Darkened Glass Reflections
Living today with an eye on eternity
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Resolving to Follow Christ in the New Year
As I write, the year 2017 is approaching its end. Many people are writing down their New Year’s resolutions. Although I usually quip that my New Year’s resolution is to avoid making New Year’s resolutions, I must admit that there is some value to this tradition. Many of us can think of ways we would like to improve our lives.…
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Shepherds, Wise Men, and Ordinary People
A nativity scene depicts the main figures in the account of Jesus’ birth together in one location at once. It works as an effective story-telling device. However, the story of Jesus’ birth has become so familiar to most Christians that many of us miss a few key points.
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Examining Our Ways in Times of Suffering
Pain and suffering are a central part of our earthly existence. Sometimes, it seems unfair, as if God Himself is unjust. We try to make sense of suffering, but it does not always work. The answers are rarely obvious or simple, but suffering gives us an opportunity to examine our lives and see if there…
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Understanding the Deep Waters of the Heart
enewing our minds is simply one part of the Christian life, intertwined with other aspects. Our minds are renewed not only through Bible study and prayer, but also through corporate worship, ministry to others, and fellowship.
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Advent, Christmas, and Parallel Universes
Christians can often sympathize with the person who travels between parallel universes. We seem to do it all the time. This is most obvious during “the most wonderful time of the year.” Over the next month, we will be bombarded with “holiday savings” ads, Christmas songs on the radio (ranging from “Oh Holy Night” to…
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Guarding Your Heart
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23, ESV). John Wesley wrote that heart means “thy thoughts, will and affections.” It sums up our inner life. What do I choose to think about? What do I want or try to do? What spurs my emotions? Define these,…
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Self-Sufficiency or Gratitude
Perhaps the greatest lie of all is self-sufficiency, and God’s Word warns His people against it frequently in His Word. A false belief that “I accomplished something great and do not need God’s help” is the entry point onto the shortcut to idolatry.
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Confession: Resisting the Lies of the Enemy
1 John 1:8–10 hints at two closely related lies that many Christians fall for: “We have no sin” and “We have not sinned.” The first implies that one has achieved a state of moral perfection; the other claims that either we were always in that state of moral perfection or that some people really have…
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Modern-Day Elijahs XI: A Nature Like Ours
A modern-day Elijah will expect God to act in response to our prayers, or to accomplish whatever He said He would do. The faith of an Elijah recognizes God as a living, active, all-powerful Sovereign over all creation, not as an abstract concept confined within the covers of a book.
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Modern-Day Elijahs X: Elijah, John the Baptist, and You and Me
How did John the Baptist manifest the Elijah spirit? More specifically, how can we, like John, manifest that spirit?
Darkened Glass Reflections 