2023 June
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, life is filled with pitfalls. Some of those are of your own making and some come from the enemy who wants you to fall permanently into his trap of bondage and destruction. But I am the ultimate life coach. I am here to encourage you because I am SO for you. I only made
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, I did not design the journey of faith to be complicated. My simple desire for you is that you grow in intimacy with me as your Father and walk in humble reliance upon me. Mercy and love are two major qualities that many do not understand about me (Ps 59:17). I avoid disciplining you
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Dissolving a Partnership
“So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company” (Gen 13:11). My friend Danny and I have known each other for many years. Several years ago he was in a teaching session I was giving about Abraham being a great example of
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Perception Is Not Reality
“The lions may roar and growl, yet the teeth of the great lions are broken.” – Job 4:10 In the advertising business we often say that “perception is reality” for the person who views our advertising message. It does not matter whether the audience believes the message to be true, only that they perceive it
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, I want to play an imaginary game with you. Pretend with me that you are standing in a room. There are two people in front of you. One of them is Jesus, the other is a person named Circumstance. Now I want you to keep your eyes focused on both of them. Never take
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Humility in Relationships
“All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” – 1 Peter 5:5b I’ll never forget the first time I discovered what a feeling was. It was in my early forties. “Surely not!” you may be thinking. Yes, it is true. Since then,
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Gideon’s Staff
“With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread” (Judg 6:21). Gideon was a farmer who threshed wheat for a living using a staff. This was commonly used in his day to beat out fitches and cummin (Isa 28:27), but now
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Being Led by God
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8,9). How do you know what thoughts are your thoughts versus God’s thoughts? One of the
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, I want to remind you that I am Jehovah Jireh. I am your provider no matter how dire the circumstance. There is not a situation in which I am not able to provide. My son Elijah needed food; I sent ravens to feed him (1 Kings 17:4). My widow was on her last meal;
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When Planting Yields No Fruit
“You have planted much, but have harvested little….” – Haggai 1:6 Have you ever worked and worked only to yield very little from your efforts? Such was the case for the workplace believers during the time of the prophet Haggai. Finally, God spoke through the prophet Haggai to inform the people why their efforts were
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Testing for Obedience
“Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind” (Ps. 26:2). Throughout the Old Testament, we see many situations in which God tests His people in order to determine if they will follow Him or follow the systems of this world. The nation of Israel was tested many times during the
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, by now you understand how differently sons and daughters view life. As a man,when you justify your behavior, valid or not, you bring attention to yourself instead of acknowledging how you hurt the other person.Son, this is pride. This is self-focus. But to do otherwise will have to bea learned behavior for my sons.
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Such a Time as This
“On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall.” – Esther 5:1a Esther was a woman who lived for a cause greater than herself. God used this woman to save the entire Jewish people from extermination. However, before God
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Are You a Threat?
“One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?’” – Acts 19:15 Are you a threat to the kingdom of darkness? If satan and his demons had a board meeting and your name came before the board, what would they say? Would they say that
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, I know that you are familiar with the story of my freeing my sons and daughters from slavery in Egypt. They had never known what it was like to live free until I performed the miracles that led to their freedom. However, my desire for them was not just freedom, but a new way
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The Success Test
“But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your forefathers, as it is today” (Deut. 8:18). Muhammad Ali is considered the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. He won 56 of his 61 professional fights and
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Jacob’s Defining Moment
“So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared’” (Gen 32:30). Every believer in Jesus Christ must have a defining moment in their lives. Jacob is about to meet his brother Esau in the desert after years of separation. The last time
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Power of the Tongue
“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” – Proverbs 18:21 Words have the power to motivate or destroy, energize or deflate, inspire or create despair. Many successful executives can remember the time their father failed to give affirmation to them as a child. The
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, fear of man is one of the greatest hindrances for my leaders. Do you remember my son Saul? I instructed him through my son Samuel to destroy the Amalakites because of their wickedness. But Saul was more concerned with the approval of the people than with obeying me. This ultimately led to his fall.
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, when you move in unity and in the power of my spirit, things on earth are affected. People experience my reality in ways they never expected. Many are not comfortable with seeing such power displayed. They talk of wanting to see me work, but when I do, they pull back. They question whether the
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Forgiving Ourselves
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9 The apostle Peter was one of three disciples who walked with Jesus closer than the other nine. He was the most enthusiastic and the one man who was willing
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Responses to Adversity
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior”
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The Power of One
“Then the men of Judah said to the Simeonites their brothers, ‘Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours’” (Judg 1:3). After the death of Joshua there arose a wicked king named Adoni-bezek that was creating havoc in the
