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The call really is to live differently
I am working my way through Leviticus… intentionally… Leviticus 18-20 and 1 Peter 1 offer similar exhortations: Where you are headed and how you succeed depends on the relationship you have with God. Live differently. You do NOT have to live like the people in that land. What 1 Peter reminds us in a very sober way is that although we haven’t…
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Being set free from Egypt
The patterns, habits, bondages of the old life don’t easily go away. There are wonderful stories of addictions that instantly leave when people come to Christ, but more often than not it takes a little more time. Israel came out of slavery and still had a lot of Egypt in them. A few days (relatively speaking) out of Egypt and…
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I’m more Israel than Moses
Israel had been in Egypt over 400 years and couldn’t wait a few days for Moses to come down the mountain with the commands of the Lord. They defaulted to what they knew: the gods of Egypt. I’m more Israel than Egypt. I don’t wait. I default. The command of the Lord is to wait. It’s not because he is…
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Too much of Egypt
You must have no other gods before me. (Ex. 20:3) The call of God to Israel was to not only be free of the outward slavery of Egypt, but to have their hearts set free as well. 400 plus years of slavery didn’t just effect their physical and mental status. It enslaved their hearts as well. The plagues on Egypt…
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Goals are dreams with deadlines — um, no
It’s a very Western saying. We tend to not like dreamers. Dreamers don’t get anything done. They sit around and, well, dream. We can’t wait that long! We need a PLAN! Dreams in the Bible were different. For Abraham, he had a dream. If he had put a deadline on it, he would have settled with Ishmael. For Joseph,…
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In this world we are like Jesus
This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. (I Jn. 4:17) I know I could sure do a better job of THAT! We need to rise to this challenge as the body of Christ. Now, more than ever. There is nothing to fear in…
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My lifelong love of Scriptures
I was reflecting on some key moments in my own life when the study of Scripture had a tremendous impact on my life with a class yesterday. Then the thought hit me, “EVERY significant shift in my life happened out of studying the Word.” Shifts in ministry emphasis, where I did ministry, key decision points… prayer and the Scriptures were…
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Online Bible Resources
Occasionally when I add in a text reference I link the text to Biblegateway.com. I am part of their “blog gridder” team, which means… well… I have no idea what it means. Just a badge to put on my blog and make me look cool. But Biblegateway is an excellent tool for online Bible resources. I use it to compare…
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The silence of God isn’t always the approval of God
We really make a mistake when we make an argument for silence on behalf of God. We think it means… well… whatever we want it to mean. Because, quite frankly, we may not know. But we may be in danger of living “on the edge” in disobedience and find out the silence of God has an end point… and that end…
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Tested by Fire
Over the past several weeks we have been in prayer for a missionary friends who has battled for his life. There are so many spiritual elements in the equation and the prayers of the saints have truly carried on a spiritual war. So much is at stake. It’s the life of a missionary. It’s a closed country. It’s the lives…
Category: Bible Study
