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Choices: Jesus, Barabbas, the Crowd, and the Criminal
Earlier this morning, I was reading about the events leading up to and including Jesus’ crucifixion. Something stood out to me like never before. When given the choice by Pilate, the people chose salvation for a prisoner and criminal (Barabbas) over Jesus (Matthew 27:15-26). Conversely, while hanging on the cross, Jesus chose a criminal for… Continue reading
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It’s Personal – A Series on the Heart of the Father
Part 3: Come As You Are They tell you never to read the comments. I get why. They’re brutal! Sometimes, though, I find them insightful even if brutal. This blog post is brought to by the Comments section. I saw an Instagram reel recently where someone was talking about how a particular Only Fans “model”… Continue reading
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It’s Personal – A Series on the Heart of the Father
Part 2: Relationship, Not Religion As I sit here this morning by the Christmas tree, I am reflecting on the birth of Jesus and all He came into the world to do. I understand this better now, more so than I ever did before. I grew up in religion, and from that I understood He… Continue reading
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Some Spirits Behind “Church Hurt”
A Spirit of Offense and A Religious Spirit Working Together “Church Hurt” = Church-People Hurt Being hurt in church is a real thing, and it’s likely more common than we know or care to admit. But, what many call “church hurt” is actually people hurt. We’ve heard the phrase, “Hurt people hurt people,” which is… Continue reading
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“Follow Me”
Matthew 9:9 I am reading the Gospel According to Matthew right now, and I questioned something I noticed for the first time today and not in my prior readings of it. In Chapter 9, verse 9, Jesus calls Matthew to follow Him: As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting… Continue reading
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Free Gifts! (Parts 3 and 4) – The Gifts of Justification and Righteousness
Until now, I haven’t spent much time pondering and reflecting on the topics of justification and righteousness. Since delving in a bit more, I have come to realize how important these two things are in our walk of faith. Each one says something very important about the born again believer, and more so, about God… Continue reading
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Free Gifts! (Part 2.1) – The Gift of Grace
As I reflected on the gift of grace in Part 2 a bit more, I felt like there were a couple of additional important points that needed to be highlighted. Here is Part 2.1! We’ll talk about the importance of receiving grace and the regifting of grace. Receiving Grace It’s Christmastime. I imagine some of… Continue reading
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Free Gifts! (Part 2) – The Gift of Grace
Today, we return to our four part series on Free Gifts. Part 2 is dedicated to the gift of grace. My favorite! (So, we might be here a while.) If we misunderstand grace, we misunderstand everything about Jesus and what His death and resurrection meant for all of us. That may seem like either a… Continue reading