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OWN YOUR MESS LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION HERE!“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1 “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 Those three words. You know which ones I’m talking about. Those words, that when said transport you straight back to the first time you heard them whispered in your direction.
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BALANCING RELATIONSHIPS LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION HERE! But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) Margins. We all need them. Margins give us the space that we need to breathe. Just like on paper, if we take up space in the margins, things get sloppy and disorganized. They become crowded and illegible, a morass of characters jumbled and crammed into
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You've Got a Friend in Me LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION HERE!I don’t know where I’d be without my people. When my world gets turned upside down, the ones in my inner circle are the people I lean into for strength and perspective. I treasure those in my community because I see the value they bring to my life. My friends have loved me through my failure, believed with me through seasons of doubt and
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YOU WERE MADE FOR THIS LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION HERE!Who are you surrounding yourself with? Look at your three closest friends, and you’ll get a picture of who you are likely becoming. Do they look like Jesus? Do they reflect the heart of the Father? Do they help stir up your passion for the gospel? We all have a deep need to love and be loved in return. Simply stated: we need each other.
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FIND YOUR TRIBE LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION HERE!“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1 NKJV I very vividly remember the loneliest time of my life. I was single, had just moved to Florida, I knew nobody here, and had just met my roommate. It didn’t take long for me to get so desperate for community that I went out and bought a little $5
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Finding the Source of Life When telling a friend we were going to Israel, they told me there was one place we absolutely HAD to go. “Even if the tour leader says to go somewhere else, stop him and say, ‘We must go to En Gedi.’” When I heard that for the first time, I was like “En get-a? What?? Why?” "When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, 'Behold, David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.'”
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Gaining PerspectiveThis was the only day I was nervous on the trip. We stood on a dormant volcanic hill looking over Syria. Just over the border was a civil war that has been raging for six years, and we were told there was a possibility we could hear shots and bombs from the fighting. We looked over into territory controlled by extreme military groups: Hezbollah, who is not currently fighting with Israel as they focus
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Building Upon the RockOn our day in the Golan Heights region, we made our way north to a place called Banias, and from there, to a place called The Gates of Hell. It was this place where I had a chance to teach to our group what it meant when Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail.” I didn’t expect this to hit me
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Finding Hope in Dark PlacesToday was one of the most exciting days in Jerusalem and the Old City of David. We got a chance to travel in a tunnel located underneath the city that ran about 533m (1,748 ft) long and had about 5 inches of water flowing through it. We laughed and screamed and sang songs as we used our cell phone lights to see in this amazing tunnel.This was dug in the days
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On the BorderThe wall and the fence separating Israel from the West Bank were built to protect Israeli citizens from snipers and suicide bombers, coming from Palestinian cities, in the early 2000's. Most of the divide is actually a chain-link fence, but in highly populated areas, there's a wall that is 10 feet to 24 feet high. We visited the 24-foot wall dividing the neighborhoods that are close enough to shoot at each other. We