Over
100 different Nehemiah Notes featured on
this site (articles by
Blaine Smith)! |
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Glenn Kirkland, long-time
NM Board member, dies.
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Nehemiah
Notes, November 15, 2008 |
Is
Anger a Sin?
Not Always; Appreciating
Its Dangers and Benefits
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It
happened again. Something I’ve heard so often. A friend told me
another Christian had advised her that her angry feelings are sinful.
Hearing my friend had been counseled this way made me feel, well . . .
angry.
Now that I’ve made this
confession, I must hasten to say that I don’t think I was sinning
merely by feeling angry at that moment--although the potential
for saying or doing something unkind was certainly there . . .
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We often condemn ourselves for angry
feelings; yet it's unkind actions that the Bible
regards as sinful. Blaine explains in this
article.
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Nehemiah
Notes, November 1, 2008 |
Don't Look Back
Letting Go of the Past, to Embrace
God's Best for Your Future
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In a closet in our home sits a coin
collection. We inherited part of it from my parents, and Evie’s dad
gave us the rest some years ago. Neither Evie nor I have any interest
in collecting coins. Yet we’ve held on to this collection, as most
parents probably would, with the hope of eventually passing it on to
our grandchildren.
Recently, though, it occurred
to me that this long-term goal isn’t such a good idea . . .
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God's greatest blessings always require us to let go of
the past in certain ways--and this is often the most
difficult part for us. Blaine offers counsel for meeting
the challenge in this article.
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Nehemiah
Notes, October 15, 2008 |
Appreciating Biographies
(Others' and Your Own)
Not Losing Sight of Your
Unique Gifts and Potential
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We often talk about the
inspirational value of Christian biographies. Yet have you ever come
away from reading one feeling
more discouraged than uplifted?
C. Peter Wagner expresses such
frustration in his classic Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your
Church Grow: “At one point, earlier in my Christian life, I used
to read quite a few biographies. Then I stopped almost completely and
at first did not know the reason why. . . .While they were enjoyable
reading, when I finished I felt miserable. I always felt that ‘if he
can do it so should I.’ . . .”
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We too often measure our gifts and accomplishments
against those of other Christians we esteem, and then feel
defeated. Blaine talks about how to beat that comparison trap
in this article.
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