This podcast is brought to you by Walnut Grove Lutheran Church in Langley BC in the hope that it will draw you closer to the One who loves you most.
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Humility and the Fear of the Lord in your Mission Field - Yunana Malgwi
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Living Words 29: Finding Hope in the Darkness
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The brokenness and evil in the world can overwhelm us, especially when it impacts us on a personal level. But the Lord has promised us that a day will come when he will make all things right, including us. Therefore, based on the Lord's goodness and his promises to us, we move forward with confident hope. (Based on Micah 7:8-10.)…
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Sometimes we observe situations where non-Christians behave like Christians while Christians are functioning like they have no faith at all, and we are perplexed. Why does that happen? A softness toward the spiritual side of life is needed for us to be open to the movement of God, and God softens our hearts through faith. (Based on Jonah 1:1-3.)…
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Living Words 27: The Restoration of a Humbled Heart
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By default, a human heart is filled with pride and places itself at the center of its universe with all else revolving around it. When a life, with its perspective and priorities, is disordered like this, it will eventually implode. It is far better to see the desolation of our life apart from God, look to him in faith, and let him build us up in a…
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Living Words 26: Discipleship Lifestyle in Japan
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Rae-Anna H was part of WGLC before moving to Japan (Osaka) as a missionary. Her focus is discipleship in the area of purity among Christian singles - discovering God's heart regarding sexuality, how to walk in His ways, and how to support singles in their desire to honor God with their sexuality. She will be sharing on the topic of "Discipleship Li…
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In ancient times, people would cover themselves in ashes when grieving the loss of a loved one or a calamitous change in their circumstances. But our gracious God promises to replace the ashes of our grief with a crown of beauty, a miraculous turnaround that happens because of Jesus and what he does for us. It’s faith in Jesus that we are celebrati…
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Living Words 24: Finding Purpose in the Seasons of Life
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The lives of the rich and famous are the ones that get attention and admiration, and are imitated by the masses who consider their ordinary lives as dull and worthless. But Jesus' presence in the world proves that God has infused the ordinary with the extraordinary and, with him, the ordinary rhythms of life take on eternal significance. (Based on …
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Being able to retain information is knowledge, but knowing how to use knowledge well is wisdom. But which of the many sources of wisdom will we trust? As people of faith, we look to the Lord for the wisdom we need, for he has proven the trustworthiness of his wisdom through his love for us. (Based on Proverbs 3:1-18.)…
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Living Words 22: A Call to Worship and Gratitude
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Two people can receive the same gift, yet one is thankful, and the other is not. Why? The thankful person appreciates the gift and the giver because they know that things could have been otherwise. Life in this world with God is a gift, but how will we respond to that gift? Let's remember that things could have been otherwise and recognize the grea…
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Living Words 21: Walking with the Shepherd
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The biblical image of a shepherd and their sheep is a powerful metaphor for the God-human relationship. We are weak, defenseless, and prone to go astray, yet our Lord faithfully provides, protects, and blesses us. Trust and love bind us together in a relationship that rests on the Shepherd's faithful lovingkindness. (Based on Psalm 23 & John 10:11-…
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Living Words 20: Perseverance in the Promise
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As we live our lives in this world, it can be hard for us to believe that an invisible spiritual realm exists and has an impact on our lives. It takes Spirit-empowered faith to believe and see this. Thankfully, God gives us the Holy Spirit and faith so we can live in the fullness of life--with both our body and soul--that God has for us. (Based on …
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Living Words 19: Embracing Divine Purpose
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When a problem arises, our first response is to deal with the surface issue, but often there is a deeper issue that needs to be addressed. When they are identified, these deeper issues can be very challenging because attempting to solve them requires us to take risks or make sacrifices that we would not normally do. Only with faith in God can we ta…
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Sometimes we face challenging opposition as we do what God calls us to do. Ideally it would be otherwise, but we don’t live in an ideal world. We live in a broken, hurting world where evil strives to counter the good things God wants to accomplish in the world. But our faithful God is greater than evil, and he will provide the direction, discernmen…
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It is common for us to have our heart pulled in two different directions by the various things and people we love. But having a divided heart will prevent us from giving our lives fully to God and living the wholehearted life that he wants to give to us. Thankfully, God heals and strengthens our divided hearts through the gracious generosity of his…
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Living Words 16: Stepping into God's Abundance
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In the deepest, darkest moments of life, we always need to choose whether we are going to live by faith in God or by faith in ourselves? It is important that we choose to live by faith in God for that is our only hope for the better future that we seek, and the turnaround to that better future can sometimes happen very quickly. God has done this th…
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Living Words 15: Finding God in the Midst of Desolation
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When the destructive power of evil attacks and leaves us in desolation, it is easy for us to become discouraged and disconsolate. But God never lost hope for us and for his creation. God the Son, Jesus Christ, entered into our desolation and made it his to give us new life with a new purpose as one of his people in this world. Therefore we have hop…
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Living Words 13: The Eternal King & His Kingdom
