The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
Tag Archives: Christian Living
Forgiven
In last week’s devotional there is a list of characteristics of who I am in Christ. I did not include forgiven because it is the basis on which every other characteristic depends. There are a number of related terms that the Bible uses with this characteristic – like propitiation, justification, and sanctification – and they are all components of God’s forgiveness. Propitiation is the reason for, justification…..
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Who I Am In Christ
This weekend we will be singing the song “Who You Say That I Am” (Reuben Morgan and Ben Fielding, Arr. Jay Rouse, Word Music), in choir at church. God used the words to begin my thought process about my identity in Christ as a believer:
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Trust and Obey
This week we found out that the two hotspots that showed up in Dan’s early September PET/CTscan were not cancerous. Between medical procedures and diagnostic tests related to events like this, there is always a lot of wait time. We’ve done this enough that we no longer engage in “what if” conversations and it seems these wait times have become just a normal part of…..
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Our Spiritual Heritage
When I was a senior in high school, I played the part of Captain Hook in the senior class skit for our Homecoming Pep Rally. Of course the audience booed when I entered, in the tradition of melodramas, because I was, after all, the bad guy. I had a mustache taped to my face and I made the red jacket with shiny gold buttons myself……
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Battle-Ready Promises
In John 16:33 Jesus states, “These things I have spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” What a delight it is to know that God’s promises are not just hot air. God gave them to us and He will accomplish them in our lives through our…..
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Clean Hands
When you pray, do you ever feel like the echo of your own voice is the only response? There are several factors that can hinder our prayers like this, two of which are sin and spiritual warfare.
Psalm 24:3-4 designates the conditions of holiness by which we are able to enter God’s presence in prayer: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall…..
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Forgiveness
After watching the movie “Overcomer” I found the Holy Spirit prompting me to consider my own unforgiving heart. It began with the drunk driver who caused the collision last summer and left me with a great deal of pain that continues to plague me. It included the Christian friend who revealed unrelenting hypocrisy in her blast at a perceived offense on my part. And it included the…..
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Discouraged?
There are times that I feel physically ill after reading syndicated news. It is disgusting to routinely hear about the abominable behavior of perverted people, the latest shenanigans of foul-mouthed politicians, and the rationalization of religious persecution. We do, indeed, live in a world full of evil and the Bible tells us that Christians will be persecuted (Jn. 15:20). But we belong to the Kingdom of God……
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Born Again, Part 3
To be born again entails faith that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection was the final and only sacrifice required for the remission of sins and the cleansing of all unrighteousness for those who believe. Setting aside the legalism of the “thou shalt nots” involved in how we should then live as born-again believers, we are called to take positive steps towards the obedience that…..
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Born Again, Part 2
Part of Jesus’ explanation of the term “born again” to Nicodemus included “He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). Paul forcefully reiterates this in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ…..