Life on Planet Earth on Convictions

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Taking Convictions Seriously

Author

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We might say that convictions are firmly held moral or religious beliefs that guide our beliefs, actions, or choices…[M]ost Christians attach their convictions to Christ personally. In other words, we...

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The Spectrum Of Conviction

Author

Tim Muehlhoff and Richard Langer

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Scripture

Genesis 1:26, Genesis 9:5-6, 1 Thessalonians 1:5, Romans 14:1-23, Romans 8:26-37, 1 Corinthians 1:17

So how can we form deep Christian convictions without dividing the church? Let’s take a deeper look at convictions themselves. Convictions are like light: they come in many colors and form across a sp...

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Author

Rick Warren

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Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone's lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everyth...

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Living Faith Through Selfless Service

Author

Oscar A. Romero

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Scripture

Isaiah 53:4-5, 1 Samuel 17:, 1 John 12:24-25, Matthew 16:25, Psalm 116:15

Whoever seeks to avoid danger at all costs may ultimately lose the fullness of life, but the one who, out of love for Christ, dedicates themselves to serving others discovers a life that endures. Arch...

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The Cost of Confession and Repentance

Author

Charles Colson

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Genuine confession and repentance can be costly, as I have discovered in dealing with offenders. Take the case of the young man in the Washington area, deeply involved with his church and solidly conv...

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Author

Daniel Taylor

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One of the dearest indications of a flawed life story is its failure to give one the sense of purpose and conviction necessary to live life with an acceptable degree of optimism and resolve. A failed ...

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Lord God, we acknowledge that your Word

Author

Paul Engle

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Lord God, we acknowledge that your Word is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. Your Word exposes us for what we really ar...

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Why We Fight For Some Causes & Not Others

Author

Anne Colby and William Damon

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When an issue is less central to one’s identity it’s possible to feel, for example, “I really should do more to help those in need, but it’s just too hard’ or ‘I just can’t find the time.’ But when th...

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Convicting God, your word tells us that

Author

Chip Hardwick

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Convicting God, your word tells us that the tongue is a fire, and we admit that it’s true. We say things that we should not say: words that tear down instead of building up; phrases that divide rather...

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The Clever Husband

Author

Source Unknown

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The drunk husband snuck up the stairs quietly. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he’d received in a fight earlier that night. He then proceeded to climb into bed, smi...

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Adapted from 1 John 2:1-17

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Scripture

John 2:1-17

Holy God, we have not lived in the light. We have not walked as Jesus did. We compromise all too often, living both for you and for ourselves. Your word calls us to account and your Holy Spirit convic...

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Adapted from Hebrews 4:12-13

Author

Charles Teixeira

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 4:12-13

Leader: The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the hea...

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Gracious Spirit, you are at work all

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Gracious Spirit, you are at work all around us. You prompt us to follow you, and you convict us when we have missed your leading. Please forgive us for the times that we miss your presence. Please hum...

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Lord–You speak, and things happen. At

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Lord–You speak, and things happen. At the beginning—you spoke and creation happened; and you keep on speaking, giving us promises we can count on, and admonitions to heed. When we need comfort—you spe...

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Pro or Anti-Slavery?

Author

Matthew Sleeth

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Upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, President Lincoln was purported to have said that it was nice to meet the woman who started the Civil War. Stowe’s father was among...

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The Courage of the First Disciples

Author

Charles Martin

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These disciples turned the world upside down because they saw a dead man come back to life by the power of God. And whatever that “knowing” and “seeing” did in them, it did it at a deep level because ...

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Disregarding God’s Prohibitions

Author

Mark D. Roberts

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Scripture

Romans 6:1-2, 1 John 1:9, 1 Corinthians 6:18, James 1:14-15, Matthew 5:27-28, Hebrews 13:4, Proverbs 6:32

Some years ago I had a pastoral relationship with a couple of people who were deeply in love with each other. They believed that God wanted them to get married so they could consummate their love. The...

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They Came for Me

Author

Martin Niemoeller

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Scripture

James 2:15-16, Hebrews 13:3, Matthew 25:35-36, Micah 6:8, Jeremiah 22:3

In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the...

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Hearing the Confessions of the Poor

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:14-15, James 2:13, Isaiah 58:7, Matthew 5:3, Psalm 34:18, Luke 7:47-48

Angela’s Ashes took the publishing world by storm when it was released in September 1996. It won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize in the category of Biography/Autobiography. It was also a...

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Lord of families, tribes, peoples,

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:1

Lord of families, tribes, peoples, nations and all the world: it’s for freedom You’ve set us free from sin, guilt, and judgment; free to do what is right and just, what is compassionate, gracious and ...

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Lord—you not only know all things...

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Matthew 28:19-20, Isaiah 41:10, John 11:25-26, James 5:14-15, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Lord—you not only know all things... You notice all things. You notice when we are joyful—and You laugh, too. You notice when we are in grief or despair—and you cry with us. When we are alone or confu...

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Author

Richard John Neuhaus

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Citizens are the bearers of opinion, including opinion shaped by or espousing religious belief, and citizens have equal access to the public square. In this representative democracy, the state is forb...

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Author

Jon Tyson

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Criticism

You don’t have to criticize others leadership and methodologies for your own convictions and story to be valid. Run your race, let others run theirs…

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Seeking Integration Between Faith and Politics

Author

Kristen Deede Johnson

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I grew up near Washington D.C. surrounded by politics…I helped with the campaign of a friend’s father as he ran for state office, watched our friendly county supervisor become a US congressman, and le...

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Traversing a Timeless Biblical Demand & Our Particular Place and Time

Author

Tim Muehlhoff and Richard Langer

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During the 1992 presidential election, I (Rick) was directing the small group ministry at our church. Bill Clinton was running against George H. W. Bush, and given that many evangelicals found Bill Cl...

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The Standard Operating System

Author

Bryan C. Loritts

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This historical context unveils the truth that evangelicalism and white evangelicalism happen to be at least four-hundred-or-so-year-old conjoined twins who have never been separated in their lives. T...

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Being Wrong

Author

Kathryn Schulz

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 23:12, 1 Corinthians 8:2-3, James 4:6, Isaiah 5:21, Romans 12:3, Proverbs 18:2, Proverbs 15:33, Psalm 18:27

In her aptly title book, Being Wrong , Kathleen Schulz describes just how difficult it is to be wrong: A whole lot of us go through life assuming that we are basically right, basically all the ti...

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On Winning? Considering Kevin Durant and Anthony Bourdain

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide. Albert Camus Two events recently collided in my mind and coalesced into this short essay: The first was a relatively in...

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Sex is Not Just About Sex

Author

Christopher West

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…the body is not only biological. Since we’re made in the image of God as male and female, the body…is also theological. It tells an astounding divine story. And it does so precisely through the myste...

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A Firm Conviction

Author

Ben Patterson

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:28-31, Ephesians 3:20-21, Psalm 147:5, James 1:5, Proverbs 3:5-6

The foundation of faith is a firm conviction regarding three things about God—his perfect love, wisdom and power. Like a three-legged stool, no combination of two will do. There must be all three for ...

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