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We think, speak, and act in the short-term reality of the present, yet our life spans years of human history and leaves an impact that is eternal. What view should we take as we live our lives? A short-term view of the world can result in momentary happiness or dismay. But a long-term view of God at work in human history reveals that he has been at…
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We humans tend to assess a person’s suitability for greater things based on their appearance. God does not. Instead he looks at our heart. And God is not looking for perfection or performance. It’s our brokenness and frailty that qualifies us for God’s grace and acceptance. (Based on 1 Samuel 16:1-13.)…
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Loss and disappointment can leave us feeling empty with no hope of every being filled again in sight. Helpless and hopeless, we need someone to come and bless us with lovingkindness, redeem us from our desperate situation, and restore us to fullness. And the Good News is that we have Someone who will do this for us, the ultimate Redeemer, Jesus. (B…
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Facing a great challenge in weakness and inadequacy goes against our nature. Our overwhelming preference is to have strength in advance before we engage. Yet God calls us to live in a different way--by faith and not by sight--trusting in the God who calls us forward to bring us victory through our weakness. (Based on Judges 7:1-8.)…
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Fear is part of life. There are many things that could be real or imagined threats to us. But we need to face our fears or they will crush us. Where do we find the courage we need to face our fears and live life with confidence? In our Lord God who promised to be with us wherever we go. (Based on Joshua 1:1-11).…
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Living Words 8: Living in God's Abundant Love
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Living a self-directed life is like assembling a complex piece of furniture without the instructions. The end product will not be as functional or beautiful as the manufacturer intended. Our affections need to be focused on the epitome of greatness, goodness and love: Yahweh. And when we love him with all our heart, soul and strength, we want to li…
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The ability to feel fear is something that God put in us to help protect us, but he did not intend that it control us. When fear is directing our thoughts, feelings, and actions, it can negatively impact our health and keep us from stepping into the abundant life that God wants to give us. But how do we overcome our fears? By remembering that the L…
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Living Words 6: The Lamb that Saves and Sets Free
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There are times in all our lives when we come up against challenges that are too great for us to handle. We are helpless and it seems like things are hopeless. But then God steps in and rescues us in a surprising way: a defenseless lamb gives up its life to save us and set us free. (Based on Ex. 12:1-13.)…
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Living Words 5: From Frustration to Freedom
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A common misconception about life with God is that everything is awesome once you begin your journey with him. It isn't. In fact, following God can lead you into times that are harder than anything you have ever experienced before. But it is in those hard times that we are drawn deeper into our relationship with God and we are then better prepared …
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Living Words 4: Encountering the Holy in the Ordinary
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It is easy for us to become so preoccupied that we live as if God has nothing to do with our lives. We may say that we believe in God, but we rely entirely on natural forces to make our way in this world. And with a "head down" perspective, we miss out on better knowing God and what he is doing in and around us. Thankfully, God does come into our o…
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We tend to measure success by results, but when we chase results, we can miss what is truly important. The place to start is by finding our purpose, a purpose that fits with who we are and which we can fulfill regardless of whether our circumstances go up or down. Through the life of Joseph, we can see that God wants to give us a purpose that will …
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Sometimes we get to choose the path we are on and sometimes we don't. But what about those times when God calls us onto a path that's different from what we would have chosen? We remember God's faithfulness and the many ways he blesses those who follow him down through the generations. (Based on Gen. 12:1-9).…
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Untethered from God and the roots he gives us in creation, we can feel formless and empty with darkness enveloping our soul. But the same Holy Spirit that was present at creation is freely available to us through Jesus, and the Spirit can recreate our inner being so that we see God and our life in a new and better way. (Based on Gen. 1:1-5, 1:24-2:…
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A courtroom, a hospital and a graveyard are all places that confront us with human corruption, brokenness and mortality. These things are easy for us to recognize in others, but it can be terrifying when we see them in ourselves. Thankfully, Jesus came into the world to be our Savior! With the forgiveness and new life as a child of God that he give…
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In times of suffering, sorrow, loss, or regret, it can seem like there is no possibility of joy in the future. But Jesus came into the world to change everything for us. Instead of despair, shame and death, we have life, forgiveness and salvation in Jesus. And the future looks bright for Jesus will come again one day to make us and all things right…
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God-breathed 50: Sunday School Christmas Program
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It is difficult to listen to the news these days. There are so many reports that cause us to be worried, sad, discouraged and even frightened. Today, the children of our church want to share the best news ever. They will tell us the story of Jesus' birth, when the Saviour of the world came to save us. This is the true meaning of Christmas that give…
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God-breathed 49: Peace Through God's Love
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When conflict is personal, establishing peace is easier said than done. That’s because peace always comes at a cost and we are not usually willing to lose in a conflict so that others can gain. Thankfully, Jesus came and paid the cost for us to have peace with God. With that peace at the center of our lives, we then seek to live in peace with those…
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God-breathed 48: Hope for Today and Forever
