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Dream with Me
I sat with a young man working with InterVarsity in Duluth, MN this morning. We dreamed some big dreams together as I listened to a young man caught up in the call of God and longing to impact students lives that can make a difference in the decades to come in the fields of science and math. Huge dreams. Yesterday…
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Are you SURE you are ready to pray?
3 The voice of the LORD echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The LORD thunders over the mighty sea. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic. 5 The voice of the LORD splits the mighty cedars; the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip…
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The Capacity of Growth in the Kingdom of God
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matt. 6:14-15, NLT) These are a couple of verse we like to skip when we go through the Lord’s Prayer, but they are two of the most important, especially within the context…
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Pray Furiously
My reading through Psalms this morning brought me to some passionate prayers again. I then thought of a friend I spoke with yesterday who is going through a hard spot and I began to pray. Then this thought dropped into my heart: “Pray furiously.” It can be to pray “with anger.” But another definition of “furious” is “full of activity.…
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God’s Amazing Ability to Answer Prayer
When we pray with more shameless audacity (Luke 11:8, NIV), it is amazing how many more coincidences happen in our lives.
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Shameless Prayer
5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story:”Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother…
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The Nature of the Kingdom
What I tell my church constantly (which is what I learned from Dallas Willard) is this: The nature of the Kingdom is to ASK. What is it you need? What is it you lack? ASK. I love the New Living Translation on Matthew 7:7-8 7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and…
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This is an EASY Thing for God
2 Kings 3:14-19 Elisha prophesied for Joram, not out of any love for the man, but out of respect for Jehoshaphat. The trouble was Moab and Joram wanted to know if they were going to be okay. The thought that stands out for me is this: “This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord.” (v. 18, NIV)…
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Great Followers of God Still Get It Wrong
Hezekiah was one who followed God to a greater degree than most kings before him. His story begins in 2 Kings 18. He not only follows God and does what is right, but he tears down the high places. He finally got rid of the bronze serpent Moses had used in the wilderness. There is this great tribute to his…
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Half Baked Asking
Compare two stories about asking in 2 Kings. In the first story we have Elisha. Elijah asks him what he wanted and Elisha immediately stated boldly, “A double portion.” He wanted the inheritance of the first born. He wanted the legacy of Elijah to rest with him. Bold. Decisive. The second story is the end of Elisha’s life and Jehoash…