01
Dec '18
Love and Fellowship
01
Dec '18
“Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything.”
1 John 3:18-20
Recently, I felt like something was missing in my life, and found that I had not been connecting with my spiritual friends. So, I was able to unbury myself from my day to day work rituals, and make time to reconnect with one of them. We had lunch, and it was such a wonderful reminder of how God works in all of us. You see, I believe we are at our best when we are connected with others. Additionally, the bond between our friends are made stronger Read more…
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24
Nov '18
Love and Prayers
24
Nov '18
Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what He did for me.
For I cried out to Him for help,
praising Him as I spoke.
If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw His unfailing love from me. Psalms 66:16-20
and I will tell you what He did for me.
For I cried out to Him for help,
praising Him as I spoke.
If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw His unfailing love from me. Psalms 66:16-20
Lately, I have been in an unusually thankful mood. It is not because the world has become a more certain place. It has not. It is not because I have no feelings of anxiety and concern in Read more…
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24
Nov '18
Never Give Up
24
Nov '18
There have been countless times where I have felt like throwing in the towel. Whether at work or in personal circumstances, things can happen that can take their toll and can get the best of us. Being expected to perform well and to do things in a quick, timely manner can put so much pressure on us. We can start to feel the anxiety build up and begin to think nothing will ever be good enough to please anyone. Satan works hard at wearing us down. Why should we keep trying? Is it all worth it? YES!!! Never give up trying, and never throw in the towel.
It’s very discouraging to keep trying and feel like nothing is being accomplished. God understands what we are going through. He knows our struggles better than we do. We are Read more…
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24
Nov '18
Eggs and a Basket
24
Nov '18
Early this morning I started thinking how in the past, I’ve occasionally put all of my eggs in a single basket (and I was reminded how horribly that has usually worked out). Having a Plan A without a Plan B for a Type A personality like me usually spells disaster, mentally. It’s not something that I enjoy doing, and not something I often do – usually if I have a Plan A, I also like have a Plan B. That’s just the way I work. God gave all of us temperaments, and one of my temperaments is that of a planner, therefore, it’s just natural for me to have that alternate option. But – occasionally I’ll do it. Trusting more than I should, I’ll do it. Only Plan A. “Let’s do this!”
Well, I’ve found myself in life, as I mentioned, with all of my eggs in one basket. When that failed miserably, I was a bit shocked, but was I also relieved? In my gut (God’s still small Read more…
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17
Nov '18
Running on Empty
17
Nov '18
After making it through a very long week, we can feel exhausted and like we’re running on empty. Sometimes it can feel like we just want to sleep for the next forty-eight hours. But regardless of our tiring work weeks, we still have things to do. We have family, church, different activities and obligations we have to meet. Whatever it is that we think we don’t have the strength for, God does have the strength for it. Every time we feel like we don’t have Read more…
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17
Nov '18
Starbucks is a Love Language
17
Nov '18
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants
generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t
give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God
will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left
over to share with others.
generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t
give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God
will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left
over to share with others.
So, a funny conversation occurred at my church over of all things … coffee. A young lady made a
Facebook post about how her wonderful fiancé had surprised her in the morning with a cup of Starbucks
before heading off on a business trip. I had to laugh at it because strangely the picture appeared to Read more…
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17
Nov '18
The Serenity Prayer
17
Nov '18
Do you ever get impatient? I know do – about all kinds of things. I try not to make it a habit, but I can sure conjure up ideas in my head of things that I think are going to happen, and then I get impatient while I wait for them to happen. Sometimes they happen, but sometimes they don’t, and most always they are out of my control.
There’s been times in my life that I’ve really prayed for patience – and I’ve since learned that patience is something God will provide every! single! time! I ask for it. (I believe He’s definitely given patience to me in various large doses over the years! ha!). I remember Pastor Frank mentioning this during a sermon Read more…
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10
Nov '18
Discrepancy Thinking
10
Nov '18
Written by: Mark Culp
If you ask most Christians if they deserve hell, most would answer “yes”. It has kind of become a standard answer you give to your fellow believing friends. In fact, most believers could not even imagine answering any other way. It’s the belief we must come to, to be truly saved. That being said, here is the question. If we truly believe that we are deserving of hell, why do we believe at the same time, and get all bent out of shape, and cry and whine, and demand justice when we don’t get treated fairly (or maybe someone disrespects us).
I’m trying to point out a discrepancy in our thinking.
