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Advent Reflections: Hope (Have You Lost It?)
Happy December! Tis the season for Christmas, but with it also comes much reflection and thought. For many, this is a month full of joy and expectation, surrounded by family and friends. For others, this month is poignant, bringing to mind the wilted dreams, the disappointments, and the loss of hope. And yet, when all hope was lost, Christ came to birth new hope within us. Come with me and think back upon that first Christmas. God had been silent for over four hundred years. There had been no prophet nor sign from heaven in what felt like forever. Israel’s hopes in a savior who would deliver them and restore…
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Advent Reflections: Peace When Your Mind Is in Pieces
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The Turning of the Soil: When God Disrupts to Prepare
What do you do when life turns topsy-turvy? While talking with some friends in my small group, we realized that most of us are currently experiencing a stretching in our relationship with the Lord and our daily lives. We’ve all been feeling this odd tension, where things that used to be perfectly fine are no longer working quite the same. There’s this feeling of discomfort, that the places where we felt steady and established are suddenly not so deep rooted as we thought and there’s this nudging in our hearts that Holy Spirit is calling us higher. As I reflected upon this, I realized that this is what God does…
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Between the Promise and the Breakthrough
“But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” – Romans 8:25, NKJV I wonder how many times Abraham felt like giving up. He was promised a great family who would fill the earth and yet year after year went by with no sign of even one child. Or even the entire nation of Israel, wandering in the wilderness waiting to someday enter the fabled promised land God had promised generations ago. What about David before becoming king? He’d been promised a glorious kingdom, and yet he’d spent years upon years in the wilderness, running for his very life and eventually taking…
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The Roadmap to the Christian Life and the Warning of Spiritual Amnesia
Last weekend I led a Bible study through the first part of 2 Peter. We spent time digging into Peter’s last words to the church and, as we read, two things that kept being highlighted were Peter’s roadmap to Christian maturity and his warning on spiritual amnesia. Here’s the deal: Peter was about to die and he knew it. Which is why he had to encourage the church, leaving them a solid roadmap to the Christian life, and warn them about spiritual blindness and false teachers/prophets infiltrating the church. Today I want to share both of these vital things with you. Let’s begin with Peter’s roadmap to Christian maturity. Roadmap…
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“Look at Me”: Seeking God’s Face in Chaos
“When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” – Psalm 27:8, NKJV It’s very easy to focus on the biggest, loudest or most prominent problems in our life. Somehow, problems, worries and challenges act like a magnet and continually draw our gaze. And yet, focusing on the dark of our life only creates more chaos and confusion in our heart. We have this capability of magnifying what we focus on, which if used negatively, can be detrimental to our faith and our life. But if we choose to shift our focus, what incredible things could we magnify in our life? A…
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He’s Brave Enough for Both of You
It has been said that courage isn’t the absence of fear, but taking a step while you still feel afraid. I have thought about this often as someone who has battled with fear and anxiety. One time, as I was praying, God reminded me that no matter how dark the valley gets, He is still in control. He is still watching out for me and His plans for me are, ultimately, good. I want to take a moment to remind you that, whether you feel brave right now or not, God can be brave enough for both of you. All you have to do is hold His hand. David struggled…
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Stay Hungry: Cultivating Spiritual Hunger in the Christian Life
Hunger is something we avoid at all costs in life, and yet in our Christian life, hunger should be the one quality that defines us. Hungry Christians pursue God with passion, sincerity, and humility. Hungry Christians will not be satisfied with watered-down truths and complacent sermons meant to placate our conscience. Hungry Christians will do whatever it takes to pursue God and obtain full satisfaction in Him. On the other side of hunger is complacency, and a complacent Christian is a dead Christian. Sure, a complacent Christian may live a good life and eventually get to heaven. However, their life will be marked by a lack of fire and passion.…
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In the Face of Accusation, Face the King: How God Stands in Our Defense
“Edmund was on the other side of Aslan, looking all the time at Aslan’s face. He felt a choking feeling and wondered if he ought to say something; but a moment later he felt that he was not expected to do anything except to wait, and do what he was told.” – C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe This week I decided to re-read one of my favorite series: The Chronicles of Narnia. While reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I noticed a powerful paragraph for the first time. This is the iconic scene where the witch, Jadis, comes before Aslan to stake her…
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The Rabbit Trail Bible Study Method
Rabbit Trail Bible Study Method: How to Study the Bible by Letting Curiosity Lead What if going off on a tangent is a great way to study the Bible? Recently, while leading a church small group, I asked everyone to share how they studied the Bible. One member shared how she embraces the rabbit trails when she reads. She said that, instead of feeling pressured to finish her chapter, or check off a box, she will let her curiosity win and she will follow whatever rabbit trail her Bible reading led her on. As someone who loves structure, this point of view both surprised me but also encouraged me to…
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One Step Forward, Three Steps Back: How Persevering Is Winning
Walking with God can sometimes feel like taking one step forward only to then take three steps back. One day we may achieve a great victory in our spiritual life, only to feel attacked in the same area the very next day. This can leave us wondering whether we are making any progress at all and moving forward. Are the victories we are receiving real and complete? Why is it that sometimes moving forward looks and feels like going backward? The Purpose of Perseverance The Bible has much to say on perseverance, and Paul reminds us that there is a purpose in it. “And not only that, but we also…
