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Without peace you cannot grow. A shepherd may find good pasture for his flock, but if his sheep are hunted about by wild dogs so that they cannot rest, they will become mere skin and bone. The Lord’s lambs cannot grow if they are worried and harried; they must enjoy the rest with which the Lord makes…

I am afraid that many of us are like the children at school, who have a good, fair copy set them at the top of the page, and the next line is written to imitate the copy, and the next imitates the imitation of the copy, and as it gets to the bottom of the page—alas! poor writing—how unlike it is to the…

It is life that grows. Put a bar of iron into the best soil that you can find, water it, and manure it, and let the genial sun shine upon it, but never a leaf or a rootlet will you find upon it, for it is dead. It is not so with the Christian man. Because of the life that is in him, he must grow. Spurgeon,…

When we light a fire, we always put the straw and kindling at the bottom. When we first light it, there is flame and a great deal of smoke. But afterward, when the flame gets hold of the coals, there is not so much blaze, but there is really more heat. You may have lost some of your flame and smoke,…

The full-grown man is stronger than the babe. His sinews are knit; his bones have become more full of solid material; they are no longer soft and cartilaginous, there is more solid matter in them. So with the advanced Christian; he is no longer to be bent about and twisted; his bones are as iron, and…

The youthful artist, as he grasps his early pencil, can hardly hope to equal Raphael or Michelangelo, but still, if he did not have a noble ideal before his mind, he would only attain to something very mean and ordinary. Heavenly fingers point us to the Lord Jesus as the great exemplar of His people,…

Familiarity with Christ soon begets congeniality of disposition and spirit, for those who are much with Christ become much like Christ. He who lies on a bed of spices will naturally find his garments smell of the same. A mirror upon which the sun is shining is bright itself and flashes its reflected…

Fruit does not start from the tree perfectly ripe at once. First comes a flower, then a tiny formation that shows that the flower has set. Then a berry appears, but it is very sour. You may not gather it. Leave it alone a little while, and allow the sun to ripen it. By and by it fills out, and you have…

Suppose you go to a surgeon because you have some deadly cancer growing upon you. You want to have it removed, and you know there are a great many physicians who will profess to cure such things, but in reality only give temporary ease. You keep clear from all these. You are well aware that if only a…

# Philippians 1:9-11 ## Opening — Paul’s Prayer This morning we conclude our look at the opening section of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. In verses 1–2, we have the opening salutation which identifies the author, Paul, and with him Timothy—The young man he has mentored. It also identifies the recipients—all…

19-year-old Adnan Khurram impersonated a doctor at one of India’s top hospitals for five months. Khurram wore a lab coat and carried a stethoscope as he routinely chatted with patients at New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Even though he had no medical training he impressed the staff…

TV producer Cliff McDowell hopes his new animated series will help children learn to pray, build a relationship with God, and deal with common childhood struggles. McDowell created a 26-part series called “Sea Kids,” which is about a group of underwater character with bright colors and inspiring storylines.…

Are we falling asleep like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane?

The United States Postal Service released a stamp to raise funds for those diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The stamp shows a green plant growing among fallen leaves, which is a symbolic reference to healing and new growth. A portion of the stamp’s cost will go to the Department of Veterans…

An Arizona man, Matthew Disbro, flipped on the police lights of his black Dodge Charger to pull over a flashy yellow Ford Mustang containing two men. The problem was the two men in the Mustang were police officers and Disbro is not. The real police officers charged the fake policeman with impersonating…

In Colorado Josiah Carelse poured a bowl of Quaker granola from a box he purchased at Walmart the week before. Carelse said that he noticed a funny taste and it tasted very stale. Well, no wonder. The sell-by date on the box was 21 years ago. Carelse said he felt fine after eating the ancient oats but…

Boerne, Texas may hold the easiest race there is to enter and complete. The race, run in May, is a 0.5k very mini-marathon. The 546-yard race features a rest stop at the halfway point where runners can refill on coffee and doughnuts. Upon completing the race, all runners received a T-shirt and an oval…

NFL referee Sarah Thomas said her biggest achievement in 2020 was not reaching the milestone of becoming the first woman to officiate the Super Bowl, but rather the growth she saw because of her faith. During an interview, Thomas said in the height of the pandemic in June 2020, she was out of control,…

Some of us are always looking for a shortcut to physical fitness. Now there are some possible solutions on the horizon. Scientists are testing compounds that they can put into a pill to produce the same effects as exercise. One proposed pill would give us more endurance and weight control, without the…

# Philippians 1:3–8 ## Opening: Paul’s Thanksgiving As we move on this morning in our study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we find Paul following his normal pattern of thanksgiving and prayer. This week we will look at his statement of thanksgiving about the Philippians, and next week we will look…

David Knowles must be a good teacher. The 77-year-old retired nurse was teaching CPR to fellow church members in southern England when he went into cardiac arrest. As he lay on the floor he gave further instruction to his trainees on how to help him before he lost consciousness. One class member, Karol…

Dovey is a 4-year-old shar-pei living with a loving family in Oklahoma. When she began vomiting and losing weight the family took her to the veterinarian. An x-ray of Dovey’s stomach revealed not only her health problem but solved the mystery of the disappearing pacifiers. The x-ray showed 7 to 9 pacifiers…

Stephen Baskerville has written a new book entitled, The New Politics of Sex: The Sexual Revolution, Civil Liberties, and the Growth of Governmental Power. In it, he emphasizes the importance of intact families and the destructive influence of our structures. Baskerville says, “In the past Christian…