All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others

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Jesus and Tiny Seeds

Jesus and tiny seeds. Matthew 13.31-32

Jesus was all about the Seeds in Matthew 13 – have you noticed as you have read through the chapter? The Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Wheat and Tares, and now the Parable of the Mustard Seed. Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”1

The… Continue

Added by Christine on October 19, 2015 at 8:10am — No Comments

In the end, truth wins

In the end, truth wins. Matthew 13.24-30; 38-43

My mama, who was kinda' old when I was born1, used some antiquated words that found their way into my vocabulary. Like the word 'tarry'. She would say, 'Go ahead and go, but don't tarry!' In other words, 'get right back, don't delay, or I'll worry'. I also took a page out of her book with words she did not say that she believed a lady should not utter, certainly not a Christian lady. The words were not necessarily swear words,…

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Added by Christine on October 14, 2015 at 11:43am — No Comments

What about the Sower?

Matthew 13.18-23

Pictures of the Sower come readily to mind from childhood Sunday school days. Symbolic breakdowns of the Parable of the Sower in Bible college still seemed to mostly focus on the ground or the soil, representing the heart; that is, whether or not the…

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Added by Christine on October 13, 2015 at 8:19am — No Comments

What do you (want to) see?

What do you (want to) see? Matthew 13.10-17

There is nothing like a really gifted speaker or teacher, like the messenger who can capture an audience and command their attention. Oh come on, you've seen the opposite in business meetings, civic settings, courtroom dramas and even…

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Added by Christine on October 12, 2015 at 8:16am — No Comments

God’s Big Personality.

God’s Big Personality. Matthew 13.1-9

The other day in “What do you want—really?” I asked you what you really wanted in order to believe. The hyper-religious Jews had asked Jesus for another sign, remember? Jesus had already done various sorts of miracles, he had taught in the temple, synagogues, in-doors and out-of-doors, to small gatherings and large ones—all, so that folks could hear the message of his Father in Heaven. He taught that they might know,…

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Added by Christine on October 9, 2015 at 7:43am — 1 Comment

"What do you want-I mean, really?"

"What do you want-I mean,…

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Added by Christine on October 7, 2015 at 1:45pm — No Comments

Mindfulness at Every Turn

Mindfulness at Every Turn. 1 Timothy One and Matthew 12.33-37

(this was from two years ago, but has application to our discussion out of Matthew chapter 12 that our words matter, and they come from someplace—they come from our hearts and minds.) For that reason,

our mindfulness is key.

It was Sunday night, and it had been a long week, and I was tired in every way… simply spent. So I created a restful space ~ lit three pumpkin-scented candles, turned on some piano music,… Continue

Added by Christine on September 30, 2015 at 11:03am — No Comments

S.O.S. Mathew

S.O.S. Matthew 12.33

It has been a very strange week, but I’ll get back to that at the end.

First allow me a look in the rearview mirror: in the spring of this year, I began asking God for a vision of what Women of Passion1 should look like for the Fall, which is now here. [Vision? Was I looking for some New Age smoky picture in a dream? Of course not. Since I first read it 13 years ago as a leader on a pastoral staff, this definition of vision lodged in my… Continue

Added by Christine on September 28, 2015 at 6:00am — No Comments

You...A Fruit Tree?

You … A Fruit Tree? Matthew 12.33-35

Oh, goodness—I remember my mom quoting this poem to me—I loved it when I was a little girl, and I still do:

I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear a nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow… Continue

Added by Christine on September 21, 2015 at 8:00am — No Comments

Words Matter

Words Matter. Matthew 12.31-37

“Oh, I am so sick of your behavior! You’re so lazy—why can’t you be more like your brother? I’m not sure you are ever going to amount to anything!” Ouch. Did the mother just say that? She collected herself later and went back into her 13-year-old son’s room, saying, “Hey, you know I didn’t mean that, right? I was just exasperated—had a hard day, right? Sorry, Bobby.” “Yeah, okay, Mom…” but do you think it was really okay? Heck no. His mother’s words… Continue

Added by Christine on September 18, 2015 at 7:59am — 3 Comments

Deamond, really?

Demons, really?  Matthew 12.22-29

Out to dinner the other night with dear friends, two of whom were Catholic, I asked rather randomly, ‘hey, do you guys think there is still demon possession, still exorcisms performed?’  One immediately responded, ‘Oh no, the Catholic church got all that stopped.  Not so.

Matthew recounts this scene:  “Then there was brought to him [Jesus] a man possessed by a devil, blind and dumb; and he cured him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw.… Continue

Added by Christine on September 17, 2015 at 9:11am — 1 Comment

This Amazed Them

This Amazed them. Matthew 12.22-30

The crowd was amazed and asked,

“Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?”

In the last few days the question, What Amazes You? and responses poured into my ‘in box’. Here are a couple more from your heart:

What Amazes You? “People whose trust is bigger than their fear when life takes a very difficult turn.”

What Amazes You? “How He shows up through that random smile, a kind gesture, a red… Continue

Added by Christine on September 15, 2015 at 7:15pm — No Comments

You’re Amazed!

You’re Amazed! Matthew 12.23

What Amazes You?…

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Added by Christine on September 14, 2015 at 8:34am — No Comments

O, to Lead Like Jesus!

O, to Lead Like Jesus! …

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Added by Christine on September 10, 2015 at 8:21am — No Comments

Jesus Undaunted

Jesus Undaunted. Matthew 12.9-14

We are all upside down in today’s culture—truly. Animal rights rank higher than human rights. We value puppies and kittens more than we do babies—human babies! Several years ago, in my hometown, a man waded out…

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Added by Christine on September 9, 2015 at 8:24am — No Comments

Walking with Jesus, not rules

Walking with Jesus, not rules. Matthew 12.1-8

“You’re not the boss of me, Chrissy Todd!” she huffed through her six-year-old tears at me. From the ages of two to ten, I played every day with two other little girls who lived within three houses of me in Fremont, California. We played dolls, rode bikes, played games, roller-skated, had tea parties and fought. Fighting often resulted in hair pulling and even scratching! But I will never forget when Kimmy…

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Added by Christine on September 8, 2015 at 8:00am — No Comments

Come on Home

Come on Home. Matthew 11.28-30

When I was 10 years old, my family moved into…

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Added by Christine on September 4, 2015 at 10:36am — No Comments

Jesus, at arm’s length

Jesus, at arm’s length. Matthew 11.12-27

Click to read: …

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Added by Christine on September 3, 2015 at 6:42pm — No Comments

Way Pointers

Way Pointers. Matthew 11.7-11

What would it be like to have your name inserted into any of these descriptions from the Bible?

Abraham was God’s friend.1

Moses was the humblest man on the face of the earth, 2

God himself called David a man after his own heart, 3

Of Job, God said, ‘There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and…