"Rice Christians"
In India, I discovered the Christians have a name for people who make a profession of faith just because they want to receive something from the Western Missionaries. They call them “Rice Christians.” The same kind of problem happens here in our country, too. Some people turn
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Needing God to "see you" when you are in a dark place:
Years ago, I spent a summer working at Church Camp in Prescott, Arizona. I took a wrong turn --- walking back to the camp from a trip into town ---and I got hopelessly lost. After I walked around a water tower in the dark, I completely lost
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I like Peanuts cartoons. I remember one where Linus and Charlie Brown are chatting with one another. Linus says, "I don’t like to face problems head on. I think the best way to solve problems is to avoid them. In fact, this is a distinct
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Christian/Church Of Christ
Years ago a Christian Church in Albuquerque hired a church growth expert from California. I remember his presentation to the church board while I was a Youth Minister there. He gave many suggestions, but his biggest recommendation was that the church was located in a part of town that had no
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Psalm 59:16 says, As for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. (NLT) One of my fondest memories of my Grandma, Mary Skidmore is how she sang hymns every day as
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Christian/Church Of Christ
Genesis 37: God knew Joseph needed a Pit Stop if his dreams were ever going to become reality.
It makes me think of a young couple who had life going along just like they’d Dreamed. They were happily married with 2 good jobs and 2 healthy little children. Then --- unexpectedly of course ---
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Christian/Church Of Christ
About 20 years back, I had a dream of going to India as a missionary. I’d visited there several times and felt a calling to work with the South India Church of Christ Mission. I was especially close to a young preacher named Ragu. But that vision died when Susan and I got our request for Visa’s
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Christian/Church Of Christ
Elizabeth Elliot gives this advise: "Don’t fail to enjoy the GIVEN because you’re focused on what was NOT given." Too often, we give all our attention to what
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Christian/Church Of Christ
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Integrity Test:
We might be like the Salesman I read about. He was waiting to see the Purchasing Agent so he could submit his Company’s bid. While he was waiting, he couldn’t help but notice that his Competitor’s bid was sitting on the Purchasing Agent’s desk.
Unfortunately, the actual figure
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Christian/Church Of Christ
7 ways to Rationalize your way to Ruin
1. Everyone’s doing it
2. I’ll just try it once
3. It’s just a little lie
4. No one ever needs to know
5. No one will really get hurt
6. If I
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Christian/Church Of Christ
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The difference between forgiveness and restoration:
I believe that there is often a misconception Christians have about forgiveness. Some wrongly assume that saying your sorry is enough. But the truth is that the victim can often see the difference between a hastily uttered apology and genuine
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Christian/Church Of Christ
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Dr. David Seamands in his book Healing for Damaged Emotions says, “The two primary causes of emotional stress are the failure to receive forgiveness and the failure
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On one trip to India, my friend Masi hosted me at his home and made a point of asking me to wake him if I needed to visit the out door bathroom in the night. Well, he slept so soundly, and I had my own flashlight so I went outside on my own in the night to tend to things. The next time I was there,
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Christian/Church Of Christ
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The Simple Fool tends to go with the flow. He believes whatever he hears. It reminds me of the way Garrison Keilor described members of the Unitarian Church: They believe whatever book they just finished reading.
Too many people live that way.
· They’ll go to church on Sunday,
· try to
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Christian/Church Of Christ
based on 22 ratings
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A few years back, a Galveston church had a Tithing Demonstration Sunday for its members. On a designated Sunday everyone was asked to give a tithe of one week’s salary. They urged everyone … whether or not they usually tithed … to give a tithe that one time.
As you could imagine, the offering
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Have you ever gone shopping across the border in Mexico? I remember one particular time. I was walking through the “tiendas” (shopping district) in Monterrey, Mexico. On every side “hawkers” were standing at the doors of the shops, trying to lure me away from a competitor and into their shop.
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I read an article where a pastor told about a woman who fainted in church one Sunday while he was preaching. She fell over and struck her head on the end of the pew. Immediately, an EMT in the congregation called an ambulance. As they strapped the elderly woman to a stretcher and got ready to
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Recently we asked a lady how it was that she became a Christian. She’s actively involved in church and loves the Lord, but we knew that her parents weren’t church-goers. She said that one Sunday when she was 10 years old, she walked to a church down the block from her house and just went in. An
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I remember reading about an Obituary that is meant to make you stop and think:
· He brushed his teeth twice a day
· The doctors examined him twice a year
· He ate low-carb, low-fat every day
· He gave up his tonsils, his adenoids, his gall bladder … and traded in a few worn-out glands
· He golfed
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