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December 31, 2010
You would think that after the miracle of casting out demons from two men who had violently oppressed them, the people in the area would have said, "Jesus, You are the man! We love what you did! Now we can go back to the cemetery and pay our respects to o...
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December 30, 2010
When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, a sign is effectively hung around your neck that says, "Under new management." You now belong to Jesus Christ, and He does not operate on a timeshare program. Isn't that nice to know? He doesn't say, "Okay, now I h...
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December 29, 2010
Our society doesn't really have answers for all the problems we are facing in our country today. Ironically, our society seems to do everything it can to undermine the only one who can help us, and that is Jesus Christ.
There are people caught ...
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December 28, 2010
After crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and His disciples arrived in the region of the Gadarenes, where He was met by two pathetic, demented men who had come completely under the power of the devil.
In Luke's account of this story, he zeroes i...
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December 27, 2010
Human history has been all about power: using it, and sometimes exploiting it. First there was manpower. Then there was steam power. Now we have nuclear power. But what we seem to lack is willpower. Human beings are able to harness the powers of the unive...
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December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas to all of you!
Christmas is a day of joy. But for me and my family, it is also tinged with sadness, because it is a day when Christopher's absence is intensely felt.
I have to tell you, Topher loved Christmas! It was ...
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December 24, 2010
We celebrate Christmas in order to rejoice over God's most precious gift to us. The birth of Jesus Christ is a gift from God that came in simple wrapping, as well as a gift we don't deserve. But the gift of Christ also explains His purpose for humankind...
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December 23, 2010
When you're a child, Christmas is all about receiving gifts. In December, your head is swimming with nothing but images of your favorite toys.
But the true message of Christmas is not the presents we give to one another. The true meaning is t...
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December 22, 2010
The story of Christ's birth is one of the Bible's most famous and loved stories, probably one that most people who are not even familiar with Scripture have heard at one time or another. And certainly a story we hear repeated every Christmas is the accoun...
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December 21, 2010
It really is an amazing thing to think about the mystery of the Incarnation—that mysterious moment when God became a man.
Jesus Christ—God the Son—was born in a manger. He went from the throne of heaven to a feeding trough....
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December 20, 2010
In these days of modern technology, we never miss a thing with TiVo, voice mail, DVD recorders, and camera phones. But even though our toys keep us from missing a phone call, they can also cause us to miss the real reason for the holiday season.
...
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December 18, 2010
I have always believed in the promise of Christmas. There has always been something special to me about this time of the year, going back to my earliest days of childhood.
What is it that we love about Christmas, once we get past the initial tr...
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December 17, 2010
We find a story in Luke's Gospel about a time when Jesus borrowed Peter's boat to preach to the multitudes. After He had finished speaking, He said to Peter, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch" (Luke 5:4).
Peter replie...
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December 16, 2010
When the disciples faced a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee, they cried out to Jesus, and He stopped it. But first He rebuked them. He asked, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 8:26). In other words, "Hey, guys, where is your faith?...
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December 15, 2010
Probably the most common storms we face in life are perfecting storms. These storms come into our lives as a result of following Jesus. But God has a work He wants to do and a desired result that He wants to produce in these storms. As 2 Corinthians 4:17 ...
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December 14, 2010
The Gospel of John records the story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, which was Jesus' most popular miracle. The people loved it so much that afterward, they came by force to make Jesus their king. But Jesus knew their hearts were wrong. He knew they ...
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December 13, 2010
When storms come into our lives, some of them can be considered correcting storms. After Jonah disobeyed God and tried to run the other way, a great storm arose, and God took hold of the reluctant prophet and put him back on course. That storm was the res...
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December 11, 2010
Sometimes we wonder why we sin. This is especially hard if we think we are basically good and that "the answer is within."
The fact is, the problem is within. For all practical purposes, we have ourselves to thank when we give in to temptation....
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December 10, 2010
Maybe you are in one of life's storm right now and have cried out for it to stop, and it hasn't. In fact, it has gotten worse. You're asking why—why has God allowed this? There are no easy answers to that. But know this: where there are no trials in...
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December 9, 2010
A hardened old sea captain who was quite vocal about his atheism was swept overboard one night during a storm. His men actually heard him crying out to God for help, so after they rescued him, they asked him about it.
The captain answered, "Wel...
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December 8, 2010
The Bible talks about a literal storm that came into the lives of the disciples. It was so bad, in fact, they despaired of their lives. The disciples had been following Jesus. And they followed Him right into a storm.
Sometimes when hardships c...
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December 7, 2010
Have you ever been caught an unexpected storm? When a big storm is approaching, the meteorologists usually will tell us about it. And if it is really building, if it is at hurricane strength, it might even be given a name because of its significance.
...
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December 6, 2010
I don't look forward to getting my physical. They do a lot of tests, and they always check my blood pressure. The last time I went, they told me, "You know, your blood pressure is a little high." I told them it was high because I knew they were going to t...
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December 4, 2010
Like it or not, the moment you commit your life to Jesus Christ you are engaged in a spiritual battle. The believer may be known by his inward warfare as well as by his inward peace.
This battle is not with flesh and blood, but with a very real...
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December 3, 2010
What have you built your life on? Some people build their spiritual foundation on another person's relationship with God. Maybe their relationship with God hinges on their spouse's relationship with God. Maybe it hinges on a parent's relationship with God...
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December 2, 2010
In 1173, the foundation was laid for one of Italy's most famous structures: a tower that would stand next to a cathedral. But during construction, they discovered the soil was softer than they had previously thought, and the tower began to sink. Today, th...
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December 1, 2010
Did you know that the devil can do so-called "miracles"? Of course, they are not the same kind of miracles that God does, but they resemble them. When Moses went into the court of Pharaoh and was performing certain signs to confirm that he was sent by God...
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November 30, 2010
Did you know it is possible to pray, be baptized, keep the Ten Commandments, go to church, and not necessarily be a Christian? A Christian should do those things, but doing them in and of themselves does not mean you are a Christian.
Jesus said...
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November 29, 2010
Years ago, we went snorkeling in Hawaii with one of the local guys who knew the water really well. We were cruising along when we came to a net, and inside the net was a shark. The shark wasn't moving, so we all got really close to get a better look at it...
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November 27, 2010
Paul tells us we are to take "the helmet of salvation" (Ephesians 6:17).
The two most sought-after and vulnerable targets on the ancient battlefield were the heart and the head. With our heart and other vital organs ably protected by the breast...
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November 26, 2010
If you are worried about fitting in and being cool and being culturally acceptable, you will have a hard time being a follower of Christ, because it means taking a narrow road. Jesus said, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the w...
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November 25, 2010
We can praise God in good times and we can praise God in bad times. And I don't know that we will fully understand what is good or bad for us on this side of heaven. When we are younger, we think certain things are good, such as success, while other thing...
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November 24, 2010
A hospital chaplain kept a record of 2,000 patients who were apparently in a dying condition and showed signs of repentance. But he noted that of those who were restored to health, only two showed a marked change in their spiritual lives after their recov...
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November 23, 2010
Luke 17 tells the story of some men who had a lot to give thanks for. Prior to being miraculously touched by Jesus, they were complete outcasts--the very scourge of society. These ten men had the worst disease of the time, leprosy, for which there was no ...
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November 22, 2010
It seems as though merchants really don't know what to do with Thanksgiving. They market Halloween and Christmas and make a lot of money off these holidays. But they don't really know what to do with Thanksgiving, which is really very spiritual in its ori...
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November 20, 2010
Have you ever received a gift that far exceeded what you could have expected? Something so nice that just saying "thank you" seemed inadequate?
If anything, you feel like you want to do something special for that person, to ...
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November 19, 2010
Commentator Kent Hughes said, "We find it so easy to turn a microscope on another person's sin, but we look at ours through the wrong end of a telescope. We easily spot a speck of phoniness in another, because we have a logjam of it in our own lives. Wrat...
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November 18, 2010
Our desire should always be to restore, not condemn a person who is in sin. Galatians 6:1 says it perfectly: "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest yo...
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November 17, 2010
Is there a place for judging? Are we to judge one another, and if so, on what basis? Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you" (Matt...
