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My Favorite Verse in the Bible

For the next several posts, I will be sharing the answers to a questionnaire that I received from a friend. His assignment was to ask these questions to several adults and record the answers. I decided to put some time and effort into these questions, so I thought I would post them here. 1. Favorite Bible Verse? Why? Can I have two? I can’t decide which is more powerful. Of course, there are many, many others that I could have chosen. This is why I have never picked a favorite. Here are two of my favorites. If I absolutely had to choose between these two, I would pick 2 Timothy 4:8. Romans 8:38-39 “38  For I (Paul) am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  39  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 2 Timothy 4:8 “There is reserved for me (Paul) the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Ju
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My Thoughts On The Same-Sex Marriage Debate

The teachings of the Bible reveal to us that marriage was designed by God to be a “picture” of the relationship between Jesus and His “church” (his true followers.) He did this to show His love and devotion, and to illustrate His role as “head”. Those of us that embrace the Bible see marriage as one of the most important institutions created by God. Therefore we cannot and should not try to redefine it. To do so would distort God’s purpose in creating it. Marriage is one of the most explicitly described concepts in the bible. It only has one meaning. Ephesians 5:31-32 , which quotes Genesis 2:24 Opponents of same-sex marriage are often described as bible-thumping bigots that hate people who have embraced the homosexual lifestyle. This is a fallacy that attempts to paint an opponent with negative stereotypes in order to discredit them. While there may be a few people out there that can be described in this way, most are not. There are good reasons to oppose the homosexual agenda,
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My Paraphrase of Romans Chapter 14

(I wrote this several years ago. This paraphrase represents a careful study of this text and my attempt to paraphrase in such a way, not to replace the scriptures, but as a study tool to deliver the principles of this chapter in modern language. Feel free to compare this with the scripture [Romans 14] ) 1 With respect to differing beliefs on non-critical matters, do not dismiss the convictions of those Christians who you determine to have an immature faith. 2 It is inevitable that Christians will have differing convictions about what is morally right and wrong. 3 The Christians with opposing ideas on right and wrong must not belittle or think less of each other. 4 One Christian does not have the authority to judge another. God will give all Christians, at all maturity levels, the strength to endure. 5 All Christians should make every effort to have well-informed convictions and beliefs. 6-8 All personal convictions, no matter how conservative or liberal, are made so as to please
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Some Thoughts On The Aurora Shooting

I absolutely hate it when I hear in the news about a mass shooting. My heart grieves for those that lost love ones. As the details emerged from this latest mass murder, I find myself imagining what it must have been like inside that theater. I wonder what I would have done had I been in there. I also find myself wondering, like many others, what would cause someone to do something like this. At this point, I would not presume to guess, because I do not have enough facts, but I do have some thoughts as to what could possibly motivate someone to do this.  Romans 1:20 -21 & 28-31 20  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.  21  For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 28 And just as they did not s
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My Paraphrase of Deuteronomy 6:4-18

This was a bible study exercise I did on my own a couple of years ago but have never published.  My goal was to be as accurate as possible in communicating the thought of the text, while paraphrasing into modern conversational English. I’ve converted all Old Testament references and illustrations into principles that a modern reader could understand.  This a loose, but carefully worded paraphrase, that is not meant to replace scripture, but to serve as a devotional study tool. or simply an encouragement for your personal walk with God. I’ve provided a link to the ESV translation if you would like to compare it to a real translation. Listen up, all you who are God’s people. There is only one true and living God and there is no other. You must love God with every single fiber of your being. You must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands. Repeat them to yourself and to others. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are out with friends, at school, at work, or
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Removing Planks and Seeing Clearly

Is it ever appropriate to speak out about sin even though we all have sinned? Worded this way most of us would say, "sure!, of course. Especially if the Bible calls it sin."  And I would agree. What if I worded the question like this? "Since we have all sinned, and many of us sin terribly in secret, is it hypocritical to condemn the sin of someone else?" This one should make us all think a little more before answering.  I think Jesus spoke to this matter. In his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke these words in Matthew 7:1 ff “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?    You hypocrite, first take
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Overcoming Temptation

Recently, a question was posed regarding overcoming temptation as a Christian. I deal with temptation the same as everyone else, and I've come to realize certain truths about this subject that I thought would be good to share. I found myself convicted by my own words. The following is what I wrote: Remember that sin is what required the sacrificial death of our Lord on the cross. As Christians we need to see the temptation as the nails that would be driven into Christ's body, and see ourselves as the Roman Soldier about to drive them in. We give into temptation when we are not believing sin is as abominable as God believes it to be. When we choose sinful pleasure, we (at least temporarily) reveal our disbelief that Christ suffered the full wrath of God to purchase our freedom from the clutches of Satan and the eternal suffering of hell. We defeat temptation only when we are so repulsed by sin that the disgust of that sin outweighs the temporary pleasure that it b
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