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When things are bad and getting worse, we can wonder why God is taking so long to straighten things out, especially when others say we are foolish for having any hope in God. God views time differently than we do, yet he is at work in all time, even now, orchestrating events according to his divine plan which will lead to the glorious new heaven an…
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God-breathed 47: The Living Lumber of God's House
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Go to any major sporting event and you will see people that identify with their team. They cheer, shout encouragement and perhaps even wear their team’s jersey. All with the hope of being on the winning side. But what does it look like to be on the winning side of life? Though rejected by people 2,000 years ago and today, Jesus won the victory for …
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Faith is often thought of as believing that what we want to happen will happen. But the “Hall of Fame of Faith” in Hebrews chapter 11 paints a far different picture of faith. Faith is believing in God’s promises for the future and aligning our actions with those promises, even if those promises are not fulfilled in our own lifetime. How do we know …
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A builder is known by the greatness of the buildings they create. As profound as a beautiful bricks and mortar building can be, gathering and giving life to a redeemed and restored community of humans is infinitely better. That’s what Jesus is doing. Therefore, we can bring our broken hearts and lives to him and know that he will make us part of th…
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The idea that we have to earn the good things of life is hard wired into human nature. But it won’t save us from the destiny of destruction our sin sick soul is leading us toward. Any attempts at repairing our life are insufficient. We need a totally new life, and that’s exactly what Jesus has given us as a completely free gift. Therefore, we live …
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Insecurity makes us tentative. It is hard to be strong when our weakness is so evident. But Jesus has joined his life to our and, in our weakness, we have his strength. Faith is what connects us to Jesus and helps us to live in his strength. Therefore, with God’s help, we fan the flames of the faith that has been given to us. (Based on 2 Timothy 1:…
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When the hope we have for a better life is being ground down to nothing by persecution or life-stealing circumstances, it’s time to re-examine our foundation for hope. A hope foundation built on the things of this world will never last. But a foundation built on Jesus’ promise to return and restore us and all things will give us the hope we need to…
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We tend to become what we focus on. Broken as we are, we humans tend to focus on the baser aspects of life in this world thinking that they will satisfy the appetites of our heart, but they never do. Thankfully, Jesus came into this world to redeem us lost and broken souls and give us a greater life with him that will last forever. Therefore, we di…
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One of the important ways to grow into becoming the kind of person we want to be is by choosing a mentor and patterning our life after theirs. We are making such choices whenever we click on “Like,” “Follow,” or “Subscribe.” But are we being thoughtful and intentional about who we allow to influence us and the depth of influence that we give to the…
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There is a lot of emphasis on rule-based living these days. While having some basic rules for our life can be helpful, for we all need some structure in our lives, it is important for us to remember that the rules are not our life, and neither is living without any rules. What we really need for fruitful living is to be enlivened, empowered and dir…
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God is on the move. He is always on the move! Can you see what He is doing around you? Did you know that the Holy Spirit is working all the time as He continues to work in your life and mine. He is working on all those people in your sphere of influence. Can you see Him working and how He equips you to be His mentor to others as He is working in th…
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God-breathed 37: Ambassadors of Reconciliation
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The standard human operating system is to live life in this world guided by what we see and for our own personal enrichment. The hollowness of this OS is revealed when we come to the end of life in this world and end up with nothing. But Jesus paid the full cost of our forgiveness so that we could be reconciled to God and have life with him. Theref…
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We usually think of freedom as the ability to do whatever we want, but that kind of freedom can lead us to harm others and ourselves. With Jesus, we have been freed from feeding our sinful, self-centered desires. In the freedom we have from Jesus, we mold ourselves to connect with others so they might know him and the freedom he gives. (Based on 1 …
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God-breathed 34: Honoring God with Our Bodies
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A lot of the challenging issues in our society these days, such as sexuality, gender, and abortion, pertain to the human body and who controls what we do with our bodies. Is it the government or the individual? A common response is to say, “It’s my body and I can do whatever I want with it!” As we look at Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, we …
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God-breathed 33: True Acceptance in Christ
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With all the challenges we face, it is easy for us to become discouraged and cynical about life. Our hearts are empty, and we have no use for other people, unless they can give us what we need. But Jesus gives us the endurance and encouragement we need to keep moving forward in this challenging world. He makes sure that all our needs are met and hi…
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God-breathed 32: Journeying with Jesus: Scripture & Communion
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Central to the Christian journey is the faithful reading of Scripture and fellowship with Jesus and his followers. This is vividly illustrated in the dramatic encounter between two disciples and the risen Jesus on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). The disciples recognize who Jesus is, and are able to proclaim the gospel, only after…
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We humans inherently try to justify ourselves on the basis of what we do, who we are, or what we have. But none of those human-centered approaches work. Thankfully, because of his own goodness and love, God has reconciled himself to us by sending Jesus to pay the full cost of humanity's forgiveness for our sins and give us his righteousness in retu…
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