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Walk This Way

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“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you. Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.” (Ephesians 4:31-32, 5:1-2) Love can be such a “touchy” subject these days. There are so many varying opinions and strong-held beliefs on what real love looks like, on how to express your love to others, on...
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A Good Shepherd

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“Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth…” (Isaiah 40:4) This is the will of the Father. This is His heart towards us. Not just for those who believe in Jesus, but for all of humankind. He does not desire for us to have to struggle and toil. It was sin that brought the curse of struggle and toil upon humankind, but now we have atonement for our sins through God’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ. For those who have received Jesus as Savior, they are no longer bound by the curse of sin. We are redeemed by His blood. We are also restored by His blood. We are restored into right standing with God the Father, and in His Kingdom struggle and toil have no place. This scripture stirs up in me the imagery of Jesus as our Shepherd. We are sheep and our Savior is also our Shepherd. Even a few verses into Isaiah 40, the Lord is referred to as such. Isaiah 40:11 says, “He wil...
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Guard Your Heart and Mind

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Be aware of any subtle changes in your thoughts and emotions during this season. Our enemy is an expert in enacting subtle schemes. Just like from the beginning, he can be very subtle in how he approaches you. The word subtle is defined as “a change so delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyze or describe.” Understand that a subtle shift can lead to a big problem if you do not “nip it in the bud.” Subtle thoughts can lead to not so subtle actions or conversations. So what guard can we put around our hearts and minds to alert us to these subtle attacks? I believe the Apostle Paul gives us examples in Ephesians 6:10-18 and in Philippians 4:6-9. In Ephesians 6, he speaks of spiritual armor that the Christ believer has access to. Many people talk about putting their armor on, but the fact is that it should never come off. KEEP ON your SPIRITUAL ARMOR so that you can remain steadfast (firm and unwavering) in the faith. Verse 18 really stands out to me. ...
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How Can This Be?

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“Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be….?’” (Luke 1:34a) Have you ever posed this same question to God? Have you ever cried to out to the Lord, saying “I do not understand!” or yelled out, “Why God?” when things were going on in your life that were far beyond your own understanding? I venture to guess all of you reading this have been in a similar place at one time or another (maybe even right now). I am by no means attempting to answer all the “why’s” of your life, but I do want to share with you a revelation I recently received about learning to move beyond my lack of understanding and trusting in the God who has spoken life over me. It all began with a word from the Lord. He said to me, “Mary received from Me even when she did not understand. She conceived from My word spoken over her even when she did not understand. She only believed My word. Though there are many things you do not understand, BELIEVE and CONCEIVE and you will bring forth My promi...
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The Appointed Time

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“For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.” (Habakkuk 2:3 AMPC) An appointment is a fixed time of meeting or occasion where something was previously planned to occur at that particular time, date, and place. We know from the Bible that God is beyond time…..seeing as He created it, (Genesis 1:31, Psalm 90:2, Psalm 93:2, Psalm 102:24-27, Isaiah 57:15) yet He appoints times in the lifespan of humanity and faithfully keeps His appointments (Leviticus 23:1, Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:20, 2 Timothy 1:9). Often, we do not understand the “how,” “what,” “when,” or “where” in which these appointments are brought to fruition, but they come all the same. Case in point: I came home this past Tuesday to a wonderful surprise in my backyard. One of my rose bushes had produced a full ...
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The Transformation Chamber

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“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2) Let’s talk insects. Specifically, butterflies. Most insects go through a transformation in their life cycle called METAMORPHOSIS. Metamorphosis is defined as: -           the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form. -           a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means. This process is how you get a butterfly from a caterpillar. You go from having a creature that spends its life crawling on the ground to having a creature that ...
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