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November 16, 2010
It seems as though every nonbeliever knows Matthew 7:1: "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged." Generally, it goes something like this: The Christian approaches a compromising Christian or a nonbeliever and talks about his or her need for Chris...
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November 15, 2010
It is not an issue of whether hardship will come into our lives; it is an issue of what we will do when it actually does. Our natural inclination is to freak out, to stress out, and to worry. But that doesn't help—it actually makes it worse. So what...
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November 13, 2010
As we fight the spiritual battle, we need spiritual weaponry.
Let's consider our shield. The apostle Paul writes, "above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one" (Eph...
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November 12, 2010
When Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba, ascended to the throne after his father died, he was overwhelmed by the task at hand. So he prayed, and God appeared to him in a dream and told him, "Ask! What shall I give you?" (1 Kings 3:5).
...
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November 11, 2010
A verse every Christian should commit to memory is Matthew 6:33: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God? God's kingdom ...
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November 10, 2010
Martin Lloyd Jones said, "To be of little faith means we are mastered by our circumstances instead of mastering them." Worry is an indication of a lack of faith.
Jesus said, "Now if God so clothes the grass of the ...
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November 9, 2010
Worry will not make your life longer; it will just make it more miserable. In fact, worry can shorten your life—or at least make it harder. In addition to being obsessed with the outward appearance, our culture is obsessed with trying to lengthen li...
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November 8, 2010
We live in a culture that is obsessed with appearance. We will be so concerned about what we are going to wear. Is this in style? Does this look good? Do I look fat in this? And we have taken this obsession to the point of changing our bodies with ...
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November 6, 2010
It is essential in the Christian life that we not only hold, but also gain ground. This is done with proper footwear, which was as important to a Roman soldier's armor as the shield and breastplate.
Afte...
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November 5, 2010
During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave some illustrations as to why we should not worry, and one of the examples He chose to use was that of birds. Speaking outdoors near the Sea of Galilee, maybe Jesus even gestured toward a few birds flying by: 'Loo...
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November 4, 2010
Daniel was a man of integrity with no weak spots, no scandals, and no sins that his enemies could identify. And when King Darius came into power during Israel's 70-year captivity, he relied on Daniel's wise, insightful counsel. Yet there were others who d...
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November 3, 2010
The epitaph could be written on countless American gravestones: "Hurried, worried, buried." We spend our lives full of anxiety and frustration and worry.
Martha is a classic example of someone who was overly anxious. Jesus o...
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November 2, 2010
A poll was taken in which Americans were asked what they worry about the most. The number-one response was, "My appearance." They may lose their house. They may lose their life savings. They may get wiped off the earth in a nuclear blast. But the real con...
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November 1, 2010
When Andrew brought his brother Simon Peter to Jesus, He looked at him and gave him a new name. Jesus didn't do that with other people. He didn't give out names right off the bat. But Jesus looked at Simon Peter and gave him a new name, Rock (see John 1:4...
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October 30, 2010
We are engaged in a spiritual battle. There is no escaping it. The question is: do we want to win or lose on the battlefield of life?
Let's consider the breastplate of righteousness. If this piece of our spiritual body armor is missin...
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October 29, 2010
You would think the endorsement of Jesus by John the Baptist would be enough. But not for Andrew. Andrew was the cautious type. He didn't do something just because someone else did it. He had to know for himself.
I can almost see a co...
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October 28, 2010
Why is it that Christians don't share the gospel? Is it because we are afraid we may not have the right answers? Perhaps. Is it because we don't know where to start? Maybe. Is it because we think we may get shut down? It could be. But maybe we don't care ...
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October 27, 2010
As Christians, the Bible tells us we are to give an answer to every man who asks us: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" (1...
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October 26, 2010
What is the gospel? I don't think most people know. Some people may think most Americans have heard the gospel, but I beg to differ. I don't think they have. I have heard a lot of preachers talk about the gospel and not give the gospel. We have to be very...
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October 25, 2010
One of the most effective tools you have in your evangelistic toolbox is telling your story, your personal testimony about how you came to believe in Jesus.
After a conversation with Jesus at the well, the Samaritan woman...
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October 23, 2010
The day you believed in Jesus was the day that the real battle began. For just as surely as there is a God who loves you, there is also a devil who hates you.
It has been said, "Conversion has made our hearts a battlefield."
...
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October 22, 2010
There is not a one-size-fits-all-approach to evangelism. We must learn to adapt to the situation. When you are sharing your faith, people will try to get you off point. They will say thing like, "Well, I have a question for you. What about all these denom...
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October 21, 2010
Jesus, the master evangelist, used something that many Christians seriously lack today, which is tact. Tact has been defined as diplomacy, sensitivity. One definition of it is skill and grace in dealing with others. Isaac Newton defined tact as "the art o...
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October 20, 2010
No orthodox Jew would ever go to Galilee through Samaria. In fact, he would avoid that area altogether. It was faster and more direct to go through Samaria, but the Jews did not want to go that route because they hated the Samaritans. They already dislike...
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October 19, 2010
Maybe you are one of those people who was always the last picked for the team, the one who was always overlooked. I have good news for you: God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people. And God loves flawed, ordinary people.
They did...
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October 18, 2010
If you have ever lost anyone suddenly, unexpectedly, you know exactly how devastating it is. It tears you up inside. You don't even know if you will be able to survive it. It can seem like a fate worse than death.
This is how the followers of J...
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October 16, 2010
Have you ever seen a baby rattlesnake? They are actually kind of cute. Everything is miniaturized. They get that menacing look on their face, bare their fangs, and shake that rattler, warning you of impending doom.
You might look at i...
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October 15, 2010
Can you think of someone right now whom you cannot imagine ever being a follower of Jesus Christ? I would challenge you to start praying for that person by name. No one is beyond the reach of God's hand. Jesus prayed for the very people who crucified Him....
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October 14, 2010
When you are living for Jesus Christ, your very presence will sometimes bother others. And the more godly a person is, the more obviously this will take place. Few things are more difficult to put up with than a good example. And when you live this way, i...
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October 13, 2010
In the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth . . . " His listeners would have immediately understood what He was saying: "You are a preserving factor in the culture today."
Salt not only was a valuable co...
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October 12, 2010
There is a difference between a believer who is seeking to live a godly life, but struggling, and the person who claims to be a believer, but blatantly disregards what the Bible says and chooses to live a lifestyle out of God's plan. My request of those i...
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October 11, 2010
After the Romans had effectively vanquished much of the world into submission through Pax Romana, they built a sophisticated roadway system. Through these roads, the Romans would export goods and send out messages to the provinces that were under t...
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October 9, 2010
My granddaughter Stella has a Mr. Potato Head toy.
If you have not seen one, it is a plastic replica of the vegetable with little pieces like eyes, glasses, hats, shoes, hands, etc., that you can insert into the little holes in the pl...
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October 8, 2010
The Bible says we should not be conformed to this world. It also tells us, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15).
So how do we impac...
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October 7, 2010
What is the biblical worldview on our culture? Are things getting better? Is humanity improving the world around it? The Bible is really clear on this one: our culture is dark, and it is getting darker. That is what the Bible teaches. It is not going to g...
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October 6, 2010
If you want to be a Christian, it is not going to be easy. Wimps need not apply. But if you want to be a man or woman of God, this is what Jesus says about living this life in the real world:
"Blessed are you when they re...
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October 5, 2010
I read about a problem a company was having with shipping cod from the East Coast to the West Coast. Apparently, by the time the fish arrived, they were spoiled. So they tried freezing the fish, but upon arrival, they were mushy to the taste. Next they se...
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October 4, 2010
Jesus said, "God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers" (Matthew 5:11). But notice He did not say, "God blesses you when people mock you and persecute...
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October 2, 2010
Jesus made it clear that storms will enter every life. But it is through these storms and hardships and tribulations that we will enter God's kingdom.
As Dr. Luke phrased it: "And when they had preached the gospel to that ci...
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October 1, 2010
If you live a godly life, you will be persecuted. You can count on this. It is not a matter of if; it is a matter of when and how much.
We love to claim the promises of God. We love to claim His promises of provisi...
