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THE REALITY OF IDOLATRY

4/25/2020

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We all like to talk about God being all that we need, but the sad reality is that while we are good at talking about God being all we need, many of us are living as though God is not all we need.

Yes, God is enough. But if we’re really going to be happy, we also need this relationship.

Yes, God is enough. But if we’re really going to be content, we also need to live in this particular neighborhood.  

Yes, God is enough. But if we’re really going to show kindness to those around us, they need to show us respect back.

Yes, God is enough. But when hurt and disappointment enter my life, we really need to be able to distract from it by indulging in junk food, TV, shopping, or maybe even a substance.  

Yes, God is enough.

​But. 
​

BLIND SPOTS

I think one of the biggest blind spots many of us possess in life is idolatry. After all, we don’t often see people worshiping blocks of wood or statues of gold, so we find it easy to brush off idolatry as something from Biblical times that’s not really an issue anymore.

The result? At worst, we can be guilty of dismissing idolatry as a modern-day issue altogether. At best, we may find ourselves resorting to the Sunday-school teaching of associating idols with things such as video games, TV, and money. And while to a certain extent that can be true, the truth is that the most dangerous idols we worship are not physical objects. 
​

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Fearful Relationships

3/3/2018

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​Until my own recent struggle, I don’t think I realized just how far-reaching fear can become, not only personally, but how my internal fears can begin to affect my relationships in significant ways. I think we’re all guilty of acting in fear in our relationships – I just think we don’t generally notice until it becomes out of control and is seen more in the results of deep depression, desperate behavior, and a pattern of broken relationships.

​It’s often not too difficult to look back and see where we did things the wrong way, acted in fear, and where things got off track. Unfortunately, it’s much harder to fix the problems when we’ve reached that point. It is not, however, impossible. It simply requires much humility and a determination to let God become our focus rather than people, and let love control our actions, not fear. 


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The Hands of God

2/17/2018

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​I am so thankful that God uses people 

Our God is a very personal God. He is a relational God. He lives in community, and He designed us to need that community, as well – starting with the fellowship we have through a relationship with Him. But it doesn’t end there – He also created us to need other people. Other Christians. Fellowship and relationships through the local church. Because God uses people.
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We need encouragement. We need help. We need hope.

When we’re overwhelmed, frustrated, tired, and broken, we are tempted to isolate. But it’s in those broken moments that we most need each other. We benefit the most from our relationships when it’s the hardest – when we’re most tempted to give up, close up, or shut down. When we’re vulnerable. When we’re scared. When we’re desperate.  

The pattern in scripture is that when people (or even the nation of Israel) were desperate, they cried out to God. And God sent a man. God sent a woman. God sent a person. And He used that person to help, encourage, and bring about deliverance, both personally and corporately.
​

When Adam was alone and needed a helper,
​God created Eve.


​WHEN DAVID WAS RUNNING FOR HIS LIFE,
GOD GAVE HIM JONATHAN.

​When Israel cried out for deliverance in Egypt,
​God sent Moses. 


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REAL LOVE IN REAL LIFE

1/23/2018

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I’m sure you’ve heard of the “Love Chapter,” but have you heard of the “True Love Test?” I discovered this when I was compiling some premarital counseling resources for my dad a few years ago, and it’s lingered with me ever since
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The True Love Test is very simple and very profound. All you have to do is take the things
1 Corinthians tells us about love, and insert your name. Then ask yourself, is this true of me?
In premarital counseling, it goes further – you insert your fiance’s name, as well, questioning
​if he or she is exhibiting that brand of love toward you, as well.

Here’s what mine would look like:

Bethany is patient.

Bethany is kind.

Bethany does not envy.

Bethany does not boast.

Bethany is not proud. 

Bethany does not dishonor others.

Bethany is not self-seeking.

​Bethany is not easily angered.
Bethany keeps no record of wrongs. 

Bethany does not delight in evil.

Bethany rejoices with the truth. 

Bethany always protects.

Bethany always trusts.

Bethany always hopes.

​Bethany always perseveres.
​


​When I personalize scripture, it makes it much more real, direct, and applicable to my life.
It’s one thing to read about what agape (sacrificial) love looks like; it’s another thing to hold yourself to the standard. As I read through the passage inserting my name, it’s easy to see where I fail and where I need to make adjustments in the way I love the people God has
​placed in my life.

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A CALL TO LOVE

3/9/2016

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“To love at all is to be vulnerable.”
​-CS Lewis


​A call to full-time ministry is really a call to full-time love.

Sometimes that love is easy to give; sometimes not so much.

Sometimes that love looks like a hug, a smile, and an encouraging comment.

Other times it means saying hard things, and drawing a line in the sand.

But it’s always all about love.

It’s about showing God’s love.


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Sacrificial Love

10/17/2015

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Am I the only one? I don’t think I am. I think some of you do it, too. 

We know the word agape and we know it means sacrificial, but we don’t really connect
the dots beyond that. Sure, it costs. But I think I tend to assume that when it’s agape,
I’ll win in the end. And by win, I mean be loved in return. 

I’m discovering that’s not true.

At least, not in the way I tend to want.


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    bethany HARRIS

    In a word: passionate.
    About Jesus, church, ministry, music, reading, family, friends, and sometimes even
    iced skinny soy mochas. 

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