Persistence, Part Two

Yesterday, we focused on Philippians 1:6, noting that God “who began a good work . . . will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” And, since we are to be “imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1), it seems to me we oughta be about the business of persistence. It sure is easy to bail out theologically. You know, the age-old sovereignty cop-out. “If God wants such-and-such to happen, He’s gonna have to do it all.

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Letting Loose

ARE YOU BETTER AT smothering than loving? That’s why you are blown away with the thought of relaxing your gargantuan grip on the things and people you love the most. Letting something precious go is, on occasion, unbearable. The parting cannot happen without inward bleeding. It’s hard to let go. Turning loose heightens our stress.

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Trusting with All Your Heart

AH, PREDICAMENTS . . . LIFE IS FULL OF THEM. Sometimes they are of our own making. Other times they mysteriously happen to us, apart from anything we caused. Occasionally they are comical and borderline crazy . . . then, on the other hand, they can be irritating and troublesome. One thing is for sure: they’re unexpected; we would never have guessed they would happen. Strangely, predicaments are unpredictable. And embarrassing. And confusing. And really weird.

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Beyond Your Comfort Zone

HEBREWS 11 has been called “the hall of faith”—and for good reason. Beginning with one of the first people on earth, the author traces the essential quality of faith through Hebrew history, highlighting ten great men and women.

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Finishing Well

DON’T CRY for Abraham. Don’t mourn his death. Don’t grieve his departure. Rejoice! Celebrate him. Look at what he made of his life and his final years on earth.

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Willing to Go

IN RESPONSE to Eliezer’s prayer, the Lord directed Abraham’s servant to a woman from Abraham’s family clan—a woman of uncommon character who worshiped the one true Creator. And in addition to all that, she was pretty!

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Confirmation

WHEN ABRAHAM was growing old, he knew it was time to find a suitable wife for Isaac. To accomplish the all-important task, Abraham called on his most trusted employee, Eliezer.

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The Ultimate Sacrifice

SOME YEARS after receiving Isaac, as promised by God, the time had come for Abraham’s faith to be put to the supreme test. God is, of course, omniscient.

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Fulfilment of the Impossible

AT LONG LAST, at the appointed time, Abraham and Sarah received the fulfillment of God’s promise. Ninety-year-old Sarah gave birth to a son and, in obedience to God, named him Isaac, which means “he laughs.”

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