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September 30, 2010
Of all the Beatitudes given in Matthew 5, there is one most likely to meet with the approval of almost everyone: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9). We all want peace in the world. Yet this is not a statement...
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September 29, 2010
A happy person will be a holy person, because Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). But who could ever be pure in heart? You can. I can. We must understand what this statement means. By pure in heart, Jesus is ...
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September 28, 2010
Martin Lloyd Jones said, "We are something before we begin to act as something."
When we as believers see ourselves as we really are, when we have mourned over our condition, when we have walked in meekness before ...
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September 27, 2010
It has been said that he has the most need of righteousness who least wants it. In other words, if you think, I am really doing well. I don't really know that I need more righteousness, then you are in greater need than you realize.
...
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September 25, 2010
Without question, the Christian life is the greatest life you could ever live.
And why is that? I can't even count all the ways!
God takes a life that was empty, aimless, and headed toward certain judgment, and turns it around and tr...
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September 24, 2010
The Greek philosopher Aristotle said, "Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the aim and end of human existence."
Happiness is so important to us as Americans that it is actually in our Declaration of Independence. A...
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September 23, 2010
Have you ever been really hungry? My stomach is like a clock. By 10:00 A.M., I am hungry for lunch. By 11:00, I know we are closing in. At 11:30, I am thinking that we will hopefully be eating any time now. And at 12:01, I will say to my wi...
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September 22, 2010
Meekness is not weakness. Sometimes we confuse the two. But the difference between a meek person and weak person is this: a weak person can't do anything. A meek person, on the other hand, can do something but chooses not to.
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September 21, 2010
Solomon, who went on a binge and experimented on an epic scale with pretty much everything this world has to offer, came to this conclusion: "I said to myself, 'Come on, let's try pleasure. Let's look for the 'good things' in life.' But I found that this,...
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September 20, 2010
If you have ever watched a Peanuts special, then you have heard Charlie Brown's signature expression, "Good grief." But did you know there is such a thing we could call "good" grief?
Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be c...
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September 18, 2010
The Bible tells us that, one day, all Christians will stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. Don't let that frighten you, because this particular judgment happens in heaven, which means you made it!
The Bible says, "For we must all app...
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September 17, 2010
Are you facing an emergency today? Dial 911—Psalm 91:1, that is. God can use adversity in the life of the Christian. None of us wants adversity in our lives, but God can be glorified through it. It might be a sickness that looks life-threatening, an...
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September 16, 2010
The angels of God are nearer than you may think. They are all around us all the time, taking care of us and ministering to us, even when we are not aware of their presence. That is fine with them, because essentially they are God's secret agents, doing Hi...
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September 15, 2010
When you were a child, did you have a hiding place you would run to when you were afraid or wanted to be alone?
God wants to be your hiding place. And the good news is that you can retreat to this hiding place wherever you are. When you have a ...
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September 14, 2010
To show us different facets of His nature, God gives us different names for himself. The words used in Psalm 91:1–2 include ‘Elyôwn, Shaddai, Jehovah, and ’Elōhîm. First, we have "the Most High:" "He who dwel...
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September 13, 2010
Without question, Psalm 91 is a real gem among the psalms. Next to Psalm 23, it probably has brought more encouragement and comfort throughout the centuries than any other psalm.
But it is worth noting that the blessings promised in Psalm 91 ar...
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September 11, 2010
Maybe the Lord is allowing you to go through some difficult circumstances today to prepare you for something He wants you to do tomorrow. I realize that thought might not comfort very that much in your present distress. You may be thinking, "No, this suff...
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September 10, 2010
C. S. Lewis said, "The real test of being in the presence of God is that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object." We don't often hear statements like that coming from pulpits today. We hear how we can all be c...
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September 9, 2010
The biblical definition of happiness, or blessedness, is different than our culture's definition. If we were to rewrite the Beatitudes for the 21st century, they would be vastly different than what we find in Matthew 5. Modern beatitudes would sound somet...
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September 8, 2010
The word "blessed" is a wonderful word. Christians use the words "blessed" and "blessing" a lot, and most of the time we mean it. There are times when we use it as an expression to terminate a conversation that is going too long. We will say something to ...
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September 7, 2010
If you want to know how Jesus thinks, then study the Sermon on the Mount. This sermon, found in Matthew 5–7, lays out the worldview of Jesus himself. Do you want to know how His heart really beats? Then study this sermon. It is the official manifest...
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September 6, 2010
It is inevitable that when I wear white pants, I will have little marks and stains on them. I want to blame it on the fact that I spill because I am wearing white pants, but the truth is that I spill all the time. I just don't see it all the time. I think...
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September 4, 2010
Did you know that the Lord has an amazing trade-in deal in store for you? That's right; you are going to trade in your existing body, with its aches and pains, for the newest model.
Of course, that is not a perfect analogy, because there will b...
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September 3, 2010
As Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the crowds were celebrating. They were laughing. They were cheering. They were having a great time. And what was Jesus doing? He saw the city, and He wept over it. Here was the crowd, whipped into a frenzy...
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September 2, 2010
There was a sense that something big was about to happen on the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowds thought "the Kingdom of God would begin right away" (Luke 19:11). Scripture does teach the Messiah will come and establish His kingd...
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September 1, 2010
We all have things that irritate us, and we display our anger in different ways. Yet research has proven that it is not good to be angry. One study found that bad-tempered people are three times more likely to have heart attacks. And a 2006 Harvard study ...
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August 31, 2010
The Bible tells the story of a woman who was caught in the act of adultery, brought before Jesus, and thrown at His feet. The teachers of the law and Pharisees who brought her there said, "The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?" (John 8:5)....
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August 30, 2010
While the first nine of the Ten Commandments deal with outward actions, the last commandment deals with an action of the heart: coveting. In fact, it is something we may not even realize that we are doing. Yet God clearly specifies it as one of the top te...
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August 28, 2010
We don't always know what to pray in every given situation. That is when the Holy Spirit will help you, even interceding for you (For more on this, see last weeke...
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August 27, 2010
God hates lying. In fact, God thinks so much of truth that He uses the very word to describe His character. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). And we are told in Scripture that it...
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August 26, 2010
Stealing is so widespread in our culture today that I don't know if we are even aware of how bad it has become. We habitually lock everything. We have grown accustomed to seeing gas station attendants behind bulletproof glass. We have car alarms, even tho...
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August 25, 2010
In our culture today, it is pretty hard not to see some things that you wish you had not seen. You don't have to even go out looking for it. You can just be standing in line at the supermarket, and there it is on the cover of the magazine. Or you are driv...
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August 24, 2010
The argument has been made that illicit sex doesn't hurt anyone. I disagree. I think it hurts a lot of people. It damages a person spiritually, and according to one study, it can even cause depression. Researchers at the University of Tennessee found that...
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August 23, 2010
Imagine how different our world would be today if we kept the seventh commandment, "You shall not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14). Imagine how many divorces would have been avoided if adultery was never committed. Imagine how many families would still be ...
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August 21, 2010
One of the things the Holy Spirit does in our lives is to help us with our prayers.
Why? Because there are times when we don't really know what or how to pray. Maybe you are overwhelmed by a burden. You find yourself discouraged, depressed, and...
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August 20, 2010
Have you ever hated anyone? Have you ever hated anyone so much that you wished they were dead? If you are thinking, Oh, no—not me, then allow me to rephrase the question: Have you ever driven on a freeway? If we were honest, we all would prob...
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August 19, 2010
It is interesting to note that before a word is spoken in the Ten Commandments about how to treat others, God starts with the family. I don't think anything can bring greater pleasure than our families, and few things can give us as much pain. Kids have p...
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August 18, 2010
Do you know what the nonbeliever's favorite verse is? It is Matthew 7:1: "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged." This verse is usually quoted after we say something like, "Well you know what? I don't think that is right."
This verse,...
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August 17, 2010
There is power in God's name, and we are to honor it. Moses said, "For I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God" (Deuteronomy 32:3).
Elijah knew the power of the name of the Lord as he faced off with the prophets of Baal on...
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August 16, 2010
Commandment number three of the Ten Commandments tells us not to take God's name in vain. The words "in vain" mean empty, idle, insincere, or frivolous. So to take God's name in vain means to say it in a way that is empty, idle, insincere, or frivolous. A...
