Growing by Knowing

"We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:69 NIV).

Because the well runs dry, we know Jesus is the river of living water (John 4).

Because the storm rages, we know Jesus is the Lord of the storms (Matthew 14).

Because the floods overwhelm, we know Jesus is the rock on which to build (Matthew 7).

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Your Own Genesis Week

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalms 51:10 NIV).

God spoke the world into existence, and he spoke you into your mother's womb. Even now, he can speak into the chaos of your life to bring it shape and form (Psalm 51:10 MSG).

This is a Genesis event, where God speaks into the void and the darkness of your life, creating for you a new beginning.

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A Commitment to Seek Only God Leads to Blessing

"Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!’ But Jacob said, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me'" (Genesis 32:26 NLT).

Obviously, God could have overpowered Jacob and ended the wrestling match instantly. Why did God let the struggle go on?

Here's the lesson: When God allows a crisis into your life, He doesn't solve it immediately. He lets it go on for a while because he wants to see if you're really serious about seeking him. If God answered your prayers immediately, you'd begin to think God was a big vending machine: put in a prayer, pull out whatever you need.

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A Crisis Can Lead to Healing Choices

"This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket" (Genesis 32:24-25 NLT).

Are you in a crisis today? Congratulations! You're about to be changed. You don't have to stay the same. God is getting ready to make a change in your life.

The Bible teaches that our biggest struggle in life is with God because we want to be in control. We want to be God.

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The Healing Choices Jesus Made for You

"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak" (Matthew 26:41 NIV).

Prayer:

On the night before you died, you prayed for me, that I would be as close as a heartbeat to the Father (John 17:22).

On the night before you died, you called me friend, no longer a servant, because you'd taught me everything the Father taught you (John 15:15). On the night before you died, you came to me with bloody sweat dripping down your face and arms because you'd stared straight into the future with eyes wide open at the truth, while I hid behind the covers of my deep, denial sleep.

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Choosing to Become Like Jesus

"This will continue until we are . . . mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him" (Ephesians 4:13 CEV).

Spiritual maturity is neither instant nor automatic; it is a gradual, progressive development that will take the rest of your life as God helps you make healing choices.

The Apostle Paul said, "This will continue until we are . . . mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him" (Ephesians 4:13 CEV).

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Healing Choices: God Wants You Strong

"Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.' At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked" (John 5:8–9 NIV).

For 38 years the man was paralyzed in a sickly cycle of passive dependency, coping to make it to the end of each day, longing for something else.

It's the kind of circular survival thinking that traps us in a death-like state where we’re ruled by our fears and our stress, far removed from the abundant life Jesus promised.

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