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What a know it all!

Oh,  how I used to be a know it all.

In fact, many might misunderstand why I share each day,  thinking that I’m proudly displaying how much I know. But you see, what I share is what I am being taught – so these daily journals are a chronicle odd how much I need to learn and apply,  not a pile of trophies to be displayed.

PRO 1:7, 22-23, 32-33 ESV
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. 
“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? 
If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. 
For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them;  but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

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Dude, can you turn down that light a bit?

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What do we see when we look at the Bible?

Non-believers might say a story book or religion,  but expect them to not get it because they acknowledge their blindness and separation from God.

But for those who call ourselves Christians –

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Rejection? Redemption?

He has opened the gates for us to enter. We choose whether to resist or to enter.

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Psalms 118:19-24 NLT
Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord . These gates lead to the presence of the Lord , and the godly enter there. I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!
The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord ’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

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Defeated or victorious?

Psalms 107:1-2 NLT
Give thanks to the lord , for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.

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Accept Peace = Know Victory

John 16:33 ESV
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

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Little Eyes and Little Hearts Watch Us Each Day

Psalms 78:4-8 NLT
We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the lord , about his power and his mighty wonders. For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them— even the children not yet born— and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. Then they will not be like their ancestors— stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.

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Yes, I Share

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Yep,  I feel like a noisy gong.

Yep,  I read these posts of mine and wonder how much bigger of a hypocrite I look like every day.

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The World Bears Witness

Psalms 19:1-3 NLT
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
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As we ride around in the car as a family, we try to take note of the beauty of the sky. My go to phrase is,  “Doesn’t God have the most amazing paint brushes?”

Yes,  we can look at the evidence of the world around us,  and we can understand the evidence for a creator and intelligent design. Many throughout history have come to this conclusion from the evidence at hand. So what is different in a Christ follower?

We make the bold claim that this creator God came in the flesh as a man,  Jesus Christ, he lived a blameless life, was persecuted and suffered death on a cross as a sacrifice to renew our relationship with God and to demonstrate God’s loving mercy and forgiveness to us, and he rose from the dead as an example of how we too will rise from these perishable bodies into an imperishable and eternal life.

We do not follow a teacher that had wise advice and instructions for our lives here in the flesh, we follow a risen Savior who gives us the example of preparing ourselves for life eternal, understanding the temporary nature of this physical life that we see with our senses, and believing in those things unseen but nevertheless just as real.

Shouldn’t our lives speak just as loudly about our God as the beautiful skies?

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Tapped into the Vine

Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT
“But blessed are those who trust in the lord and have made the lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

Proverbs 11:30 ESV
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.

…

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
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I am tapped into the true vine, Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

And this Holy Spirit that guides me and teaches me, He is the water that nourishes my soul so that this new creation inside me is alive and growing.

And when I am alive and growing, these living waters that fill my vessel spill out onto others around me, through these actions in my body that are a result of His will, not my own.

So any souls won are won by Christ who lives in me, not won by me – and this is why I lay down any crowns at the feet of Christ instead of proudly claiming any crowns as by my own works. He chooses, He calls, He extends grace.

I am simply a vessel, hoping each day to be equipped and ready for service, lifting my life as a sacrifice of praise to my Lord and Savior, who I love dearly, because He first loved me, and He rescued me, and now He lives with me, and guides me, in a renewed life that I never deserved.

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Crumbs at the Table

Mark 7:24-30 NLT
Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret.
Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.
Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews.… It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.”
“Good answer!” he said. “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.”
And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
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I love this story, and the idea of crumbs from the table encourages me to share daily what I am being fed.

You see, I share what I am learning in case there is a crumb that someone else might want, not because I think that I have it right and you have it wrong.

Yes, I face accusations of “tossing pearls to the pigs” by those who oppose what I do daily. Yes, I face accusations of “acting as a teacher/preacher when I’m not qualified” by those who focus on my past.

But, you see – I’m no teacher.

But I know the teacher.

And He loves me.

And He feeds me so well each day, that the cup and plate are not just full, but they are overflowing. So this left over bread, I share it as crumbs – because I know what it was like to be without bread of my own – sniffing around at the tables of others looking for crumbs – when I didn’t realize that I could go straight to the source instead of getting it second hand.

I don’t want to teach anyone.

But I do want them to meet my teacher.