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Read Me: Topics and Guidelines The Altar
February 7th 2007
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GPiper
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Posted: Today
@ 07:53 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
John Wright Follett in his book Broken Bread writes. “The spiritual life is supernatural or above the natural. We are now, as Christians, introduced into another realm, elevated by the Spirit on to another plane where faith is the governing law or power. It is the work of the Spirit in our lives today to bring us out from the bondage and control of the old life, physical and natural, and to adjust us to God so that we shall truly live and move...
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GPiper
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Posted: Yesterday
@ 07:16 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
Confessions of a Christian Author…
There are times when these verses flow like water over a waterfalls and there are other times when it’s as hard as drawing water from a rock! The last few days have been the latter. Lately I’ve sat at my computer and it was as if I was staring into space, but the space wasn’t in front of me it was within me. Here is a sampling of my questions:
• “Where are you God?”
• “What have I done to push you...
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GPiper
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Posted: November 18th 2009
@ 07:48 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
Whether you realize it or not the bible is also not only a prayer book but a prayer partner as well. Between its covers are some of the most powerful and life transforming prayers of all times.
“Listen to my prayer and my request, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today. May you watch over this Temple both day and night, this place where you have said you would put your name. May you always hear...
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GPiper
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Posted: November 17th 2009
@ 07:35 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
Somebody knows the trouble I’ve seen!
Somebody knows my sorrow!
“Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad — because these trials will make you partners with Christ in his suffering, and afterward you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory when it is displayed to all the world.” (1st Peter 4:12 – 4:13)
Jesus knows the trouble...
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GPiper
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Posted: November 16th 2009
@ 07:54 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
Out of what mattered most to him Thomas Kempis in his book Imitation of Christ wrote what matters most to God, “O God, You Who are the truth, make me one with You in love everlasting. I am often wearied by the many things I hear and read, but in You is all that I long for. Let the learned be still, let all creatures be silent before You; You alone speak to me.”
You matter most to God! God doesn’t necessarily want to be the only voice you...
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GPiper
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Posted: November 13th 2009
@ 07:24 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
“I ask the glorious Father and God of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you his Spirit. The Spirit will make you wise and let you understand what it means to know God.” (Ephesians 1:17CEV)
I wonder if it occurred to the Apostle Paul that what he meant for his time God would mean them for our lives. Perhaps no other person other than those who walked and talked with Jesus knew God more intimately than did the Apostle Paul. Paul knew God intimately...
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GPiper
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Posted: November 12th 2009
@ 07:37 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
Last Sunday I made a trip to a church in the Flint area and once I exited the freeway I checked the final directions found the road I needed to turn on and immediately turned in the wrong direction! After driving several miles unable to find the street the church would be on I turned around and drove in opposite direction. Several minutes later I crossed the road that led to the freeway then driving several minutes without locating the street...
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GPiper
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Posted: November 11th 2009
@ 07:52 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
“I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it — the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.” (John 15:12 – 15:13)
God loves us so much he sent Jesus into the world for us. Jesus loves us so much that his love for us sent him to the cross. There are those living today who out of their love are putting their lives on the line for our freedom. They are not...
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GPiper
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Posted: November 10th 2009
@ 07:40 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
You may not be a trouble maker but you are a trouble getter! Jesus himself warned us not to be surprised by the troubles we encounter in our day to day living. Troubles are defining moments in our lives and have the potential of becoming either our finest moments or our most devastating moments.
Author John Wright Follette offers us this timely and important information to help us transform troubles into our finest moments.
“Trouble will...
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GPiper
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Posted: November 9th 2009
@ 08:23 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
There are times when the Holy Spirit teaches and reminds us of God’s love in very unique ways and equally unique times!
“An apple never falls far from the tree.” I am sure you’ve heard or read that axiom a few times in your life. The other day while driving home I was reminded of it as I passed an apple tree with leafless branches and most of its apples lying on the ground. The next thing I knew was remembering the Proverb. “Teach your...
