God’s glory

You Are My Credentials

“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.” – 2 Corinthians 3:2 The Apostle Paul was once asked, “What are your credentials?” Paul was appointed by God to found the hugely successful Church of Corinth. Corinth was a port city that incorporated beauty, wealth, and was multicultural. Within the culture of Corinth, many were formerly enslaved due to debt or war and rebuilt their lives; one was considered successful based on an individual’s ability or achievement, and this personal reconstruction allowed the society to thrive. Envision dog-eat-dog on one hand, but incredible wealth and success on the flip side by people who are determined, industrious, and entrepreneurial. In this climate, Paul learned quickly due to his humility he was not fully accepted. The church was embarrassed by his working trade and his inability to speak well by Roman standards. Yet Paul was very accomplished

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Creation Declares God’s Glory

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” – Romans 1:20 Did you know that the default for a human being is to believe in God? According to a recent Pew research study, 90 percent of Americans believe in God. However, I’m willing to bet that 100 percent of people in say, African jungles, believe in Him. Children believe in Him, too, until they’re taught not to. This is because our natural state is one of belief; it is built into us to look around in awe and understand that there must be a Maker — a Creator of all the glory that we perceive with our senses.  The world is full of the Lord’s glory; I believe we see it all around us all the time,

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God’s Glory is Declared Through Creation

“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.” – Romans 8:19 Did you know that it is human nature to believe in God? According to a recent Pew study, 90% of Americans believe in God. However, I’m prepared to guess that everyone in the jungles of Africa, for example, believes in Him. Children, too, believe in Him until they’re taught otherwise. This is because our natural state is one of belief; it is hardwired into us to look around in amazement and recognize that there must be a Creator of all the beauty we experience with our senses. The world is full of the Lord’s glory; I believe we see it all around us all of the time, and science is continuously discovering new aspects of creation’s wonder. Albert Einstein’s discovery that all matter is energy was one of the most important discoveries

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God Turns it Around for Good

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28 Well, here I go again with a lesson in history, but it’s always amazing to me how much we can learn by studying those who came before us. That said, today, I want to talk about Henry VIII, who was the King of England in the 1500’s. His first marriage was to a Catholic woman named Catherine of Aragon, and she was from Spain. As time went on, she was unable to bear him a son, and since having a male heir was the only way to ensure that his royal lineage would outlive him, he wanted the marriage annulled. He was certain that if he wed another woman, he would finally get his baby boy; the only problem was that in

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Divine Deliverance

“As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.” – 2 Chronicles 20:22,23 I love how the Lord always exceeds our expectations. We saw yesterday that Jehoshaphat and the Judean army set out to face a trio of rogue nations in a posture of worship. Having heard from the Holy Spirit that they would be granted victory over their enemies — something that seemed humanly impossible — they confidently took God at His Word, and boy, did He show up! Because ancient troops were like desert raiders who had the traits of pirates or Vikings, they were rough and

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The Fruit of the Spirit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22,23 The fruit of the Spirit is something that we talk a lot about, but what does it really mean? While much is written and theologized on the subject, I’m inclined to look at it more simply. First of all, the list of characteristics that Paul gives in Galatians do not define multiple fruits, but components of the same fruit. In other words, it’s one fruit that is multi-faceted and manifests in different ways. Some days love will be the dominant flavor, and other days, peace and gentleness will be primary, but all of them will be evident in some measure. In fact, the different characteristics crossover, and one tends to give rise to the others. This is why I’m leery of religious people

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He Has Anointed YOU!

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” – Isaiah 61:1 When we come to know Jesus, He imparts to us the call to proclaim good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, and share freedom with captives. And while this sounds overwhelming upon first hearing, the truth is that He has chosen us specifically for the job. In fact, He has anointed and set us apart to break spiritual strongholds and pass on divine power — the key is that we must believe it! We are equipped to do everything our Savior says we can do, because our anointing has nothing to do with our talents or training, but solely with His

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Something From Nothing

“As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’ He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.” – Romans 4:17 When we examine the story of Creation, it comes down to God making something out of nothing. Because He is the Beginning and the End, all power is in His hands, and He has the authority to call things that are not as though they are. While human beings are blessed with the ability to create in His image, we are bound to employ in our designs that which already exists. But this is not the case with our Heavenly Father — He is the originator of all. As people, our minds are finite and our thinking is limited to that which we can see and

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Build a Meaningful Life

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” – Colossians 3:1 As we welcome the second week of 2021, we continue to look ahead to the possibilities that a new year brings. Like Peter, we can become rock-solid in faith, because we were taken from the quarry of Jesus Christ. He is unshakable, powerful, and secure, and so are we when we build our lives on the foundation of His truth. Though many of us have experienced major challenges and setbacks in the past year, it’s imperative to remember that these very challenges are what the Lord uses to craft and chisel us into the masterpieces we’re to become. If we look at people like Moses, Abraham, and David,

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God’s Construction Project

“For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” – 1 Corinthians 3:9 Yesterday, we talked about how God’s temple is in us. To further expound on this thought, today, I want to share another analogy. Our experience last year may have made us a bit “trigger shy” when it comes to fully embracing what’s ahead. After all, none of us could have seen what was coming, and if we could have, we might not have set our expectations so high. However, as Christians, I don’t think there’s any compelling reason to pull back our hopes and dreams for 2021. Even if the coming months bring disappointment or loss, we can adopt an attitude of courageous faith which trusts that everything that happens is part of the Lord’s construction project in our lives. I love C.S. Lewis’ analogy in Mere Christianity in which he explains that

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