Tag: contentment
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Thankfulness Pt. 2
16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). I used to be a very pessimistic and cynical person. I questioned everyone’s motives…
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It’s Been A While, But I’m Finally in a Healthy Frame of Mind
Hurt is hard. I realized in the last month that it has been more than a year since I have done any serious writing. I had given up on ministry and started my own business because, frankly, I was done being hurt. At the beginning of 2023, a friend of mine (a couple, actually) told…
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Pastoral Contentment and the Success Syndrome
I have been in full-time ministry for 13 years. Before I started my ministry career (for lack of a better term), I had one instructor notice my goal-oriented zeal and offer a book from his personal library. That book still sits on my shelf in my office, stamped with his seal on the title page.…
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God’s Formula for Happiness
“You can’t date ’til you’re married. You can’t get married until you’re 30,” said the stereotypical father to his daughter. You’ve heard the statement. In Corinth, it had become customary for fathers to dedicate their children to the Lord, which meant that their children became the picture of purity and devotion to God alone. Apparently,…
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Concerning Virgins
Paul wrote to the local church, admonishing the local congregation toward unity. According to Paul, unity comes through maturity in the faith. Paul believes that, without admonition, there is no sanctification within the local body of believers—a growing into the likeness of Christ. In Chapter 7, we learn that maturity comes only in contentment. Contentment…
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Christian Contentment
Paul has instructed those married to unbelievers to remain with them. He revealed that God hates all divorce and instructed people to, instead of seek their own freedom, to love their spouses. In such a revelation, we discover that love is not about me seeking what is right for me but, instead, long-suffering with others…
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I Can’t Do All Things Through Him Who Gives Me Strength
Over the last couple weeks, we have been working up to the battle between David and Goliath. We still won’t get there. Anticipation will build for one more week. Most of us are familiar enough with this story to know that David prevails over Goliath. At this point in the story, no one knows whether…
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PSA: Life Really Is a Pressure Cooker
Do you ever wonder why it sometimes seems as though God turns up the pressure on our lives or why there seem to be so many trials in this life? Yesterday, Kati and I participated in a “walk to remember.” October is Pregnancy and Child Loss Awareness Month. We did this to honor the child…
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Experiencing Happy Part 1- Meekness
Joy, true joy, is a difficult thing to come by. Most of us just act like we are happy while we are in front of people. When we get by ourselves, our minds are scary places to be, wrought with depression, anxiety, worry, and we spend all of our time trying to solve the problems…
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Response to Thinking Atheist: The Story of Salvation
I recently saw this picture from Thinking Atheist on a friends wall. My first instinct was to comment on the picture that he had posted, but he has a poor history of actually thinking about things. So, as I figured my comment would make little difference, I decided (perhaps in my own ignorance) to post…