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GPiper
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Posted: November 6th 2009
@ 08:28 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
In his book titled “The Deeper Christian Life” author Andrew Murray speaks plainly and painfully to those of us who profess to be Christians.
“There are many children of God who need to confess, that though they are His children, they have never believed that God's promises are true, that He is willing to fill their hearts all the day long with His blessed presence. Have you believed this? If you have not, all our teaching will be of no...
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GPiper
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Posted: November 4th 2009
@ 07:51 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
In his book titled “The Deeper Christian Life” author Andrew Murray writes.
“The Divine life within us comes from God, and is entirely dependent upon Him. As I need every moment afresh the air to breathe, as the sun every moment afresh sends down its light, so it is only in direct living communication with God that my soul can be strong. The manna of one day was corrupt when the next day came. I must every day have fresh grace from heaven,...
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GPiper
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Posted: November 3rd 2009
@ 07:41 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
“Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil. For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry. Then the Devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread.” (Matthew 4:1 – 4:3)
If someone were to read verse 1 without reading verse 2 as well, they may get the impression that it was in the wilderness where Satan tempted Jesus...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 30th 2009
@ 05:44 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
A wise man once said that we create God in our own image. What he was saying was that there are times when we see God the way we want to see him not the real God. Ken Collins, Pastor of the Garfield Christian Memorial Church on his website writes of his struggle with creating God in his own image.
“So now after all these years, I finally realize how fleshly and unspiritual it is to seek personal comfort from God rather than to render Him...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 29th 2009
@ 06:23 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven, it is the heart of Jesus that prompts us to extend our hand. The Reverend Ken Collins writes of a personal experience.
“Once I sat as the passenger in a car in heavy traffic at a traffic light near Springfield Mall, and on the sidewalk next to me there was a young man, walking away from me, so that I could only see the sign on his back begging for money. I noticed he was a strong young man,...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 28th 2009
@ 07:30 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
John Owen in his book On the Glory of Christ writes in chapter 1, “In the meantime, it is the duty of all those who ‘love the Lord Jesus in sincerity,’ to give testimony in a peculiar manner unto his divine Person and glory, according unto their several capacities, because of the opposition that is made against them.”
John Owen councils us to give our testimony as circumstances present themselves because he knows when we do so not only do...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 26th 2009
@ 08:56 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
“God sent John the Baptist to tell everyone about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was only a witness to the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world.” (John 1:6 – 1:9) You ever have a Jesus complex?
“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 23rd 2009
@ 06:48 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
Carol Campbell introduces us to God the Communicator, “The first thing that scripture records about God is that God spoke. The power of deity expressed in that speech formed the world in all its majesty, mystery, magnificence and glory. From the beginning, a foundational principle was that God communicates, and by the power of his word, this wonder-filled world teeming with a multitude of orders of life came into being.” (*page 1)
The...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 22nd 2009
@ 07:12 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
Revisiting, “God wants you to be prophetic.”
Carol Campbell continues to help us understand the term becoming prophetic. “If we just use the term without being willing to come to new understandings and be changed in the process, those words will condemn us, but if we accept the challenge of living as prophetic people in this our moment in history, there is a whole new world of shining, wondrous possibility coupled with new questions or...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 21st 2009
@ 06:56 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
Carol Campbell in her book Called to be a Prophetic People – Witness and Reflection writes: “For me, the idea that God speaks in the present day is absolutely foundational. These messages are not so much a foreknowledge of the future as powerful encounters with the Living God and coming to an understanding of the present in ways beyond human comprehension. (*page xii)
I am sure you’ve heard the Coke ad, “Things go better with Coke,” while I...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 20th 2009
@ 07:19 AM
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When the Jesus in you meets the Jesus of heaven…
You are in life where you are but where you are is not where God’s wants you to be and God has plans to get you to where he wants you to be – intimate with him!
