Christian Living on Performance

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The Two Runners

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:33, Colossians 3:23, Psalm 39:6, Luke 12:15, Acts 15:29, Matthew 5:14-16, Ephesians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:62, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, James 1:12, Romans 8:16-17, Galatians 2:20

The true story of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, two British sprinters who qualified for the 1924 Olympic Games, illustrates two contrasting approaches to life and identity. Abrahams was driven by ...

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Playing for His Master

Author

Steven C. Roy

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:23-24, Galatians 1:10, 2 Corinthians 5:9, 1 Corinthians 4:3-4, Romans 12:1, John 12:43, Matthew 6:1

A story is told of a young violinist who lived in London many years ago. He was a superb musician. He loved his music and enjoyed playing before small groups of people in the homes of friends. But he ...

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When Success looks like Failure

Author

Donna Barber

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:19-21, Matthew 16:26, Philippians 3:7-8, Proverbs 16:8, Luke 12:15, Proverbs 23:4-5, Ecclesiastes 4:7-8

Sometimes our successes can be more devastating than our failures. We fight, strain, and struggle in pursuit of something or someone that looks to be good, and after days or months or years, we obtain...

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What Drives Success?

Author

Donald Miller

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Scripture

Matthew 6:25-34, Galatians 1:10, Philippians 2:3-4, Matthew 23:1-12, Romans 12:2

In his book, Scary Close , Donald Miller acknowledges that over time he developed a mask, or a persona that kept even those closest to him from experiencing with him. As he began to peel back layers ...

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Without Applause, I die

Author

Ryan P. Tinetti

Keywords

Scripture

James 3:16, 1 John 2:16, John 5:44, Matthew 6:1, Philippians 2:3

There’s undeniably a dark side to restless ambition, however. You can see it in dramatic fashion in the documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop , which follows the comedian on tour after he left the To...

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Lessons in Slowing Down: Grapes and A Ford Model-T

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:10, Mark 6:31, Psalm 23:1-3, Mark 1:35, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Matthew 6:28-29, Isaiah 30:15

One winter break in college, I was spending some time at a friend's house. This friend's father had recently purchased a Ford Model T and he was excited to take me for a spin. Now, If you’ve n...

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Almighty God, we take pride in our

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:24-26, Ephesians 4:1-3, Philippians 2:3-8, James 4:6, Psalm 82:3-4

Almighty God, we take pride in our self-sufficiency while we look down on the weak who cannot provide for themselves. We praise others for their efforts, yet we demand perfection from our own families...

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Author

Martin Luther

Keywords

Faith

Scripture

James 4:4, 1 Timothy 6:17, Matthew 6:24, Isaiah 26:3-4, Psalm 37:5

All those who do not at all times trust God and do not in all their works or sufferings, life and death, trust in His favor, grace and good-will, but seek His favor in other things or in themselves, d...

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Receive our Rejoicing, an Opening Prayer for Christ the King Sunday

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 11:15, Psalm 145:13, 1 Chronicles 29:11, Matthew 6:10, Psalm 96:10

Lord God, King of all Creation Ruler of planets and peoples Receive our rejoicing For your abiding presence and redemptive return Receive our shouts of gladness For your justice, your fairness, your...

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Grace Turns our World Upside Down

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:14-15, Colossians 1:13-14, Luke 6:37, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 4:16, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Romans 3:23-24

At the beginning to the musical Les Misérables , the lead character Jean Valjean is arrested by the police, with silver he has stolen from a kindly bishop who had given him shelter. Valjean is plainl...

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Lord of glory and honor – You are

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 1:9, Proverbs 3:5, Matthew 6:21, Colossians 1:20, Revelation 19:16

Lord of glory and honor – You are worthy of our worship and allegiance. You are Faithful and True. With authentic justice You judge the world, and each of us in it. You’re the Word of God – made fles...

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Heavenly Father, we confess that in our pursuit

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:25-34, Luke 12:22-32, James 4:8, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Psalm 115:1, Romans 12:2

Heavenly Father, we confess that in our pursuit of good, we often miss opportunities to bring you honor and glory. We try to address our shortcomings by compensating for them, rather than by orienting...

