Personal Development on Unexpected

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Expect Always the Unexpected Anticipate

Author

Keywords

Expect always the unexpected Anticipate Miracles Knowing that with God, all things are possible May the Lord bless you and keep you May the Lord make His face to shine upon you May the Lord lift up th...

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Eternal God, we recognize that Your

Keywords

Eternal God, we recognize that Your ways are mysterious. Teach us to be still and to wait for You. We confess our sinfulness, our need for control, and our discomfort with the unknown. Instead of turn...

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God—our Father ... our Savior ... our

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Romans 8:28, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Philippians 4:19, Matthew 5:14-16, James 1:5, Psalm 30:2

God—our Father ... our Savior ... our Counselor and Friend: Thank you for daring to meet us at the most unlikely places, and in the most unexpected times of our lives. Thank you for redeeming our pain...

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Adapted from John 1:10-11; Isaiah 52:7-10

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:10-11, Isaiah 52:7-10

Father in Heaven, we confess that we never knew you had come down. We confess that we were in the dark as to your light among us. Though the world was created through your Word, we could not grasp the...

Quote

Author

Charles F. Stanley

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Isaiah 41:10, Romans 8:28, James 1:2-4, Psalm 34:19

Adversity is always unexpected and unwelcome. It is an intruder and a thief, and yet in the hands of God, adversity becomes the means through which His supernatural power is demonstrated.

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Living and present Lord: You often

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Living and present Lord: You often surprise us, coming when we least expect it; Or. You simply fold back the curtain to show us You’ve been there all along to give us hope and to open our eyes to see ...

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Lord, you came among us, not in a way

Author

William H. Willimon

Keywords

Lord, you came among us, not in a way we expected, but as a baby. We had great difficulty seeing you in so small a form, so vulnerable an incarnation. Lord, you came to us where we least expected. Yo...

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The Road to Hope

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

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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Living and present Lord (Extended)

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Hebrews 12:1-2, Matthew 6:33, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalm 34:17, John 14:27

Prayer of Adoration Living and present Lord: You often surprise us, coming when we least expect it; or, You simply fold back the curtain to show us You’ve been there all along to give us hope and to ...

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An Unexpected Friendship: Sermon Illustration Tuesday

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 4:8, James 5:16, Proverbs 19:11, Romans 12:17-21, Luke 6:27-28

Sometimes moments of forgiveness and friendship come from unexpected places. In 2018, the comedian Pete Davidson appeared on the “Weekend Update” segment of Saturday Night Live (SNL). Davidson made a ...

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An Unexpected Friendship

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:2, Psalm 34:18, Proverbs 19:11, Colossians 3:13, Ephesians 4:32, Luke 6:37

Sometimes moments of forgiveness and friendship come from unexpected places. In 2018, the comedian Pete Davidson appeared on the “Weekend Update” segment of Saturday Night Live (SNL). Davidson made a ...

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The Unexpected Gift

Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Keywords

Listening

Christians... so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater...

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An Unexpected Kindness

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Kindness

In the book entitled Sweet Thursday, John Steinbeck introduces us to Madam Fauna. She runs a brothel and takes a liking to a prostitute by the name of Suzy. Madam Fauna sets Suzy up on a real date wit...

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An Unexpected Calling

Author

Charles Colson

Keywords

Scripture

2 Timothy 4:2, Titus 1:5, 1 Corinthians 1:27, Jeremiah 1:6-7, Acts 9:15

Serving at the time as provincial governor of Northern Italy, St. Ambrose was called in this capacity in 374 to the cathedral in Milan, where a riot was threatening between two rival factions of Chris...

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My Gift to You

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:36, Acts 20:35, Luke 21:1-4, Matthew 6:1-4, Exodus 35:21

One day, the famous surrealist painter Salvador Dalí walked into a New York bookstore and asked for a copy of his own autobiography, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí . The young clerk immediately...

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Falling Upward

Author

David Peterson

Keywords

The other day I took a tumble. Fortunately, there were no witnesses. Now I’m walking with a limp. If ever there was a case of falling down it was Jesus. Some were saying He was the Son of God. They e...

