"Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him" Matthew 20:34.

Perhaps you know the difference between passion and compassion. Having a passion for something involves how we will benefit from it. Compassion, on the other hand, involves caring about something or someone regardless of any personal benefit. For that reason, compassion is the appropriate word to describe Jesus’ motivation. Deep compassion moved Him to help those suffering from diseases, injuries, and defects.

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"if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst" Matthew 18:19-20.

Several men in a church were born again through a women’s prayer group. These women determined to collectively pray for these unsaved men, and these prayers were wonderfully answered.

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It has been said that you can choose your friends, but your family is chosen for you. This is not entirely true in that we do have a choice of family, according to Jesus’ words.

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With a great trumpet blast and an angelic shout, the hope of the ages will be realized. While there are those who mock and scoff at the notion of the literal return of Christ, it is an event as real as tomorrow's headlines.

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"And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth’” Revelation 5:9-10.

Many church attenders can attest to the awkwardness of new music. While new expressions of worship through song are beneficial, learning a new song can be frustrating.

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The incomparable Christ is the ultimate truth teller. Standing before Pontius Pilate He declared, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). None has more faithfully served as witness to the truth than Jesus.

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"Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it " 2 John 5-6.

The biggest challenge is not in understanding, but in doing. The “lady” that John addressed likely was a local church; a body of believers. Apparently, in light of his appeal, they needed a reminder as to an important priority to focus on and practice.

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"And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" 1 John 5:11-13.

The human author of 1 John, John the apostle, was the sole survivor of the original band of twelve. From his vantage point as an elderly man, he was pointed and clear in what he wrote. The simple fact, as he stated, was that God has given eternal life through His Son. We either possess His Son through faith, or we do not. Eternal life is like a light switch: it’s either on or off; we have it or we do not.

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Few things are as easy to do as focus on our deficiencies. If given a sheet of paper and pen, most of us could likely comprehensively list, in a matter of a few minutes, our weaknesses and flaws. Such an exercise is anything but helpful. A better alternative is to carefully consider this great truth: “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness."

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"You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered" 1 Peter 3:7.

These thoughts today are specifically directed to husbands, but wives will be keenly interested in that they directly affect them.

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Prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" 1 Peter 1:13.

Much is to be said about being pro-active and intentional. Drifting through life without purpose and direction is to be subject to the whims and agendas of others.

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"In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision" Daniel 10:1.

There is far more going on than meets the eye.

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“faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself ... "You see that faith was working with his (Abraham's) works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected … For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." James 2:17,22,26.

It literally is easier said than done. Anyone can talk a good talk, but the real proof is walking the walk. Our words are either validated or discredited by how we live.

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"it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods" Hebrews 13:9.

God's grace is heart-healthy. In case we are inclined to think that eating certain foods help our cholesterol levels and our heart (which they can), this verse reminds us that what we ultimately need is God's grace. It is a possibility that many of today's modern ailments have a spiritual basis at least as much as a physical one. 

"In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation" Hebrews 5:7-9.

We are drawn to people who understand us. Those people who seem to "get inside our skin," see things from our perspective, and understand our thoughts, earn an audience with us.

"I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ" Philemon 6 NIV.

It's been said that love isn't love until you give it away, and the same goes for faith. The biblical faith will create a burning desire within to express itself to others so that they in turn can experience its transforming effect.

"For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” Titus 3:3-7.

The scintillating details of the all-too-human behavior of celebrities is big business. Perhaps the tabloid publicity affords a vicarious carnal experience for some, but for others it may affirm and even condone their own sinful nature. Whatever the case, our shared human experience is that we are, in reality sinners, regardless of how honest we are about this uncomfortable truth.

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"Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior" Titus 1:1-3.

The apostle Paul was the ultimate purpose-driven man. He knew his identity and mission in life, and this provided drive and determination for all that he did. At the heart of his identity and mission was "the faith" (more than just faith in a general sense).

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"I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction" 2 Timothy 4:1-2.

Imagine that your local fire department made it a priority to keep its employees comfortable, and its buildings in good shape, rather than responding to emergencies. Obviously the results would be disastrous. It would be inexcusable for such a vital organization to compromise its main mission. It is far more disastrous for those entrusted with proclaiming the gospel to neglect this life-saving work.

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"kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline ... Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you" 2 Timothy 1:6-7,14.

We are guardians of the sacred flame, and we dare not let it go out. Should the flame die down until only glowing embers remain, it is imperative that we rekindle the flame until it blazes bright and hot.

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