bible – Page 11

January 21, 2024January 7, 2024 goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

The Soundtrack of Your Life

By Linda Tancs

We’re exhorted to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). That command doesn’t exclude the annoying things in life, like slow traffic or a slow drain! The next time an irritating circumstance challenges your ability to be thankful and encourages complaint, imagine all of those complaints forming the soundtrack of your life for eternity. Would you want to spend forever listening to a recording of every complaint you made over the trifling matters of life? Probably not!

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

January 14, 2024January 7, 2024 goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

The Right Kind of Never

By Linda Tancs

One of the enemy’s favorite words is “never.” You’ll never get that job. You’ll never be well. You’ll never have any friends. You’ll never win. There’s a better kind of never; it’s God’s version. You will never go hungry nor will you thirst (John 6:35). You will never be left nor forsaken (Hebrews 13:5). You will never die (John 11:25-26). You will never be put to shame (Romans 10:11). Follow God’s kind of never, the right kind.

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January 7, 2024October 28, 2023 goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

The End From the Beginning

By Linda Tancs

God knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). In the psalms, we’re reminded that every day of ours is recorded in His book even before we were born (Psalms 139:16). That means that God has experienced each of our days before they even get to us! Nothing is a surprise to Him. Ponder that the next time you’re tempted to feel that God is absent from your life.

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Follow us on Twitter @moveonfaith and join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

December 31, 2023December 31, 2023 goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

A Place You Do Not Know

By Linda Tancs

God commanded Abram (Abraham) to leave his familiar surroundings and go to a place he did not know (Genesis 12:1-2). Imagine leaving everything you know (and have) behind and going to an unfamiliar place, like many immigrants do. Other transfers aren’t necessarily that dramatic but nevertheless significant—things like a new job, a new house, a new relationship and even the advent of a new year. None of us knows what a new year will bring, but may you experience great blessings in whatever place you have yet to know.

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December 24, 2023October 28, 2023 goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Just the Beginning

By Linda Tancs

At Christmas it’s especially fitting to remember that Jesus’s birth was just the beginning. Indeed, the story doesn’t end with an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger (Luke 2:11-12). The joy of His birth culminates in the joy of His resurrection (Romans 5:8). Don’t forget the full message of Christmas as you celebrate this season.

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December 17, 2023December 17, 2023 goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

When the Frost Comes

By Linda Tancs

Have you ever been frozen out of a situation? Maybe you were left out of a lunch group, denied an opportunity to join an organization or otherwise rejected. Situations like this remind me of a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Fellowship of the Ring: “Deep roots are not reached by the frost.” You are a son or daughter of the King (John 1:12). Rest in your knowledge of that. It gives you roots, a firm foundation, to endure being slighted in this life (Psalm 1:3).

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December 10, 2023October 18, 2023 goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Another Day

By Linda Tancs

Paul McCartney wrote a song entitled Another Day. It’s about a woman leading a monotonous life seemingly without meaning. “So sad,” the lyrics continue. So sad, indeed. God created us for a life of purpose and vibrancy (Psalm 16:11). Which would you rather say at the start of a day: “Oh God, another day” or “Oh good, another day for God” (Psalm 118:24).

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December 3, 2023October 16, 2023 goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

It’s For the Best

By Linda Tancs

You lost that game. You lost that job. You lost that friendship. It’s for the best. “It’s for the best” is a common refrain when something potentially unfortunate has happened. After all, when was the last time someone got promoted to an executive position and was told “it’s for the best.” Funny thing is, ‘it’s for the best’ is actually the best thing to think in the worst of times. It’s about thinking that something is happening for you rather than to you. That’s the way Joseph (Jacob’s favorite son) saw it. His jealous brothers wanted to kill him but they sold him into slavery in Egypt instead. He rose to “CEO” of the country, only to be thrown into prison after a false accusation by the boss’s wife after he scorned her advances. After the truth was revealed and he met up with his brothers, he had no regrets. He even told them that what they intended for harm God intended for good (Genesis 37-50). It’s for the best, indeed.

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November 26, 2023September 13, 2023 goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Happiness or Contentment

By Linda Tancs

Happiness and contentment are frequently treated as the same thing, like simply a matter of word choice. But nothing could be further from the truth. Contentment is a condition of the soul; happiness is conditioned on circumstances. The apostle Paul is a great illustration of the difference. Do you think that his series of hardships (2 Corinthians 11:23-33) were a source of happiness? Indeed not. But he said that he learned to be content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:11). How did he do it? By focusing on Christ rather than his circumstances (Philippians 1:12). Circumstantial happiness will never bring true contentment, but contentment will bring a kind of joy that only the Spirit can produce.

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November 19, 2023September 6, 2023 goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Somebody

By Linda Tancs

In the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon comes to terms with vanity in the sense of meaninglessness. He surveys life and concludes that all the power grabbing, striving, positioning and other activities are meaningless (Ecclesiastes 1:1-3). It’s all like a vapor, here one minute and gone the next. The poet Emily Dickinson had her own take on that with her poem “I’m Nobody, Who Are You.” Like Solomon, she recognized the futility of scrambling to be a somebody. The apostle Paul had his own awakening on the uselessness of being a mover and a shaker. Like Solomon, he’d acquired a long list of credentials but counted it all as nothing in the light of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8). Remember the popular expression, “you can’t take it with you.” Material things will always fade in value and importance. Make it your chief aim and desire to have a relationship with God above all else. He’ll take care of the rest (Matthew 6:31-33).

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