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Embracing Joy
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Embracing Joy

God has a way of speaking to me in the early hours of the morning before my brain is fully conscious and the details of my day distract me from hearing His voice. As we launch into 2024, this is the message He clearly impressed upon my heart: embrace joy.

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My “Yes” Is On The Table
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My “Yes” Is On The Table

Last summer my family experienced The Ark Encounter in Kentucky. Standing in front of a life-size replica of Noah’s ark was quite impressive, greatly enhancing my understanding of what a high calling and colossal task God had instructed Noah to accomplish. But more than that, God showed me the immensity of my smallness in contrast to the incomparable greatness of the mission He calls us to.

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Who Am I?
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Who Am I?

You have set your glory above the heavens…When I see and consider your heavens, and the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, the sun and the clouds, that you have ordained and put in their place, who am I that you are mindful of me? A mere human, that you should care for me?

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In The Shadow Of The Cross
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In The Shadow Of The Cross

Step by painful step, I trudge up the rugged hillside. The chains that bind my ankles clink hard and heavy against the stones beneath my feet. I keep my head down in shame and fear, making desperate attempts to deny the fate that awaits me. The weight of my shackles is nothing compared to the burdens that crush my soul. Some days I can barely stand under the pressure of it all.

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Glimpse Of Jesus
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Glimpse Of Jesus

In a time when the Old Testament of the Bible is being disregarded more than ever, even by some leaders and churches, I was especially encouraged by a sermon that walked us through many of the places where we see glimpses of Jesus in the Old Testament. All of Scripture is the inerrant Word of God and beautifully displays God’s redemption story throughout its pages.

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Thoughts From Home
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Thoughts From Home

It’s been several months since the words “go home” first caused me to shutter and sparked the fire in my soul to ignite once again. In case you may not know, “go home” was spoken as the knee-jerk reaction from a highly influential pastor regarding another well-known author and teacher, one who also happens to be a woman.[1] I have many thoughts and personal opinions on said situation that until now, I have not ventured to share publicly. But after recently reading an article revealing what should be unspeakable, I can no longer hold my peace. The article described conversations among male denominational and church leaders. The derogatory, crude, and entirely inappropriate comments about their sisters in Chris

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Hell, No!
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Hell, No!

My thoughts are a jumbled mess as my mind tries to process what my eyes have seen in recent days. Our nation has gone from pandemic to pandemonium essentially overnight. As we’ve just started to emerge from quarantine, anxieties are already high as life continues to be vastly different and the COVID threat still exists. But then suddenly that fear and tension have shifted to demonstrations of outrage, hatred, and violence as our country reacts to ongoing racial division.

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#CoronaBonus
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#CoronaBonus

Back on March 14, when “social distancing” and “stay-at-home orders” were relatively new terms for us, my brother posted a picture of one of his favorite places—the lake where we spend the summer camping together. The picture showed the campground beach, blue skies, and calm waters—a welcomed respite from the chaos that was starting to overtake our world. He captioned the picture #coronabonus as a play on the word “coronavirus,” a term that has inundated our TV screens and newsfeeds in the weeks that have followed.

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Seeing God Best
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Seeing God Best

Meet Jacob. Jacob is the younger son of Isaac. He is the grandson of Abraham. And although he is known as one of the Old Testament patriarchs of faith, Jacob spent much of his life grasping for God’s blessing: he deceived and schemed for it, he worked for it, he dreamed for it, he wrestled for it. And then in Genesis 35, Jacob finally rests in the blessing of God. In verse 3 he says to his family – “Let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”

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Jesus - The Good Shepherd
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Jesus - The Good Shepherd

Today is the day. Today is the day that all of history – all of His story – has been leading up to. Today is the day the One who declared, “I am the Good Shepherd” will lay down His life for the sheep. The Good Shepherd will exchange His rod and staff for a wooden cross.

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Jesus - I Am The Vine
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Jesus - I Am The Vine

So far in this blog series, we’ve seen Jesus to be the Light of the World, illuminating our path and offering the light of life; the Bread of Life, nourishing us and eternally satisfying the hunger of our souls; and the Door, the only means by which we find true, abundant life.

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Jesus - I Am The Door
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Jesus - I Am The Door

What does Jesus mean when He says, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture”? Jesus is actually using language the New Testament people would understand. Jesus often used illustrations in His teaching, and this time He identifies Himself as “the door.” The door to what? The door to the sheepfold, the way to enter the flock. We, the people, are likened to the sheep. And like these woolly creatures, we tend to be needy, fearful, and not very intelligent. We are stubborn, susceptible to disease, and easily downcast. We are in need of a shepherd.

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Jesus - The Bread Of Life
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Jesus - The Bread Of Life

Jesus had quite a following. Wherever He was, the people found Him. They weren’t necessarily followers in the sense of recognizing Him as the Messiah, even though they followed Him wherever He went. This day was no different. These people had just been fed by Jesus not more than 24 hours earlier.

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Jesus - The Light Of The World
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Jesus - The Light Of The World

Crowds gathered, lining the streets with their coats – a red carpet of sorts – eagerly anticipating the arrival of Jesus. Waving palm branches in celebration, the people shouted, “HOSANNA! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” Yet in all the fanfare, they missed something. The people didn’t realize as they honored Jesus in the streets of Jerusalem that the light shining in Jesus’ eyes was the Light that would save them from eternal darkness.

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The Holiness Of Home
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The Holiness Of Home

Home is one of my favorite places. It’s my space with my people, a sanctuary of sorts. In these days of shelter-in-place I am so grateful to have this shelter in place, a space to call Home. Home has recently taken on a new meaning: it’s not just where you go at the end of the day, not just where you lay your head at night. Home is now the classroom. Home is now the workplace. Home is now the coffee-shop. Home in now the church sanctuary.

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