“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Sometimes you come across something in the Scriptures that, if you think about it very hard, can make you break out in a cold sweat. It doesn’t happen so often as to make you read with armor on, but you’ve still got to watch out for it. This is one of those places.
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“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,”
– Matthew 6:19 (ESV – Read the chapter)
The other day I was making small talk with an acquaintance. Given that we were only a couple of days past Christmas, we asked each other the obligatory, “How was your Christmas?” question. Both of us assured the other that it had been good and that, more importantly, the kids had had fun. We agreed that if the kids were happy, that was a key ingredient to a fun Christmas morning. Then he said something to which I could only respond politely because I didn’t agree.
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Happy New Year! As we begin this new year, let’s take a few minutes to take stock of our lives and the job we’re doing at building them. Are we building on the kind of foundation that will last and carry us into the future, or are we building on something that’s going to give us trouble down the road? In this message we glean some of the wisdom of Jesus and His brother, James, to give us some guidance on getting this right.
Building on the Right Foundation
When Noah was a baby, he liked to shove balls around the house like any little boy does. Well, the house we happened to be living in at the time was actually really good for this. If you went to the little hallway right in the middle of the house and rolled a ball toward the bathroom door, just as it got to the door it would slow down…and start rolling back toward you. The house came equipped with its own automatic ball return. It was like living in a bowling alley! We just had to set him in the floor there with a ball and he could entertain himself. It was great! Well…sort of.
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“And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
The angel told Mary that she had found favor with God, and then set her on a road that was incredibly difficult. We’d sure like to think that being the recipient of God’s favor is a good thing from start to finish, but given the kinds of things Mary experienced, that’s not such an easy conclusion as we’d like. So, what does it mean to find God’s favor?
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“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Have you ever been in a place of turmoil? Of course you have. We all have. We’ve all been there multiple times. Sometimes turmoil is an almost daily affair. And in these times when life is topsy-turvy what is it that we most want? Peace. We long for peace. We need peace. We want life to feel like a scene from a Bob Ross painting. How do we get this?
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The Nexus 