It’s been about a week since we “fell back” to Standard Time. Many mourn the loss of daylight hours and post their frustration on social media. But I’m thinking about Christmas and how we celebrate light. In some ways, this frustration is a celebration. It reveals our deep need for light and how we ...
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Power of Words
How Our Words Can Brighten Our World
Where would we be without words? We use them constantly. We speak and think them. And we write and text them. Combined with music, they become the language of the heart. Even our body language translates into unspoken words. Crossed arms and a scowl can say, I’m mad at you. A gentle touch or a hug ...
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When Blessing Others Becomes Second Nature
Last week I shared about the importance of blessing others with our spoken words. God continues to show me its significance, especially when blessing others becomes second nature.
Once again, a story about my dear mother-in-law. Although dementia consumes her mind, she does have moments of ...
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Blessing Others With Our Spoken Words
Sometimes God is so intent on your "getting something" that He practically bombards you with it at every turn. That's what the last few weeks have been like for me. Every where I turn, every passage I read, is focused on a common theme ... blessing others with my words. Not just any words, but ...
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Is Your Life Salty, Or Do You Make People Salty?
It's time for another teenage-idiom. I'm always a bit startled the first time I hear my teens use one of them. Some make absolutely no sense. Some make perfect sense, once you've been schooled in their use. Others are used in an opposite manner from a word's original meaning. Such is the case with ...
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Quarrels Die WITHOUT Gossip
Our family loves to camp. My absolute favorite spot is at the campfire. I can sit there all day long. My kids love the fire, too.
I like it because it's warm and cozy. Staring into the flames is peaceful for me. My kids like to stoke the fire and watch it consume the wood.
Every night though, ...
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Accept One Another WITHOUT Quarreling
When I was at Baylor, I lived in an apartment with some exceptional women. (Bless them! They were so patient with me!) I had just turned 21. It was my turn.
In my growing up home and church, alcohol was frowned upon--with good reason. I had seen the result of addiction in people I love. But I ...
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Give Grace WITHOUT Grumbling
I walked into my kitchen late one night to find bread crumbs and some dirty dishes on the counter. The dishwasher had not been run and had plenty of room for more dishes. My first thought was, Ugh. Again? It takes 15 seconds to rinse these off and put them in the dishwasher.
Y'all are probably ...
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![This week in our small group study, I felt the Lord’s gentle chastisement.
We looked at the promise in Luke 11:28, “He [Jesus] replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’”
At first glance, the promise of blessing comes from obedience. But it’s much more.
In the preceding verses, Jesus had cast out a demon that caused a man to be mute. The crowd accused Him of casting out a demon with Satan’s power.
Jesus explained how ridiculous it would be for Satan to drive out his own demons. Then a woman cries out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you,” (v 27).
This is the sticking point. Jesus was in the middle of an important discourse when this woman interrupts Him. He corrects her with this:
✨ Blessed are those who HEAR the word of God and obey it.
That word HEAR means to LISTEN with FULL ATTENTION.
✨ We cannot truly obey God if we don’t know what He’s saying to us.
Basically, Jesus told this woman, and the others in the crowd, “Pay attention!! Don’t get distracted from my voice. I have important things to tell you. You won’t know what they are and what I want you to do, if all you’re thinking about is what you want to say or how you can gain attention. Put your attention on ME.”
It’s never fun to be Jesus’s object lesson.
The questions I’m asking myself …
✨ What keeps me from spending time alone with Jesus?
✨ When I finally get alone with Him, what distracts me?
✨ What keeps me from focusing on God’s Word?
✨ What causes my kind to wander when I’m praying?
➡️ Eliminating distractions …
➡️ Exercising discipline …
… to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
… brings true blessing.
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