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Get Away from Sloppy Worship
6 A son honors a father,and a servant honors his master.But if I’m a father, where is my honor?Or if I’m a master, where is my respect?says the Lord of heavenly forcesto you priests who despise my name.So you say, “How have we despised your name?”7 By approaching my altar with polluted food.But you say, “How have we polluted it[b]?”When…
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You Need a Good Scrubbing
There are times when kids go out to play and you call them in for supper. You look quickly at them as say, “Go wash up.” Mainly, we mean, “Wash your hands.” (Which also means we will check them again when they get to the table and make them REALLY wash their hands.) Then there are times when the kids…
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Wanting Revival Without Repentance
Our American Christianity has a difficult time reading God into bad news. Bad news is usually “our fault.” It’s not God trying to get our attention. “That is not the God I know.” (Or some similar line.) We want the promises without the pain of getting rid of the junk we have in our lives. Reading through the Book of…
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Keeping It Simple: Just Do What He Says
9 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims: Make just and faithful decisions; show kindness and compassion to each other! 10 Don’t oppress the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; don’t plan evil against each other! 11 But they refused to pay attention. They turned a cold shoulder and stopped listening. 12 They steeled their hearts against hearing the…
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Longevity
He who finds a wife finds what is good, gaining favor from the Lord. (Prov. 18:22, CEB) I have been at my current church for 14 years. It has been a wonderful journey. I have believed in longevity as a pastor. I about have that down, so I better be learning all that other stuff now! My wife and I…
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Refusing God’s Best
We are the human race and it is our demise that we keep thinking WE know better than God. We keep contorting our philosophies and theologies to what brings comfort to us. The short work of Haggai has a phrase repeated that needs to be shouted to us once again, especially as the people of God: So now, this is…
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The Response of Silence
As I have been on this Blog Tour with the Common English Bible, I have enjoyed some of the interesting choices in translation. The past few days I have been in the Old Testament, so I am finding a few more word choices that intrigue me. I am reading Tozer’s classic The Pursuit of God and the current chapter is…
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The Righteous Shall Live By…
This is one of those times when comparing translations has a bit of a jolt for me. I am in Habakkuk for this Sunday’s message, so I run into Hab. 2:4. I usually use the NIV and the CEB. I am also using Logos to do some exegetical work, though I’m just not a Hebrew scholar. NIV: 4 “See, the…
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Scared Spitless
That means really scared. Habakkuk had that experience. His small book is look inside his prayer journal. At first, he seems pretty ferocious. He’s upset with God. The wicked are getting away with murder, blah, blah, blah. “I’m just going to give God a piece of my mind and see what he does with that!” 2 Lord, how long will…
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Do We Have What It Takes?
5 Those who put their strength in you are truly happy;pilgrimage is in their hearts.6 As they pass through the Baca Valley,they make it a spring of water.Yes, the early rain covers it with blessings.7 They go from strength to strength,until they see the supreme God in Zion. (Psalm 84:5-7, CEB) Life simply overwhelms us. The pace of life crushes…
Category: Common English Bible
