Christian Living on Mistakes

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Author

Jamie Dimon

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Scripture

Isaiah 1:18, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Romans 3:23-24, Psalm 32:5, Acts 3:19, Proverbs 28:13

We know mistakes were made.

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Gracious God, sometimes I think that I

Author

Mark D. Roberts

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Gracious God, sometimes I think that I can figure out all the consequences of my decisions. I can become overly impressed with what I perceive to be my strategic vision and analysis. Forgive me for my...

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Help me, I pray, to be someone who

Author

Mark D. Roberts

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Help me, I pray, to be someone who tells the truth, even when that truth has to do with my mistakes, my sins. Help me see myself and my actions clearly. Give me the courage to admit when I’ve done wro...

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Weighing the Options

Author

Bits and Pieces

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 4:8, Romans 12:17-18, Ephesians 4:2, Matthew 7:3-4, James 1:19

Many years ago a senior executive of the then Standard Oil Company made a wrong decision that cost the company more than $2 million. John D. Rockefeller was then running the firm. On the day the news ...

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Author

Al Bernstein

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Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction.

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Loving father, there are times when it

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:9, Galatians 6:4, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:8

Loving father, there are times when it feels like we never get it right. We compare ourselves to others and we don’t measure up. It seems like we can never get our act together and live up to the stan...

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The Controversial Cookies

Author

Reader’s Digest

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:1-2, John 7:24, Proverbs 18:2, James 4:11-12, 1 Corinthians 4:5, Proverbs 21:2, Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:12-13

A traveler, between flights at an airport, went to a lounge and bought a small package of cookies. Then she sat down and began reading a newspaper. Gradually, she became aware of a rustling noise. Fro...

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The Origins of Hocus Pocus

Author

Mike Cosper

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Why worship in our native language? Well, for one thing, it can keep people from distorting the Christian faith into a superstition: In one stream of church history, this can help explain worshipi...

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Prayer of Adoration Gracious God – our

Author

Richard Herman

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Prayer of Adoration Gracious God – our Father: Sufficient and sovereign, yet, compassionate and kind; You tell us the truth while the world lies to us; You give us light and hope, while all around u...

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The Well-Intentioned Couple and the Vagabond

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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When I was in college I sometimes visited Bel Air Presbyterian Church, as did many of my friends. At that time Bel Air was known for being a place celebrities liked to visit. (This was not my favorite...

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Forgive us our Mattresses

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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While countless children grew up reciting the Lord’s Prayer, it is somewhat unsurprising to learn that many didn’t exactly have the words correct. In an article by Ann Landers of the Chicago Tribune, ...

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Author

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 4:3-10 , 1 Samuel 15:13-24 , Isaiah 29:13-15 , Luke 18:9-14, James 2:10-13 , Psalm 32:3-5

We readily confess our little faults in order to suggest that we have no big ones.

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The Importance of the Prefrontal Cortex

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The prefrontal cortex is responsible for the success of the human species. It enables us to learn from our mistakes and make plans. When the PFC is healthy, we behave consistently in ways that enable ...

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Author

B. F. Skinner

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A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.

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Author

Gerhard von Rad

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 11:33, 1 Corinthians 1:25, Psalm 111:10, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Proverbs 2:6, James 1:5

The search for knowledge can go wrong, not as a result of individual, erroneous judgments or of mistakes creeping in at different points, but because of one single mistake at the beginning… Faith does...

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Author

Colin Powell

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There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.

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Inspired from Above

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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The British poet and dramatist Alfred Austin was sometimes criticized for grammatical mistakes in his works. Austin pardoned himself saying, “I dare not alter these things; they come to me from above....

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The Ancestry of Jesus

Author

Nancy Guthrie

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 1:1-6, Luke 5:31-32, Matthew 9:12-13, Matthew 5:3, Galatians 3:26-28

We find hope in the ancestry of Jesus that no matter what we’ve done or where we come from, we too can be included in Jesus’ family. Jesus does not look for people who are perfect and have never faile...

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Trust Is the Currency of Evangelism

Author

Don Everts and Doug Schaupp

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:34-35, 2 Corinthians 1:12, 1 Thessalonians 2:8, 1 Peter 3:15-16, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Trust is sweet. It is better than gold. Trust is always a gift of the heart, and therefore it just may be the most precious thing in life, next to love. Trust between two people is so valuable and pre...

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Spiritual Food Belongs in the Heart

Author

Dane C. Ortlund

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 23:25-26, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Colossians 2:6-7, Jeremiah 31:33

Spiritual nourishment cannot be seen purely in our outward behavior. The process of sanctification is a deeply internal process. Outside growth is merely a symptom, and acting better does not mean our...

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Why Get Out of Bed? Because of Love

Author

Alan Noble

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:, Ruth 1:16-18, 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, Luke 10:25-37, 1 Kings 19:1-18, Matthew 26:36-46, Isaiah 41:10

Adapted from Ch 4 of On Getting out of Bed. Why is Existence Good? Living for the sake of living—doing things so that you can continue to efficiently do things—begs the question, Why live? To live...

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God of hope and anticipation—who’s

Author

Richard Herman

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God of hope and anticipation—who’s constant in love and with us always and everywhere: We need you! ...For we do nothing of value on our own. We need you to heal—because we can’t do it. Please make...

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Heavenly Father We confess before you

Author

Jacob Traeger

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Heavenly Father We confess before you and before one another that we do not always trust your goodness. We are worried about losing control of our lives, and we are scared of what taking up our cros...

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God of wonder and strength, compassion,

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Psalm 121:1-2, Isaiah 41:10, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 11:28-30, Mark 4:35-41

God of wonder and strength, compassion, grace and love–all of which we see revealed through the power of a storm and its aftermath: You’re so big–and we’re so small. Your might is unlimited–ours is fi...

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Truth in the Pulpit: Why Intellectual Integrity Matters for Pastors

Author

William Rowley

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While sexual sin, financial scandals, and toxic work environments hurt pastoral credibility, a more subtle, and probably more common danger is carelessness with the truth. Intellectual integrity matte...

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Finding the Right “Fit”: Clothing Ourselves with Christ-Like Behavior

Author

Gary Thomas

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:12

I am among the minority of people who are hardwired (genetic science now demonstrates this) to loathe cilantro. I can’t stand it. I call it the adolescent of herbs: notice me, notice me, NOTICE ME! To...

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Grace and Karma and Bono

Author

Bono

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 15:11-32, Ephesians 2:8-9, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 15:10, Psalm 103:10

In the book Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas, U2’s Bono does a great job describing God’s grace. After describing how the concept of karma is central to many religions, Bono explains how karm...

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Service over Glory

Author

Chris Stroup

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When Pearl Harbor was bombed, one of the Americans who volunteered to serve his country was Bob Feller. Bob was a 23-year-old pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, a phenomenon who had already pitched a ...

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End of Construction, Thank you for your Patience

Author

Billy Graham

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My wife, Ruth…was one of those who could lighten heavy hearts, especially mine. I will never forget when she announced what she wanted engraved on her gravestone, and for those who have so respectfull...

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Adolescence and the Pings, Not Pong

Author

Craig Detweiler

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Adolescents have been offered a license to post without any accompanying ethical framework. Is it fair to blame teens for misusing tools that didn’t exist in our childhood? If I had been given a phone...

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