PHall | April 17, 2010
It appears that there is a virtue that is very difficult to obtain and retain while acquiring other equally needed virtues. That is part of the paradox of this spiritual quality. It is needed to attain other qualities, but those other qualities might remove the foundational virtue and thereby remove the added ones also. Maybe […]
Category: II Peter |
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Tags: Article
PHall | April 15, 2010
Romans 1:16-17 NASB (16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (17) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS […]
Category: Romans |
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Tags: Commentary
PHall | April 15, 2010
Philippians 1:15-17 NASB (15) Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; (16) the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; (17) the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, […]
Category: Philippians |
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Tags: Chiasm
PHall | April 15, 2010
No one told me about the pain and the suffering, about all the funerals. As a young man focusing on the supposed glories of becoming a preacher, never did I ever think of emotional and spiritual tribulations found at the bedside, in the hospital, at the funeral home, and by the graveside. If I had […]
Category: John |
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Tags: Sermon, Suffering
PHall | April 15, 2010
There is an emptiness that consumes. The mind is filled with futility. Understanding is darkened instead of enlightened. The heart is hardened. There is a new self created in the image of God. The mind is renewed within the spirit. Righteousness and holiness of the truth is created within. These two contrasting paragraphs summarize Ephesians […]
Category: Ephesians |
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PHall | March 22, 2010
“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans” (Woody Allen). “Man makes plans . . . and God laughs” (Michael Chabon). “We plan, God laughs” (old Yiddish proverb). Even the Bible asserts such similar belief – Psalm 33:10 HCSB – He thwarts the plans of the peoples. That such is said […]
Category: Acts, Romans, I Thessalonians, Psalms |
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Tags: Article
PHall | March 17, 2010
If an imperfect mind cannot explain the contradictions within the actions of those with likewise imperfect minds, what makes the imperfect mind think he can explain the pure actions of the perfect mind of God? The answer is that our imperfect minds cannot see the limitations of our own imperfect thinking. Too often we substitute […]
Category: Romans |
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PHall | March 15, 2010
God created within us an innate need for love. It is as if he left within our psyches a self-awareness of our emptiness so that we can search out God to fill it with His love. It is up to us how we fill that need – with Him or with sin. But the search […]
Category: Romans |
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PHall | March 14, 2010
How can we better handle stress? The answer is at the bottom. Verb tenses bring vitality to language and to life. Verb tenses stress the past, present, and future which converge upon us every day in choosing paths and building relationships. Knowing where we come from, who we are, and where we are going, are […]
Category: John |
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PHall | March 14, 2010
Do you love surprises? For some of us, discovering before we are surprised that someone is trying to surprise us is more fun than being surprised itself. We get to surprise the givers of the surprise. When it comes to God, do we ever think of “surprises?” Undeniably, we worship “The God of Surprises.” The […]
Category: Luke, John, Romans, Genesis, Psalms |
Comments Off on Genesis 21:6-7 – The God of Surprises
Tags: Article, Grace