In John 5, Jesus encounters a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. For thirty-eight years this man had lived with his handicap, watching other people go about their business. Jesus meets him at the pool of Bethesda, a pool where disabled people would gather in hopes of being cured by being the first one to enter the water each day. Each day he would arrive; each day he would be disappointed. Jesus asks him what seems to be a rather odd question: "Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6). The answer should be obvious. Of course he wants to get well. That's why he finds his way to the pool every day. Who would want to stay an invalid if they had the chance of being healed? But is the answer obvious? I'm not so sure. Over the years, I have met people who have not…
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Effective preaching and teaching is about more than transmitting information; it's also about inspiration. In the world of SEO (search engine optimization), the mantra is "content is king." In other words, search engines love fresh content -- an indication that a site is alive and worth indexing. A static site that never changes probably isn't drawing much traffic. In preaching and teaching, content certainly matters. Truth matters. God's Word never changes. But how the truth is delivered matters, too. Passion breeds passion. If I'm not passionate about delivering my topic, why should the audience be passionate about applying it? A passionate communicator will lead the audience to be passionate as well. But don't be misled. Passion isn't all about delivery, though passion should seep through the manner in which we communicate. Passion is also conveyed by our energy level and the excitement that is heard in our voice and seen…
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If you interact with people at any level, there will be times that you will be misunderstood, misrepresented, and even maligned. Believe it or not, people will not always say nice things about you. Most likely, this revelation is not a surprise to you. As a younger man, I didn't always respond in the best fashion. It was easy to give in the temptation to join the other person in the gutter. That's often what they want you to do. But, as I remember my mom telling me, "Two wrongs don't make a right." So, what to do? Take the high road. Taking the high road means you won't wade into the sludge, slinging mud around. Taking the high road means that you won't shred the other person with the truth. Taking the high road means you won't feel the need to defend every misrepresentation or outright lie. Taking the…
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I was joking around with my youngest daughter earlier this week. OK, I thought I was joking around; she probably just thought I was being annoying. Two people looking at the same situation and seeing two different things ... Anyhow, at one point, she said to me, "You need to see a philanthropist." Before I started laughing, I readily agreed with her. "Yes, I do need to see a philanthropist." She then realized she had said the wrong word and tried to keep from laughing. It didn't work. "I mean to say, 'You need to see a therapist.'" "I probably need to see one of those, too. After I see the philanthropist."
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Enjoy this post from Henry Cloud. It helps you discern situations, relationships, and much more. ********** What habits, thoughts and actions must you put an end to, in order to achieve your goals in 2013? Here are some thoughts from Necessary Endings to help you answer this important question: 1. Determine whether a “season” has passed. Everything has a season. Remember CDs, cassettes, and phone books? They had their place and time, but their season has passed. And the truth is, no matter how wisely we invest in a product, strategy, person or even some relationships, eventually, the season for our investments come to an end. Endings are a natural part of the cycle of growth. I remember one support group I was in for several years that was life changing. But, years later, I was not in the same place, nor were they, and we all needed something different. It was…
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