Category Archives: Christianity

What Christians Need to Know in Times of Trial

Posted on March 1, 2025 by salooper57

… it is important to remember that it is our faith that is being tested, not our worth or strength, or any such thing. Will we trust God? That is the question. Continue reading →

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Your Mission, Should You Decide to Accept It

Posted on February 20, 2025 by salooper57

But our mission is more complicated than just bringing news about God to people who have never heard it. We are bringing news about God to people who have misheard it. They think they already know about “God and those Christians.” Continue reading →

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The In-Betweeners

Posted on February 8, 2025 by salooper57

They live in that strange land between the already and the not yet, between what is and what should be. The pressure here is like that of gravity. Often it goes unnoticed, but sometimes it slams you to the ground. Continue reading →

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Time for a Change

Posted on February 4, 2025 by salooper57

Do you know what it means if you do what everyone else does and desire the same things they desire? It means you have been assimilated…. if you are pursuing the same goals, valuing the same stuff, and spending time the same way as everyone else, you’re not living here as a foreigner. Continue reading →

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The Process of Spiritual Formation: Implementation

Posted on February 1, 2025 by salooper57

An impala can jump as far as thirty feet and clear a height of ten feet. But an impala will stop in front of a four-foot stone fence because it cannot see where its feet will land. The lion will have it for dinner… Continue reading →

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Proof of Faith (I Peter 1:6-9)

Posted on January 28, 2025 by salooper57

God loves to praise his children. He will bring up things we have long forgotten. “Oh, I loved it that day when you stopped on the interstate to help that old couple from Missouri.” “I was so proud of you when you gave your little sister those beads that you wanted for yourself.” “But Lord, I was only 5 years old.” And he will say, “Yes! Yes! Wasn’t it wonderful?” Continue reading →

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Stop Worrying About What Will Happen: Start Thinking About What You Will Do

Posted on January 25, 2025 by salooper57

That’s just the opposite of the way most people live. They make themselves responsible for outcomes, which leaves them susceptible to constant worry. They don’t make themselves responsible for actions, which leaves them ineffective and blaming others for failure. Continue reading →

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Decisions, Decisions (The Role of Choice in Spiritual Formation)

Posted on January 18, 2025 by salooper57

There is no spiritual growth apart from choice. That’s the way God designed it. He has endowed us with astonishing dignity: our decisions mean something; they make a real difference. As does our failure to decide. Continue reading →

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The Big Picture (John 1:1-14)

Posted on January 14, 2025 by salooper57

When he speaks, suns blaze and planets twirl, and oceans swarm with creatures; dinosaurs romp, birds sing, and dogs howl at the moon. When he speaks, people think and laugh and love. My word, your word, is a poor, thin, anemic thing. His Word is robust and teems with life. Continue reading →

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The Path to Spiritual Growth: Insight, Decision, and Implementation

Posted on January 11, 2025 by salooper57

The thing about running from God is that he’s everywhere. When you think you’re running from him, you’re really running to him. Continue reading →

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