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August 14, 2010
I think it is really important for us to better understand the person of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes people think of the Holy Spirit as more of an "It" than a "Him." But according to Scripture, the Holy Spirit is not only God, but He has a will, a personal...
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August 13, 2010
We tend to equate jealousy with pettiness and selfishness. We see it as a vice, not a virtue. But when God was giving Moses the Ten Commandments and said He was a jealous God, this is not the type of jealousy He was speaking of. If we were to substitute t...
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August 12, 2010
I read an article about a woman in New York who was cited for driving in a carpool lane with a mannequin. She had dressed it up with a brunette wig, makeup, stylish clothing, and sunglasses. A police officer, knowing what was going on, pulled her over and...
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August 11, 2010
What is love? The Beatles recorded the classic song on the subject, "All You Need Is Love," and then they broke up and sued each other. Various philosophers have expressed opinions on love as well. Plato said that love is a serious mental disease. Oliver ...
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August 10, 2010
The Bible tells the story of a man who came to Jesus and said, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Mark 10:17). Jesus said, "You know the commandments: 'You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must n...
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August 9, 2010
Oscar Wilde said, "To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance." Indeed. And Whitney Houston sang, "The greatest love of all is easy to achieve. Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all." That we love ourselves is pretty much a...
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August 7, 2010
When I am interviewed by reporters about Harvest Crusades, the question I am asked more than any other is, "Why do you do this? Why do you put all of this effort into these events?"
It is a lot of work to do these events. We do them out ...
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August 6, 2010
It is worth noting that no person in the New Testament came to faith apart from the agency of a human being. Have you ever stopped and thought about that? We can find example after example.
There was the Ethiopian (see Acts 8:26-39). There are ...
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August 5, 2010
Jesus went and met the woman at the well in Samaria because she had an appointment with God. In Jesus' detour into enemy territory, we see two important concerns as we bring the message of the gospel today.
First, we have to go to where peop...
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August 4, 2010
When you tell other people about what God has done for you, you are sharing your testimony. A testimony is when you share your story of how you came to faith. Every Christian has a testimony.
Some Christians have dramatic testimonies where the...
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August 3, 2010
Sometimes we hear about well-known people who claim to have made a commitment to Jesus Christ. Often, it is around election time. When they address Christians, they speak of their great faith in God. After the elections, we seldom hear about it again....
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August 2, 2010
The apostle Paul had something essential for effective evangelism: a God-given burden for those who did not know Jesus Christ. In his case, the burden was for his own people, the Jews. He cared. It burned inside him.
General William Booth, foun...
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July 31, 2010
Have you ever had doubts about your faith? Have you ever wondered if it is really all true?
If so, don't be too hard on yourself. Some Christians are reluctant to admit that they have any questions at all.
I think that we sometimes h...
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July 30, 2010
Americans have never been more spiritual yet more immoral. Research done in 2009 by the Barna Group concluded that "increasingly, Americans are more interested in faith and spirituality than in Christianity." According to the study, Americans are now crea...
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July 29, 2010
It is sad when someone who has been a Christian for awhile is illiterate when it comes to the things of the Bible. Probably one of the greatest problems we are seeing in the church today is a complete ignorance of what the Bible actually teaches. After co...
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July 28, 2010
Believe it or not, idolatry comes naturally to all of us. Why? Because we must worship, and we will worship. Even as nature abhors a vacuum, so does the human soul. The human soul always will find an object of worship, either on the shelf or on the altar ...
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July 27, 2010
A survey revealed that 76 percent of Americans consider themselves completely true to the first commandment, which says, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3). But I wonder if they understand what that statement actually means.
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July 26, 2010
Not long ago, I heard someone ask, "What if we treated our Bibles like we treat our cell phones?" That is an interesting question when you think of how important cell phones have become to us. It seems as though everyone has one now. I read an article abo...
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July 24, 2010
What we think about is really important.
In Philippians 4:8, the apostle Paul wrote, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatev...
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July 23, 2010
A recent survey revealed that America's youth now spend, on average, over seven-and-a-half hours each day involved in electronic media. And that number doesn't include the amount of time spent texting or talking on cell phones. The problem is that a lot o...
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July 22, 2010
Romans 12 begins with what we might call a conditional promise. The promise is that we will know the "good and acceptable and perfect will of God." The conditions are as follows:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,...
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July 21, 2010
There are certain people in my life that I regard as true friends, friends whom I know I can trust. A true friend is someone who will keep your confidence. You can reveal your heart to a true friend. You can trust a true friend. You can tell a secret to a...
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July 20, 2010
Someone once asked me if I thought it was appropriate for a Christian to wish someone good luck. As believers, we don't believe in luck. We don't believe in mere chance. We believe in providence. We believe in God's will. We don't believe that we are mere...
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July 19, 2010
A series of steps led to Peter's denial of Christ. The first was self-confidence, and the second was following at a distance. The third was hanging out with the wrong people.
In Luke 22:55, we find Peter warming himself at the fire in the court...
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July 17, 2010
When we think of God, we usually consider that fact that He is righteous, holy, loving, and good. But here is something else to consider about God: He is the God who has suffered.
We don't tend to think that a perfect Creator would experience s...
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July 16, 2010
I find it interesting that some of the great men of the Bible who were known for certain things fell in those very areas. When we think of Elijah, courage comes to mind. He walked into the court of Ahab and Jezebel, the king and queen of Israel, and told ...
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July 15, 2010
Many of us are familiar with the story of the Prodigal Son. But how about the story of the Prodigal Pig? That is in the Bible too:
For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, ...
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July 14, 2010
Anyone can backslide. No one usually plans on doing it. But it starts with making little compromises that lead to big compromises. And next thing you know, you are not in a place you should be. The Bible even tells us one of the signs of the end times is ...
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July 13, 2010
Can a Christian lose his or her salvation? Once you are saved, can you become unsaved? When I hear questions like these, my thought is, Why would you want to push the envelope? What concerns me is there are people who want to know how they can be s...
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July 12, 2010
The Hope Diamond, described as the most perfect blue diamond in the world, is one of the most highly prized gems on the planet, with an estimated value of $250 million dollars. It has an amazing history, having been originally in the possession of King Lo...
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July 10, 2010
It seems to me that for some we have lost the "fear of the Lord," even in the Church.
There was a time when things were perhaps too uptight, and one spoke in whispers in the Church, and laughter was rarely heard. But today, many churches, in th...
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July 9, 2010
Imagine for a moment what it would be like to be debt for $10 million. Quite possibly because of the debt, you will go to prison. There is even an article in the paper about it, accompanied by your photo. Then, on the day of your sentencing, one of the ri...
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July 8, 2010
I have recently ventured into the mysterious pink aisles of the toy stores. I had never tried those aisles out before. Nothing there much interested me, because they were all for girls, and I have always shopped for boys. Shopping for my sons was easy, be...
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July 7, 2010
A wealthy, well-dressed man was walking down the street when he passed a homeless man. He stopped for a second, turned around, and said, "Excuse me. You look familiar. Do we know each other?"
The man said, "Yeah, I'm Steve. English—third ...
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July 6, 2010
Some years ago I was scuba diving with some friends in Hawaii. We were staying about 15 feet under the surface, but as we went along, I noticed the bottom was getting further and further down. Eventually we came to a massive cliff, and beyond the point wh...
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July 5, 2010
Imagine holding a winning lottery ticket worth millions of dollars, but not claiming what is rightfully yours. According to one article I read, it happens quite often. Someone beat the odds of 76,275,360 to 1 to win a jackpot of $46 million, but the prize...
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July 3, 2010
There is an alarming ignorance of who God is and what He is like, even among professing Christians. This was shown in recent poll conducted by Barna.
According to the poll, half of Americans who call themselves "Christian" don't believe that Sa...
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July 2, 2010
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of the will of God when you were doing a rather mundane thing? In 2 Kings 7 we find the story of four men with leprosy whose hunger sent them in search of their next meal. Little did they know that God would use ...
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July 1, 2010
There always will be people who will tell you that you are going to fail, that you never will amount to anything. I had a teacher who wrote on my report card, "Greg Laurie will never amount to anything, because all he does is sit in class all day long and...
