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As they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she came up to him, and said, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister left me to serve alone? Ask her therefore to help me.' Jesus answered her, 'Martha,...
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Now after the death of Moses the servant of Yahweh, Yahweh spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying, 'Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go across this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land which I am giving to them, even to the children of Israel. Joshua 1:1 WEBMoses the servant of the Lord. died at 120 years old and the Lord Himself buried him (Deuteronomy 34:6)....
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Now for a long time Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law. But when in their distress they turned to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. 2 Chronicles 15:3 WEBWe were happily driving towards our destination when I felt the car gradually getting lower on one side, and then the steering became sluggish. I pulled over to the side of the...
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David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her, and lay with her. She bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Yahweh loved him; and he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah, for Yahweh's sake. 2 Samuel 12:24 WEBDavid and Bathsheba were the talk of town. They had an affair while her husband Uriah was away serving in the military. She became pregnant, and David...
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Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26 NIVThe break room fell silent as I walked in to get some water. Though I was new there, I had learned that the normal topics were hangovers, sexual exploits, or who had the best drugs. The normal stream of profanity ceased when I...
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Galatians 6:14: May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
It can be subtle and or it can be blatant, but when it happens, we all know it. Good things happen in our lives and people start to take notice. Success begets success and the Lord is plentiful and abounding in prosperity,...
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While God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. Heb. 2:4 ESVOnce while in a band, I was witnessing to several people who were outside at a party. It was dark outside, I really felt the presence of the Holy Spirit show up, so I just went with it. Before long a few of the people started yelling, shouting and moving...
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Let's therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 WEBAccess to God was very limited before Jesus came. There was a thick curtain in the temple that separated the people from the Holy of Holies where God's presence dwelt. When Jesus hung on the cross and said, 'It is finished', this curtain was torn from...
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Sing to Yahweh a new song! Sing to Yahweh, all the earth. Sing to Yahweh! Bless his name! Proclaim his salvation from day to day! Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. Psalms 96:1 WEBI was so nervous when I took the microphone. At our church, the singers in our praise and worship team had failed to show up, and the rest elected me to lead them in praise that...
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Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I don't go away, the Counselor won't come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment; John 16:8 WEBThere I stood with my head down, too ashamed to look around me, and every fiber of my being telling me to run out of the door....
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“You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me” Luke 22: 28-29
It is so easy to worship and give God all the praise and glory when things are going good in our lives, for me I can’t seem to quit smiling and thanking him for all he has done specifically during those times. I am sure most can agree with this,...
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Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him. The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, 'This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.' Luke 15:1 WEBEveryone knows that Jesus came to save the lost sinner, and they were all drawn to Him like a magnet, but the religious establishment of the time grumbled about this constantly. If they had their way, the religious...
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But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; Isaiah 64:6 KJVAs the preacher looked over the congregation, pondering his next victim, I sank lower and lower in my chair. He always chose someone at random from the congregation to pray, so everyone tried to avoid making eye contact with him during this time. You would suddenly find everyone reading their Bible or...
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For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell. Acts 15:28 WEBAfter Jesus ascended to the Father and the gospel started to spread, gentiles (non Jewish people)...
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Yahweh, how my adversaries have increased! Many are those who rise up against me. Many there are who say of my soul, 'There is no help for him in God.' Selah. But you, Yahweh, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. Psalms 3:1 WEBDavid wrote these words while fleeing from his son Absalom, who plotted to kill David and become king in his place. Almost everyone that David...
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Yahweh says, 'You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers! Every man return to his house; for this thing is of me.' So they listened to Yahweh's words, and returned from going against Jeroboam. 2 Chronicles 11:4 WEBWhen Solomon the son of King David passed away, his son Rehoboam became the king of Israel. Then a servant of Solomon named Jeroboam, led a rebellion that divided the kingdom of...
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Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and Yahweh's glory filled the house. 2 Chronicles 7:1 WEBWhen the Israelites built the tabernacle and the altar under the guidance of Moses, God lit the fire (Leviticus 9:23). Then the priests were ordered to never let the flame go out. They were to put new wood on it each morning (Leviticus...
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Therefore Jesus answered them, 'Don't murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day. John 6:43 WEBI could see from the look on their face that if they could have just one wish granted in the entire world, that it would be for me to stop telling them about Jesus. At other times, I have seen people come to me of their own...
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Though I walk in the middle of trouble, you will revive me. You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies. Your right hand will save me. Yahweh will fulfill that which concerns me; your loving kindness, Yahweh, endures forever. Don't forsake the works of your own hands. Psalm 138:7 WEBThey say that if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. While this sounds strange, I have...
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I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Psalms 32:8 NIVRecently when the Lord was ready to start something new in our life, He started closing out the old. Of course we panicked, tried giving more, praying more, fasting more, serving more, but nothing helped. So we decided we would do this, but this turned out to be a dead end. Then...
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Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water. James 3:10 WEBOut of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring...
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The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh's sight, and forgot Yahweh their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth. Judges 3:7 WEBCenturies ago, when it was time to go to church, there was an excitement in the air, and no one wanted to stay home. It was a convenient religion. Baal was the god of materialism and money, while Asheroth was the god of sex and fertility. Molech was the...
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Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, 'Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border! May your hand be with me, and may you keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!' God granted him that which he requested. 1 Chronicles 4:10 WEBSome people that I have met are too ashamed to ask God for anything. They feel that they have messed up so bad in life that they are lucky to be on the...
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When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, and didn't know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?' She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.' Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' John 20:14 WEBMary and the disciples of Jesus thought...
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The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God's will remains forever. 1 John 2:17 WEBStanding in the parking lot, I felt like a fish out of water. Panic, fear, abandonment, hatred, and a few other strong emotions rolled over me as I watched her car drive away. It was my first day of school and I was dumped off in the parking lot at Kingston Elementary. Six years old, completely lost,...
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Eli perceived that Yahweh had called the child. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, 'Go, lie down. It shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, 'Speak, Yahweh; for your servant hears.' ' So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Yahweh came, and stood, and called as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' Then Samuel said, 'Speak; for your servant hears.' 1 Samuel 3:8-10 WEBSamuel was just a young boy laying...
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They went out from there, and passed through Galilee. He didn't want anyone to know it. For he was teaching his disciples, and said to them, 'The Son of Man is being handed over to the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, on the third day he will rise again.' But they didn't understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. Mark 9:30 WEBThe manager of the the office nodded...
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Now after the death of Moses the servant of Yahweh, Yahweh spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying, 'Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go across this Jordan, you, and all these people, to the land which I am giving to them, even to the children of Israel. I have given you every place that the sole of your foot will tread on, as I told Moses. Joshua 1:1 WEBPainful memories...
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Having then a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let's hold tightly to our confession. For we don't have a high priest who can't be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:14 WEBWhen kings of old passed through their towns, it was often with much pomp (splendid display and...
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He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, and shoes...