Saying I am deserving of hell and then getting so angry when I’m not being treated right reveals a disconnect. I need to daily remind myself of the infinite mercy and grace that was bestowed upon me at the cross. Doing that puts everything else in the proper perspective. I have to remember that whatever wrong I perceive may have happened to me, it was nothing, and I mean nothing compared to what I did to a perfect Holy God.
BLOG AUDIO
Mark
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I’m currently 51 years old and live in Saline with my wife Melinda. We each have 2 children, and together we have 12 grandchildren (including 2 still in the “oven”). I have walked through various hardships in life and it’s my prayer and desire to share some of the things I’ve learned walking through these hardships. I pray that God uses something in what I share to spark in you a thought that may have needed to be lit. I don’t presume to have it all worked out, and much of what you will read is currently being worked out in my own life. I would like to thank my precious Lord for this “voice” and pray that what I say will bring honor to Him. – Mark
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10
Nov '18
Enough!
10
Nov '18
Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.”
“No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.
Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!” “No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.”
But he refused to listen to her. He called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.” 2 Samuel 13:10-17
“What’s wrong with you,” said my mother with clear disdain in her voice. “What’s wrong, mom,” I replied. She says, “Didn’t I teach you better than that? Don’t you ever go through a door without opening it for the woman,” she said. “Yes, mom,” I replied without hesitation. As I grew older, there would be one day where a woman would look at me and become upset for my opening the door for them. “Don’t you think I can open the door on my own,” she would ask. “Yes, but I was just being polite as I would to anyone else,” I replied. If you live in the Midwest, opening doors for each other is almost like standard operating procedure. But you see, that never would have started if it were not for the first lady in my life: my mother. You see, I open doors for men because it’s the courteous thing to do, and I open them for women because it’s the right thing to do. You see, my mother taught me to have a higher bar of respect for the opposite sex.
My heart is deeply troubled by the state of our nation in lieu of the treatment of women as of late, and to be honest, I have had enough of it. In today’s world, we fight over who to believe when there is any act of misconduct. Women who have been abused speak up, and we want to fall into the ‘he said/ she said’ line. We somehow decided to blur the line as to who to believe strictly because it is expedient to ‘what we want to believe.’ The mistake I work hard to avoid is not to jump to a political, gender specific, or even personal view. Instead, I focus on a Godly one. Why do we need to tear her story down so much? Do we believe the other side is up to some ulterior motive? Is our team’s record at stake? Do we not realize just how wrong that thinking is? What does it say to the women in our lives? Here’s the thing. To those who wish to make this a political issue, I will just say this. It comes back to one simple thing. All women are to be respected whether we believe them or not. If I am ever accused of wrongdoing, my confidence has always been that my actions reflect what my mother taught me, and that and God would handle the rest.
God expects better than us. Somewhere along the line, decency got lost. I do not look to a side to blame because it is all of us. We have somehow substituted doing the right thing for ‘they did it, and so I can do it’ mentality. Well another thing my mother used to say is if everyone jumped off a cliff, you should too? God does not want to hear your excuse. He wants you to submit to His way of doing things. In a discussion with a friend, we centered on the word ‘integrity.’ Our actions must be above reproach. We have no control over what the world does to us. We do have control of how we show love and reverence to God. I was not comfortable writing this. Not one bit. But God made me uncomfortable to the point I had to because I am tired of women living in fear and us as men (and in many cases women) ignoring it like we had no stake in the game. I love the women in my life far too much to let this lie any further. If a woman comes forward regardless of your belief, stop tearing her down! Period! This must end immediately!
Women must always be respected and heard regardless of their motive. I look at my wife, and I think of Ephesians where it says:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. (Ephesians 5:25-28)
While this only applies to my wife, it is the standard that I pray we uphold of all women. I want to be clear. There are zero acceptable excuses for disrespecting a woman making an accusation of abuse. If you sense yourself looking for one, focus on Jesus saying, “But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other cheek also.” (Matthew 5:39) How will you respond the next time a woman claims abuse? How can you be more respectful of women as a whole? My prayer is that God has prompted your heart to simply and unequivocally say, “Enough!” Amen.
Kent
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10
Nov '18
Control
10
Nov '18
Do you ever just want to take control of something that isn’t in your control? I sure do. I want people to know what I know and see things the way that I see them. If they would only agree with me, things would be so much better. But, thank goodness I’m not in control – that would be a complete disaster. GOD is in control. He has everything already worked out. He gave us free will, so we are never going to fully agree on anything. One thing is definite, His plan and His decisions prevail. We will muddle through our disagreements, and battle our spiritual warfare, but then we can rest easy because He’s already won the battle for us. So, when we are confused about why someone is making the choices they are making, we can always turn to God and know that Read more…
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