CCF Weekly Services Podcast

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A message calling believers to trust in God’s abundant riches of grace and glory that far exceed anything we can ask or imagine. It contrasts worldly self-centeredness and temporary things with the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus, urging the church to value Christ above possessions, relationships, and even life itself. This message highlights that true Christian strength is an inner work of the Spirit that continues even as the body fails, and that God uses our prayers and lives in far-reaching, unseen ways over time.

God’s riches of glory and grace in the Messiah are abundant, constant, and more than enough for every believer.
Knowing and loving Jesus must become more precious to us than possessions, success, and even our closest human relationships.
The Holy Spirit strengthens the inner person, and God uses our prayers and faithfulness in powerful, long-term ways beyond what we can see.

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Jesus warns that outward moral reform without inward spiritual transformation leaves a person spiritually empty and vulnerable. True freedom comes when Christ Himself takes residence in the heart.

Self-improvement is not salvation.
Empty hearts are vulnerable hearts.
The Christian life is one of continual surrender, growth, and dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

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Paul reminds the church of Corinth where their attention needs to be in order to avoid spiritual deception. If they get their eyes off of Jesus or look for a source of truth that is less than His Word, they will happily deceive themselves and wander everywhere but the truth.

The most common source of spiritual deception is us.
Pride is a false view of ourselves and others.
Your vulnerability to deception is directly related to your proximity and dependence on Jesus.

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Paul makes a direct comparison to a Christian's life with that of the Temple of God. This was both in terms of the significance of the articles in the Holy Place as it was the severity of how those things were to be treated and handled.

God meets with His people just like He met with Israel at the Temple.
God hears the prayers of His people just like He enjoyed the incense of the Altar.
Sin's influence over our lives causes us to wither and unable to enjoy God like His Temple was intended to.

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Paul's correction of the church of Corinth's carnality continues with an explanation of what he means by that term. A carnal or naturalistic perspective isn't fitting of an informed Christian life. A mature Christian is someone who takes whatever they rightly know about Jesus and lives accordingly. His exhortation was for them to learn enough about Jesus to do something practical with it.

Christian maturity is when what they know becomes how they live.
Jesus is not a topic Christians should “move on” from.
There is a Heaven to be gained and a Hell to be shunned.

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Nehemiah and Ezra respond to the people of Israel's desire to celebrate the wall's completion with an organized demonstration of praising God for all the things He's done through them. It is from this perspective we also see the purpose God has for praise in our lives as well.

Praise means to acknowledge what God has done.
Praise refocuses our past, present, and future onto the faithfulness of God.
Praise's greatest blessing gets our minds off of ourselves and onto Someone more worthy of our attention.

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Joseph, like his namesake, shows a pattern of a godly father. Since Jesus was the only being in existence who could choose who would be his earthly father before He was born, we see the kind of man He chose as a model for the modern calling of Fatherhood.

A Father models truth to his children by submitting to the Word of God.
Wisdom is the ability to accept correction as often as provide it.
A Godly Father is one that is there for his family especially when things get difficult.

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Nehemiah and the leaders of Israel begin to repopulate the city of Jerusalem. While it wasn't a comfortable or safe setting, they were a part of the work God was doing in their generation and they were honored for it.

The best leaders lead by example.
God's calling for your life isn't always to be comfortable.
God's approval of our choices is worth infinitely more than man's.

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Paul reminds Corinth of the kind of difference a relationship with Jesus makes in life. The world around them can't understand the Word of God because they don't want to know the Author. The church knows the Author and should use Him as He intended to appreciate His Word and live a life that reflects it.

You won't understand the significance a personal letter without a relationship with its author.
A word from the Lord should always be tested with the Word of the Lord.
The mind of Christ we've been given is the perspective and attitude Jesus would have towards the things of this life.

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Nehemiah and the Priests establish a covenant with God after their restoration to the land because they wanted to rather than out of obligation or coercion. This is the same attitude we should bring to the promises we make to God in our own relationship with Him.

God takes the promises we make to Him as seriously as the promises He's made to us.
Why we are doing something is as important as what we are doing.
Giving is a tangible demonstration of where our priorities are at in supporting the works of God we benefit from.

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Paul continues to address the Corinthians' pride regarding who they have received their understanding of who Jesus is and what He taught by giving them a sober reminder that they don't know as much as they think they do. Their immaturity was demonstrated by believing they had all the knowledge they needed. He calls them to return to reality by appreciating how much more they need to learn and appreciate about the simplest of truths that it will take an eternity to fully appreciate.

Maturity is a healthy understanding of how much more you need to know.
A Mystery from God isn't something hidden and unknown, but something continuing to be revealed.
The Holy Spirit is the only reason we are aware of our need for Jesus. We also need Him to grow closer to Him.

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Nehemiah 9 is the longest prayer recorded in scripture. Due to the fact it was biblically informed and essentially summarizes the first 7 books of the Old Testament, it serves as a reminder to us of what an informed and practical prayer life looks like.

Prayer should be to an audience of One.
God's Word should inform you of the God you're talking to in prayer.
God is more capable of keeping His promises than we are in making them.

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This is the one chapter in the Bible that is fully dedicated to Isaac, the son of Abraham. During his life we see that he had a sin that came up in his life that was experienced by his father too. God showed up and reveled to Isaac not to flee during a famine but to stay in the Promised land. The land of Canaan. It made no sense, but God assured Isaac that he would be taken care of if he trusted God. Isaac obeys and then proceeds to lie to the king of the Philistines and in turn puts his wife, Rebekah, in a compromising position. God shows great mercy in the life of Isaac in blessing Isaac with numerous wells with water. There is a beautiful heart of Isaac to restore the water wells that his dad had built. In the greater Biblical narratives, we are shows that Isaac indeed is the promised line of Abraham that will produce the redeemer for mankind. We also are reminded that Jesus is our greatest example of how to live. Jesus also in a groom that will never hurt or forsake us. Jesus lastly is our living water that restores and brings times of refreshing in our lives!

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Nehemiah gathered with Ezra and the Priests for the first time they got to observe the Feast of Tabernacles since their return from exile. What made the difference between the times before and this moment in history was that they saw it as a joy and enjoyed remembering their history and future.

Thankfulness is the willingness to recognize something as good.
We do ourselves and our relationships more favors by reminding ourselves of what we have to be thankful for.
Our past, present, and future are all centered around our relationship with Jesus.

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Paul challenges the Corinthian mindset that they are superior to each other because of the teachers they have for themselves. Using his own example to them, he reminds them the message is more important than the messenger. That message can be eloquent or simple, but it's foundational to start and end all conversations with people about Jesus to actually talk about Jesus.

You don't have to know everything to tell someone good reasons to believe Jesus rose from the dead.
We all have a story of how God changed our lives. Sharing it effectively should be second nature.
The Resurrection of Jesus is the primary argument to the truth of the Bible.

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Nehemiah and Ezra host the first public reading of God's Word in Jerusalem since their return from Babylon. It was an emotional experience, but also one that needed to be appreciated as something to celebrate.

Gathering with God's people should be an opportunity to share His heart with each other.
A legitimate Bible study includes edification, exhortation, and comfort.
Joy is the emotional reaction to hope fulfilled.

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Paul focuses the Corinthian church from who they are learning about Jesus from back onto what Jesus has actually done for them all.

The world's rejection of Jesus isn't rational. It is passionate.
The Christian life should center on appreciating what Jesus has done for them.
What you do with the cross of Jesus Christ makes all the difference in eternity.

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Nehemiah is led by the Lord to record a census of those who were still a part of the work after the time of Ezra upon completion of the wall. In this record, we see the kind of issues God is most interested in.

God cares about people individually.
God's Word has been reliably preserved and we can verify this archaeologically.
The heart we bring to the work of God is just as important as the work itself.

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Naomi is a biblical model of motherhood done right. She wasn't perfect. She wasn't a miracle worker. Her kids didn't all turn out great. She simply hung in there and maintained a consistent model of the heart of God. And God used that to bless the entire world in ways she would never know this side of eternity.

God's correction is seeking our restoration, not our destruction.
Suffering proves character. It doesn't always build it.
God's work leaves us with little to regret if we see it through to the end.

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Paul's letter moves from the negative aspects of what doesn't honor the Father into a practical description of what the Father is like according to the example of Jesus.

The Christian life is based on the example of Jesus.
Jesus' priorities were centered around showing the world what the Father is like.
We honor the Father by following Jesus' example of the Father's character.

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Paul introduces himself to the church of Corinth with words of commendation and correction. They were a Godly church for a reason. However, every church needs correction. The mark of maturity is based on someone’s capacity to receive and respond to that correction properly.

A worthwhile testimony is one based on the historical fact of Jesus’ Resurrection.
Godly things can be used to replace or distract from God Himself.
No Godly action will benefit you until you recognize God’s Action Alone saved you.

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Nehemiah concludes the construction of Jerusalem's Wall. It's not the end of the trouble Nehemiah would deal with from Israel's enemies, but his response to their last attempts to oppose this work of God amounted to nothing because Nehemiah held to his integrity and the Word of God every step of the way. God took care of the rest.

Isolation in the Christian life is deadly.
A Word from God will always be verified by the Word of God.
A life of integrity is a better defense than any answer you give to your critics.

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The Apostle John concludes his letter to Gaius with two examples of who you'd want to be like when you grew up as a Christian and who you didn't want to follow the example of. Diotrephes is mentioned historically as a slanderer who isolates himself from fellow believers. Demetrius is mentioned as someone with a good testimony and walks in the truth.

The Christian life is a growing life. Be careful what direction you're growing and who influences that growth.
Fear causes people to grow into someone other than Jesus while thinking they are being like Him.
All dealings between fellow Christians should be done face to face.

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Nehemiah begins to address internal issues as Jerusalem’s wall continues to be rebuilt. God’s Law was being disobeyed regarding loans and debts thanks to the policies of Israel’s enemies. They were addressed directly through a willingness to be generous, which Nehemiah himself also modeled.

Money matters are extremely difficult to navigate.
The difference between anger and sin is often a willingness to pause and think.
The Christian life should be lived in order to bless God.

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The Apostle John introduces his letter to Gaius by expressing how much joy it brings him to see the people he discipled growing in their relationship with Jesus.

Love is the foundational attitude of the Christian life.
There is no greater blessing to a pastor than seeing their flock growing in their relationship with God.
God's form of love is only possible through Him.

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Nehemiah’s work on the wall wasn’t without opposition. The response he had to the opposition were significant because they were all biblically informed and modeled.

God is better at defending us and avenging us than we will ever be.
Love is the answer to fear.
Live the kind of life that makes others want a walk with God like you do.

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Easter puts life into perspective because the Resurrection of Jesus is just that significant. It is the lens by which we view life, understand truth, and the primary reason we have to trust God’s character.

Power of TRUTH. Jesus' Resurrection puts reality into perspective. Power of TRUTH.
Power of TRUST. Jesus’ Resurrection is one more reason to trust God’s character.
Power of TRANSFORMATION. Jesus’ Resurrection demonstrates the power we all have been given to live the Christian life.

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The first opposition Nehemiah faces in Jerusalem’s reconstruction is mockery and threats of smear campaigns. His only response was to fall back on the Word of God and the truth of why they were there.

Hatred of the Jewish people is the first and greatest mark of the heart of Satan.
Spiritual backgrounds mean nothing if they don’t impact who we are today.
The only response we should have towards lies is the truth.

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The Triumphal Entry the week before Jesus' Resurrection was a fulfillment of prophecies centuries in the making. This attention to detail and punctuality on God's part gives us one more reason to believe He won't overlook similar details and promises He's made to us.

God doesn't overlook details.
God is never early or late. His timing is perfect.
God knows where He's taking us is worth the journey.

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Nehemiah is an example of faith in action by trusting God every step of the way he was brought through His will for his life. We can learn from his example by understanding what trusting God looks like in action. He was patient, flexible, and unwilling to isolate himself in the process.

Blessed are the flexible. They won’t be broken.
God considers impossible circumstances as ideal opportunities.
God never limits His work to one person.

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John's second letter addresses Christians concerning their source of joy. Antichrist religions posing as Christianity will challenge it, but the foundation of our hopes won't be disappointed if they're informed through God's Word.

Joy is the emotional reaction to hope fulfilled.
Joy is protected by informing your hopes through God's Word.
You rob yourself of joy by isolating yourself from others.

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Nehemiah spends months in prayer that ultimately leads up to this moment. He is given the request God had been putting on everyone’s lives who were involved in a process that had significance that went beyond anything they could imagine.

The purpose of prayer is to change our hearts, not God’s mind.
The time spent preparing for a work is just as important as the work itself.
Never underestimate the work God can do through your life

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John's final word in his letter is a warning about idolatry. It destroys lives in a very subtle way. And Christians are more at risk of falling into it than anyone else.

There is no greater burden than great potential.
The biggest mistakes are the product of small compromises made regularly over time.
Corruption takes place by erosion, not explosion.

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Nehemiah’s ministry begins with his heart breaking over the state of Jerusalem. While nothing practical is accomplished yet, he makes the first and most important step in being used by God. He takes the time to make sure his own relationship with God was informed and equipped for whatever God desired of him.

The purpose of prayer is aligning your desires with God’s.
The love of God is impossible to show apart from the power of God.
The key to being used by God is showing up and trusting He will take care of the rest.

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As the new Iran conflict rages on, it's important to have a biblical perspective on just how significant these current events are in view of God's unfolding prophetic plan for human history.

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Ezra's initial ministry concludes with a call to confession and reconciliation with God. The process wasn't good for the men's reputations, but it was the best thing for their future here and in eternity.

The goal of fasting is to make God more of a priority than whatever you're replacing that time spent with.
If you put your family before God, there will come a point where you have to choose one over the other.
Sin has consequences, but God offers restoration.

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John continues to drive home the point that our confidence towards Heaven is centered in Jesus. Any distraction or deviation from that is from the enemy and needs to be answered by further focus on the person and promises of our Lord.

There is a devil and the less attention we give him the better.
Jesus is our security against the enemy.
The assurance of our salvation is in Jesus alone.

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Ezra’s return to Jerusalem was astonishing. It was disappointing, discouraging, and depressing. Yet in spite of the negative emotions this rightly produced, he ultimately responded through fellowship with God’s people, patience, and prayer.

Emotions are good servants, but poor masters.
Prayer aligns our will with God’s, not the other way around.
None of us should want what we deserve before a Holy God.

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The Sin Leading Unto Death is a controversial topic in Christian circles. The reason isn't because we don't know what it is. There are simply too few willing to deal with the reality that God reserves the right to take His children out if they cross over certain lines. The key to avoiding that line is to consider the bad examples of it in other people as reason to take it seriously in our own lives.

The line between seeking prayer for someone and gossip is actually praying for them.
A historical example of the Sin leading to death is Ananias and Saphira.
The people we support in life can be warnings about our own issues as well.

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Ezra’s return to Jerusalem was a major step of faith for him and everyone involved. They not only had to trust God to see them safely across the Fertile Crescent, but to be the kind of people who could be trusted with those resources. God saw both done through the same means He can also see that work accomplished in our lives as well.

The Christian life is one lived for an audience of one.
Fasting is about making God a greater source of enjoyment than what you’re exchanging for that time.
A life lived through Jesus will look like Him.

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John states that we should have a level of confidence in our relationship with God that is reflected in the way we talk to Him. We can communicate anything the same way we can speak to our friends. And it is from that relationship in place the Holy Spirit Himself is able to lead our hearts to align them with His.

We have the same level of access to God in prayer that we have with a friend.
God’s Will for our lives is stated plainly in scripture.
The Holy Spirit enables us to pray according to God’s Will.

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Ezra is returned to Israel with the resources and legal authority to beautify the Temple and officially establish the nation legally. It was decades in the making, but the timing was always perfect. Ezra himself served as the kind of people we want to become as we wait for His work to continue.

God can develop your integrity through your faithfulness with small things.
A Godly reputation is the best kind of testimony.
God will handle the timing of His answers. We simply need to focus on our ability to handle those answers when they come.

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Jesus plus is always Jesus minus. Paul continues to reinforce this in a world where alternatives and counterfeits to Jesus were as common as they continue to be today. The only appropriate response is a true understanding of who Jesus is.

Jesus' Resurrection is the answer to the problem of human mortality.
Ignorance is not a Christian virtue.
A good thing becomes a bad thing when it's used to replace or invalidate the best possible thing.

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The Apostle John makes the case for evangelism as one centered on and motivated by the person of Jesus Christ. If we have anything better to share with people, we should share it. Until then, stick with Him.

Every meaningful conversation about Jesus should focus on Jesus.
God wants us to know for certain that He loves us and we belong to Him.
You aren't responsible for how people respond to the Gospel. Only how graciously you present it.

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Paul concludes his letter to Thessalonica by reminding them that lazy people and freeloaders shouldn't expect to see what God intends for the Christian life. Instead, follow his work ethic of serving like Christ served.

The Church isn't for lazy people or freeloaders.
If you aren't seeing action, get in the game.
Prayer should be a priority for every believer.

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John makes his case for the assurance we have in the promises of God based on who Jesus truly is. A false version can't save anyone, but the real deal has given us every reason to trust His promise to save us.

A fake god can't save you.
There are things we don't understand about creation. The Creator is allowed to be at least that complicated.
God's promises are trustworthy because He's proven His character.

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John concludes his theme about the love of God by making it the crossroads between a genuine believer and hypocritical one. Apart from a miracle, we can't love like Jesus does. The miracle of salvation is that we will can be a witness through love... or an argument against it.

God's Love isn't easy. Only He can do it.
The cure for hypocrisy in the church is not to be one.
Calling yourself a Christian is meaningless unless you act like Christ.

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A Reason 4 Hope is a Live Podcast Q&A program and ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship. If you have a sincere question from the heart, please join the livestream. Our goal is to provide a deeper understanding of God’s Word, and shine His light on all areas of life in current times. Matters of Biblical prophecy, issues of tomorrow, the trials of today, and clarity or insight into challenging questions we face daily concerning the faith; all are welcome on the various livestream platforms we stream to.

We welcome you to listen to the show and be a part of our daily journey through the Bible, one question of the heart at a time. Thank you for visiting A Reason 4 Hope, a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson.

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In a time and season where Jew hatred is at an all time high, we need to be prepared to endure and overcome the spirit that is dominating the lives of those who share the heart and soul of Satan.

The Last Days will be dominated by Jew Hatred.
Be aware of the baggage you bring into your Christian life.
Truth doesn't sneak.

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Ezra and those who followed him from Babylon saw the work of God fulfilled. In response to this fulfilled promise of God, they did what we all should do when we see those things fulfilled. They said thank you. They prayed. They took the time to draw closer to God and distance themselves from the things of this world.

Thankfulness is recognizing something in our lives as good.
Take the time to remember how God has come through for you before so you don’t forget the next time you need to trust Him.
With God, the best is always yet to come.

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John describes our love-based relationship with God as centered around His Work, His promises, and His Presence in our lives. The Holy Spirit has entered the hearts of those who believe in the Son whom the Father sent. We recognize His presence through His ongoing work in making us more like Jesus in our character.

We know God through how He’s revealed Himself in His Word.
We have assurance of salvation because of His promises and continued work in our lives.
The Holy Spirit’s goal in our lives is to make us like Jesus in our character.

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God renews Israel’s efforts in seeing the Temple rebuilt. Through the ministries of Haggai and Zechariah, the work continued another 5 years to completion of that promised work. And the additional work of opposition that went to Persia was answered with deadly threat from Darius the Mede that ended opposition entirely.

God’s Word is where we discover His plans and purposes for our lives.
God’s Promises are the only thing worth counting on in this life.
What God starts, He finishes.

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Paul introduces himself to the church of the Colossians with a clarification of the most fundamental truths of Christianity. Jesus is God, the Trinity is how He has revealed Himself, and our salvation is based on what He has done for us. Period.

If Jesus acts like God, talks like God, and walks like God, He's probably God.
Faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross is the only way we are saved.
God has not distanced Himself from our pain, but voluntarily became a part of it.

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Jesus makes a series of promises to those who practice evangelism. The promises aren’t of being liked by everyone and to never encounter trouble, but the promise that serving and honoring Him will be remembered and rewarded.

Don’t Be Afraid of what you don’t know or may face.
Don’t Be Frazzled by the opposition to the Gospel.
Don’t Forget who you’re serving and pleasing in Evangelism.

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John continues to explain God’s love and the calling of the Christian life through His historical demonstration of it.

God’s love by nature is to seek the ultimate well being of others, even His enemies.
God’s love isn’t performed for Him, but accomplished through Him.
God laid His own life down as the payment for our ransom. You can’t out-sin that high a price.

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Ezra records the successful opposition to the work of God through a disinformation campaign by the Samaritans. From this negative example, we can learn from the tactics the enemy will use to oppose the work of God that we can prepare to experience in our own lives.

A demon’s specialty is to look like an angel.
It’s harder to expose a lie than it is to tell the truth.
It’s better to let God defend you as you serve Him than it is to stop serving God to defend yourself.

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John makes biblical Christ-like love the central theme of the Christian life. It is not only the foundation of our belief regarding God's dealings with us, but the one unique trait that should set aside every believer from a world that doesn't know or understand this love.

God was good to us because of who He is, not what we are, were, or could be.
People don't care about how much you know until they know how much you care.
Always ask how you can be a conduit of God's love in whatever circumstance you're in.

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The people of Israel make their first act of reentering the Promised Land by making the Lord their first priority. They were concerned for their safety, but chose to make the clearing of the Temple ruins and the reconstruction of the Altar a priority. God took care of the rest.

Take care of things between you and God and God will take care of things between you and everything else.
Giving should be a “get to” not a “got to.
Your attitude in life determines your altitude.

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Paul concludes his second letter to Thessalonica with reminders of the things he's already written and spoken to them. This included what they could count on from God as well as what should be expected of them as Christians living in the midst of an anti-Christian world.

The answer to persecution is the same as the motivation for Godly living. The example and power of Jesus.
It's always better to trust God to keep His Promises than expect Him to do what we'd like Him to.
Restoration is the default purpose and goal of any correction and discipline.

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Ezra takes a roll call of the heads of the families who accompanied them back to the Promised Land from Babylon.

There is nothing more honorable before God than a Godly example to your family.
Israel defies all laws of cultural anthropology by retaining their identity despite not having a homeland.
God cares more about why you’re giving than how much you’re giving.

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John explains the fundamental truth of spiritual warfare. You either belong to God or you will settle for false doctrine. Our fallen natures want an Antichrist. Only people who know Jesus Christ will value Him over the counterfeits this world is all too eager to offer.

Spiritual warfare is resolved entirely by your relationship with God.
There is a difference between being nice and doing what is right.
The greatest compliment you can ever receive is the hatred of evil people.

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Surrender provides us joy, not self-service.
If your understanding of the Gospel is not personal, you do not understand the Gospel.
Jesus calls you to live your life as it was meant to be lived.

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John identifies the difference between true and false doctrine by the attitude and intentions of the ones sharing it. People who don’t know Jesus will preach themselves with Him as a means of getting attention. The real deal with simply point people to Jesus.

Don’t dismiss spiritual input. Test it.
Knowing what God has actually said helps when testing what else He’s claimed to have said.
You can’t fake the real deal.

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Ezra’s record of his return from Babylon begins with the fundamental traits of a work of God in any generation. His Word is proven true, the necessary participants and factors are all taken care of, and those who are a part of that work are filled with the Holy Spirit to accomplish everything He’s called them to personally.

The reason we trust God regarding our present is because He has an unbroken track record of talking about the past and future.
God personally provides Himself to equip us for what He calls us to.
Those who are the most heavenly minded are the most earthly good.

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John explains the greatest assurance we have of our salvation. We belong to Jesus because of what He's done for us, not what we do for Him. One what He has done sets into our hearts and minds, we will want to do for Him what He can only do through us.

We can examine what we love most by what we invest our time, talent, and treasure into.
Jesus' Commandments are to Believe in who He is and love like He loved us First.
Jesus is the only One who can love like He does, and does so through those who belong to Him

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Nahum concludes with a final condemnation of Assyria’s crimes. What they have done against God and His creation would be answered for. It wasn’t immediate, but it would be ultimate.

Evil exists and has to be answered.
Pleasure apart from God has a payday.
The patience of God has a limit.

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John defines biblical Christian love off of the historical example of Jesus and His motivation for redeeming us from the ultimate consequences of our sin.

The only joy Jesus experienced on the cross was the possibility His enemies would be saved.
The definition of love for Christians was demonstrated by Jesus historically.
God doesn’t expect a lot of faith, but He does require it to be in the right place.

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John describes a right relationship with God proven and demonstrated through the Love of God at work in our lives. He demonstrates this through a contrast between the character of Jesus and the murderer Cain.

People who know God love His creation like He does.
The Love of God apart from a relationship with God is impossible.
A heart that rejects God won’t act like Him.

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The destruction of Assyria is graphically described in the way only ancient warfare could be. With descriptions of nature itself turning against them, they only had themselves to blame.

The Judgment of God is not something to be taken lightly.
The Gears of God’s Justice grind slow but exceedingly fine.
It’s God’s job to judge. It’s our job to love.

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John makes a point about the difference between a heart that belongs to God and one that doesn't. The heart that knows God has God and can't help but become more like Him over time. The alternative is a heart that has no place for God and naturally replaces Him with the things that are contrary to Him.

Sin means to miss God's nature in action or attitude.
A relationship with Jesus makes a big difference in the lives of those who receive it.
God hates sin because He knows what it does to those He loves.