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June 30, 2010
The Bible is replete with stories of men and women who had their lives transformed because they reached out in believing faith and took God at His Word. Think of the people who were transformed because they put their faith into action.
There wa...
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June 29, 2010
It is not a bad thing to be skeptical. Sometimes we can be a little too gullible and a little too willing to believe anything that is said. The Bible does say that, as Christians, we are to be discerning. It also tells us that we are to test all things ac...
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June 28, 2010
After one of the services at our church, I spoke with a woman who had been recently diagnosed with cancer. She admitted to me that although she had made a commitment to Christ, she had not been living as she should. She felt badly about the wasted years o...
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June 26, 2010
So what do you do when unexpected trouble comes your way, when you have a "shipwreck" in life?
Now, one final principle: Paul believed God. Paul turned to the others onboard the sinking ship and said, "So take courage! For I believe God!" (Acts...
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June 25, 2010
This may come as a revelation to some, but our bodies were not meant to last forever. They are a temporary place to house our souls. The Bible tells us, "For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this...
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June 24, 2010
Isaac Asimov said, "I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse."
Anyone who understands...
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June 23, 2010
When we are young, we tend to think more about how God will bless us, guide us, and provide for us in this life. But as we get older, if we are smart, we also will start thinking about our future destination. If you are preparing for a trip, you probably ...
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June 22, 2010
The story is told of a missionary couple who was preparing to retire after many years of service in Africa. The ship they had boarded to return to the U.S. also happened to be carrying President Theodore Roosevelt, who was returning from a hunting expedit...
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June 21, 2010
There is one thing we all have been given that is the same is life. We all have been given our lives to use for the glory of God. We don't know how long the time span will last. We know the date of our birth, but we usually don't know the date of our deat...
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June 19, 2010
We all have hardships, tragedies, trials, and shipwrecks in life. The question is, how do you survive them? How do you get through them?
I know, for some people, this is not a popular thing to say. They are seeking to live "their best life now"...
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June 18, 2010
Jesus told a story about a king who was going to leave and then return later, so he instructed his servants to invest a sum of money he had entrusted to them while he was away. These servants fit into one of three categories: the super faithful, the less ...
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June 17, 2010
Did you know that church can be a dangerous place? It can be dangerous if you come to church with a chip on your shoulder and a hardened heart full of bitterness and criticism, because the same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay. And that is where ...
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June 16, 2010
We can study Bible prophecy all day long, but if it isn't impacting the way that we live, then we are missing the point. As 1 John 3:2–3 tells us, "Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Ch...
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June 15, 2010
The answer to America's problems is a spiritual one. We need to pray for our country like never before. And we need to reach out to a lost world with the gospel like never before. We need more people hearing about who Jesus is and what He promises. We nee...
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June 14, 2010
Again and again the Bible uses the picture of walking to describe the Christian life. Galatians 5:16 tells us, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Ephesians 5:2 says, "Walk in love." And Colossians 2:6 says, "As you ther...
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June 12, 2010
So there was Paul in the midst of a tempest. Yet somehow, he had an amazing calm in the midst of this storm.
We too have our storms in life, and we wonder how to get through them.
Here is one of Paul's secrets to surviving life's cha...
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June 11, 2010
For 17 years of my life, I lived in an alcoholic home. I spent a lot of time around drunk people. That is pretty much all I saw from morning to night. I observed a variety of drunks and the way they reacted to alcohol, and I noticed something about people...
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June 10, 2010
When we study Bible prophecy, it should move us. It is not just an academic exercise—it should result in a movement of our hearts. In fact, the teaching of Christ's return is a litmus test of where you are spiritually.
If you are right wi...
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June 9, 2010
As we look at end times events, I think we need to approach it not only with our minds, but also with our hearts. We don't want to merely discuss these things in an academic way; it should move us as individuals. As God revealed to the prophet Daniel what...
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June 8, 2010
Suffering can be used to prepare us for a special task. The greatest example of this is Joseph, who was mistreated by his brothers and sold into slavery for 20 pieces of silver. But Joseph lived out the truth of Romans 8:28: "And we know that God causes e...
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June 7, 2010
God is in control of all circumstances that surround the believer. The devil can do nothing in the life of the believer without the express permission of God. But why would God give that permission? Because Satan's attacks will show what you are made of....
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June 5, 2010
You know the drill. Things are going well, no crisis, no conflicts to speak of, pretty much smooth sailing.
Then seemingly out of nowhere, a storm hits. Maybe it's a crisis, or a hardship. Maybe it's a personal tragedy.
So what do yo...
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June 4, 2010
When Job went before the Lord, as any person should do when they are suffering, he asked the question why. And there is nothing wrong with asking why. I have asked why many times. There is nothing wrong with asking why as long as you don't get the idea th...
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June 3, 2010
It is easy for us to read Job's story and critique him at certain points. But we need to keep in mind that Job never read the Book of Job. He didn't know it would turn out well in the end. He didn't know about the conversations between God and Satan. He d...
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June 2, 2010
From the depths of heartbreak and loss, the Bible tells us that Job worshiped: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).
If you ...
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June 1, 2010
When tragedy strikes—and it is not a matter of if, but when—it will have one of two effects in our lives. Either we will have our faith strengthened, and we will turn to God for comfort, or we will become angry at God and turn away from Him....
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May 31, 2010
We can accept the idea of suffering in general, especially when it happens as a consequence of bad behavior. But when bad things happen to good people, we don't get it.
Being a Christian is not a guarantee that we will be exempt from suffering,...
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May 29, 2010
The apostle Paul was called by God to bring the gospel to his generation. He had perhaps the most unexpected conversion in human history, as he previously had set himself to effectively destroy the Christian faith. But when Paul, known then as Saul of Tar...
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May 28, 2010
Nothing warms the heart of parents more than to hear their children or grandchildren voluntarily say, "I love you." And God wants the same thing from us. God wants us to voluntarily love Him because we choose to, not because we have to.
We need...
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May 27, 2010
Many people point to the problem of evil and suffering, more than any other, as their reason for not believing in God. It is not merely a problem; it is the problem.
We look at this world in which we are living today and wonder why: If G...
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May 26, 2010
If you are a true disciple of Jesus Christ, if you are living the Christian life as it was meant to be lived, then please talk about it. Some Christians who believe that if others observe the way they are living, if others see they are honest and love the...
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May 25, 2010
If you are loving God more than anyone or anything else, if you are taking up the cross and following Jesus, then you are going to make a difference. You will impact your culture. The first-century church turned their world upside down because they lived ...
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May 24, 2010
There is a cost to following Jesus, but I would also add there is a greater cost in not following Him. Whatever you give up to follow Christ will be more than made up to you in this life and certainly in the life to come.
Jesus said, "An...
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May 22, 2010
One day at the Sea of Galilee, Jesus said to His disciples, "Let us cross over to the other side" (Mark 4:35 NKJV).
As they were making their way across, a huge storm came out of nowhere, which was a common occurrence on this lar...
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May 21, 2010
People sometimes will use the expression, "We all have our cross to bear." But our cross to bear is not whatever we find difficult in life. The cross to bear, so to speak, is the same for everyone: it is dying to self.
Dying to self means resis...
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May 20, 2010
When Jesus said, "And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27), the meaning would have been readily understood by the people of the first century. However, its meaning is largely lost in the 21st century. W...
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May 19, 2010
When people say, "I am going to go find myself," it usually precedes a selfish act. But Jesus taught that if you want to find yourself, then you must lose yourself: "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:27)...
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May 18, 2010
Would you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ? If you want to be His disciple, then you must love Him more than anyone or anything else, because Jesus said, "If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your fath...
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May 17, 2010
It is amazing how we can rationalize sin in our own lives, yet when someone else does it, it is wrong. We have little double standards that we develop, thinking that what is acceptable for us isn't acceptable for anyone else.
...
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May 15, 2010
When the apostle Paul was imprisoned for proclaiming the gospel, he was no doubt feeling a bit down and discouraged. Perhaps he was wondering if he would ever be released.
Then Jesus came to him with these words: "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as...
