Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them . . . Matthew 15:30 As my children have grown older, we have more drivers, which means we have more vehicles, which means we need more…
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His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” Matthew 15:23 I generally think of myself as a pretty good guy. I try to help those struggling with addiction and I visit jail for a Bible Study/Recovery Meeting once a week. I must admit that it made…
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Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. Matthew 15:19 In the painful consequences of my addiction, I needed to know where my recurrent self-destructive behavior came from. One extreme view told me that I simply made sinful choices. All I needed to do was to turn to…
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Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” He answered . . . “Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” Matthew 15:12-14 One of my (many) ongoing flaws is that…
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This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Matthew 15:8 In our diseased behavior, most addicts struggle with honesty and integrity. We believe drug abuse/dependency is evil, but we still, we wallow in it. In our addiction, most of us are hypocrites. Today’s passage about hypocrisy then, hits close…
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They sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. Matthew 14:35-36 While mired in the misery of my addiction, part of me desperately wanted recovery. I truly believed…
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O you of little faith, why did you doubt? Matthew 14:31 The mishap I wrote of yesterday with my boatlift was hardly an isolated event of stupidity. The same boatlift once had another malfunction – it had some problems – and so, I tied the boat next to the lift, letting it float nearby while I…
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When he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Matthew 14:30 I’ve done a lot of stupid things, but a few of them really stand out. We once had a broken boatlift, which I decided to fix, alone, while it was still in the water. Grabbing my…
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Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. Matthew 14:29 When I was a kid, I got hit by a car while riding my bike. Or rather, I hit a parked car while riding my bike. I was pedaling along, watching everything but the road, when, BAM, I…
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After he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Matthew 14:23 A few years ago, I had the opportunity to visit India to see a Christian orphanage and church planting movement that we support financially. I believed in their mission, but at the time, I was still struggling with…
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