Monthly Archives: November 2017

Life or Death Decision

A few things, fortunately only a few, are matters of life and death, such as a compass for a sea voyage or a guide for a journey across the desert. To ignore these vital things is not to gamble or take a chance; it is to commit suicide. Here it … Continue reading

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The Glue of God

Romans 5:8 (NIV) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Man is born broke. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue. — Eugene O’Neill Today’s Best Illustrations  Volume 5, (Carol Stream, IL: Christianity Today, 1997), … Continue reading

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NOT TO BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED

2 Corinthians 4:3 (NIV) And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The gospel is too readily heard and taken for granted, as though it contained no unsettling news and no unwelcome threat… It is a truth that has been flattened, trivialized, and … Continue reading

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You don’t always get what you want. Get what you need–Jesus Christ.

Christmas has absolutely destroyed [the real] understanding of the Good News. It’s trained people to believe that Christianity is fundamentally about giving and receiving and that our happiness is in giving and getting what we want. But, in fact, the best Christmases are often the ones in which one doesn’t … Continue reading

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Using the Wrong Map

The world is poor because her fortune is buried in the sky and all her treasure maps are of the earth. — Calvin Miller Hebrews 11:26 (NIV) He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to … Continue reading

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What slips through your fingers–you can’t take with you.

Mark 10:25 (NIV) It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. God divided the hand into fingers so that money could slip through. — Martin Luther Today’s Best Illustrations Volume 5, (Carol Stream, … Continue reading

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Kindness & Compassion through Jesus Christ

Zechariah 7:9 (NIV)  “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. ” Every act of kindness and compassion done by any man for his fellow Christian is done by Christ working within him. — Julian of Norwich Today’s Best Illustrations, Volume … Continue reading

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Contending with Fear

The Incarnation is the place… where hope contends with fear. — Kathleen Norris Matthew 1:23 (NIV) “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.” Today’s Best Illustrations “ Volume 5, (Carol Stream, IL: Christianity Today, … Continue reading

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Self-discipline

Beware of saying, “I haven’t time to read the Bible, or to pray”; say rather, “I haven’t disciplined myself to do these things.” –  Oswald Chambers Mark 1:35 (NIV) Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a … Continue reading

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Standard for the Truth

John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ” The best way to show a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight … Continue reading

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