Praise the King

Praise the King God is Sovereign now. God is King of all the earth now. However, for a limited period of time, He is allowing rebellion against Himself, but He controls the extent and specifics of that revolt. For believers, the Kingdom of God is inside us, and we have a King. We eagerly await…

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Encourage the Encourager

Has someone encouraged you? Do they know? Encouragement is an awesome gift. Sometimes someone’s encouraging words keep you going, give you strength in a hard spot, or make the difference between giving up and succeeding. But do they know they helped? You can encourage the encourager by telling them.  Maybe the encourager thinks what they…

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Be Intentionally Encouraging

A mother fox and her cub in a grassy field.

The Bible tells us to encourage others.  Encourage one another and build up one another.  (1 Thessalonians 5:11) Encourage one another day after day.  (Hebrews 3:13)  The Bible also tells us to think about how to encourage.  Consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.  (Hebrews 10:24)  How to be Intentionally Encouraging One: We are…

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Jesus is in the Boat with You

Two people in a canoe in the ocean.

Q. When the disciples were in a great storm on the sea, the boat was being covered with waves, and they thought they were perishing, where was Jesus? A. Jesus was in the boat with them.  (Matthew 8:23-27) Q. When Simon Peter, James, and John had been fishing all night without catching anything, Jesus got into Simon’s…

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Praise the Judge

Praise the Judge Almighty God knows everything about what each of us believe, and everything about what we have thought, said, and done. He is holy and will judge righteously. There will be one standard–His. No one is going to get away with anything. There will be no excuses.  The horrors, the evil deeds, of…

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Feeling Inadequate?

A group of people standing in the middle of a desert.

Do you have a list of goals for this new year? How confident are you that you will be able to achieve your goals? Of course, you may have set unreasonable goals, or too many goals, or goals that aren’t consistent with the Lord’s plans for you. But for a goal the Lord has given…

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How to Be Put into Service

A desk with two laptops and a vase of tulips.

Do you feel that God has put you on a shelf? Do you wish you could be of service to Him? If Godhas put you on a shelf, there is a loving reason for it. For example, you may need a rest or you may need more time in the Word and prayer. And you are…

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The Dangers of an Easy Life

A river flows through a snow covered mountain range.

If I were God, my life would be easy. I’d be satisfied with my relationships, my resources, my activities. I would be spared trouble. But I’m not God (duh!) and an easy life would not be good for me. The Dangers of an Easy Life Self-Sufficiency Did you catch the use of “my” in the…

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Redeem the Time

The tail of a humpback whale in the ocean.

Redeem the Tine Long ago, I memorized Ephesians 5:15-16, and seared in my memory was: “Redeem the time, for the days are evil.” I interpreted that (wrongly—see below) as a time (clock) management command. The word in Ephesians 5:16 translated “time” is kairos, which means era, season, or opportunity. The word for clock time is kronis. Maybe that difference wouldn’t…

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Praise I AM

A tree and milky in the night sky.

Praise I AM God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—has progressively revealed Himself to us. To Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He showed Himself as God Almighty. (Exodus 6:3) It wasn’t until Moses that He declared His name to be Yahweh, I AM. I AM WHO I AM. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to…

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