A friend called and told me that she struggled with online pornography. Isn’t that something only men struggle with? She told me she’d reached out to her small group the previous year, and very gingerly she’d begun the discussion by saying that perhaps women can wrestle with this temptation…
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I always felt it strange that God needed to command us to love him. (It is the first and greatest of all commandments.) Now I see better. When God calls us to love him as our "first love," it is not only because he deserves to hold that place in…
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The Hebrew word for "whisper," demamah, can be translated "silence" or "stillness" or "calmness." Simon and Garfunkel weren't far off the title of the 1964 hit single, "The Sound of Silence." The same Hebrew word is used to describe the way God delivers us from our distress: "He stilled the…
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The most important facet of all my research and practice is individual choice. The moment people recognize the power of their minds – the individuality of their thinking and how they have control over their lives – they are truly able to transform their world. When people see themselves the…
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Grace-full moments. We can't live without them. When we extend grace to others, despite our flaws and weaknesses, we reflect something of the very nature and character of Christ. With grace, sin becomes the enemy, not people. What was it that enabled Paul to endure such sinful opposition and rotten…
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For the follower of Jesus Christ, death is "moving from one place to another" – like moving from the frozen tundra of the arctic circle to the sun-kissed beaches of Hawaii. Paul described a Christian's change of location at death: being "absent from the body" means being "at home with…
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For those of us in the southern part of the country, the last few weeks have been all about hurricanes. Harvey and Irma turned people’s lives upside down. In the aftermath, however, an unexpected secret to happiness can be seen. As scores of volunteers, many from churches, flooded into the…
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Going “Beast Mode” is a good thing in a full-contact sport. If you are a Seattle Seahawks fan, you most likely love the nickname “Beast Mode,” which has become something of modern sports mythology. The term was coined when Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch ripped off a stunning sixty-seven-yard touchdown…
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It is important to take a good, hard look at what you believe. Afterward you must confront yourself, and you must confront your giant -- your Goliath who stands at the entrance of your personal promised land, taunting you, defeating you, and threatening to keep you from reaching your potential.…
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When we live by religion, or works-based righteousness, we are never sure when God is pleased with our behavior. We are never certain that we are loved. How do you know when you've been good enough if His acceptance of us is based on our behavior? The motivating fuels to…
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