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Navigating Dating with God’s Wisdom
You’ve been waiting for this moment for most of your adult life, and now it’s here. The man you met thirteen months ago proposed and you couldn’t be happier. Whether you’ve never been married, or you’re divorced or widowed, getting married is always going to be a life changing experience. Finally arriving at the place…
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The Princess Treatment
Indulgences were once thought of as the practice of setting aside a sacred time to really pour on the love towards God, to make sacrifices that demonstrate our commitment to Him and our gratitude for His forgiveness. These days, indulgences are no longer about Christ, but about self. Back in the day, we’d splurge occasionally…
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Deepening Intimacy in Our Relationship with God
1Thessalonians 4:3-5(NLT) says, “3 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 4 Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor–5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.” When we read this verse,…
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A Friendship that Leads to Marriage
1Thessalonians 5:11(NLT) “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” Imagine being friends with a man that you’re interested in, but you don’t think he’s interested in you in the same way. How do you handle this? Do you stop being in his company? Do you conclude definitively…
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God’s Good and Perfect Gift
James 1:17-18 (NLT) “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized…
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The Importance of the Season You’re in
In the Old Testament, Joshua 1:8(NLT), God told His servant and leader of His people, Joshua, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” This verse had been especially…
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The Gift God Has for You
1John 4:7-8 (NIV) “7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” When God’s love is anchored within us, we have an abundant resource to draw from. This makes all the difference…
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Be Familiar with Yourself
If you’re a single woman that has been praying to find the person that God has ordained to walk with you in life, it’s not uncommon that the wait is longer than you expected. There’s a distance that spans where you are at this very moment and the marriage you are praying to have. One…
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Love God and Be Committed to His Purpose
Philippians 2:13 (NLT) “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Briana was thirteen when she realized that she wanted to become a doctor. Her pediatrician jump-started her desire and passion to pursue healthcare. He had a great bedside manner and awesome hospitality. During one…
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The Desire for Partnership Never Grows Old
Hebrews 11:1(NLT) “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” I was in the grocery store the other day and while checking out, I noticed a woman in her senior years next to me. A man approached her and questioned if she was indeed who…
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Pleasing God Vs Pleasing People
Colossians 3:23(NLT) “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” As we embrace each new day, we should do so in prayer and thankfulness, and we should give our day to the Lord. To give our day to the Lord means that everything we do…
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Don’t Rush
Proverbs 19:3(NLT) “People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD.” Everything that we do, think, and say has a consequence. Whether our actions are good or bad determines whether what we get back is a reward or a curse. Jesus Christ said in Luke 6:43-45(NLT), “43 A good…
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It’s Not About You
Galatians 5:19-21(NLT) “19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that…
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Blessed Are Those that Trust in God
Isaiah 41:10 (NLT) “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Maxine, known to her friends and family as Max, has a life that most people envy. She has a 40-hour…
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When God Says Go, Go!
In Exodus 3:9-10(NLT), God told Moses, “9Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.” Moses was handpicked by God for a big task.…
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More Precious Than Jewels
Proverbs 19:14(ESV) “House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.” In Old Testament times, wealth and possessions went from father to son. A daughter was not allowed to inherit her father’s wealth, so she did not receive an inheritance, only a dowry that she could bring into her…
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The Unspoken Truth
Hebrews 11:6 (NLT) “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” You probably never thought the day would come when you would feel that you’ve finally reached the finish line. You’ve…
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Commit Your Actions to the Lord
Proverbs 16:3(NLT) “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed” In His Word, God calls us His masterpiece. We are indeed His finest work. Ephesians 2:10 says that He created us in Christ Jesus to do all the good things that He planned for us long ago. When it comes to building…
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What Happened to the Blessing?
Joel 2:25-26(NLT)“25 The LORD says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you. 26 Once again you will have all the food you want, and you will praise the LORD…
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The Mirror in Your Partner
Every rationally thinking human being needs companionship. This need comes standard with our packaging, and it isn’t going to change. God has blessed us with various forms of relationships to have with one another. They are wonderful, but no other relationship can bring the level of intimacy and union that marriage can, and God structured…
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Buckle Up
Galatians 6:7-8(NLT) “7 Don’t be misled–you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” I…
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Don’t Let Fear Hinder Your Faith
“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 (NLT) Jesus Christ tells us in John 10:10(NLT) that “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.” The thief that our blessed Lord and Savior references in this verse is the devil. In John 10:1, he provides a little more…
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Heavenly Hellos from God
Psalm 16:2,5, 7-8 (NLT) “2 I said to the LORD, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.” 5 LORD, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. 7 I will bless the LORD who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.…
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Let Us Continue to Love
1John 4:7-10(NLT) “7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into…
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The Very Best for Our Lives
1Kings 3:7-9 (NLT) “7 Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. 8 And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! 9 Give me an understanding heart so…
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Never Compromise Your Love for God
Matthew 23:8-10 (NLT) “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father. And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher,…
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Keep Your Guard Up
John 3:20-21(NLT) “All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” God has given every believer the ability to discern what is…
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Permission to Use the Key
“And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” Matthew 16:19(NLT) Personally, I absolutely love seeing two people in love. It’s even more beautiful when they know that the hand of…
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Marriage Is Something Special
James 4:3(NLT) “And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure.” When Jesus came to the coasts of Caesarea Philippi in northern Israel, something dramatic happened. It was during the first six months of his third year of ministry and…
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God Must Be Your Highest Priority
“Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:21(NLT) Sarah was smart, savvy, and a successful attorney. Because of her success, she felt she was doing the Lord’s work. No stranger to accolades from her family, friends, and colleagues, she grew to expect that everyone was in awe of…