God’s promises

The Curse of Comparison

“Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.” – 2 Corinthians 10:12 (ESV) Because our lives are hidden with God in Christ, we’ve been granted protection from and authority over the enemy. In fact, as believers, we walk around in a cushion of grace that makes us impervious to the dominion or possession of darkness. Therefore, the way the devil tries to take us down is through the power of deception. By gaining a foothold in our thoughts, he causes us to turn against ourselves and keeps us paralyzed in fear. In fact, one of the most sinister and common ways in which he does this is through the curse of comparison. Especially in the age of social media, where people are always

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God’s Got the Power

“So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.” – Exodus 7:10-12 There’s an interesting account in the book of Exodus that took place after Moses and his brother Aaron were commissioned by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery. Having been oppressed and abused for 400 years by Egyptian officials, the Lord heard the cries of His people and put a plan into action to deliver them. He called Moses to guide them, and He appointed Aaron to be a prophet to speak on His behalf. Promising to

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Trust in the Lord

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5,6 Today, I have a word for those of you who feel trapped, stuck or frozen. It’s not a particularly profound or deep thought, but it’s worth repeating again and again — trust the Lord. I know the ongoing nature of the COVID situation has many feeling discouraged and wondering if there will ever be an end. Like everyone, I struggle with the mixed emotions of the whole thing, and as I pray, God keeps bringing me back to the truth that He is trustworthy because He is good. Even as we drill through, trying to do the right thing day after day, His Kingdom remains unshaken. His plan is not affected by earthly circumstances, and He is not

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Heavenly Happiness

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:3 As Christians, we hear the word “blessed” a lot, but we tend to lose sight of its actual meaning. When we read things like “blessed are the poor in spirit,” we imagine that the term denotes goodness, righteousness, or holiness when in reality, it refers to something that seems far less spiritual. In Hebrew, the word most often translated “blessed” is asher, and in Greek, it’s makarios. Both of these can be defined as “happy,” and they infer that blessed people are living the good life. Unfortunately, long-faced religion has taught that true discipleship is not synonymous with happiness…yet perhaps this is because our view of the latter is inaccurate. When we think of being happy, we often associate it with worldly pleasures — stuff, sensuality, wealth, and achievement — rather than the state

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Righteousness is Greater Than Regret

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13,14 Yesterday, we looked at how Paul considered all of his worldly accomplishments garbage compared to the gift of having Jesus as His Savior. Knowing that, I’m almost certain that his impassioned letter to the church at Philippi was, in part, a response to a past that he wasn’t proud of. Though his previous transgressions were repugnant to him, his encouragement to fellow believers was to forget what was behind, strain toward what was ahead, and press on. You see, while it sounds crude, Paul understood that the only way to escape the stench of trash was to move farther away from it, and this remains true in our lives today. No matter

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