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Life : Problems : Solutions
Contributed by Gordon Pike on Jan 29, 2019 (message contributor)
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1. "what Doesn't Kill Us ..."
Contributed on Jan 29, 2019
James calls God’s training regimen “various [kinds of] trials” (James 1:2). As he prepares his friends for the inevitable test, he outlines for them ... and for us … the following five strategies to employ when times of testing challenge us.
A very popular show in the sixties and seventies was a little half-hour police drama called … [do the theme music] … “Dragnet.” Remember that show? It starred Jack Webb as “Joe Friday” … a detective with the Los Angels Police Department. Joe Friday was a no-nonsense cop. His famous line was … ...read more
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2. In Your Face ...
Contributed on Jan 30, 2019
Christians have the external world, the internal flesh, and the infernal Devil to deal with every day. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, then the Tempter is no stranger to you.
How do seeds give birth? Seeds. Seeds are baby plants. One of Jesus’ most well-known parables is the parable about the Sower. Jesus describes God as a farmer who liberally sows seeds. He casts seeds where other farmers wouldn’t waste their time and seed … pathways, rocky places, weed patches. ...read more
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3. Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires
Contributed on Mar 10, 2019
If I recognize that my ability to think, to speak, and to share those thoughts comes from God, then I should be very careful of how I use it, don’t you think? How many of you use the gift that God gave you to think about the gift that God gave you … the gift of thought.
“In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep. While a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light … and God saw that the light was good” (Genesis ...read more
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4. I Was Just Thinking
Contributed on Mar 13, 2019
As James points out, there are two kinds of wisdom: Godly wisdom (from above) and worldly wisdom. True wisdom is a gift from God and what we are doing with it today is not how God intended us to use it.
As many of you have probably heard before, the Greeks had three different words to describe three different kinds of love: “Eros” … where we get our English word “erotic” from. It denotes a sexual sort of love. “Agape” … denotes a spiritual or unconditional type of love … usually used to ...read more
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5. The Devil Goes To Church Too
Contributed on Mar 21, 2019
Satan’s aim is to destroy our faith and to destroy our church. If he can destroy our faith, then we’ll destroy our church for him. And if he destroys the church, our faith will follow.
The Devil goes to church … did you know that? He has his favorite pew. He has his favorite hymns. He loves to see a church stuck in a rut because that’s a dying church. He loves a divided church because constant conflict keeps the church distracted from what it’s supposed to be doing. He’s ...read more
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6. Give Me Patience ... Now!
Contributed on Mar 31, 2019
It is always a bad idea to try to accomplish God’s plan in your own way and by your own timing. God’s plans come complete with His methods and His timing, and when we get impatient and try to tinker with that … well, everything gets all messed up.
“Don’t pray for patience.” Who hasn’t heard that before, amen? It’s almost become an axiom when it comes to prayer, hasn’t it? Some of you, I suspect, believe it and have even advised someone in your family or one of your friends not to pray for patience. I disagree. I pray for patience all ...read more