Marinate Day and Night

Joshua 1: 8 "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but thou shalt meditate therin day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein, for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success".  When I married my wife Natalie, I "obtained favor with the Lord" (Prov 18:22).  I really got blessed with her love for God, her character, integrity, her sense of humor, and…

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Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

Genesis 39: 2-3 "But the Lord was with Joseph, and He {though a slave} was a successful and prosperous man: and he was in the house of His master the Egyptian.  And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did to flourish and succeed in his hand"  When my kids were younger, we had a fire pit in our back yard. It was such a great place to gather with friends and family, and roast marshmallows and relax around the fire.  The best part...

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Not Guilty - All Charges Dropped

Romans 8: 33 "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect [when it is] God Who justifies [that is, Who puts us in right relation to Himself? Who shall come forward and accuse or impeach those whom God has chosen? Will God, Who acquits us?]".  A few weeks ago I was driving in an area where the speed limit was 25 miles per hour.  I had just pulled out of a 7-11 and headed down the road, going maybe 35 mph, I really wasn't paying attention.  All of a sudden...

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Oh Say Can You See

Psalm 91:2-3 - "I will say...SURELY He will".  A lot can go wrong for those singing the National Anthem at a sporting event, but when it's out of your control, the audience may have your back. That was the case for Michelle Madeira, who performed both the American and the Canadian National Anthem prior to a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game a few years ago...

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Exhale

Genesis 12:2 (Amplified Bible) - “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you {with an abundant increase of favors} and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing {dispensing good to others}”. There's a really great song that says it all for me about grace, it's called Exhale by Plumb.  Listen to these powerful lyrics...

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No Sweat

Matthew 11:28-30 (Message Bible) “Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.  I’ll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”  I love that, the unforced rhythms of grace.  When it comes to exercise, I know that I’ve done an exceptional workout when...

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Watch the Tram Car Please

Psalm 35:27 "Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant."  The five most frequently repeated words at the Jersey Shore every summer are not "license and registration please", or "we are all booked up".  Instead, it's...

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All in the Family

Genesis 12:3 (Amplified Bible) - "And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and curse him who curses {or} uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families {and} kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves]."  If you are over 50 years old, you may remember the 1970's hit TV comedy, All in the Family, depicting a so-called typical blue collar family from New York City.  Who can forget the head of the house, Archie Bunker, extremely...

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Teach Me Lord to Wait

Galatians 5:22-23 - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. "  I heard a very interesting fact recently that really changed my perspective about waiting.  Ready for this?...on The Golf Channel!  The presenter was talking about the recipe for success for winning a golf tournament.  They gave many "ingredients", but the one that caught my attention was...

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The Perfect Resort

Psalm 71:3 (Amplified Bible) "Be to me a rock of refuge in which to dwell, {and} a sheltering stronghold to which I may continually resort, which You have appointed to save me, for You are my Rock and my Fortress."  Whether you made your summer vacation plans many months ago or several days ago, the anticipation of getting away is like no other.  The countdown starts…

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Just Be-Cause

1 Samuel 17:29 – “And David said, what have I now done?  Is there not a cause?”  I have an important question for you today.  What is you “cause”?  The word cause means, a principle, an aim, or a movement that, because of a deep commitment, one is prepared to defend or advocate.  Some synonyms of cause are: belief, conviction, object, end, objective, purpose, mission. Matthew Barnett, of the Los Angeles Dream Center, wrote a tremendous book entitled, The Cause Within You, about his journey from serving under his father, Tommy Barnett at Phoenix First Assembly to finding the “cause” within him while on the streets of LA.  When he first arrived in California many years ago, he... 

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The Honeymoon is Never Over

Romans 5:8-9: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”  For those of you who are married, remember how wonderful your honeymoon was?  I hope so!  You and your spouse...

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Adding Fuel to the Fire

1 Corinthians 15:56 – “The strength of sin is the law”.  Recently in the news was a story of a man that accidentally set fire to three cars while trying to get rid of bed bugs!  The New Yorker was hospitalized after dousing the interior of his rental car with...

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A Living Legacy

Hebrews 9:17 – “For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.”  The late great North Carolina Men’s Basketball coach, Dean Smith, who passed away this past February at age 83, was one of the most successful college coaches in history.  Smith was called a...

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I Don't Own a White Flag

Hebrews 12:3 - "Consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds".  Did you know that the state of New Jersey has established what is called a "safe surrender" program offering persons wanted by the police for non-violent crimes to turn themselves in...

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Sweatless Grace

Ezekiel 44:17-18 – “And it shall be, when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with bleached linen clothing. And no wool shall come on them while they serve in the gates of the inner court, and inside. Turbans of bleached linen shall be on their heads, and shall have bleached linen undergarments on their loins. They shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.”  Did you ever buy a deodorant that didn’t…do what it was supposed to do, stop the sweat?  I have...

 

 

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Who's Your Daddy?

John 17:25-26 – “O righteous Father, indeed the world has not known You; but I have known You, and these have known that You have sent me. And I made known to them Your name, and will make it known, so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”  In the movie Taken, Liam Neeson plays a character named Bryan, the father of a young adult girl abducted in Paris by a human trafficking ring.  The outlook is not good as the daughter...

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