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Vanity Fair is in the air
Vanity Fair is a scene in John Bunyan’s famous book The Pilgrim’s Progress. It depicts a carnival-type atmosphere where morality is scorned, naysayers are suspicious, justice is denied, and vanity and pride are the rule of the day. There are many good things about the times in which we live.… Listen ⇢
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Body. Team. Army.
As Christians we often talk about being the hands and feet of Christ. This is based on passages like 1 Corinthians 12:27 where Paul says this: “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” He also… Listen ⇢
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Make me receptive soil
In the parable of the sower, Jesus describes a sower who sows some seed—which, he says, is a metaphor for the word of God. Ideally, the seed lands on receptive soil. Luke 8:15 spells it out: “the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart,… Listen ⇢
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When God is steering the ship
In the previous devotional I shared some words about the Parable of the Sower in Luke 8. A sower sows some seed—which, Jesus indicates, is a metaphor for the word of God. Ideally, the seed lands on receptive soil. But there are a few situations which don’t work out. One… Listen ⇢
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Roots, testing and falling away
The Parable of the Sower is one of Jesus’ most famous parables. A sower sows some seed—which, Jesus indicates, is a metaphor for the word of God. Ideally, the seed lands on receptive soil. That’s what you and I should want for everyone. But there are a few situations which… Listen ⇢
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The new self
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness… Listen ⇢
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Cannot be thrown down
In Colossians 2:6-7, Paul encouraged his readers like this: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” One of the reasons he wrote these words to them was because they were straying off course. They… Listen ⇢
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Not only what you do, but what you don’t do
We’ve been talking about Colossians 3:15. That’s where Paul told his readers to “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” One of the ways we welcome and cooperate with that rule is to imitate Jesus. Paul gave some great wisdom about how to do that in verses 12-17.… Listen ⇢
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Training for the reign of Christ’s peace
In yesterday’s devotional we talked about Colossians 3:15: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” I encouraged us to think through what this means. First, in the Bible your “heart” often refers to your place of deepest convictions and commitments; this includes not just feelings but thoughts. Second,… Listen ⇢
Meet the producer, Matthew Ruttan.
Matthew is a disciple, pastor, husband, and dad of three who lives in the psalms.