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Israel learns the hard way why turning to Egypt to be their defense against the threat of Assyria wouldn't prevent or delay the judgment of God.

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John outlines the hope of Heaven as centered around the person and promises of Jesus. The more we love Him, the more we will want to be more like Him and look forward to being with Him.

The reason the world hates those who belong to Jesus is because of their hatred of Jesus Himself.
The motivation for Godly Living is a love for Jesus.
The only way people will love like God does is for Him to love others through us.

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Nahum’s prophecy of Nineveh’s destruction was as tragic as it was needless. The generation before them heard the gospel and responded. The generation after them knew the gospel and still made themselves an enemy of God. Judgment was coming, but the character of God remained the same.

God isn’t someone we can manipulate or take advantage of.
We listen to false teachers at our own peril.
The only things that last forever are the Word of God and people. Invest accordingly.

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Charlie Kirk's Assassination leaves a legacy very similar to that of the first martyr Stephen. From their examples, we see the kind of life that God can use for His glory.

Follow God in Private and you'll continue to do so in public.
Responding in Violence when people can't refute you is nothing new in history.
God's opinion of your life is the only one that matters.

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John concludes the second chapter of his epistle with the reminder of the tools we all have at our disposal to answer the challenges this world will throw at us from without and within. They include our relationship with God, His Word, and the promises found therein.

The majority of false prophets will come from within the church rather than outside of it.
Eternal Life is based on Who you know rather than how long you live.
If it's true, it ain't new. And if it's new, it ain't true.

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Nahum begins his prophecy to Assyria as a follow up to the ministry of Jonah 150 years prior. The only difference between the two ministries is that Assyria now knew Who they were dealing with when the name of God was mentioned.

Never judge something by its abuses.
God is not the sort of being Who is taken advantage of or treated lightly.
The Fact God has spoken is reason enough to listen.

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John continues his epistle by warning us that external threats to our relationship with Jesus exist as well as the internal struggles with our flesh. We overcome those threats by knowing the truth ourselves and the resources we have available through the fulfilled promises of God.

The majority of false teachers come from within the church rather than outside of it.
The Holy Spirit doesn't stop working in and through your life after you get saved.
If you know the real deal, counterfeits will become obvious to you.

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Zephaniah concludes his prophecy with a series of seven promises to Israel that we are seeing fulfilled in our day.

“Wait” is the hardest answer to prayer we can receive.
God wants both reason and emotion to be a part of our worship of Him.
God’s promises are for our highest good, even if the process is often ugly.

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John outlines the nature of sin as it applies to all of us in this world system in rebellion against God. The enemy's tactics aren't unique, but they are effective. The only meaningful response is to invest in Jesus rather than the things that won't last.

The enemy's tactics against us haven't changed because we always fall for the same traps.
Jesus is the only One who has endured temptation to the fullest, and can in and through us today.
Emotions are good servants but poor masters.

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Zephaniah’s prophecy continues with addressing the cause of Israel’s judgment as well as the ultimate solution. God’s plans for Israel are glorious, but the process of making fallen sinful creatures require more patience than we’d imagine. The good news is God is more patient than we are.

People who aren’t pursuing God shouldn’t expect to get closer to Him.
There are people who lie and people willing to be lied to.
The promises of God are worth knowing as much as they are worth looking forward to.

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The Apostle John outlines the Christian life in three stages. Little Children who need to grow. Young Men who need to use the strength and opportunities their love for God's Word enables them to fulfill. And Fathers who can disciple little children and young men in their growing relationship with the Lord.

There is never a time in the Christian life where we don't need to stop growing.
There is never a situation in the Christian life where we don't need to draw closer to Jesus.
There is always a reason to make disciples of those new to the faith."

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Zephaniah describes the objects of The Day of the Lord including and beyond Israel itself. This includes specific territories that were not only fulfilled when Babylon swept through the Fertile Crescent, but that we are also seeing fulfilled in our day today.

Deal with your sin and you'll draw near to the Lord.
The only sin God can't forgive is our unwillingness to be forgiven.
God is better at avenging us than we will ever be.

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The main difference between someone who says they follow Jesus and someone who is actually following Him is demonstrated through love. Hatred is natural. The Love of God demonstrated through us is a miracle.

People who act like God love people like He does.
Actions prove more about the heart than words.
The Christian life is impossible apart from Jesus.

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Zephaniah speaks boldly about the sort of things people still don’t want to hear today to the kind of people who still don’t want to hear them. Nevertheless, God provides a warning before judgment falls. He doesn’t punish without the guilty knowing they can still receive mercy.

Idolatry is when you treat something that isn’t God as if it is.
Man becomes like his god.
God offers mercy first, but won’t delay judgment forever.

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The Apostle John begins his letter much like he began the other books he was inspired to write in the New Testament. He brings the focus immediately on Who Jesus is and how that fact impacts our lives eternally.

Your salvation depends entirely on what you do with the historical fact of Jesus’ Resurrection.
God doesn’t expect perfection, but He does enable progression.
Anyone can justify their sin. Christians confess it.

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Zephaniah ministered during the reign of King Josiah and was from the family of David. In spite of how little known he is among the prophets of God, he was a singular figure in Israel’s last revival.

There is no such thing as an insignificant member of the Kingdom of God.
There’s no limit to what can be accomplished as long as no one cares who gets the credit.
God’s work in your life is far more important than how many people appreciate it.

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The book of Judges ends on an incredibly dark note. In order to justify themselves, Israel refused to admit they made a mistake regarding how they handled the tribe of Benjamin and made an already ugly situation even worse.

You can't help a lost person who doesn't want to be found.
Every bad decision began with thinking what felt right to them.
Our response to sin can be to cover up or confess."

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Micah concludes his prophecy with a reminder of the character of God from the beginning. He is the judge of all the earth and does it better than we will. He is the one who restores us through accountability and confession the moment we come to Him. And He is the kind of God who delights in showing mercy.

The only answer to hypocrisy in the church is to be the exception.
God is a better judge than we’ll ever be.
The mark of Godly maturity is the length of time between when we sin and when we confess seeking restoration.

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The tragedy of Israel's first civil war began with a series of spiritual compromises among her leadership. While blame can be leveled at a lot of individuals, all of them had the same spiritual mistakes in common.

God is more interested in your heart than your religious routines.
God isn't the kind of Person who is used.
God Word doesn't change when we decide on His behalf what He's allowed to do or say."

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Paul addresses a false claim made about the End Times and clarifies that lies are always answered by the truth. Knowing what we know will happen before the Second Coming, we will be able to recognize when someone makes something up.

God always gives reason to trust His Word before speaking it.
The Bible is everything we need to know about the nature of God and Godly living.
God has personally involved Himself in seeing us protected from error and enabled to speak the truth.

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Micah presents God in a court case challenging Israel on their actions against Him. However, He makes Himself the focus of the charge rather than their actions. Nothing He expected or asked of Him was a burden or obligation, yet were exchanging the easy and prosperous life for something that would rob them of what little they had.

The only way any of us have a positive standing with God is through the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Your attitude towards God is directly reflected by your attitude towards His Word.
The greatest assurance of our relationship with God is when He doesn’t let us get away with anything.

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In a classic example of our sins looking the worst when seen on other people, the full impact of the Levite’s sin ends up costing thousands of lives in his nation. Due to the lack of prayer, the attitude they brought to prayer when it finally came up, and even the lack of humility regarding the things they did right, it all ended up one big disaster.

The problem with our prayer lives is that we don’t take the time to ask what God wants.
Humility thrives on truth.
God will do whatever it takes to get our attention, including allowing us to experience the consequences of our bad decisions.

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Micah’s prophecy of the Messiah’s birth continues with what His reign is going to look like. With the benefit of hindsight, we know that the nation of Israel’s initial reaction to Him will be rejection and God will judge them for it, there is a promise of their restoration and enjoying His reign over them forever.

The road to Heaven is paved by opposition from the world.
God isn’t through with the Jewish people.
Jesus is the only reason we know, have, and can be a source of peace.

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The conclusion of the book of Judges involves a series of events that set off a chain reaction of disasters for Israel spiritually and politically. Due to a purposeful neglect of God's Word and an overall attitude of picking and choosing what to believe about the Bible, it led to a repeat of history that no one wanted to hear happened in the first place and somehow got worse.

No Christian is an authority over the Bible.
Doing what you want as long as you don't hurt anyone eventually hurts someone.
Everyone is an example. For better or worse.

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In light of current events taking place in Iran, it is important to be aware of God's future plans for the people of that nation.

The people of Elam are modern day Iran and Persia. Specifically Khusestan.
Islam has and remains the greatest motivating factor for the world's hatred of God's People.
Israel and Iran both have a place in God's plans for the future. Not for destruction, but a restoration He will see to personally.

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The success of the United States and Israel in dismantling Iran's nuclear program will set up a state of peace in the Middle East that should be used as motivation to look up and anticipate the Lord's return. Not as a cause, but the kind of environment Jesus said would precede His coming.

The enemies of God's people always find their efforts backfire on them.
The state of the world before the Rapture won't be chaos, but peace and safety.
No matter how chaotic this world becomes, God is still on the throne.

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The prophetically significant events taking place in 2025 shouldn’t make us think there are dates to the Rapture, but some important things to remember as we remain vigilant, sober, and rejoicing at His coming as Scripture tells us to do.

The greatest manifestation of the heart of Satan is hatred of the Jewish people.
The world’s state before the Rapture will be celebrating peace and safety.
Every Christian’s desire should be to escape God’s Wrath.

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The Parable of the Prodigal Sons showcases the heart of God as a father perfectly. Through Jesus' illustration to the Pharisees of the main difference between themselves and God, He draws attention to their lack of joy at the mercy they themselves also need before a just and holy God.

Fatherhood is a ministry where God models His nature through us.
God the Father went first when seeking reconciliation with us regardless of whether or not we deserved it.
God is the only One who can love like Father's are called to.

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The prophecy of the Messiah being born in Bethlehem also provides another detail about who the Messiah/Son of David would be. He is described as eternal, which is something only God can truthfully claim.

The location of Jesus’ birth was predicted 800 years before it took place.
Jesus’ claims to be God were in the sort of things He did and said.
God’s character is trusted because He’s kept every promise He’s ever made.

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Paul's introduction to his second letter to Thessalonica shows what early Christians were teaching each other. They were aware of the fact they were going to be persecuted, that there are consequences to rejecting God, and that the Second Coming would be a very real hope for all of them and put an end to what they were enduring.

2 Thessalonians is extremely early information regarding Christian beliefs.
Persecution was something the entire early church was aware of and endured.
The short term consequences of rejecting God is acting less and less like Him. The long term consequences are what those actions deserve.

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During the time of Judges, we are shown just how dark a time it was spiritually by being shown the life of one man named Micah. His spiritual compromises were the norm at this point in history and it only brought disaster on him and his home. We have the benefit of learning from his mistakes and seeing what kind of people he surrounded himself with that kept him from the relationship with God he could have had.

False prophets rarely stay in one place for long.
False prophets are ultimately motivated by money.
God doesn't let His children get away with anything.

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Micah and Isaiah both provide a glimpse into the future when the Messiah Reigns. Alongside the further insights provided in the book of Revelation, we have a lot to look forward to even in spite of the difficult journey that will be taken to get there.

Over a third of the Bible is dedicated to Biblical prophecy and for good reason.
Jesus is the only One worth trusting. Even with things like government and the military.
There is no greater sign of the heart of Satan than Jew -hatred.

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The book of Judges concludes with the introduction of the individual that started the series of events leading the entire nation into a huge disaster. What began a tragedy for an entire nation started with an individual’s poor attitude towards God’s Word and a family that deliberately isolated themselves from God’s people and His Word.

Calling yourself a Christian is meaningless if you aren’t acting like Christ.
Your decisions affect more than just you.
Isolation sets us up for spiritual self deception.

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Micah lays out the fine line between a true and false prophet. False prophets take advantage of people for their own gain, even at the expense of the truth. Micah, by contrast, was willing to tell people what they didn’t want to hear because it wasn’t his message. He was simply sharing and making accessible what the Holy Spirit gave him.

Spiritual Wolves are only interested in their own personal and financial gain.
Genuine Spiritual Leaders are totally dependent on the Holy Spirit.
The difference between a true and false prophet is the fear of God.

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Samson's legacy ultimately is told as one of faith. It wasn't an easy journey. It wasn't free from the consequences of the mistakes made along the way. But it was one God remembered where it mattered most.

Sin has consequences.
God disciplines those who belong to Him.
God uses fallen people to accomplish wonderful things.

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Micah begins his prophecy with a word of warning and encouragement for those who were taking the grace and patience of God for granted. Even though their sin was inexcusable and judgment at the hands of Babylon was coming, God couldn’t wait for the judgment to even happen before reminding them how much He loves them and telling them He personally will restore them back to their land forever.

Sin has consequences.
Pride is the foundation of all of our sin.
We may be sinners, but God doesn’t give up on us.

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Mary's song of praise after learning she was going to be the mother of the Messiah was a testimony to her character as a Godly mother. She was full of gratitude to God, recognized it as an act of grace, and was full of God's Word.

Motherhood is fueled by a sense of Gratitude to God for all He's given.
Motherhood is an opportunity to show the Grace God shows us every day.
The Ministry of Motherhood is an opportunity to be a living demonstration of God's Word.

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Amos’ prophecy concludes with a reminder of judgment as well as the mercy God was still promising. Even if His own people wouldn’t receive it, The Messiah was still coming and would be a blessing to them and all nations as well.

A Fake God can’t save you from death, let alone the problems of life.
Learn from history or you’re doomed to repeat it.
Jesus is coming through the Jewish people for all nations.

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Samson is a cautionary tale, but a worthwhile one. We not only learn the kind of people God used powerfully weren't perfect, but are encouraged to ask important questions about the presence of God in our own lives.

Our success in spiritual warfare entirely depends on our proximity to God.
Our victory against our sinful nature entirely depends on the work of the Holy Spirit see Him as better than our sin.
Our assurance of salvation entirely depends on our trust in the finished work of Christ.

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Northern Israel is described prophetically as rotten fruit. This is demonstrated by their treatment of the needy and their attitude towards the Word of God. Where it ultimately would leave them is incapable of hearing God’s voice at all.

The fact God takes sin more seriously than us is a mark against us.
God cares about what we do with our finances because it reflects our character with everything else.
Idolatry leaves you as empty spiritually as drinking sea water quenches thirst."

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Samson's ministry is a demonstration of the patience of God as much as the fallenness of man. God accomplished incredible things through his life. Yet the greatest challenge he ever faced is the same as ours. He was a sinner in the hands of a gracious and patient God.

Our fallen sinful nature is a bigger obstacle between us and God than the devil.
A proactive pursuit of God is the only answer to temptation or spiritual atrophy.
No area of your walk with God should be explainable apart from the grace of God.

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The Resurrection of Jesus is a historical event. All historical events are based on eyewitness testimony and supported by having more than one witness and the reports coming from sources that have something to gain or lose in making those claims.

God performs miracles to verify His Word.
The Resurrection is based on the eyewitness testimony of His followers and enemies alike.
God can use the world’s attempts to oppose Him to promote the Gospel.

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God commanded the annual reenactment of the first Passover night as a physical and tangible reminder to all generations of His redemptive power. The seder is a family holiday that holds appeal for young and old alike. Seder means “order,” a fitting term for the sensory-laden rituals that occur in a specific order.

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Amos’ ministry concludes with a series of five visions. The first three provide a fascinating insight into the heart of God and the principles we all need to take with us in evangelism.

The Word of God should always be accompanied by the Heart of God.
If something hasn’t been explained before in scripture, it’s about to be. If it isn’t explained, it already has been.
Our participation in the work of God in this world matters.

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Samson's greatest military victory against the Philistines did not have a pleasant introduction. He was in his flesh, dominated by his emotions, and caused a lot of problems for himself and those around him before he was double crossed by the very people he was sent to deliver. The only thing that saw him through this kind of opposition and discouragement is the same thing that will see us through any trial we find ourselves in.

Your Emotions are good servants but poor masters.
God plus one is a majority.
God uses imperfect people.

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Amos turns his attention rebuking Northern Israel to the bitterness and pride of Southern Israel. By rejoicing in the fact they were being punished, they were sinning just as seriously as they were.

Separation between our hearts and God’s is the definition of evil.
Pride can’t show, share, or even recognize the heart of God.
It’s God’s job to judge people. It’s our opportunity to let Him love them through us.

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Samson is presented with the unblinking eye that only honest history can. We are shown his willingness to compromise his Nazarite vow, his marital relationships, and even his integrity for the sake of pleasure and gain. Yet in spite of Samson being just as fallen and sinful as the rest of us, God used him to accomplish His calling on Samson’s life to the letter.

Truth doesn’t sneak.
The best part of a life of integrity is that you don’t have anything to hide.
God can use you even in spite of you.

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Amos concludes his song of lamentation with a perspective check regarding judgment. It’s not something God is eager to do, nor the sort of thing anyone should take lightly. Those who share God’s heart should want to delay it as much as He does. And those who oppose God in general shouldn’t underestimate it when it finally happens.

God’s delays in judgment says more about His patience than His approval of our actions.
God isn’t eager to punish anyone and we shouldn’t be either.
We aren’t promised a tomorrow. Live for Jesus today.

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Jesus appears to the parents of Samson to personally deliver the message of how he will serve Him and His people. From this appearance of Jesus, we will learn some very important things about the deity of Christ and how God deals with His people even today.

A Word from God will always be verified by the Word of God.
There is nothing wrong with seeking confirmation for truth.
God loves visiting His people.

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Amos’ ministry continues with a song that summarized the points he was trying to communicate. By using beautiful things like the stars and the weather as reminders of something greater, Israel was instead using them and their history as means to reject and replace the Creator with the Creation. Yet even in spite of this, God was still reaching out to them and reminding them that they will find Him the moment they start seeking Him from the heart again.

Music is something God can use to communicate His Word to us effectively through.
If you think living in obedience to God is difficult, try rebellion.
If you seek God, you’ll find Him. If you avoid God, He’ll respect your wishes.

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Jephthah’s final conflict as a judge of Israel was unfortunately a civil matter. The people of Ephraim made themselves enemies of God’s anointed just like they did during the time of Gideon. And despite every effort to make peace, they refused. What made Jephthah the positive character in history was the fact he pursued it at all.

There will always be people who cause problems. The key is to not be one of them.
Mercy is shown proportionately to the mercy we know we have been shown.
God knows the balance between overwhelming us and spoiling us.

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Despite being one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented individuals in Biblical history, Jephthah's vow serves as a perfect example of the kind of people God uses as a model of integrity.

Integrity is a work of God, not a work for God.
God takes the promises we make to Him seriously even when we don't.
God remembers the times we trusted Him, even when those around us don't.

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Jephthah is raised up as a Judge of Israel. Though he doesn't trust the people seeking his help, He does trust God. Though he doesn't end up negotiating with honest people, God's Word exposes them. Though he wasn't perfect, God used him.

Pastors will let you down. God won't.
God doesn't need our permission to do the right thing.
God's Word is the first and final authority for anyone worth listening to.

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In spite of the tyranny of Abimelech, God was able to raise up pictures of humility and wisdom like Tola and Jair. In spite of the ways God blessed Israel during this time, Israel still became complacent and compromised with Idolatry after their deaths. In spite of their sin, God still was able to restore Israel after they were willing to confess and submit to Him again.

Humility is an honest view of yourself and others. Pride is everything Humility isn’t.
No work of God lasts unless it is spent investing in the next generation.
God is more eager to restore us from our sin than we are in seeking it.

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Amos asks a series of rhetorical questions to call Israel out on their idolatry and the consequences that would soon follow. Even though they had ignored every warning given thus far, sometimes the questions God asks us can accomplish more than lengthy lectures that we would just ignore anyway.

A well placed question is worth more than any lecture.
God always offers a warning and means of escape before judging anyone.
Whatever you have in this life is worthless if it doesn’t follow you where you’re ultimately headed.

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Abimelech served as an anti-judge and an eerie foreshadowing of the prophetic Antichrist. Yet in spite of this great evil in Israel’s history, God still proved Himself faithful through his life. The only reason a man like him took power was because Israel compromised with idolatry. And the only reason he was taken out of power was because of the promise of His word spoken through Jotham.

The offer of peace at the price of truth invalidates both.
The only answer to false doctrine is with the truth.
The greatest opposition to the church is from within.

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Amos’ address to 8 nations draws attention to the things they were about to experience judgment for. With these warnings we see the sort of things God isn’t a fan of, but also how patient God is and continues to be by continuing to warn them rather than just nuking them outright for these things.

The Gears of God’s Judgment grind slow but exceedingly fine.
Judgment delayed isn’t Judgment denied.
God is patient with people we don’t think deserve it too.

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Gideon was a man that was used by God to deliver Israel from the oppression of the Midianites. He was also a fallen sinful human being who fell into all the same traps we would were we in his position. The question isn't if we make mistakes, but how do we deal with them and recover than compounding their influence over our lives and those around us?

You'll never please everybody, but you can please God.
God is much better at payback than you are.
Deal with your sin or your sin is going to deal with you.

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Amos begins his prophecy with a reminder of the fact the Lord is still speaking to His people from where He has from the beginning. And that message isn’t a pleasant one. On the verge of judgment, Amos is delivering God’s final warning and last chance before judgment comes to Northern Israel at the hands of the Assyrians.

Where God guides, He provides.
Be faithful with what is in front of you and He’ll let you know along the way if there’s anything more He wants from you.
Never take the blessings of God for granted. They can be taken away.

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Hosea concludes his message with a call for Israel to repent. This wasn’t a command to stop sinning, but recognize God as better than the things they were replacing Him with. That change of mind towards their idols would be all God needs to bless them the way He wants to again.

Repentance is a change of mind that produces a change of heart and life.
Jesus will only be chosen over the things of this world if He’s recognized as the better option.
Idols promise a lot. Only Jesus delivers.

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Israel serves as a cautionary tale of what happens when you try to choose both the world and the flesh. The flesh eventually takes over and God won’t be taken advantage of. If we don’t pursue Him daily, something horrible will take the place He intends to have in our lives.

There is an appeal to sin.
There isn’t much in the middle of the road than yellow streaks and dead skunks.
Freedom of choice isn’t freedom from consequence.

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The calling of God on our lives is something that is informed through scripture and enabled by Him personally.

The Day of the Lord is when God acts.
The Christian calling is to demonstrate Jesus' character through the Holy Spirit
The Christian life is when God acts through us.

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Paul’s second letter to Thessalonica was a reminder and a comfort to them of God’s promises as all prophecy seeks to do. If we know what God has said, we are that much more equipped to recognize and remove the counterfeits that come along.

Biblical literacy is the best defense against false doctrine.
The nature of the demonic is in distraction and deception.
In an uncertain world, the promises of God are something we should hold onto with both hands.

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It is always good to learn from our mistakes. We all make them, and some have more catastrophic consequences then others. The Bible gives us great principles to guide and guard us from making fatal errors in this life. Jesus teaches on a man who became so self absorbed, so self reliant & selfish, that he lost eternal life. He chose wrong. We can learn a lot from this parable of the rich fool, and pray we do not follow his path.

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Northern Israel was repeating the mistakes of their patriarch Jacob. However, they could also learn from the things he got right when he came to the end of his resources and stopped trying to manage his life in his own strength.

Exchanging God for anything is always trading down.
The only walk with God you can control is your own.
People consigned to their identities apart from God can always exchange them for a new identity in Christ.

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Paul continues reminding Thessalonica regarding what He taught them about Christian ethics and the hope of the Rapture of the Church as motivation for Godly living today.

Christian ethics are centered around Jesus’ character and nature.
Love is the ongoing command of every Christian who claims to follow Christ.
Live for Jesus today, because He hasn’t promised us a tomorrow.

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Paul's letter to Thessalonica continues with a reminder of the promises God has actually made to us and what we should hope for rather than to confuse them with the things we want.

God promised that we would suffer for His sake in this world.
God promised that He will finish the work He started.
God promised to never leave us or forsake us.

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Hosea illustrates God's treatment of Israel throughout her history like a parent lovingly teaching their child to walk or a gracious farmer treating his animals gently. In spite of only being good to them, they rebelled and went after false gods who offered them nothing. The moment they discovered that the hard way, God would be ready and waiting to receive them home again.

Every Parent's job is to model God's heart of love and grace.
God can't forgive the sinner who refuses forgiveness.
God's correction is temporary, but His restoration is eternal.

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Hosea’s prophecy gets down to the heart of where Israel’s problems are taking place. They’re looking at their kings and crops instead of God, and the result has been them turning a blind eye to evil in ways that would shock them if they were still capable of understanding shame. The only way God was going to get their attention wasn’t to keep telling them they need to choose His mercy. He had been doing that for centuries. All that was left was for them to see how strong their king was and see the Assyrians take away their kingdom forever.

If you want to know God, start and stick with His Word.
God will respect choices, but not prevent consequences.
God wants a relationship with you, but won’t force you to make the right decisions.

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Hosea’s prophecy gets down to the heart of where Israel’s problems are taking place. They’re looking at their kings and crops instead of God, and the result has been them turning a blind eye to evil in ways that would shock them if they were still capable of understanding shame. The only way God was going to get their attention wasn’t to keep telling them they need to choose His mercy. He had been doing that for centuries. All that was left was for them to see how strong their king was and see the Assyrians take away their kingdom forever.

