Faith and Work on Straying From God

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Psalm 73:2–3, 16–17, Romans 9:20, Matthew 20:1–16 , Job 3:23–26, Exodus 5:22–23, Jonah 4:1–4

It is wicked to wrong God; but still worse to think oneself wronged by God. And men and women think this oftener than one would suppose.

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Author

H.H. Farmer

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Genesis 4:1-16 , Jonah 1:3, Proverbs 1:20-33, Acts 9:1-19, Romans 1:18-32, Psalm 1:1-6

If you go against the grain of the universe, you get splinters.

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The Hound of Heaven

Author

Max Lucado

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Jonah 1:1-4, Genesis 3:8-9, Hosea 3:1, Luke 15:4-7, Psalm 139:7-10, Acts 9:3-6

In 1890 Francis Thompson, a Roman Catholic poet, described God as “The Hound of Heaven”: I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him,...

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Inspired by Proverbs 15:1-16

Author

Dustin Ray

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Proverbs 15:1-16

Pastor: O wise and wonderful God, in our quick temper and selfish pride, we have not followed your example—you are slow to anger, abounding in love, and show steadfast faithfulness to your children. ...

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The Sin of Doing the Wrong Job

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Arthur F. Miller Jr. and Bill Hendricks

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Matthew 25:14-30, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Proverbs 16:3, Colossians 3:23-24, 1 Corinthians 7:17, Romans 12:6-8

Does God take our work seriously? Consider these words from Arthur F. Miller: It is wrong, it is sin, to accept or remain in a position that you know is a mismatch for you. Perhaps that’s a form of ...

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Excluding Sinners is Excluding God

Author

Brennan Manning

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Luke 19:7, Matthew 21:31, John 1:11, Luke 7:34, Mark 2:17

There is a story of a public sinner who was excommunicated and forbidden from entering the church, He took his woes to God. "They won't let me in, Lord, because I am a sinner." "W...

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Gracious God, we confess that we do not

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Austin D. Hill

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Gracious God, we confess that we do not always listen to your calling for us. Instead we carry on with our busy lives, not being mindful of your voice, calling us to live for more than ourselves. Plea...

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Author

Stephen W. Smith

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Matthew 16:26

We can prostitute our very souls in our attempts to be successful. We can sell out, cave in and go morally bankrupt chasing the god of success. Knowing this perilous potential, Jesus himself warns us ...

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Spiritual Battles on the Journey of Faith

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

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Genesis 3:1–7, 1 Kings 3:5–12, Daniel 1:8–17, Matthew 4:1–11, 2 Corinthians 1:13–15, Psalm 119:105

While I am not one to see a demon behind every bush or spiritual warfare in every difficulty, the fact is that we are regularly engaged in the struggle against good and evil—whether we know it or not....

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Adapted from the Parable of the Sower

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Dustin Ray

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Matthew 13:18-23, Jeremiah 17:8, Colossians 3:16, Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 119:11

Pastor: “Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what wa...

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Not All Who Wander are Lost

Author

Travis Dickinson

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Exodus 3:1-15, Genesis 12:1-9, Job 1:42, Psalm 139:, Acts 9:1-19

In the novel The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien, there is a poem called the “Riddle of Strider.” One stanza goes like this: All that is gold does not glitter; Not all who wan...

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Leaving the Letters up to God

Author

Ronald Rohlheiser

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Psalm 51:17, John 4:23-24, Proverbs 3:5-6, Luke 18:13-14, 1 Samuel 16:7

There is a story told about a Jewish farmer, who ended up stuck in his field for the Sabbath. As the sun went down, the farmer realized he would have to remain in the field until sunset the next day, ...

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Eternal and Glorious God, You are

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Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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Eternal and Glorious God, You are merciful, kind, and forgiving. You hear us when we confess to You. We admit we do not focus on You with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. A day devoted to Yo...

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Merciful and mighty God, you plant your

Author

Chip Hardwick

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Scripture

Matthew 13:18-23, Luke 8:4-15, Mark 4:1-9

Merciful and mighty God, you plant your seed in all kinds of soil. You speak, hoping that the whole world will listen and heed what you say. We struggle to follow your word. We fail to live up to your...

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Author

Brother Lawrence

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We must do our business faithfully; without trouble or disquiet, recalling our mind to GOD mildly, and with tranquility, as often as we find it wandering from Him.

