Hebrews 4:9-11 (NIV) There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

I haven’t met anyone yet who didn’t start off their relationship with Jesus by trying to obey what He says in His Word. But as everyone finds out, that is impossible to do. The stand

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Genesis 48:15 (NIV) Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has delivered me from all harm—may he bless these boys.”

When Joseph brought his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to his father Jacob so that he could bless them before he passed away, Jacob began his blessing, saying some very important and meaningful words. In talking about God,

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Isaiah 30:18 (NLT) So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.

You have probably heard a lot of sermons about waiting on God and I am sure that many people have told you to wait on God when you have been going through problems and difficulties in your life. That is great advice that comes straight from the Word of God. But something that you probably have no

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1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV) So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Many people live lives that are different depending on where they are or who they’re with. For example, if someone is with their co-workers, they are one way, while if they are with their manager or the “higher-ups,” they’re another way. They may be one way with a group of friends that are considered hip and cool and another way with friends that are a little nerdy. For

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Psalm 103:1 (ESV) Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! There is a recurring theme throughout scripture and it is about giving your all to God. The verse above has the psalmist blessing (praising, worshipping) the Lord with everything that is within him. Jesus taught us that we must love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30), and the Apostle Paul admonished us to serve wholeheartedly (Ephesians 6:7). Why does

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John 11:39-40 (NIV) “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

When Jesus was told that Lazarus was sick, he waited two days before starting to make His way to Bethany where Lazarus lived. At that time, he told the disciples that this was intended for God’s glory. They didn’t

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Psalm 107:23-24 (NIV) Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep.

Psalm 107 begins by giving thanks to the Lord and then encouraging the redeemed of the Lord to tell their story (verses 1 ands 2). It then speaks about all the different situations that those redeemed people of the Lord experienced. Then it comes to the passage of scripture above and in order to be able to unders

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Psalm 63:1-2 (NIV) You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

There is a big difference in your heart and mind when you see something as belonging to you. When something is yours, you treat it much differently than you do if it were not yours. For example, a person may be a friend but if they become your f

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Psalm 103:1 (ESV) Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

One of the most important things that we must learn as the people of God is that the Lord is not just looking to be a part of our lives. He is not looking for you to have a place in your heart for Him, but instead He is looking for you to give Him all your heart. He is not looking for you to love Him, but instead He is looking for you to love Him with all your heart. He is not looking for

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Genesis 19:15-16 (NIV) At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!” When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful.

When the Lord sent two angels to Sodom to destroy the city along with the c

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Psalm 106:12-13 (NIV) Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.

I have many times read the accounts in the Word of God about the exodus of the people of God who were slaves in Egypt and about how the Lord used Moses to deliver them from Pharoah’s hand. Then there is the account of how God parted the Red Sea like a curtain, allowing Moses and the people to not only cross the sea, but to

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1 Thessalonians 5:10 (NIV) He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

We who are followers of Christ all know that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins, but the reason He died is a lot more expansive than that. I’m sure that everyone who has “received” Christ as their Lord and Savior are happy that their sins are forgiven, but what has happened since the day that they did that? Many Christians, after their salvation experien

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Proverbs 14:4 (ESV) Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

Have you ever walked into a stable area where oxen are kept? It is smelly and dirty. But if it is smelly and dirty, that means that there are oxen in there, which means that if you need to get some work done that requires using the strength of oxen, you will be able to get it done. To have a clean and nice-smelling stable, it has to be empty. If it's empty, i

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Proverbs 22:4 (NIV) Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.

There was a time when I was on staff at a church and the leadership at the church decided that the staff needed to be evaluated every year or so, so they created a list of questions to answer on an evaluation form. Each staff member was to answer the questions as honestly as possible. I received mine and I set off to answer the questions as best I could. I was doing fine until I r

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Acts 22:27-29 (NIV) The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.

Citizenship is important. There are certain rights and privileges that are onl

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