A Time to Be Renewed UNSPEAKABLE JOY

Because we belong to Jesus Christ by faith and are united to Him, we have access to His fullness. We have within us a “well of living water” that perpetually satisfies. More than that, we have a river of living water that flows from Christ to us, and then through...

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A Time to Be Renewed BECOMING OUR BEST

Beware of “the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13). Sin always promises freedom but in the end brings bondage. It promises life but instead brings death. Sin has a way of gradually binding a person until there is no way of escape, apart from the gracious intervention of the Lord. Even...

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A Time to Be Renewed THE CONFIDENCE BUILDER

The word confidence literally means “freedom of speech, openness.” Believers can come boldly to the throne of grace with openness and freedom and not be afraid. We have this boldness because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Because we are too prone to fail, we should not have confidence...

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A Time to Be Renewed THE WONDER OF GOD’S POWER

God is omnipotent—all-powerful. The psalmist might have used God’s vast creation as an example of God’s great power, but instead he used the miracle of birth (Psalm 139:13-18). Conception, development, and birth are perpetual wonders that an understanding of genetics, anatomy, and obstetrics cannot erase. It is tragic that the...

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A Time to Be Renewed THE HARVEST OF GIVING

“Give, and it shall be given unto you” (Luke 6:38) was our Lord’s promise. It still holds true. The “good measure” He gives back to us is not always money or material goods, but it is always worth far more than what we gave. If our giving is to bless...

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A Time to Be Renewed THE LAW OF LIBERTY

We shall be judged “by the Law of liberty.” Why does James (1:25) use this title for God’s Law? When we obey God’s Law, it frees us from sin and enables us to walk in liberty (Psalm 119:45). Liberty does not mean license. License (doing whatever I want to do)...

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A Time to Be Renewed CONCERN FOR THE LOST

If God sends a “fiery trial” to His own children, and they are saved “with difficulty,” what will happen to lost sinners when God’s fiery judgment fails? When a believer suffers, he experiences glory and knows that there will be greater glory in the future. But a sinner who causes...

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A Time to Be Renewed WE ARE IN CHRIST’S WILL!

One of the funniest cartoons I ever saw showed a pompous lawyer reading a client’s last will and testament to a group of greedy relatives. The caption read: “I, John Jones, being of sound mind and body, spent it all!” When Jesus Christ wrote His last will and testament for...

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A Time to Be Renewed WALK THE TALK

A congregation was singing the familiar song “For You I Am Praying,” as the closing hymn. The preacher turned to a man on the platform and asked quietly, “For whom are you praying?” The man was stunned. “Why, I guess I’m not praying for anybody. Why do you ask?” “Well,...

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A Time to Be Renewed BE MOTIVATED TO HONOR GOD

When Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a young preacher, his father, the Rev. John Spurgeon, suggested that Charles go to college to gain prominence. It was arranged for him to meet Dr. Joseph Angus, the principal of Stepney College, London. They were to meet at Mr. Macmillan’s home in Cambridge, and...

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