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No Longer Fearful Part 1
Fear. The stomach-twisting, suffocating, heart-pounding sensation that can grip you at the most inopportune of moments. Sometimes it’s just this nagging voice in the back of your mind that you’re able to push aside as you go through life. We’ve all experienced it, because fear is part of living in a fallen world. Fear-inducing circumstances either have or will occur for each of us at some point in time. If you’re prone to fear (anyone else out there with a really big imagination? I see the hands going up!) then this can be a more than usually intense battle. The “what ifs” can flood in and really mess with your…
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Set Up a Stone
“Father, why is this pile of stones here by the river?” the little boy lifted up a questioning face to his father. The man glanced down at his son and smiled. “To remind us of how the Lord Jehovah brought us into the land. He made the waters of Jordan to part, so that we passed over on dry ground.” The little boy clutched his father’s hand more tightly. “Like He did at the Red Sea?” “Yes, like that. The priests carried the ark into the river first. As long they held the ark in the middle of Jordan, the Lord kept the water back. He has done many great…
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His Goodness
“And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth (Exodus 34:6).” We serve a good God. In His character, and in His ways, He is always good. This truth comforts us as we see the evil in this world; sustains us in times of trouble, and stirs gratitude in our hearts as we observe His goodness toward us in things little and great. And, it gives us hope as we anticipate the day when He will restore all things to their state at creation—when everything He made will again be very good. His Character is…
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His Grace
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Full of grace—what an amazing and true description of our Savior! Grace is a word we hear often. It appears frequently throughout Scripture. It’s repeated in the words of our hymns. Rarely does someone present the Gospel without mentioning grace. Yet what exactly is grace? How is our Savior gracious and how has He manifested this grace to us? Grace is “the free and unmerited love and favor of God; the spring and source of all the benefits…
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His Faithfulness
Hi there, friends! As believers, we recognize the need for faith. We realize that “without faith, it is impossible to please Him (Heb. 11:6).” We’re aware that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).” But have you ever thought about the fact that our faith would be utterly vain and meaningless if it were not for the faithfulness of the One we trust? The object of faith determines its value. I’ve seen pictures of a single log bridge over a jungle canyon. I might declare that I have complete faith in that log, but if the log is rotten, then my confidence does me…
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What Are You Careful About? Part 2
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6). What should you do when worry presses down on you, when your heart is tempted to become “careful?” In the previous post, we talked about carefulness, and how God commands us to be careful for nothing but to pray in everything! In today’s post, I’d like to delve a bit deeper into this topic of prayer and supplication. By Prayer and Supplication We know the promise following this verse—however, God gave that promise after He also gave a command. He commands us to, “by prayer and…
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What Are You Careful About? Part 1
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6). As I’ve studied through the book of Philippians, I’ve been blessed countless times by the rich but oh-so practical truth contained in that book! As someone who tends to worry, the Lord has been lovingly, tenderly teaching me to trust Him. This is a lesson that I doubt I’ll ever be through learning till heaven, 😊but I’ve learned that there is victory over crippling fear! God is so good to remind me that He has not given me the spirit of fear, but of power, and…
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Whatsoever Things Part 4
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8). Whatsoever Things Are of Good Report The phrase “of good report” indicates something that is coming to you from the outside, seeking to influence your thinking. So many voices speaking to us every day! So many “reports”, information we must sort through and choose what to dwell on. The average person has more than 6,000 individual thoughts each day! While we cannot always control what…
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Whatsoever Things Part 3
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8).” Whatsoever Things are Pure “Purity” is a beautiful word. It conjures up the image of white, unsullied snow; of sparkling, clear water; of a snowdrop against a background of brown mud–something clean and undefiled, both inside and outside. We live in a world that is full of impurity in many forms. It assaults our ears, eyes, and mind constantly. Yet, within every believer lives the…
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Whatsoever Things Part 2
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8). Whatsoever Things are Honest “Marked by or displaying integrity; upright.” Worthy of honor. As we go through this list, I hope that we will be thinking about a higher standard for our thoughts. We want our lives, our words, our actions to match what God’s standard is. But all of that starts in our thoughts. The battle is real, intense, and sometimes very difficult. Sometimes…
