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Pursuing Patience

Pursuing Patience

"Often, patience and grace are seen together. God’s patience with us is grace. He gives us second chances all the time. He teaches, rebukes, disciplines, but ultimately, there is always grace seen in Him and by Him. He is patient with us, not letting us fall into despair, but provides hope in His Son, Jesus. By Jesus’s example, we see Jesus patiently endure all sorts o...

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Who needs doctrine anyway?

who needs doctrine anyways_

"We are not saved by our zeal for God; we are saved by His zeal for us. We do not climb up to God; He comes down to us in Christ. We are not saved by our following of Jesus, but through Him going to the cross alone. He is the promised messianic champion of old, not us. Even while our hearts are too often cold, forgetful, and neglecting of His Word and doctrine, He remains ...

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The Gospel and the gift registry

the gospel & the gift registry

"Finally getting back to the wedding registry analogy: for a people who wanted to show love for God but didn’t know what that looked like, here’s a list of some of the characteristics that please him. Not a checklist of duties to perform, but ideas for how our lives should be ordered “so that the word of God may not be reviled” (or in the positive sense, so that th...

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Duty into Joy

duty into joy

On Sunday, Jeff White reminded us of the danger and deceptiveness of legalism. As an Enneagram one, I tend to hold tightly to the right and wrong, black and white view of things. But, legalism infects and divides the church and destroys how Christ’s body was meant to live together. Legalism heightens our judgementalism and causes us to forget the beauty of the giver of t...

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The Formation of Character

formation of character

"This is what Arlen explains to divert us from the pitfall of trying to measure up to a list of virtues by completing a series of tasks. Rather, our formation of character, and in this case, the work of our lives conforming to Christ, takes that eulogy virtue formation which is not done by us and our works, but is done by the Spirit."...

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Filled with Mercy & Grace

filled with mercy & grace

"As a fellow ‘either/or’ thinker, living in the gray can bring anxiety. I need direction, I like expectations, and I value rules. However, when I don’t follow directions, live up to expectations, or obey rules, I get anxious, too. The shame sets in and I forget who I am in Christ. Yet, the Gospel eliminates this - my works, or my lack of works, does not qualify me to...

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Renewal: Repairing the Hole for Wholeness

Repairing the hole for wholeness

“That is what is so amazing about Jesus: He was woven together with us, built into us. His wholeness is our shalom. He is our peace literally. He is the one that repairs our vandalism to the peace that He has created through His very own body. He is repairer of the breach, the rebuilder of the ancient ruins, and in union with Him there is repair, wholeness and shalom.”...

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Capacity & Compassion

capacity & Compassion

"Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” When by God’s grace I’m able to help someone, it’s not my compassion being expressed - it’s Christ’s compassion. When I feel like I’m all dried up and have no capacity left to help others, Christ, who lives in me, has infinite capacity. Rather ...

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Searching for Follow-Through in my Resets

resets

"But what if we were a community that could reset as individuals and as a body. For spiritual, physical, mental, familial health. We could be that light of forgiveness for each other and those around us. I know Justin said that he will be preaching on this for another couple of weeks. And I am glad. My prayer is that we as God’s Church would dig deep find our personal re...

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Sabbath Rest for the Poor in Spirit

Sabbath rest for the poor in spirit

"The Sabbath-rest that Justin reminded us of is available to us because of Christ’s work, not our own efforts. God rested on the Sabbath in creation because His work in Eden was finished. It was very good. Similarly, we can rest from our work on the Sabbath, and we can rest from our striving toward self-justification on any day, because Christ’s work on the cross is fi...

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