If you want to know God, start and stick with His Word.
God will respect choices, but not prevent consequences.
God wants a relationship with you, but won’t force you to make the right decisions.

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Barak is given a tough reputation as the fourth judge of Israel. While he was initially afraid, his reasons for trusting God were founded upon His Word. And for that reason, scripture remembers Him honorably.

A Prophet is a spokesman for God. Any effective teaching of God's Word is the gift of Prophecy.
Faith means trust with reason. The reasons we have to trust God and what we trust Him to do are recorded in His Word.
Courage isn't being fearless. It's being scared and doing the right thing anyway.

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Jesus' healing of the Ten Lepers gives us an object lesson about thankfulness. Regardless of the number of those who actually got it, the one who recognized the good thing they had gained more than their health as a result.

Thankfulness is recognizing the good things you have.
Signs follow those who believe, not the other way around.
Thankfulness is the perspective every Christian can have towards everything in life.

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Shamgar was not a native Israelite, but was a disciple of Ehud that accomplished incredible things for the nation of Israel. From his testimony we see the impact faithful discipleship makes on a generation.

Every disciple is a believer, but not all believers are disciples.
God can do more with people that show up with what they have than those waiting until they're qualified.
The responsibility of every disciple is to make more disciples.

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Hosea's call to Israel echoes the same word God has spoken to us from the beginning. Repent. Turn back to Him. The alternatives aren't pleasant.

Idolatry is when we treat something that isn't God as if it is.
Repentance is more about who you turn to than whatever you're turning from.
God's discipline is preferable to being left to manage our own lives apart from Him

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Hosea's prophecy continues with a series of historical references to the disaster that false prophets have and are continuing to bring on their nation. Israel fell into the same trap many still do today. When this life is a higher priority than the next, we begin to make decisions that may benefit this life, but cost us everything where it matters most.

Our Emotions are good servants, but poor masters if they become an alternative to truth.
We set ourselves up for spiritual disaster if we make this life a higher priority than the next.
Idols are man made speculation about the gods. Revelation is when God actually tells us what He's like.

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The first judge of Israel is raised up in response to a Mesopotamian king oppressing Israel for 8 years. As a result of the godly example of Caleb, his descendant Othniel was raised up as the first judge and living proof of the difference God makes in someone's life.

Freedom of choice isn't freedom from consequence.
A Godly example to the next generation won't be wasted.
Apart from God, we can't accomplish anything.

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Paul continues his letter to Thessalonica reminding them of his example, his teachings, and his love for them as fellow believers. While he couldn't be with them in person, his hope was that they continue to grow in their relationship with God like He taught and showed them.

Deeds speak louder than words.
Love should be the priority of every believer.
Your respect for God will be reflected by your respect for His Word.

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The book of Judges is outlined with the transition from the death of Joshua and his disciples into the state of anarchy we know as the time of the Judges. What made Joshua's generation one that honored the Lord is the same thing that made every season a judge was raised up a time of blessing. One person was willing to honor God and He used that faithfulness to bless them and their entire generation.

No matter how much God uses someone, they won't be around forever.
Never assume that because you know people that know and love God, that means you know and love God too.
Be the kind of person who does the right thing, even if you do so alone.

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Hosea addresses Israel about the way they had been living as if God wasn't a part of their lives. This practical atheism was not only foolish, but illustrated by the same things that describe religious atheism even today.

Atheism is when you live as if there is no God.
Following your passions is a dead end road.
Consequences don't disappear because you can't see them.

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The idea of God loving us and wanting a relationship with us comes from the Old Testament. Despite the picture that is often portrayed of God being a megalomaniacal tyrant looking to stop people's good time, He is the definition of a loving father. A father won't let his kids get away with murder, but will always seek a means of them being restored to him again.

God is more interested in our hearts than our routines.
God isn't fooled by trying to “buy Him off” with good behavior.
God's goal is always our restoration to Him.

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The Kingdom of God is often treated as if it only applies to after Christ rules and reigns this world after the Second Coming. The reality is that the Kingdom of God is wherever God is king. That is already true in the hearts of His people and those who believe His promises.

The Kingdom of God is where God is King. This begins in our hearts before He establishes it in the world.
Citizens of the Kingdom of God are called to share the Word, know Jesus through His Word, and follow His Example.
The Focus of the Christian life is Jesus.

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Hosea calls Israel out to turning to Assyria for the help God freely offers them. Their discipline will be God letting them see that false god fail them. And His restoration of them will be a perfect example of how repentance should take place in our hearts as well.

The first step in recovery is acknowledging you have a problem.
The destination of God's discipline is worth the heartache of the process.
Your attitude towards God's Word directly reflects your attitude towards God Himself.

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The Book of Acts concludes with an open ended summary of Paul's time awaiting trial in Rome. The reason for this isn't because nothing of note happened in Paul's life after this point. The reason is because we too have the opportunity to add our own lives to the Acts of the Holy Spirit in history by abiding in Him the same way these historical figures did and were used powerfully as a result.

Christian love is based on commitment more than feelings.
There is no greater motivation for Godly living than the expectation of Jesus' return.
Every Christian should make a priority of sharing things concerning Jesus and the things that Jesus is concerned about."

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Paul is now awaiting trial in his first visit to Rome. As he waits for two years, he uses every opportunity he has to share the gospel with those who are listening. This time was also used to write the prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

The Christian life is spent trusting the promises of God, not the preferences of men.
When you don't know what to do next, fall back on what you do know.
Live the Christian life in a way other people would want to live themselves.

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Hosea's ministry continues from his illustration to the application of what Gomer's redemption showed. Israel had forsaken God and He was going to use very strong medicine to correct them. Not because they lost their relationship with Him, but directly because of it.

The greatest assurance of our relationship with God is when He disciplines and corrects us.
Your spiritual decline is directly related to your neglect of the Word of God.
God will use whatever it takes to get your attention if it means saving your soul.

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As Paul makes landfall on his way to Rome, he is not only a living example of the promises of God being worthy of our trust, but the Christians in Rome meeting him showing how worthwhile fellowship is.

God has personally involved Himself in accomplishing His desire for our lives.
The only things we should expect from God is what He's actually promised.
The purpose of church is to focus on others, not yourself.

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The concept of the Grace of God in salvation comes from the Old Testament.

God loves us on the basis of commitment rather than emotion.
God paid the price for our redemption when we least deserved it.
God's purpose in our redemption is true healing and restoration to Him.

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Paul continues his journey to Rome with an incredible ministry to the island of Malta. He didn't know this would be the result, and it included a lot of discouragement and difficulty along the way. Yet his example of remaining faithful and available regardless of his circumstances are a model to us of how to properly respond to and endure seasons of suffering.

God has a purpose and a plan.
God's opinion of your life should be the final word, especially when the opinions of others are speaking contrary to His.
God's timing is as perfect as His provision.

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Paul's letter to the Thessalonians begins with a complimentary reminder to them of what fundamentally makes someone a Christian. Despite the fact they only had 3 weeks with Paul, they took everything to heart that we should take as believers as well.

Paul has demonstrated himself as a reliable teacher.
The best teachers lead by example.
A Godly Example is never a wasted effort."

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Hosea's prophecy regarding the judgment due to Israel regarding her sins doesn't finish without God detailing how beautiful their restoration is going to be.

Our actions impact God emotionally.
God uses the consequences of our actions as reminders of how eager He is to receive us back.
God can always be trusted to receive us back if we come to Him on His terms.

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Hosea's prophecy continues by drawing Gomer's motivations for cheating on him as Israel's for abandoning God. The bad news is their actions had consequences. The good news is that God enforcing these consequences was only because they still belonged to Him.

God is emotionally invested in the decisions you make in life.
Actions have consequences, even when the ultimate result is restoration.
There is no greater assurance of salvation than when God corrects you.

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Paul and Luke are put in the midst of an incredible storm. As in any trial, they prepared accordingly by fellowshipping with God's people and remembering His promises.

Faith means trust with reason.
Do not neglect fellowship with God's people, especially when you want to.
God's Word informs us of the promises God has actually made and the reasons to trust them."

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Hosea's prophecy begins with his family as an illustration of Northern Israel's fractured relationship with God. Yet in spite of their gruesome sins, God's promises to them were still going to be kept.

God uses Hosea's family and ours as a living message to His people.
Salvation is based on what we do with Jesus.
God is the only one worth trusting to keep His promises.

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The Arm of the Lord is an Old Testament title for Jesus in the Old Testament. The reason we recognize this is because the Arm of the Lord is distinguished from the Father the same way Jesus is, does the things only God can do, and is directly identified by the New Testament authors as who the prophets were referring to when this title came up.

The Arm of the Lord is distinguished from the Father the same way Jesus is.
The Arm of the Lord is equal to the Father the same way Jesus is.
The Arm of the Lord is described doing all of the things Jesus is credited for.

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The Song of Solomon ends with the Shulamite in a place of peace and security in her relationship with Solomon. Solomon himself is in a place of security and contentment where he can simply listen to and minister to his bride. The Shulamite has come to the kind of peace only God can provide regardless of and in light of her past and future.

People can't be Jesus. But Jesus can be Himself through us.
Don't ignore your past. Learn from it in light of what God has done.
The perfect marriage in this life is merely foreshadowing eternal life with Jesus.

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Paul shares the gospel with Herod Agrippa II. He serves as an example of someone who had every reason to believe but didn't. He had all the knowledge of scripture and it didn't amount to anything. He had an opportunity to receive Jesus and ultimately said no.

No one comes to salvation unless the Holy Spirit draws them.
God is directly involved in every heart drawing them to salvation.
There is no more tragic a term in all eternity than “almost” saved.

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The Shulamite makes an observation about love that parallels with Paul's definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13. With seven points of comparison, she emphasizes all of its aspects with direct parallels to the power and nature of God. Apart from God, love is impossible. The best we can do apart from Him are the feelings that come and go without understanding their purpose.

Love comes from God.
Love lasts because of God.
Love is based on the nature of God.

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Clearly the Resurrection of Jesus is the most significant evidence for the truth of the Christian faith. So significant and foundational that the Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote to the Church in Corinth that if Jesus was not raised, our gospel is empty, our faith is empty or without any foundation and futile, we are made out to be liars, and are still lost in our sins. We are all the most pitiable. However, before Jesus ever showed up on the scene, God spoke through his prophets predicting what was to take place.

Predictive Prophecy is distinctive of God alone
Predictive Prophecy is an identifier of the Messiah
Predictive Prophecy is powerful apologetic for the Christian Faith

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During difficult times and seasons we need courage to be able to step out in faith. Like Jeremiah, we too, might feel inadequate for preaching and proclaiming the Good News of Jesus. We might have come across those that are hardheaded and have a hatred towards the Christian message. But we are called and equipped by God to press on.

Knowing who you are in Christ is the first step to moving out in evangelism.
Confidence comes not in ourselves, but in a God who loves us and has promised to give us strength when we need it in impacting our world for the better.
As God loves us, so we love others and are compelled to reach out.

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The Shulamite and Solomon's relationship reaches its peak from two perspectives. Solomon has learned more things he admires and expresses about his wife, and his wife has learned to focus more on him than herself. This growth didn't happen overnight, nor did it take place naturally. Marriage and intimacy both require a conscious and purposeful effort with God as the center to make it an effective demonstration of His character.

A growing relationship is one that continues to learn about each other.
Men desire respect. Women desire love. Both require the Holy Spirit.
Pursue marital intimacy intentionally or it will quickly be drowned out by the other things that distract us from ministry.

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The Shulamite has her second dream following her and Solomon's first major fight. We aren't explicitly told what caused it, but we are told how they resolved it. Because God was the center of Solomon and the Shulamite's relationship, He was there to bring both of them together and motivate the same kind of grace He has shown all of us.

Conflict is inevitable. What needs to follow is reconciliation.
Remember the reasons you loved each other at the beginning.
God should be the foundation and center of every relationship.

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Solomon and the Shulamite enjoy their wedding night. With a godly model of a man that focuses entirely on the needs of his spouse, we find that God isn't against the concept of sex. He is simply in favor of purity and exclusivity over the twisted counterfeits this world tries to claim will satisfy the way only God's way can.

The best way to have your needs met is to focus on the needs of others.
It's never too late to do the right thing.
Jesus is the model for anything and everything we do in this life.

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Solomon sending for his bride serves as a beautiful foreshadowing of the day when Jesus will send for us to be brought to His presence in glory. While biblical symbolism is something we need to handle carefully, the reality is plain. Heaven leaves us with a lot to look forward to. If for no other reason than Jesus is going to be there waiting for us.

The smells that accompanied Solomon's bride are commonly used to illustrate prayer and intimacy with God.
The security that accompanied Solomon's bride are pictures of His personal involvement seeing us home.
The crown of Solomon that his bride saw wasn't one of power, but of love and restoration through the grace of God.

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Paul begins sharing his testimony with a model he learned from Stephen the Martyr. We can also learn from his example by going out of our way to involve God directly in evangelism as well as to exercise wisdom and love in equal measure.

No one comes to God apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.
Salvation is the Holy Spirit's job. Your job is to know what you believe and why.
Talk to people, not at people.

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Paul the Apostle experiences and endures persecution both inside and outside of the church. The God who saw him through those times of difficulty is the same that will see us through ours regardless of the direction it's coming from.

God didn't promise us freedom from trouble, but His strength to endure times of trouble.
God can defend you, or you can defend yourself. Not both.
The peace of God doesn't make sense, but it certainly works.

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Paul continues his journey to Jerusalem with multiple warnings along the way that he is going to be imprisoned there. Paul examines these words of prophecy with what God has also told him, and rightly concludes he would be given the strength to endure what he now knew to expect.

God gave us brains and expects us to use them.
If it's true, it ain't new. If it's new, it ain't true.
More information is always better than less.

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Solomon and the Shulamite's dating life continues with an exchange of compliments to things they enjoy. The more these realities of their love for each other are proactively expressed, the more their insecurities and anxieties are put in their proper place as well.

Jesus knew what He was getting into when He saved us.
Attraction should be towards someone's character as much as appearance.
Jesus' words should bear more authority on who we are than our feelings.

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Solomon's song begins with the woman expressing a physical attraction and desire for Solomon. She has issues and history, but seeks Godly counsel and pursues Solomon in such a way where both are able to experience and acknowledge the emotions that will naturally accompany attraction to each other. God isn't against these things. The challenge is balancing a desire to be with someone and committing to their walk with God as one you'd want to emulate as well.

God considers marriage, sex, and physical attraction as honorable. Not sinful by nature.
Everyone has issues. What makes someone exceptional is if they bring them to God or not.
Every relationship should be built on common ground.

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Paul's last words to the elders of Ephesus are ones that summarize his ministry well. It is the same kind of ministry any Christian would want to rightly describe their lives.

Humility isn't thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.
Jesus is a wonderful boss to work for.
Any hope less than Jesus' approval of our lives is not worth having.

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Song of Solomon isn't the only song Solomon wrote, but it was by far the best. Though the content of it is extremely graphic, sexuality isn't evil or worldly by definition. God created sex. And when enjoyed His way, it can be a foreshadowing of Heaven itself.

God is just as involved with our sex lives as any other part of our lives.
Solomon's perspective on relationships came from experiencing God's ideal and the World's as well.
Don't just know what God says about sex. Understand and live accordingly.

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It is amazing how religion, or simply a moral life, does not help us get into heaven or combat our narcissisms. In the encounter of the wealthy, young, moral and Jesus, we see our own failures in what we think about Jesus. Is he just a good teacher? Is He really someone to listen to? Would I listen to him? Not only that, but we tend to think we are good people through and through, instead of admitting our need for saving. We have a far to high view of ourselves and a far to low view of God. Many in our world turn away from the Messiah not wanting to admit that we are licked, totally abominable in God's eyes. Jesus teaches in a way to reveal our lack but is also able to provide the remedy, if only we would repent of our sins and ask. What prevents us from asking? Self sufficiency and not seeing yourself clearly. Have you ever said, "what do I still lack?" (Compare this with John 9:39-41) In saying this, the young man shows his pride. God's salvation is a gift, and we need it. Humility is needed to receive it. Do you live in this humble state, daily needing his grace?

Pride is the sin that looks worst on other people.
The greatest obstacle between us and salvation is understanding our need for it.
Jesus offers salvation freely.

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The Conclusion of Esther reminds us of how to properly handle the blessings of God. If we take the time to remember the ways God has been good to us, the joy and thankfulness that follows will as much be a blessing to us as it will the lives of those around us.

Take the time to remember how good God's been to you.
Thankfulness happens when we recognize how good God's been to us.
Your relationship with God should be a blessing to those around you.

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The Church of Troas was a model of an ideal gathering of believers in Jesus. The reasons they gathered and when had Jesus as the focus. The motivation to gather was to hear God’s Word. And the result was seeing God do incredible things.

Jesus should be the reason we gather in His name.
God’s Word should be the focus in any meaningful discussion of God.
A desire to receive God’s word starts from a desire for its source.

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Topics:

What are effective ways to witness to Mormons?

Contradiction? Does God lead us into temptation? James 1:13-14 vs Matthew 6:13

What does 2 Kings 3:27 mean?

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Should a Man provide for his family?

How do I grow my passion for God?

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Purim is a holiday still celebrated today as a reminder of how good God was to His people. We would do well to take a page from that pattern and remember the ways He's been good to us as well.

What your doing is just as important and why you're doing it.
Turning against the Hebrew people has never worked out in history.
There's a time and place for everything in the Christian life, including celebration of God's goodness.

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Contradiction? Where did the demons ask not to be sent? Mark 5:9-10 vs Luke 8:30-31

What is newspaper eschatology?

Why did God tell the priests to carry the Ark on their shoulders and not by a cart?

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Is Mar Mari Emmanuel a sound bible teacher?

Is Ezekiel describing UFO's?

Your thoughts on celebrate recovery 12 step program by Jonny Baker.

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Topics: Apologetic Mondays - Jesus' Resurrection

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Paul's response to a very traumatic experience at Ephesus is the same response to troubling circumstances in our own lives. He fell back on what God had already told him to do, surrounded himself with people who were a Godly influence to him, and remained faithful until given further instructions.

God's Promises are certain to give us peace. Our circumstances and emotions aren't.
Surround yourself with people who remind you of Jesus.
The quickest route to a loss of peace is isolation from God and His people.

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Topics: Gospel Contradiction - Were there Pharisees baptized (Matt 3 VS Luke 7)? Why did Ezekiel command the dry bones to live?

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Topics: Do christians still sin (Explain John 8:34)?, Proof of authorship of the Gospels, Infant baptism

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Topics: Explain 1 John 3:19-22, Gospel contradictions - How many Demon Possessed men (Luke 8 vs Matt 8), Archeological evidence for Torah.

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Israel has and continues to be the epicenter of God's dealings with man. His faithfulness to them is the same character we can trust to be faithful to us.

God has and will continue to keep His promises to Israel.
God's promises can be trusted as long as we know them through His Word.
God is the only One we can trust to always be our defense.

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Topics: Zoroastrianism VS Islam, Black Hebrew Israelites, Relating to the Persons of the Trinity

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Topics: Iran Attacks Israel

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Paul's ministry to Ephesus is almost ended when a riot breaks out in response to the Christians getting rid of their idols and taking their faith seriously. Making the right decisions doesn't always mean there aren't consequences. The key is to understand that the right thing to do isn't determined by the majority vote. The majority opinion falls for idolatry every time. It takes a purposeful individual to understand who Jesus is and why they love Him.

There is nothing to be gained by trying to minister to a mob.
The best way to spot a counterfeit Jesus is to know the real deal.
Apart from the daily filling of the Holy Spirit, Christian love is impossible.

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When it comes to living the Christian life, love is to be the ultimate virtue! In light of all the father has done for us, we should live different lives, in the body of Christ, and with those outside the church. This section of scripture challenges us to abide in the love of Christ, which is seen in our attitude towards others.

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Topics: Are the Gospels Reliable?

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Paul's ministry to Ephesus gives us an understanding of what makes ministry effective. With the Word of God, The Spirit of God, and focus on God even at the expense of ourselves, He can accomplish amazing things.

A Godly Life without God is impossible.
Stick to God's Word when telling people about Him.
Christians need to deal with their own problems first.

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Topics: Head coverings while praying, Calvary Chapel Movement, Our Bodies in Heaven, Oneness Heresy

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Topics: Sin in Heaven, Just War, Sexual Sin

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Topics: Israel and Iran Update. Trans Awareness Day on Easter? How to share with a Mormon family member.

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Topics: How long was Jesus' burial? What is "Maundy Thursday? The "HE ROSE" acrostic? Eating clean and unclean meat in Deuteronomy.

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Topics: What is a Muslims, Questions about Good Friday, Mark of the Beast

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Topics: Eclipses in Prophecy? A Strange Church Tradition? Does Jeremiah 8:8 say the bible is corrupted?

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The legacy of Mordecai and Esther were their willingness to respond, rather than react to the enemy's latest attempt to seek the destruction of God's people. As God resolved the situation the ways only He can, we are given an example of how to properly view the demonic, our emotions, and our circumstances in light of His promises.

The greatest manifestation of the heart of Satan is the hatred of the Hebrew people.
The greatest response to spiritual warfare is to draw closer to God.
The greatest reminder of our relationship with God is when He corrects us.

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Topics: Bible Study and Translations. Is Jack Hibbs a good Bible teacher? What is true Idolatry? What are Angels?

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Topics: Israel Prophecy update, Squatter's Rights, The Narrow Path, Lawlessness

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Paul's ministry to Ephesus takes a turn for the miraculous. As usual, there were people who tried to take advantage of this by pretending to do the same things for financial gain or reputation. They found out the hard way why it's not a good idea to approach the things only God can deal with.

Miracles are when something takes place that wouldn't have unless God directly intervened.
Miracles are provided as needed, not as desired or demanded.
Signs follow those who believe. Not the other way around.

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Topics: Israel Prophecy update, Disinformation, Contradictions, and Old Testament Salvation

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Topics: Israel Prophecy update, being Pro-Israel, Catholicism, and Baptism

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As Haman's purposes continue to seek Israel's destruction, God uses everything leading up to this moment for reasons that none of the individuals involved would fully appreciate this side of Heaven. This is the perspective we need to have towards God's work in our lives. We may not always see the reason for a delayed answer, but we can trust the timing of the One we're praying to.

God's delays are not God's denies.
God doesn't overlook or forget the things we do in His name.
Trusting God's timing makes sense.

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Topics: Israel Prophecy update, Spiritual Gifts, and Serpents

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Topics: Prophecy update, Nephilim, Loving God First, and Bullies

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Topics: Prophecy update, Dreams, Violence.

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The Apostle Paul begins a two year long ministry at Ephesus. There's the kind of drama that always accompanies systems people are a part of, but the product is also the same regarding a work where the Word of God remains a priority.

Love motivates evangelism.
Give answers to people who will listen to them.
The Handling of the Word of God is the only reason you should attend or leave a church.

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Topics: Prophecy update, Asceticism, Women.

Have a Bible Question? Follow one of our streaming platforms below and use the comments section to post your question.

YouTube: A Reason for Hope

Facebook: Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Twitter: ScottR4H

Website: The CCF Website - Click "Watch Live"

Email Your Questions: questions@areason4hope.org

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Topics: Prophecy update, Evangelism, Marriage.

Have a Bible Question? Follow one of our streaming platforms below and use the comments section to post your question.

YouTube: A Reason for Hope

Facebook: Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Twitter: ScottR4H

Website: The CCF Website - Click "Watch Live"

Email Your Questions: questions@areason4hope.org

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Esther is given the courage to enter the king's presence uninvited and her life is spared. However, she doesn't yet deliver her people. What most would consider a failure on her part only set up an even greater victory.

Faith means Trust with Reason. Growing in Faith is knowing the reasons you have to trust God.
God can use our “failures” to accomplish a greater victory. What matters is that we stay available.
Your source of purpose and peace shouldn't be invested in anything or anyone less than God.

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Topics: Family Planning, St Patrick's Day, and the Trinity.

Have a Bible Question? Follow one of our streaming platforms below and use the comments section to post your question.

YouTube: A Reason for Hope

Facebook: Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Twitter: ScottR4H

Website: The CCF Website - Click "Watch Live"

Email Your Questions: questions@areason4hope.org

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Topics: Prophecy update, Eternal Security, Christian Fiction.

Have a Bible Question? Follow one of our streaming platforms below and use the comments section to post your question.

YouTube: A Reason for Hope

Facebook: Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Twitter: ScottR4H

Website: The CCF Website - Click "Watch Live"

Email Your Questions: questions@areason4hope.org

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Paul and Apollos take over for each other's ministries in Corinth and Ephesus. As Paul meets disciples who weren't given the whole picture, the fine line between intellectualism and a genuine relationship with God are spelled out through the presence or lack of the Holy Spirit.

The fact that God's Word is being taught is more important than who is teaching it.
A ritual is only meaningful if it points to an ongoing reality.
Salvation is through receiving the Holy Spirit, not faking spiritual gifts or imitating Christian behavior.

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Topics: Prophecy update, Repentance, and Spiritual Growth.

Have a Bible Question? Follow one of our streaming platforms below and use the comments section to post your question.

YouTube: A Reason for Hope

Facebook: Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Twitter: ScottR4H

Website: The CCF Website - Click "Watch Live"

Email Your Questions: questions@areason4hope.org

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The work of Jesus on the cross for our redemption was total. Nothing apart from or in addition to it will accomplish our redemption before God. This is recognized by the Father and Spirit as well.