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May 14, 2010
God is not a stingy Father who only will respond to our prayers if we badger Him. When we pray, we are speaking to a Father who wants to answer our prayers, a Father whose ear is open to what we have to say. Jesus said, "Ask, and it will be given to you; ...
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May 13, 2010
An unforgiving Christian is an oxymoron. If you are a Christian, then you must forgive, because forgiven people are forgiving people. Therefore, you cannot be an unforgiving Christian. And if you want your prayers to be answered in the affirmative, then y...
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May 12, 2010
Some people think they don't need forgiveness all that often. Yet Jesus taught us to pray, "And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us . . ." (Luke 11:4). In other words, Forgive us our shortcomings . . . our trespasses...
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May 11, 2010
Why is it that this all-knowing, all-powerful, omnipresent God who created the entire universe would care for you and me? As Job said, "What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often?" (Job 7:17). Why would God c...
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May 10, 2010
When people say that God never answers their prayers, what they are really saying is they prayed and didn't like the answer. No is as much of an answer as yes. So if you have prayed for something and God said no, don't say that God didn't answer your pray...
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May 8, 2010
The apostle Paul was in a Roman dungeon for his faithfulness to the gospel. But one night, Jesus Christ paid him a visit:
But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer (or courage), Paul; for as you have testifie...
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May 7, 2010
There are things in life that scare us, even terrify us sometimes. We have concerns about the future, about our health, about our family, and about our finances. The list of things that cause us to be filled with anxiety goes on and on. So I have a sugges...
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May 6, 2010
One of the many reasons we should pray is that it is God's appointed way of giving things to us that we need in our lives. And there are things that God may want to give you, things that God may want to say to you, things that God may want to do for you, ...
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May 5, 2010
Not only did Jesus command us to pray, but He also left us an example of prayer. Jesus was constantly praying. As He walked our planet and breathed our air as God in human form, He felt the need to be in constant communion with His Father. In fact, it was...
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May 4, 2010
From the moment you get up in the morning to the moment you lay your head down on your pillow at night, you will have made hundreds, maybe even thousands, of choices.
That is why ordering at some restaurants is no easy task. The menu resembles ...
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May 3, 2010
If a law were passed tomorrow that prohibited praying in public, would you still pray? That is the dilemma the prophet Daniel faced. He was a godly man with a reputation for being a person of prayer.
It turns out that Daniel was so effective an...
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May 1, 2010
There are many things that could be said in response to the question of why God allows trials in our lives, but here is one you may not have considered: God allows trials and hardship in your life so you can help others. As a result, whatever difficulty, ...
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April 30, 2010
When God called Nehemiah, the cupbearer of King Artaxerxes, to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah was living in the lap of luxury. He was in a position of power and prestige.
But Nehemiah was stirred in his heart, because he knew that whi...
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April 29, 2010
I remember walking down Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki and seeing a man holding a big sign with red flames and the words, "The wages of sin is death." He was yelling out to people, "God hates you! God is going to judge you! God is going to get you!" I watched...
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April 28, 2010
Without question, the gospel is under attack today. And I believe that most Americans, not to mention the rest of the world, have not really heard the gospel message. The fact is that when a lot of people are supposedly preaching the gospel, they are not ...
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April 27, 2010
Is it possible to preach and not be a true believer, or to even do miracles and not necessarily be saved? Absolutely.
Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Fath...
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April 26, 2010
Whenever I am invited to speak somewhere, I can discern the biblical IQ of the group I'm addressing in the first few minutes of my message. I observe the way they track, the way they listen, what interests them, and what doesn't interest them. I note how ...
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April 24, 2010
In Acts 20, the apostle Paul gives his final words to the leaders in the church of Ephesus. In doing so, he describes the Christian life in a number of ways: a runner in a race, a steward, a witness, and a herald.
Let's look at one final pictur...
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April 23, 2010
Even before Titanic arrived on the big screen in 1997, people have been fascinated by its story, perhaps because there is so much to it. Clearly, many mistakes were made that led to its sinking. Although it was called the unsinkable ship, it sank. ...
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April 22, 2010
Do you ever feel righteous indignation as you look at our confused society today? Righteous indignation is the result of seeing something that disturbs you deep in your soul.
Maybe you see something on television that is wicked and perverse. Ma...
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April 21, 2010
The apostle Paul was probably the greatest communicator the church ever produced. As a brilliant orator and a great student of Scripture, history, and culture, he knew how to make his case. That is clear when you read anything that the Holy Spirit inspire...
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April 20, 2010
So often the world misconstrues what Christians say. It draws erroneous conclusions because it never takes the time to really listen carefully to the gospel message. Jesus said, "My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight t...
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April 19, 2010
In 1948, General Omar Bradley made a statement with a prophetic ring to it: "We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. . . . Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants."
What an accurate descriptio...
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April 17, 2010
As we walk with the Lord, the words of the apostle Paul serve to help us focus on what really matters. It is so easy, if one does not apply effort to do what God desires, to find himself or herself in the empty pursuit of nothingness.
In Acts 2...
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April 16, 2010
Did you know that you can have a happy life without sin? A happy life without drugs and alcohol? A happy life without extramarital sex? A happy life without selfishness? God is not out to ruin your life. He wants it to be fulfilled. And when you are livin...
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April 15, 2010
People today are trying to change God's Word to fit their lifestyle or the things they have decided they want to do. But it doesn't work that way. Psalm 19:8 says, "The statutes of the Lord are right . . . " (emphasis added). In the original langua...
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April 14, 2010
If you don't need to be changed, then maybe you don't need the Bible. If you have it all together and don't have any questions or conflicts in your life, if you feel that your life is perfect, then you won't be all that interested in the Bible.
...
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April 13, 2010
Where will you turn in a time of crisis? When tragedy hits? When disaster strikes? Will it be your favorite Web site? People magazine? The morning newspaper? The evening news? You will need something to give you strength and direction in your time ...
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April 12, 2010
C. H. Spurgeon defined the gospel this way: Jesus died for me. That is our essential message. It is Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
I think we overcomplicate this thing we call evangelism way too much. I am not suggesting that we go out and sta...
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April 10, 2010
In his final words to the leaders of the church of Ephesus, Paul likened the follower of Jesus to five different pursuits: a runner in a race, a steward, a witness, a herald, and a watchman.
We already looked at what it is to be a runner in the...
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April 9, 2010
Sometimes Christians will look at non-Christians as the enemy. But they are not the enemy—they are trapped by the enemy, who is the devil. They are like you and I once were: captives of sin. That is how Christians need to see nonbelievers.
...
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April 8, 2010
As a teenager, I would hang around a place in Newport Beach called the Balboa Fun Zone. I would lean up against a wall, hair hanging in my eyes (use your imagination there), looking real tough. Christians who walked around and handed out their tracts didn...
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April 7, 2010
In Acts 8 we find the story of a foreign dignitary from Ethiopia. As the queen's treasurer, he was a powerful man who would have traveled with an entourage. He went to Jerusalem in search of God, but found dead, lifeless religion instead. However, he obta...
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April 6, 2010
A Sunday School teacher who was speaking to her class on the topic of sin asked, "Can anyone tell me what the sin of commission is?"
One girl raised her hand. "I know!" she said. "The sin of commission is when you do what you shouldn't do."...
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April 5, 2010
I believe the hardest part of evangelism is getting started. But once you get started, and once God starts speaking through you, it can be one of the most joyful things you have ever done. To think that God almighty would speak through someone like you or...
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April 3, 2010
A while back, I was asked, "Who crucified Jesus?" Maybe the question should be, "Who didn't crucify Jesus?"
The religious leaders played their part, as did Judas, Pilate, and, of course, the actual soldiers who put the nails in His hands and fe...
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April 2, 2010
The cross was the goal of Jesus from the very beginning. His birth was so there would be His death. The incarnation was for our atonement. He was born to die so that we might live. And when He had accomplished the purpose He had come to fulfill, He summed...
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April 1, 2010
Sometimes in our minds we feel as though God has fallen short, that He hasn't done what He said He would do. Maybe a tragedy has befallen us. Maybe something has happened in our lives that has left us feeling disappointed with God.
That is how ...