Just so, there is no doubt in your mind what I mean about being intimate with God I’ll let Jesus back me up! “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony. My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 19th 2009
@ 07:12 AM
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A Walk of Faith – Fellowshipping with Jesus Christ
Fellowshipping with Jesus not only has eternal fringe benefits but it also has fringe benefits for today. However, quite often in our everyday life we experience things that interrupt our fellowship with Jesus and pull us into dark tunnels of hopelessness. Most of the time when that occurs we continue to plow ahead as best we can on our own yet if we stop and take to time to think about our fellowship with Jesus, Author John Owens reveals...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 16th 2009
@ 08:00 AM
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A Walk of Faith – Fellowshipping with Jesus Christ
Andrew Murray writes in his book The Deeper Christian Life – “The Divine life within us comes from God, and is entirely dependent upon Him. As I need every moment afresh the air to breathe, as the sun every moment afresh sends down its light, so it is only in direct living communication with God that my soul can be strong. The manna of one day was corrupt when the next day came. I must every day have fresh grace from heaven, and I obtain it...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 15th 2009
@ 07:01 AM
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A Walk of Faith – Fellowshipping with Jesus Christ
Andrew Murray writes in his book The Deeper Christian Life –“If there is to be any deepening of the spiritual life in us, we must come to the discovery, and the acknowledgment of the unbelief there is in our hearts. God grant that we may get this spiritual quickening, and that we may come to see that it is by our unbelief that we have prevented God from doing His work in us.”
The Apostle Paul in his epistles references the struggles that...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 14th 2009
@ 07:54 AM
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A Walk of Faith – Fellowshipping with Jesus Christ
Our need for faith and fellowship with God is pointed by Carol Campbell in her book Called to be a Prophetic People – Witness and Reflection. “…we live in an epoch where the forces of evil are brazenly unmasked and emboldened in blatant selfishness, greed, ignorance, warfare, starvation and the willful destruction of the earth and her children. But it is at this moment that God is also reaching out with the greater empowerment of Holy...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 13th 2009
@ 08:07 AM
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Walking the New Covenant Road with Jesus
The final step before beginning the journey on the New Covenant Road is one of faith! It is a journey of faith that begins with emptiness. A heart emptied of the 3 S’s – Sin, Selfishness, and Separateness. It then makes it way through an empty cross. Then it makes its way in and out of an empty tomb.
Once we’re standing outside the tomb standing in the Light of Jesus the words on faith left us by the Apostle Paul sets us on our way. “Therefore,...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 12th 2009
@ 06:44 AM
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Walking the New Covenant Road with Jesus
Walking in God’s heart is walking in God’s Kingdom made possible by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
“Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people's bodies from ritual defilement. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our hearts from deeds that lead to death so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 9th 2009
@ 07:18 AM
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Walking the New Covenant Road with Jesus
One of the questions I am constantly asking God goes something like this, “God, I am reading studying about the New Covenant but why do I need to do so isn’t it enough just to believe Jesus lives in my heart because I have asked him to? I’ve read the New Covenant I believe that you have through my invitation placed your law on my heart isn’t that enough? Why must I continue devote time to digging deeper and deeper? Amen.”
Recently I happened (by...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 8th 2009
@ 07:12 AM
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Walking the New Covenant Road
God not only wants a relationship with you but he wants a deeper more intimate relationship with you. Psalms 37 verse 4 tells us if we delight ourselves in the Lord, he will give us the desires of our heart.
Writing of both the Old and New Covenant Andrew Murray writes, “They indicate two stages in God's dealing with man; two ways of serving God, a lower or elementary one of preparation and promise, a higher or more advanced one of fulfillment and possession....
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GPiper
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Posted: October 7th 2009
@ 06:55 AM
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Walking the New Covenant Road
God wants to be your God!
But he doesn’t want just part of your heart he wants all of it!
God doesn’t just want us just when it is convenient for you he wants you when it is inconvenient as well, he wants you to interrupt your busy life for him, he doesn’t want to come between you and your daily activities he wants to become a part of them, he doesn’t want to come between you and your family but he wants to become a part of your family.
