Pete Miller is co-owner of The Writer's Friend, an editing and pre-publication business for authors, business owners and marketing managers. Prior to opening his business, he spent several years in the editing department of a daily newspaper. Pete grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area during the sixties and has been an avid student of the Bible since 1971. Pete is currently enrolled in Bible college and resides in Southern Oregon with his wife and two children.
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Devil Possessed Man - Healing Ministry of Jesus
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The powerless and ineffective religious leaders of Israel were envious of Jesus and the attention He was getting, so they falsely accused Him of using evil powers to deceive people. Jesus always did the will of the Father, reaching out in love and compassion “…to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
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Dives and Lazarus - Parables of Jesus
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The Pharisees believed in the afterlife, and in angels, and that God punished the wicked and rewarded the righteous in the world to come, so Jesus utilized this knowledge to paint a vivid illustration of their worst nightmare, a future of eternal torment. This teaching resulted in the parable of Dives and Lazarus, also knowns as The Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus.
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Do Not Lean On Your Own Understanding - Trusting God in Hard Times
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Believers are challenged to put more confidence in God's ability than in their own, to not try to analyze and figure out every detail themselves, but to place their belief in God's wisdom, love and strength, to lean on God instead of relying on themselves or anyone else.
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Do Not Panic -- Trusting God in Hard Times
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Fear is the believer's greatest enemy. When a believer has fear, he cannot have believing faith. Fear paralyzes, frustrates and cripples. Fear also involves torment as 1 John 4:18 states.
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Do Not Worry About Tomorrow -Trusting God in Hard Times
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In this world, stress seems to be a normal part of everyone's daily life. More and more people are taking mood management drugs, or using other kinds of intoxicants to numb themselves from the escalating tension of unresolved problems or the avoidance of oncoming problems. The words of Jesus Christ still reverberate with truth.
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Doing Business with Integrity
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The successful Christian business has integrity and should positively affect the lives of others. It should help improve and enrich those it serves.
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Draw Near to God -- Trusting God in Hard Times
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If ever there was a time to get closer to the Creator, now is the time. It's not a time to be self-serving, or wasteful, thoughtlessly squandering money or time. Although the secular world says that time is money, in reality, time is life! Trusting God in hard times can become second nature when time is spent in daily reading of His Word, being prayerfully in His presence.
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Duty to God
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The Christian's number one duty is to love God with all the heart, the soul, the mind, the understanding, and the strength. The Greek word for heart represents the innermost part of a person, the center of one's personal life.
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Duty to Society
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The churches and households of faithful Christians need to be the refuges and houses of healing for the drained and disillusioned, for broken, lost and frightened people seeking safety and security. This is the ChristianâÃÂÃÂs duty to society.
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Duty to the Family
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There are always going to be differences of opinion and different ways of understanding things. All Christians are brothers and sisters in the multi-faceted family of God, the Body of Christ. the Word of God teaches the believer to love because love never fails.
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Duty to the Household of Believers
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The neighbors Jesus spoke were not always the people next door or across the street. The neighbors to love most of all are fellow believers. Most of all, do good to the faithful believers.
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Duty to Yourself
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To love one's self, Biblically speaking, is not selfish or self-serving in the wrong sense. For the Christian, real self-love is cultivating the new man (Christ) within.
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Elisha
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Elisha was a true hero and champion for God. He loved God first, and he loved the people of Israel. He was never intimidated, but fulfilled God's directives. Elisha was a true champion for God.
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Eve is Created from the Rib of Adam
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God knew it wasn't good for Adam to be alone, and even though Adam had dominion and authority over all God's creation, God had something very beautiful and wonderful in mind for Adam, a companion that would perfectly complement him.
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Eve Listens to the Lies of the Snake
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When Satan lied to Eve, she was sold. She was mesmerized. She was captivated. It was too irresistible to walk away. She didn't say another word. She didn't ask Adam for advice. She followed her senses right into sin.
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Eve Punished with Painful Childbirth
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Since Eve did not bear a child before GodâÃÂÃÂs punishment, itâÃÂÃÂs impossible to know what sort of birthing experience she could have had, or what God may have originally had in mind for the childbearing process.
Some understanding of the Hebrew words used might shed some light on what God said to Eve.
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Faith as a Mustard Seed - Trusting in God in Hard Times
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God isn't concerned with the amount or size of a person's faith, rather their complete trust in Him. This article uses the metaphor of the mustard seed to bring understanding to this concept.
