Category: Uncategorized
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Sing a New Song!
“Sing to the Lord a new song of praise from the edges of the earth!” (Isaiah 42:10 my translation). Hands down, my favorite thing about worship services at church is the music. Something about music helps me feel closer to God; it helps me think, it helps me pray, and when my heart fills up…
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Hope Floats
“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength; they will fly up on wings like eagles; they will run and not be tired; they will walk and not be weary” (Isaiah 40:31 CEB). Hayley, our youngest, just turned three. She’s growing up and I’m growing old. We’re getting to the point where…
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All Glory and Honor
The Lord’s glory will appear, and all humanity will see it together; the Lord’s mouth has commanded it” (Isaiah 40:5 CEB). Has anyone ever taken credit for your accomplishment? Spotlight stealing is among the slimiest of sins. It’s a cruel crime committed by insecure bullies who stain the successes of their victims with deceit, disloyalty,…
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LORD of Life
“The Lord is above all who live, yet in the life of all breath; the Lord restores me and revives me” (Isaiah 38:16, my translation). Live life to the fullest! Grab life by the horns! Live like there’s no tomorrow! I don’t know about you, but sometimes I hear these peppy one-liners and think, you…
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GOD of Comfort
“I thought, I won’t see the Lord. The Lord is in the land of the living” (Isaiah 38:11 CEB). I’m kind of a baby when I feel sick. I’ve been known to whine, stumble, speak gibberish—and that’s just in response to a tiny cold. A few years ago I was experiencing motion sickness on a…
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Hope in the Holy One
“The Lord is our judge; the Lord is our leader; the Lord is our king— he will deliver us” (Isaiah 33:22 CEB). As citizens of the United States, we are privileged to have three distinct branches of government to complain about (separately but equally). There are times we may feel our judges lack sound judgment,…
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Reverend Justin
“… a dignitary has dignified intentions and stands up for dignity” (Isaiah 32:8, my translation). A few weeks ago I met a friend of Audrey‘s who happens to be a boy. He was very polite and asked me if he should call me “Mr. Berkobien.” I told him that wasn’t necessary, he could simply call…
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LORD of Lords
“LORD our God, other masters besides you have ruled us, but we will profess your name alone.” — Isaiah 26:13 CEB Our 9 year-old son Jimmy is a natural leader. So much so that his coach lets him lead warmups at soccer practice. Usually Jimmy sticks to the typical routine: stretching, jumping jacks, etc. But…
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Foundation of Faith
“Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD is a rock for all ages.” — Isaiah 26:4 CEB In 3rd grade my best friend was the pastor’s son. He lived one fence-hop away from me so we saw each other nearly every day. Our families even took a week-long vacation together to Hilton Head Island.…
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Wrong Way to Be Right
“At that time the LORD had spoken through Isaiah, Amoz’s son, “Go, take off the mourning clothes from your waist, and remove the shoes from your feet.” And Isaiah did this, walking naked and barefoot.” — Isaiah 20:2 CEB I love winning arguments. In high school I was part of a mock trial in which…
Justin Berkobien 