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Dec 2017
True peace can never exist where violence is present. Like the word ‘peace’ itself, the word ‘violence’ is also multidimensional. When a nation’s safety is threatened by some rogue regime, it’s often left with no option but to fight. And so, we have war. Eventually, one nation’s force overwhelms the force of the other nation and the war ends. But the peace that results is never a lasting peace; it’s merely a temporary cessation of hostilities. Before long, some other nation resumes the hostility and the cycle of war begins all over......
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December 07, 2017
Peace Work
Biblical peace is not only the absence of bad; it’s also the presence of good. It means more than just ‘not’ fighting with my neighbor, but its actively working for his good. John the Baptist...
December 05, 2017
A Mind Stayed – Apprehending the Shalom of God
Peace is, I think, the most elusive of all the things we desire and pursue. Some of the wisest men in the world can’t capture it. The richest among us can’t buy it. The worries...
December 04, 2017
Approaching Bethlehem, Yawning
In the introduction to his Advent devotional, Come, Let Us Adore Him, Paul David Tripp illustrates how familiarity leaves us underwhelmed by the Christmas story. He asks us to imagine that we’ve moved into a...
December 01, 2017
A Love Explosion Called YOU!
We all strive for purity as believers, right? We want to be like our Lord and our Lord is pure in every way. In Him, John tells us, “is no darkness at all.” That, he...
November 30, 2017
Sarah’s Dandelion
Sometimes the smallest act of kindness (which is, of course, one of the fruits of the Spirit working in us), can have a profound and lasting impact upon others. In Serving, the Biggest Honor in...
November 28, 2017
What Have You Been Preaching Lately?
Yesterday’s blog considered the leper that Jesus healed with a word and with a touch. As I mentioned, touching lepers was just not done. It was unhealthy, risky, socially unacceptable. But Jesus chose that path...
November 27, 2017
Just A Touch
The verse is striking in its simplicity: “Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him” (Matthew 8:3). We touch lots of things as we move through life without ever thinking much about it. But this...
November 19, 2017
Thanksgiving Eye Trouble
‘No, seriously, weren’t there ten?’ The story’s pretty well known. Jesus is traveling and preaching and healing. And in Luke 17:11-19 we find this thought-provoking incident. On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between...
November 17, 2017
The Very Best Reason To Die
John 12:20-26: “Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So, these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see...