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Masks and Ministry

Author

Mark Meynell

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:20, Matthew 6:6-8, Matthew 15:7-9, Titus 1:16, Proverbs 26:24-26, Romans 12:9

The ancient Greek word for actor was hypocritēs (ὑποκρῐτής), which, at first, only implied someone who explained or interpreted something. But by New Testament times, it was more negative. It suggest...

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Giving Away Lobsters

Author

John C. Maxwell

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 13:16, Matthew 6:19-21, Proverbs 11:25, Luke 6:38, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Acts 20:35

My friend James Crocker, a successful entrepreneur, recently shared a story with me…James and a few of his friends went out on a boat trip to fish for lobsters and had succeeded in gathering a massive...

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Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:1

The Christian who cares only for God’s approval lives free of the tyranny of conformist pressures, relaxed under the steady direction of the God who loves us and gives himself for us. Those who try to...

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Good morning, Father

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 4:6-7, Luke 15:11-32, Matthew 6:19-21, Psalm 51:10-12, James 4:8, 1 John 1:9

Prayer of Adoration Good morning, Father. While we slept last night – You were awake, sustaining our world, protecting us and readying a new day. Jesus – You hold us in the palms of Your hands: str...

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Author

Jerry Bridges

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:2-3, Colossians 3:12-13, Matthew 6:14-15, Luke 6:37, 2 Peter 3:9, Psalm 103:8, 1 Timothy 1:16

Every day God patiently bears with us, and every day we are tempted to become impatient with our friends, neighbors, and loved ones. And our faults and failures before God are so much more serious tha...

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Author

Craig L. Blomberg

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Scripture

Matthew 6:null

In this context (Matthew 6)…storing up treasures focuses particularly on the compassionate use of material resources to meet others’ physical and spiritual needs, in keeping with the priorities of God...

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Author

Henry David Thoreau

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 6:6-8 , Haggai 1:5-7 , Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 , Luke 10:38-42 , Matthew 6:19-21 , Psalm 127:1-2

It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about?

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Author

Thornton Wilder

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 12:34, Matthew 13:44, Matthew 6:21

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.

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Settling Accounts

Author

William E. Brown

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:8-9, Matthew 6:33-34, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 37:25-26, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Galatians 6:9

The story is told of a farmer in a Midwestern state who had a strong disdain for “religious” things. As he plowed his field on Sunday morning, he would shake his fist at the church people who passed b...

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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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Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 16:9, James 4:13-15, Matthew 6:34, Ecclesiastes 3:1

The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life—the life God is sending one day by day.

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The Big and Little Choices

Author

Michael Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 16:9, Psalm 37:23-24, Isaiah 30:21, Luke 16:10, Matthew 6:34, Ecclesiastes 9:11

The pioneering work of Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky has been popularized in recent years by the gamut of notable thinkers, including Malcolm Gladwell (Blink) and, in this cas...

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Author

George Bernard Shaw

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 37:4, Proverbs 13:13, Ecclesiastes 1:14, James 4:3, Matthew 6:33, Jeremiah 17:9

There are two tragedies in lie. One is not to get your heart’s desire. The other is to get it.

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Enough

Author

John C. Bogle

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:33, Ecclesiastes 4:6, Proverbs 30:8-9, Psalm 23:1, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Timothy 6:6-8, Philippians 4:11-12

At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, has made more money in a single day than Heller had earned fro...

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Showing People Louis

Author

Mike Cosper

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:7, Matthew 6:1, John 12:43, Galatians 1:10, Philippians 2:3

In his excellent book, Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World , Mike Cosper shares a short vignette about the comedian Louis C.K.* Louis CK tells fans he meets in pu...

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Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Keywords

Forgiveness

Scripture

Colossians 3:13, Ephesians 4:31-32, Matthew 6:14-15, Luke 6:37, Mark 11:25, Proverbs 19:11

Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.

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Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 18:21-22, John 21:15-17, Matthew 18:21-35, 1 John 1:9, Colossians 3:13, Matthew 6:14-15, Ephesians 4:32

Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all people love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour increasingly. That is th...

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The Sharpshooter

Author

Source Unknown

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:33, Philippians 3:13-14, Isaiah 49:1-2, 1 Corinthians 9:26, Proverbs 12:2

Some years ago an army sharpshooter was visiting a small town. He was surprised to find bull’s-eyes with bullet holes in the exact center all throughout the village. “Someone or some one’s here must b...

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