Christian Living on Adaptability

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The Evolution of the Rose

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 52:8, John 15:1-10, Ephesians 2:19-22, Romans 11:11-24, 1 Peter 2:9-10

A couple years ago I got to take a tour of the Huntington Library in Pasadena, California. The name is a bit misleading because what they are most known for are there amazing gardens. And so we were o...

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Author

T. B. Joshua

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 121:1-2, John 15:5, James 4:10, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 55:22, Philippians 4:19

True humility means total dependence on God for everything.

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A Reservoir or a Canal?

Author

Bernard of Clairvaux

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 23:5, John 7:38, John 15:5, 2 Corinthians 9:8

The man who is wise, therefore, will see his life as more like a reservoir than a canal. The canal simultaneously pours out what it receives; the reservoir retains the water till it is filled, then di...

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Grace for the Long Road of Obedience

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

Titus 2:11-12, Hebrews 12:1-2, Philippians 1:6, John 21:15-19, Exodus 16:, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, John 15:1-8

Grace is not only needed for the occasion of conversion, the moment we suddenly (or slowly) come to our senses and realize that we are spiritually bankrupt, having nothing to bring to God and everythi...

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Author

Richard J. Foster

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18, John 15:4-5, Romans 12:2, Titus 3:5, 2 Corinthians 5:17

The needed change within us is God's work, not ours. The demand is for an inside job, and only God can work from the inside. We cannot attain or earn this righteousness of the kingdom of God: it i...

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Adapted from John and Ephesians

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:26, John 16:15, 1 John 2:1, Ephesians 2:null, Philippians 2:13, Titus 3:5

The Spirit of truth has been given to a people who lacked truth. The Advocate has been sent. We who were once without life have been given new life. For it is by grace we have been saved through faith...

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The Maturation Process of the Soul

Author

Ronald Rohlheiser

Keywords

Scripture

Malachi 3:2-3, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Proverbs 17:3, Psalm 66:10-12, Isaiah 48:10, John 15:1-2

The human soul is like a fine wine that needs to ferment in various barrels as it ages and mellows. The wisdom for this is written everywhere, in nature, in scripture, in spiritual traditions, and in ...

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The Newspaper Ad

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:18-20, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Luke 14:27-28, Revelation 2:10, Philippians 1:29, Hebrews 11:35-38

Early in the 20th century a London newspaper carried an advertisement that read: “Men wanted for hazardous darkness, and constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success...

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Gracious God, We build walls to protect

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 73:25-26, John 15:15, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 3:8-9, Isaiah 55:8-9, Psalm 37:5

Gracious God, We build walls to protect ourselves, but it leads to isolation. We make independence the highest value, instead of complete dependence on You. Forgive us for our inability to surrender e...

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Oaks of Righteousness

Author

Alan Fadling

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:3, Jeremiah 17:7-8, Psalm 1:3, John 15:5, Galatians 5:22-23, Colossians 2:6-7, Hebrews 6:12

In his excellent book, An Unhurried Life, Alan Fadling contrasts our overly busy lives with a vision of the kingdom from Isaiah chapter 61: Isaiah envisioned a kingdom in which those people in need ...

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Author

Brennan Manning

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 23:39-43, John 21:15-19, Luke 15:11-32, Acts 9:1-22, John 15:5

Living by grace inspires a growing consciousness that I am what I am in the sight of Jesus and nothing more.

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The Origin of the Word “Abide”

Author

J. I.Packer and Carolyn Nystrom

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:1-17, 1 John 2:3-6, Matthew 6:6-8, Philippians 1:6, John 15:1-10

Abide is an old English word for “remain,” “stay steady” and “keep your position.” What it means to abide in Christ—that is, always to be resting on him, anchored to him, fixed in him, drawing from hi...

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Father, as adults, we can fool

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 136:1, Matthew 19:13-15, 1 John 4:9-10, Mark 10:21, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 15:5, Psalm 121:1-2

Father, as adults, we can fool ourselves into being quite self-sufficient. Yet, You have called us to be precariously dependent upon You. When we see how Jesus welcomes the little children, we can als...

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Digging Down Deep

Author

Bianca Juarez Olthoff

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:5, Proverbs 12:3, Isaiah 61:3, Matthew 13:5-6, Ephesians 3:17-19

I’m more of an aboveground type of girl, as in, I like the stuff you can see. Flowers, trees, and vegetation symbolize life, growth, and transformation. The problem with focusing on external manifesta...

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Wherever Help is Needed

Author

B. B. Warfield

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:13, Romans 12:1, Matthew 10:39, 1 John 3:16, Ephesians 5:25

While written well over a century ago, this excerpt (from the great Princeton theologian) B.B. Warfield’s sermon “imitating the Incarnation continues to inspire the kind of life Christ calls us to: ...

