Month: January 2017

Matthew 12:48-50 “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” …And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” My parents came to visit last night.  As we had…
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Matthew 12:38,39 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign but no sign will be given…” When I was young, I prayed many times for God to prove himself to me. …
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Matthew 12:33-35 …the tree is known by its fruit… The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. A friend recently asked me how I found time to process the blog every day.  What popped into my head was, You have no…
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I am excited to announce an upcoming men’s retreat at Living Hope Church in Willmar, Minnesota on Saturday, January 28th.  This retreat is designed to explore our condition as Christians who still struggle with our human (flesh) nature.  We all have some defect with which we wrestle and which causes some destruction in our lives. …
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Matthew 12:31,32 …Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven… whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven… Have you, like me, ever feared that you are, in the end, unforgivable?  Whether it is a painfully public failure or deep dark secrets locked…
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Matthew 12:7  I desire mercy, and not sacrifice… How do I know if someone is a Christian?  What does that look like?  I have mistakenly thought that what set me apart as a Christian was all the stuff I did not do.  I could point to a list of things I refrained from, which I…
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Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. I must admit that I have often been skeptical of Christ’s offer. It seems that the Christian life is…
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Matthew 11:16 But to what shall I compare this generation?… We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn. I know when I have not been listening at home.  When I ignore Dad, Dad, Dad long enough, my daughter will yell, Scott Matthew Abrams! …
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Matthew 10:39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Here, Jesus articulates the great paradox of the Christian faith.  If I pursue myself to find life, I will fail.  It is only when I forfeit self to pursue God, that I truly live.  This is not…
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Matthew 10:34,37 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword… whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Sometimes Jesus words to not sound very Jesus-like.  I have, in my mind, a very clear idea…
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