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Share the Bounty of Spiritual Fruit!

Share the Bounty of Spiritual Fruit!

God has promised to bless his children richly. But these blessings are not material things. Nonetheless these blessings bring forth all the good things in life: God’s kingdom isn’t about eating food and drinking but about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14: 17, CEB) We can’t produce spiritual fruit on our own. And artificial fruit just does not do it. The only way to bear spiritual fruit is by abiding in Christ. Even then it’s never…

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Do We Recognize Jesus?

Do We Recognize Jesus?

Jesus was not just any teacher. Jesus came so the dark corners of our lives could be restored. Jesus came because without him we would not be whole. His life, death, and resurrection changed our destiny. Yet many of us still live in darkness. Jesus arrives quietly, humbly, and in peace. Do we recognize Jesus in the middle of our Christmas celebrations? Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion. Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem. Look, your king will come to you. He is righteous…

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How Much Should We Pray?

How Much Should We Pray?

How much should we pray? Seriously. The Bible tells us “Pray without ceasing!”, “Devote yourselves to prayer!”,” Pray diligently!” and “Offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time!” That’s a lot of prayer, don’t you think? How much should we pray? Leonard Ravenhill has said “To be much for God, we must be much with God. Jesus, that lone figure in the wilderness, knew strong crying, along with tears. Can one be moved with compassion and not know…

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Clear the Way!

Clear the Way!

Why do we year after year fall into the same trap of consumerism and busyness? Why do we let the lies of the world consume our thinking and feeling so much that there’s not much space left for anything real? Why do we stress about performing a perfect Christmas? Don’t ruin everything and make an idol for yourself: a form of any image, any likeness—male or female— or any likeness whatsoever, whether of a land animal, a bird that flies…

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Ready 4 Jesus?

Ready 4 Jesus?

The Bible is a treasure. The more I read it, the more I marvel God’s perfect plan. Just take the prophecies of Jesus. Every single one of them came through. Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign. The young woman is pregnant and is about to give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14, CEB) Also there are so many parallels between the Old testament and the New testament. Just think of Abraham and…

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Money and Spiritual Fruitfulness?

Money and Spiritual Fruitfulness?

You might ask what money and spiritual fruitfulness have in common. I used to question that myself. I’ve always thought that giving is good and we need to take care of each other. But I did not see what it had to do with spiritual fruitfulness. Martin Luther has said “There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, mind, and the purse.” For a long time I did not particularly like this quote. But now I see its…

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Busted 4 Complaining

Busted 4 Complaining

Don’t you just love how strongly God can speak to you through his Word? Just this morning – like pretty much any morning – I was reading my Bible and suddenly Numbers 11 reflected back my own attitude. The riffraff among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, “Why can’t we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt—and got it free!—to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and…

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Opening Our Spiritual Eyes

Opening Our Spiritual Eyes

Do you feel God is distant and not interested in you? In that case don’t trust your feelings. God is near and very interested in you. But let’s see why we could feel that way. First of all we need to know that God is not hiding. God is waiting to be found. So if we are spiritually unsatisfied it has something to do with us. Do we rush through life so stressed out and busy that we don’t have…

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Got Spiritual Perception?

Got Spiritual Perception?

It is very important in life to get the right perspective. Only then can we gain the right perception. Just think of the story of David and Goliath. The Isralites all thought “Goliath is so big we can never kill him.” But David thought “The giant is so big I can’t miss.” We also need to discern whose perception we trust. The world tries to convince us that only the knowledge that can be perceived through five senses – and…

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A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Today is Martin Luther’s birthday, the day after mine. That’s why I’ve always felt a deep kinship with him. I love the passionate way Martin Luther talks about God’s grace. Luther’s most famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” is such a good example of his unwavering faith in Christ Jesus. The hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 46. The hymn is widely and ecumenically used which brings me much joy. A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark…

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