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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Good to Great

Genesis 12:2 - "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous {and} distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]."  If you haven't already, you have got to hear this story about Nate Boyer.  He describes himself in his earlier years as very average, non-descript, "rudderless", without direction.  Then, as a young man just out of high school, while sitting on his couch in his living room, he saw a program on TV about...

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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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What a View - by Natalie Fortunato

Psalm 61:2 (New King James Version) “From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”  Several summers ago our family celebrated my sister’s wedding in Ouray, Colorado, professed to be (by its residents) as the “Switzerland of America”.  A perfectly fitting name for this picturesque little town...

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Error Message

Romans 2:4 – “…the goodness of God leads you to repentance”.  For so long, Satan has trapped people into a sin consciousness, always thinking about what’s “wrong”, a performance based system of measuring our worth, accusing us of every little thing.  That’s a lousy way to live, but so clever on his part.  Why?  He knows if he can...

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No If's, And's or But's

Romans 8:4 – “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”  You’ve probably heard the phrase “No if’s, and’s or but’s”, most likely from your…parents!  It means “No excuses!  If you don’t mow the lawn, you can’t go to the movies, no if’s, and’s or but’s!”  Sound familiar?  Maybe so, however, the way I’m thinking about this phrase is entirely different. 

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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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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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C.S.I. - Christ Scene Investigation

John 20:6-7 (21st Century King James Version) "Then came Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher and saw the linen cloths as they lay and the napkin that had been about His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but wrapped together in a place by itself."  The hit show C.S.I. has been around for a long time, and although I am not a fan, I am fascinated by...

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Once Shaved, Always Shaved

1 Corinthians 1:8-9 – “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”  I know that beards are making quite the comeback these days, but every day, no matter what, like most men, I shave...

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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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