Things aren’t always what they appear to be. You can look at my car (a 2007 Pontiac G6) from a number of different angles – you can even ride in it – and it appears to be a hardtop. You can say “This car is a hardtop” – but you’d be mistaken! I’ve found that something dramatic usually has to happen for us to change our mind…to come to see that something’s not what we thought it was. My car is a hardtop convertible, it’s capable of being changed. If you weren’t familiar with my car, you wouldn’t believe it’s ...
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Jesus eventually told me that, like with Saul of Tarsus, He knew that I had to try my absolute hardest for a long period of time to gain and maintain His approval by things I did, so that I would eventually “break,” “come to my senses,” and confess (agree with Him) that what I was doing wasn’t working…and ask Him to do it instead of me continually trying to do the same religious things over and over and hoping for different results (they call that insanity). His teaching involved showing me His true nature; how He is for me; His ...
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You ever struggle with something you just can’t overcome? Yeah, me too. For a long time I was not able to control anger. That and other “control” issues landed me in the hospital emergency room on more than one occasion and was disastrous for relationships. From my own hellish experiences and from similar situations that scores of people have related to me during my 25 years of pastoring and counseling, I have come to realize that “control” is at the root of most of my struggles and that I still am not able to “control” anger, etc. Imagine my surprise ...
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