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Hebrews 2:18 Because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. When teaching in church, I used to feel like a fraud. I believed what I was saying, I was just not living it very well. It was not until after my own life disaster of addiction…
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Hebrews 1:10,11 The heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain . . . It is the week before Christmas, and to celebrate Jesus birth, I have piles of candy sitting around work and home. Though I would like to wake up January first and step on the scale, not having…
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Titus 3:9 Avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.   I must admit, that I have engaged in bitter, angry arguments over things like the age of the earth. In my perceived defense of God’s truth, I have been condescending and rude to those with whom…
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Titus 2:6 . . . To be self-controlled.   The irony of an addict, writing on self-control, is not lost on me. If you want to know how to lose weight though, you will not likely learn from someone who has never known the struggle. My drug addiction may be foreign to you, but we…
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Titus 2:4-6 Train the young women . . . to be self-controlled . . . Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.   God, give me self-control! I was 14 or 15 years old, praying this desperate prayer repeatedly, wondering why God did not answer. My testosterone-soaked mind was frustrated by impulsive thoughts that…
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Be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine.  Titus 2:3 If I confessed that I once went to church under the influence of chemicals, it may not surprise you, but it might offend you. If I told you that I did it last Sunday, you should probably be more alarmed. If though,…
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Titus 2:2 Be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Some days, I find myself despairing over the discrepancy between what I am and what I want to be. I read a list like this and sigh, That does not sound like me at all. When will I get there? I…
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They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works.  Titus 1:16 Several years ago, we added dormers to our roof as an architectural feature. Though I liked the way they looked, I felt they were inherently dishonest as we did not have an upstairs. Like a comb-over, the dormers were false advertising,…
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2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.   This verse always takes me back 30 years to a hot summer day of mowing our church’s cemetery. As I mowed, I would read the inscriptions on the tombstones. Out of hundreds, I remember only…
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2 Timothy 4:5 Always be sober-minded . . . Today, I must give some credit to my dog, as he has provided significant inspiration for my faith and writing. So it was, yesterday, as I was out for a run (dog on leash), pondering today’s passage. We were doing fine, running along, until he saw…
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