Endurance — Partaking in the Divine Nature

The word patience, as it is usually employed, means the ability to tolerate or to suppress irritation at delay or discomfort. But this patience is not precisely the quality that the apostle Peter had in mind when he wrote in his second epistle that Christians were to add to their faith “patience.” (2 Pet. 1:5,…

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The First Sunday of Christmas: Christ Is Our Hope

Isaiah 11:1-5, There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His…

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MY BIBLE

Just days before Christmas of 1970, a package arrived at my home, addressed to me.  As a child, of course, I received very little mail, so to have a parcel arrive with my name on it was very exciting.  I had started to tear open the brown paper to find out what was inside the…

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Spiritual Dryness: Am I Trying to Walk in Two Directions?

Lillias Trotter stood at a crossroads.1 The words of the renown nineteenth century art critic, John Ruskin, rang in her mind. “If you allow me to train you,” he had said. “You could become one of the greatest artists in the world.”2 Trotter loved beauty. God had truly blessed her with artistic talent. Yet, Trotter…

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Spiritual Dryness: Is the Volume Up Too High?

“Why are these people so slow?” I fumed as I weaved my way between shoppers at Walmart. I had just returned to the U.S. from urban Asia where the throttle of the pace of life is always wide open. Go! Go! Go! My to-do list burned a hole in my pocket. There was no time…

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The Satisfied Soul

And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. Isaiah 58:11 The New Testament equivalent to this passage are the words of Jesus Christ in John 7:37-39. If…

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Bodily and Spiritual Exercise

Scripture says in 1 Timothy 4:7-8, “Refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise that which now is, and of that which is to come.” During this time when we “sheltering in place,” it is vital…

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General Meditations on the Bible

Ed. Note: Our friend John Mincy started a project of daily Scripture meditations on his FaceBook page. For your edification, we would like to share them from time to time. This first piece contains thoughts on the Bible itself, our precious word from God. Revelation (the Bible is revealed by God to prophets and apostles);…

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Following Jesus, No Reservations

Football season is in full swing. Players and fans of all ages are counting on exciting plays and victories. I am not much of a football fan, but I am a fan of both history and good stories. When these coalesce against the backdrop of football, I can be a fan. Take, for example, the…

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Cultivating Righteous Desires

I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh… Romans 9:1-3 The statement made here…

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