Category Archives: Encouragement

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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Become Your True Self (Part 2 of 3)

Posted on November 13, 2025 by salooper57

We think of conversion as a point-in-time event – “I got converted in 1973” – because we think of ourselves as point-in-time beings. But it is not and neither are we. Conversion is not an event but a process, and it does not conclude in a moment. It is much bigger than that. Continue reading →

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The 3-D Marriage

Posted on November 8, 2025 by salooper57

Finding Mr. or Ms. Right does not guarantee a successful marriage, but when each member of the couple becomes the person God intends them to be, it does. Continue reading →

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Every Christian Experience Spiritually Dry Times

Posted on October 25, 2025 by salooper57

They trust God when they feel trusting. They are kind when they feel kind. They are grateful for God’s salvation when they feel saved. But this is not enough: God will have us trust him, and not just our feelings about him. Continue reading →

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Get Closer to Jesus

Posted on October 22, 2025 by salooper57

If you’re being mugged, a policeman is good news and a great relief, but if you’re the mugger, a policeman is bad news and a serious threat. If you are living your life as if you were god, the real God is bound to be bad news. Continue reading →

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Why Can’t I Forgive?

Posted on October 18, 2025 by salooper57

If I am going to forgive you, I must not only forgive you for what you did, but for what you caused. This is often the missing link in forgiveness, and the reason for our seeming inability to forgive. Continue reading →

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Covenant: What It Is, How It Works

Posted on October 15, 2025 by salooper57

The God who would become a man – a descendant of Abraham – represented both parties on the perilous walk. God called the curse down on himself should the covenant be broken. And the One who sees the end from the beginning knew exactly where that would lead. Continue reading →

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Now You See Me

Posted on October 5, 2025 by salooper57

You see, it is not that Jesus emptied himself even though he was in very nature God. He emptied himself because he was in very nature God. This is what God is like. This is what he has always been like. Continue reading →

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