Christian Living on Wilderness

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Without an Outlet

Author

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 9:6-8, 1 Peter 4:10, Philippians 2:12-13, 1 Timothy 4:8, Galatians 5:6, Matthew 5:16, James 2:17

Just as our bodies need exercise to be strong physically, our faith needs exercise if we are to be strong spiritually. It has often been noted that several rivers flow into the Dead Sea, but no river ...

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Your Cell Will Teach You Everything

Author

Thomas Merton

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:10, 1 Kings 19:9-18, Matthew 5:5-15, Daniel 3:19-27, Exodus 13:21-22, Mark 1:35-39, Luke 5:16, Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Genesis 32:24-30, Psalm 62:1, Hosea 2:14, Habakkuk 2:1, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Isaiah 26:3

A certain brother went to Abbot Moses in Scete, and asked him for a good word. And the Elder said to him: Go, sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything. An elder said: The monk’s ce...

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Flourishing Faith in Persecuted Places

Author

Tom Nelson

Keywords

Scripture

Daniel 6:16-23, Jeremiah 29:4-7, Genesis 39:20-23, Acts 16:25-34, Matthew 5:10-12 , Psalm 23:4

On Christmas Eve in Tehran, house-church pastor Farshid Fatah and his family were awakened to the frightening sounds of the Iranian security police pounding at their door. After the police searched hi...

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Go in the peace of Christ that is

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:7-10, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Matthew 5:9, Mark 4:35-41, Philippians 4:7, Isaiah 26:3, 1 Kings 17:8-16

Go in the peace of Christ that is beyond our understanding, and plant this peace by word and deed in this world of turmoil and uncertainty, depending on that all-sufficient grace. Amen.

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Jesus did not wait for people to come

Author

Cody Sandahl

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 8:26-40, Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 19:1-10, John 4:1-26, Romans 10:14, Matthew 5:14-15

Jesus did not wait for people to come to him. He went out and delivered the grace of God. As we go out of this place today, may we deliver the grace of God wherever we go as well. Amen.

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We ask you, Lord and master, to be our

Author

Clement of Rome

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:1, Matthew 5:3-4, Isaiah 61:1, James 4:10, Psalm 145:14

We ask you, Lord and master, to be our help and support. Save those in trouble; have mercy on the humble; raise the fallen; reveal yourself to the needy; heal the ungodly; return the wanderers of your...

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Author

John Eldredge

Keywords

Healing

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1, Revelation 21:4, Jeremiah 31:9, Psalm 6:6, James 5:16, Matthew 5:4

A wound that goes unacknowledged and unwept is a wound that cannot heal.

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All: Gracious God, you promise that

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12, John 1:, Psalm 27:, Isaiah 9:2, Psalm 119:105, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 60:1, Matthew 5:14-16

All: Gracious God, you promise that your light drowns out darkness, yet the darkness is so persistent. We cannot see in front of us, so we look to our own knowledge and ways. Forgive us for turning to...

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Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:3

Self-made and self-sufficient people live in a fantasy world, empty of the reality of God. In contrast, the poor in spirit are deeply aware of being God-made and God-sufficient:

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Author

Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 113:7-8, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Luke 1:52-53, Matthew 11:25, Luke 6:20, Matthew 5:3, James 2:5

The claim here is not that the poor are inherently more righteous or sanctified than the rich. There is no place in the Bible that indicates that poverty is a desirable state or that material things a...

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This Intention

Author

William Law

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:23-24, Matthew 6:33, Psalm 90:12, Romans 12:1-2, Philippians 3:13-14, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Proverbs 16:3, Revelation 2:10, Matthew 5:10-12, Philippians 1:27, Acts 2:42

It was this…intention that made the primitive Christians such eminent instances of piety, that made the goodly fellowship of the Saints and all the glorious army of martyrs and confessors. And if you ...

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Author

Bette Dickinson

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:8-11, Matthew 5:3, Philippians 2:6-8, Isaiah 57:15, Micah 5:2

The shepherds show us that we don’t prepare to receive the king of heaven the same way we prepare to meet the celebrities of our day, through earthly displays of showiness. In fact, receiving our King...

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When Faith Grew but Evangelism Failed

Author

Don Everts and Doug Schaupp

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 1:16, Colossians 4:5-6, Matthew 5:14-16, 1 Corinthians 4:10

I can remember that afternoon as if it were yesterday. I (Doug) was standing out in the middle of the green grass of the quad on campus, singing as loudly as I could. Twenty of my Christian friends an...

