Contributed by Chris Jordan on Nov 22, 2009
“Setting apart an entire day – one out of seven – for feasting and resting, and worship and play, is a gift and not a burden. And neglecting the gift too long will make your soul, like soil never left fallow, hard and dry and spent… The root idea of Sabbath is… that all
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*other
Contributed by Paul Carlson on Jan 25, 2010
On November 26, 1977 I was given a wonderful gift by God, my wife Jan. Those early years of marriage we felt we were living ‘the abundant life’. But on August 17, 1981 I was given the greatest gift, this gift was priceless in nature. It was far greater than a promise to “go to heaven”. This
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Baptist
If we are to be truly born again, one of the first things we have to do is to acknowledge our weakness and our helplessness. We cannot sustain a spiritual life by ourselves. If we are to grow spiritually, we must learn to
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Episcopal/Anglican
Contributed by Herman Abrahams on Dec 27, 2005
‘Every year at Christmas, James Baxter watches people rip apart his company’s product and throw it away. All the hours of creative design and careful manufacturing are gone in a flash. And he has no regrets. As president of the nation’s largest maker of Christmas gift-wrap, Mr Baxter says, “What
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Charismatic
based on 1 rating
| 8,081 views
Paul told Timothy to do the work of an evangelist. That was not his gift. He had the pastoral gifts of shepherding, teaching, and administration, but he still had to work outside his comfort zone. He may not have been called to be an evangelist or especially empowered for that type of
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Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Keith Davis on May 5, 2003
based on 6 ratings
| 1,856 views
Larry Crab said in his book, The Safest Place on Earth, “The difference between the spiritual and unspiritual community is not whether conflict exists, but is rather in our attitude toward it and our approach to handling it. When conflict is seen as an
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Christian/Church Of Christ
Contributed by Gary Bordelon on Sep 21, 2002
based on 38 ratings
| 1,752 views
J. Oswald Sanders writing in his book on spiritual leadership said - "If those who hold influence over others fail to lead toward the spiritual uplands, then surely the path to the lowlands will be well worn. People travel together;
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Christian/Church Of Christ
Contributed by Timothy Darling on Jun 28, 2006
I am struck by an idea of G. K. Chesterton. We are unworthy to receive any gift at all from God, and we are unaware of our unworthiness until we realize that we are unworthy of even the gift of a dandelion. This weed we would like to remove from our yard grows naturally and completely
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Mennonite
Contributed by Don Jones on Dec 19, 2006
One other Christmas my sister did something rather strange. Thankfully we didn’t have ham or sharp knives anymore. We had all finished opening presents, everybody had loaded them in their cars and we were all visiting in the living room with coffee or punch.
The Fryrear family got up to leave,
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Baptist
Contributed by Steve Smith on Dec 23, 2006
based on 6 ratings
| 3,691 views
Let me close with an excerpt from Sharon Jaynes’ book, “Celebrating a Christ-centered Christmas”:
An African boy listened carefully as his teacher explained why Christians give presents to each other on Christmas day. "The gift is an expression of our joy over the birth of Jesus and our friendship
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Baptist
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are a normal part of the day. We all revolve our days around eating food. You probably wouldn't think of going without physical food for a week or even a day, would you? Food is necessary for physical life. Without food, we become weakened and eventually become ill.
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Baptist
Contributed by Roger Nelmes on Jan 29, 2008
George Barna Study
Specifically, 61 percent of today’s young adults, who, as teenagers, were churched at one point, are now spiritually disengaged. Spiritual disengagement is identified as being inactive when it comes to church attendance, Bible reading, or prayer. Only 20 percent of
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Pentecostal
Contributed by Ed Wood on Jun 23, 2005
based on 2 ratings
| 7,031 views
25 years ago a baby was born in a hospital. He weighed only a few pounds. He had to be pampered and coddled to enable him to live. Now he is 6’2" tall and weighs 200 pounds. There is a vast difference in the baby and the man. Yet the life he now has is the same life he had 25 years ago.
Our
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Baptist
Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 26, 2012
DO YOU HAVE AN AWARENESS OF SIN?
John MacArthur:
A basic mark of true spirituality is a deep awareness of sin. In Scripture those who most despised their sinfulness were often those who were the most spiritual. Paul said he was the chief of sinners. Peter said to Jesus, "Depart from me, for I
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Christian/Church Of Christ
Contributed by Sean Smuts on Jan 15, 2003
based on 11 ratings
| 2,616 views
He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado (Dust Jacket)
Much has been said about the gift of the cross itself, but what of the other gifts? What of the nails, the crown of thorns? What about the garment taken? What about the garments given? Have you taken the time to open these gifts?
He didn’t have
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Mennonite
Contributed by Donnie Martin on Jan 19, 2009
Taken with the Giver
When I used to call home after being gone for seven weeks, my two youngest children would say, "Daddy, what are you going to bring me?" My two older children would say, "Daddy, when are you coming home?" Then when I would get home, these two young ones would give me a peck on
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Baptist