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March 31, 2010
Easter isn't just for Christians; it's for skeptics too. Easter was for skeptical people in the first century. The Bible tells us, "Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they...
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March 30, 2010
Do you need a second chance today? On the first Easter morning, Peter needed one. There in the Upper Room, he had insisted that he would never deny Christ. But just as Jesus had predicted, Peter not only denied the Lord, but he denied Him three times. The...
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March 29, 2010
Easter is not about brightly colored eggs, wearing pastels, or enjoying a big meal, although it could include these. Easter is about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
For some, Easter will be a great day, spent surrounded by family an...
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March 27, 2010
The moment you believed in Jesus Christ, the spiritual race began for you. Some of you are just beginning, and others have been running for quite a while.
My son Christopher has already finished his race, and his old dad is still running. And a...
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March 26, 2010
Where is the best place to be when temptation comes? In God's will. Luke 4:1 tells us that Jesus was "led by the Spirit into the wilderness." Jesus always was in God's will, but sometimes we aren't. We put ourselves in places we don't belong. We hang out ...
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March 25, 2010
In a broad sense, we are faced with temptation all the time. But temptation often comes after times of great blessing. Temptation came for Jesus right after His baptism in the Jordan River, where the Father spoke and the Holy Spirit came upon Him in the f...
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March 24, 2010
Three enemies that we contend with as Christians are the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world with its allure is the external foe. The flesh with its evil desires is the internal foe. And the devil with his enticements is the infern...
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March 23, 2010
Where does temptation come from? In a broad sense, it clearly comes from the devil. But we play a key role in our own temptation. The devil needs our cooperation for us to give in, because where there is no desire on our part, there is effectively no temp...
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March 22, 2010
The problem with diets is that they are fine until you are hungry. Anyone can go on a diet when they have a full stomach. But when you're hungry, food is a lot more tempting.
In the same way, the enemy knows how to package his wares to make bad...
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March 20, 2010
One thing that we need to remember as Christians is that we are running a spiritual race.
In Acts 20, we find the apostle's Paul's words to the leaders of the church in Ephesus. These were things that really mattered to the great apostle.
...
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March 19, 2010
Have you ever stepped out in faith, lost your nerve, and started to sink? We all will have lapses of faith. We all will have those moments where we are not sure of what we are doing. It is not all that unusual. So what should we do when this happens? We s...
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March 18, 2010
Peter is often cited as an example of what not to do and what not to say. But let's give him credit where credit is due. In Matthew 14, when Jesus sent the disciples across the Sea of Galilee and a great storm came, they began to panic and despair. Then, ...
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March 17, 2010
Faith can make all the difference between something happening and not happening. The Bible tells us that Jesus could do no mighty work in His hometown because of unbelief (see Matthew 13:57–58). God is sovereign. He can do whatever He wants whenever...
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March 16, 2010
A lot of people talk about their faith. They sing about faith. They even analyze the word "faith." But they never actually use their faith.
Faith is the consent of the will to the assent of the understanding. Faith always has in it the idea of...
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March 15, 2010
The Bible defines faith this way: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Another translation puts it this way: "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assu...
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March 13, 2010
Why do some die young, while others live long lives? We can come up with all of our fanciful ideas as to why God lets one person live and takes another.
I heard them all, after my son Christopher went to heaven. People would say things like, "M...
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March 12, 2010
Some people say they cannot have faith because they are practical. They need to know something is true before they can believe it.
But we all apply faith every day. When you go to a restaurant, order a meal, and eat what they bring, that is fai...
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March 11, 2010
Have you ever noticed that when you plan to spend some time reading your Bible, all kinds of crazy things start happening? You can get up in the morning and read the newspaper, every section of it, and everything is fine. There are no phone calls, no dist...
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March 10, 2010
"Finished" is the word we use after a job is done. It is a word that says we don't need to work anymore, because it is done. "Finished" is also the word Jesus used from the cross. He said, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). In other words, "It is accomplishe...
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March 9, 2010
During some of my childhood, we lived in New Jersey. One day, I was walking down the street with my newly acquired six-shooter cap guns, a little holster, and a little cowboy hat, feeling very good. But there were some hoodlums standing on the corner who ...
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March 8, 2010
Why does God allow hardship? Why does God allow illness? Why does God allow tragedy? We can go on and on asking why, but we can't always answer these questions. Yet listen to what the apostle Paul said as he explains why it was allowed in his life in part...
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March 6, 2010
When tragedy hits us, we often ask the question, "Why?" The book of Job is filled with moments when Job asks the question "Why?"
Now, there isn't anything necessarily wrong with asking God, "Why?" It's OK to ask, as long as we don't get the ide...
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March 5, 2010
When Jesus Christ comes into your life, he becomes the sole occupant. Yet some people have suggested that Christians can be demon-possessed. However, Jesus is not in a timeshare program with your heart. The Bible says, "What harmony can there be between C...
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March 4, 2010
As believers, we have God's promise that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle. But here is the problem: sometimes we unnecessarily put ourselves in the way of temptation. As one person put it, "Lead me not into temptation. I can fi...
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March 3, 2010
God is omniscient, which means that He is all-knowing. God is omnipotent, which means that He is all-powerful. And God is omnipresent, which means that He is present everywhere.
In sharp and direct contrast to this, the devil does not reflect G...
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March 2, 2010
When I first became a Christian at age 17, other believers warned me, "Greg, you have to be careful, because the devil will tempt you." That was the craziest thing I had ever heard. The what is going to tempt me? Of course, I envisioned a caricatur...
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March 1, 2010
I am sure the greatest day in your life was the day you put your faith in Jesus Christ. And as we grow in our faith and knowledge of what God actually did for us, we become more aware of how significant that day really was. That was the day when we litera...
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February 27, 2010
We all know how God mightily used Simon Peter as an apostle. But do you know how Peter originally came to believe in Jesus? His brother Andrew told him about the Lord.
We never read in Scripture of Andrew preaching to multitudes of people. Andr...
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February 26, 2010
It is not a matter of if we are going to sin; it is a matter of when. The Bible says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). We all will sin. The question is, what are we going to do w...
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February 25, 2010
Don't ever say, "I will never fall in this one area. No matter what, I will never. . . ." Watch out. If you think you are invincible, that is probably the very area in which you will end up falling. You don't know what you are capable of.
If yo...
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February 24, 2010
Did you know that guilt can be good? Guilt means that your conscience is working. The time to be concerned is when you don't feel guilt, when you can sin against God again and again and feel no remorse or sense of wrongdoing. Hebrews 12:6 says, "The Lord ...
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February 23, 2010
Have you ever wondered why things are as spiritually and morally dark as they are? It is because there is a mastermind behind it all that goes deeper than one's politics or worldview. I am talking about a spirit power that infiltrates culture, that infilt...
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February 22, 2010
You have probably seen it on television at one time or another: some lions are hanging out, soaking in the rays, when along come the antelope. You can almost read the lions' thoughts as they size them up: Let's see, which one are we going to eat today?...
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February 20, 2010
"There are many ways to God."
"Jesus is just my way."
"All religions are true in their own way."
We have all heard statements like those before. Sometimes, even Christi...
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February 19, 2010
The Old and New Testament contain at least 300 references to angels. Everywhere in Scripture, we see examples of angels at work. Story after story tells us about the work of angels.
When Peter was arrested for preaching the gospel, the first-ce...
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February 18, 2010
It is difficult for us to believe there is an invisible world, because we live in the natural world. We relate to what we can see, what we can hear, and what we can reach out and touch. But the Bible teaches there is a supernatural world, an invisible wor...
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February 17, 2010
Some people say, "Well, I don't need Jesus Christ because I live by the Ten Commandments."
My response to someone who said that would be, "Let's start by asking if you can name the Ten Commandments."
"Uh, thou shalt recycle?"
...
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February 16, 2010
Hell was not made for people; hell was created for the devil and his angels (see Matthew 25:41). It was never God's intention to send a person to hell. He does everything He can to keep us out of it. But God has given us a free will. We have the ability t...
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February 15, 2010
When Jesus was on the cross, one of the men being crucified next to Him came to his senses and said, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (Luke 23:42).
So Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradis...
