Category Archives: Encouragement

The Call of Abraham (Genesis 12)

Posted on January 27, 2026 by salooper57

Abram is the beginning of the cure because he is the beginning of a line … The long line runs through a young woman – hardly more than a child – named Mary. Then the line becomes a point: a point of contention for some; a point of no return for others; but the point of it all for us who believe. Continue reading →

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The Dull Point of the Apostolic Band

Posted on January 17, 2026 by salooper57

He was probably the apostle who said, “I don’t get it,” after a joke’s punchline had been delivered and St. Peter was laughing his head off. What could a guy like that bring to the apostolic band? What was he even doing there? Continue reading →

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This Year, Punch Up Your Resolution

Posted on January 3, 2026 by salooper57

I walk out of a church service, thinking the preacher took forty-five minutes to say what he could have said in ten. My wife and I get in the car and before we leave the parking lot, she has commented on the “good sermon.” Continue reading →

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Look Four Ways Before Crossing (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Posted on January 1, 2026 by salooper57

Sin clings; it won’t let go. We must be determined to get rid of it, or it will damage us. That damage, as the author of Hebrews points out again and again, takes the form – this is important to understand – of unbelief. Continue reading →

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The Telescoping Reality of Christmas

Posted on December 27, 2025 by salooper57

An hour or two ago, I left the hospital after reading the Christmas story to a man and his wife and praying with them. The man has been in the hospital for 18 days. Each time that it looks like he will be able to leave, something happens to extend his stay. Yesterday or the day before, he developed a pulmonary embolism Continue reading →

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Joy: It’s Not Optional

Posted on December 17, 2025 by salooper57

And he will say: “Child, I know all, and we will talk about those things. But first, you must tell me why you were not more joyful. Do you have any explanation for that? Because, if you had just been more joyful, the grudge, the divorce, the cheating never would have happened.” Continue reading →

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Peace: What It Is, How to Experience It

Posted on December 10, 2025 by salooper57

Ms. Fader said, “If you’re a human being … and you’re not anxious, there’s something wrong with you.” Or just maybe, there is something right with you. Maybe what’s right, or what’s coming right, are your relationships. Continue reading →

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Closer to those Outside the Church

Posted on November 30, 2025 by salooper57

Watch a TV sitcom and see if that is how married couples are portrayed. My guess is that you will find just the opposite: the women treat their husbands like fools and the men don’t know their wives at all, and don’t want to. But that’s not just TV; it’s real life – your neighbors’ and coworkers’ lives. Continue reading →

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Closer to Each Other (Ephesians 4:25-32)

Posted on November 26, 2025 by salooper57

In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is especially concerned with/connected to/impacted by how a person speaks. If a Christian is unaware of the Holy Spirit in her life, the first thing she should do is check on what kind of speech is coming out of her mouth. Continue reading →

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Become Your True Self (Pt. 3: Put on a New Self)

Posted on November 19, 2025 by salooper57

Humans were designed this way. They were made with the capacity to transform into something the Marvel Cinematic Universe never imagined, something that can be astonishingly good and beautiful or hideously bad and ugly. Continue reading →

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