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The Pharisee in all of us
The incredible danger in my life is the lurking of the Pharisee. Reading the Common English Bible helps me identify that ugliness a bit better. Jesus told this parable to certain people who had convinced themselves that they were righteous and who looked on everyone else with disgust… (Luke 18:9) I am tempted in this way. It’s that attitude I…
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Praying the prayers of Paul over people
There are times when I need more than, “Lord, just bless them,” as I pray for people. There are needs to pray for in people’s lives, to be sure, but there are BLESSINGS to pray into people’s lives as well. Colossians 1:9-14 has a beautiful prayer to pray on behalf of others. I have found it to be a great…
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To rejoice in the Lord
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. (Phil 4:4) Rejoicing is not always a frantic shout-fest, trying to spin up frothing emotion. It is a state of deep content. Deep joy doesn’t have to shout. Last night I took my wife to one of our favorite restaurants and we shared a fabulous steak, along with some amazing…
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Am I simply doing what Jesus asked?
I often worry over “right numbers” or “right moments.” The right moment is found in hearing the call of God and obeying. Right numbers? Forget it. God isn’t bothered by ANY number. Just get going in what he has asked you to do! 18 Jesus asked, “What is God’s kingdom like? To what can I compare it? 19 It’s like a mustard seed that someone…
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The perseverance of prayer
My goal this year is to attempt to re-read some key books that have influenced my life and to slow down on the number of books I read this year to try to read deeper. I am not sure how the “slower” is going to go, but I did finish Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain as my first book. If I do a…
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When the pressure mounts, the answer usually is…
When the pressure mounts in our lives the assumed answer, or the “default” answer, might be: “Do something!” or “Fix it!” or “Worry more!” But generally, when the pressure mounts, the answer is probably… pray. Ask and keep on asking. Seek and keep on seeking. Knock and keep on knocking.
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Withdrawal is not the same as retreat
Several years ago I was sharing with a historian in our denomination my work on the monks of the 4th Century in Egypt and what I was learning about their “Pentecostal” experience. He dismissed it quickly, saying that he wasn’t interested in people who retreated from culture and the world instead of engaging it. We really need to give up…
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The Prayer Problem
Over the years I have worked hard to maintain a commitment to study of the Scriptures. I will visit passages over and over. I find different ways to make my way methodically through Scripture, trying hard not to “skim over” places. I know it happens, so I’ve tried to dedicate my life to continually plowing through so I can make…
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Does Jesus know you showed up?
Luke 8 has the story of the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. It’s a great story of “pressing in” (literally) to Jesus. The question that comes to my heart today is this: “Are you so passionate about prayer that Jesus knows you just showed up?” All the people pressing in, Jesus knew something happened when the woman touched him.…
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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…
Tag: Prayer
