Tag: faith
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Fight the Good Fight of the Faith
10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wander away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 11But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the…
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Train Yourself for Godliness
….train yourself for godliness; 8for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.–1 Timothy 4 The Greek word for train is gymnaze and is related to the word translated today as gymnasium. People who wish…
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Rejoice With Great Joy
43And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.–Nehemiah 12 Even though life had been very difficult, God was still very faithful. Worship is a response of praise and gratitude. Worship…
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So That the People Understood
8They [Ezra and crew] read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.–Nehemiah 8 The people hadn’t heard the law read in so long. Ezra made it a priority to red it clearly and then help apply it. This is what we…
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So We Built the Wall
6So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.–Nehemiah 4 The builders faced opposition from certain people. So Nehemiah led the people to pray that God would frustrate that opposition. The opposition was not just vocal, but physical. So Nehemiah…
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Above All Else
23Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. 24Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. 26Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. 27Do not turn to the…
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The Paths of Life
16Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words, 17who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. 18Surely her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. 19None who go to her return or…
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The Fear of the Lord
7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;fools despise wisdom and instruction.–Proverbs 1 This word for “fear” occurs 18 times in the Old Testament and each time fear is treated as a category. It is either present or it is not. Some people push back here and say that this verse makes it sound like…
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Do Not Add To His Words
6Do not add to his [God’s] words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.–Proverbs 30 Beware the trap of leaning on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). You may be really smart and your thoughts about Scripture may be indeed highly nuanced. But your commentary on the Bible is not more important than…
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As For You, Brothers
13As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.–2 Thessalonians 3 BROTHERS. Paul was writing this to a church. Any Christian reading this verse needs to perk up and pay attention. Your context may be different than the 1st century Christian in Thessalonica, but the Jesus we follow is the same and the…
