as children

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Are you pleased when your children grow up, and consider the term ‘childish’ to be an insult? Yet I said unless you become converted and become as little children you wouldn’t enter the Kingdom of God. After all the effort you put into moving forward and growing up, do I really expect you to move back? This implies that in the process you have lost some desirable qualities. What would they be? Consider the ability of children to be fully authentic. They haven’t yet learned the ‘benefits’ of a false sense of self to present an acceptable image to the world. Do you have the maturity to discard yours?

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giving

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My word teaches you to support my work financially, and you receive a lot of encouragement to do so from those in a position to receive such funds. It is reasonable for you to want your contributions to be effective, so you are wise to be selective and use discretion in your giving. You have heard of financial scandals within the church. Do you use these as an excuse for not giving? I will deal with those who misuse my money, but I am just as pleased with your sacrifice and act of giving even if it goes astray. For I love a cheerful given and it is still more blessed to give than to receive. 

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saving your life?

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What is saving your life today? You may find this question perplexing and recall the testimony of your salvation, the day you passed from death into life. That is still in effect, but that is not the question. You engage in practices that you are drawn to because of desire. They are vital and life-giving. Others you engage in because you feel you should, out of a sense of duty. These are both valid reasons and there is a place for both. Do you feel guilty for pursuing things that make you feel spiritually alive if you do them out of desire rather than duty? You have my permission to take place in activities that are saving your life today. 

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better than you deserve?

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Do you want to get what you deserve? Would you want to get what you deserved if you realized that you were already getting better than you deserved? In that case getting what you deserve would be a step down. An entitlement mentality causes you to grasp for your due. My word teaches you gratitude rather than entitlement. It asks what you have that you did not receive, and the implied answer is nothing. If you can understand this then you can receive it with joy and thanksgiving, and release your grasping. Blessed are those who know that they are already receiving my blessing and favor. 

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Done Praying?

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Do you pray before major decisions or at other times when you know you need my help? How long do you pray? How do you know when you are done? You can make a prayer of a single sentence, but prayer is not like mowing the lawn or washing the dishes where it is obvious when you are done. Consider the Biblical example of all those who have persevered in prayer to obtain their desire. Consider the importunate widow. These are the fervent effectual prayers that avail much. If you sense the need for prayer as a burden, then the lifting of that burden will show that you are done. Even with no change in the situation the peace that surpasses understanding will inform you it is time to act. 

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patience

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Do you understand that your walk of faith takes a lifetime? After you are saved you still have a lifetime of study, growth, and maturity ahead of you. Do not expect to ‘arrive’ in this world. Do you also understand that spiritual growth is urgent? There is a tendency to think that urgent tasks should be completed quickly, and those that take a lifetime can be completed at a leisurely pace. So one criteria would seem to be in opposition to the other, but both are valid aspects of your faith. Patience as a spiritual fruit is not just a willingness to wait for results. It allows you to remain engaged and active while the long term results come about. 

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binding energy

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Nuclear physicists talk about binding energy. The same concept applies to human relations. Friends and organizations must have some organizing principle that holds them together, otherwise they will drift apart. This applies to churches as well. This energy must be present to hold a group together, but it can be positive or negative. The easiest way to gain unity is to unify against a common enemy. Yet knowing what you are against is not life giving in the same way as knowing what you are for. Beware of groups that use opposition to hold them together. This can be toxic to everyone in the group. 

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who shall?

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Do you ever wonder who is going to heaven and who isn’t? My word tells you not to say, who shall ascend into heaven, and who shall descend into hell. Not even in your heart! This is a decision that is made above your pay grade. Even so, if you search your heart, do you have a tendency to prefer one destination or the other for particular individuals? I do too, and it is the same in every case. I am not willing that any should perish, and you shouldn’t be either.

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The Bible

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Do you know what the word ‘Bible’ means? It means ‘book’. You treat this as a sacred word for a sacred book, but that is the meaning of the term. One of the books in the Bible is called the book of Revelation. Perhaps that is a term that should be applied to the entire Bible. You understand that you are not under the law. Do you look at the Bible as a book of the law? It is easy to do in your culture of intellect. If you are willing to see the Bible as a book of revelation, that is a departure from the line upon line and precept upon precept approach. Search the scriptures and see that they testify of me, and come to me to have life. 

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teachable

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Do you know the importance of being teachable? Do you understand what this means? You can be curious and inquisitive and seek out information to acquire knowledge, but this is not the complete process. For you know educated people who have plenty of facts and information whose behavior and character do not seem to be influenced by what they have learned. The Bible refers to those who are ever learning and never coming to a knowledge of the truth. If you would really be teachable then embrace all the implications for your own behavior of what you learn and change accordingly. 

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