It was a Sunday morning of my writing weekend. I had just finished a rather good word count and went back and forth about debating whether or not to miss my church’s new series on Jesus, but figured I could catch it on the web. So I flipped through the channels of the hotel television, stopping on a choir singing. Not my typical church service. I like my music more contemporary, but thought I’d give it a try. Then a suited man stepped to the podium. Again, not my typical service. My pastor is usually dressed casual and in the summer often wears sandals.
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What do you spend your time thinking about? We live in a society filled with many fun distractions: television shows that are designed to keep us watching, movies, Facebook, blogging, books to read. There is always something to do, something we can choose to think about.
Lately, I have have been convicted about the little amount of time I actually spend thinking about the things of God. Often I am so preoccupied with reading a good book or keeping up with my favorite television show, that I don’t spend much time reading God’s Word or praying.
Paul reminds us in Romans 8:
5.For
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Written on
March 23, 2010 by
Deb in
Blog
Do you love March Madness? We do! Round ball is in our genes. I am not an athlete. I am a sports fan, and I love the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Have you filled out your bracket? Chosen your favorite teams? Is your team still playing or did a loss end their journey to the Final Four?
Have you ever thought about why it is that a highly ranked team can get knocked out of the tournament in an early round? I believe it’s often because they are anticipating the more difficult games, and look right past the opponent that is considered to be less of a challenge.
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You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. Psalm 18:35 NIV
You are lounging on the couch when the doorbell rings. Not expecting anyone, you are surprised and run to the door to see who is there. With windows running down either side of the door, you can easily view the visitor. But it is not just one. There are hundreds of visitors at your door. Your skin crawls with dread as you see line after line of men in full military dress armed with guns. You do not recognize their insignia – they are not on your side, and from the looks of their faces, they are not happy.
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Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offering you did not require. Then I said, “Here I am, I have come- it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; Your law is in my heart. Psalm 40:6-8
I have been thinking about this passage lately. God does not long for us to perform religious rituals if they are done out of obligation or duty. He wants our love and devotion. In Exodus 21:6-7 God gives instructions to His people as to what they should do if a Hebrew slave desires to remain with his master forever not accepting freedom after serving for six years.
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I’ve been around some Christians who seem to be constantly living in defeat. They are always reminding themselves (and me) what sinners we are and how undeserving we are. They seem to be in a perpetual state of sadness over their sins. We are a sinful people, but isn’t it rather depressing to say that and just stay there? Don’t forget there is more to the story.
I am convinced that the difference between living in victory and drowning in defeat is where we choose to put our focus. We are sinners who are saved by God’s amazing grace. Are we focusing on who we are or on what Christ has done?
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Written on
March 9, 2010 by
Mary in
Blog
Our house here is situated on the lot so the front of the house faces east and the rear (where the kitchen and family room are) faces west. I miss the wonderful southern exposure of our home in Portland; the main areas of the house were bright all the time, which was important to me when half the days were gray!
When we bought this house long-distance (after spending maybe 10 minutes in it) I thought the east/west thing would work out ok here though because there is so much more sunlight to begin with. What I didn’t take into account is between the porch overhang in the front and the patio in the back, there isn’t all that much natural light inside for most of the day.
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Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 NIV
My mom loves to shop. Now I know a lot of people love to shop but not like my mother. Shopping to my mother means finding the absolutely lowest price on the absolutely best product. If you meet someone in my family and compliment something they are wearing, they are likely to tell you the story of how they got it and what a bargain it was.
You must understand this about my mother to understand how her wildest dream came true. K-mart was going out of business.
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