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Faithful Response to Healing

Author

Eunice McGarrahan

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 5:14-20, Philippians 3:13-14, Isaiah 43:18-19, Titus 3:5, John 3:3

In the story of Jesus and the demon-possessed man in Mark 5:14-20, Jesus gives new life to that man. When the townspeople saw the result of Jesus’ healing – an entirely new man, almost unrecognizable ...

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An Accidental Champion

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Meredith Fitzmaurice only planned to run a half-marathon on Sep 22, 2013 in Amherstburg, Ontario, hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon. At the 13 mile point, she made a wrong turn. She missed th...

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Psalm 30 | Gratitude for Rescue and Healing

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 30:, 1 Samuel 13:14, Hebrews 12:2

Ancient lens What’s the historical context? Autobiographies Have you ever thought about writing your autobiography? It would be a little like reliving your life, at least in miniscule. As a write...

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The Search for Satisfaction

Author

Ginny Owens

Keywords

In this excerpt, musician and author Ginny Owens shares a childhood exercise that only makes specific what all of us as human beings struggle with, the desire for wholeness: I wish you could know my ...

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One Very Important Word of Encouragement: Sermon Illustration Tuesday

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Encouragement

As a youngster I developed a thoroughly annoying and humiliating problem of stuttering…In the ninth grade, I was elected president of our junior high student body. During an assembly of the seventh, e...

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The Gift that Inspired a Lifetime of Giving: Sermon Illustration Tuesday

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Tracy Autler’s life changed in a very unexpected way on Thanksgiving Day, 1993. Tracy was a single mother, living in an apartment in a rough neighborhood, she was doing her best to raise a three-year ...

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A Life Re-Defined by The Spirit of God

Author

Mark Labberton

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 8:36-38, Acts 8:29-31, Acts 10:44-46, Acts 10:3-6, Acts 10:1-48, Acts 9:17-18, Acts 9:3-6

In his excellent book on worship, The Dangerous Act of Worship , pastor and president of Fuller Seminary Mark Labberton shares a story of the transformation of one of his former congregants: Ben ...

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First Hating, then Loving, Coffee

Author

David M. Brown

Keywords

When the Venetian botanist Prospero Alpini introduced the use of coffee to Europe from Egypt, the Vatican advocated against its infernal influence. That is, until Pope Clement VIII tried the foreign b...

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The Gift That Inspired a Lifetime of Giving

Author

Brad Formsma

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 58:10, Hebrews 13:16, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Proverbs 11:25, Matthew 25:35-36, Luke 6:38, Acts 20:35

Tracy Autler’s life changed in a very unexpected way on Thanksgiving Day, 1993. Tracy was a single mother, living in an apartment in a rough neighborhood, she was doing her best to raise a three-year ...

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Choosing Gratitude Makes You Happier and Healthier

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

While it might seem obvious in retrospect, one of the latest discoveries in the psychology of happiness has to do with gratitude. Multiple studies have shown a positive correlation between gratitude a...

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The $20 Million Mistake

Author

Erwin Raphael McManus

Keywords

In The Last Arrow, Erwin McManus shares the story of Mark Floyd, a businessman who convinced investors to place $20 million dollars in an investment that ultimately failed. Instead of crawling into a ...

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The Umbrella

Author

Our Daily Bread

Keywords

Several years ago I read an article about Queen Mary, who made it her practice to visit Scotland every year. She was so loved by the people there that she often mingled with them freely without a prot...

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The Wake-Up Call

Author

Jeff Spadafora,

Keywords

In his book, The Joy Model, former management consultant Jeff Spafadora describes the moment that lead him to change careers: One spring break Michelle and I took the kids to Disney World. My mom an...

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Not Holding on as Tightly

Author

Scott Bowerman

Keywords

Here’s a story about tithing - giving away 10% of one’s income, from of all places, Forbes magazine. In the article, the writer tells the story of Greg Gianforte, the founder, chairman and CEO of Rig...

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