The Father accepted Jesus' sacrifice for our sins.
The Spirit accepted Jesus' sacrifice for our sins.
The Son accomplished the total sacrifice for our sins.

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In Romans 12 Paul expounds on the greatest of commandments in the Bible. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love others as yourself. If you ever have wondered what it looks like to live in this way, then this is the Chapter to read daily. God’s mercy moves in the believer to give his entire life to God. Our lives are a living sacrifice, an offering totally devoted to the Lord, in response to His mercy on us.. The grace of faith helps us to think soberly about ourselves and how we can help others grow in Christ. Our gifts are just that! A gift from God to which we cannot boast. The Spirit through Paul gives us a detailed look of what our love should look like in the Church and with those outside of the Church. Do we share this kind of life that Christ lived? One dedicated to God and the love of others?

Understanding God’s mercy leads to an intimate dedication & devotion of mind, body and soul (all of us).
Understanding God’s gift of faith leads us to being used by God in the body of Christ.
Understanding love leads us to a steadfast, humble, perseverance in trials.

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Esther's life is defined by an opportunity she was given to make a choice. God would keep His promises. Her chance was to be a part of that work. She made the right decision, but she made sure she prayed first before taking a single step into an act that she'd be remembered for throughout history.

The purpose of prayer is to align your desires with God's.
The purpose of fasting is to replace one activity with focusing on God instead.
The purpose of putting on sackcloth or becoming hungry is to come to God with an attitude of Him meeting a need.

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Apollos is demonstrated to be a man who served as a spiritual example during the time of the Apostles. He was not only a great communicator, but he loved God's Word and had the character to remain teachable no matter how well educated he was.

If you have something worth sharing with people better than God's Word, share it. Until then, stick to the Bible.
Truth is more important than our desires.
The greatest mark of humility is how we respond to more information.

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Mordecai and Haman are a study in contrast of the kind of people we can become. We can be followers of God or something less. The results spoke for themselves.

The character of a man that honors God focuses on others rather than themselves.
There is no limit to what can be accomplished as long as our goal is for God to get the glory.
There is no greater example of the heart of Satan than Jew-hatred.

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Calvary Christian Fellowship is celebrating 30 years of ministry! To celebrate with us we have guest speaker David Guzik. He is a pastor, Bible teacher, and author of a widely used Bible commentary.

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The Doctrine of the Trinity reveals why we were created for a relationship with God. Being creatures made in His Image, more than anything we reflect His characteristic of desiring fellowship with each other, just like each member of the Trinity has always had.

The Father's glory is demonstrated through His love for the Son and Spirit.
The Son's glory is demonstrated through His submission to the Father and love for the Spirit.
The Spirit's glory is demonstrated through glorifying the Father through the Son.

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Paul continues his ministry to Corinth and chooses to observe a Nazarite Vow. From his example, we see the difference between doing things because you're saved and doing things in order to be saved.

We trust God because He hasn't failed to keep a promise.
Serve and honor God because you want to, not because you have to.
Salvation apart from Jesus is impossible. Salvation because of Jesus is our only hope.

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The raising up of Esther into the position of Queen in Medo-Persia was the most unlikely thing imaginable were it entirely left up to chance. The good news is that God was working His purpose and plan for her life just like He is ours. There are no accidents or coincidences. Just opportunities to trust God or not.

God's involvement in our lives is ongoing.
There are no accidents in God's economy.
God's purpose for your life is to make you like Jesus in our character.

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The book of Esther begins with a historical framework of where we are in the midst of real events we can verify. Alongside these real people and places, we find them showcasing the real things people always get caught up in. Abuse of alcohol, abuse of power, and ultimately being abused by their own pride.

Pride is a self-deceptive view of ourselves and others.
Alcohol isn't a sin, but it rarely leads to good decisions.
The answer to pride is love, and the enemy of love is pride.

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Paul gives an apologetic, or a reasoned defense of the gospel before a group of pagan philosophers. He didn't have to be omniscient or answer every challenge. All that was required was for him to care about his audience enough to do their homework and speak in terms they could understand. Where their hearts ended up as a result was between them and God.

You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
The more you listen, the more others will be willing to.
Effective ministry always brings the conversation back to Jesus.

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The Millennial Kingdom will be glorious. It won't be because of the environment, though it will be wonderful. It won't be because of the leadership, though it will be perfect. It won't be the Eternal State, but it will have the same thing that makes Heaven what it is. Jesus will be there.

God remembers the sacrifices we make for Him in this life.
God keeps every promise He makes.
If you love Jesus, you're going to love Heaven because He's there.

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Jew Hatred is an emotional position, not a scriptural or factual one.
Israel's actions do not justify the actions of Hamas.
The opinions of individual Hebrews and Christians do not speak for the whole of Israel or the Bible.
War is not sinful in of itself. It is the God-given responsibility of a government to have and use their military.
Amalek, Canaan, and Moab are not appropriate examples or comparisons due to Hamas failing to be given centuries of prophetic warnings in advance.

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Paul begins to share the gospel with the intellectual giants that are still influencing the world we know today. His practical and intellectual understanding of the Gospel models for us exactly how to handle ourselves when we inevitably encounter a similar situation.

God gave you a brain. He expects you to use it.
The majority of spiritual success is being available.
The more the world objects to the Gospel, the less original they become.

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As the Son rules from Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit will be restoring life throughout the Middle East.

Water is a picture of life throughout the Bible.
The Holy Spirit is as much God as the Father and Son.
While the 1000 year reign will be wonderful, sin and death will still be there.

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Paul the Apostle's second missionary journey continues with the people of Thessalonica and Berea. Both received God's Word gladly, but the Bereans are given an extra word of commendation for checking out what Paul told them and knowing for certain what they were told to believe was true.

The first words of Satan to mankind was challenging the Word of God.
The Bible isn't boring. We are.
Trusting something without reason isn't virtuous.

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Israel was and remains the nation by which salvation has been and will continue to be brought to all nations. Anti-Semitic hate groups disagree on this and favor the idea that the church has replaced them and inherited all of the promises that remain unfulfilled in the Old Testament. This is verifiably false.

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Israel was and remains the nation by which salvation has been and will continue to be brought to all nations. Anti-Semitic hate groups disagree on this and favor the idea that the church has replaced them and inherited all of the promises that remain unfulfilled in the Old Testament. This is verifiably false.

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Israel was and remains the nation by which salvation has been and will continue to be brought to all nations. Anti-Semitic hate groups disagree on this and favor the idea that the church has replaced them and inherited all of the promises that remain unfulfilled in the Old Testament. This is verifiably false.

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The Apostle Peter uses the Old Testament ceremonies and the promises of Jesus to give an informed perspective to believers about how we should see the trouble we inevitably run into in this life.

We aren't promised a trouble free life, but we are promised a purposeful one.
God has been good to us and will continue to be.
Every day is an opportunity to look forward to and trust the work God is ultimately doing in our lives.

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The dimensions and practices surrounding the Temple during the Millennial Kingdom are as significant by what they mention as they are in what they don't. What Jesus has fulfilled will be replaced by His presence. What God is continuing to do will be something we'll all have the honor of remembering with His people daily.

There will be different Heavenly rewards, but no lack of access to Jesus.
God is as interested in the small decisions in your life as He is the big ones.
There is always profit in taking the time to remember all that God has done for us.

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We can learn a lot about a person's ideas of God and themselves by their prayer life. David was a songwriter who wrote to and about his God with all the expression and desperation that we see in song lyrics.

David asks the Lord for help from his enemies. Do we?
What or who are the enemies that have come to you?
Has such situations in your life brought you to your knees with such similar candor as King David? Who do you turn to? Where is your confidence set?

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Israel was and remains the nation by which salvation has been and will continue to be brought to all nations. Anti-Semitic hate groups disagree on this and favor the idea that the church has replaced them and inherited all of the promises that remain unfulfilled in the Old Testament. This is verifiably false.

God's promises to Israel are ongoing. (Old and New Testament)
God's promises to Israel remain Israel's. (Anti-Replacement Theology)
God's promises to Israel can be benefited from or not by other nations.

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In a perfect world, we see how ministry is done. In an imperfect world, we can take notes and model what perfect ministry looks like.

A wasted life doesn't invalidate salvation, only rewards.
Ministry should be the natural produce of a work of God in us.
A blameless life is an honest one.

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Paul and Silas continue their ministry journey into Thessalonica. Their witness of the Gospel through the Old Testament and engaging with them through questions is a model for the attitude we need to bring towards evangelism.

You can't help how people respond to God's Word. You can only make them more or less reasonable for doing so.
There is no such thing as a Christian who isn't called to share the Gospel.
The more you share, the more you realize what you have.

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Ezekiel's prophecy continues with an insight into who will be serving in a perfect church. The Priests aren't perfect. The Leaders aren't even perfect. They're all simply there because they want to be with Jesus and do what He's called them to do. That needs to be our motivation in ministry.

Jesus is a great boss to work for.
Jesus will either be your reward in ministry, or a distraction from what you're really looking for out of it.
If we don't consider the pattern of life that led to our mistakes, we're just going to keep repeating them.

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Paul and Silas are persecuted for their faith and unlawfully thrown into prison. Instead of being overwhelmed or discouraged by their circumstances, they allowed God to give them the confidence and strength to endure them and created the Philippian church as a result.

The peace of God is the power to endure trials, not prevent them.
Spiritual warfare is answering false doctrine with truth.
God specializes in making the work of the enemy backfire.

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Ezekiel is shown by God personally where His throne and altar will be in the Millennial Kingdom. With new features that will as much be corrections as they are reminders of God's dealings with mankind in Israel's history.

God's Glory is literally describing His worth.
A relationship with God begins with understanding our need for mercy.
Heaven is being with Jesus, and something we can enjoy today.

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Paul's missionary journey didn't start or continue how we'd expect a legitimate work of God to go. Yet regardless of their expectations or the opposition they faced, God accomplished more through the salvation of Lydia than the crowds many of us would expect.

Don't hold God to promises He's never made.
Salvation is a greater miracle than we give it credit for.
Spiritual warfare is won in the realm of truth, not rituals.

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The Apostle Paul finally meets the man we know as Luke the Physician. While it took some time and a lot of twists and turns to get there, their attitude towards hearing from and trusting God is what enabled them to be exactly where He wanted them.

The first step to hearing from God is being with His people.
Trust is the foundation of every relationship.
No is an acceptable answer to prayer.

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Thankfulness is a fruit of the spirit. It is not only a gift from God, but impossible to do properly apart from Him. With the example of the 10 lepers during Jesus' earthly ministry, we have an example of the kind of blessings we settle for compared to the blessings God wants to give us through thankfulness.

Thankfulness is the first sign of a heart in line with God's.
God doesn't want you to settle for lesser blessings.
If you don't have anything else to be thankful for, remember you're going to Heaven.

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Jesus' letter to the church of Philadelphia gives us an example of the kind of church we want to be in anticipation of His return. They are commended for their focus on Him, their willingness to use whatever strength they had for the sake of His Word, and lived in constant readiness for His return.

Stay focused on the person of Jesus Christ.
This life isn't about us. Use what opportunities God gives you to show His heart to others.
In order to anticipate the promises of Jesus, you need to know them.

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Ezekiel is shown the dimensions of a Temple he believed was already destroyed. While Solomon's Temple was gone and the dimensions of this New Temple don't match Herod's, Israel is promised when Messiah returns a place where He will meet with them once again the same way we fellowship with Him and each other now.

God has made promises to Israel He intends to keep.
The Finished work of Christ will redefine the purpose of the sacrifices like it already has with communion.
You are ministered to most when you focus on others.

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The closer we get to the return of Christ, the closer we need to get to Christ. The truth is under attack now and will continue to be more and more in the future. The key is to know what the truth is and where to find its answer to the lie this world continues to tell us.

The claim that we can be right with God apart from Jesus is the lie the enemy tells to the world.
The reality that through Jesus alone we have salvation from the wrath of God is the truth.
Without a love for the truth, we will believe the lie.

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The outcome of the first invasion of Gog and Magog is to make it into a memorial for the two additional times an invasion like it will take place in this world. People without a relationship with God will serve as reminders of what it's like to go against God. Those with a relationship with God will use those reminders as the foundation of their relationship with Him. God's wrath punishes His enemies, but also disciplines and restores His kids.

The greatest example of Satan's heart in this world is Jew Hatred.
God doesn't like our sin the way we do.
The Holy Spirit is what separates those who are corrected and those who are used as a warning.

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Jesus describes three kinds of people who will make up His church at the time of the Rapture. Those who are like Noah, Lot, and Lot's wife. Noah had a grace based relationship with God and lived accordingly. Lot also had a grace based relationship with God but lived in spite of it. Lot's wife knew Godly people and Godly things, but ultimately turned back to the world when He tried to save her from its ultimate consequences.

The fact the world is looking more and more like how Jesus said it would upon His return should excite us.
Live like you could stand before Jesus today. None of us are promised a tomorrow.
Grace alone is what saves us. Live in light of it, not in spite of it.

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The famous Gog and Magog invasion is as fascinating a prophecy for what we are told as it is referring to what we don't yet know. A lot of things are falling into place in very recent history, but there are still missing pieces to the puzzle that need to be paid attention to as we see the world continuing to head this direction.

The problem isn't that God is unclear. We're just not listening.
God is not the kind of being you want to be on the wrong side of in war.
God will protect His people for the sake of all nations knowing who He truly is.

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The famous Gog and Magog invasion is as fascinating a prophecy for what we are told as it is referring to what we don't yet know. A lot of things are falling into place in very recent history, but there are still missing pieces to the puzzle that need to be paid attention to as we see the world continuing to head this direction.

The problem isn't that God is unclear. We're just not listening.
God is not the kind of being you want to be on the wrong side of in war.
God will protect His people for the sake of all nations knowing who He truly is.

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Jesus describes three kinds of people who will make up His church at the time of the Rapture. Those who are like Noah, Lot, and Lot's wife. Noah had a grace based relationship with God and lived accordingly. Lot also had a grace based relationship with God but lived in spite of it. Lot's wife knew Godly people and Godly things, but ultimately turned back to the world when He tried to save her from its ultimate consequences.

The fact the world is looking more and more like how Jesus said it would upon His return should excite us.
Live like you could stand before Jesus today. None of us are promised a tomorrow.
Grace alone is what saves us. Live in light of it, not in spite of it.

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God promises a restoration of Israel that would not only see them back in their homeland, but united again to the tribes that had forsaken God centuries before Judah's exile. The way He would accomplish this is the same way He can accomplish it in His church today. His presence.

Pride is the leading cause of division and conflict among the people of God.
There are no “Lost Tribes of Israel.” God knows where they are.
The only way to accomplish unity is through the presence of Jesus.

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Asaph's Psalm prophesies a failed invasion of Israel. While that isn't necessarily a unique event given recent history, we are seeing events unravel that involves the nations that Asaph's prophecy mention by name. All of these groups that will seek Israel's destruction have been their enemies at one time or another. Yet we have never seen them all come after Israel at once. The hope is that this will be yet another opportunity to show the world that the word of God is true, but that this invasion we may see in our lifetimes will spell the end of the death cult known as Islam.

The greatest manifestation of Satan's heart is hatred of the Hebrew people.
God has focused His dealings with mankind through Israel.
We aren't promised a tomorrow. Live for Jesus today.

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Ezekiel is shown a vision of Israel's restoration from exile that we have the honor of witnessing with our very eyes today. While their physical and spiritual restoration will be two separate events, the fact the process has begun shows us two things. God keeps His promises to all of His people, and that especially includes the Hebrew people.

The first step from hearing from God is knowing you need to.
The greatest mark of the heart of Satan is the hatred of the Hebrew people.
We are spiritually dead apart from the Holy Spirit.

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Paul begins his second missionary journey returning to Iconium where he meets his most prominent disciple Timothy. Though legitimate disagreements separated him from Barnabas, it brought more opportunities and individuals into the work God was doing through him.

Jesus has the power to protect you from harm as much as give you the strength to endure it wherever He's called you.
There is nothing wrong with having disagreements on secondary issues even between Christians.
It is a miracle whenever we are capable of sharing and showing God's heart to others.

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In light of prophetically significant events taking place in Israel, we would do well to remind ourselves and each other what is and isn't true concerning Bible prophecy.

The journey will be scary, but we know how the story of history ends.
Our war is against false doctrine, not those taken in by it.
Jesus is coming for us, or we're going to Him. Either way, live ready for that guarantee.

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Following the first Council of Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas continued to minister God's Word as they were called and equipped by the Holy Spirit. That calling impacted people emotionally as well as intellectually. It even led them in places many assume weren't the best decisions. Yet where God was and where His Word was taught, He was found working in ways we are still benefiting from today.

The Bible isn't boring. We are.
Good Emotions are meaningless if they aren't invested in truth.
The Grace of God is the key motivation to living the Christian life.

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Ezekiel's prophecy against Edom is followed up upon with a prophecy for Israel. Where one will be destroyed, another will be restored. We are seeing that promise fulfilled literally today.

The fact that God is for you is the greatest comfort in any trial.
God keeps His promises. It's who He is by nature.
God's ongoing faithfulness to Israel is how we know He will be faithful to us.

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The First Council of Jerusalem and the first Church Council of Christian history addressed the Galatian Heresy. The claim was that you couldn't believe in the Hebrew Messiah without first observing Hebrew customs and ceremonies like circumcision. The matter wasn't resolved by pulling rank, infallible declarations of men, or anything less than the simple reading of the Word of God.

Unnecessary conflict dies in an environment of accountability and transparency.
Having confidence in the truth includes being willing to listen to what others say first.
The Word of God remains the only authority over which Christians ought to submit.

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Edom is presented as a cautionary tale of bitterness. Learning from their experience shows everything that it costs, but also a reason to choose the alternative.

Anger isn't sinful, but the decisions we make through it can be.
Emotions are good servants, but poor masters.
Only God can love people like He does, and is willing to do so through us.

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Paul and Barnabas endure a season of persecution on a physical and emotional level. What enabled them to overcome both was the kind of perspective that only the Holy Spirit can provide. What kept them from resentment, bitterness, or discouragement was the same Spirit that enabled them to minister in the first place.

The greatest miracle we can ever be a part of is witnessing a positive response to the Gospel.
Comfort is as much intended to be shared as received.
Gifts from God point us to Jesus, not distract us from Him.

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We have all heard of the compulsive person, yet have you ever thought a person could be addicted to bad speech? A self gratification of the tongue! James gives us a vivid description of just how damaging our speech can be and the importance of using wisdom when sharing with others.

Our Speech is hard to tame.
Our Speech can damages people.
Our Speech needs to be to build up others.

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Paul and Barnabas pursue sharing the Gospel with a new crowd after the previous group turned hostile. Following a public miracle, they made certain that their audience understood the message it was meant to verify.

Wisdom is as important to Ministry as faithfulness.
A sign is only useful if it points you in the right direction.
To know your audience, You have to be willing to listen.

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God addresses where Israel got off track and got to where they found themselves in exile. The leaders were as negligent as the people were themselves of God's Word. The only solution was for both to refocus on or answer to the only One we can all count on to be the perfect leader and the perfect man.

The responsibility of every spiritual leader is to point people to the perfect spiritual leader.
The responsibility of every member of God's house is to point people to the only perfect member of God's house.
God will judge those who abuse His flock. Make sure you're not the one doing the abusing.

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Paul and Barnabas are led by the Spirit to minister to the people of Iconium and Lystra. While they had mixed responses, it was successful ministry. They stuck to the Word simply. They made it accessible to their audiences on a personal level. And most importantly, God was and remained the focus through all of it.

Apart from the daily filling of the Holy Spirit, the Christian life is impossible.
The same God that can encourage you through persecution can also lead you away from it.
The only way to discern truth from error is to focus on its source.

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Ezekiel is reminded of his calling to be a watchman. While this put him in a position where he could look down at others, he needed to constantly remember that regardless of whether the responses to his ministry were positive or negative, he was ultimately and only serving God.

Pride is the greatest obstacle between us and the heart of God.
Effective communication is being willing to listen more than we speak.
Ministry needs to be in service to an audience of One.

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Paul and Barnabas see a tremendous response to simply teaching God's word. From the non-Hebrews, many came to a relationship with the Messiah. From the Hebrews, many turned against them out of envy and self interest. In response, Paul and Barnabas stuck to what worked and left when prompted through persecution. In either situation, they knew joy because their hope in the claims of Jesus were fulfilled either way.

Joy is the emotional response to hope fulfilled.
If you have anything worthwhile to share with people about God, make sure it's the Bible.
Hope centered in the promises of Jesus won't leave you disappointed.

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God has Ezekiel grieve for the ultimate fate of Egypt and the nations that are also about to experience judgment. The sin of pride didn't just bring them so low because of how much they did deserving of judgment, but because it also convinced them that there was nothing wrong with it. Pride will dominate all of our lives if we allow it to put distance between us and the mercy God freely offers through His Son.

Pride is a self-deceptive view of yourself and others.
Pride's greatest influence on our lives is to convince us we don't have it.
The only cure for pride is a continual focus on the person of Jesus Christ.

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Jesus encounter with Simon the Pharisee shows what pride will do in order to keep us from genuine fellowship with Him. He may be in our lives or even a part of them externally. However, without understanding the grace He's shown towards us, we won't appreciate who He is or the honor we've been given to have Him there in the first place.

We need to understand our need for forgiveness in order to receive it.
Our devotion to Jesus should make those who don't know Him uncomfortable.
Your love for God will never exceed your thankfulness towards Him.

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The Trinity is as fundamental a doctrine of Christianity as salvation itself. Understanding how we are saved is also tied into who saved us. Since God has personally involved every member of His unique nature into our restored fellowship with Him, we have more reason to trust His offer than any other religious claim.

Salvation was the Father's Idea.
Salvation was the Son's Accomplishment.
Salvation is the Spirit's Purpose.

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As Paul and Barnabas are ministering at Antioch, the non-Hebrews in particular are drawn to their message of grace and truth demonstrated through Jesus Christ. They understood that you can't have one without the other, and could relate that kind of heart to others without knowing His Word and Heart.

Joy isn't an emotion. It's the natural reaction to hope fulfilled.
Grace is God's goodness by nature even when we aren't worth of it.
The Grace of God cannot be related to others without the daily filling of the Holy Spirit.

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The Pharaoh of Egypt is reminded to do the very thing we all need to do in our lives. He believed he was the exception to what was happening to the kingdoms all around him. He believed he wasn't going to experience judgment from God. Yet like Assyria before him and countless others after him, he still fell. If we learn not to separate ourselves from God and replace Him with the things we try to look for our ultimate sense of peace and security in, we won't have to experience the same outcome he saw.

We can learn a lot from the mistakes of the past because there are no new mistakes.
Idolatry is when you treat something that isn't God as if it is.
Pride is a false view of ourselves and others.

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Paul the Apostle communicates the message of the entire Bible in less than 3 minutes. This wasn't because the words of scripture He didn't mention weren't worth talking about. His goal was the same that all of ours should be. The focus was on who Jesus was and how He proved it in history. He considered his audience and backed up every claim with reference to the Old Testament. And most importantly, he let the Word of God speak for itself regarding what to do in light of how history caught up with predictive prophecy.

Jesus was Jewish. If we want to know Him, we need to understand why.
God clarified how we'd recognize Him centuries before He arrived.
A relationship with God has to take place on His terms. It's through Jesus.

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The judgment of Egypt was to bring both it and Israel a reality check. Egypt considered itself a god and would find out the hard way that wasn't true. Israel relied on Egypt like they ought to have with God and would see Egypt humbled to the point where God was the only real option they had left.

Egypt was judged by God as much for their idolatry as their treatment of Israel.
People who think they are gods will eventually have reality catch up with them.
We won't treat God as our only option until He's all we have left.

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The ministry of Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark begins with a venture of faith. After hearing legitimately from God regarding where their first missionary journey would begin, we see what these things are all about. They aren't without opposition. They aren't impractical. And they are always done with an open Bible.

A Work of God in our lives requires God to already be a part it.
Simply Share God's Word Simply.
Opposition is as guaranteed as victory in any work of God.

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The mind behind the king of Tyre is revealed to be the original entity that adopted the mindset that he was superior to God. There are no new mistakes. Only different people that fall for the same trap. Though these mistakes all share in the enemy's ultimate end, we don't have to share in it. If the devil approaches with his lies, answer them only with the truth of God's Word.

There is one God and you aren't Him.
There is a devil and he hates you.
There is one answer to the enemy, and it's with our advocate.

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Tyre is used as a cautionary tale for other nations in history that follow its example. Through the illustration of a perfectly constructed and beautifully designed ship, it came to nothing when an east wind blew it to pieces in a moment. The lesson is that poverty or wealth in Heaven is what will ultimately matter.

Someone who has everything but God will ultimately have nothing.
Wealth promises everything, especially what it can't deliver.
Use things and love people, not the other way around.

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The accusation that there is a disparity between the God of the Old and New Testament is based on three false assumptions. First, that the description of violence in history implies a prescription for Christians to do the same. Second, that the kind of violence described in the Old Testament was unjust for God to prescribe. And third, that there is a change in God's nature from the Old to the New Testament from Wrath to Love.

Historical descriptions of violence only prove honest history.
Every time God ordered violence to take place, it always was preceded by centuries of warnings and opportunities to be spared.
The concepts of God's love described in the New Testament are based on quotations from the Old.

