Personal Development on Reasons

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Genesis 37:3-4, 18-20, Exodus 32:19-21, 1 Kings 12:6-11, 1 Kings 14:1-3, 13 , Philippians 2:3-4, Psalm 133:1

The reason we fight with each other, and often believe the worst about each other, is that we form convictions about things for which we care deeply. Unfortunately, we all care deeply about different ...

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Not Going to Church

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Source Unknown

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Hebrews 10:24-25, Psalm 133:1, Romans 12:4-5, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Matthew 18:20, Acts 2:42

As was the normal routine on a Sunday morning, a wife got ready for church. She got up, had breakfast, showered, got dressed, put on makeup and was ready to go. It was just as she was ready to leave t...

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Arthur C. Brooks

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One of the reasons failure can be so crushing is that we set goals of success, instead of improvement and learning.

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Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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Reason and Knowledge have always played a secondary, subordinate, auxiliary role in the life of peoples, and this will always be the case. A people is shaped and driven forward by an entirely differen...

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Phillip Keller

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Human beings, being what they are, somehow feel entitled to question the reasons for everything that happens to them. In many instances life itself becomes a continual criticism and dissection of one’...

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Stop Making Excuses!

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Mark D. Roberts

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Shortly after I got my first driver’s license, I also got my first ticket. I was driving 15 miles over the posted 25 miles per hour speed limit and a motorcycle cop caught me red handed. I was upset a...

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Dealing with Criticism

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Paul David Tripp

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Criticism

Why do any of us get upset or tense when confronted? Why do any of us activate our inner lawyer and rise to our own defense? Why do any of us turn the tables and remind the other person that we are no...

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Lori Loughlin and The Problem with Shortcuts

Author

Max Lucado

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Scripture

Genesis 27:35-36 , 2 Samuel 6:6-7, Exodus 32:1-4 , Matthew 4:8-10, Psalm 37:7, Acts 5:1-5

How many shortcuts have been justified with the best of intentions? At the sentencing for her role in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal, actress Lori Loughlin addressed the court: “I mad...

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The Gift of an Invitation

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Ruth Haley Barton

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Isaiah 55:1–3, Exodus 3:1–12, Proverbs 9:1–6, Matthew 11:28–30, John 1:35–39, Psalm 3:4:8

One of the reasons I love a good invitation is that I get tired of being told what to do. As the very responsible oldest daughter of a pastor and someone who entered vocational ministry at a young age...

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A Grinchy Christmas

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Isaiah 1:13-17, Jeremiah 7:8-10, Proverbs 3:5-7, James 4:17 , Matthew 7:26-27, Psalm 14:1

In Rockland, Maine, two men attempted what can only be described as a full-fledged Grinch heist—trying to steal a Christmas tree straight from a hotel lobby. And, of course, there’s footage. ...

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The Ultimatum

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Walter Isaacson

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Famed scientist Albert Einstein once delivered an ultimatum to his first wife, Mileva Maric. True to his scientific nature, Einstein expressed his demands without any trace of kindness or empathy, ins...

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Shame, Hypocrisy, and Empathy in The Scarlet Letter: A Pastor’s Take

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Scott B. Bullock

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The Puritans in American Literature “Welcome to Honors American Literature!” You probably haven’t heard that line since high school, right? After his first couple of weeks of school, my boy came home...

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The Road to Hope

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Romans 5:3-5

On May 20, 1990, 42-year-old Georgene Johnson arrived 15 min early for her 10K race (6.2 mi) as part of the Revco-Cleveland Marathon and found runners already heading down the course. So, she jumped i...

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Author

Matt Perman

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Productivity

God is at the center of our productivity and gives us the power and direction to do the right things in the right way and for the right reasons.

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Emotions are Divine: Why Pastors Need Biblical Permission to Feel

Author

David Lamb

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Scripture

John 11:35, Psalm 5:5, Psalm 6:1, Psalm 78:58, Psalm 78:40, Psalm 18:19, Psalm 25:6, Psalm 5:7, Exodus 20:5, Exodus 22:23, Isaiah 15:5, Luke 15:null, Genesis 23:2, Genesis 42:24, 1 Samuel 1:10, 2 Samuel 1:11-12, 2 Kings 8:11-12, 2 Kings 22:18-20, Mark 14:72, John 20:11, Acts 20:37, Revelation 5:4

When the Professor Weeps: A Personal Story About ten years ago, I was teaching a course on the psalms for my seminary students in the midst of a personal health crisis. It wasn’t in my notes, but I ...

