If You Can’t Say Nothin’ Good by Andy Stoddard

Sometimes when we read scripture we wonder, “what can this passage be saying to me in this moment?  How can I understand it?  What may God want me to do with this truth at this time in my life?”  Sometimes it can be hard to understand, hard to deal with.  And then there are other passages that are so simple they leap off the

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Find Your Wings by Carrie Carter

I didn’t cry when our boys went to kindergarten.  I didn’t cry when our boys went to high school.  I didn’t even cry when our oldest graduated from high school.  Maybe that’s why the flood of emotion that washed over me a couple days before we took our oldest to college completely caught me off guard. Even now, as we’re

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The Nature Of God When The Sun Goes Out And The Rain Comes Down by Elizabeth Glass Turner

Eerie.   Unnatural.  Awe-inspiring.  Within a short span, we went from sharing photos of uncanny eclipse shadows to videos of hungry floodwaters rising.  America stood still while time turned in on itself and twilight became midday, calling out confused crickets while the sun went out and summer heat cooled. We haven’t found a way to control the moon. It’s not customizable. There’s

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When You See A Turtle On A Fencepost by Carolyn Moore

Everybody goes through seasons of spiritual “stuckness,” days or weeks or sometimes even months when you just can’t seem to get out of your spiritual bad mood. If you’ve had that experience or are there now, you’re not alone. This is a normal part of the spiritual journey. It is not a sign of weakness; to the contrary, it may well

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Our Most Important Meeting by Andy Stoddard

There is so much that we can learn about God, our life, our calling, by looking at the life of Jesus Christ.  He can teach us how to love, how to be faithful, how to be holy, how to see to live out the good news of God’s love each day. And today we see something very significant, and very important to Jesus’ life and his

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Do You Need To Move On? by Elizabeth Glass Turner

“Move ON!” a little girl voice shouted from the porch. She’d been watching me weed then went inside. During that time, I’d moved down the flowerbed but doubled back, pulling stray weeds I’d missed the first time in the tangle of morning glory vines. When she came out, she saw me bending at roughly the same spot as when she’d

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Your Behavior Matters by Andy Stoddard

One of the most common phrases in our culture, and in the church as well, is “you can’t judge me. Only God can judge me.”  And yes, there are many verses in Scripture that tell us that we should not judge each other, and that God is the only judge of our behavior or intentions. (By the way, none of

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How To Get A Good Name by Andy Stoddard

I really do love the book of Proverbs.  There’s just some really good stuff within this great book: wisdom that can help us live our lives in ways that are just so powerful and so good. Ways that are just so true.  Listen to what we are told today in Proverbs 21: 1-2: 1 A good name is to be chosen

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How To Live Like Jesus Is Alive by Carolyn Moore

I suspect sometimes that I live more out of a sense of obligation than awe — more aware that I’ve signed onto a system than that I am a servant of a holy God who has actually sapped the power out of death and sin. I need to be reminded that systems are not living, breathing things, but Jesus is.

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The Dog Ate The Communion Bread by Carolyn Moore

I went to church on a Saturday morning to meet a group of folks who wanted me to offer communion to their group. The first person I saw was one of the leaders. She drove right up next to me in the parking lot, rolled down her window, and said, “the dog ate the communion bread.” I thought she was

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Testing, Trusting, Timing by Otis McMillan

Many struggle endeavoring to conquer areas of weakness. Resolutions are made but change, if it comes, is only short lived. Their efforts are dependent on their own strength and will. Time in God’s Word is lacking. If you desire stability in the ways of the Lord the process must begin. Give time daily to read his Word, study to show

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With by Carrie Carter

I’m tired of the struggle. I ask my 14-year-old to clean his room…again…knowing that there is no good reason I should have to tell him constantly to actually put his clothes IN the hamper, instead of AROUND the hamper. “Clean” is subjective, and our definitions clash. This is new to me, as my firstborn is not quite as laid back

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If You’re Wanting More from Your Devotionals, Try This by Tom Fuerst

For many of us, when we read the Bible, we read it from the perspective of people who need encouragement, therapy, challenge, hope, or even love. These are all good things that we do, indeed, need. But usually these needs arise from a larger situation that involves someone or something hurting us. For example, we need encouragement because a boss

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There Is a Place the Lord Must Bring You by Otis McMillan

The Lord took Peter, James, and John to a high mountain apart. It was essential, for their effectiveness, that He reveal facts about Him they did not yet know. It is important to note that they were separated from the others and it is not by accident that they journeyed to a high mountain apart. He had something to show

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Are You John The Baptist? by Andy Stoddard

As we start our journey through Mark together, today we are going to look at Chapter 1:1-8:  In the NRSV this section is entitled The Proclamation of John the Baptist: 1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead

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