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On Denying Self

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and come follow me. (Luke 9:23) Christian maturity comes through Christ.  When Jesus gets inside you, He changes you to be more like Him.  He went to the Cross.  When He gets inside you, He will take you to the Cross too. He will call you to deny yourself.  He will ask you to die.  And you won’t like it.  And because you won’t like it, you will fight it.  Blessed is the one who yields his life when it is hard. But when you…

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Suffering and Growing

“Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.” (Heb 5:8) Father, I don’t want suffering.  But I do want more of You.  And if suffering helps me know You better, bring what is necessary to bring me near to You. Jesus learned obedience through what He suffered.  When we look at that Scripture, we often focus on the question of how the eternal Son of God needed to learn anything, but that question doesn’t trouble me.  The eternal Son of God became a man; and as a man, He had to learn all sorts of things. …

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The Kingdom and Suffering

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (II Tim 3:12) Jesus, thank you that you have gone through suffering we will never understand and promise to be with us always in the midst of ours.  Hallelujah! Leanne and I had dinner with another couple a few days ago, and we got to talking about the church in America.  The wife of the other couple made the observation that the American church is full of Christians who have stagnated in their spiritual growth.  They go to church.  They read their Bible.  They may…

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Practices for Handling Money IV: Investing

Before you read this blog, please read the previous blogs on principles and practices for handling money.  From a spiritual standpoint, those principles and practices need to be in place before you think about investing money.  Now . . . investing.  If you are hoping for me to talk about great funds to park your money in or nice tricks to maximize a return on an investment, I’m going to disappoint you.  I am not an investment expert, and I don’t want to be one.  I know the Bible, not the stock market.  I am here to bring a Biblical…

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Practices for Handling Money III: Saving

When Joseph counseled Pharaoh on how to handle the seven years of famine, he told Pharaoh to save during the seven years of plenty.  The savings would then carry the nation through the famine.  This is a central purpose of saving. Almost everyone will experience times of low income or unusual bills that their income cannot handle.  Therefore, if you are able to save, it is generally wise to set aside a reasonable amount of money for those times.  I have intentionally nuanced that statement, so let’s discuss it to elaborate on the nuance. If you are able to save…

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