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What If??
Have you ever heard of the song “What If” by Matthew West? If you have not, I highly encourage you to check it out and listen to it. It is a very upbeat song with a good message. Through the verse it talks about what if today is the only day I got. I want no regrets at the end of the day. This song is a great reminder of what we should be doing daily. We should give our worries to God and live our lives in the moment because truly at the end of the day we don’t want to have any regrets. We want to have that…
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Spiritual Growth:
Identify feelings and behaviors that are holding you back Depending upon what you are reading, people have different names for the feelings and behaviors that hold us back from growing spiritually. Some people call them sins. Some roadblocks. Others, character defects. I tend to like the term character defects or patterns of sin. The feelings and behaviors that hold us back are not one-offs, but usually patterns of behavior or emotional reactions that we have developed over time to make sense of life, cope with life, or get what we want. The important thing about character defects is that what once may have been helpful creates problems in our lives…
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Find the Misery and Make a Rule
I recently listened to a podcast from Dr. Henry Cloud, where he presented a simple but powerful idea. When things aren’t going well in life, if we are struggling with feeling depressed or directionless, perhaps finding the source of the misery and making a rule about it is the best advice we can get. Let me give you an example from my own life. I had a period of feeling anxious and overwhelmed this fall. I felt hopeless, fatigued, and generally depressed about much of life. I admit I spent more time being in this funk than I did doing anything about it. I almost wore it like a warm…
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Review: The James Method of Bible Study
The Bible holds a vast amount of knowledge, and there are many ways to study that knowledge. I have used a variety of methods over the years. In some cases, the method chosen has been dictated by purpose. I use academic exegetical analysis methods if I am engaging in academic work. For my everyday bible study, I have used the SOAP (scripture, observation, application, prayer) method or prewritten bible studies on specific texts or topics. Recently, I decided to undertake a series of biblical topics using the James Method. The James Method incorporates several components, including: Overall, I am enjoying the process. I love words, so the verse mapping component…
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Devotional for February: Courage
Scripture Verse: Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Devotional Thought: Sometimes we don’t feel very strong or courageous. Life can be hard and some days are just tougher to deal with than others. We need not fear because just as this verse says the Lord God goes with us and leads us. He will never leave us as long as we keep our faith strong. The Lord God gives us the strength and the courage to deal with whatever comes our way.…