"Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." -- Hebrews 10:19-25 The writer of Hebrews is trying…
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I have a confession: I am tired of negativity. Much of our daily dose of news is negative. Every "breaking story" has its own ominous sound track and gloomy graphics. Gloom and doom. Unfortunately, some of this gloom and doom mentality has crept into the Body of Christ. Not Jesus himself, mind you -- his church. The group of people also known as the second incarnation of Christ. We are living in difficult days. There is no question about that. But to hear some believers talk, we seem to be living in a day and age where God is acknowledged but noticeably absent. In other words, they still believe in God; they just may not believe he can (or will) make much of a difference. I disagree. "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith…
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On this first day of 2013, let me encourage you to live each day of this new year with intention and decisiveness. Choose to not be one of those people who drift through life like a pinball in a pinball machine -- bouncing from bumper to bumper, at the mercy of circumstances. One of my favorite Bible verses that describes living with purpose is Acts 13:36. The Apostle Paul is speaking in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. As he is building his case for the authenticity of Jesus as Messiah, he drops in this commentary regarding King David: "For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep." I love that verse! You only have one life in which to serve God's purpose -- and that is the life you are living now. We can build on the generations that preceded us; we can pave the way…
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Well, hello 2013. We're officially entering that time period where we will write the wrong date for about a week or two. Even typing 2013 seems odd. Today marks the end of one year; tomorrow begins a new one. At the stroke of midnight, the year will change. But will you? I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions (I've tried once or twice). Even though I don't make resolutions doesn't mean I just stumble into a new year unprepared. Instead of resolutions, I try to find reflections. I try to reflect on what went well during the previous year ... and what didn't. I try to find time to think deeply about who I am and who I want to be. I spend time going through my relationships. I dust-off my mission to see how closely I am still aligned with it. Reflecting is one of the many…
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You 2.0 Did you know the first smartphone was not an iPhone? For people who belong to the cult of all things Apple, I know that is hard to believe. The first smartphone was the Nokia Communicator and it was released in 1996, eleven years before the first iPhone. There are now one billion smartphones in use. It took sixteen years to accomplish, but one out of every seven people in the world owns a smartphone. Analysts predict it will take only three more years to double that number. Besides being able to make an actual phone call, I can use my smartphone to read the Bible, write a novel, check the weather, or fling angry fowls across the sky. These are called apps. And one of the things I love most about my apps: they update themselves. Unless I choose otherwise, I don’t even have to know when they…
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