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Consider This: Master the Pause

  “A major cheat code in life: Master the pause. Before responding to that text. Before saying that nasty reply. The pause is where the wisdom lives. Most mistakes happen when we rush. Most regrets come from quick decisions. Remember, response time does not equal response quality” (Paraphrasing a quote by Scott Clary)   I have been thinking about this quote a lot lately. The worst purchases I have made have been the ones when I bought something on impulse. Rather than thinking it through and weighing the pros and cons, I just stormed ahead and regretted it later.   The worst arguments I have been in over the years have come from reacting rather than waiting. Someone says something that I perceive as mean or unfair, and I fire back in an attempt to hurt them in return. Then it takes hours and hours to undo the mess. Had I just paused, taken a breath and thought about it, I likely would not have said what I said.   One time, a buddy of mine sent an email ab...
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In and Among: Jesus’ way of changing the world

 Jesus and the Pharisees approached people in very different ways. As with all things, we'd better follow Jesus' example.  https://youtu.be/wN5XDuEBmcQ    
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Consider This: One Big Test

The first event of Jesus’ public ministry did not take place in public, but it influenced everything he did from that point on.   After Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17), he was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for a time of testing. For forty days, Jesus was alone and without food. Then Satan came and suggested that Jesus feed himself by turning the stones into bread. Jesus recoiled from this idea as if doing so would be the worst thing in the world. Then Satan challenges him to prove that he is God’s Son by throwing himself off the temple and seeing if God would protect him. Jesus treats this suggestion with similar contempt. Lastly, Satan tries to convince Jesus to become the ruler of the world. That was his end goal anyway, so why not start there? Again, Jesus does not choose that option (Matthew 4:1-11).   The question is, “What was the test here?” Feeding oneself after forty days seems reasonable. Proving his Sonship at the start of his ministry w...
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 Things may seem dark and scary right now, but there is more to the story than what we see.  https://youtu.be/gq5cJwVejqQ    
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Consider This: Can You Get on the Mat?

   Consider This:  Can You Get on the Mat?   In Mark 2, four friends bring a paralyzed man to Jesus to be healed.  The house where Jesus is teaching is full of people.  There is no way they can get close to him, so they use the stairs on the side of the house, go up to the flat roof and then start digging through the mud and thatch covering.  Once the hole is large enough, they take the mat the man is lying on and lower it down through the hole.  In this way, they get their friend to Jesus.  This impresses Jesus so much that he forgives the man’s sin and heals him as well (Mark 2:1-12).  This incident can be taught from several different angles.  I have heard it focused on Jesus (He is the powerful Son of God), the four friends (Have faith, bring people to Jesus and do not let anything stop you), and I have even heard a lesson about the doubters in the room (if you do not believe, you will not receive God’s blessings).  Each of...
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The Test for Success (Matthew 4)

 Jesus passed one crucial test at the start of his ministry, and it shaped everything else he did. How are you doing with this test?   https://youtu.be/-Z1b48If0eY  
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Consider This: The Power of the Resurrection

  Thirty years after Peter looked into the empty tomb, he thought about the blessings that the resurrection brings to us. Inspired by the Spirit, here is what he wrote.   “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4)   The resurrection deals with our past by giving us “new birth” into a new life. In other words, we can start again. We can bury our past sins, mistakes, and regrets and be born again. That pattern is what baptism represents. “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans...
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