“‘The day will...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 6th 2009
@ 08:48 AM
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Walking the New Covenant Road
Writing in 1898 from South Africa Andrew Murray introduced the world to a book on the two Covenants God offered to humankind. His book starts out with, “MEN often make covenants. They know the advantages to be derived from them. As an end of enmity or uncertainty, as a statement of services and benefits to be rendered, as a security for their certain performance, as a bond of amity and goodwill, as a ground for perfect confidence and friendship, a covenant has...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 5th 2009
@ 06:07 AM
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Good news in a not so good news world!
“God is light and there is no darkness in him at all……But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.” (1st John 1:5, 1:7)
I’ve written before about my fear of the dark. Quite often something will remind me about it and I’ll find myself reliving some of the experiences that left that fear embedded deep in my memory. As I was...
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GPiper
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Posted: October 2nd 2009
@ 06:28 AM
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Let there be God! And there was God!
God knows your name!
The Creator of ALL galaxies knows your name!
You may be insignificant to billions of people who walk the earth but you ARE NOT insignificant to God!
God not only knows your name he also knows your hopes, your dreams, your fears, your burdens.
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GPiper
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Posted: October 1st 2009
@ 06:16 AM
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River – September 30, 2009 – 6:43 AM
The only lights visible this morning are the manmade lights. Usually at this time of morning, I can see visible signs of the sunrise but not this morning the sky is darker than usual because of a dense cloud cover. Looking to the northeast however, there are some small narrow strips of blue sky peering through the darkness they are a testimony that the sun will rise.
My mind and spirit of late have been inundated with the many difficulties each of us...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 30th 2009
@ 06:08 AM
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Let there be God! And there was God!
The promises of God are for all times not just for the dispensations in which they were first made known. Thousands of years ago Moses prophetically wrote, “…obey the commands of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and fearing him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with springs that gush forth in the valleys and hills. It is a land of wheat and barley, of grapevines, fig trees,...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 29th 2009
@ 06:06 AM
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Let there be God! And there was God!
There’s no need to fear because your God is here! And God says to you, “…do not be afraid of those nations, for the LORD your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God. The LORD your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, for if you did, the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you.” (Deuteronomy 7:21 – 7:22)
You’re not facing hostile nations but there are other...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 28th 2009
@ 06:30 AM
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Let there be God! And there was God!
Ever wonder why the economic structure and all of the repercussions associated with it have the world in turmoil. Ever wonder why the world has to borrow money from the future which doesn’t even exist yet. Ever wonder how our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren are going to deal with the world history will leave them.
Ever wonder what God is trying to say to us. Perhaps he wants to say, “Stop putting your trust in mere humans. They are as...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 25th 2009
@ 08:06 AM
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Let there be God! And there was God!
Good Morning, I say good morning because it is now 6:39 AM and I am sitting at the mouth of the St. Clair Rive north of the two bridges. The sun has been making it presence known for the last 20 minutes or so. Across the river in the sky over Point Edward is a mixture of deep reds, washed out oranges, watered down yellows, faded blues, crimson clouds, and deep blue sky. Moments ago, a lake freighter sounded its horn as it made its way into Lake Huron...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 24th 2009
@ 05:52 AM
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Words of inspiration from Crusty
“Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the LORD opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land. So the people of Israel walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side!” (Exodus 14:21 – 14:22)
I am 99.9999% sure you either heard or read about Moses parting the Red Sea enabling the Israelites to escape from the pursuing Egyptian Army. It must have really...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 23rd 2009
@ 06:03 AM
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Words of inspiration from Crusty
One of the guidelines for understanding the bible is to take into consideration the times and situations surrounding them but there are times when the ring so true for me that I believe they concern me and the situations surrounding my life as well.
