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A Beautiful Mess
Have you ever tried creating a masterpiece out of your hands? If you tried to recall the beautiful things that you did before, did the process always appear smooth and perfect? You see, a mess is somehow part of the journey. Sometimes, we treat it as our enemy, but little do we know that the difficulties we experience in life are essential for our growth and maturity. They are like beautiful mess. They look like obstacles, but if you try to see the bigger picture, you will realize that you badly need those messes to see things clearly. They will open our hearts and teach us about the important things…
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Privileged To Serve Jesus
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 1 Timothy 1:12-13 Paul considered himself a recipient of God’s mercy. He believed that it was an honor to serve God. He recalled the mistakes that he had made before and realized that it was all by God’s grace that he was appointed to preach the gospel outside Jerusalem. And this task wasn’t easy. Paul needed to go through suffering and many persecutions just…
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Trust That God Will Give You Enough Blessings
Sometimes, when we face challenges in life, it’s easy to worry about what tomorrow brings. When we experience unexpected situations, we fear the future and forget about the blessings that we have in the present. Life may be difficult, but keep in mind that you have a God who is so in love with you. He cares for what you need. You may feel like your resources are getting smaller but focus on the blessings in front of you so that you will be reminded about the reason why you can still smile. Trust that God will provide. He may not always give you what you exactly want, but he…
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Examine The Word Of God Every Day
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. Acts 17: 11-12, NIV Before Paul arrived at Berea, they first went to the synagogues in Thessalonica. They experienced great persecution after they shared the gospel there, and a group of Jews attacked the believers. So, Paul escaped and went to Berea. There, he continued to preach the gospel in their synagogues. The author of…
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Start Where You Are
The past is in the past. You can’t change what happened. This may be a painful truth to accept but if you won’t let go of the things that you experienced, then you will find yourself living in misery. This is why the first step for you to move forward is to accept things as they are. Learn the lessons, and then allow God to walk with you along the journey. Fix your eyes on Him, and He will teach you how to start with the things that you have. He will give you the wisdom that you need for you to overcome the situation that you are in. Just…
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Persevering through Persecution: Paul and Silas in Berea
As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Acts 17:10, NIV Paul and his companions visited Thessalonica and shared the good news in their synagogue. A great number of people followed them, but a certain group of Jews persecuted them. That’s why they went to Berea since the believers in Thessalonica wanted Paul and Silas to be safe and escape persecution. However, in the second part of the verse, Paul and Silas went to the Jewish synagogue and weren’t afraid of persecution. They continued to share the gospel despite what they experienced in Thessalonica. If I…
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Dear God, Why Is It Hard To Receive Your Perfect Love?
I never really know what it means to receive perfect love. It seems like it doesn’t exist. How could someone love me unconditionally? I can’t fathom the idea that someone is willing to surrender his life just for me to experience healing and find freedom. It’s hard to believe someone wanted to give me everything I needed without expecting anything in return. This world somehow treats this idea as foolish. People will treat me as stupid or unwise if I do such a thing. This is why it’s hard to believe in your perfect love. Part of me is wondering if it is real or not. The more I focus…
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When We Envy Other People, We Tend To Think Of Bad Things Towards Them
But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. Acts 17: 5, NKJV When Paul came to Thessalonica, he went to the synagogue to share about Jesus. A great multitude of devout Greeks, including a few women, were persuaded. But there was a group of Jews who didn’t agree with what Paul was sharing. It was said that they were envious of what Paul and the other believers had experienced. After that, they gathered some…
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Sometimes, God Will Use Unexpected Circumstances To Fulfill His Purpose
God’s ways are sometimes unpredictable. We never really know the things that He will allow us to experience. As much as we wanted to escape from the problems and challenges that we are in, God would somehow lead us to uncomfortable places. This is not to condemn or harm us; He just wanted us to grow and fulfill His purpose. This truth may be hard to swallow because we tend to think that if God loves us, He will always lead us to comfortable places. But there are important lessons that we need to learn along the way. Most of the time, the best lessons are learned when we experience…
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Jesus Is The Hope That You Need
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:18-21, NIV Jesus read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and then proclaimed, “Today, this scripture is fulfilled in…