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Faithfulness as the Fruit of the Spirit
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God is faithful, and this fruit of faithfulness builds and grows as Christians walk with God, experiencing the reality of His presence and power in daily living.
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Feeding the 5000 - Miracles of Jesus
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In the Miracle of Feeding the 5,000, thousand of people ate that day, and were filled. Everyone was satisfied and no one was overlooked. And there was food to spare! One of Elijah’s miracles was the multiplication of the flour and oil for the widow in Zarephath, but never before had food multiplied in such abundance as the feeding of the 5,000 men, “besides women and children.”
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Fig Tree Wither - Miracles of Jesus
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The fig tree had foliage and looked good from a distance, but would never bear fruit. Israel had lots of outward religion, but lacked the genuine inner faith. The fig tree represented Israel, fruitless and cursed for rejecting their Messiah.
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Fish with Coin - Miracles of Jesus
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Peter was a fisherman. There is no indication in Scripture that Peter questioned Jesus, or thought the instructions given to him by the Lord were at all strange. Peter would have known about the tilapia, indigenous to the Sea of Galilee. It is also called a musht and is now known as St. Peter's fish.
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Five Crowns of Christian Service
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The five crowns mentioned in the New Testament represent special honor and recognition for a life of Christian service. The Christian's crowns are symbolic of something of inexpressible value.
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Gentleness as the Fruit of the Spirit
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Gentleness as a fruit is distinctive from kindness and goodness in that the emphasis is on humility. Gentleness, or meekness, as it is translated in the King James Version, is not weakness or timidity. It means to be gentle, even-tempered, and suggests a lack of pride
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Giving While Under Pressure - Trusting God in Hard Times
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When experiencing financial deficiency, it is human nature to get overprotective of what one has, and usually, generosity is in the back seat and anxiety is at the wheel. Among the many paradoxical lessons in the Bible is to learn to give under pressure.
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Godliness as a Lifestyle
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God wants to have an intimate relationship with all of His children. Living with an awareness of and receptiveness to God is a life of true godliness.
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Godly Principles of Doing Business
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All the great men and women of the Bible were working people, and many were working when God called them. Today, God is still giving Christians the desire and power to do work that pleases Him and brings Him glory.
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Good Stewardship -- Trusting God in Hard Times
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Affluence can give rise to laziness and financial carelessness, which may make it challenging initially when it's suddenly time to tighten the belt. Poverty can induce people to be greedy and stingy, and even to steal, and hard times can fuel that wrong thinking. Whatever background someone may be struggling with, Biblical principles can be learned and Christians can discover how to prosper and flourish in hard times by trusting God.
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Goodness as the Fruit of the Spirit
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Goodness as a fruit of walking by the Spirit is a quality which imitates God. When believers are filled with the Holy Spirit, they can nurture this goodness of God into a rich expression of their own Christ-like personality. This goodness is similar to kindness, with an emphasis on moral values with a genuineness and excellence worthy of admiration, though not attention-seeking.
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Groundhog Day
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An old German belief stated, "The badger peeps out of his hole on Candlemas Day, and, if he finds snow, walks abroad; but if he sees the sun shining he draws back into his hole. "Germans watched a badger for the shadow. In Pennsylvania, the groundhog was selected as the replacement.
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Handling a Financial Crisi -- Trusting God in Hard Times
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When financial struggles occur, it is time to take spiritual and practical action. Further delay will only make the situation more agonizing. Don't wait for things to get worse. Make a plan and deal with whatever must be handled, and trust God in the process for wonderful and manageable results.
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Hezekiah, King of Judah
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King Hezekiah began his 29-year reign at age 25. He was zealous for the Lord, more than any of his predecessors. Because Hezekiah put God first in everything he did, God prospered him.
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Huge Catch of Fish - Miracles of Jesus
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Impetuous Peter, a professional fisherman, informed Jesus that he and his partners had worked all night, and there were not any fish to be caught. But, to pacify Jesus, Peter agreed to go out and let down one net. Jesus had told Peter to use nets, plural, but Peter, in his moment of skepticism, used only one net. When Peter saw the immense number of fish, he instantly realized that he had doubted the Lord.
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Humility
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Proverbs has many verses about humility, contrasting pride and haughtiness with humbleness. The pride of man will bring him shame, but with the humble is wisdom.
