Persistence pays! It’s that catchy little slogan that I’m sure most of us have heard throughout our lives! It’s what your parents told you as they encouraged you to hang in there and keep at something until you mastered it. The fact is, persistence DOES pay, as I will share with you. Continue reading
Count it All Joy…
The book of James, Chapter 1:2-4 says “My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
What in the world is James talking about? This doesn’t sound like something human nature is even capable of. No one enjoys going through adversity. It is not an idea that makes sense. Even Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, prayed that the coming adversity would pass from Him.
Posted in God's Lessons, The Will of God, Trusting God
Tagged faith, Holy Spirit, Jesus, temptation, trials
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Loving the Invisible God
“To know, know, know him, is to love, love, love him…” Remember that old song? It’s a 1958 single by the Teddy Bears. It wasn’t written about God, but I like to use it about God.
We humans are very tied to our natural world, what we can see, touch, smell and hear. We very much depend on the concrete things in life. Invisible things are too intangible for most humans. The debate about the existence of God has been going on since the beginning of time, and it continues to this day. Many cannot fathom an invisible God they cannot see, touch, smell and hear, a God outside of their natural senses.
Who was Rahab?
I have been writing a lot here lately about the righteousness imputed to us by God and His generous grace. Something came up recently in a conversation about Rahab and I had to go and re-read her story. Her life is a great example of the great forgiveness and redemption plan of our God. Continue reading
Posted in Position of Man in the Plan of God, What God Sees
Tagged faith, Jericho, Rahab, redemption
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Sin Consciousness
As humans, we find it so easy to find fault with other people. We are always, in our own presumptive minds, and thinking ourselves so wise, able to see what THEY need to change, but ourselves….well, not so much. You may not be guilty of this, but I certainly am. Continue reading
Posted in God's Lessons, God's Power, Position of Man in the Plan of God
Tagged Jesus, redemption, sin
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But I still sin!
If your sin bothers you, you have come to the right place! The true believer is grieved by their sin, and looking for a way out!
In some Christian circles, it is still fashionable to say, “I’m just a sinner, saved by grace.” Personally, I think that may just be a religious statement meant to sound humble. Sounds good, but is it true? Continue reading
How does God present me faultless?
A scripture that always befuddled me several years ago was Jude 1:24. “Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,..” I had so much sin consciousness then. How was it possible for God to present me faultless? I am not without fault. I sin…sometimes a lot. I’m not talking about smoking, or drinking or cussing. I’m talking about attitude sins, how I treat others. I miss the mark all the time. How is it possible for God to present me faultless?
Posted in Position of Man in the Plan of God, What God Sees
Tagged cross, grace, Jesus, salvation, sin
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Knowing God’s Ways
The first generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt were familiar with God’s acts. He did miraculous signs among them. When Moses was pleading with Pharaoh to let them go from Egypt, they saw 10 different plagues come on Egypt. Water turned into blood, the land was covered with frogs, then gnats; livestock died, boils showed up on the people, an unusual hailstorm destroyed the food, locusts covered the land, an unusual darkness came and finally, the firstborn of the Egyptians died, while Israel’s was spared. Many of these could be attributed to natural disasters, rather than God’s power, but they were the ways that God dealt with Pharaoh for his rebellion. Read Exodus 7-10.
Posted in God's Lessons, God's Power, Relationship with God, The Will of God, Trusting God
Tagged Egyptians, Israel, miracles, Red Sea
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Is Forgiving Yourself Necessary?
The self help movement has infiltrated church teachings. If you are not a LOVER of the word of God, you most likely will fall for lies. I believe the whole concept of forgiving yourself is one of them. I have heard this talked about a lot through the years.
Forgiving YOURSELF is not in the Scriptures. Please hear me out. Jesus never commanded it; the apostle Paul never talked about it. What IS in the Scriptures is GOD’S forgiveness that was obtained for you through Jesus’ sacrifice. BIG difference.
Posted in God's Power, Relationship with God
Tagged bible, forgiveness, Hebrews, Romans
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What does it mean to be made righteous?
I was listening to Pastor Joseph Prince talk about Abraham and how he sort of lied to Abimelech the king about his wife Sarah. The story is in Genesis Chapter 20. Abraham was afraid the men of the land would kill him to get his wife, so he told the king that Sarah was his sister (she was a half sister, so it was not entirely a lie, but he left out the wife part). The next thing we see is God appearing to King Abimelech in a dream saying “You are a dead man for taking Abraham’s wife.” The king did not know Sarah was Abraham’s wife, so it’s hard to fault him for the situation. But God gets on his case. We wait to see if he says anything to Abraham, but we never see it. I’ve always wondered about that situation. Pastor Prince said he thought God was getting onto the wrong guy. I tend to agree!
Posted in Position of Man in the Plan of God
Tagged Abraham, bible, Joseph Prince, righteousness, Sarah
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Dogtags and Pearls...the plain and the precious 