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February 13, 2010
Over the years, I've had the pleasure of visiting Israel a number of times, particularly the area around the Sea of Galilee.
What I love about this area of Israel is that it is much like it was in the days when Jesus Himself walked here. As you...
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February 12, 2010
When I was being interviewed on a Christian television show, I was asked why I spoke so much about eternity. I had never really noticed that before. I thought about it for a moment and said, "You know, I guess the answer is that when you get down to it, i...
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February 11, 2010
With two granddaughters, I am just discovering that little girls like to dress up as princesses. Having raised two boys, I had never dealt with this. But now I know that little girls like to be princesses. This was further confirmed when I was at Disneyla...
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February 10, 2010
Normally when most people step onto a scale, they want to weigh less. But when you step onto God's scale, you want to weigh more. You want to have substance and depth and purpose and weight to your life. When Daniel confronted the wicked King Belshazzar, ...
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February 9, 2010
Sometimes we act as though everything and anything that can be done must be done while we are living here on earth. Of course, we want to make the most of our time, because we don't determine when we are born or when we die. But we do determine how we wil...
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February 8, 2010
I am navigationally challenged, so I like having a GPS to help keep me from getting lost. But I read about a Wisconsin motorist who actually ended up on a snowmobile trail because her GPS led her in the wrong direction. She ended up stuck in the snow and ...
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February 6, 2010
Not too long ago, I wrote my autobiography. People have asked me why waited so long to do it. I suppose I felt I needed to live some more life first. I also felt there were some chapters still to be written in my own life.
I heard about a 15-ye...
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February 5, 2010
The Bible has much to say about what heaven is like. First, heaven is an actual place. Jesus told His disciples, "I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). Heaven is a real place for real people, and when we get there, it will be amazing and fantastic...
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February 4, 2010
In his excellent book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn writes, "God is the only one we really long for. His presence brings satisfaction; his absence brings thirst and longing. Our longing for Heaven is a longing for God. . . ."
Heaven is th...
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February 3, 2010
When I lose my cell phone, I will get another phone and dial my number in an attempt to find it, hoping it is not on mute. Then when I hear it ringing somewhere, I will go on a search to find it. It is a single-minded, active, and diligent investigation. ...
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February 2, 2010
Ever since childhood, I have always been a fan of Disney, even more so when Walt Disney was the creative genius behind the entire Disney empire. Like many of my generation, I was raised watching The Mickey Mouse Club and The Wonderful World of D...
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February 1, 2010
When Alfred Nobel discovered an explosive element that was stronger than anything the world had known at the time, he asked a friend and Greek scholar for a word that conveyed the meaning of explosive power. The Greek word was dunamis, and Nobel na...
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January 30, 2010
There are many ways God could have come to us. He could have dropped visual images like photographs or paintings to describe what He wanted people to know.
Certainly God does speak to us, to some degree, through the testimony of nature. After ...
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January 29, 2010
If you ever have had a time when you were discouraged or unsure of what to do and a verse of Scripture suddenly came to mind—a verse you didn't remember memorizing—that came from the Holy Spirit. It might have been a passage you heard in a ser...
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January 28, 2010
There are times when you are so overwhelmed, so discouraged, or so afraid that you don't know what or how to pray. It is then the Holy Spirit will help you. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray.
Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as a Helper: "And I...
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January 27, 2010
How do people know that you are a Christian? They can't see your heart. They can't see your faith—but they can see the results of it. Jesus said, "By their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 7:20). The only way someone can determine whether you are...
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January 26, 2010
In the apostle Paul's day, when goods would be shipped from one place to another, they would be stamped with a wax seal and imprinted with a signet ring that bore a unique mark of ownership. The same was true of an important document. It would be sealed i...
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January 25, 2010
Augustine reportedly had a sign on his wall that read, "He who speaks evil of an absent man or woman is not welcome at this table." That would have ended a lot of conversations, wouldn't it?
The Bible tells us to "get rid of all bitterness, rag...
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January 23, 2010
Everyone has their likes and dislikes. I happen to like good design and a good latte. On the other hand, I don't like cell phones and bad drivers.
But here is something I really like. In fact, it's something I love.
Th...
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January 22, 2010
The worst kind of sin is the kind committed by someone who doesn't think he really is a sinner. It was Cicero who said, "Of all villainy, there is none more base than that of the hypocrite, who at the moment he is most false, takes care to appear most vir...
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January 21, 2010
It is sometimes hard for us to grasp the fact that the Holy Spirit is a Him, not an it. After all, the Bible describes the Holy Spirit as a mighty rushing wind. We read of His coming upon the disciples in a divided flame of fire. We also read about His de...
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January 20, 2010
Sometimes people ask me why I do what I do. I have a very simple answer to that question, which is that I really do believe the things that we read in the Bible are true.
For example, I really believe what the Bible says about our lives being "...
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January 19, 2010
Before there was a world, before there were planets, before there was light or darkness, before there was anything but the Godhead, there was Jesus, a member of the Trinity. He is coequal, coeternal, and coexistent with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He ...
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January 18, 2010
Some children were asked the question, "What is God like?" Ashley, age 10, said, "God is like a never-ending story that you want to read again and again. When I hear about Him, I want to know more. Although I can't see Him, I feel Him. He is perfect and p...
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January 16, 2010
It's a real challenge to reach our culture today. In my 35 years of ministry, I have never seen greater Bible illiteracy.
There was a time when you could assume most people had a general idea of the Bible. If you were talking with someone and m...
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January 15, 2010
If you want to see your prayers answered in the affirmative, if you want God to say yes to your prayers more often, then you must pray according to the will of God.
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He told them, "When you pray, say: Our...
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January 14, 2010
Without question, life is full of troubles. We have concerns about our future, concerns about our health, concerns about our family, concerns about our finances, and the list goes on. Things happen that scare us—and sometimes even terrify us. There ...
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January 13, 2010
Not only did Jesus tell us to pray, but He left us an example of prayer. We find in the Gospels that He was constantly praying. Here was God in human form walking our planet, breathing our air, and yet feeling the need to be in constant communion with His...
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January 12, 2010
To be successful as a Christian, you must have a prayer life. Prayer, simplified, is hearing from and communicating with God. There are different kinds of prayer identified in Scripture, including public prayer, private prayer, verbal prayer, and silent p...
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January 11, 2010
Why is it that some Christians succeed, while others who make a profession of faith miserably fail? Why is it that some seem to run the race of life and cross the finish line with flying colors, while others just collapse in a heap? It is because of choic...
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January 9, 2010
The Bible tells us to be "filled with the Spirit!" Have you ever wondered what that means? It may not be what you think.
We might surmise to be "filled with the Spirit" means that we will have an emotional experience. Now, it could mean that, b...
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January 8, 2010
Scientists now tell us that we never forget anything. It is estimated that in a lifetime, the human brain can store one million billion bits of information. I have a hard time believing that, because it seems like I forget a lot. Yet there have been times...
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January 7, 2010
I have noticed that as I get older, I forget things more often. There have been times when I have been looking for my reading glasses, only to find them on my head. It is kind of embarrassing. There have been times when I am looking for something that I h...
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January 6, 2010
The Bible never tries to prove the existence of God. It just starts with these words: "In the beginning God . . . (Genesis 1:1). The Bible assumes the obvious; it assumes that people know this is true. And I think it takes more faith to believe there is n...
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January 5, 2010
A. W. Tozer said, "Nothing twists and deforms the soul more than a low or unworthy conception of God." I think that is true, because if you don't understand who God is, if your view of God is warped, then it will affect you in the way that you live. We mu...
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January 4, 2010
A recent poll revealed that half of Americans who describe themselves as Christians do not believe that Satan exists, and one-third are confident that Jesus sinned while He was on Earth. Pollster George Barna concluded, "Growing numbers of people now serv...
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January 2, 2010
My life was impacted dramatically by the power of the gospel. In one single day, I completely had the direction of my life changed, for the better.
I had looked for truth and answers in this world and found none. But it was the bold, unashamed ...
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January 1, 2010
Show me a church that doesn't have a constant flow of new believers coming in, and I will show you a church that is stagnating. The first-century church was an evangelistic church, and I believe that every church that is functioning in the way God wants i...
