Lasting Pleasures vs. Fleeting Happiness

Lasting Pleasures vs. 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…

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The Weight of Self

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…

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A Flourishing Mental Life

A Flourishing Mental Life The tangled false self (embraced by most of us) struggles subconsciously with a myriad of mental issues. Perhaps from childhood struggles of pain, lack of affirmation, fears, anxieties, embarrassments, failure (real or imagined). The way we deal with the problem details of our thinking-reactions determines our lifestyle. What empties or fills our thinking-reactions may be true,…

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The Doctrine of Worry

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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Struggles, Suffering, and Final Victory

Struggles, Suffering, and Final Victory When sick or injured, our instinctive fear is of dying. In poverty circumstances, it is natural to fear hunger and even exposure. Our flesh is weak and selfish. But the crown of life demands sacrifice of self–suffering while in the world and, through it all, keeping the faith no matter what. Human life is unique….

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The Struggles of the Soul

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…

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Victory Over Death

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,…

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Smudge Pot or Torchbearer

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…

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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 the most…

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More on Afflictions

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…

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Peace in the Valley

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…

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Meditations – A Prayer-Walk

Meditations – A Prayer-Walk Inspiration from God is subtle, but sometimes it can be a wonderful experience. Have you ever considered keeping track of your meditations? You must be on guard to recognize God’s inspiration, against your own desires. Write down your meditations and keep them as a sort of ‘diary’ of your personal and quiet walk with the Lord….

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Compassion and Forgiveness

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…

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