2023 August
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True Repentance
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10 What does it mean to repent? When you or I wrong another person, or we sin against God, do we simply say we are sorry and move on? A few years ago I was involved
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, sharing truth with others without relationship leads to rejection. All my sons and daughters are wired for relationship. If you try to share my truth before there is a trusting relationship established, you may find your message rejected. This includes your own children. And remember that discipline without relationship leads to anger. People want
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Concealing a Matter
“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Prov. 28:13) None of us are immune from making poor choices in our lives. David made a number of seemingly minor choices that snowballed into an avalanche of suffering, shame and tragedy. It started when he chose to stay
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, rarely do I extricate my sons and daughters from the difficult things in life. I more often choose to walk silently along side. When my son Paul was beaten and stoned almost to death, I did not send my angels to deliver him. When he was shipwrecked I did not send another boat to
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Defining Moments
“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.”Acts 9:3 For Moses, it was the burning bush. For Peter, it was walking on water. For Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, it was walking through the burning furnace untouched. For Paul, it was being blinded and spoken to by Jesus on
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Confronting Your Industry Culture
“Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers’”
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Going Against the Flow
“But the whole assembly talked about stoning them.” Numbers 14:10a Have you ever had to stand up against the majority for a cause that wasn’t popular? God brought the Israelites out of Egypt and promised He would lead them into a land of milk and honey. The process of moving out of Egypt was difficult.
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, having impact on others is never about knowing scripture or sharing information about me or my Son. Converts are not to be viewed as a game of numbers to be achieved. It is about living your life through the power of my Spirit in all you do and with all people you meet. My
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Giving and Receiving
“Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account” (Phil 4:17). The apostle Paul had a tent-making business. However, over time, it was evident that more and more of his time was being given to vocational ministry activities. That required him to receive income
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Motivations to Call
…”Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Mark 10:49 Do you recall the circumstances when God first called you into relationship with Him? Were you in need of something? Were you in a crisis situation? Every day God calls someone into relationship with Him through different circumstances. More often than not, the circumstances relate
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, when you make a vow, I want you to keep it no matter the consequences. When Moses decided not to circumcise his child, he was breaking a vow to honor this symbol of our covenant. Marriage is another of those sacred vows. I desire that marriage last forever. I never change my mind about
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Know Your Customer
“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds” (Prov. 27:23). Identifying and meeting the needs of customers is key to any successful marketing venture. Many years ago Coca-Cola decided to introduce a new Coke. They conducted research among loyal customers to determine if the new taste would be
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Grace
…”Peace be with you!” John 20:19 How would you respond to a group of fellow workers if you were their leader and you poured your life into them, teaching them all you know for three years, only to have them disband and go their own way when troubles came? What would you say to them
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, I want you to be at peace with not seeing or understanding the entire picture. Only occasionally do I allow glimpses of future events, as I did with Abraham. “Why” questions are never answered on earth; only in heaven. There was a point in time when Abraham needed to know my plans (Gen 15:13-15).
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Sharing Your Faith with Others
“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ” (Philem 6-7). There is a strong correlation between those who publicly share their faith with others and an increase in spiritual growth for that individual. In my own
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Having a Great Number Two Man
“Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent” (Ex 33:11). An organization cannot grow without a trusted and skilled second in command or “number two” man or woman. Joshua was Moses’ “number two” man. He could trust him explicitly in all matters. He
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, when you present a check to your bank for cash, the bank gives you the money based on what is in your account. There is a legal transaction that occurs. When I proclaim a promise through my Word, that, too is a legal transaction. You can trust that I will back my words with
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Our Plans and God’s Plans
“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”Proverbs 19:21 Have you ever heard of someone who spent years of preparation for one vocation only to end up doing something completely different? Perhaps this could be said of you. Quite often we have in our minds what we
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, do you know how eagles teach their young to fly? From their home on the cleft of a high cliff, the mother decides it is time for them to fly so she literally pushes them out of the nest. Then she swoops under them, rescues them, carries them to new heights… and drops them
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True Repentance in a Nation
“When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes.” 2 Chronicles 34:19 Josiah was a godly king in Israel. However, before he came to power, the nation had fallen into all kinds of evil. One man, Manasseh, had brought the nation to a condition of inexorable evil. God finally had enough.
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When His Work Exceeds His Presence
“If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here” (Exodus 33:15). One of the great dangers in Christian service is to move from a presence-based work to operate purely on our natural skill. Once we become established in something, the daily maintenance can lead us into complacency until a
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Listening To The Father’s Heart
Son, sometimes your obedience will make life harder instead of easier. Life in the Kingdom is not a formula that will make life work in an orderly fashion. I do my greatest work in the haphazard daily grind of life. In the end, my purposes are accomplished in my order. But the process of walking
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God’s Recruitment Strategy for Leaders
“Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing.” Acts 9:8a When God calls one of His servants into service, there is often much travail. There are many examples where God makes His presence known through circumstances that tax the individual to his very soul. Consider Paul, who