Haughtiness precedes destruction, but humility leads to honor. These are promises and benefits that should discourage pride in a person, and encourage one to learn true humility.
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Important Elements of a Solid Men's Ministry
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With a pastor, elder and other church leaders sharing ideas, coordinating events and delegating tasks, churches can establish and build a solid men's ministry. Teamwork and participation are required to provide an atmosphere where men can openly share and allow the Word of God and fellowship to soften their hearts and cause positive change.
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Introduction to Old Testament Kings
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It was never God's idea to have cities. It was Cain who built the first city, and cities were built for the purpose of control. Nor was it God's idea to have kings over His people. Samuel warned Israel that a king would oppress them, but they insisted. So the Lord said to Samuel, Make them a king.
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Jehoahaz, King of Judah
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Jehoahaz was unprepared and shortsighted as the king of Judah. He failed to see what was right and appropriate, considering the circumstances. He foolishly did the same evils that many of his predecessors had done, but not for long.
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Jehoiachin, King of Judah
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Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem three months and 10 days. Sadly, his lifestyle was one of depravity and he repeated the evils of his forerunners.
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Jehoiakim, King of Judah
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He reigned over Judah for 11 years, but Jehoiakim's leadership was seriously flawed and fraught with difficulties because of his unbelief and unfaithfulness to the Lord.
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Jehoram, King of Judah
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Jehoshaphat had seven sons, but because Jehoram was born first, Jehoshaphat gave the kingdom to him. But before Jehoram became king, he married Athaliah, the daughter Ahab and Jezebel. Jehoram began his reign by murdering all of his brothers, just in case they had any thoughts of overthrowing him.
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Jehoshaphat, King of Judah
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Jehoshaphat continually sought the Lord and His commandments. He built his army to over one million trained men. He established a mobile school which traveled around Judah teaching the law of the Lord. God blessed Jehoshaphat because his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord.
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Jesus and his Preeminence
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Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, the Body of Christ, and no one else has the right to clain this distinction. God worked His mighty power in Christ when He raised Jesus from the dead, and seated Christ at His right hand in the heavenlies.
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Jesus Heals Peters Mother in Law
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Three Gospel writers record this miracle showing its importance to God. God cares about every person, and His will is always to heal and restore to health those who are suffering. Jesus never ignored an opportunity to heal or minister when someone had a need. This woman was very sick, indeed close to death, but the words and touch of Jesus was all it took to get her back on her feet.
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Jesus Holds Supreme Honor in Heaven
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The great design of the Word of God is Christ. Apart from Jesus Christ, the Bible cannot be understood. He is the subject of every book of the Bible. The Scriptures testify of Christ, the Word made flesh, God with us.
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Jesus is the Firstborn from the Dead
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The evidence for the life, the death and the resurrection of Christ is better authenticated than most of the facts of ancient history. (E. M. Blaiklock, Professor of Classics at Auckland University)
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Jesus Raises Jairus Daughter - Miracles of Jesus
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Following the deliverance of the possessed man in the country of the Gadarenes, Jesus returned to the other side of Galilee, and a multitude of people were waiting for Him. Jairus approached him, and desperately begged Him to come and heal his daughter. “<i>My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.</i>” Jesus went with him, and many people followed Him.
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Jesus Raises Lazarus - Miracles of Jesus
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The raising of Lazarus from the dead was certainly one of Jesus’ greatest and most memorable miracles, the seventh of eight signs in the Gospel of John. The signs were specifically to designate Jesus as divine, the Christ of God, the fullness of God personified.
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Joash, King of Judah
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Joash was seven years old when his reign began, and he was king over Judah for 40 years. Under Jehoiada's guidance, Joash did what was right. But after Jehoiada died, at a vulnerable point in the life of Joash, he listened to and followed the wrong crowd.
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Job as a Model for Faith -- Trusting God in Hard Times
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Job lost everything but his immediate reaction was to worship God first. His devastating situation was overwhelming, so he instantly yielded himself and his circumstances to the One Who could actually do something about it.
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Josiah, King of Judah
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Almost 300 years before Josiah became king of Judah, an unidentified man of God foretold him by name. Considering his father and grandfather, one wonders how this very young man could have had a heart so pure. There was no king like him before, nor after him did any arise like him. During Josiah's entire reign, the people of Judah followed the Lord God.
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Jotham, King of Judah
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Jotham was mighty. He was also blessed because he prepared his ways before the Lord, keeping God first and not turning away from the Lord to idolatry.
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