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Go ahead… be a “Scrooge”
“Be a Scrooge” has a bad connotation. But that would also miss the whole story, wouldn’t it? Maybe “being a Scrooge” could also be someone who is capable of change. That may mean hitting some horrifying event to wake up, but nevertheless, change happens. So, go ahead… be a “Scrooge.” It’s up to you as to which stage of that…
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The Way of the Father
5 Next the devil led him to a high place and showed him in a single instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 The devil said, “I will give you this whole domain and the glory of all these kingdoms. It’s been entrusted to me and I can give it to anyone I want. 7 Therefore, if you will worship me, it will all…
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Oh, the places you’ll go
Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. 2 There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving. (Luke 4:1-2) FULL of the Spirit, Jesus is led BY the Spirit… into the wilderness. There are places the Spirit will…
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Generosity
The ability to live a generous life has nothing to do with an income level. Paul gives this testimony about the church in Macedonia: While they were being tested by many problems, their extra amount of happiness and their extreme poverty resulted in a surplus of rich generosity. (2 Cor. 8:2) When I was growing up I had no idea…
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Simeon and Anna — Waiting on God
When I was in college one of my professors told of a missions teaching trip he had made to India. Near where he was staying were several small caves where those following Hinduism would go for silence and prayer. He decided to hike into that area one day and out of curiosity found a cave and began to make his…
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Lord, give us ears to hear
One way (possibly) to express what the word of God means in full (besides getting so narrow to say it means only the Bible) is this passage in Amos: 9 On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your feasts into sad affairs and all your singing…
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Surprised by answered prayer
Luke 1 begins with the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were getting along in years and had no children. It was a constant prayer, but one that by this time they offered up without much hope. Then, the answer comes. 13 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayers have been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to…
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The Anticipation of the Season
32 “But nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Only the Father knows. 33 Watch out! Stay alert! You don’t know when the time is coming. 34 It is as if someone took a trip, left the household behind, and put the servants in charge, giving each one a job to do, and told…
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The Pope, Pentecostals, and the Gospel
Dale Coulter gives a Pentecostal critique of the Pope’s exhortation, “The Gospel of Joy.” Again, the huge temptation is to focus on one small section concerning the Pope’s critique of greed in capitalism, but there is so much more in this exhortation. One particular paragraph I am meditating on: The pursuit of an equality of status at all costs produces a radical…
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The frivolous and the fundamental
I am taking up regular Advent reading (HERE), but I am also continuing my regular reading pattern I began just before Advent. That reading has me in Mark 12 today (for my Gospel reading). Also, don’t forget you can follow Advent through some good devotional resources HERE. As Jesus’ time on earth is drawing to a close, the intensity of…
Category: Advent