“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 22nd 2009
@ 06:36 AM
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Words of inspiration from Crusty
“I lie in the dust, completely discouraged; revive me by your word. I told you my plans, and you answered. Now teach me your principles. Help me understand the meaning of your commandments, and I will meditate on your wonderful miracles. I weep with grief; encourage me by your word.” (Psalms 119:25 – 119:28)
I love the Psalms because they are so honest. They make me feel that at times life does get burdensome and out of control but they also give me the...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 21st 2009
@ 06:46 AM
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Words of inspiration from Crusty
One of the hardest things I’ve ever done was surrender to Jesus a man that lived over 2000 years ago. For a long time I thought just believing in him was enough but then I began discovering how hollow and powerless my believing really was. Verse 19 of Psalms 119 talks about being a foreigner here on earth at first that never made any sense to me then one day I discovered the way Jesus was asking me to live was foreign to the way the world was shaping my...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 18th 2009
@ 06:34 AM
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Words of inspiration from Crusty
One day just after we first met Gary and I were talking about being humble and he told me someone had told him a long time ago that to be humble was to be teachable. He went on to say the Holy Spirit is the greatest teacher of all time it even taught Jesus everything he knew. One of my favorite verses in Psalms 119 reminds me not only to remain teachable all the days of my life but also reminds me that it is the Holy Spirit that will teach me though the laws...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 17th 2009
@ 06:28 AM
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Words of inspiration from Crusty
I love the Psalms because they speak to my heart and not to my intellect. I’ll be reading along when all of sudden I’ll ask myself, “How could they know so much about me?” For a long time I past right over verse 119 because it was so long until a week or so ago when I started reading it and couldn’t stop it was as if the Holy Spirit turned in on and wouldn’t turn it off. So I thought I’d start with it.
“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 16th 2009
@ 06:17 AM
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Words of inspiration from Crusty
Greetings to one and all. This is Crusty the Christian taking over for Gary for a few days. I was telling Gary how one day I’d like to be a writer just as good as he is. “Crusty,” he started, “I’m not a good writer myself it’s the Holy Spirit that makes me look good. My only desire in writing is to make Jesus and God look good. And the Holy Spirit does a lot of the writing for me I just put it into words that’s all.”
“Well,” I said, “God must think you...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 15th 2009
@ 06:12 AM
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Jesus is for Clunkers like me!
Zacchaeus was rich!
Zacchaeus was a person of influence!
Zacchaeus was a tax collector!
Zacchaeus was a con-man!
Zacchaeus was greedy
Zacchaeus became a Clunker!
Zacchaeus needed Restoration!
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GPiper
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Posted: September 14th 2009
@ 06:13 AM
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One Night on a Beach…
Two nights ago, I dreamt I was walking on a beach and suddenly, WOP! Life reared up and knocked me to the sand. While lying on the ground I noticed two sets of footprints. One set I knew mine, I knew the other set belonged to Jesus. Looking ahead all I could see was unblemished sand.
Suddenly from out of no where a hand reached down and a voice echoed, “Take my hand and I will pull you up and carry you.” Some what angered by the idea notion I needed help, “I...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 11th 2009
@ 06:14 AM
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The Healing of September 11, 2001
The Healing of September 11, 2001 began long ago when a carpenter named JESUS burst from an empty grave. It began long ago as an explorer name Columbus set sail for a new land. When Pilgrims seeking freedom set sail for a new land. It began when a small band of freedom fighters stood up to overwhelming odds at Bunker Hill. It began when enemy fighters attacked a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean. It lives strong in the heart of every man, woman, and child...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 10th 2009
@ 06:16 AM
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Words of Jesus to you…
Jesus is a Savior for impossibilities. Jesus turns impossibilities into possibilities! When his Spirit enters your life parched dry by the heat lamp of life you will not only be refreshed, renewed, and strengthened you will also become a possibility.
With the Holy Spirit when you walk through the hot, dry, and thirsty land of life others will see you are refreshed, renewed, and strengthened and they will hear deep within themselves they will hear my voice...
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GPiper
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Posted: September 9th 2009
@ 06:16 AM
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Words of Jesus to you…
For so many the clouds of doubt make difficult your journey through life. For so many doubt is a way of life. The newspapers, the airwaves, even the day to day conversations are filled with small trickles of uncertainty.
“The economy continues to falter…”
“Unemployment continues to rise…”
“The war in the mid-east continues escalate…”
“More and more people are contracting the H1 flu virus…”
“The times in which we live are unparalleled in human history…”
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