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The early church demonstrates that there are no new problems when it comes to the issues people have in their relationship with God. Prayer isn't treating God like Santa Claus. Prayer isn't talking to God for its own sake. Prayer is the purposeful pursuit of fellowship with God in order to align our hearts and desires with His. He is going to do what He's going to do. Whether or not we share in the blessing of seeing that promise fulfilled is a choice we make through prayer.

The purpose of prayer is aligning your heart with God's.
If you need a miracle, you'll get one.
God always acts according to His Word.

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Following the unjust execution of the Apostle James, Herod Agrippa I tries to do the same to the Apostle Peter. As the church uses this time of crisis to passionately pray for him, God works a miracle by sending an angel to get him out of prison. It wasn't rushed. It wasn't even necessarily a gentle experience. However, it was the way God always does things. Even when people and circumstances are bad, He remains good. Peter understood this whether he was going to be released or not.

The purpose of prayer is to align your desires with God's.
A heart that trusts God knows Him.
If we need a miracle, we'll get one.

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Ezekiel's ministry was a powerful one, but also one that cost him incredibly. From seeing his nation's capital destroyed to having to say goodbye to his beloved wife, it was a ministry that was only worthwhile because God saw him through everything he was called to do and say. Our ministry should be nothing less regardless of where or when we're called.

The most effective evangelist talks to people the way they would want to have been shared with before they knew the Lord.
God's Word is the only thing we're promised will always accomplish what it was meant to.
God is the only one that changes hearts. Our job is to be an asset rather than an obstacle to that process.

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Despite the cultural controversies of Hebrew and Greek culture clashing, God's word was still going out. How? Men like the people of Antioch were eager and willing to begin every day as an opportunity to draw closer to Jesus and act like Him where they could. Men like Paul and Barnabas were willing to go through the necessary preparation of mind and character to be used by God effectively where and when He intended. And those who followed Jesus expressed His character with their physical resources as much as their emotional investment.

A saved life will become a changed life.
Preparation is just as important as ministry.
God is more interested in your heart than your checkbook.

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Ezekiel is inspired by the Holy Spirit to reveal just how serious Israel's sin was. He uses language and terms that are not suitable for all audiences. However, God in intentional in how He talks to His people because it is just that serious. If they wouldn't be restored, they would be judged. But like judgment in our own lives, it won't be because God didn't warn them or plead with them to return every step they took away from Him.

Confession requires us to understand how incapable we are of dealing with the issues of our hearts on our own.
Restoration is always available to anyone still willing to receive it.
The motivation for Godly living is being in awe of the Cross.

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Ezekiel makes several calls back to Israel's history regarding individuals who stood in the gap. These were people who prayed on behalf of Israel to be given mercy especially at times when they didn't deserve it. This is the best place to find ourselves in a day and age that reflects the same attitude that reduced beautiful Jerusalem into little more than a Bloody City.

God wants us to understand His promises.
God wants us to share His heart, especially towards sinners.
God wants more people who act like Him in a world that rejects Him.

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The parable of the prodigal sons is an effective example of God the Father's treatment of us and example for us. Like the Father's allowance of the son to learn his own lessons in life, the heart the father had in seeing his children restored, and his willingness to do so the moment they came back to him, so too does every father have that calling to model God's heart to their children.

God the Father exemplifies what an earthly father ought to be.
The Father allows His children the freedom to make mistakes.
The Father receives and fully restores anyone who comes to Him as His children.

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God doesn't enjoy judgment. People that celebrate when God drops the hammer make themselves as much an object of His wrath as those experiencing it. The key to avoiding a cold heart is to understand our purpose remains the same during times of mercy as they do in times of wrath. If we're to show patience towards those who are rejecting God, we should also be grieving when the time comes for them to answer for those decisions.

God is patient, but He's nobody's fool.
When God judges, He judges right.
Our job is to share God's heart towards this world. During judgment, that is a heart of grief.

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Cornelius the Centurion is the first Gentile recorded in the book of Acts to come to a saving relationship with Jesus. This was not only done in a way that allows us to understand what real salvation looks like, but also a wonderful outline to discern people that claim to exercise or emphasize spiritual gifts beyond what is biblical.

Salvation, like any work of God, is a direct work of the Holy Spirit.
Tongues, like any spiritual gift, isn't always a fraud. It needs to be biblically defined and tested.
Baptism, like any good work, isn't salvation. It naturally follows it.

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Many today talk about their identity, but why is it that the further we go in identity theory, we become more narcissistic and depressed as a society? How has the Gospel brought peace and stability to millions by giving us a new identity in Jesus?

Jesus offers us to be united with Him.
The world gives us shaky options to become one with it.
Our identity with Christ should be seen by our love for God, and our neighbor.

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The Apostle Peter and Cornelius are both given an opportunity to see the grace of God on display. Cornelius is drawn by the Spirit to a desire that we wouldn't have apart from His direct intervention in our hearts. Peter likewise is reminded by the Spirit what He has plainly stated throughout history regarding the salvation of those even his culture had written off as a lost cause.

Don't let culture supersede the plain teachings of scripture.
God changes hearts and minds. We are simply one part of that process.
God isn't looking for a perfect evangelism to salvation ratio. Only faithful people.

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Ezekiel writes a song grieving the legacy of the kings of Israel. Its last four kings were much like their first. There were good men whose flaws cost them long term. There were corrupt men who ruined their legacy or ended up being inconsequential. And there were even great men who ultimately died like anyone else. The only one you can truly trust to never fail your source of confidence and peace is Jesus Himself.

Any system short of a relationship with Jesus will ultimately fail.
Doctrine and Duty will only take you so far in the Christian life.
Your relationship with Jesus can’t depend on anyone apart from than Him.

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The Apostle Peter is given a personal prophecy regarding an issue his cultural biases were not comfortable with. In a patience exercise in having him remember what Jesus said and testing this as actually being from God, we are given the benefit of how to also test personal prophecies.

God's Word is the standard by which we test any personal words from God.
God is capable of speaking to us personally if we're willing to listen and obey.
God isn't offended by people who want to be certain He is speaking.

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Ezekiel addresses a cultural proverb that was assumed to be from God and wasn’t. The belief that generational curses apply is simply false and Israel’s history verified that. With the legacies of Hezekiah, Josiah, and Manasseh as examples, we see that our eternal destiny is determined by our decisions before God alone.

Generational Curses are unbiblical.
You will answer to God personally for the decisions you’ve made.
Your eternal destiny is not something you should be comfortable leaving with a question mark.

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The ministry and testimony of Hannah to her son Samuel is an example of the impact a Godly mother can make on an entire nation. Your willingness to be faithful with what God's entrusted to you, your example of faithfulness to even a limited audience, and your highest priority being the Lord Himself will always be a blessing to those in your care.

Your circumstances or emotions can bring you to Jesus' feet just as easily as they can keep us from Him.
Having God as your greatest desire and priority will always pay off.
An example of faithfulness and a pattern of life that loves the Lord will always impact your children for the better.

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Ezekiel gives a parable illustrating all of the political blunders Israel made leading up to their captivity. In a classic, “how's that working out for you” observation, we are given a prophecy of Jesus as a reminder that God is the only one worth trusting with our future.

Doing your homework in personal Bible study is always worth the effort.
Men make promises. Jesus keeps them.
Only God is the only one worthy of trust concerning our past, present, and future.

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Following up from the Apostle Peter's trip to Joppa, Cornelius the Centurion is introduced as a sincere seeker of God. He had everything going for him as far as his lifestyle, family, and desire to know God. The only thing that was missing was a saving relationship with Jesus, which God personally made certain he could access as soon as possible.

God's highest priority is the salvation of the lost.
Nobility and virtue apart from Christ won't save you.
God is more interested in saving us than we are in being saved.

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Ezekiel gives an extremely graphic description of just how far Israel’s sin had brought them from God. Yet in spite of all of their evil, He uses it to emphasize His intent to see them restored even when describing them at their worst.

God is good to us because that’s simply who He is.
God often punishes sin by letting us see just how far it will take us from Him.
God is more patient than we could ever imagine.

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Miracles are a controversial subject in some circles. However, God's highest priority isn't in entertaining us. It's redeeming us from Hell itself. If you need a miracle beyond that, you'll get one. However, the example of the early church shows that any temporary miracles will only exist to accompany and verify eternal ones.

God will work externally through lives that are first stable through Him internally.
Every Christian's goal should be to model themselves after Jesus.
People should know Jesus better through the example He sets through us.

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An effective and growing church has three things at work in the lives of its members. They are building one another up in the knowledge of God through His Word. They are living in light of the fear of the Lord. And they are comforting one another through the Holy Spirit.

The best time to build up your knowledge of God is before it's all you have to fall back on.
The fear of the Lord is an honest perspective of yourself and God.
The grace of God is an honest perspective of your relationship with God.

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The Apostle Paul was once Saul of Tarsus. The transition from one man to the other wasn't an easy or immediate process. However, like all new believers, he did what we should always be doing. He pursued a personal relationship with Jesus. He received comfort from the Holy Spirit. And He then sought being built up in the knowledge of God.

Share Jesus with people like you would any other good thing in your life.
Without a personal relationship with Jesus, Christian education is only useful for trivia.
A growing church starts rooted in God's Word, comforted by the Spirit, and living in the fear of the Lord.

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Jesus' post-resurrection appearances to the Apostles were as deliberate as they were effective. He answers their despair, their doubts, and restores them from their departures from Him. Through the Holy Spirit, He offers the same to us all today.

Jesus answers our despair with His presence.
Jesus answers our doubts with His Word.
Jesus answers our sin with His Restoration.

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The celebration of Good Friday is one of fulfilled prophecy. With an understanding of the Passover in ancient Israel, the significance of everything Jesus accomplished is brought to light.

God's Word has left nothing to guesswork regarding who He is and what He has done to prove it.
God has personally seen through your redemption.
God loves you.

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As Saul the Pharisee becomes Paul the Apostle, a man named Ananias serves God's purposes in meeting him at the point of conversion. We aren't told much about Ananias in scripture. However, his example and attitude is the same demonstrated by everyone who was used by God in powerful ways. He wasn't qualified, He wasn't even reputable. He was simply available.

God uses the available more often than the qualified.
God blesses a life that walks with Him one day at a time.
God enables us to live the way He wants us to.

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The conversion of Saul of Tarsus was a very dramatic event, but also more common than we give it credit for. Saul needed exactly what the Lord provided him in order to understand who Jesus was. We can know and expect the same treatment when it comes to God's dealings with us. It's not intended to entertain us, but assure us of the work He first did in our hearts that we call salvation.

If it is possible for us to be saved, God will meet us exactly where we are at to provide that gift to us.
Salvation comes through recognizing who Jesus is and how He proved it in history.
Every Christian should make a habit of reminding themselves of who Jesus is and how He proved it to them personally.

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Ministry isn't exclusive to pastors. God intends to accomplish a work in and through our lives that will ultimately reflect the character of Jesus to a world that doesn't know Him. We participate in this through availability, reception of His Spirit, and faithfulness even in the little things He's called us to be a part of.

Nothing less than the finished work of Jesus Christ saves us or preserves our salvation.
Works for God will fail. Works through God will succeed.
God won't give up on us until we truly reflect the character of the Son.

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Philip the Deacon earns his second title as Philip the Evangelist. In his divine appointment with the Ethiopian eunuch, we understand what faithful ministry looks like. With an awareness of God's intention for our lives and a willingness to be used when and how He sees fit, we will also be available for the kind of ministry Philip was regularly a part of.

Always remain available to what God may have you to do every morning.
Baptism is meaningless without a relationship with Jesus already intact.
If you have something better to share with people than God's Word, share it. Until then, stick to God's Word.

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In the midst of the persecution of Saul, God is unhindered. As Jesus instructed His disciples to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Samaria, and the utmost parts of the earth, we see phase two of that project begin. Philip, one of the seven deacons, fled Jerusalem to Samaria and witnesses to whoever would listen. The Samaritans receive God's Word and prove the truth that there isn't a group of people that God can't reach. In dealing with potential false teachers and teachings, the truth continues to go out regardless of the opposition to it.

God is willing to make us uncomfortable if it gets us out of our comfort zone and where He wants us.
If we have something better to share with people than God's Word, we need to share it. Until then, stick to the word.
Revivals will take place in their own time. Don't miss an opportunity to be a revival of one every day.

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Stephen is documented as the first martyr of church history. To be a martyr isn't simply to die for making claims about Christ. It literally means to be a witness. Stephen's love for God's Word and his faithfulness in sharing it continued to be what people saw all the way to the end of his life. And even in giving his life for speaking the truth those in power didn't want to hear, he also got to witness the reward we all hope for when our time in this life is fulfilled.

Acting and talking like Jesus is going to gain the same attention and responses He experienced.
Words can impact minds. God's Word is what impacts hearts.
A martyr doesn't seek a long life, but one that gives a witness of who Jesus is.

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The Apostles raised up a group of men for the ministry they were called to. The Holy Spirit's work in their hearts called them to it. The example of Jesus informed them of how and why to do it. And their faithfulness in that ministry equipped them with the ability to answer challenges to it.

Ministry is service to people through God.
The Holy Spirit and the Word of God are the only reasons we have anything meaningful to offer in ministry.
The Christian life doesn't have an off-switch.

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Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Jesus didn't speak this to an audience that didn't understand exactly what was meant. In scripture, we're told exactly what this looks like in action.

The heart of God was demonstrated when His Son was sent to the world for the redemption of people that hated Him.
The love of God is unique from the love of this world if for no other reason than the fact it lasts forever.
Understanding the love of God is founded on understanding the character of Jesus.

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The reason we are called to love one another is because it is the purpose for which we were created. We model the heart of God based of the example of its source. This is demonstrated through correction, patience, and most of all, forgiveness.

Love is a willingness to seek another person's benefit even at personal cost.
Correction is a legitimate form of love despite being despised by the world.
Love in practice was modeled by its true example, Jesus of Nazareth.

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Loving yourself isn't a sin. It's an assumption. The question is if that love is lived out the way God intended it to. People who glorify themselves without seeing any need for correction are proud and self-deceived. People who criticize themselves without pursuing any self-improvement are just as proud being set in their ways. The key to self-love is correctability.

The greatest obstacle between yourself and spiritual growth is you.
The mistake of avoiding self examination is just as damaging as being willing to criticize yourself without correction.
The unexamined life is not worth living, but the unlived life is not worth examining.

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The Apostles resolve the first internal struggle of many in the Early Church. Through prayer, a healthy understanding of scripture, and surrounding themselves with people of character, the crisis was resolved as quickly as it arrived. Individually, we do our leaders and teachers a favor by learning to resolve conflict on our own in private. Universally, we can be thankful the Holy Spirit is always one step ahead of our immaturity.

Servants aren’t above their service, but they need to be wise concerning their time.
Character is the number 1 qualifier for ministry.
Ministry is an overflow of what God is already doing in your life.

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Ezekiel is called to be a priest to Israel despite being separated from the Temple. He observes what customs he can in preparation. And in the midst of all of them, he’s reminded of the same thing we all need to remember when sharing God’s Word. It’s not a matter of if, but when we have the opportunity. It’s not a matter of what we have to say, but what God’s Word says. And it’s not a matter of results, but eliminating excuses people have to dismiss God.

Everyone who belongs to Christ has also been called to represent Him in this world.
Until God gives us something better to share with people than His Word, stick to the Bible.
The time and the place to share the gospel is when you find someone willing to listen.

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The Apostle Peter stands up to the threats and abuse of the Sanhedrin as an example of what makes someone a genuine follower of Jesus. They not only withstood persecution and stuck to the Word of God. Their enemies were resentful of the fact that God was working through them. In dismissing the work of God at work in front of them for later or violently seeking to silence people telling them uncomfortable truths, the Apostles were wronged for doing what is right. The only comfort that supported them was all that they needed. They were being treated that way for acting like Jesus.

People who act like Jesus and talk like Him will be treated like He was.
People who oppose Jesus the most passionately are those who are often found in circles bearing His name.
The difference between a true and false follower of Christ is a daily decision to make Him a priority over yourself.

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The Apostles are once again persecuted for sharing the Gospel. Despite the opposition, God took care of them. When they were physically kept from obeying God, angels were sent to open the prison. When they were emotionally kept from obeying God, The Holy Spirit did a work in their lives that made them men of courage where once they had fled. When they were even threatened in order to stop obeying God, they fell back on the reasons they had to trust and obey God rather than men.

In a world in rebellion against God, obedience to Him will be opposed.
God is the only One who can change our hearts and lives from their core.
The answer to fear and distraction is focusing on who God is and informed reasons to trust Him.

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The early church wasn't perfect. A contrast is made between two people who did the same thing for different reasons. Barnabas and Ananias both gave generously to the church as they needed it. The only thing that made them exemplary and cautionary tales were the heart they brought to it. One was willing to represent God's love where and when he could. The other had no fear of God. Both of their lives, or lack thereof, show which attitude is the right one.

Giving Should be a “Get to” rather than a “Got to.”
Being available to encourage others and be used by God however and wherever He sees fit is the Christian life.
People who live their lives without considering the fact they'll answer to God for their actions do real damage.

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Addressing an ancient feud between the sons of Esau and Jacob, the prophet Obadiah reminds both parties involved that God is the judge of them both. Jacob's descendants were being judged for idolatry, but Esau's descendants would answer for everything they were doing wrong as well. With the common perspective of who was really in charge, conflict produced from the past gets put into perspective through the future.

Pride is self-deception. It convinces you, more than anything, that your actions won't have consequences.
Without a proper view of future judgment, we won't exercise sound judgment in our past or present.
There is one judge of all the earth and you aren't Him.

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Paul writes to Titus the same words we all need to begin our days with. He reminds him that ministry is an exercise of grace. God's been good to us and we are called to live in light of that in a way people notice and experience themselves. He reminds Him of the promise of Jesus' return that we're all called to live in light of daily. And he reminds him of who Jesus is to begin with.

Ministry is as much a demonstration of grace as it is an instruction of Godly living.
Live in light of the fact Jesus could come for us at any time.
Jesus has to be our God if He is going to be our Savior.

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By focusing on the character of God, forsaking the distractions that lead us away from God, and follow a path that leads us to be like God in our character, we can achieve tangible growth on a daily/yearly basis.

Making the most of our time requires us to value what time we have been given.
Trials rarely come in quantities or intensities that we would prefer them to.
Commitment to God requires a constant perspective of Him as the worthwhile destination.

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In troubled times the scriptures tell us to find our consolation in God. He has a plan. Some of the greatest moments of inspiration are during very trying times. Jesus is the great consolation of Israel, yet the times he lived in were dangerous. He promises to return yet during difficult times once again. Difficult times are not a sign of the absence of God, but quite the opposite, they point to a need we have in this world for salvation. And this salvation can only be had by faith.

We are lost and in need of light and revelation.
Humans works will never help us comprehend God, we must have faith.
Jesus is the ultimate consolation for Israel and the Gentiles in difficult times.

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Any claim about the End Times should be a conclusion formed from as much information as possible. In the immediate, extended, and literary context of 1 Thessalonians 5, it is most appropriate to conclude the Church has been identified as exempt from the Wrath of God. When our worldviews are properly understood and consistently defined, the Tribulation certainly counts as a worldly manifestation of the Wrath of God.

The Church is exempt from any for of the Wrath of God.
The Tribulation as a whole is identified as the Wrath of God.
The Comfort of the Church is to escape God's Wrath.

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The Early Church models the ideal example of what a gathering of like-minded people in His name looks like. They understood where their passions belonged. They understood God was the one doing everything worthwhile in their lives. And they supported one another out of eagerness rather than obligation or coercion. In seven words, They were filled with the Holy Spirit.

The Church is united on the fundamentals of who Jesus is and how He proved it.
There's no limit to what God will do through a life as long as He gets the glory.
If you want to judge your priorities in life, check your checkbook.

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The nation of Israel began and remains the foundation of God's plan for restoring all of mankind back to Himself. To assume this isn't the case impacts your understanding of all of scripture. This includes the End Times and Salvation itself.

God always has a righteous remnant in every generation. This includes among His Chosen people.
God's promise to Abraham includes his physical descendants as much as his spiritual offspring.
God's plan began with the Jewish people and will end with them as well.

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The Apostles experience their first exposure to persecution post-ascension and respond accordingly. They immediately seek fellowship with God's people. They remind themselves who they are talking to even as they speak to Him about what is rightfully causing them anxiety. And they understand God's answer to their circumstances in light of both what He's already spoken in His Word and what's provided for them as they needed it.

Never neglect fellowship with people whose walk with God you'd want to emulate.
Always pray according to and in light of God's Word.
Understand the purpose of prayer is to align your will with God's.

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Tenth Hour Project is an 8 month discipleship program for young adults. Students will spend eight months on an epic, life-changing adventure that will radically transform their future. This short season, spent in community with like-minded believers, and devoted to seeking a deep and authentic relationship with Jesus, will result in a complete change of perspective for your life's true purpose and mission.

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Thankfulness is a decision. The decision is based on whether or not we're willing to see our lives in light of who God is and what He's done for us.1. An attitude of thanksgiving comes from a God-centered rather than self-centered perspective.

We can be thankful in all things because we still belong to Jesus.
We can be thankful for all things because we're being made into the image of Jesus.

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The miracle performed by Peter and John is used as a model for the standards we should always bring when we see or hear miracles. A genuine miracle from God will always focus on what Jesus has said, done, and intends to do in the hearts and lives of His people. If it fails that test, don't give it another thought. If it passes, don't miss the opportunity to take full advantage of the blessing it could be.

Miracles should always be tested by what they are making you focus on.
Miracles will always convict you regarding your relationship with God.
Miracles must always be examined according to God's Word.

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Peter and John were used by God to heal a man who was born lame. This wasn't done by their power, but in the name of Jesus. This wasn't something they anticipated doing, but something they remained available to do as God called them. This wasn't something they did. It was something God did for the same reasons He always performs miracles. To glorify His Word to those who wouldn't hear it otherwise.

The miraculous life begins with prayer, understanding God's Word, and fellowship with His people.
Acting in Jesus' name is to properly speak and behave as if He were there.
God always acts in accordance with His Word. If you need a miracle, you'll get one.

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Matthew 24 is one of the main chapters in scripture that discuss prophecy at length. With a complete understanding of the chapter, proper handling and application of its points elsewhere are provided.

The Context of Matthew 24 is a direct question about the Signs of Jesus' Return.
The Setting of Matthew 24 is the future.
The Signs of Matthew 24 are false teachers, natural disasters, and global conflict.

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Our past shapes who we are and will continue to be. It is the perspective we have regarding our salvation by remembering the faithfulness of God. It is how we inform our relationships in the present. And it allows us to have a clear head about the future through a proper perspective of our past.

The past is our perspective regarding the cross and Empty Tomb.
The past informs our relationships through examples of faithfulness and love.
God can help us reconcile the hurt we've experienced in the past through remembering His promises.

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The present in where our relationship with God and our fellow man are taking place. If we don't make the most of what God has given us today, there will be no yesterday worth remembering or tomorrow worth looking forward to.

God has given us today. He hasn't promised us a tomorrow.
Joy, Thankfulness, and Love are all opportunities given to us in the present.
Jesus is always willing to meet us where we are.

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The ability to number your days produces a heart of wisdom. In regard to the future, this means understanding where you're going in life is much more important than what feels right to us in the present. A Godly perspective on the future consequences and rewards will motivate and inform every form of Godly living.

People who don't learn from their mistakes remain children perpetually.
You're going to have to spend more time in the future than the present.
God doesn't remove immediate consequences because He isn't a bad parent.

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The closing words of Revelation continue the trend we've seen since the beginning of the book. With a quotation of the Old Testament, we're reminded to have high standards for what we hear from God and even higher levels of accountability for what we say about God. False teachers don't fear accountability. True followers of Jesus will consider the challenge of testing everything they hear as worth the effort if it means they know they're really hearing from their Lord.

False teachers don't fear accountability from God.
True prophets will always affirm what God's already revealed about Himself.
Deeper fellowship with Jesus is worth the effort of having high standards for prophecy.

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Jesus' balance of character is an example He calls and equips us all to follow. This can be demonstrated through our attitudes as well as our finances. The key is to always remain available and in God's Word. Even a simple prayer for someone can be more of a witness than we realize.

What God does lasts forever. This is especially true in the church.
Our investments prove where our priorities are.
The abiding Christian life begins with a simple prayer. God, use me where you see fit.

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The focus of prophecy is Jesus. The purpose of prophecy is revealing who Jesus is. The intention of prophecy is further appreciation of all that we have in Jesus.

The purpose of prophecy is to reveal who Jesus is.
The Bible is a self-interpreting book. Incomplete knowledge results in incomplete understanding.
Prophecy is the most practical aspect of personal bible study.

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The early church gave us a model for how God intends to work through every generation. Teach God's Word. Remember the non-negotiables of what we believe. Remind each other of those fundamentals. And speak to God as often as you to do one another.

Faithfulness is long term obedience in the same direction.
Church is a gathering of like-minded people for the purpose of remembering and reminding one another of God's promises and purpose for us until their fulfillment.
God's word needs to inform our relationship with God or we will inevitably deceive ourselves into something less.

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With the restoration of God and man finally complete, a series of fulfilled promises are drawn attention to representing our eternal relationship with God. In the River of Life, we see the Holy Spirit. In the Tree of Life, we see our fellowship with the Father. And in the jobs we will have to do, we will serve the Son.

The Tree of Life represents the fellowship with the Father we lost in Eden.
The River of Life represents the Fellowship with the Holy Spirit we can even enjoy today.
Eternal Life is knowing the Son face to face.

