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It’s Not Hard To Be A Disciple, Part 2
(Read part 1 first, if you haven’t.) So I’m supposed to lose everything in this life in exchange for Jesus…are we saying that I must quit my job, sell my home, give away all my possessions in order to be a disciple of Jesus? Why wouldn’t you be willing to do so? Wouldn’t you rather…
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It’s Not Hard To Be A Disciple
I’ve been reflecting over the current sermon series I am preaching in our churches right now on discipleship. I think it is the most challenging series for our congregations that I’ve preached. I can “feel” it. What do I mean by this? Well, everyone knows that people go to church to be inspired–they have usually…
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What Should A Pastor Consider “Work”?
No, this isn’t a post debating Calvinism and Arminianism. It’s more practical than that. When Billy Graham was interviewed about what he’d do differently if he had to do it all over again, he said he would spend a whole lot more time praying and studying. And he’d spend a lot less time speaking, etc.…
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Developing Object Permanence With God
Our six-month old baby, Sarah, gets super excited every time she sees me. One of those times when her eyes seemed totally locked onto me, I wondered, “Why is it that my presence gets her so excited?” I had many explanations. And I was also reminded that babies don’t have a concept of object permanence.…
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How Far Did Jesus Really Go To Save Us?
“He was 100% God and 100% human.” How many times have you heard that statement about Jesus? Have you ever noticed that anytime anyone says that, they say it in the past tense. He was 100% God and 100% human. The implication is that He became so for a brief period in time, but He…
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How To Know If You Can Make It As A Televangelist/Preacher (And Then Lose It)
Do any of the following apply to you? Your last name rhymes with Swaggart/Haggard Your first name has a great ring to it if you add a “y” to it, such as Ben, Ted, Jim, etc. Even when you’re on a security camera in the mall, you feel the need to weep. You cry…
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What Are Christians Up To?
What are we striving for? What is our end-goal? When can we say alongside Jesus, “It is finished”? It’s no less than the evangelization of the entire world. What a daunting task! I look at my church–we’ve probably got 25-30 people in each location. Should this lofty concept be the goal of such a small,…
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Fasting, Day 39
Tomorrow is the last of 40 days of fasting! I don’t feel like I sacrificed nearly “enough” during these days, but I’m still super eager to be able to go on a normal eating routine once again. Going into the fast, I knew that after the first few days of fasting, hunger pains went away.…
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Fasting, Day 20
Halfway there. After breaking my water fast and giving myself a few days to return to normal eating, I decided finish the 40 days by fasting breakfast and lunch, and eating dinner each day. Before fasting, I never really ate breakfast, but now I think when the fast is over, I’ll be adding that into…
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Fasting, Day 7
I’m back to eating normal foods again! Although it’s great to be eating again, I realize that food doesn’t satisfy as much as my mind made me to believe when I was fasting. There’s a slight shallowness in the satisfaction of eating. As I end this fast, one question lingers: Did I fail at fasting?…