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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Bobo's Back!

Matthew 6:9 “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed by thy name”.  Some of you may remember me talking about Bobo in recent years, a dog in my neighborhood where I grew up.  He was chained up in the yard at his house, all day long, rain or shine, near the softball field where we played.  Bobo was a huge black dog with matted fur and very large teeth, and barked nonstop.  Unfortunately... 

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Stickability

Ephesians 6:18 - “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”  Stickability.  Stick with it.  Persevere.  Press through until the end.  Keep praying until you pray through.  So many times, if something doesn’t happen as quickly as we think...

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Absalomic Vinegar

2 Samuel 15:2 – “And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so , that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.”  I really enjoy a nice salad with my dinner…and my dressing of choice – balsamic vinaigrette!  Did you know that the name balsamic comes from...

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"Thanks-given"

2 Peter 1:3 "According as his divine power has "given" unto us all things..."  My favorite holiday to celebrate has always been Thanksgiving.  As a child, I have great memories of our family going to the big rivalry football game on Thanksgiving morning and then...

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The 24-Hour Rule

Philippians 3:13 - “But this one thing I do, forgetting...”  After a touch and go, back and forth, high drama battle against a top 10 college team, Hugh Freeze, coach of the Ole Miss Rebels football team, finally came out on top.  It was the first time in decades that the University of Mississippi was on the radar for an important game.  Amidst the celebration and student stampede to take down the goal post, ESPN interviewed Coach Freeze right on the field.  They asked, “You just won one of the biggest games in Ole Miss history, what are you gonna do next week for an encore?”  His answer...

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Have Your Logged Onto "Faith-Book" Today?

Romans 10:17 – “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”.  Did you know there are currently 1.32 billion monthly active users on Facebook?  That’s astounding to me.  Americans spend an average of...

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Less Than $1 Grace...Free

Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified Bible) – “For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment {and} made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;”  Did you hear the story of the people who put some antiques out on their front lawn with a sign that read “free” on them?  People could have taken whatever they wanted, but...

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Effortless Flight

Psalm 55:6 - “And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.”  I love this time of year, the sky is so blue and so high, it amazes me.  So often, I notice a hawk circling our neighborhood (hence, the name of the local elementary school mascot), just gliding on air, not moving its wings, carried effortlessly by the current.  Far more proficient in flight is the... 

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Let Go of the Rope

Matthew 11:30 - "…My Yoke is Easy and My Burden is Light" 

The Oxford English Dictionary says that the phrase "tug of war" originally meant "the decisive contest; the real struggle or tussle; a severe contest for supremacy". Only in the 19th century was it used for what we know today as a contest between two teams tugging on opposite sides of a rope, determined to pull the opposing team across a designated line...

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Life A La Mode

John 10:10 (Amplified Bible) – “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have {and} enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” 

Whoever put ice cream on a pie first is a topic of discussion without a definitive answer. What is known is that it was served at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, where some restaurant venue served slices of pie with a scoop of ice cream on top. The French saw it as audacious...

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There's A Blessing With Your Name On It

Numbers 13:30 - "And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it."   

How you see yourself is how you will experience life!  Winners win long before they get in the competition.  In my first year of college...

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10-4, Over and Out

Romans 10:4 – “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes”. 

My friend and me were texting back and forth, and were about to wrap it up when he texted, “10-4”.  Remember that phrase?  Haven’t heard it in a while.  For those of you who are not familiar with the “ten-codes”, they are...

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Winning in Troubled Times

2 Corinthians 4:17 – “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”.  I read a story about a woman in Haiti that was caught under a collapsed house and rubble during the earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday, January 12, 2010.  She told of how she immediately began quoting Psalm 91.  Still under the house, on Wednesday she quoted Psalm 91, on Thursday... 2 Corinthians 4:17 – “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”.  I read a story about a woman in Haiti that was caught under a collapsed house and rubble during the earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday, January 12, 2010.  She told of how she immediately began quoting Psalm 91.  Still under the house, on Wednesday she quoted Psalm 91, on Thursday...

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Get Busy Livin' or Get Busy Dyin'

Ephesians 2:10 (Amplified Bible) "…[taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]." 

One of my favorite movies of all time is Shawshank Redemption, based on a true story of Andy Dufresne, a man wrongly accused and imprisoned for murder.  He spent 19 years at Shawshank Prison, until he escaped through a tunnel, the length of five football fields, that he partly forged with a small rock hammer, and the remainder through raw sewerage.  

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Take Three Times Daily

Proverbs 17:22 – “Laughter does good like a medicine”

A man was driving along the highway, when he saw the Easter Bunny hopping across the middle of the road.  He swerved to avoid hitting the bunny, but unfortunately it hopped in front of his car and was hit.  The basket of eggs went flying all over, the candy too.  The driver, the sensitive man that he was, as well as an animal lover, pulled over to the side of the road, and got out to see what happened.  To his dismay, the colorful Easter Bunny was…dead. 

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