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The Apostle people concludes his message at Pentecost with a simple answer to an even simpler question. Now what? His audience first understood the conviction of the Holy Spirit through His Word. They were willing to begin a life of repentance by turning in their minds and hearts from sin to who God really was. And they even followed through on that gift of salvation through a changed life dedicated to God through baptism. From this example, we all can know the answer to the same question ourselves.

Before deep healing takes place in your relationship with God, a deep hurt needs to be acknowledged.
Salvation is impossible by any means apart from or in addition to the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Repentance is a daily change of mind, resulting in a change of heart, resulting in a change of life.

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The New Jerusalem is described as best as John is capable. Points of comparison are made to things already described in the book of Revelation and outside of it as well. The most important and significant part of it is the fact that Jesus is there.

The Kingdom of God is where God is King. Today, it's in the hearts of His people.
The Bible describes the New Creation as having distinctions between nations united by the Book of Life.
The presence of God is what makes anything Heaven.

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The Apostle Peter's first message at Pentecost gives us the model for what the proper attitude of evangelism is. We need to be motivated by love, informed by God's Word, and available to be used by the Holy Spirit as He sees fit.

Love should motivate us in the Christian life.
If you have something better to share with people than God's word, you need to share it. Til then, stick to His Word.
If you want to understand the New Testament, understand the Old.

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With the introduction of the New Heavens and New Earth, Jesus repeats the offer He made during His earthly ministry as well as to the seven churches at the beginning of the book. Those who want fellowship with Him forever can take it freely. Those who don't want it will be respected enough to be given what they want.

A Heavenly Mindset does the most earthly good for those who actually know what Heaven is.
Water is a deliberate picture Jesus uses of the peace and satisfaction that only comes through fellowship with Him.
People who reject Jesus for things that come from Him will lose both Him and what they try to replace Him with.

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The first major work of the Holy Spirit following Jesus' Ascension is the gift of tongues during the festival of Pentecost. It wasn't random noise, but specific languages and dialects of those listening of what they were specifically worshiping God for. As is the case today, some wanted to know more and others wanted to know less. Peter answered both with common sense and the Word of God. We would do well to follow the model the Spirit demonstrated through the early church.

Unless God works through us, any work we do “for” God will fail.
Following Salvation, we have the daily opportunity to have the Holy Spirit work in and through us for His glory.
If we have something better to share with people than God's Word, we need to share it. Until then, stick to the Word.

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The definition of Heaven is “With Jesus.” Everything else is details.

With the removal of the Old Universe and Jerusalem, a New one will take its place fulfilling their original purpose.
The presence of Jesus doesn't just remove the effects of sin, but introduces the things we were created to enjoy.
The promises of God are trustworthy because He's proven Himself worthy of trust.

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Judgment Day is a sobering reminder for all of us. It puts into perspective our understanding of how we live, who we live for, and where this life is ultimately taking us. The more we understand that reality, the more thankful we will be that God's infinite mercy is and continues to be what will make us rejoice on that day rather than recoil in horror.

Everything we have done in rebellion against God will be answered for.
The Book of Life includes all of those who have a saving relationship with God through Jesus' sacrifice.
Hell is eternal separation from God.

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The Apostles were told by Jesus to wait on the Lord. Instead of sitting around doing nothing, they first fell back on what they already knew to do from Jesus. They were in God's Word, with God's people, and living according to everything they gained from the pursuit of God as He spoke.

Waiting on the Lord isn't a passive act.
Never isolate yourself from fellow believers.
If you don't know what to do next, fall back on what you do know.

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After the Millennium, one last rebellion is permitted to take place. Those who freely chose to reject Jesus in spite of living 1,000 years under His rule and knowing God's goodness personally are judged accordingly. Those who chose to receive Jesus throughout history are defended by Him personally for the last time.

People who accuse God of setting us up for failure don't know God or what's He's said and done.
Gog and Magog is a reference to the Old Testament to an uncountable army.
God delays judgment for as long as possible, but won't refuse it when every last chance has been rejected.

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Luke follows up immediately where the Gospel of Luke left off. Jesus ascends into Heaven with the promise of the Holy Spirit to equip them for everything He's called them to do until His return. We are given that same calling and equipment today.

Jesus Resurrection is a historical fact every Christian should be informed of and ready to defend.
The work God is doing in our lives should be daily example of repentance, restoration, and celebration.
Every Christian should live in light of the fact that Jesus promised to return at any time.

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In a perfect world, we will see perfect government and a perfect environment. The people who will enjoy it will be the same kind of people enjoying the reason it became that way. Our relationship with God today is preparation for how much more we will enjoy Him and the things He has for us to do into eternity. The only thing standing in the way of fully appreciating those promises are the lies, distortions, and distractions offered by the enemy. Our response to his one and only threat is through His Word where those promises can be found.

The only influence the enemy has over us is false doctrine.
Knowing the promises of God only give us more to look forward to.
This life is preparation for our eternal calling as kings and priests representing God to His Creation.

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Jesus has physically ascended into Heaven in the presence of His disciples. Before doing so, He provided them the same blessing explained in the Old Testament as belonging to everyone who belongs to God and trusts His promises. In knowing what those promises are, we also benefit from the blessing that accompanies them. The most significant of which was His promise to return to the exact place He departed from us.

Jesus wants to invest blessings as He's defined them into your life.
Jesus wants to invest His promises as He's given them to our lives.
Jesus wants to invest His love into our lives so it can be shared with those who don't know it.

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The second coming of Christ is a perfect exercise in Biblical interpretation. Nothing happens or is described without a direct reference to previous scripture. It is through a complete understanding of God's Word that we come to a proper understanding of who Jesus is, what He's promised, and how we live in light of those realities.

Jesus is identified by claims made about God and the Messiah in the Old and New Testaments.
The angel's announcement of the Battle of Armageddon is an intentional quotation of the Old Testament.
Our hope in God is formed and informed by His Word.

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Jesus' post-resurrection appearances were done intentionally to demonstrate several things. First, the historical reality of Jesus' resurrection. Second, the kind of bodies we can expect when we are resurrected. And third, who enables us to live the Christian life to begin with.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the reason we trust His word above any other religious worldview.
The Bible is our source of information about what God claimed and how He verified it.
The Holy Spirit is who enables us to effectively relate and receive God's Word.

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The Setting of Ultimate Blessing - (1-8) -The condemnation - (1-3) - Psalm 50:16-23 (Justice delayed isn't justice denied/Silence doesn't = approval)
The choir - (4-7a) - Hallelujah returns (Psalm 96)
The contrast - (7b) In contrast to religion gone to seed (Mystery Babylon) - Relationship in purest form - The bride is ready
The Significance of Ultimate Blessing - (9)
Blessing declared - 7 beatitudes in the book of Revelation
Blessing defined - All 9 payoffs in Matthew 5:3-12 will be realized
Blessing directed - "The marriage supper of the Lamb" - God loves a party - (Isaiah 25:4-8) Greatest blessing - (Luke 12:35-38)
The Savior and Ultimate Blessing - (10)
The prostration - (10a) - Who could blame John?
The problem - (10b) Fundamental error - focusing on the messenger, or even the message, but forgetting the 5. Messiah (I Corinthians 3:1-7)
The Priority - (10c) 'Worship God" - Jesus and the Father worshipped in Revelation 5:13 - Jesus explains this - (John 5:16-23)

"God cannot give us a happiness apart from Himself, because there is no such thing. It does not exist." - C.S. Lewis

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On the road to Emmaus, the disciple's experience with the resurrected Lord shows us what a real word from God looks like. It will always line up with what He's already spoken. It will always reflect the character of God revealed in scripture. And it will come in His timing.

A real Word from God will always line up with what He's already spoken.
A real Word from God will always emphasize grace.
A real Word from God will come as needed.

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Peter Martin teaches from Genesis and shares some insights as it pertains to men's at the CCF men's breakfast.

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The Church is reintroduced in contrast to Mystery Babylon. Where one was a prostitute, the other is a bride. As Heaven is rejoicing over God's justice and answer to prayer, it is also celebrating with the Lamb over the work He's done through His bride and everything that makes her beautiful.

The Judge of all the earth will do what is right.
Heaven acknowledges who God is and what He's done as right given all the information.
The World System of Babylon is a prostitute, while Heaven's System of the Church is a bride.

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The Road to Emmaus gives us a perfect example of spiritual blindness and self-deception in action. The disciples literally had Jesus walking next to them yet didn't recognize Him. The reason for this is the same reason we make the same mistake today. We aren't looking for Him, we aren't where He said we'd find Him, and we are rejecting His Word in favor of our speculations. If we want to hear from God, first recognize what He's spoken and promised.

Isolation from God's people prevents us from seeing God work in our lives.
Separation from God's word prevents us from hearing God speak to our lives.
Doubt puts us in a place where we aren't looking for Jesus even when He's right in front of us.

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Mystery Babylon's judgment is as absolute as it is final. Everything wrong with this world is shown in all its glory in order for it to be taken away from us forever. Those who invested their hope for the future in it will weep. Those who invested their hope apart from it will rejoice.

Babylon during the Tribulation is given the same type of judgment literal Babylon was given in the Old Testament.
Justice will be accomplished for every wrong committed in this world.
If this life is coming to an end, invest in the next one.

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The first witnesses of Jesus' resurrection began with the historical fact that stumps skeptics to this day. The Riddle of the Empty Tomb is the challenge every Christian needs to understand inside and out in order to appreciate exactly what the Gospel is to them and what it could mean to those it's being shared with.

The Empty Tomb is a verifiable fact of History.
The Empty Tomb verifies Jesus' promises.
The Empty Tomb is a foreshadowing of our future.

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In a very heavy section of scripture, we are shown a symbolic representation of the Antichrist's kingdom. In direct contrast with how the Bride of Christ will be described in Revelation 19, it's described as a prostitute who will appeal to everyone, but ultimately be cast aside when her usefulness has reached its end. That's a system we can all buy into if our eyes aren't on who Jesus truly is.

Mystery Babylon describes this world's system, whereas the Bride of Christ contrasts herself through Heaven's.
There are things we don't understand about this passage, but enough to form practical conclusions.
The purpose of Mystery Babylon will be to unite the world against Jesus until the 2nd half of the Tribulation.

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The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is the gospel itself. It is what gives us reason to live the Christian life as well as the only thing we have to share with people who reject Jesus' claim to be God. If we take the time to understand the facts on the table, we will be able to answer every challenge to our faith. This includes death itself. 1. The Resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact that passes every objective examination of the facts. 2. The Resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact we need to understand. 3. The Resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact we need to be prepared to defend.

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John is given an explanation of the Mystery Babylon figure that is mentioned for the first time in Revelation 16. In this clarification, he is shown everything that appeals to our fallen sinful nature. The significance of every detail with the rest of scripture in mind shows us just how ugly the most beautiful thing in the world can be.

The world's counterfeits haven't changed. The Lust of the Flesh, The Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life.
Every generation has the opportunity to pursue or forget the work God wants to do in their lives today.
Exchanging Jesus for anything is always a trade-down.

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Luke's account details for us the crucifixion of Jesus from a unique angle. While Matthew had a Jewish audience in mind, both drew careful attention to Jesus' deliberate quotations of scripture as well as the events surrounding the crucifixion that were prophesied. From the significance of the darkness and the tearing of the veil, all the way down to the last words He spoke. None were without significance. All were pointing us to what He was doing, why He was doing them, and who He was doing them for.

Jesus was willing to experience Hell so we wouldn't have to.
Those who trust in Jesus' promise are seen by God as already in Heaven as far as He's concerned.
The reason we trust Jesus' promise is because of the evidence He gave to show how much He meant them.

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The Holy Spirit is as much God as The Father and Jesus. The reasons for this are because He's called God, credited with the things God alone has done, does the sort of things only God does, and is given the same status by which we identify Jesus as God. The Holy Spirit is not Jesus or the Father because He is distinguished from them, send by them, and serves purposes in the world that aren't performed by the Son or Father.

The Holy Spirit is referred to rightfully as God through His unique characteristics that only God has.
The Holy Spirit is the most involved member of the Trinity in the lives of believers.
The Holy Spirit is distinguished from the Father and Son.

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Joshua is an example of a faithful person in ministry. He sought out the company and influence of Godly people like Moses. He made his life a regular pattern of being in the house of God and making the lives of those who served there easier. And most importantly, he was the same person when he was charged to be faithful as he was before responsibilities were given to him.

Faithful people always make themselves available to be used by God in the lives of those around them.
Faithful people seek out the company and influence of faithful people before them.
Faithful people find their ultimate comfort in God.

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The final judgment of the Tribulation before Christ's return tells us a lot about God and this world by contrast. God has been delaying the ultimate expression of His wrath until the last possible second. The only people affected by it are those who have consciously rejected His mercy. And even in the midst of this chaos, God is still providing for and protecting His people.

An understanding of the last book of the Bible comes from a familiarity with the first 65 books of the Bible.
The nature of the demonic is deception. False doctrine is how the enemy does his greatest work.
The only ones who experience the wrath of God are those who consciously reject His mercy.

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The account of the two thieves on the cross is a significant one. It not only fulfills prophecies made 1000 years in advance, but clarifies the difference between the person who is going to Heaven and Hell. One thief refused to believe who Jesus was and to respond to His offer of salvation accordingly. The other acknowledged his sin, recognized who Jesus was, and put himself at His mercy.

The only thing that put and kept Jesus on the Cross was His love for us.
The only thing that made the difference between the two thieves was a willingness to ask Jesus for mercy.
The only thing that will get us to Heaven is receiving the salvation Jesus freely offers.

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In the final series of plagues that will take place during the Great Tribulation, we are reminded of all the common graces God shows us every single day. When these things are slowly taken away, we're shown just how quickly and ugly things get without God.

God judges the world incrementally, not all at once.
God is a far more effective judge of the Earth than we are.
A world separated from God will destroy itself without a second thought.

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Jesus' final sermon is given before He enters the second stage of Crucifixion. Addressing women, He brings to mind the same reality the Holy Spirit continues to convict the world of today. Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment. Apart from Jesus' righteousness, which He illustrates as green wood, our sin will leave us as nothing less than kindling in the face of judgment.

A future apart from Jesus is not something to invest in or look forward to.
Green wood doesn't burn, nor will the righteousness of Jesus be consumed by the judgment of God.
Dry wood's only purpose is to burn, just like us apart from the mercy God offers through Jesus' death and resurrection.

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Worship is taking place in Heaven by referencing and summarizing the first song ever recorded in scripture. In celebrating God's Awesomeness and Authenticity, His promises and power are both recognized. As God's wrath is about to be poured out on the world, reference after reference is made to the Old Testament showing just how long overdue this kind of intervention is.

Without understanding the wrath of God, the mercy of God is meaningless.
God's Awesomeness is demonstrated through His wrath as well as His mercy.
God's Authenticity is demonstrated through His fulfilled promises as well as future ones.

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Simon of Cyrene was a Jewish man who sincerely wanted to worship God in His Temple. Despite the long and difficult journey, he was willing to make it if it meant doing the right thing by him and his children. And at the last moment, he was forced to carry the cross of a prisoner whose blood made him unfit to enter the Temple ceremonially. In the short term, it seemed like he was wronged for trying to do what was right. Long term, he found out God made him a part of something so honorable that we’re still remembering him for it to this day. Never waste a seemingly pointless trial. It may be a redirection towards something greater.

Trials are quality perspective checks.
We make plans, but God accomplishes His purposes.
All things aren’t good, but God is still working.

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In a very complex section of scripture, we are given an opportunity to learn how to understand the different views Christians have had over the centuries as well as how to effectively challenge and question them for ourselves.

The character known as the Grim Reaper is actually Jesus, the sole authority over the living and dead.
God knows who are His and who refuse to accept the offer to become His.
No crime will go unpunished in God’s court.

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As the Great Tribulation begins, God has sent three angels to preach the gospel to the world for the remainder of the Antichrist's reign. As the world is suffering, they are reminded of the same thing that the Holy Spirit has spoken to every Christian that has lived to endure persecution. Look for the reward of Jesus and the rest that will come when He calls us home. The worst the world can do to us only sends us to the One who suffered and gave His life for us first.

God's priority has always been the salvation of the lost before ultimate judgment takes place.
No one will take the Mark of the Beast unknowingly.
The Rest and Rewards that await us are the sole motivators to endure through trials."

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Jesus stood before three audiences before His crucifixion just like He stands before three types of people today. There are those like Pilate who delayed coming to a decision about Jesus until it was made for him. There are those like Herod who will demand Jesus entertain them rather than acknowledge Him as the God they're pretending to be. And there are those who come to a decision acknowledging Him for who He is. Which one are you?

People who delay coming to a decision about Jesus are playing a dangerous game. You aren't promised another opportunity.
People who demand Jesus meet a list of requirements before acknowledging what He's already done will be met with silence.
People who receive Jesus on His terms will have exactly what they ask for.

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The 144,000 are now with Jesus. The implications of that fact mean they have been martyred during the Tribulation. However, they have no regrets. Only a new song to sing of all the wonderful things God did in and through their lives uniquely.

Being with Jesus and Heaven are synonyms.
Martyrdom is never seen as a loss by those actually called to endure it.
Memory alters perspective.

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Jesus isn't the kind of God who distances Himself from our pain. He personally became a part of it in order to provide us with the kind of first-hand comfort only He can give. He endured abuse, both physical and verbal. He endured misrepresentation, both legal and personal. And He continued to remain faithful to the truth regardless of what it cost Him.

Jesus knows what it's like to endure physical and verbal abuse.
Jesus knows what it's like to suffer for doing what's right.
We don't serve a God who distances Himself from our pain. He voluntarily made Himself a part of it.

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The False Prophet, or Beast from the Earth, will be like the Antichrist in that he's merely the ultimate fulfillment of every false teacher that came before him. He looks like the real deal, acts like the real deal, but his message is where it all falls apart. From his example, we can also test the little false prophets that come our way today.

The message is what makes someone a false teacher, not their appearance.
False teachings never tolerate criticism.
Every standard the false teachers try to imitate, the Bible passes.

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Peter’s greatest spiritual fall was not unlike our own. Whether it was based on fear, selective remembrance of God’s Word designed to condemn him, or an unwillingness to receive the mercy he needed, all are simply delaying what God wants to do in our lives in response to our sin as well as in the lives of others who need the same restoration we do.

Legalism sets us up for spiritual failure.
Restoration is what we should seek first after a fall.
Relate the Comfort you’ve received to others.

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A perspective is shown regarding the eerie parallels borrowed from Christianity and Judaism and Islam playing directly into the hands of the future Antichrist being set up to fall for the Antichrist's deception.

The Bible is written from the perspective of Israel.
Israel is the epicenter of God's dealings with this world.
Islam is the most graphic example of the kind of world scene the Antichrist will introduce during his reign.

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Jesus' prayer in the garden demonstrates for us the true purpose of prayer. It's not about receiving our desires, but aligning our desires with God's. That alignment will give us the emotional, physical, and relational peace we need to endure the trials we are currently facing or about to face. Prayer is a resource we should make an essential part of our every day lives no matter where we're at in life.

Prayer provides the physical comfort and peace we need.
Prayer equips us to endure the trials we're not yet in.
Prayer puts into perspective where God is during trials.

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The Antichrist has had many foreshadowing's throughout history, but his fulfillment will put them all to shame. Yet regardless of his ministry of deception and copying everything Jesus did historically as his own, we can still be reminded of two key realities. God isn't moved by the 3 ½ years he'll be allowed to slander, accuse, and persecute the people of God. All we need to take away is that the major trials of life and death are endured by the same faith and patience that enduring every day temptations and opportunities to live for God provide for us.

The world wants a god that can make them happy even at the cost of truth, at it's exactly what they'll get.
The one and only power of the enemy is to deceive.
People who are faithful in living for Jesus will have the patience to die for Him when the time comes.

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Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane demonstrates for us what real prayer looks like. He spoke to His Father. He genuinely expressed how He was feeling about what He was talking about. And most importantly, He understood the purpose wasn't to get what He wanted, but to align what He wanted with the heart of His Father.

Prayer isn't about giving God information, but pursuing intimacy with Him.
Prayer isn't about getting anything from God apart from His heart towards our circumstances.
Prayer isn't talking at God with a series of sermon quotes and clichés. It's talking to God. Plain and Simple.

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The significance of the twelfth chapter of Revelation is understood the same way the first eleven and the last ten will be. Come to the text with a plain understanding of the previous 65 books of the Bible. Read the text as a whole before coming to conclusions about it. And understand that the actions and attitude of our enemy aren't the focus of the book. It's the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Any attention given to our enemy should be taken in order to make Jesus all the more glorious.

Our victory against the enemy is only found in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
If you haven't read the first 65 books of the Bible, the 66th isn't going to make a lot of sense to you.
Satan hates the Jewish people. Don't follow his example.

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God has given mothers an incredible honor to impact their homes in ways no one else can. This can be used to bring them closer to God, or it can be used to make them the greatest obstacle between their family and God. An incredible opportunity brings with it an incredible risk, and therefore should be a responsibility taken seriously.

The greater something's capacity for good, the greater its potential for evil.
There is nothing more constructive to a home than a Godly mother.
There is nothing more destructive to a home than a Godless mother.

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What the world calls repulsive and foolish, God can use to glorify Himself in ways that will have eternal significance. Just like a mother's suffering allows the life of a child to grow, Christ's suffering gave us all a life we'd never have apart from Him.

Childbirth glorifies God the same way the Cross did.
Childbirth illustrates the Gospel.
Childbirth explains the process of Spiritual Growth.

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Satan's War on Women targets their unique ministry as an obstacle to their happiness rather than a calling given to them by God. The only way to avoid this self-deception is to understand what it means to be given a calling by God to begin with.

Roles determine purpose, not value.
Men and Women were created to compliment one another's purposes. Not dispossess them.
Man's attempt to subvert nature is never more plainly demonstrated as evil when it compels a mother to end the life she is given the honor to nurture.

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The nature and tactics of the enemy are deception, destruction, and ultimately separation from us and God. The response is and only ever will be further and deeper dependence on Jesus to answer every spiritual threat.

If the unexamined life isn't worth living, the unexamined faith isn't worth having.
Satan's name means adversary or accuser. It's as much who he is and it is how he relates to us.
Jesus is our sole response to Spiritual warfare.

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Jesus prepared for the greatest trial of His earthly ministry as a demonstration for how we are to prepare for our own trials. He first reminded them of His faithfulness to them in the past. This put His faithfulness to them in the future into perspective. He then pursued prayer with the Father in response to an incredible amount of stress. And finally He focused on the well being of His disciples rather than Himself.

Thankfulness calls to mind God's faithfulness in the past to prepare us for the future.
Prayer reminds us of God's presence in our lives regardless of how our circumstances may make us feel.
Focusing on the needs of others gets our minds off of ourselves.

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In a heavily symbolic section of scripture, we are told that Israel will produce the Messiah. The enemy will try to destroy the Messiah but will fail. God will then protect His people for the remainder of the Tribulation as we're reading about them now. The reason we come to these conclusions is a combination of three things. Reading the whole text, recognizing quotes from previous texts, and allowing what we do know to sort out what we don't.

If something hasn't been explained before in the Bible, it's about to be.
If you haven't read the first 65 books of the Bible, the 66th isn't going to make a lot of sense to you.
A sign is something that is meant to point you to something else.

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When correcting His disciples from yet another dispute over their greatness, The Apostle Peter is directly addressed with the greatest failure of his life being prophesied by His Lord. The trial was not one he would survive, but that wouldn't ultimately destroy the work God had yet to do in his life. In this we see the difference between a trial and temptation. The enemy wanted to destroy Peter through seeing just how weak he was. But Jesus personally restored him after every failure as well as equipped him for every victory. The same is true for us in every trial.

The difference between a trial and a temptation is their source. God gives us trials. The enemy tempts us.
The difference between a trial and a temptation is their purpose. God wants you to succeed. The enemy doesn't.
The purpose of a trial is to give us another opportunity to see God restore and prove Himself faithful to us.

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The Seventh Trumpet Judgment ushers in the third and final woe of the Tribulation. While the world is horrified at the dramatic display of power and wrath, Heaven is worshiping. They acknowledge God for who He is, what He's done, and why He's doing it. With numerous quotations from the Old Testament, the significance is self-explanatory. The significance of it on our lives today is just as plain. The world will continue to be the world. And God will continue to be God. Those who have rejected His mercy will continue to do so. But God will see those who have safely home come hell or high water.

Heaven rejoices in response to what the world tries to delay.
Faith is at its fullest when you know God's character enough to consider a promise worth celebrating as if it's already happened.
To enter the presence of God is to invite judgment on yourself. That judgment will either be mercy or wrath.

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Easter is a celebration and remembrance of the Resurrection. We don't believe it because it is something we say as Christians. It's not something we believe because it makes us popular or live easier lives. We believe it because it can be verified historically beyond a reasonable doubt. With 500 documented eyewitnesses seeing Him alive after a publicly verified death, we can know that there is a God. And even more importantly, we can know what He's done for us personally to make a relationship with Him possible. Living in light of those truths is the Christian life.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is grounded in verifiable history.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is verified by 500 documented eyewitnesses.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ provides clarity regarding every issue we experience in the Christian life.

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Good Friday is a confusing time for some because the celebration of the death of someone we believe is God doesn't sound like something worth celebrating. However, the reason we don't mourn Him is because we understand He was taking our place and experiencing the wrath of God so we wouldn't have to. If any emotion should accompany Good Friday, it should be thankfulness for the mercy we've been shown.

