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The Ethnically Unacceptable  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ––Galatians 3:28   Samaritans were perceived as an ethnic malfunction in the days of Jesus––a blight which reminded the Jews of a season in their…

Man vs. Mission There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens … a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time…

Resurrection or Nothing     If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of…

Dysfunctional Spirituality  He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  ––Micah 6:8 You may have fallen for the oldest trick in the book. You can’t fake it. Conviction without character is…

When to Advance Let me tell you what’s going on here: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer; but in the kingdom he prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him. For a long time now people have tried to force themselves into God’s kingdom. But if…

When to Retreat Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. ––Mark 1:35 Advancement is the key direction in God’s kingdom. Moving forward. Conquering new ground for the gospel. I believe that’s…

Holy Spirit Relationship  Sound thinking makes for gracious living, but liars walk a rough road. ––Proverbs 13:15, MSG  How many believers have you encountered who gave the appearance that everything was solidly put together on the outside, but inside life was full of pain from relational, moral, spiritual and emotional…

The Morally Unacceptable     If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is––that she is a sinner. ––Luke 7:39  Religion is tricky. I’m not talking Jesus-connected relationship, but plain ‘ol religion. On the surface, it looks great: folks who…

After the Fall But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. ––1 John 1:9, NLT We’ve all been in at least one of these scenarios. The morning after a horrible argument with your…

Hearing His Voice     After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ––1 Kings 19:12  Holy hunches, sensing the Spirit, trusting insight over eyesight, all this talk sounds ethereal and spooky to a lot of men…