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What Is Missing in Our Leadership?

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Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Leaders—Called to Pray I don't know about you, but I've always had a hard time spending extended periods of time in prayer. Our lectionary author this week, Cody Sandahl, shares his own st...

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Anthony of Sourozh

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Public confession requires several conditions. First, a person who has acted against the integrity of the Body, the integrity of its faith, must be prepared to expose himself because what matters is h...

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Bryan Stevenson

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We are bodies of broken bones. I guess I’d always known but never fully considered that being broken is what makes us human. We all have our reasons. Sometimes we’re fractured by the choices we make; ...

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S.I.T. For the week of 6/3

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Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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God's Voice Speaking through the Frustration My first conscious experience of hearing the voice of Jesus occurred when I was a college student. It grew out of a period of genuine frustration. Bec...

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Watch Out for Those “Railroads”

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Source Unknown

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In 1829, Martin Van Buren, then governor of New York, wrote the following to the president: The canal system of this country is being threatened by the spread of a new form of transportation known as...

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Encouragement Can Make all the Difference

Author

John C. Maxwell

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1 Thessalonians 5:11, Romans 15:2, Proverbs 12:25, Ephesians 4:29, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

There is no better exercise for strengthening the heart than reaching down and lifting people up. Think about it; most of your best friends are those who encourage you. You don’t have many strong rela...

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Help with My Chaotic Thoughts

Author

Jennie Allen

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2 Corinthians 10:5, Matthew 6:22-23, Luke 11:34-35, Psalm 19:14, Matthew 15:18-19, Mark 7:20-23

In the first chapter of her book, Get Out of Your Head , author Jennie Allen shares a vulnerable and honest moment from her own life about just how hard it can be to focus in a world of distraction...

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The Journey of Discernment

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

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Discernment

The word increasing [speaking of discernment] indicates that we will never fully arrive when it comes to discernment, but we can grow more and more attuned to the presence and will of God through prac...

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The Art of Followship

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Colossians 3:16, Philippians 2:5-7, John 13:34-35, Matthew 11:29, Mark 8:34-35, Luke 9:23

Editor’s Note: The following illustration came from one of my own (Stu’s) sermons, as I was trying to help the congregation make a paradigm shift from the church as a building, to the people of God: ...

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Let Your Life Speak

Author

John Mark Comer

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Scripture

Galatians 6:4, Colossians 3:23-24, Isaiah 6:8, 1 Corinthians 7:17, Romans 12:2

The word vocatio can also be translated voice. Man, that says a lot. Your vocation is your voice. The Quakers have a saying about calling that I love: Let your life speak. Finding your calling is abou...

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Nelson Mandela and a Presidency of Reconciliation

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Romans 12:18, Philemon 1:15-16, Matthew 18:15, Romans 5:10, Colossians 1:20, Matthew 5:23-24

What does true forgiveness and reconciliation look like? The world was given such an image the day Nelson Mandela was sworn in as President of South Africa. What was so significant was not just that a...

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Paul's Achievement's Today

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Philippians 3:4-6, Isaiah 64:6, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Colossians 3:3-4, Galatians 2:20

Paul give us an excellent example of what looking at people from a worldly point of view looks like in Philippians chapter 3: If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, ...

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The Indispensable Journalist

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Matthew 20:20-21, Daniel 4:30-33, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Romans 12:3, Proverbs 27:2

The Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst once offered columnist Arthur Brisbane a six-month vacation with full pay as a reward for his dedicated and successful work. Brisbane ultimately turned dow...

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Author

Bob Benson

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When life caves in, you do not need reasons – you need comfort. You do not need some answers – you need someone. Jesus does not come to us with an explanation – He comes to us with His presence.

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Timothy Keller

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A friend who attended a prestigious MBA program once told me about the business ethics course he took there. The professor counseled honest business practices for two reasons. First, if you lie or che...

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