When I was a teenager, my mom was my best friend. God blessed me with three Christian girl-friends from church, and we were all very close. They were a year behind me in school and attended the cross-town rival. I loved my high school experience and enjoyed many friendships—but because of my stand ...
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Treasure
The Only Thing That Is Mine
One of the first words little children learn is the word mine. It's not just the word either. They learn all the emotion that goes behind it.
Mine!
But as believers we are taught that we don't own anything. The psalmist tells us that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and every other ...
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When You Find Your Lost Treasure
Recently I read a story about a woman who lost one of her ten silver coins. Today, an ounce of silver is worth about the cost of a moderately priced meal. For this woman, each coin was worth about a day's wage. She had lost 10% of her savings. The story says that she lit a lamp, swept the entire ...
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3 Ways to Treasure Your Teenagers in the Midst of Frustration
I love people and love being with people. As the years go by, however, I find that I need more and more solitude. My morning quiet time is a coveted, treasured time of getting ready for the day. When my teenagers were toddlers, it was quite the feat teaching them not to come downstairs while Mom ...
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Plans Fail WITHOUT Wisdom and Guidance
Success requires planning. Plain and simple. There is no way around it. From something as simple as getting your week's groceries, to graduating from college, if you want to succeed, you need a plan. The more complicated your goal, the more more important it is to include guidance from people who ...
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Leaving the Good Stuff Behind
I don't know about y'all, but in our area cake balls are a big deal. They are as popular as gourmet cupcakes. My girls love to make them. Personally, they are too rich for me. Apparently, one of my daughters now feels the same way. It's surprising, because she is the one who loves sweets!
A grocer ...
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Pursuing Contentment
Last year a friend of mine posted the following for her Facebook status: ..Why is it that we feel compelled to upgrade everything in our lives? Why can't we be more content with what we have and live more simply?
Ironically, in our American culture, contentment has become a pursuit. We think that ...
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His … Forever!
Sometimes I feel alone--and lonely. Sometimes my heart is full with the love of my friends and my family. Sometimes it's not. I remember when I was in high school--I was the different one. (My teens would argue that I have no clue what it's like to be different from one's peers. Indeed, today's ...
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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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