The Believer’s Battle Cry

Tommy Boland
1 May 2017
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battle

“All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:47, NIV). 1 Samuel 17 recounts the God-glorifying story of David and Goliath. The Philistine giant Goliath was far bigger, much stronger, and vastly more skilled in battle than was David, the youngest of eight sons of Jesse . . . the shepherd boy. Goliath had every conceivable advantage known to man . . . except one, and that one advantage that David had […]

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Empty Tomb… Full Life

Tommy Boland
1 Apr 2017
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Let’s look back in time to that first Easter morning to celebrate the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. One of the greatest gifts of the empty tomb is the full life that has been promised. “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10, NIV). That full life was to come through the sinless life, sacrificial death and supernatural resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is an amazing truth that death and the grave could not hold our Lord Jesus. The Roman soldiers and the religious leaders could […]

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empty tomb

Faithfulness in Little Things is a Big Thing!

Tommy Boland
8 Mar 2017
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big

I am not sure if there is anything harder than being faithful in the little things. We live in a world that tells us bigger is better . . . a bigger car, a bigger house, a bigger office, a bigger title, a bigger paycheck, a bigger bank account. The list is endless. First, let me say that bigger is not always better. Bigger often brings with it a much bigger headache and heartache. But, if God does indeed have something bigger in his plans for your life, you can be assured of one thing – you will not get […]

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Run Your Race

Tommy Boland
3 Jan 2017
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You stand at the starting line of the year 2017. If God is so pleased to give to you the next 12 months of life, how are you planning to run your race? How different would you like your race in 2017 to be from the race you ran in 2016? Remember, nobody plans to fail, but far too many people simply fail to plan. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked […]

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race

Unspeakable JOY!

Tommy Boland
9 Dec 2016
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joy

To be sure, this was my truth growing up. I could not wait for Thanksgiving to be over so we could put away the pumpkins, turkeys and little Pilgrim figurines.  Every day I counted down to that day . . . Christmas day . . . when we would finally get to open the presents under the tree, see everything Santa left behind, hoping it would not be a stocking full of coal, and bring baby Jesus out from behind the stable to lay him in the manger. Well, I am a whole lot older and a little bit wiser […]

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Giving Thanks Even In the Silence!

Tommy Boland
9 Nov 2016
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(Scroll down to leave a comment on what you like to thanks to God for ) Both my study of the Scriptures and my experience as a pastor have fully convinced me of this truth: When heaven seems silent, God is still there, and he still cares much more than we will ever know on this side of the grave. As I’ve said before, we must remember that God always answers every one of our prayers with one of the following responses: YES, NO or WAIT. Now I know we don’t care much for the last two responses from our […]

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thanks

Cosmic Carpe Diem

Tommy Boland
8 Oct 2016
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carpe diem

Carpe diem is a Latin aphorism taken from the Roman poet Horace’s work Odes (23 BC), Book 1. It is usually translated as “Seize the day!” In other words, the past is irretrievably gone, the future is promised to no one, so all we have is the gift of today — of right now — which is why it is called “the present.” What is carpe diem? You may recall that the phrase carpe diem was popularized by a character portrayed by the late Robin Williams in the 1989 movie “Dead Poets Society.” The film was espousing an utterly humanistic worldview, […]

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Forgive As You Are forgiven?

Tommy Boland
13 Sep 2016
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  Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, I am always struck by these words: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12, KJV). Really? Do you really want God to forgive you in the same way you forgive others? I didn’t think so; neither do I! But what I do desire is to be able, by God’s amazing grace, to live out this truth in every area of my life. And this should be the desire of every Christian, because Christianity is all about forgiveness. You see, we are commanded to receive the vertical forgiveness that […]

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forgive

The Battle Within

Tommy Boland
2 Aug 2016
one comments
within

(Scroll down to leave a comment on your battle within.) One of Satan’s most destructive schemes is to convince the believer that all is well, and there is nothing to be concerned with. “You’re doing so much better than that person over there,” the serpent slyly hisses. “You don’t need to worry about making any particular changes in your own life.” But this is not for you. The apostle Paul was keenly aware of his own sin, and he knew well that acknowledging that he was the chief of sinners — a title that you and I can also honestly […]

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Glow Stick Saints

Tommy Boland
29 Jun 2016
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Throughout the summer months there seems to be one party after another for our youngest children to go to. The other day, our youngest child, the one we call “The Tank” returned from one of those parties with a huge bag full of typical party gifts, which included one of those glow sticks. As he was waving it around, I thought, “Now there’s a great idea for a word of encouragement!” Let’s see if I was right . . . If you are not familiar with a glow stick, it is a self-contained, short-term light source that, once activated, cannot […]

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glow stick