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daily word - appetite

Dale Cresap's picture

Submitted by Dale Cresap on April 08, 2021 - 06:00

Are you familiar with the concept of ruining your appetite? If you have a big snack of junk food just before dinner you won’t be hungry for dinner, which is probably better for you. This term is commonly used in regard to children, but the principle applies just as much to adults. Does it go beyond the physical and material? Do you have a spiritual appetite as well as an appetite for food? I said that those who hungered and thirsted for righteousness would be filled, so they were blessed. Have you ever sought out some substitute that ruined your spiritual appetite?

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daily word - baggage?

Dale Cresap's picture

Submitted by Dale Cresap on April 07, 2021 - 06:00

Do you have any cultural baggage that tags along with your faith? This may not be at all obvious if you remain in your familiar setting, but if you encounter Christians from a different culture or even denomination you may find that they accept things that you don’t, and reject things that you do, and that these things are not essential to the faith. The pure essence of the faith is simple, and you should beware of any cultural overlay that you would impose on it.

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daily word - diverse friends

Dale Cresap's picture

Submitted by Dale Cresap on April 06, 2021 - 06:00

Do you surround yourself with people who hold the same opinions you do, and see the world the same way? Do you find this to be a great source of comfort and reassurance? Most people do, and it certainly provides that, but it will hinder you in ways you may be unaware of. I told you to take the log out of your eye that you could see clearly to help your brother take the speck from his eye. If your friends all have the same log they are not much help. You need some friends with diverse backgrounds and perspectives to help with this.

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Create and Sustain Romantic Love to Last a Lifetime

Mark Virkler's picture

Submitted by Mark Virkler on April 05, 2021 - 17:44

Imagine the passion of romantic love being kept alive all through your lifetime. Is it possible? Absolutely! The pain of a divorce or living with a stale marriage is impetus enough for each of us to choose to invest deeply into keeping romance alive in our marriages. If first love is lost, the Bible is clear that we can go back and do the things we first did and restore our first love (Rev. 2:4,5). Now that is exciting! The principles below can be applied to restoring our first love with God and our marriage partner.

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daily word - actions and intentions

Dale Cresap's picture

Submitted by Dale Cresap on April 05, 2021 - 06:00

Do you judge yourself by your intentions and others by their actions? Does this make you seem more pure than they are? Are your intentions as pure as you perceive them? Do others perceive your intentions as favorably as you do? Does the reality in your mind match the real world? For it is only in this realm, that everyone can see, that judgments may be based on visible actions. Others will judge you by your actions the same way you judge them by theirs.

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daily word - trust

Dale Cresap's picture

Submitted by Dale Cresap on April 04, 2021 - 06:00

Have you ever encountered someone who said they would never trust anyone but God? Does this sound spiritual? Don’t be fooled. It isn’t. I have placed you in a community, even my own body. You cannot take your place in it without trusting the other members, and you can’t be effective in serving me in isolation. It is true that your fellow members are flawed creatures like yourself, and at times they will disappoint you, and you will disappoint them. You can recover from this. How can you recover from a suspicious and cynical life lived in isolation from your fellow members?

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daily word - creed or mission?

Dale Cresap's picture

Submitted by Dale Cresap on April 03, 2021 - 06:00

Does your church have a creed? Many churches do and recite it regularly as a statement of essential doctrine. Do you see your creed more as a philosophy statement or a mission statement? A philosophy statement would be what to believe, and a mission statement would be what to do. Does your creed emphasize only one aspect of your faith? What do you see in my life on earth? The importance of belief was already well-established, and I affirmed it. But don’t you see even more emphasis on telling people how to live, and what actions they had to take to live a godly life?

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daily word - Spirit Led

Dale Cresap's picture

Submitted by Dale Cresap on April 02, 2021 - 06:00

How would you describe the way that leads to life? Would you call it a strait and narrow way? This Biblical term means narrow rather than straight, but it implies a well-defined path. Or would you say that you make the path by walking? Would you say that your own path has been straight, or has it involved unexpected turns and detours? This may be a difficult question since you don’t have a map, and cannot see the destination, and have never been there before. Yet these should not be reasons for despair for you don’t really need any of these things.

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daily word - default

Dale Cresap's picture

Submitted by Dale Cresap on April 01, 2021 - 06:00

Are you familiar with the concept of default states? Have you ever had to work up the courage and put forth the effort to be judgmental? Presumably this would take initiate and effort. Yet haven’t you found that this is the default state in other people, and yourself as well? Your mind is wired to code information and make classifications. In many ways this is useful and you can’t live in an ordered world without it. Yet this same trait can be used to impose condemnation on others, and I tell you not to do this.

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daily word - love your enemies

Dale Cresap's picture

Submitted by Dale Cresap on March 31, 2021 - 06:00

Do you love your enemies? Do you find that this commandment is the simplest concept and the hardest thing to carry out? It goes against everything in your nature. How is it even possible? When my disciples marveled at my story about a camel and the eye of a needle I told them that what was impossible with men was possible with God and this is the same thing. It requires a total shift in the way you see. Do you see my face in every person you meet? They are all made in my image and likeness so it is there if you have eyes to see. Do you love me?

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