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There Is Nothing Like Knowing Him
Drawing Near to God Through Jesus Christ There is nothing in this life that compares to knowing God. We can experience His blessings, thank Him for the things He has done, and praise Him for the prayers He has answered, but there is something even greater than receiving from His hand—we have been given the…
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When You Know Better, But You’re Struggling to Live Better
When Knowing God’s Word Hasn’t Yet Changed How You Live There are some things we struggle with because we simply don’t know any better. We haven’t learned what God says about it yet. We haven’t grown enough to recognize what is happening. But then there are those other things—the things where we know what God…
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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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Pursuing God’s Healing Before Marriage
Learn why bringing your wounds, past hurts, and unhealthy patterns before God is an important part of preparing for a Christ-centered marriage. ________ Before You Bring Someone Into Your Life, Let God Work on Your Heart We spend a lot of time preparing for marriage by thinking about the person we want to marry, the…
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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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Learning Surrender Before Marriage
Before You Say “I Do” Series Before God Gives You a Marriage, He Prepares You for One Learn why surrendering your plans, expectations, and timeline to God’s Will is essential for building a Christ-centered marriage. Surrender Begins Before Marriage Most people think preparing for marriage means praying for the right person. That’s definitely part of…
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Stop Limiting God to Your Expectations
Most women I know aren’t praying for an ordinary marriage. They’re praying for God’s best, and there’s nothing wrong with praying that way. In fact, I hope you never settle for less than God’s best. But here’s a question I had to ask myself one day: Do I really know what God’s best is. At…
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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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Learning Self-Control Before Marriage
More Than Waiting for the Right Person When it comes to marriage, just about every woman I know wants the whole package. And by that, I mean a man that looks the part, is financially secure, responsible, intelligent, and loves the Lord. He’s kind but firm, generous but not wasteful, and loyal to the core.…
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Learning Forgiveness Before Marriage
Before You Say “I Do” Series Before God Gives You a Marriage, He Prepares You for One Before you ever say “I do” to another person, God desires your heart to remain surrendered to Him. Not because He is waiting for you to become perfect, but because He loves you enough to continue shaping you…
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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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Walking Together Begins with Walking with God
Sometimes we think that once we become born-again believers, life should automatically fall into place. We may believe that because we pray, seek God, and desire to honor Him, the things closest to our hearts should happen in our timing. I know many single believers have marriage at the top of their prayer list. And…
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The Weight That Keeps You From Rising
Hebrews 12:1–2 (NLT) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this…
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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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Relationship Requires a Response
God Gives First. We Respond. Our Heavenly Father has established the universe according to His perfect order, and understanding that changes the way we see our relationship with Him. From the moment He spoke creation into existence to the way He calls us to worship and live each day, everything God does is intentional, purposeful,…
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When Loneliness Makes You Forget Who You Are
Don’t let loneliness rewrite what God has already declared Loneliness is something almost all of us experience at some point in life. It can show up after a divorce, the death of someone we love, children leaving home, a broken friendship, or simply walking through a season that feels different from everyone around us. Sometimes…
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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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What Does It Mean to Renew the Mind?
Understanding Why We Still Struggle With Old Ways of Thinking Romans 12:2 tells us to “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” Most believers in Christ have heard that verse many times, yet many of us still find ourselves struggling with the same fears, insecurities, discouragements, and emotional…
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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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God Won’t Let You Slip
When Life Feels Unsteady, God Holds You Steady Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us that there is a season for everything, and that includes the seasons we walk through in life. Unfortunately, not all of them are easy. Some seasons can leave you feeling as though the ground beneath your feet is shifting. You wake up each…
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Surrendering What You Cannot Control
When Trusting God Means Letting Go of the Outcome There are some situations in life that seem to take up permanent residence in our minds. We pray about them. We think about them. We revisit conversations we’ve already had and imagine conversations that haven’t happened yet. We replay scenarios, analyze possibilities, and mentally prepare for…
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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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Never Settle for Staying the Same
You Can Be Thankful for Today and Still Believe God Has More Growth Ahead As Christians, we should be thankful for where God has brought us. Every answered prayer, every lesson learned, every victory won, and every difficult season He carried us through deserves our gratitude. But being thankful for today does not mean we…
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Loving Each Other Well
What It Looks Like to Carry the Heart of God Toward Others One of the clearest signs that God is truly working in us is not how spiritual we sound, how many scriptures we can quote, or how polished we appear in public. It is how we love people. Real love is not just smiles,…
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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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Guarding the Heart God Is Healing
Learning to Protect the Place Where Jesus Christ Wants to Bring Restoration Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” That verse should carry a lot of weight with us because the condition of our heart affects everything that’s connected to our life. Our decisions,…
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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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When Fear Starts Replacing Faith
Why spiritual maturity demands more than survival instincts in uncertain times. The Drift Happens Slowly One of the most dangerous things about spiritual drift is that it usually does not happen all at once. Most believers do not wake up one morning suddenly far from God. It happens little by little through fear, distraction, exhaustion,…
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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.…