I am REDEEMED by God

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What comes to mind when you hear the word “redeem?”  Redeeming a coupon at the checkout to get a few cents off your grocery bill?  Well, I don’t think that is the concept God was going for in our focus statement today — I am REDEEMED by God.   Before we can truly appreciate being “redeemed by God”, we need … Read More

I am JUSTIFIED by God

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“I am JUSTIFIED by God” “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”(Galatians … Read More

Where’s Your JOY?!

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In a devotional I read recently, I was impacted by a quote by John Piper — “The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It’s a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God.” I think so many times people limit the work of Christ on the … Read More

What’s in Your Cup?

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I’ve heard it said that when you bump a cup, what’s in it spills out.  That’s what came to mind this morning as I  was reading in 2 Kings this morning.   Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD.”Then he had him ride along in his chariot. (2 Kings 10:16). Zeal in the Hebrew language … Read More

Tear Down the Walls

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Have you ever had a passage be so familiar to you that, in the “knowing”, you lose the meaning and the purpose for which the passage was written?  That was the case for me as I read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 this morning in one of the devotional plans I have been reading.  I think that as humans, we sometimes tend … Read More

Faith has a Tattletale

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“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.” ~~Galatians 5:6~~ In a devotional that was part of a YouVersion reading plan I did recently (Letters of Paul: 30-day Reading Plan) a comment was made that hit me hard. “Grace sounds too good to be true; so we go back to trying to earn … Read More

Loud and Clear

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As I was studying this morning, I heard from God LOUD and CLEAR.  You know, I have always wanted to do “God’s will for my life”, yet the concept of “God’s will for me” has remained such an elusive mystery, despite the many times I’ve asked God to reveal it to me.  The “not knowing” has left me feeling rather … Read More

Where’s Your Joy Now?

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In a reading plan I’m currently doing with my niece, I’ve been reading through the Letters of Paul.  Today I was to read Galatians 4.  After I initially read that chapter in the NASB, l was prompted by the Spirit to read it again in The International Children’s Bible.  As I read, God used this version to really shine a … Read More

You Got a New Outfit!

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Something I read in David Platt’s book Follow Me set my mind to thinking.  His statement was: “The fruit of following Jesus is a new heart with a new mind, new desires,  a new will, a new way of relating to people around you, and a new purpose.” Well, I’ve been in the church long enough that I wasn’t surprised … Read More

Define Beauty

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“Your adornment must not be merely the external–braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on apparel;but it should be the hidden person of the heart,with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit,which is precious in the sight of God.”~~1 Peter 3:3-4~~ As I read this passage this morning about Peter saying beauty isn’t just external, my first … Read More