Tag Archives: Dividing the Word

The Star of Christmas – 5

Scripture References: Matthew 2:1-12 Light in the Darkness – Continued The story is told of a young Jewish girl in a Warsaw ghetto who managed to escape over the wall and hide in a cave. She died there shortly before … Continue reading

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Faith From The Beginning 12/30/2023

Hindrance, Not an Aid to Faith NOW, of course, I hear objection made constantly to this sort of reasoning by people who say that pictures, images, icons and all the rest, are an aid to our faith. They help us … Continue reading

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The Star of Christmas – 4

Scripture References: Matthew 2:1-12 Light in the Darkness – Continued The light that shone in Jesus still shines on, and the darkness has not been able to overcome it, put it out, quench it, or extinguish it. Now this does … Continue reading

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Spiritual Nuggets 12/29/2023

Jack-in-the-Box Pride It’s dangerous to become too confident in the maturity of our own faith. Our pride is like the spring of a jack-in-the-box: Just when we think it’s broken or that we’ve gotten the lid on tight, it springs … Continue reading

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The Star of Christmas – 3

Scripture References: Matthew 2:1-12 Guiding Light Jesus Christ, to whom the star led, also leads us somewhere. He leads us in two directions, to God and to our brother. These are the two poles of great religion. The God to … Continue reading

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Spiritual Nuggets 12/28/2023

Reframe It “ ‘Too often they have attacked me from my youth.’ Let Israel say, ‘Too often they have attacked me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me’ “ (Psalm 129:1-2). As these verses show, sometimes problems can be … Continue reading

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The Star of Christmas – 2

Scripture References: Matthew 2:1-12 The Light – Continued The Bible says in effect: When you have peeled away layer after layer of things as they appear, you come to the heart of things as they are and you can call … Continue reading

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Spiritual Nuggets 12/27/2023

Surprise Redemption We often fail to be amazed at redemption. Perhaps we’re only dimly aware of our own failings, or (worse) we are blind to how amazing it is that God has shown us grace at all. In Psalm 126 … Continue reading

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The Star of Christmas – 1

Scripture References: Matthew 2:1-12 Matthew in his beautiful story of the birth of Jesus makes much use of a star. He tells how wise men came from the East to Jerusalem, having followed the light of a star. They asked: … Continue reading

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Spiritual Nuggets 12/26/2023

Unity in Adversity Distress can unite people. In difficult moments, in shared pain, we discover our true friends. When David fled from King Saul, his divided family was suddenly supportive of him, as was every man in the region who … Continue reading

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When God Made Himself Little – 5

Scripture References: John 1:1-18 Full of Truth Not only is Jesus full of grace, He is also full of truth. Truth is one of the watchwords of John’s Gospel, occurring over thirty times. Jesus embodied truth. He said once, “I … Continue reading

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Spiritual Nuggets 12/25/2023

Eternal Hope We don’t often realize where we put our hope. We can seek sustenance, energy, or relief in the most transient, innocuous things, from our morning coffee to a vacation we’ve been anticipating for months. These things are not … Continue reading

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When God Made Himself Little – 4

Scripture References: John 1:1-18 We Beheld His Glory Despite the fact that Jesus Christ was clothed in our flesh, having our frail and fragile form and dwelling in the midst of our common life, people saw glory in Him. John … Continue reading

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High and Lifted Up

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he … Continue reading

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Faith From The Beginning 12/23/2023

In The Church TODAY the enemy has invaded even the sacred precincts of the church of the living God. When I was a child no pictures were ever shown in the church. It was exclusively a place of worship, for … Continue reading

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When God Made Himself Little – 3

Scripture References: John 1:1-18 God Identified With Us By taking our human form, God identified with us. He looked out upon our world through human eyes. It is one thing to look at our world from above and outside it. … Continue reading

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Spiritual Nuggets 12/22/2023

Best Friends Forever This generation has more opportunities for communication than any before it, with email and social networking making it possible to interact with others 24/7. Yet suicide rates are higher than ever, and antidepressant medications have become almost … Continue reading

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When God Made Himself Little – 2

Scripture References: John 1:1-18 God Became Human – Continued Jesus’ flesh was our kind of flesh. He got tired, needed rest, sleep, and food. You see Him sitting on the curbing of a well and asking for water. He was … Continue reading

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Spiritual Nuggets 12/21/2023

Oppressors, Victims, and a Just God Contemporary culture is often pegged as self-indulgent: We live in a have-it-now world, and we don’t always think about the repercussions of our actions. But when we read James’ letter to the early church, … Continue reading

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When God Made Himself Little – 1

Scripture References: John 1:1-18 Most who celebrate Christmas this year, will do so elaborately. Our houses will be brilliantly lighted. We will have Christmas trees, decorations, and adornments of many kinds. We will give and receive expensive gifts beautifully wrapped. … Continue reading

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