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We’re Never Going to be Happy… Or Get It Right
We keep getting books and articles on what is wrong with this church or that church. With the Catholic Church about to select a new pope, we get the rehashing of what is wrong with the Catholic Church. So, here is my conclusion: we’re just not happy. Someone may say, “I like this church tradition because they allow _________________________, but don’t…
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When All Seems Well, It May Be a Time to Seek God MORE
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new record high. It finished above it’s previous high in 2007, which was right before the huge slump and we went into an economic tailspin. So… all is well again. Yet, there is a sense that it’s not “all well.” We put our gauges on the wrong meters and think everything is “normal.”…
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The Place of Freedom
31 Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teaching. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32, CEB) “Truth” is not an acknowledgement of something. We will find freedom when we are faithful to follow Christ. Truth is found in following, not racking up…
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Book Review: What Jesus Started
Steve Addison’s book, What Jesus Started, was sent to me for review by IVP. It is a book that repeats itself, and for once, that’s a good thing. There are books that repeat themselves because they need to fill up pages. Addison does so to reinforce the main points over and over, but using different applications to drive the point home. And…
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The Funeral for Bookstores Has Long Passed
At my age, living in two worlds of digital and print, I lament one passing as I try and embrace another medium. There is an advantage to BOTH, but it’s a world that is not allowing “both” very well anymore. My wife and I were traveling through Des Moines, Iowa yesterday so we stopped at a Christian bookstore that was…
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A Prayer for Revival and Reform
14 Please come back, God of heavenly forces! Look down from heaven and perceive it! Attend to this vine, 15 this root that you planted with your strong hand, this son whom you secured as your very own. 16 It is burned with fire. It is chopped down. They die at the rebuke coming from you. 17 Let your hand be with the one…
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Revival or Reform?
Something rattling around in my brain lately has been the question: Do I ask for “revival” or “reformation?” Jeremiah helps me out on this one: 3 This is what the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: Improve your conduct and your actions, and I will dwell with you in this place.4 Don’t trust in lies: “This is the Lord’s temple! The Lord’s temple!…
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The Need to be WITH God
3 Restore us, God! Make your face shine so that we can be saved! (Ps. 80:3, CEB) We need the face of God to shine on us once again. We need HIS will in our lives once again. Lent is a time for evaluation. It is a period of examination. We come up short so often. We find failure in our…
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Swine Over the Savior
I believe it was a message by Loren Cunningham (founder of Youth With a Mission) I heard years ago speaking about choosing “swine over the Savior.” It was the story of the demoniac in Mark 5. The demoniac was a real problem in that area, but when Jesus healed the man, the people of the region weren’t so happy. Jesus…
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When the Word of God is Offensive… We’re in Trouble
10 To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. (Jer. 5:10, NIV) When we quit listening to the Word of God because we don’t find it “to our taste,” we’re in trouble. We’re looking for pleasure in…
