Promises

Hallowed Be Thy Name

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Growing up, I said the Our Father prayer a lot.

A lot. Multiple times a day.

It was part of my religious tradition. Most of the time, I mumbled it as quickly as I could.

For what it’s worth, my Dad tried to help me understand that mumbling the prayer without understanding what it really meant wasn’t the goal. He wanted me to understand it. He wanted me to mean it.

I remember sitting with him in the car one afternoon while we went through every phrase. He did his best to explain to me what the terms meant. Why we would say these things. Why it mattered.

It didn’t take. Continue reading →

They Crucified Him

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They crucified Him

Today is the Christian holiday called “Good Friday.” It’s a celebration of and remembrance of the crucifixion of Christ.

The name of the holiday causes confusion for some. On the surface, it is easy to ask: What’s so good about a crucifixion?

The Jews and Romans certainly didn’t intend for it to be good. Crucifixion was designed by the Romans to be as shameful and painful as possible. Jesus of Nazareth was crucified by the Romans as an enemy of the state.

Jesus was handed over to be crucified by His own people. They accused Him of being a blasphemer. They wanted Him to die a shameful death under the curse of God.

On the surface, there seems to be nothing worthy of celebration or remembrance. Nothing good. That’s why we need to look beneath the surface.
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The Upward Call

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Lights in the Dark

We live in a crooked and perverse world. The darkness can cause people to lose hope.

The Bible promises that the peace of God will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. It promises that the God of peace will be with you. It promises that God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. It promises all this just in Philippians 4.

But the Bible doesn’t promise this without qualification.

It doesn’t say that these promises are yours if you put them on a bumper sticker. It doesn’t say this will be true if you wear it on a t-shirt or sing it loud enough. These offers aren’t promised if you have them memorized or written on a refrigerator magnet.

We are supposed to take hold of these amazing promises by pressing on toward the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

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Four Promises For Christians

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Four PiecesAs the year comes to an end there are no shortage of things to think about. Many people are thinking about goals for the New Year. Others are making resolutions. Some may even keep them!

The final chapter of Philippians provides four promises for Christians. These are things worth thinking about year-round. They provide me with comfort and hope. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ they should bring you comfort and hope, too.

These promises are wonderful. They are not automatic. Each promise follows an encouragement to walk closely with our Lord. When we walk with Him we can be assured that He will respond by doing these four things. Continue reading →