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I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his fiancée, if his passions are strong, and so it has to be, let him marry as he wishes; it is no sin. Let them marry. But if someone stands firm in his resolve, being under no necessity but having his own desire under control, and has determined in his own mind to keep her as his fiancée, he will do well. So then, he who marries his fiancée does wel…
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Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord. For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says…
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Freedom

For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. ~ Galatians 5:13-15


Love is not losing freedom. It is sharing freedom with another. ~ Unknown



OK, so Christian Freedom might be one of the hardest things to explain to our non-believing friends.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard people scoff at Christianity because it's "just about a bunch of rules telling you to be good."  Hard to tell that person that Christianity is about Freedom.   Hard sometimes to remind ourselves it's about freedom! How do you define Christian freedom? Or do you? Have you ever thought about it? Wondered about it? Questioned it? Paul is telling us we are called to freedom. …
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Fuller

Time for a little respite from themes! For a little while instead, some passages for the day...

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

 For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. ~ Malachi 3:1-4


Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold. ~ Leo Tolstoy



This is a passage we sometimes get in Advent when we hear about John the Baptist. But regardless or who we re talking…
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Fifth Discourse in Matthew: Friday Follow-Up

- Choose one of this week's readings and related texts to be your prayer focus for today. They are:

Matthew 24:1-14
Matthew 25:1-13
Matthew 25:14-30
Matthew 25:31-46

- Read the passage again and identify a word or phrases that jump out at you.

- Read the passage again, and if possible read from a different translation (biblegateway.com has many translations you can choose from). Identify where this passage might be touching your life today. How is this relevant to your life?

- Read the passage a third time, again in a different translation if possible. Ask yourself what God is calling you to do or to be from this passage. What change might God be moving your toward?

- Close with a silent prayer, listening to God rather than speaking to God. What actions will you take today based on this prayer?




- Recite the Lord's Prayer.
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Fifth Discourse in Matthew: And finally the Kingdom is also like...

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick o…
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Fifth Discourse in Matthew: The Kingdom is also like...

For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward…
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