Every relationship is formed and perpetuated by an invisible link called trust. That binding link is forged through loving communication, meticulous integrity, and honest transparent motives.
Christian Living
Wise Financial Practices for Every Christian
Is it not one of the great contradictions of the Christian life that we who have trusted Christ with our eternity sometimes struggle to trust Him with our money? God promises to meet our needs, and we all have testimonies of specific times and ways that He has done so. Yet, we still sometimes find a gap between wanting to trust Him with our finances and actually doing so.
So what are some of the regular financial practices that help us exercise trust in God?
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Take a walk with me through what many have called “the great hall of faith”—Hebrews chapter 11. The men and women listed in this chapter are people whose lives were pivot points in Bible history.
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Due to a population explosion in Southern California in the early 1920s, plans were made to create a large reservoir to help meet the region’s growing water needs. Engineer William Mulholland had achieved a great deal of recognition and respect among members of the engineering community when he supervised the design and construction of the longest aqueduct in the world at that time—the Los Angeles Aqueduct, and he was chosen as the chief engineer for the new project.
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I am nearing my ninetieth birthday. I made public my call to preach on Thanksgiving night of 1954. A few days after that I preached my first sermon in the prayer meeting service of the Black Oak Baptist Church in Gary, Indiana.
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A Look at Isaiah 6
Scofield and other Bible students have called the sixth chapter of Isaiah, the prophet’s “transforming vision.” The account of his experience seeing God’s glory reminds us of Simon Peter’s transforming experience in Luke 5. When Peter realized Who Jesus really was, he could see how sinful he was, and said to the Lord, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” In response, the Lord said to him, “Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.”
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Filtering Your New Year’s Goals in Light of Your Calling
There’s nothing like an approaching new year for bringing out our best aspirations. Somehow everything seems doable when it’s written under a “Goals for the New Year” heading! And there’s nothing like an over-committed, unreasonable list of goals for deflating the very enthusiasm with which we made those goals.
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We are tempted to think that the time in which we live is the worst time in the history of civilization. That’s nonsense. The Bible speaks of a time when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25). What is new, however, is the way in which Christians have succumbed to social pressure during such a time. I believe some Christians’ lack of indignation at what we see in our world today is not a sign of their spirituality but of their indifference.
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Your Relationship with God Withers When it Is Neglected
If I asked you a question about your own devotional life, would you be uncomfortable? Some Christians spend little—if any—time with the Lord on a daily basis.
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When it comes to making purchases I am a research guy. By that, I mean that before I reach the store I have used my computer to research what my best purchase would be.
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Setting SMART Goals
Do your new year’s goals ever feel repetitious? Do you find yourself making the same goals year after year with little progress? It may be that the weakness isn’t so much with your resolve as it is with your plan.
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3 Principles from Joseph’s Response to an Impossible Situation
I’ll never forget hearing Dr. Tom Malone say, “When God wants to do something great, He starts with the difficult. But when He wants to do something miraculous, He starts with the impossible.”
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The King Became a Man
I’ve always liked hearing oxymorons. They are often ironically humorous. The word oxymoron itself comes from oxus which means “sharp” and moros which means “dull.”
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It’s inevitable! This Thanksgiving season we face several harsh realities–our biased media, high prices, indefinite restrictions as a result of COVID-19, and I can go on and on.
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3 Actions for Christians to Take in a Confused Society
We live in a day of amazing confusion. But what makes the confusion especially disorienting is that those who are creating it don’t act bewildered or perplexed. Instead, when we point out what seems obvious, they tell us with a straight face that we are confused, that these issues are more complex than we could understand, that the problem is with us.
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A Call to Be a Faithful and Involved Member of your Local Church
As we recently celebrated our 70th anniversary as a local church, I have been thinking of the role that a local church has played in my life. I am so glad that my parents taught and showed me the importance of belonging and being faithful to the local church.
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It’s hard to read James 1:27 and see it meaning anything less than exercising compassion toward those in need: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
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A new Gallup survey reports that for the first time in American history, church membership nationwide has dropped below 50 percent. This past year has been a challenging one for pastors and churches. Although there are multiple factors that have contributed to...
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3 Aspects of the Normal Christian Life
It’s a question I have heard frequently—perhaps daily—for over ten months: “When is life going to get back to normal?”
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My father was not raised in church. When he was in his early 20’s, someone invited him to a church service. As a result of being invited to church, Jesus changed his life forever. My dad got saved that night, ended up going to a Baptist college and met his wife (my mom). My brothers and sister and I were raised in a Christian home because somebody invited him to church.
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