does seem to be progress, but total deliverance…
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He Will Turn Things Around!
Dear Heavenly Father, Sometimes, we feel overwhelmingly sad about the situations and circumstances we face. These sad feelings can come on us very quickly and make us feel as if we’ve been hit by a ton of bricks. They can turn into a dark cloud that seems to loom over us everywhere we go and…
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The Spiritual Realm vs The Soulish Realm
A common mistake made by many believers is that of giving the enemy, satan, far too much credit. The truth is that we are a greater enemy to ourselves than he is in many cases, because the greatest warfare takes place within our own minds. Many believers are going through it in the areas of…
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The Accelerated Pace of Blessings and Warfare
Ephesians 6:13(NLT) tells us, “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” There was a time, and it wasn’t that long ago, that we…
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When Will It End?
When will it end? This is the question many of us are asking Heavenly Father. We are perplexed by the magnitude of spiritual warfare we’re facing, because it is beyond the level of anything we’ve encountered in the past. And not only are our problems complex, they are compounded by the agitation of not knowing…
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Single, Over 55, Desiring Marriage
A wonderful sister in Christ that’s in her early sixties wrote to me about the challenges of finding a good man. She’s looking for companionship that will ultimately lead to marriage, but she’s feeling very pessimistic about finding a compatible partner. Most women have a pretty good feel for the pool of eligible prospects in…
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He Will Not Fail You!
There have been times where my life felt like a washing machine. All the various components of my life were my laundry, and without my knowing it at the time, they were being cleaned. Every season of spiritual growth and promotion will take us through this washing-machine process, but it only takes one time for…
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You Did Your Best, It Didn’t Get Better
Through the Apostle Paul, God tells us in Ephesians 6:13(NIV), “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” When it comes to issues and morals that are important to us, most…
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He’s Allowing the Shake Up before the Take Down
The more mature we become physically, and most importantly, spiritually, the more we’ll realize how little we know and how little we are really able to do as human-beings. We will encounter situations and circumstances that exceed our capacity to understand or resolve them. I’m not talking about the run-of-the-mill issues that throw a monkey…
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Don’t Faint in Your Mind
I was encouraging a group of single sisters in the Word a few months ago, and I strongly encouraged them to resist the temptation to get weary in their minds from the wait. I’m pretty adamant about encouraging my beloved Sisters in Christ. It’s because I know from experience that once we allow our minds…
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Encouraging Others When You Don’t Feel Encouraged
Most believers will agree that the greatest battle takes place in our minds. We have an enemy, the devil, and he is after our minds and hearts, because he wants to destroy the Christian. Jesus Christ told us in John 10:10 that the devil is a thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Not…
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Reaching Higher than the Miracle You Need
The Old Testament gives us the record and history of Joseph, Jacob’s son. He is one of my favorite people in the bible because he’s a dreamer. And since I’ve always fancied myself a bit of a dreamer too, I’m thrilled by the grandiosity of Joseph’s dreams. Even more impressive is his obedience and trust…
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Taking What You Have and Making It Great!
Witnessing a miracle thousands of years ago when our blessed Savior walked the earth was just as extraordinary as it is to witness a miracle today. However, one could argue that the needs of many people were much greater back then. During the time of his ministry, people were amazed and excited by the wondrous…
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A Course Correction
Very often, it’s a slight movement in the direction we’ve taken that will make a huge difference in our lives. A friend of mine was in between jobs a few years ago and said to me that the time-off was a gift, because it allowed a space for inner reflection and deep thought. A lot…
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Things NOT to Repeat in 2019
Don’t let negative people discourage you Starting right off the bat, the first thing that must go in 2019 is discouragement, and the biggest source of it is negative people. As believers, we sometimes underestimate the extent to which the devil will work through others to discourage us so that we lose hope in God.…
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Push Through, Sis!
Odds are that you probably know a believer that is having a very challenging time in their lives. You may have gone through tough times yourself, but you’re still pressing toward the mark. You still have peace of mind, and you’re very thankful to Heavenly Father for bringing you through. You look at others and…
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From Follower to Leader
In Malachi 3:6, God makes His sovereignty clear and tells us that He does not change. This is His self-defining truth, but some people use this scripture reference to suggest that transformation, reformation, and termination are not part of His plan. They use it as a whipping stick to try and slow the pace of…