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Posts Tagged with "grace"

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Practicing Mercy

Practicing Mercy

"We are to show the same mercy to others that God has been given to us. This is convicting for me when I look at my own life. I think of all the ways that I sin everyday and feel the weight of the judgement I deserve. However, knowing that I am saved by the sacrifice Christ made on the cross makes that weight disappear."...

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Table Marked by Grace

table marked by grace

"Jesus is just over there breaking down all of the social normalcies and conventions, and making room for everyone at His table. He’s just casually hanging out with a pharisee and a prostitute in the same room. No big deal. That’s actually what Jesus is getting at. We should be defying those social norms and, as Justin puts it, offering a space where change takes place...

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The Real Thing

The Real Thing

So here I sit, wrestling through this reality, all the while examining areas of my life where my worship is misplaced. How have I been duped? ...

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Every Syllable

every syllable

“How long this world will suffer, how long I will suffer… Do you hear my cries? Do you know the brokenness?”...

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The Church Triumphant

The church triumphant

My trials and suffering feel like the squashing of color and blurring of lines to the point that my portrait isn’t the perfect and skilled mimesis of what the world expects. Yet, there is so much more depth, so much more character. ...

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Grief & Hope

Grief & Hope

Even in this chapter, of this overwhelming book, we see how all of scripture is brought together to accomplish the same plan that has been laid out in the Bible all along. ...

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What is Lent?

What is Lent?

Some of us grew up in churches where Lent was observed, but with little real explanation, making it seem like an empty, meaningless ritual. On the other hand, others of us grew up in church traditions where Lent was not observed at all. Some grew up in churches where we found Lent very meaningful. Some of us didn't grow up in any church at all....

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Far as the Curse is Found

Far as the curseis found

I feel glimmers of joy as I walk the aisles of Target perusing Christmas decorations or when I’m driving in my car listening to 24-7 Christmas radio, but I also feel sad....

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Crushing the Serpent’s Head

What was once unending, immediate, and bountifully provided, within a few bites of fruit was now cursed with enmity, great pain, and toil. Marriage was once to be harmonious and is now divisive, pain is brought forth at the births of our children, God is farther away from us and we dig through thistles for fruit. ...

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Made Alive in Christ

Made aliveinChrist

"Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul" -Mark Twain ...

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Praying for Serenity

Serenity

It is so tempting to pray for circumstances to change, to get mad at God when they don’t, and to hold a grudge of resentment rather than “accept with serenity” the things that cannot be changed. ...

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Holy of Holies

Holy of Holies

I wonder how the priests felt every day when they went into the temple and saw the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. Did they look at it with dread? Or curiosity? Or maybe they longed to be in God's presence just for a moment even if it killed them......

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It is Finished

tranquility

It is because of and through this good news that we can live under the banner “it is finished” and embark on the parenting adventure from grace instead of for grace. ...

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I Thirst

"I Thirst"

How often do I miss the fact that my physical need, and God’s constant provision, is meant to bring me to a deeper faith in Him and a reliance upon His grace alone?...

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Obadiah: Already & Not Yet

We have already been called by this Savior. We have been granted new life in Christ. Yet, here we sit, in a broken world. ...

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My People

The book of Hosea mirrors God's relationship with Israel. Lest we forget as we shake our heads at Israel's foolishness that this book reveals our personal relationship with the Lord. ...

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For the Ninevites

As we open this Advent season and enter into the waiting and the hope, we remember Jonah. We remember that God came down to co-inhabit with us. We remember that He lowers himself in order to extend grace to every one of us, even those that we might rather see burn. We remember that his message of grace is bigger than our desire to share it. We remember that his grace follo...

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Lean In, Not Away

"Can we know and still love?" That's the question....

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Grace: The Great Equalizer

You can't earn love by presenting a better version of yourself. It's just a false self, and a false self can't give or receive love…it can only act like it can. It's crushing to live under the demands of the law, trying to earn favor....

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Sibling Rivalry

Wanting to be the favorite is a struggle in vain, as God has given us an even playing field, always coming from wretchedness, being made into His righteousness through adoption as sons and heirs of His kingdom....

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Grace for Our Kids

I can try to control my child's outward behavior through the law, but I cannot actually change her heart. The visible, socially acceptable behaviors are a lot easier to focus on which, places a burden on parents to get it right. But, the more I ponder God's truth, there is a lot of comfort in knowing my child's salvation is not dependent on how wonderful of a parent I am....

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Grace for Parents

Maybe you vacillate between "having it all together" parenting and "I'm drunk" parenting. Maybe you want to fix your kids. Maybe you want to have compassion but don't, want to be interested, but aren't. Maybe you don't really know or aren't really sure, because you have checked out... Parenting does expose. It shows us our idols. ...

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Apologizing to My Preschooler

Telling a preschooler that you are sorry for having such a short temper with them is a humbling experience. ...

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Considering Christ in Culture's Messages About Sex

Today's culture sends all kinds of messages about sexuality, and God's Word speaks to each and every one of them. ...

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How Our Cultural Context Shapes Our Views of Sexuality

Our priority as a church is to be a faithful presence of Jesus in a broken world, that we would live, speak and serve as the very presence of Jesus, and this includes in the area of sexuality....

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Being a Part of God's Love Story

We know the Disney movies that end in riding off into the sunset, living happily ever after, etc. As a child, my favorite parts were watching the prince transform throughout the movie. The beast, the frog, the thief became the perfect prince all while the girl remained sinless. I wanted this for myself......

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Becoming a Grace-filled Family

Family is frustrating, right? We use our words to hurt, control, garner favor, win. We use non-verbals to back up the verbals, showing our disgust. But God gives grace--and grace allows for a family to be built not on conditions, but on unconditional love and acceptance. In this post, Pastor Justin shares some ideas on becoming a grace-full family. ...

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