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Summer Fruit Devotion: Patience Day 2
Until the End “Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom…
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Summer Fruit Devotion: Peace Day 5
Free Peace “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.” John 14:27-29 Jesus gives peace, brings peace, makes peace and is peace. Every facet of peace you can…
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Summer Fruit Devotion: Peace Day 4
Grace & Peace “Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” -Romans 1:7 -1 Corinthians 1:3 -2 Corinthians 1:2 -Galatians 1:3 -Ephesians 1:2 -Philippians 1:2 -Colossians 1:2 -1 Thessalonians 1:1 -2 Thessalonians 1:2 -1 Timothy 1:2 (grace, mercy and peace) -2 Timothy 1:2 (grace, mercy and peace) -Titus 1:4 (grace, mercy and peace) -Philemon 1:3 -1 Peter 1:2 -2 Peter 1:2 -2 John 1:3 “Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and…
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Summer Fruit Devotion: Peace Day 1
Reconciled “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands- remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of…
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Summer Fruit Devotion: Joy Day 3
Joy in Prayer “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is…
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Summer Fruit Devotion: Joy Day 1
Joy in Salvation “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice,” 1 Peter 1:3-6a Have you ever heard better news than this? The Gospel is The Good News and good news brings joy! Imagine being a shepherd in the fields that quiet Bethlehem…
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Summer Fruit Devotion: Love Day 1
Who is Love? “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God;…
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Spiritual Metabolism
Psalm 119:69-70 “The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts; their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law.” I love the contrast in these verses the where the heart is used symbolically. David’s “whole heart” keeps and delights in God’s Word, while the insolent (rude and arrogant, lacking respect) heart is “unfeeling like fat.” What a great word picture. Of the heart Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” The heart is considered the seat of our emotions but it is also a muscle. Muscles are full of sensory…
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4 Benefits of Preparation & Rest
Last year at this time we were making the final preparations for our daughter’s wedding. It was stressful, intense, and very busy. There were so many details and it seemed like every day we thought of something else that needed to be done or picked up or added to the list. Now we are preparing for a two week cross country road trip and I find myself in planning mode again. I’m up to my eyeballs in maps, lists, itineraries, and hotel reservations. Every time I go to the store I think of something or end up buying something else we will need to bring with us. This has all…
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6 Things Every Good Marriage & Bonsai Need
I want to share with you something that’s been going on for years in my marriage. It may surprise you. It may even shock you. But it is one of the best things we’ve done and we don’t plan to stop anytime soon. Bonsai. Not Banzai like the suicidal fighter pilots. Bonsai (pronounced bone-sigh,) cultured trees in pots. It was almost 11 years ago my husband and I bought our first bonsai tree. It was a pretty juniper, about a foot tall with a twisted trunk in a shallow glazed oval shaped pot. We got some basic care instructions… water it every day, keep it outside in the sun, trim…