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You, oh Christ, are the Kingdom of

Author

Symeon the New Theologian

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 1:13-14, Revelation 21:1-4, John 2:1-11, Revelation 19:9, John 4:14, Matthew 5:5, John 6:35

You, oh Christ, are the Kingdom of Heaven; You, the land promised to the gentle; You the grazing lands of paradise; You, the hall of the celestial banquet; You, the ineffable marriage chamber; You the...

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Author

Desmond Tutu

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:14, Romans 14:17, Matthew 5:9, Zechariah 7:9-10, Psalm 85:10, Amos 5:24

There is no peace in Southern Africa. There is no peace because there is no justice. There can be no real peace and security until there be first justice enjoyed by all the inhabitants of that beautif...

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Author

Lois Barrett

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:9, James 3:18, Romans 14:17, Jeremiah 22:3, Zechariah 8:16-17, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 32:17

Shalom envisions the full prosperity of a people of God living under the covenant of God’s demanding care and compassionate rule. In the prophetic vision, peace such as this comes hand in hand with ju...

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Rescuing His Pursuer

Author

Ronald A. Wells

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:8, John 13:1-17, Acts 7:54-60, Luke 23:34, 1 Peter 2:21-23, Romans 12:20-21, Matthew 5:43-44

In sixteenth-century Holland, the Mennonites were outlawed and, when caught, often executed. One of them, Dirk Willens, was being chased across an icefield when his pursuer broke through and fell in. ...

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Almighty God, too often we settle for

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:18, Psalm 51:10, Isaiah 1:17, James 2:13, Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:6

Almighty God, too often we settle for brokenness in our lives. Rather than offering forgiveness, we hold onto offense. Rather than pursuing justice, we turn away . Rather than offering mercy, we c...

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Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

James 3:18, Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:9, Isaiah 1:16-17, Proverbs 16:7

Peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice.

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Author

Bryan Stevenson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 57:15, Matthew 5:3, Matthew 5:7, 2 Corinthians 12:9, James 4:6, Micah 7:18

There is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy. When you experienc...

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Author

Christine Langley-Obaugh

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 31:19, Colossians 3:13, Matthew 5:23-24, Isaiah 1:18, Proverbs 28:13, James 5:16

We repeat what we don’t repair.

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Author

Tertullian

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 8:24-25, Hebrews 10:23, Psalm 27:13-14, Lamentations 3:25-26

Hope is patience with the lamp lit.

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Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Keywords

Healing

Scripture

Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:15, Proverbs 15:1, James 3:18, 1 Peter 3:9, Isaiah 2:4, Matthew 5:9

Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and enobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.

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Author

J. Richard Middleton

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:34-40, Acts 2:42-47, Matthew 21:12-13, Luke 10:25-37, Romans 12:2, Matthew 5:13-16

To focus our expectation in an otherworldly salvation has the potential to dissipate our resistance to societal evil and the dedication needed to work for the redemptive transformation of this world.

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The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

Author

John R. W. Stott

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:5, James 4:6-10, Matthew 23:12, Luke 14:11, Judges 7:

These ‘meek’ people, Jesus added, ‘shall inherit the earth’. One would have expected the opposite. One would think that ‘meek’ people get nowhere because everybody ignores them or else rides roughshod...

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Author

D. L. Moody

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:2, 1 Peter 1:15-16, Matthew 5:14-16, Ephesians 5:8, Philippians 2:14-15, 1 Timothy 4:12, 2 Corinthians 7:1

A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine.

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Tears & The Kingdom of God

Author

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:7, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Matthew 5:4, Luke 6:21, James 4:8-10

Traditional Eastern Orthodox theology asserts that tears cleanse, renew and make way for the kingdom. When sin and the brokenness of the world give rise to godly sorrow, our hearts soften toward God a...

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Jesus, we receive your blessings and

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Scripture

Psalm 51:10, Ephesians 4:23-24, 2 Samuel 12:1-14, John 7:37-38, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 5:3-4, Psalm 51:10

Jesus, we receive your blessings and pray for the Holy Spirit to make them real in our lives. Renew a right spirit within us, a poor spirit, a spirit that knows our deep need of your grace and deliver...

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Author

Esau McCaulley

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:1-21, Matthew 5:16, Luke 6:20-21, Matthew 25:34-36, Mark 12:41-44

Yes, we mark our heads with ashes—public shows of piety are not in themselves evil. But we must guard our motivations and do most of our spiritual work in private, because the privacy of those acts re...

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Live out your faith this week by doing

Author

Bud Thoreen

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:16, 1 Peter 4:10, Matthew 5:16, James 2:17

Live out your faith this week by doing good deeds, God is with you.

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