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Hear It

Romans 10:17  “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

Are you a good listener?  Few people have the natural ability to give others their full attention.  One leadership expert reminded me that the average person speaks about 120 words a minute while our brains can comprehend 480 words a minute.  This leaves 360 words a minute where our minds can wander.  This is why it takes effort to give someone your full attention. 

Tags:  Romans, Hear It, John

Your Faith Can Grow

Luke 17:5  “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our Faith!”

Most people thought the guy had it all. He was young, rich and influential. He was an alpha male. But inside, something was missing. He couldn’t name exactly what it was, but it had something to do with God.

So he tracked down the most spiritual person he could find, the rabbi named Jesus that everyone was talking about, and he got a private meeting. He asked, “Rabbi, I’m doing everything I know to do - What am I missing?”

Tags:  Your Faith Can Grow, Hebrews, Luke, Peter, Here It, See It, Risk It, Here It See It Risk It

Attitude is Everything

Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.”
 
Have you witnessed a person who is under the influence? If so, you may have suspected the individual in mind was just a little off or not themselves completely. In Galatians 5 the apostle Paul challenges us to serve one another “under the influence.” The “influence” of the Holy Spirit and when we do it changes our attitude! We serve with a gr
Tags:  Attitude is Everything, Philippians, Serve, under the influence, Paul

Finding Your Role

1 Corinthians 12:12 “Just as a body, though one has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”
Have you ever been part of a great team? When I was a junior in high school my varsity basketball team was loaded with talent!
Tags:  1 Corinthians, Paul, Finding Your Role, Spiritual Gifts

Let it Go

 1 Corinthians 13:5 “Love does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
 
I love making lists. Task lists, pro and con lists, project lists, even lists of goals I would like to accomplish in the coming year. However, there is another type of list that is not very helpful. Some people make a list of individuals who have done wrong against them. They may refer to it as a grudge list or black list. You may not have a physical or handwritten list but many keep a mental list in their head. Your l
Tags:  Let it Go, Paul, 1 Corinthians, Love

God Got Personal

 
John 1:14 “The word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
 
A number of years ago I got really excited about the rumor of a new family that was looking to move into our neighborhood. The neighbor two doors down was planning on moving to Florida and decided to put their house on the market. One of the potential buyers I heard was a famous baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates! I immediately began to imagine the fun we woul
Tags:  God Got Personal, John, Christmas, God Became Flesh, Connected, Good Good Father

Slow Down

Luke 2:15 “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
 
Slowness is not usually rewarded in our culture today. No one says, “You know what is amazing about Mike: He moves so slow!” We don’t cheer the slowest runner in a race or reward the slowest worker on our team. However, if we want to make room for Jesus this Christmas season we need to learn to slow down. 
 
This time of year
Tags:  Slow Down, Luke, Shepherds

Open to Change

Matthew 1:18-19  “but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”

Tags:  Open to Change, Matthew, Plans, Interrupted, Interrupting, Fear of Change, Make Room, Make Room for Jesus, Christmas Season

Prayer

Matthew 6:9-13  “This, then, is how you should pray: “’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
 
One of the most important parts of our spiritual walk is prayer. In Acts 2 we see that the early church was devoted to prayer. Which meant they prayed first before acting, that prayer unified them, was based in scriptu
Tags:  Prayer, Lords Prayer, Matthew, Acts

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