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Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 , Isaiah 55:6-7, Matthew 25:1-13, Hebrews 9:27-28, Psalm 90:12, 2 Corinthians 10:5

My thought it is a wanton ranger, It skips away; I fear 'twill bring my soul in danger On Judgment Day...

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Almighty God, from the very beginning,

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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Almighty God, from the very beginning, You have designed us for glorious work. You have given us Your Spirit and spread before us limitless resources. Because You have made us a royal priesthood, we n...

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When our Prayers Crash into the Ground

Author

Phillip Yancey

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Deuteronomy 6:16 , 1 Kings 18:20-40, Job 1:20-22, Matthew 4:5-7, John 20:24-29, Psalm 73:1-3, 16-17

Nine-year-old Leo Tolstoy , convinced God would help him fly, dove headfirst out a third-floor window and had his first major crisis of disappointment with God. Fortunately, Tolstoy survived the cr...

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It is Better to Question than Merely Accept Difficult Circumstances

Author

Phillip Yancey

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Scripture

Job 13:23–24 , Genesis 18:25, Habakkuk 1:2–3 , Mark 9:24, Romans 8:22–26, Psalm 73:2–3, 16–17

If the Book of Job reaches across two and a half millennia to teach anything to men and women who consider themselves normal, decent human beings, it is this: Human beings are sure to wander in ignora...

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Reducing God to Manageable Terms

Author

A. W. Tozer

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Exodus 32:1-6 , 1 Samuel 4:3-10, Isaiah 40:18-25, Matthew 16:13-20, Acts 5:1-11 , Psalm 115:4-8

A. W. Tozer once wrote, Left to ourselves we tend immediately to reduce God to manageable terms. We want to get Him where we can use Him, or at least know where He is when we need Him. We want a ...

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Justifying our Sin

Author

Greg Gilbert

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Scripture

Genesis 3:6–8 , Isaiah 59:2, 2 Samuel 12:7–9 , Romans 3:23, Luke 18:13–14, Psalm 51:4

I just paid a parking ticket the other day. It was easy. I read the charge against me, flipped the ticket over, checked the box that said “I plead guilty to the charge,” filled out a check for $35 to ...

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The Aroma of that Room

Author

Dallas Willard

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Scripture

Exodus 3:1-6, Isaiah 6:1-8, Acts 9:1-9, Matthew 4:18-22, 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Sometimes, of course, the sense of God with us becomes much more distinct. My oldest brother, J. I. Willard, served for over thirty years as a minister under the blessing of God. But his entry into th...

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Heavenly Father, we confess that we are

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Heavenly Father, we confess that we are unable to do all the work that you wish for us to do. We are held back by our own desires and our own apprehensions. We know that you make us bearers of your im...

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Author

Isaac Watts

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Scripture

Genesis 28:10-17, Deuteronomy 31:6-8, 2 Kings 6:15-17, Matthew 28:20, Acts 17:24-28, Psalm 139:

Within thy circling power I stand; On every side I find thy hand; Awake, asleep, at home, abroad, I am surrounded still with God. …O may these thoughts possess my breast, Where'er I rove...

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Author

Curtis Hutson

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 John 3:9, James 2:17, Colossians 2:6-7, Titus 3:5-7

You don’t turn from sin to get saved. You get saved to turn from sin.

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22 Major Problems

Author

Dallas Willard

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Scripture

Mark 4:35-41, 1 Kings 17:2-6, Acts 16:25-34, Exodus 14:10-22, 2 Chronicles 20:1-22

Robert C. McFarlane was a well-known businessman in the Los Angeles area. He had moved to California from Oklahoma in 1970, and within just a few days of his arrival—due to a disastrous misunderstandi...

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A Mischief to Religion

Author

Joseph Glanvill

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Anti-Intellectualism has been a problem in the church for some time now. Consider the words of the 17th century English clergyman Joseph Glanvill, who had this to say about the role of reason in faith...

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Author

David Peterson

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Scripture

Luke 16:10, Matthew 25:21, Colossians 3:23-24, Luke 19:17, Galatians 6:9

Faithfulness in small things is a big thing to God.

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O God, you are indeed worthy of our

Author

Chip Hardwick

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O God, you are indeed worthy of our praise and worship. Yet we turn away and worship other gods. We find ourselves at the altar of our careers, our financial security, our self-image, our status. We t...

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Author

Vance Havner

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God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth p...

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