Three Characteristics of a True Trust in God
Psalm 62:8 reveals three important characteristics of true trust in God that the Lord showed me that memorable day in a Middle Eastern hotel room.
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Christian Living
How Understanding “The Faith” Strengthens Daily Faith
Many Christians think of doctrine as irrelevant to their daily lives. They hope their pastor studies it, but they don’t think of it as having practical importance to the average Christian on a Thursday afternoon.
In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. You see, it is understanding and believing “the faith” that allows us to exercise daily faith.
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A Look at Isaiah 6
Scofield and other Bible students have called the sixth chapter of Isaiah, the prophet’s “transforming vision.” The account of his experience seeing God’s glory reminds us of Simon Peter’s transforming experience in Luke 5. When Peter realized Who Jesus really was, he could see how sinful he was, and said to the Lord, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” In response, the Lord said to him, “Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.”
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Filtering Your New Year’s Goals in Light of Your Calling
There’s nothing like an approaching new year for bringing out our best aspirations. Somehow everything seems doable when it’s written under a “Goals for the New Year” heading! And there’s nothing like an over-committed, unreasonable list of goals for deflating the very enthusiasm with which we made those goals.
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Your Relationship with God Withers When it Is Neglected
If I asked you a question about your own devotional life, would you be uncomfortable? Some Christians spend little—if any—time with the Lord on a daily basis.
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When it comes to making purchases I am a research guy. By that, I mean that before I reach the store I have used my computer to research what my best purchase would be.
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Setting SMART Goals
Do your new year’s goals ever feel repetitious? Do you find yourself making the same goals year after year with little progress? It may be that the weakness isn’t so much with your resolve as it is with your plan.
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3 Principles from Joseph’s Response to an Impossible Situation
I’ll never forget hearing Dr. Tom Malone say, “When God wants to do something great, He starts with the difficult. But when He wants to do something miraculous, He starts with the impossible.”
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The King Became a Man
I’ve always liked hearing oxymorons. They are often ironically humorous. The word oxymoron itself comes from oxus which means “sharp” and moros which means “dull.”
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It’s inevitable! This Thanksgiving season we face several harsh realities–our biased media, high prices, indefinite restrictions as a result of COVID-19, and I can go on and on.
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A Call to Be a Faithful and Involved Member of your Local Church
As we recently celebrated our 70th anniversary as a local church, I have been thinking of the role that a local church has played in my life. I am so glad that my parents taught and showed me the importance of belonging and being faithful to the local church.
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Spiritual Leadership Conference 2021 has begun! Our theme this year is “Declare the Gospel.” And what a needed theme this is! In a world that is pushing declarations of division and hatred, we must be the people who declare the salvation and redemption available through Christ. Every service and session of this year’s conference is centered around helping Christians and churches more effectively declare the gospel in their communities.
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A new Gallup survey reports that for the first time in American history, church membership nationwide has dropped below 50 percent. This past year has been a challenging one for pastors and churches. Although there are multiple factors that have contributed to...
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3 Aspects of the Normal Christian Life
It’s a question I have heard frequently—perhaps daily—for over ten months: “When is life going to get back to normal?”
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Considering how crazy 2020 turned out to be, the “20-20 Vision” goal-setting and planning puns that were going on this time last year are almost humorous. In reality, if there is anything 2020 has taught us about biblical vision, it is that it must be developed in faith-filled confidence of God’s sovereignty.
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It’s true that Christmas may not be as festive or lighthearted as past years, but even in the face of the bad news of our world and in our lives, the good news of God should resound in our hearts and minds as we enter the Christmas season: God is with us. I am reminded of the angel’s message to the shepherds:
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.—Luke 2:10–11
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Four Ways Christmas Is a Gift
There have been years on which Christmas Eve was my best day of Christmas shopping—not because it was the best of several good days, but because it was my only day! Covid-19 put me a little ahead this year, because I purchased my gifts online.
I love giving to Terrie, our children, and our grandchildren. But as we approach Christmas this week, I’m mindful of the fact that Christmas itself is a gift. Christmas is when we received Emmanuel—God with us!
And with Jesus’ very presence, He gives us gifts:
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In a fast paced world where we often try to see how many things we can “multi-task” at a time, it’s easy to forget the importance of spending real quality time with those we want to see grow spiritually. There are many aspects to this, and I think all of them are important, I’m going to simply mention a few from a missionary/pastor point of view.
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One of the great desires of my life is to finish well. At the end of my race, I want to be able to say with Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
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We have hope in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that our Lord died for our sins and was resurrected from the dead. In Him, we have a victorious hope.
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