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A Deeper Faith

Author

Bob Goff

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30, Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 John 3:18, Romans 12:15, John 15:12-13, James 5:16, Galatians 6:2

In his introduction to Scott Sauls’ Book, Irresistable Faith, Bob Goff tells a story about a summer adventure hitchhiking across New England, which would ultimately lead to staying with a hermit in Ma...

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Full, Full Nets

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:12-23, Mark 1:14-20, Luke 5:1-11, John 15:16, Luke 5:4-6

Jesus, You call us from what we know to something new From a life on this sea with this family From the nets of generations before us You call us to a new beginning A new being and doing You call us ...

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Control Issues

Author

M. Robert Mulholland Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 16:9, Jeremiah 29:11, John 15:1-27, Proverbs 3:5-6, Galatians 2:20, Matthew 6:25-34

In their excellent book Invitation to a Journey , M. Robert Mulholland and Ruth Haley Barton describe the foundation of life as being spiritual in nature. This means we are constantly be “formed” s...

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A Literal Kind of Following

Author

Keri Wyatt Kent

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:null

A rabbi’s followers, known as his talmidim in Hebrew, went everywhere with him, not just to hang on his every word and learn theology from him. They followed him everywhere so that they could mimic wh...

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Finding the Right Pastoral Work–Life Balance: A Few Unbalanced Thoughts

Author

Dan Baumgartner

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:null

I might not be the best person to be writing this. After an eleven-year career in business in my twenties and early thirties, I’ve been an ordained pastor now for nearly twenty-seven years. There are...

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Sacrificial Courage

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:13, Esther 4:14-16, John 10:11-15, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Romans 12:1, Hebrews 13:16, Ruth 1:16-17, Luke 10:30-37, Matthew 25:40, Psalm 82:3-4

A truly remarkable example of sacrificial courage took place in Folsom, New Mexico, in 1908. When a flood was racing toward the valley, a resident from the hills warned a local woman, S. J. Brooks, th...

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Author

Eugene Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:11, John 15:5, Philippians 4:19, John 6:1-14, Luke 11:5-9, Psalm 34:10, 2 Corinthians 12:9

When we listen to and follow Jesus, who lived in continual dependence on his Father, we become convinced of our poverty as men and women. We realize our absolute neediness. We are all beggars. Father ...

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I Know the Way Out

Author

James K. A. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, John 15:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Job 2:11, Proverbs 17:17

I can’t help but recall here a scene from The West Wing. White House chief of staff Leo McGarry reaches out to his deputy, Josh Lyman, who is struggling with PTSD. Leo tells him a parable: This guy’...

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If You Need Anything…

Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

Contentment

Scripture

John 15:5, Hebrews 13:5, Luke 10:41-42, Psalm 23:1, 1 Timothy 6:6-8, Matthew 6:19-21, Philippians 4:11-13

Philip Yancey writes of a spiritual seeker who interrupted his busy, acquisitive life to spend a few days in a monastery. “I hope your stay is a blessed one,” said the monk who showed him to his simpl...

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Author

Eugene Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 9:1-19, Luke 23:39-43, Luke 18:9-14, Matthew 19:16-22, John 15:5, Romans 3:20

We can't save ourselves by pulling on our bootstraps, even when the bootstraps are made of the finest religious leather.

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Author

John Stott

Keywords

The Kingdom of God

Scripture

Matthew 28:20, Philippians 2:12-13, John 15:14, James 1:22, 1 Samuel 15:22, Luke 6:46

Greatness in the kingdom of God is measured in terms of obedience.

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Sticking With One Another

Author

Thomas G. Long

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:3-7, Deuteronomy 31:8, Psalm 23:4, Galatians 6:2, Philippians 2:7-8, Romans 12:15, John 15:13

Robert Wuthnow told a story about a man named Jack Casey, who worked as a member of an ambulance rescue squad. When he was a child, Jack had oral surgery - five teeth pulled. The little guy was terrif...

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Heavenly Father, we confess that we are not always

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 64:8, 2 Corinthians 4:7, John 15:5, Matthew 13:1-23, Luke 10:25-37, John 6:1-14, Luke 1:26-38, Acts 10:

Heavenly Father, we confess that we are not always able, willing, and ready to be vessels of your work. Thank you for the times that you cultivate our receptive hearts and fruitful hands. In your abun...

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Returning to Joy

Author

Cyd and Geoff Holsclaw

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 12:3, Isaiah 41:10, John 15:11, Romans 15:13, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Ideally, when a baby is born into a healthy family, she is received with gladness. Her parents look on her with delight and the baby responds with joy. The baby is wanted—is loved. Her parents will ma...

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Author

Paul Chappell

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:1-11

No fewer than eight times in this passage [John 15:1-11] He tells His disciples, “Abide in Me.” “Remain with Me.” “Settle down into a relationship with Me.” “Let it be normal and natural that we would...

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