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| May 20, 2024
Eli was a great preacher, a fine priest. As the high priest, he was responsible, once each year, to enter the Most Holy Place and offer an atoning sacrifice on behalf of the nation. No one else had that privilege.
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| May 19, 2024
Eli and Samuel were probably taking their turn sleeping in the tabernacle to keep the lamp lit. They slept in little rooms or closets near that special area of God's presence.
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| May 18, 2024
The setting is Israel before the glory days of King David. There has been a long period—a couple hundred years—of intermittent warfare, cycles of events during which Israel would suffer invasion followed by famine.
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| May 17, 2024
Paul wrote with urgency, "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season."
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| May 16, 2024
All those going through a storm need to be engaged in the process. No one is promised a magical escape clause. Passivity is faith's enemy. It isn't an acceptable option to fold our arms and wait for the storm to pass.
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| May 15, 2024
Can you imagine fighting a storm for two weeks and getting virtually no nourishment? That's what the men on Paul's ship experienced. Even more amazing, that's how most people respond to life's storms.
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| May 14, 2024
The scene breathed life-threatening fears. Imaginations ran wild. Paul knew that staying together was the secret to their survival. The temptation was strong to abandon ship and let each person fend for himself.
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| May 13, 2024
The anchor of stability holds firm when your navigation system fails. It's easy to lose your bearings in the storm. You can't find your way through the circumstances you face. Life rolls along fairly smoothly until suddenly the seas grow rough.
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| May 12, 2024
Recently, I read a stirring speech delivered by the late Mother Theresa at the 44th National Prayer Breakfast—a prestigious event that occurred while Bill Clinton served as President.
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| May 11, 2024
Momentarily forgetting the difference in rank and status, Paul now spoke face to face with Agrippa. He engaged him on his knowledge of the Scriptures. He then listened for Herod's reply. It was a reply heard around the world.
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| May 10, 2024
Long before my mother died, she and a neighbor friend compiled a book of God's promises taken from the Scriptures. Each made her own. My mother used that little book as a primer for her prayers.
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| May 09, 2024
Have you ever felt the ground move under your feet? Do you know what it's like to pitch from side to side in a small boat on strong seas? Have you ever had to run for cover, dodge bullets, or duck out of the way of advancing troops?
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| May 08, 2024
Not one assassin but forty of them! Forty determined terrorists, operating under cover of secrecy. All of them vowing, "We will not eat or drink until we've killed him." The plan was treacherous and set in motion by those who wanted him dead.
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| May 07, 2024
So much for Paul. How about you? Fast forward to the twenty-first century. Are you afflicted and burdened excessively? Do you feel as if you're under such intense pressure these days that you, too, are close to despair?
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| May 06, 2024
We'd rather admire Paul for his strength in trials. We want to applaud his fierce determination against vicious persecution. If the man were alive today, he would not tolerate our congratulations.
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| May 05, 2024
Paul pressed ahead through a mind-boggling series of intense hardships. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
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| May 04, 2024
Paul viewed whatever happened to him through the eyes of faith. That remarkable trait allows him to be numbered among giants of the faith like Moses.
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| May 03, 2024
If you are responsible for communicating biblical truth, consider yourself a preacher (at least for the now)—you are a communicator of God's Word. If that describes you, these next four principles are especially for you.
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| May 02, 2024
What is it going to take to convince us that the last will be first and the first will be last? For some it will take a lifetime, for others only a few semesters in seminary.
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| May 01, 2024
Good leaders are enthusiastically affirming. Again, Paul writes, "You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers . . ."
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