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The Second Coming of Christ
The first coming of Jesus Christ to the earth was displayed in stages of his birth, ministry, sacrifice, resurrection, and ascension. The Rapture is one of the events of the End Times, and the Great Tribulation, referred to as the Tribulation in the Gospels and New Testament, is another, but there are also other events.…
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The Rapture
The scriptures point to the Rapture, the sudden catching away of all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to heaven, as the first event of the end times. When considering the population of the whole earth, the disappearance of millions may for many people seem unnoticeable. For the unbelieving at large that do notice, it…
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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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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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The Spirit’s Fruit — Goodness
Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Goodness is one of the beautiful qualities the Holy Spirit produces in us as we grow in Christ. We know that God is good,…
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The Spirit’s Fruit — Kindness
Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) tells us, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Our Heavenly Father has set the standard for kindness through His precious Son, Jesus Christ. John 3:16 (NLT) tells us, “For…
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The Spirit’s Fruit — Patience
Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) tells us, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” The indwelling Holy Spirit longs to demonstrate His character through us, and patience is one of the areas where we stifle…
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The Spirit’s Fruit — Peace
Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) tells us, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Peace is something we all want, but if we’re not careful, we’ll spend a good portion of our lives looking for…
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The Spirit’s Fruit — Love
Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) tells us, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Love is the first quality mentioned in the Spirit’s fruit, and there’s a good reason for us to give it serious…
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The Spirit’s Fruit — Joy
Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) tells us, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Joy is one of the most beautiful qualities of the Spirit’s fruit, but it’s also one that we sometimes misunderstand. We…
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ROOTED IN CHRIST— Growing Strong Where No One Can See
Spiritual maturity begins beneath the surface. Colossians 2:7 (NLT)“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” When we look at a beautiful tree standing tall or a plant covered with…
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Grace Is Not Permission to Keep Sinning
Understanding God’s Grace and the Call to Repentance “If I sin, I’ll just ask God to forgive me and keep it pushing.” I once heard a seasoned believer say something along those lines, and I have to tell you, it troubled me. Not because any of us are without sin, but because there didn’t seem…
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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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I AM: The Heart of Who Jesus Is
Exploring the “I AM” Statements in the Gospel of John Before We Look at What Jesus Does, We Need to Understand Who He Is When we talk about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we often talk about what He has done for us. We talk about how He provided when we didn’t know how…
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Revelation 19: The Triumph of Christ and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
For generations, Christians have studied the book of Revelation, trying to understand what will happen in the last days. Some of us grew up hearing sermons about the end times that left us more frightened than encouraged. We heard about the judgments, the beast, the antichrist, and the terrible things that would come upon the…
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Revelation 20: Satan’s Final Rebellion and Defeat
Revelation 20 brings us to some of the most sobering events recorded in the entire book of Revelation. We’ve just witnessed the glorious return of Jesus Christ in Chapter 19, where the beast and the false prophet are defeated and the authority of our Lord is displayed before the world. Now John takes us further…
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Revelation 21: God’s Eternal Promise
Beyond the Final Judgment — God’s Promise of a New Beginning There’s no question about it. The Book of Revelation captures our attention in a way few other books of the Bible do. We read about the power and authority of Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the visions God revealed…
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The Strong Foundation
When His Attention Starts to Mean More Than God’s Approval There’s a certain kind of attention from a man that can have a sista smiling at her phone before she even reads the message. You know what I’m talking about. He’s thoughtful, he’s consistent, and he seems genuinely interested in getting to know you. You…
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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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Following His Word
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” — James 1:22 (NLT) Following the Word of God involves more than reading our Bibles, highlighting our favorite scriptures, or agreeing with what we read. It means allowing what God says to influence the way we…
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Abiding in Jesus Christ
More Than Staying Close Jesus never called us to simply believe in Him from a distance. He invited us into something much deeper. He invited us into a relationship where we learn to depend on Him every day. Instead of trying to live the Christian life in our own strength, we look to Jesus for…
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Becoming More Like Jesus Christ
Growing in His Character, One Choice at a Time The earth is good grooming ground for God’s children. Our Heavenly Father knew exactly what He was doing when He placed us here. He knew the challenges we would face, the people we would encounter, the lessons we would need to learn, and the choices that…
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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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Pressured, But Not Cold
When Life Feels Overwhelming There are seasons when a woman can feel like she is carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. And for a single woman, there can be an added layer to that weight because there may not be another person in the house sharing the decisions, the responsibilities, the bills,…
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When You Can’t See What God Is Doing
Trusting God When the Road Between Where You Are and Where You Want to Be Feels Too Long For some single women who have prayed to God for a husband, the distance between point A and point B has started to feel like a wilderness experience. You have prayed. You have waited. You have tried…
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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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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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You Are Not Fighting Alone
For a woman who has been single much longer than she ever thought, reminders that we’re unmarried come from many places. Even filling out a job application and checking that single status once again can bring a reminder we could do without. It just doesn’t seem right. You might ask yourself, Will this part of…
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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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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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Pay Attention to Your Own Walk
Galatians 6:4–5 (NLT): “4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.” When Comparison Distracts You From What God Is Doing in You There are some scriptures…
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Learning Covenant Before Marriage – Part 2
Part 7: Building Your Marriage Under the Headship of Jesus Christ Learn why understanding God’s design for covenant is essential before making one of the most important commitments of your life. Jesus Christ Must Be Head of the Marriage When we understand the weight of covenant and what marriage will require from two imperfect people,…
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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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A Woman Who Has Never Been Married
When You Have Never Been Married, But Still Desire Marriage In 1 Corinthians 7:32–35 (NLT), Paul explains that there is a freedom available in singleness that should not be overlooked. Marriage is a blessing, but it also brings responsibilities that require a husband or wife to divide their attention between serving the Lord and caring…