There's nothing quite like starting over--especially with the freshness of a new heart. It's like the first day of sunshine after a week of rain.
I love rain, but repeated days of rain and gray clouds are dreary and typical of a Texas winter--which we are right in the middle of. When the sun ...
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renewal
Showers–then Flowers
April showers bring May flowers, so they say. It's that time of year in Texas when it rains almost every day--big, heavy rainstorms. The kind that takes the blossoms you patiently, yet desperately, waited for, and beats them off them without mercy. If the petals survive, the stalk is bent low to the ...
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Gathered and Refreshed
Today is Five Minute Friday where a group of bloggers gather and free-write for five minutes. Today's word ...
Gather!
To the Christians in Rome, Paul wrote, “When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours,” (Romans 1:12).
This morning, ...
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Reconciled, Restored, & Renewed
In February we tend to focus our attention on romantic relationships. But romantic relationships are not the only ones that need attention.
Like life, relationships go through seasons. Some friendships are short-term, others are long-term. Some are intimate; some are acquaintances. Some are deep ...
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Something New
This week I pulled out my Experiencing God workbook. As I read through it, I remembered how much I loved that study and how significantly God used it in my life. Some studies are like that. They are game changers. I thought to myself, I need to do this one again! I need God to do stuff again! So I ...
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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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