your life has new meaning!
Ask fifty people to finish the statement "Live As If" and you are likely to get fifty different answers. For Christians it will mean something different than for non-Christians. Incorporated into the top graphic are the answers given by friends of mine. It is our desire that your answer will be different each time you visit.
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Damocles' Sword
'The Way' from Kevin Pauley
It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment – Hebrews 9:27
I live every day with the effects of a terrible tropical disease contracted while living in Africa. I am going deaf, am often completely crippled and live in constant pain. But one of the most vexing effects is to my heart. Because of the damage to my nervous system, I sometimes have arrhythmias. Someday, the signal to my heart may be so mixed up that it might simply stop beating.
So I go to sleep every night and awake every morning with the thought that my heart could stop beating at
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Justification III (2-9-11)
'Today's Little Lift' from Jim Bullington
Self justification (showing oneself to be right) is a slippery slope; it truly is a place where extreme caution must be exercised. On the other hand, the only folks who do not engage in self justification are those who are mentally incompetent to decide such matters! There is one inherent issue that must be perpetually kept in view if we are to be successful in God's eyes in evaluating (justifying) our thoughts and actions. Specifically we must use the right standard to judge ourselves if we are to come away with the right answers.
Failure to use the right standard guarantees
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Do You Know That You Are Loved by God and Chosen by God?
'Word from Scotland' from Sandy Shaw
In I Thessalonians Chapter 1 and at verse 4 we read that these disciples of Jesus were loved by God and chosen by God. They were chosen. They were part of the elect. They were marked out, or cut out, to be different. We could say ‘holy’ and set apart for God. Their calling was genuine, and that
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End Times Thoughts to Ponder
'Refreshment in Refuge' from Gina Burgess
Could we take a minute here and look at the Lampstand at Ephesus?
The New English Bible translation says in Revelation 1:20 "Here is the secret meaning of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and of the seven lamps of gold: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lamps are the seven churches."
Then Revelation 2:5 says: "But I have this against you: you have lost your early love. Think from what a height you have fallen; repent, and do as you once did. Otherwise, if you do not repent, I shall come to you and remove
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A Famine Of The Gospel
''Christ in You...'' from Dale Krebbs
There is a prophecy recorded in the book of Amos which seems to indicate a universal gospel "famine" in the world.
A time when the Christian Gospel message will no longer be available. Perhaps not even allowed by the powers in the world at that time.
Prophetic occurrences are sometimes tucked away within other events and conditions that were extant when the writer wrote, that are dual in meaning, and predict an occurrence or condition in the world many centuries later. Some of these are for the end times - world conditions not long before the return of Christ.
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Psalms 91:8
'Voice of Inspiration' from Andy Castro
'Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.'
Psalm 91:8 KJV
On my last blog on Psalm 91:7, we talked about the difficulty of believing God's words. At times, the Word of God seems to be too good to be true. Verse 8 gets better.
When we submit our way of trying to live our life to the full and trust God's direction, we will see the enemy fail in every aspect of our life. God will also make the enemy return all he has stolen from us.
Let's break this down.
"Only with thine eyes" means you will be an actual witness on how
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Your Buried Treasure
'Inspiration For You' from Randy Mitchell
It’s the Christmas season, meaning most are thinking of presents under the tree, trips to shopping malls and brightly-colored boxes filled with things on our wish lists. The holidays are a magical time, giving us hope and reasons to be thankful. The beginning of a new year will also start soon, dusting off those resolutions always filled with good intentions and promises to keep. But, aside from the gifts and changes we want, did you know that right now you’re already overflowing with everything you’ve always desired? That the person God created you
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Bible and Quote - September 1-5
'Bible verse and quote' from Jan Couns
How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who greatly delights in His commandments. Psalm 112:1 We are happy when we have the disposition of a dutiful child toward a kind and gracious father, rather than that of a refractory slave toward a tyrannical and severe master. Joseph Benson, 1749–1821, English Methodist minister
(those who fear and obey the Lord) His descendants will be mighty on earth. Psalm 112:2a
What we desire our children to become, we must endeavor to be before them. Andrew Combe, 1797–1847, Scottish physician and phrenologist.
The
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We Will Confess His Name
'God's Words For US' from Cecelia Lester
Confessing Faith
“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him.
But because of the Pharisees they would not confess
their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue,
for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
John 12:42-43 (NIV)
John writes of leaders who secretly believed in the Master’s teachings. These men feared being cast out of the Hebrew house of worship. He makes a bold statement about the reason these men were quiet about their thoughts “for they loved praise from men more than from
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When Castles Fall
'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' from Tom Kelley
Every man needs a granddaughter. Last evening our twins were here for a few hours. My granddaughter, Grace, asked me to help her build a castle. For the better part of an hour we stacked cylindrical wooden blocks as high as we could to build her castle. I would stack one and then she would add one. When it came to the final one or two on the top of the precariously teetering stack, Grace would hand me the blocks and say, "Finish it, Pawpaw." I would finish and we would look at the completed castle for all of about two seconds. Then Grace would do something I consider
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Believes All Things
''Winging It' from Stan Smith
Paul wrote the definitive piece on biblical love in 1 Corinthians 13. Perhaps it's not as much a definition as a description, still he listed all sorts of aspects of what God calls love. And we get most of them:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
Yes, yes, we get it.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. That's one of those Biblical sayings that isn't really in the Bible. It is drawn from the Book of Ecclesiastes as Solomon reflects on the nature of man at death and what happens to the body when left to decompose. But all Solomon says is, "all are from the dust and all return to dust," (Ecclesiastes 3:20) and "then the dust will return to the earth as it was." (Ecclesiastes 12:7) I'm not sure
Daily Refractions
Words to Ponder
Integrity is not a given factor in everyone's life. It is a result of self-discipline, inner trust, and a decision to be relentlessly honest in all situations in our lives. - John Maxwell
'Daily Reading Plan'
from StudyLight.org
Bible-in-a-Year NAS
Jeremiah 45-46; Psalms 141; 2 Peter 3:
"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says to you, Baruch: 'You said, "Oh, woe to me! For the LORD has added grief to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest."' "This is what you are to say to him: 'This is what the LORD says: "Behold, what I have built I am going to tear down, and what I have planted I am going to uproot, that is, all the people of the land." 'But as