Tag: bible
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A Proverb and a Prodigal
7The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding, but a companion of gluttons shames his father.–Proverbs 28 It almost seems impossible that Jesus didn’t have this proverb on his mind when he gave his famous parable about the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. Let’s use that passage to illustrate. A father had…
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Have These 3 Sharpeners in Your Life
17Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.–Proverbs 27 I am no blacksmith, nor am I a chemist, so I will not pretend to be able to dispense key metallurgical wisdom about this process. I do however want to apply the metaphor to some key wisdom for your life. 1. Have a 3AM friend. Nothing…
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Control Questions
6do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,…
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Press On!
…But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.–Philippians 3 Paul was in prison and once again pondering the scope of his life. He gave a rubric that we can use…
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The Drink Offering Attitude
14Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I…
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A Daily, Intentional Life
27Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…–Philippians 1 Paul was in prison and was contemplating bigger, meaning-of-life-and-death matters. I think to understand this basic phrase we should work backwards. What are principles of the Gospel of Christ? So now what would describe a life worthy of those principles? As always,…
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Joseph Wasn’t Bitter
15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression…
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Joseph’s Blessing
22“Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall. 23The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely, 24yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of…
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Joseph Became Two
5And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours.–Genesis 48 When you look later on at the lists…
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Two Bondages
20So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other…23Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your…
Joel M Bradshaw 