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Tag: lent

Turn to God and Live!

Turn to God and Live!

Life does not have to be same old, same old over and over again. Your past can be buried and you can start anew and stop repeating the same old, same old over and over again.  But if the wicked turn away from all the sins that they have committed, keep all my regulations, and act justly and responsibly, they will surely live and not die. (Ezekiel 18:21, CEB) Your future does not depend on your past but on the…

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Lent Is an Opportunity

Lent Is an Opportunity

Are you satisfied with your walk with Christ? Or do you long for more? Do you want to rekindle your faith? To be more like Christ? To experience more of God’s presence in your life? Good for you. Time for spiritual renewal is here: Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (today). Lent is an opportunity to imitate Jesus as he fasted forty days in the desert. Lent is an opportunity to make room for God in our lives and get closer…

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How to Observe Holy Week

How to Observe Holy Week

Holy Week is here. How do you observe it? During the Lent I’ve been fasting from sugary things, been praying on my knees daily, and been listening through the whole Bible. Has anything changed? Am I readier to Easter than otherwise? How should we observe Holy Week anyway? I’ve enjoyed this Lenten journey. I’ve been surprised how good it has felt to surround me with the Word of God. I think I’m readier to quiet myself to listen what God…

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Following Christ without Excuses

Following Christ without Excuses

Lent is a wonderful time to really examine where we are in our walk with God. Not to condemn ourselves but to help ourselves to be where we could be. Because it is our own loss if we are not enjoying a truly intimate relationship with God. It is our loss if we are not close to Jesus. It is our loss if we are not filled with the Holy Spirit. On the road someone asked if he could go…

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Christ in the Center

Christ in the Center

This famous altarpiece from Wittenberg shows us how to live, breath, preach, and teach. The main thing is to keep Christ in the center. The Holy Spirit moves everyone: male and female, young and old. Jesus is the word of God embodied, real and active in our lives. When we keep Christ in the center our faith starts flowing. When Jesus is in the center, our life is balanced and blessed. All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him…

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Is Holiness Old-Fashioned?

Is Holiness Old-Fashioned?

What do you think? Is holiness old-fashioned? Fasting during the Lent is (for most Christians) a voluntary thing. But too often we think all the discipline and growing in grace is optional, too. Even if you are not interested in hidden blessings hidden through discipline, you are called to be holy like God is holy. Holiness is not voluntary. It is the new normal for children of God. Don’t be conformed to your former desires, those that shaped you when…

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Lent Is a Blessing

Lent Is a Blessing

It’s Ash Wednesday. Time to remember that we are dust. Time to turn back to God and eternal things. Time to let go and let God cleanse our inner beings. Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,     scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life. Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,     set these once-broken bones to dancing. Don’t look too close for blemishes,     give me a clean bill of health. God, make a fresh start in me,…

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Give Blessing in Return

Give Blessing in Return

Peter is one of the Bible characters whose spiritual growth impresses me time after time. He was passionate for Jesus from early on yet he didn’t first really understand what it meant to live for Jesus. But Peter was willing to learn, first from Jesus and later on from the Holy Spirit. Peter’s story is an encouraging example of heavenly spiritual formation, what it really means to grow in grace. Just think…Peter was the one who cut off the ear…

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Do You Edit God?

Do You Edit God?

Many of us claim that we want to do God’s will in our lives. We aim to listen to God’s voice and seek his guidance. But do we really hear God? Do we put his wisdom in practice? Do we let God’s message transform us? Or do we edit God? Do we select what we hear? Or do we embrace God as he is? Or do we strip down God from attributes that disturb us? Do we dishonor God by…

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Set Your Heart on God

Set Your Heart on God

Is your faith rooted in yourself or have you set your heart firmly on God? Is your faith truly grounded in God? Or do you still try to manipulate God in order to get what you want? Today God is calling us to examine our hearts and minds. Who does rule our hearts? Then Samuel said to the whole house of Israel , “If you are turning to the LORD with all your heart, then get rid of all the…

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