Happiness – Fulfillment Found

Webmaster’s Note: A deeper understanding of both God and the Living Word comes not only from accurate Bible study materials and proper instruction, but also from you. When you take your time, meditate upon key points, and look up given verses for yourself, in your very own Bible, your walk with the Lord takes on a whole new meaning; consider…

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Lasting Pleasures vs. Temporary, Fleeting Happiness

CHRISTIAN INTELLECTUAL STIMULATION Look around you. It is evident everywhere. Humanity is in a “frantic search for happiness.” The pleasures people seek are physical, and physical pleasures are always short-lived, futile, and often have future consequences, which are many times more harmful than the enjoyment they first brought. Self-control, prudence, and recognition are prerequisites to finding true inner-happiness, not fleeting…

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The Weight of Self

People spend much time pursuing ambition, material possessions, and lusts of the flesh and of the sin nature, when infinite peace and joy are available to them every day. People allow peer pressure in the work place, social groups, and other relationships to keep them distracted and competing for temporary happiness and material possessions. Inordinate ambition and materialism are a…

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The Doctrine of Worry

In certain parts of California, it can be a disaster of catastrophic proportion to the citrus crop if the temperature drops below 32°F. Therefore, the industry, in an effort to help reduce loss of crops, place thousands upon thousands of little pots in the citrus groves, which they light at night during freezing temperatures. These little pots are called “smudge…

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The Struggles of the Soul

Through the lens of Christ my Savior, I can see (and live) closer to the reality of eternity because the view is more clearly defined. The errors of worldly thinking are many. Ravi Zacharias once explained that: “For the hindu, ‘karma,’ the moral law of cause and effect, is a life-defining concept. Life carries a moral debt (or even debts)…

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Victory Over Death

Victory Over Death, or Victory Over the Fear of Death The Apostle Paul expressed well both the life of the believer, and the physical death of the believer in Philippians 1:21: “For me, to live is Christ and to die (physically) is gain.” Paul’s life, after he was converted by Christ Himself on the road to Damascus, was totally devoted…

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Smudge Pot or Torchbearer

The Doctrine of Worry In certain parts of California, it can be a disaster of catastrophic proportion to the citrus crop if the temperature drops below 32°F. Therefore, the industry, in an effort to help reduce loss of crops, place thousands upon thousands of little pots in the citrus groves which they light at night during freezing temperatures. These little…

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Addictions

ADDICTIONS – COUNTERFEIT WORLDS   Fleshly Addictions Christ Himself told us that we have three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The “world” refers to other people, temptations, and counterfeit living without God in the Devil’s world. The flesh is our most powerful enemy… the flesh is most attracted to the world and its addictions. The Devil is…

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More on Afflictions

1 Thessalonians 2:10 gives us three spiritual examples of our witness (the example we set) during afflictions: Holy: spiritual, God-ward. Justly: socially, man-ward. Unblameable: personally. Trials, and especially suffering, form a necessary discipline in our walk with the Lord. They prove the reality of where we are in our faith (1 Peter 1:7). They enable us to comfort others who…

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Peace in the Valley

Our primary function as believers is spiritual growth through the inhale and the exhale of God’s Word (studying and meditating upon His Truths, then applying what we learn to every detail of life) and its constant application to the details of life. When hardships, difficulties, and even suffering cause us undue pressure or pain, we are to draw upon God’s…

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Compassion and Forgiveness

This brief look at compassion and forgiveness is critical to our relationships and learning to walk in Christ. This is only the first of many studies in compassion and forgiveness as we walk through fields of grace together. Shame and hurt, shock and regret, remorse and denial, suffering and pain, are common experiences of life. We all have the same…

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To Forgive is Difficult – A Personal Revelation

The doctrine of forgiveness may be defined as: letting go of resentment; excusing a guilty person of trespass; release from payment; forgetting an offense, never throwing it back on the person again; and finally, it means loving those who mock us, bully us, talk about us, and malign us behind our backs. Forgiveness is contrary to our nature – we…

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Mental Attitude

“The real battle in life takes place in the soul, for the soul.” – C. S. Craig Recognition, Affirmation, Approbation Recognition and the need for approval are deep-seated in the soul of humanity. The need for affirmation is a necessary ingredient in all of us. Approbation, however, is one manifestation of the lust-patterns of the soul, and has been an…

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