God tells the prophet Jeremiah to make this grand pledge to Israel. God has a message for His wayward people. He makes good on His first promise of the land, but it means so, so much more than that. The Lord God makes a greater promise, a promise to be with His…
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The submarine is an amazing vessel. It would collapse like a paper cup under the extraordinary pressure placed on its hull if not for the internal pressure that equalizes the pressure from outside. Faith in our lives does not exempt us from external pressure. Faith ensures that the power of the…
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Sometimes you don't choose the fight – the fight chooses you. When I was in elementary school, I got into a fight. The class was bullied by a girl named Jean who had a bowl haircut. She just brought fear with her everywhere she went. Finally one day I said,…
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Over the past decade, it has been refreshing to see Christians have a greater awareness of people's thoughts and feelings. Rather than quickly judging and labeling people, they take time to listen to their stories and consider their hurts and desires. This is a good thing. In so doing, however,…
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When you do trust in Christ, you become a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). In other words, you are no longer defined by what you've done in the past. God is not judging you for your mistakes; he’s forgiven and forgotten them (Ps. 103:12). But how are you defining yourself?…
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I spent years hiding from the pain that sexual abuse and rape brought to my life. Because I didn't deal with the pain, the pain had a way of dealing with me. It manifested in extraordinarily low self-esteem and made me vulnerable to dysfunctional relationships. Eventually, as my life unraveled,…
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Knowing that all those who “arrive” have to begin where they are, I choose to begin now. At this moment, I will do something. For too long, I have allowed fearful thoughts to dominate my life. Now I recognize fear as a misuse of the creative imagination that has been…
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Another New Year. Another chance to make resolutions merely to be broken before winter thaws. Such is the human condition. We look to the newness with hope, but give up as soon as weakness causes us to stumble. By summer, we’ve completely forgotten about that promise we made to ourselves…
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We are approaching the celebration of the greatest gift God ever offered – the birth of our Savior the Lord Jesus. Through this gift, all mankind can receive forgiveness and fullness in this lifetime, as well as eternal life. God so loved all of us that He not only offered…
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I woke up and reached over to the bedside table for my phone to see what time it was. It was just three o’clock in the morning. I groaned. I slipped out of bed as quietly as I could. I didn’t want to wake my husband, or our three little…
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