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Identity in Christ Knowing God

You Are Not Expendable

He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.  Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.  The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.  (Ps. 147:4-6 ESV) Do you ever feel like your life doesn’t matter, like you’re just an expendable character? When the […]

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Christian Life Knowing God Prayer Trusting God

When God Seems Slow to Answer

I’m an impatient cook. Taking it slow is not my modus operandi, so I don’t often simmer my meals in the crock pot. Instead, I prefer to zap my food in the microwave or boil it on the stove at a high temperature. This method usually works for heating leftovers. It’s fine for those who […]

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Knowing God Wonder

What Will You Behold?

“We become what we behold.”  William Blake “We are being transformed into His likeness by looking intently on who He is.” Ruth Chou Simons in Beholding and Becoming. In the middle of a tough season, when many are having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit, one of my friends has been radiant with newfound joy. […]

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Knowing God Wonder

Wander…and Wonder

“I wonder as I wander…” A traditional Appalachian ballad begins with those words. So simple, yet so poignant. “I wonder as I wander out under the sky…” Likewise, I’m inclined to wonder. Why did Jesus the Savior come to die for poor, ordinary (or ornery) people? Did you ever stop and really consider the wonder […]

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Hope Knowing God Peace

Quieter of our Souls

When you feel troubled, God is…the Quieter of our Souls The Lord your God is in your midst,    a mighty one who will save;he will rejoice over you with gladness;    he will quiet you by his love;he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV) When I was the mother of a newborn, I was always on […]

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Knowing God Peace

Finding Peace Amid Conflict

In a world full of conflict, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. (I’ve been studying the attributes of God—one for each letter of the alphabet—and discovering how knowing God’s character makes a difference in my life. This week I’m on P.) For to us a child is born,    to us a son is given;and the government shall […]

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Hope Knowing God Loneliness

When You’re Lonely, God is Omnipresent

When you’re lonely, remember God is… omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? (Psalm 139:7 ESV) God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Those are some fancy theological terms you can file under: Attributes of God. God knows all things, can do all things, and […]

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Hope Knowing God

In an Uncertain World, God is Never-Changing

When everything around you is changing, God is…Never-changing.  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 (ESV) God is not man, that he should lie,     or a son of man, that he should change his […]

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Knowing God

Feeling Undeserving? God is Merciful and Gracious

God is who he says he is, and God tells us he is merciful and gracious. I recently ran across a YouTube video from a 1970’s sitcom, Maude. The title character, a feisty woman with steel-gray hair and a sharp-tongue, famously berated others with the line: “God’ll get you for that.” And sometimes when I […]

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Knowing God

When You Want to Find Love…God Is Love

When you want to find love, God is Love. She sat alone on the playground bench, her little body slumped, her feet dangling, and her brown curls covering her face. I wondered what had caused my usually perky little student to feel so down. “Nobody wants to be my friend.” Then she glanced towards the […]