Jesus death was something done deliberately to redeem us back to God and predicted centuries in advance.
The Bible does not believe man is basically good. Jesus had to die because there was no other way to save us.
No one got into Heaven by being good enough. It is only through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

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The Two Witnesses are introduced and explained to be the fulfillments of various Old Testament prophecies as well as the means by which the 144,000 heard the gospel to begin with. Their ministry will end at the halfway point of the Tribulation, but all attempts to silence them before God's timing will fail as totally as the world's attempts to silence us today. The key is to follow their example. Disciple or die. Trust in God to protect you where He wants you to be. And understand that the worst the world can do to you ultimately accomplishes nothing against you.

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Jesus reminds His disciples once again about what's most important in the kingdom of God. Their view is the same as everyone else. Who is going to get rewarded the most? Jesus reminds them how He will reward them in the first place. The world rewards on the basis of who has done the most. God rewards on the basis of just hanging in there. The people who stick around in the Christian life will be surprised how much God did through them as they continue to just show up.

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The Two Witnesses are introduced and explained to be the fulfillments of various Old Testament prophecies as well as the means by which the 144,000 heard the gospel to begin with. Their ministry will end at the halfway point of the Tribulation, but all attempts to silence them before God's timing will fail as totally as the world's attempts to silence us today. The key is to follow their example. Disciple or die. Trust in God to protect you where He wants you to be. And understand that the worst the world can do to you ultimately accomplishes nothing against you.

More information is always better than less when coming to conclusions.
If you haven't read the first 65 books of the Bible, the 66th isn't going to make a lot of sense to you.
The man of God is indestructible until the Lord calls him home.

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Jesus enters the last few hours of His earthly ministry by ending the Passover Ceremony with its fulfillment. Communion was given as a remembrance of what He was about to do. This wouldn't save those who participated in it, like Judas Iscariot. It would be the most intimate and personal reminder to those who already were of how they were saved to begin with.

What communion does NOT do
What communion DOES do
What communion CAN do

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John is taken aside after seeing the sixth trumpet judgment to see an angel who repeats an action modeled by the prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament. Some of the themes and traits in this chapter are controversial, others are very clear. But this is what gives us all the opportunity to ask ourselves what is most important in personal Bible study. Do we need to know what we don't understand, or clarify the things we actually can?

There are issues Christians can disagree on and things they shouldn't. It's key to know the difference.
What God doesn't tell us is just as much an opportunity to trust Him as it is with what He does tell us.
Reading the last book of the Bible without reading the first 65 will leave you lost and confused.

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Jesus concludes the Olivet Discourse with a reminder of just how practical prophecy is. While there are people who use it as an excuse, God's intention in letting us know about the future is three-fold. First, to remind us He's still in control. Second, to provide comfort when everything seems to be falling apart. And third, to put this life into perspective in light of the fact Jesus could return to take us up to Him at any moment.

God is still in control. We have His Word on that.
If Jesus could return at any time, live in such a way where you're looking forward to it rather than delaying it.
Jesus verbally encouraged us to pray that we would escape everything that He's discussed including the Tribulation.

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John is taken aside after seeing the sixth trumpet judgment to see an angel who repeats an action modeled by the prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament. Some of the themes and traits in this chapter are controversial, others are very clear. But this is what gives us all the opportunity to ask ourselves what is most important in personal Bible study. Do we need to know what we don't understand, or clarify the things we actually can?

There are issues Christians can disagree on and things they shouldn't. It's key to know the difference.
What God doesn't tell us is just as much an opportunity to trust Him as it is with what He does tell us.
Reading the last book of the Bible without reading the first 65 will leave you lost and confused.

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Jesus continues His point regarding the destruction of the Temple as a trend that will continue into the End Times. The Last Days we are living in are known as the Time of the Gentiles. And while we have seen a significant period of time take place where Israel's land has been trampled under by a majority population of non-Jewish people, that time is quickly coming to an end as more and more Jews return to their homeland as well as come to a saving knowledge of their Messiah. God has and will continue to use His Chosen people as an example to the entire world of His faithfulness. They are and should remain the foundation of all prophetic study and the perspective we view world events through.

Israel is where all of our attention should be and remain when it comes to significant world events prophetically.
God always provides a prophetic warning and a provision of escape for His people before Judgment takes place.
God's faithfulness to the Jewish people is our sole assurance that He will be faithful to the promises He's made to us.

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The sixth trumpet judgment demonstrated the same thing we saw in the sixth seal judgment. When mankind is given a direct demonstration of the wrath of God, they won't take a hint and ask God to spare them. The mindset of those experiencing the wrath of God isn't that He is unfair or unknown. At this point in human history, people will know what is causing this astronomical loss of life and the reason why it is happening, but would rather die than repent.

If the plain sense makes sense, seek no other sense lest you believe in nonsense.
Where death was proactively denied in the previous plague, death will be dealt out in abundance in this plague.
The only people who go to Hell are those who consciously reject God's mercy.

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Jesus gives His disciples an overview of the prophetic calendar as far as God's restoration of Israel is concerned. While the information He gives us is concerning, it wasn't intended to make us despair for the future. The more certainty God has about our future, the more certainty we can have that the promises He's made in spite of it will still be kept.

Prophecy produces confidence in God's Word.
Prophecy provides peace through God's Word.
Prophecy gives us perspective through God's Word.

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The first of the three woes is horrifying. Creating an atmosphere of total vulnerability, the world is given over to the alternatives to God they have been choosing. These creatures, much like the prior trumpet judgments, are restrained to a point. However, the greatest lesson in avoiding something can be allowing someone to see exactly why you're being warned about them. If God has to show Himself the better option than the devil by contrast, He'll allow as sharp a contrast as possible if it gets the message across.

If the plain sense of scripture makes sense, seek no other sense lest you believe in nonsense.
Fear is a good thing from God. It recognizes when you're in danger and vulnerable along with the motivation to get out of those circumstances. It can potentially be what God uses to save souls.
The only answer to the demonic is through proximity to our Lord. Anything less is foolishness. Anything more is nonexistent.

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Jesus goes from answering the challenges of the Scribes and Pharisees to taking preventive steps with His disciples. The state of spiritual pride that prevented them from recognizing the Messiah is one we can easily fall into as well if we aren't paying careful attention to our motives. How we pray, how much we give, and where we worship are irrelevant if we forget why we're doing those things in the first place.

Prayers have an audience. It will either be God to deepen our fellowship with Him, or others to build ourselves up.
Giving has a purpose. It will either be to express outwardly how much of a priority God is to you, or to build ourselves up.
Worship has a goal. It will either be to focus us on who God is, or to focus on our magnanimity.

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In the opening Trumpet Judgments, we are shown a systematic deconstruction of what God introduced at Creation. He introduced the stars to give us light and heat, and now takes a third of them away. He introduced a certain division between land and sea, and now a meteor makes that division a questionable reality. He introduced water and plant life to preserve it, and now it's only serving to take that life away. We don't know how good God has been to us. And it shouldn't take the removal of those things to appreciate that.

If the plain sense of scripture makes sense, seek no other sense, lest you believe in nonsense.
God's Wrath against sin is mostly found in taking away the good things we take for granted.
Thankfulness is recognizing the good things you have as the gifts they are.

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Jesus demonstrates for us exactly how and when to properly engage with people about the difficult questions of life. When it comes to politics, religion, or the reasons you have to provide any explanation about the two, it all has to come back to two things. Who is Jesus and what does His Word say? If you can stand on those foundations, you're following the example of the One who stood His ground against the very same challenges before us.

Don't engage in topics that won't ultimately point people back to the person of Jesus Christ.
Understand what you believe before you're put in a situation where you have to explain it.
Recognize why the Bible is where you derive your beliefs from.

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As we transition from the seal to the trumpet judgments, we're not only given a proper context of the Tribulation, but also of the prayers we've prayed in the mean time awaiting this day. While judgment is something God delays, Justice will be done. While God is patient with the people who persecute His own, this world will see what it deserves. In the mean time, we only do ourselves a favor by putting our hope and our hurt in the same place. Before the Throne of God.

The purpose of the Tribulation is as much for mercy as it is for judgment.
God enjoys when His people pray to Him, especially when they do so honestly.
Where your hope is, there your peace will be also."

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Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees for acting out what only the Messiah should be doing. In proper order with how to handle a hostile audience, Jesus answers their question with a question in order to get them to think through their own position. He then immediately goes on the offensive in order to confront them about the real issue between God's heart and their minds. This shows us that it isn't unChrist-like to deal with people seriously and directly about the gospel. The key is to make and continue to establish who Jesus really is as the focus of any meaningful conversation about God. That's the foundation of spiritual warfare. Always bring it back to who Jesus is.

You can't share God's word if you don't know it for yourself.
Living in anticipation of Jesus' return is the most Christ-like attitude anyone can have.
This world is a battleground, not a picnic-ground."

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John is shown a picture of those who will be saved through the ministry of the 144,000. The number is more than anyone could count. From this we conclude that while the Tribulation is a time of wrath, it is also a time of mercy. God will be continuing His work of salvation like He has from Genesis 3.

Heaven is being with Jesus.
Heaven is for people that have received mercy, not earned righteousness.
The Tribulation's purpose is as much to save souls as it is to judge sin."

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Our relationship with God is based on His grace towards us. Our earthly relationships are meant to model this. We won't be perfect towards each other, nor can we be. What God intends for earthly relationships is the regular exchange of the grace we've been shown.

Romantic Relationships are fundamental to all society, which is why Satan attacks them so continuously.
We need to take the time to consider how much of our understanding of relationships comes from scripture and how much is handed to us by our culture.
The ideal relationship we have with God is based on His perfection. The ideal relationships we have with each other are based on grace.

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The role sexuality plays in marital relationships is as much something God approves of as the relationship itself. A desire to be attractive to one another, A desire to be proactive in pursuing one another, and the desire to be desired are all things God honors when they're founded and defined on the basis of His character.

Loving relationships don't seek to repel one other, but inspire attraction to each other.
Loving relationships don't wait for their partner to pursue them, but proactively desiring each other.
Loving relationships aren't built on a need for someone else, but a desire and commitment to one another.

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Conflict in relationships is a guarantee. Resolution and restoration from those conflicts are what makes a relationship honoring to God. How we resolve these conflicts are a result of the people we allow to influence our lives and how we ultimately understand how God resolved His conflict with us.

Conflict resolution requires patience as much as personal vulnerability.
How we resolve conflict is influenced by the kind of people we surround ourselves with.
In order to properly resolve conflicts in earthly relationships, we first need to understand how God solved our heavenly conflict with Him.

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The Tribulation experiences a brief pause in judgments for the setting aside of God's people. The reason this passage is rightly understood as referring to 144,000 literal Jewish people is because it literally says so. The reasons given in opposition to that interpretation fall apart once the assumptions of antisemitism are taken away. The reality is that God isn't through with His chosen people. We trust the promises He's made to them for the same reason we trust the promises He's made to us. God either keeps His word or He abandons those He made promises to. There is no third option.

God's Wrath is as much to lead people to salvation as it is to punish those who utterly refuse it.
Antisemitism is the most direct manifestation of the heart of Satan possible on this earth.
We trust God's future plan for Israel for the same reason we trust His present promises towards us.

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Jesus' earthly ministry is coming to an end. He spends this limited time investing in what's most important to Him; The Word of God and people. Inevitably opposition comes His way from unreasonable people. Instead of wasting time with them, He challenges their questions with even better questions in kind. This wasn't to dodge the issues they were presenting, but revealing they didn't care about the answers. His character was such that He had already given them every response they needed. What mattered most to Him was to invest as much as possible with those still capable of hearing Him.

Jesus invested more in the Word of God and People than anything else.
A well placed question accomplishes more than a direct answer.
You aren't obligated to entertain unreasonable people by answering questions they don't care about the answers to.

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The sixth seal judgment will be horrifying, but nothing compared to what's coming next.

The Seal Judgments are the Wrath of God.
The world at the time of the Seal Judgments are aware of who Jesus is and that He is responsible for these plagues.
The purpose of the Tribulation is delaying ultimate judgment for the sake of those who can still be saved.

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Jesus demonstrates upon entering Jerusalem that the God of Israel is more involved in the lives of His people than we give Him credit for. He demonstrates emotion to such a degree that it shows how invested He is in the lives of His people. He recalls the prophecies they ignored showing how much God had planned for their peace. And upon entering Jerusalem's Temple to cleanse it (again), he shows that investment is a long-term one. He won't tolerate evil for the same reason He won't go back on His promises. The only thing standing between us and a good God is a willingness to personally recognize and receive Him for who He is.

God cares about us personally.
God has a purpose and a plan for our lives.
God will clean where He dwells.

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Those who will lose their lives at the beginning of the Tribulation ask God for vengeance in Heaven. This isn't a sinful act, but the response to that prayer is worth noting. They are told to do the same thing we are told to do when we are required to love and forgive our enemies. Receive God's Righteousness and rest in Him until His timing takes place.

More people will come to a saving relationship with Jesus in the Tribulation than any other time in history.
If you can't live for Jesus before the Tribulation, you won't be able to endure all but guaranteed martyrdom for Him then.
Forgiveness of those who have legitimately harmed us is impossible apart from God. And even then it's a challenge.

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Jesus' Triumphal Entry went exactly as God intended it to. It also happened precisely when He intended it to. The only thing that would have kept anyone from fully appreciating these promises fulfilled was fear and doubt. The more we know God's word, the fewer reasons we have to doubt His promises. And the more reasons we have to trust His timing.

If you want God's perfect timing to be a reality in your life, it starts with doing God's will for your life.
Waiting for God's timing isn't passive. The time we spend in between prayer and fulfillment needs to be preparation.
The difference between the people who enjoy the fulfillment of God's promises and those who don't is fear.

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The Tribulation begins with the rise of the Antichrist and the fallout of that judgment. With reference after reference to the Old Testament, the significance of each ultimately results in more deaths than this world has ever seen take place in correlation with an event. While there are differing views on the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” the main point is that Jesus' kingdom couldn't be more unlike the beginning of the Antichrist's kingdom in every possible way. Yet when the world refuses Jesus Christ, all that's left for them is His opposite.

The Antichrist's rise to power will begin in peace, but take more life than any other antichrist before him.
The wrath of God includes but isn't limited to allowing people who love lies to be given what they want.
Jesus is perfectly contrasted by the Antichrist's kingdom and rise to power in every way.

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Jesus tells a parable familiar to those involved with politics during His time. The purpose of this parable is explained in its punchline. The Kingdom of God isn't something they just let happen, but something they faithfully anticipate with the things they were charged to do in the mean time. Those who get caught up in this world or distracted miss out for a number of reasons. They either forget who they're serving, or what their purpose is to begin with.

How we view God matters.
Boredom is the attitude of forgotten purpose.
Faithfulness is what will be rewarded in Heaven.

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Christians don't fight sin by denying its power over us, shaming ourselves, or isolating ourselves over it. Self Control is called a fruit of the Spirit because it takes God's direct intervention in our hearts to understand, combat, and perceive sin properly.

Temptation isn't sin.
Fighting sin first requires us to see it as an enemy, which is a miracle.
A Saved Soul desires the sinless life it has never known because of the fact God's heart has replaced their own.

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Modern culture assumes that society makes people evil. Christianity acknowledges that people make society. Until our hearts are changed, nothing around us will. That is the hope of the Gospel. Only God can change our hearts and truly deal with the problem we refuse to acknowledge.

The Bible teaches that mankind is born naturally in a state of rebellion against God.
Society shifts the blame for what is wrong within us to what is wrong around us.
If we are born broken, we aren't our solution. If we are born again, we have received the solution.

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Modern culture believes that freedom is found in demonstrating who we truly are. Scripture defines freedom as the ability to do what is best for you. If there is a right and wrong way to live life, then the difference between the Christian and the non-Christian is a heart that wants to live life the way Jesus gives us the freedom to do. To demonstrate His nature, rather than our own.

Christians aren't just given forgiveness for their sins, but a new nature that doesn't want to sin.
Freedom is the ability to do what is best for you.
The Christian Nature doesn't just stop sinning, but is now free to do what is good.

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John's vision of Heaven is not short of Old Testament references. With callbacks to Mount Sanai and Ezekiel, he doesn't leave it to the imagination who God is in the vision. The Cherubim and the Elders are also identifying this figure as God, but specifically the Father.

If something looks like God was described and is given credit for the things only God has done, they're God.
The creatures known as Cherubim are glorious creatures, but spend all of their time focused on God's glory.
Heaven is a place of constant worship, recognizing the only thing that could encapsulate our attention eternally.

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The Thessalonian church had been dealing with false teachers and reached out to Paul for clarification on these things. Instead of just stating an outright yes or no, he equips them to think for themselves by reminding them of other truths they had heard from the Old Testament. Then reminds them that their love for the truth will win out the day. The enemy will be destroyed by Jesus’ arrival, and the enemy’s words likewise will fall into proper order when God’s word comes into the equation.

The only response to a lie is with the truth.
If you want God, you’ll have Him. If you don’t, He won’t force Himself upon you.
Grace and truth are two sides of the same coin regarding our relationship with God.

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Revelation 4 is a major turning point for what is to take place during the last days. The door of heaven opens, signaling the gathering up of his Holy Saints to be brought before the throne of God. This absence of the church on earth will put into full motion the 7 year tribulation and the focus of God's dealings with humanity directly on the nation of Israel and the Jewish peoples.

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Joshua was a textbook example of how to effectively see God do a new work in his life. He kept God's word close, His promises closer, and the people closest to him never stopped hearing about it. With a perspective of preparation, application, and discipleship concerning God's word, we will see the same good success Joshua saw.

Where we were yesterday is preparation for where we are today.
Application makes God's Revelation personal in our lives.
Ministry isn't a marathon. It's a relay race. It's only meaningful if we effectively hand it off to the next generation.

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On the day we remember Christmas, a very special event took place. God physically entered this world as a baby. The first witnesses of this event were shepherds. Singled out by Angels, they were told exactly who was here and why He had come. It wasn't to destroy us, but to redeem us from destruction. It wasn't just to inspire good things, but show us just how good God is first-hand.

God has visited us personally.
God has redeemed us perfectly.
God has pursued us passionately.

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The Church of Laodicea had many problems, but one solution. Everything they needed, they could receive freely from Jesus. The only thing that was lacking was their willingness to receive those things from Him and pursue Him.

You won't find something apart from Jesus that you can only receive from Him,
Correction is the greatest security we have in our relationship with God.
God has more to offer us than this world could possibly offer.

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Jesus came to this world with a willingness to sacrifice His own well being for our benefit. The Christian life is then defined as the living out of His example. We can do this through our churches and family, or we can neglect it by focusing on ourselves.

Our Identity will either be established by God or something less.
Our Identity will either be developed through our relationships with each other or something less.
People are eternal beings living in the midst of a temporary world. Invest your time accordingly.

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The Incarnation of Jesus tells us certain things about God that can be known. The world we live in apart from God tries to maintain the status quo by denying or dismissing this as a pointless pursuit, but a personal God doesn't allow that kind of conclusion to be rational. If God has come to this world and proven Himself to be who He is, then all goodness, truth, and purpose come from Him. The alternative is freedom at the cost of meaning.

God is Real.
God can be Known.
God is Good.

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When Jesus took on flesh, we understand what God considers valuable. He didn't become a soul after His resurrection or only appear as an apparition in order to communicate what He saw as most important about mankind. He saw life, the pleasures and pain that comes with it, and our ultimate relationship with Him all valuable for the same reason. If we abandon purpose, all we can do is reflect on the past. If we understand that even the good things in life have a purpose, the bad will be put into perspective through joy.

What we do in this life matters in eternity.
Nostalgia is discontentment with the present rather than hope for the future.
Life proves that suffering is worthy.

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The final church Jesus addresses is the church that had conformed to their culture at the expense of their relationship with Christ. Their luxury and comfort had caused them to be willing to make compromises with truth. Yet instead of abandoning them in kind, Jesus continues to pursue fellowship with them and correct them regarding what was keeping them from enjoying Him.

Jesus corrects Laodicea about conforming to culture at the expense of His Word.
Progress isn't a virtue if you're progressing away from truth.
Jesus still sought fellowship with a church that no longer saw a need for Him.

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As the earthly ministry of Jesus enters its final weeks, Jesus gives His disciples three examples of the kind of people that genuinely benefit from a relationship with Him. First, He exposes their unwillingness to listen to the truth regardless of the fact He's explained the truth of His crucifixion to them three times already. Second, He seeks out the blind man that recognized Him as the Messiah even to the neglect of the crowds that hadn't made up their mind yet. And finally, He singles out a man named Zaccheaus as the kind of man who can be saved even when his entire culture had written him off as a lost cause. All three examples were meant to drive this single point home to His disciples. What was Jesus here to do? To seek and to save those who were lost.

God's word is the lens through which we need to discern God's work.
God's work in our lives should be something people can see more than they should hear us talk about.
God's will is the salvation of those who understand their need for it.

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Jesus speaks to the church of Philadelphia with no words of correction. He commends them for their abiding relationship with Him through His Spirit and His Word, and makes copious references to the Old and New Testament to clarify very personal and intimate details about all that their continued fellowship with produce in their lives.

The most faithful Christians are those who do everything they can with what little they have.
An abiding relationship with Jesus is never more evidenced than their regard for His Word.
Our only security with God is through the Son.

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As the rich young ruler departs, Jesus' disciples remain. They ask what they have to gain for what they've given up in order to follow Jesus, and His answer is one we need to take to heart if we're to remember what motivates us to live the Christian life. Not only is knowing Jesus its own reward, but God knows how to give us rewards for our sacrifices that will last forever.

God cannot give us a treasure greater than Himself because such a thing doesn't exist.
God is emotionally invested in how we respond to His offer of a personal relationship with Him.
God knows how to reward us for the things He's done in and through us.

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Jesus speaks to the church in Sardis about their negligence and forgetting their responsibilities as a church. While they called themselves a church, they weren't functioning like one. And with copious references to the Old and New Testament, He reminds them of what they have and will continue to have as a result of coming back to an abiding relationship with Him.

Sardis was a city known for taking their wealth and ease for granted, and it got them conquered three times.
Sardis wasn't fulfilling their responsibilities as a church as was the equivalent of a corpse in God's eyes.
Sardis still had faithful people in it who simply remembered what it means to be a Christian and lived accordingly.

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Jesus is approached by a rich young ruler with the right question, for the right reasons, and with the right attitude. He receives his answer and realizes what the real ostacle between him and peace with God was. The problem wasn't what he did or had, but his attitude towards them. Without a new heart, he couldn't recieve the peace Jesus lovingly offered.

Jesus is God and we are not.
The Commandments show us our problem, not the solution.
Receive what you can't achieve.

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Thankfulness is the recognizing of something as good. When we are thankful to God, we're proactively choosing to see the good things in our lives with Him in mind as the reason we got through them. A loss of security, control, freedom, and everything else we take for granted are things God restores to us regularly in our lives. The more we take the time to notice, the better off we are in remembering just how good He is.

Thankfulness keeps us from entitlement.
Thankfulness puts our trials into perspective with God seeing us through them.
Thankfulness allows us to see God and ourselves for who we really are.

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Jesus gives a series of parables that explain what it means to have a dynamic prayer life. The first is illustrated through point of contrast between an unjust judge who ignored those who needed his help with God who eagerly invests Himself in those who come to Him for help. The second is illustrated through another point of contrast between two prayers divided by honesty before God. The last was an actual situation where children came to Jesus for a blessing and were proactively welcomed and described as the kind of people who truly fellowship with God. Through these examples, we are given the path to powerful prayer; knowing who we're talking to, who we are, and what attitude we need to bring to the conversation.

God is more invested in answering our prayers than we are in praying.
Dishonest people won't speak truthfully with God.
The Heart of a prayer warrior knows who they're talking to, who they are, and that they're loved more than anything.

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Jesus addresses the church of Thyatira as a church who had a lot of good things going for them, but still needed things they had to address if they were going to see the growth they had seen continue. A woman compared to the Old Testament queen Jezebel had become prominent in this church and taught that the cultural views of sexuality and idolatry were acceptable for Christians to approve of and participate in. While not everyone in the church had submitted to this false teaching, Jesus addresses them all with a very serious warning not to follow where this false teacher was headed because it didn't lead to Him.

False teachers can occupy very prominent positions in ministry.
Be careful spiritual consumers, even when it comes from people you trust.
The best way to answer a false teacher is with true teachings.

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When it comes to the End Times, Jesus doesn't want us to be unaware of what He intends to be accomplished through all the of the wrath and terror that follows. God has demonstrated a consistent prophetic pattern throughout history whenever His judgments were tangibly demonstrated. First, a prophetic warning was provided. Second, a means of escape is provided. And finally, judgment falls after everyone who would receive mercy has.

God always provides a prophetic warning in anticipation of judgment.
God always provides a means of escape from the judgment He has plainly and publicly warned us about.
God only judges after every possible provision of mercy has been rejected.

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Jesus writes to the church of Pergamos addressing the compromises they have made concerning their teachers. While they had endured a great deal of persecution, it didn't justify or excuse the areas they had allowed culturally accepted practices to take place among His church. He introduces Himself as their solution and their reason to keep fighting the Christian fight until they see Him face-to-face as He modeled for them first-hand.

Jesus intentionally introduces Himself as the Word of God as a solution for the problems He's going to address.
Christian warfare is a battle of ideas. We silence lies by answering, challenging, and debating them with the truth.
Fellowship with Jesus Christ is its own reward.

