Tag: perspective
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Sacrifice, Not Martyr
12“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. 13“Crucify him!” they shouted. 14“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” 15Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him…
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Hands and Hell
43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.–Mark 9 BOUNDARIES: Jesus said “your hand.” You may have been hurt by someone else, but your job is not to punish them.…
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Despicable Ahaz
1In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 2Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David…
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Good Joash
1In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash [Joash] began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and…
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Another Evil Queen
1Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family. 2But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and she put him and…
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Oddities and Providence
3Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So…
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Opening Eyes
8Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10And the king…
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Oil and Trust
1Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what…
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Godly Grief and Worldly Grief
10For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.–2 Corinthians 7 Paul had written the Corinthian Christians a previous letter that included pastoral admonishment and much correction. And he had just received word from Titus that the letter was received as intended. The church was grieving and…
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The Unseen Is Eternal
16So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For…
Joel M Bradshaw 