Paul spends most of these final two chapters discussing how different groups of people should behave. And then his last words, apart from the farewell at the very end, he talks to all believers about the spiritual warfare we are in, and how we can be ready for battle. Make no mistake, my friend. We…
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Have you ever sinned in such a way that you felt that God would be so disappointed in you that He would turn His back on you? Have you felt that you just couldn’t come to Him for forgiveness, because you knew, going in, that what you were about to do was sin, but you…
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Chapter 11 began with a message that would not come from an old, jaded, cynical Scrooge-type man. He started with the advice that you should be generous with those in need, because your giving is like a farmer sowing grain. It will yield a return. And if you have the ability now, you never know…
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As I read this today, my attention was drawn to the first couple of verses of chapter four, where Paul talked about how believers, Christians, should walk in unity. The scripture says, “I beseech you…” Do you understand what “beseech” means? It means to ask someone urgently and fervently to do something; to implore; to…
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Why do you suppose Saul was hiding among the equipment when it was time for the people to see who it was that God had chosen to be their king? Doesn’t that strike you as an odd thing for Saul to do at this particular time? So get the picture. Samuel has already anointed Saul’s…
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At the end of our last reading in Ecclesiastes, the end of chapter 8, Solomon had said that after setting his mind on understanding wisdom, after watching what happens here on earth, he concluded that it is impossible for man to understand it all. And this is coming from the wisest man that ever lived….
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The first couple of chapters here in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians are a wonderful restating of the Good News, the Gospel, the message of how a loving God made a way to save his beloved creation from an eternity of separation from Him. If you are ever in doubt, come and read and reread…
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If you’ve been listening to my podcasts for any length of time, you know how how important I think grace is. What a marvelous and awesome (in the true sense of the word) gift is grace. To receive forgiveness and favor from a righteous and holy God, not through my efforts at all, but because…
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I think that what we can take from Solomon’s teaching here in Ecclesiastes is that wisdom, money, power and everything else that man strives for does not bring happiness or understanding or peace. Solomon had it all. But at the end of his life he realized that what God does is far beyond man’s understanding….
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Paul’s biggest concern with the Galatian church was that some believed the teaching of some false teachers that it was necessary to follow the Mosaic Law, and he said something in chapter five, verses two through four that was very important. Here are those verses again: “I, Paul, promise you that Christ won’t do you…
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