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Jesus opens our eyes to our future which shines light on the dark times we live in. Skepticism will increase as to if Jesus is really coming again. Even many Church leaders stay away from prophecy, saying it is not practical. But properly understand, the message that Jesus can come at any moment, can bring us face to face with one of the most amazing truths that can change your life!

When you know the Lord, you have a home sickness. You are looking forward to seeing Jesus face to face. 2.He wants to move in your life with anticipating power which comes from a desire to see Jesus.
Be patient until the coming of the Lord, establishing your hearts.

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Jesus gave us a masterpiece on teaching people. Four times Jesus uses the word watch! Jesus always saves the most important for last…”remember this” “What I say to you I say to all...watch!” Jesus is very concerned about us watching for his sudden return. But how do you watch for his return? How you answer that question is important as to how you view the days we are living in!

To prepare yourself for the 2nd Coming of Christ, look to the impact of his first coming
Some will mock Jesus' first coming just as the Pharisees. Others will become distracted and forget the amazing prophecies that Jesus fulfilled in His first coming.
We can rest assured that Jesus' second coming is rooted in the sure facts surrounding His first coming.

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Jesus is speaking to the church of Ephesus exactly like He spoke to the nations in the Old Testament. Addressing their hearts and lives, He calls them to greater fellowship with Himself the way God's word always does. He commends them for what they're doing right, corrects them concerning what they're doing wrong, and telling them exactly how to keep growing in their love for Him and each other.

God speaks in the New Testament book of prophecy the same way He did through the Old Testament Prophets.
Jesus speaks to the Church of Ephesus the same way God's Word speaks to us individually.
The goal of Jesus' correction and commendation is always to encourage restoration.

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Leprosy was a death sentence physically just like sin spiritually. No one got healed from leprosy before the time of Jesus, yet it seemed to almost be a regular occurrence during His ministry. This was intentional. The lengthy investment of the Old Testament to set people up for how they'd know Jesus when He arrived are not only significant in how He healed, but why. Jesus didn't heal for healing's sake, but to ultimately make us realize that He is the source of those good things. While only one out of ten received the greater blessing, this passage is meant to be an encouragement. Be the person who not only obeys God's word when and how healing is offered, but uses every good thing form God as an opportunity to share how good He is to those around us.

Leprosy was an apt physical comparison to the work sin does in our lives spiritually.
God can use miracles just as often as doctors and medicine to answer prayers for healing.
The gift of healing is a secondary payoff to what God truly desires, which is restored fellowship with us.

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John is given a revelation of Jesus Christ. Each and every trait is a direct reference to the Old Testament that intentionally all had God in mind. From the way He spoke to the way He looked, all were demonstrations of power and holiness that left John in a state of complete and utter terror. The only thing that brought peace to this proper reaction was a clarification of who He was and what He had done to prove it. God is bigger than us and beyond our control. Those are the key elements that inspire horror. Yet we know peace with God because this source of power didn't use it to destroy us, but to redeem us.

Jesus is described in the way He speaks and acts the same way God spoke to Israel in the Exodus.
Jesus is described in the way He looks the same way God revealed His glory to Daniel in his prophecy.
Jesus comforts John's terror in reaction to this holiness the same way He does to us. By pointing us to who He is and what He's done.

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Jesus is addressing His disciples about the Christian life. Now that the account of the Rich Man and Lazarus has debunked the idea of material wealth as the mark of what makes someone right with God, He fills that void with reality. Without mercy, we're toast. Without the ability to show mercy, no one will see Jesus in us. Without faith, receiving or relating the mercy of God is impossible for us. By receiving even the smallest portion of faith from its source, that trust will equip us for even the unimaginable in the Christian life. That includes making us more like Jesus in our character.

Faith is a gift from God.
We don't have faith unless we receive it from God.
Faith is what separates the bitter and proud from the loving and gracious.

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The Book of Revelation, just like all of the Old Testament books of prophecy before it, follows the same historical standard of why we trust and how we verify what is being said about what God said.

The Apostle John was a reliable and historically verified individual who we can confirm wrote Revelation.
The Book of Revelation was written at a very well attested time in history.
The Book of Revelation is about Jesus Christ.

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Mercy is where we started in our relationship with God. Offering and demonstrating that mercy towards others is how it continues. In a world ruled by sin and full of people willing to go along with the system in rebellion against God, we go against the flow by treating people the way God treated us.

No one enters Heaven apart from receiving forgiveness from God.
No one wants God's forgiveness until God reveals to our hearts our need for His mercy.
No one follows Jesus more than living out the most basic principal of how He relates to us.

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The Apostle John goes on from his introduction of Revelation to cite multiple Old Testament passages and applies them directly to Jesus Christ. The first identifies Him doing something God does. The second clarifies Him as the one predicted in Zechariah and Daniel. And the third calls Him the Greek equivalent of God's title, The First and the Last. In a book titled The Revelation of Jesus Christ, he isn't leaving that task up to guesswork.

John refers to Jesus as coming with the clouds because the Old Testament refers to God riding the clouds.
John quotes Zechariah's prophecy of the Messiah to draw to mind how Israel will react to how they treated their God.
John calls Jesus the Alpha and Omega in order to draw the nearest Greek equivalent to God's title in Isaiah.

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There are times we need to share with people the bad news in order to help them understand the good news. In Luke 16:24-31 Jesus describes the destination of the lost. This is a dose of strong medicine for what lies ahead for those that do not trust Christ for salvation. Second, we will see there is no do over's in this life, and third, the idea of eternal separation from God is what Hell is! If you don't want God, you can have the opposite. But lastly we are going to see the radical lengths He has gone to save all human beings through the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.

Live for eternity, for this world is passing away. It would be foolish to miss eternity for the perishable.
There are no do-overs in this life. What will you be focused on in your life?
Jesus sacrifice removes our sin and gives us eternal life. He has made the way. Jesus is the way the truth and the life.

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The Revelation of Jesus is a revealing of who He is! The titles for Jesus is this short section point us to the eternal nature of Christ and work of salvation.

Jesus is the eternal one
Jesus is the preeminent
Jesus is the faithful servant

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Jesus is the ultimate source on the subject of death! In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus pulls back the curtain on death, by seeing who makes it on the other side with a soft landing, Also we will see the instructions needed to prepare ourselves to our own, personal, jump to come into eternity.

This is not a parable, but a historical event. One was very rich, the other was very poor.
Death has a way of scrambling conventional worldly wisdom on what is important.
What makes heaven, heaven, is the presence of Jesus.

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The book of Revelation was written, as the name literally means, to reveal and make clear the character of our Lord. Within 404 verses, almost 300 references are made to the Old Testament and the promises contained therein. This gives us the most practical instructions and perspective every Christian should have. We are given today to live in light of tomorrow. We don't live as if tomorrow has no consequences, but find hope in the reality that Jesus reserves the right to come for us at any time.

Revelation is the easiest book of the Bible to understand if you've read the 65 books that came before it.
Revelation is a book that includes the blessing of seeing life and this world through God's perspective.
Revelation is the most practical book in the Bible.

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Jesus follows through after telling a series of parables to address the real issue between them and God. They had the externals down to a science, but they were as incapable of receiving God's word from Jesus as they were with John and every prophet before him. The solution was exactly what Jesus drew attention to. Who is God, how to we restore our relationship with Him, and where do we get the information about both of these key questions? The point is plainer than most would want it to be. Your regard for scripture will be directly proportional to your capacity for fellowship with God.

Fellowship with the True and Living God needs to be based on who He actually is.
We can't pursue restoration between us and God until we acknowledge there is a problem there in the first place.
There remains to be a means by which God had provided us to know who He is and how to relate to Him properly apart from the Bible. Therefore, we need to stick to what we've been given rather than attempt to dismiss or diminish it.

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In the closing passages of Hebrews, the focus is brought towards how we view submission. Beginning with God and continuing with government and church leadership, the focus is entirely brought to the heart of Christ. Without the assumption that we're always right, we can be a blessing to those placed in those roles over us as we demonstrate the same towards God Himself. Thankfulness and Praise are where we begin.

The sacrifices of the New Covenant are made from the heart with thankfulness and praise.
The respect we have for leadership in or outside of the church is balanced by the fact that they will give an account for their ministries just like we will our own.
What Jesus starts He finishes, including making us like Him in our character.

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The Parable of the Unjust Steward is a very confusion and controversial story for some. It's difficult to take Jesus' words plainly because it's obvious His point wasn't to encourage scamming people as a means of getting into Heaven. It is equally difficult to assume Jesus is only making an emphasis on a forward looking perspective because His audience and the punch line focus on a matter entirely separate from that take away. The only remaining option and challenge is that Jesus was being sarcastic. This is far from the first or last time that sarcasm is employed in scripture, and the intent is what's key. It's not how shrewd you are in achieving success in this life that matters. If you're faithful in the little things, even your finances, in this life, that will directly impact the next.

God cares about our finances if for no other reason than because they can play such a profound role in our lives with or apart from Him.
Sarcasm isn't sinful. The heart behind all communication is where we determine if something is out of line with God's character or not.
We can spend our money, waste it, or invest it in something eternal.

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The opposite of covetousness is contentment and likewise is its solution. We understand our contentment on the basis of what the Bible defines as our basic needs. Culture and media can make us think we need more than we have, but scripture states that we have God. The more you understand how capable He is of meeting your needs, the less you'll fall into the mindset warned against all the way back in the Ten Commandments.

Covetousness is a “have more” or greedy attitude that is never satisfied.
Contentment is a “have enough” or thankful attitude that is always satisfied.
God is our source of contentment because He's all we need and we will always have Him.

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The Parable of the Prodigal Son concludes a series of three stories all illustrating the same point. God's heart is to redeem the lost. People who consider themselves needing no redemption are not only the most in need of it, but often reveal this through the bitterness and resentment shown towards those who receive the mercy they themselves need.

The Audience of The Parable were people who were like the Prodigal Son's brother, which was the point of the whole story.
The Point of the Parable was to explain God's heart towards the sinner was desiring to see them restored.
The Conclusion of the Parable is unknown because the audience hearing it still had to decide whether they'd acknowledge and receive the mercy of God as the gift that it is.

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There are two equal and opposite mistakes people make with sex. Some dishonor it through its abuse. Others dishonor it through its neglect. Both are not God's purpose for marriage. Marriage was created as the place where our sexuality could be enjoyed on the foundation that every relationship is built on. Trust.

God invented and defined the purpose of our sexuality.
To dishonor marriage and our sexuality is something God will judge because it is a serious aspect of our lives.
Honoring God through our relationships, sexual or not, will always begin and end with trust."

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Hope is the joyful expectation of a promise not yet fulfilled. The cynic has abandoned hope due to disappointment in what they are hoping for or a lack of reason to rejoice in the object of their hope. Without joy in God, hope in His promises will not happen.

The enemy of hope is cynicism. The response to cynicism is faith.
The hope of Christians is directly tied into the example of Jesus' own death and resurrection.

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Faith has been redefined from its original and intended meaning. Faith, or trust with reason, has been understood rather to mean assumption. We need to be careful not to exchange faith for cynicism because it is a foundational aspect of our relationship with God and men.

Faith isn't assumption.
Faith isn't devoid of reason.
The virtue of faith is based on how trustworthy its object is.

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Love is the unique characteristic of God demonstrated to us in a moment of human history. The character of Jesus Christ and the act of redeeming us on the sole basis of His goodness is the model by which our relationship with God will continue to be defined by into eternity. Apart from the Holy Spirit, it will not be demonstrated in our Christian lives. Yet it is the only thing that should separate the Christian from anyone else.

Perfect love isn't natural for mankind.
Love is defined based on the character of God and His treatment of us.
Love God's way is impossible apart from the Holy Spirit.

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Intrinsic value is an assumption in Christianity. It should not be taken for granted without understanding where that sense of value comes from. Fellow Christians share a Father and should treat each other like family. Fellow humans share a Creator and should be respected as such. And Christians who are suffering are experiencing this for the very same thing we ourselves ought to be doing. Act like Jesus to whoever and wherever you can.

Treat everyone in the church on the basis of their relationship with the Father.
Treat everyone outside the church on the basis of their Creator.
Treat those who suffer with the same comfort you'd want in their situation.

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The parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin were both spoken to the same audience in order to emphasize the same point. God is in the rescue business when it comes to His relationship with mankind.

The audience of Jesus' parables in this passage were the kind of people who needed saving and knew it.
The focus of the parables of the Lost Sheep and Coin were to emphasize God's focus concerning mankind is our salvation.

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God is not someone to be underestimated or treated lightly. The reality of some of the most pitiful things in this Creation being out of our control or against us can terrify us to our core, yet the being above and beyond the universe itself is treated like a house pet. In order to properly understand and appreciate the mercy God has shown us by coming to redeem us as a man, we first need to recognize just how serious it is to be in the presence of a Holy God. God is good, but we are bad. If we aren't shown mercy, we're toast. The good news is that we don't have to be. While most reject Him and prefer themselves, those who know Jesus have recognized just how amazing God really is and has been to us.

The fact that God is holy is as much a comforting one as it is a scary one.
God isn't tame or in our control.
The reality of this world coming to an end is only a comfort if you understand the One who made it will redeem us from it.
The people who go to Hell want it. They would rather suffer separation from everything good than be in the presence of a Holy God.

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As the end of Jesus' earthly ministry approaches, He draws another line of controversy between those who are following Him for the sake of a relationship with Him and anything less. By making a point and parable about priorities and counting the cost, Jesus claims that our love for Him should exceed that of our love for our parents, be thought of like a long term construction investment, and take into consideration the fact that we're following the example of a man about to be put on a cross to die.

Commitment isn't something you make halfway.
Commitment is only genuine if followed through to the end.
Commitment is something Jesus demonstrated towards us first.

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Spiritual Growth comes from receiving correction. The spiritually immature person, like Esau in the Old Testament, doesn't consider growing closer to God in their character a priority. As long as time passes, we consider ourselves grown up. The problem is that we've all fallen short of the glory of God and will continue to unless we daily allow the Spirit to shape our character into His own. This starts with receiving correction and continues with relating the grace we've been shown towards others.

The Immature don't receive correction.
The Immature makes what looks and feels good their highest priority.
The Mature acknowledge their need for maturity.

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The reason most people don't hear from God is because they aren't listening. Jesus gives a series of parables to illustrate this in what most would consider very secular settings. These are the very ways God can and does speak to us. The only thing keeping us from recognizing and being blessed by God in everything we do is a heart and attitude that wants to hear from Him in the first place.

If you live from a place of acceptance with God, you won't have to seek it out from men.
If you invest in the Kingdom of God, He'll always pay you back.
The people who hear from God are those listening for His voice.

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As Jesus approached the final week of His earthly ministry, persecution was increasing exponentially. In response to this, Jesus gave us a perfect example of how to respond to persecution. He understood His Father would accomplish what He started. He trusted His Father more than the schemes and manipulations of men. And He grounded that trust in scripture by reminding those around Him that God wouldn't give up accomplishing His will for the lives of the nation about to reject Him. It was from that place of assurance that we find comfort and hope as well.

God is more interested in guiding us than we are in being guided.
Fear or Faith will set terms of your pursuit of God's Will. Not both.
God's Faithfulness to His promises is the only hope we have/need.

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Jesus is called the author and finisher of our faith. This was demonstrated through the joy He experienced in laying down His life for us. The joy wasn't in the cross or the fact His life was the price being paid. He understood and demonstrated for us that to sacrifice out of love is the ultimate expression of it. He valued His life, but valued fellowship with His Father and restoration with His bride even more valuable. It wasn't done out of selfish gain, but out of the perfect character that remains the reason we have a hope of Heaven to begin with.

Jesus led the way to show our faith in Him has a worthwhile destination.
The joy Jesus experienced through the cross was His desire to be restored to His Father and His bride.
The sacrifice Jesus made brought Him joy because it was done out of love.

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Jesus is facing more and more opposition from the religious leaders as He heads to Jerusalem where He'll be crucified. Following a very stern charge of hypocrisy towards one of His detractors, Jesus tells a series of parables many don't want to believe have any association with the topic that brought them up. Using themes that were exclusively images of evil in the Old Testament and into the New, we need to realize that the church isn't a place where we are safe from the hypocrisy that dominates our natures. We come to Jesus in need of mercy for this very reason. The fine line between a contender and a pretender in the kingdom is the person who chooses to receive it. Any hypocrite can claim they are righteous. It takes a righteous person to admit they're a hypocrite and seek the daily cleansing and restoration that only comes by asking.

The charge of hypocrisy is universal to the human race.
The reality of hypocrisy is as true outside the church as it has been within it.
The cure for hypocrisy is to receive and relate the mercy of the only Man who wasn't a hypocrite.

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In light of everyone mentioned in chapter 11, the author of Hebrews concludes his point by applying it to those reading it. Like those before them trusted God even when it cost them something, there would only be victory over this sin in their lives if they found joy in the goal set before them. It wasn't limited to avoiding external sins like lust and anger, but the insecurities and fear that motivated those symptoms. An abundant Christian life is someone who sees fellowship with Jesus as so worthy a goal to pursue that they'd cast off anything that would impede them from that prize.

The Author of Hebrews describes the witness of the Old Testament Saints the same way the presence of God was described. That was their goal and should be ours as well.
The struggle against sin isn't limited to the outward expressions of it, but anything that weighs us down from enjoying that relationship even more.
Fear of punishment never motivates a successful Christian life. Jesus is our joyful goal to pursue. The only way to make that race more joyful is to get rid of anything that weighs us down from reaching that destination.

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Paul is exhorting Timothy as his student to remain faithful in the calling given to him by Jesus Christ. His perspective was being altered by the world around him, so Paul repeats the most important things to keep in mind as Timothy struggles with the world around him. This is then our exhortation when we are struggling with the same things.

Like a soldier, we shouldn't get distracted by the world we left behind.
Like an athlete, we shouldn't disqualify ourselves from our pursuit of Jesus.
Like a farmer, we should get to know Jesus for ourselves while we share Him with everyone else.

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Paul is speaking to his student Timothy in the same context that we need to be spoken to in the world we live in today. The world never has and still isn't responding in favor of the gospel, but this isn't a cause for us to be afraid. We need to be prepared to give an answer as the Holy Spirit enables us and from that place of security we will not be ruled by fear.

Paul was sent out to communicate the Gospel. What people thought about him was irrelevant.
Timothy didn't need to be afraid so long as his hope remained in what he was also called to share.
Paul sought refreshment from the people he had taught and learned from as well as to encourage and educate them.

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Paul gives a bleak picture of the future that we are only seeing the beginning of today. Where virtue is despised and narcissism is praised, it all stems from a desire to escape conviction. The Holy Spirit's sole purpose is to convict us of sin. The more we recognize His voice through His word, the more capable we'll be of growth and even salvation itself.

The person who doesn't learn from anyone beyond themselves and those like them will never repent.
The person who grows closer to Jesus first recognizes there is a difference between Him and them.
The metric by which we judge whether anything we hear is of God or not is through the Word of God.

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The author of Hebrews reviews the remaining examples in the Old and New Testaments. Some were spared the opposition that came their way while others did not. What they all had in common is what defines us as the church. The shared hope that God will see us like the Holy Spirit saw them. Through the eyes of Grace.

The Old Testament saints were far from perfect, but the Holy Spirit only mentions what was done right.
The Old Testament faith was in the same thing we are trusting in today, the grace of God.

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One of the most difficult questions or challenges raised to the Christian faith is” Why do bad things happen to good people?” The problem of evil, as some would call it, is as ancient as the oldest book of the bible, Job. How can all powerful and all loving God exist alongside the existence of evil? If God is good, He would want to stop or prevent evil. If God is all powerful, He is also able to prevent evil. Yet, we experience evil today, even among the youngest and the most innocent among us.

Jesus presented Himself as the solution to Evil practically in the present.
Jesus presented Himself as the solution to Evil ultimately in the future.
Jesus is patient with those who cause and contribute to evil out of hope for their redemption.

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Moses demonstrated faith concerning the judgment of God by taking advantage of every possible means God provided for him to receive His mercy and avoid His judgment.

Moses forsook Egypt by considering the wrath of Pharaoh less worth worrying about than God's.
Moses kept the Passover by taking full advantage of avoiding God's rightful wrath on Egypt.
Moses crossed over the Red Sea, unlike the Egyptians, by trusting God's mercy was a legitimate offer.

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The nature of prophecy is the reality by which we know we're being spoken to by someone beyond time. Jesus emphasized His fulfillments of Old Testament prophecies as the reason we should know who He is and why we should trust Him. For every prophecy fulfilled in His first coming, we have one more reason to trust the promises He's yet to keep. It is on that basis we test and draw hope from predictive prophecy. God's proven character alongside His historical witness in scripture.

The Old Testament gave us explicit and specific signs to recognize the Messiah's first coming.
Every prophecy Jesus fulfilled in His first coming gives us one more reason, standard, and metric by which we trust and verify the reality of His second coming.
His second coming is immanent.

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Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses are all examples of faith because of a forward perspective. They all understood that God's purposes for their lives were greater than their own. They acknowledged the role God would play in the lives of their families even after they were gone. And they even acknowledged God as a greater source of pleasure than the things this world offered in His place.

Faith acknowledges the sovereignty of God as a comfort as much as a command.
Faith looks forward to the promises of God in such a way it impacts the way we live now.
Faith doesn't free us from sin by making us refuse pleasure but trusting and knowing God as pleasurable.

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God does not leave eternity with a question mark for us. We have either come to a decision about Him or not.

Jesus had emotions
Jesus invested Himself in the Father
Jesus invested Himself in us
Jesus was hated for choosing the Father over the World

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Through the trial of having to trust God even as far as a resurrection, Abraham experienced a deeper fellowship with the Father than any other human being ever has or could.

God is either your exceedingly great reward, or something less.
God values faith because it is the foundation of a relationship.
We trust Him because we personally know He's trustworthy.
God doesn't test our faith like a written exam to prove what we know. He tests us like metal to work out the impurities and increase just how much more we reflect His image.

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The greatest incentive towards holy living is treating today like it could be the day the Lord returns. We neglect prophecy to our own discouragement.

Prophecy shouldn't be ignored
Prophets should be tested
Follow Jesus rather than your pastor

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Abraham and Sarah are given as examples of people who trusted God's promises in history and weren't disappointed.

Faith means trust
Fathers invest in their children's future
Jesus is our hope

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Culture responds to trauma through shame or glorification. Neither are productive because they both prevent us from challenging ourselves to properly process and move on from pain rather than establish it as our identity.

A victim that is shamed for their trauma hides it rather than copes with it
A victim that is celebrated for their trauma embraces it rather than moves on from it

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Trauma is something we can try to forget in a way that makes us numb. Or Trauma can be something we forget because we're so blessed by what God is doing in our lives today. Joseph models the latter as the proper response.

Trauma isn't forgotten
Memories aren't forgotten
Trauma and Memories are replaced by greater blessings

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Trauma can isolate us due to the uniqueness of our experience, or it can create intimacy based on the shared experience. God created us for community, and even has intimacy with us through His suffering.

Trauma isolates us
Trauma creates intimacy
Relationships through shared experience are how we process Trauma

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The earliest names in Genesis are given as examples of Faith the same way the Holy Spirit convicts us of our need for a Savior.

God reveals the sin in others while He deals with the sin in us.
God honors those who walk with Him even if they are the minority.
God gives mercy to anyone who will receive it.

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Immanency is the greatest motivator to live for Jesus today, because we aren't promised a tomorrow. Always be ready to see Him today.

Avoid False Teachings by knowing what Jesus taught
No man knows the day or the hour of the Lord's return
Live for Jesus today

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The Hebrew understanding of faith is understood in three ways. Simply defined, it is trust. This trust is based on the following reasons; Perception, Acceptance, and Response. In perceiving the character of God, I trust it. In accepting the promises of God, I trust Him. And in responding to a relationship with God, I belong to Him.

Faith is trust with reason. It is only as reasonable as the object with which your trust is based on.
The reasons God has given us to trust Him are established in what He has said and done, not what His followers have done or failed to do in His name.
The substance of Christian faith is the same response the Hebrews made to God in the Old Testament. His character is worthy of that trust. We have it established in history that His promises are always kept.

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Following through on a parable warning against a lack of thankfulness, Jesus told us not to worry. He then gave us three examples of how to practically follow through on that command. In drawing attention to Ravens, He used a bird often overlooked by man as something not overlooked or unprovided for by God. In drawing attention to the fact that worrying doesn't affect our bodies in any productive sense, He concludes it doesn't accomplish anything at all. And in drawing attention to the fact that God takes care of the plants, He will also find our lives worth investing His time and attention. The conclusion Jesus brings to the matter is to make your relationship with God your top priority and He will take care of the rest.

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Following through on a parable warning against a lack of thankfulness, Jesus told us not to worry. He then gave us three examples of how to practically follow through on that command. In drawing attention to Ravens, He used a bird often overlooked by man as something not overlooked or unprovided for by God. In drawing attention to the fact that worrying doesn't affect our bodies in any productive sense, He concludes it doesn't accomplish anything at all. And in drawing attention to the fact that God takes care of the plants, He will also find our lives worth investing His time and attention. The conclusion Jesus brings to the matter is to make your relationship with God your top priority and He will take care of the rest.

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One Old Testament verse that took three New Testament Books to explain

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The Character , Conduct and Caution of God's Grace

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"Let the love of Jesus characterize our relationships."

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CCF Weekly Services Podcast: Recent Episodes

Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson