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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Amazing Feet

Ephesians 1:22  “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,” Several weeks ago, the USA Women’s Soccer Team accomplish an amazing “feat”, who had been previously de-“feat”-ed by Japan by penalty kicks.  But this year was a different story when...

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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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The Power Energizer

Galatians 5:6 “Faith worketh by love”.  In 1989, a television icon was born…the Energizer Bunny.  If you live in America, you’ve seen him, a pink bunny in flip flops and sunglasses, beating a large drum over and over and over again.  His claim to fame...

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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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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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Superman

2 Corinthians 5:17 “So then if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.”  Did you know that the comic book character Superman was born on the planet “Krypton”, then rocketed to earth by his scientist father as an infant, just moments before Krypton’s destruction?  The story goes on to say...

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Hangin' Out

Isaiah 43:25 – “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins”.  Several Saturdays ago, I had the privilege of hangin’ out with my two favorite girls in my life...

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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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