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To...From

                 Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked . (Proverbs 10:6) When I’ve read this verse in the past, I’ve read it without really considering it. This morning as I was looking for a verse to blog about, I realized this one may not say what I assumed it said. My typical reading of this is that those who are righteous get blessed, visibly and greatly blessed. That made sense until I read the second half of the verse. If the blessings that crown the head of the righteous are rewards placed there, then would not the violence that overwhelms the mouth of the wicked also be placed there – shoved down the throat of the wicked? “To…to”  would be the true parallel. That does not feel right. We expect the violence that overwhelms the mouth of the wicked to come from the wicked. The true parallel then would be that the blessings that crown the head of the righteous are blessing...
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Settle The Matter

               “ Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. ” (Isaiah 1:18)                 In the first 15 verses of this chapter, God presents His case against the nation, Israel, to the jury of the heavens and the earth. In verses 16 and 17, He tells them what they need to do in their relationship with people. In verse 18, He tells them what they need to do in their relationship with Him. He says first that we must settle the matter.                 To settle a matter, two or more parties resolve or reach an agreement about something, a debt is paid, or the parties adopt a more steady or secure style of life. They find a way to live together in peace. God c...
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As For Me And My Household

                     But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)                 This morning, before sitting down at my computer, I asked God for a verse I could write a blog about quickly. The verse above was the verse of the day online. It’s one of my favorite verses, so now I’m flustered and don't know where to start. Oh boy…oh boy!                 Joshua was about 110 years old. He’d spent 25-30 years leading the Israelites as they conquered the Promised Land. Before that, he had spent 40 years watching Moses lead them a...
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Imagine If We All Voted?

                   I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (I Timothy 2:1-2)                 Over the past week or so, I saw lots of pleas that Christians would get out and vote, because if Christians actually vote, we can choose who gets into office. If you don’t vote, “they” will get into office and America is doomed. In the last election, it appears that lots of Christians didn’t vote, and that those who did weren’t the ideological monolith hoped for. So, quite likely, some people are going to be chastising Christians for not voting.                 And I think Scripture makes it clear that we should vo...
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Unity

                [He]  made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. (Ephesians 1:9-10) Unity: the quality or state of not being multiple : oneness ; a condition of harmony : accord ;   continuity without deviation or change (as in purpose or action);   the quality or state of being made one ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unity ) His will, His good pleasure: unity. He wants us to love one another, to get along, to work together, to cooperate, etc. You know, all those things that everyone says they want, and that many are willing to shove down the throat of anyone who disagrees with their version of. Wars are fought to produce unity. Culture wars are disagreements about what the rules of unity are going to be. In fact, that’s been ...
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Servant

                 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8) “His master replied, ‘ Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:21) This is the sort of passage that some people will put in a bold font with a font size at least 20 (as above). They will gladly put it on signs with an even bigger font and shove it in the face of anyone they decide isn’t obeying it. Doing so is specifically not practicing the sort of servanthood they demand from their opponent. And before we announce that “we would never do that!” we should keep in mind that we treat other verses the ...
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Competence

                 Such confidence we have through Christ before God.   Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (II Corinthians 3:4-6) Competence [1590s, "rivalry" (based on compete ), also "adequate supply," both senses now obsolete; 1630s as "sufficiency of means for living at ease," from French compétence , from Latin competentia "meeting together, agreement, symmetry," from competens , present participle of competere , especially in its earlier sense of "fall together, come together, be convenient or fitting" (see compete ). Meaning "adequate range of capacity or ability, sufficiency to deal with what is at hand" is from 1790.] ( Competence - Etymology, Origin & Meaning ) Granted, the word was chosen with i...
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