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Are You a “Facebook Friend” of Jesus?
The Merriam-Webster definition of friend is: : a person who you like and enjoy being with; one attached to another by affection or esteem. Are you attached to Jesus, do you esteem Him, do you enjoy being with Him? Or is He just a nodding aquaintance? "And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." Knowing God is eternal life. We know our friends, spouses, and children because we choose to spend time with them. Do you choose spend time with your most faithful Friend?
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Are You Spiritually Adrift?
Did you know that sheep will continually nibble of vegetation further and further away from the flock until they are isolated and in danger? They are unaware of their movement away from safety because they are distracted by something desirable--food! We can be the same way spiritually. The world offers its delicacies that consist of wealth, status, ease, and a smorgasborg of activities that can easily lead us off the narrow path. It's not until we try to focus our spiritual eyes on Jesus again that we realize how far we've wandered. Beloved, are you far from home?
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What Does Your Faith Look Like?
The devotional reflects on the phrase "Where's the beef?" to illustrate the idea of faith that may feel small or inadequate. It emphasizes that true faith inspires action in alignment with God's will, urging believers to trust Him wholeheartedly. Authentic faith can lead to accomplishing the seemingly impossible through obedience and reliance on God's power.
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I’m A Good Person—What Do I Still Lack?
Do you ever feel like being a good person just isn't enough? Does your wealth keep you from pursuing spiritual health? You're not alone, because there was only One perfect person to ever walk this earth, and He was willing to sacrifice everything to ensure we are made whole.
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What a Friend We Have In Jesus
We are all grateful for our close friends. They are all so precious to us! What about our relationship with our Friend among friends, Jesus? How do we show Him our gratitude?
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The Crowning Virtue of the Cross of Christ
Doing the will of God is the most humble of all things: humility is the embryo of everything good, even salvation, because one has to recognize their complete destitution in contrast to Jesus' perfect life, which was required to satisfy the Law and the Lawgiver. Only perfect obedience can lay claim to a heavenly home, which none of us can do. That's why Jesus tells the Jews who ask Him what work they must do to be doing the works of God: "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." [John 6:29 ESV] The very first work of God for salvation is not…
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False Gospels: Are You Following One?–Part 1
New-fangled digital devices help detect an out-of-tune note and perfect it. Most of these have some sort of readout that appears as a needle wavering too much to the left, or flat side, or too much to the right, or sharp side as an instrument is tuned, with the goal of getting the needle dead center of the two, making the note "in tune." This reminds me of an anology that could be made in the spiritual world between two extremes of error that can fall somewhere on the flat side of the sharp side, with truth being dead center.
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Faith & Trust: Living It Out
In the United States we have the motto, “In God We Trust,” printed on all our money. Most Christians are likely to point out the utter hypocrisy or at least the irony of this statement given our present society’s idolization of wealth. But beloved, can we all take a moment to look at our own lives and attitudes and ponder whether or not we ourselves are walking in light of God’s truth and promises?
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Faith Working Through Love
Perhaps it is serendipitous, maybe a little ironic, for me to be writing about work and rest on our Labor Day holiday weekend here in the United States. This federal holiday was enacted as a response to the action of labor activists who wanted to recognize our workers as making significant contributions to America's strength, prosperity, and well-being. It is a nationwide day off granted as a rest from our great labors. There is a somewhat similar idea in the Bible called the Sabbath day, which was the seventh day in the Jewish week on which no work was to be performed. It was to be a picture of God's…
![[Eph 1:16-17, 19 ESV]](https://i0.wp.com/lampstanddevotions.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Train3.jpg?resize=1140%2C784&ssl=1)