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WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION? PART 4: WHAT ARE YOU PRODUCING?

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WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION? PART 4: WHAT ARE YOU PRODUCING? Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” In Part 1, we asked: WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING YOURSELF? We learned that what we consume matters because what we feed can grow. In Part 2, we asked: WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE YOU? We learned that what enters us must be processed. Hearing the Word is not enough. The Word must enter our hearts and transform our lives. In Part 3, we asked: WHAT IS FLOWING OUT OF YOU? We learned that what is happening inside us will eventually find expression through our words, attitudes, decisions and actions. Now we come to another important question: WHAT ARE YOU PRODUCING? Because something is always being produced by our lives. The question is not whether your life is producing something. The question is: WH...

WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION? PART 3: WHAT IS FLOWING OUT OF YOU?

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WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION? PART 3: WHAT IS FLOWING OUT OF YOU? Matthew 12:34 (NLT) “For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” In Part 1, we asked: WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING YOURSELF? We discovered that what we consume matters because what we feed can grow. In Part 2, we moved deeper and asked: WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE YOU? We learned that receiving something is not the same as being transformed by it. What enters us must be processed. The Word of God must move from our ears into our hearts, our thoughts, our decisions and eventually our lifestyle. Now we move to the next question: WHAT IS FLOWING OUT OF YOU? Because whatever is happening inside you will eventually find a way out. WHAT IS INSIDE YOU WILL EVENTUALLY SPEAK Jesus said: “For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” Notice that Jesus did not begin with the mouth. He began with the heart. The mouth is often a messenger. It reveals what has been stored within. When pressure come...

WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION? PART 2: WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE YOU?

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WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION? PART 2: WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE YOU? James 1:22 (NLT) “But do not just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”   In Part 1, we asked a simple but important question: What are you feeding yourself? We discovered that spiritual growth requires spiritual nourishment. We also learned that what we repeatedly consume can influence what we become and eventually what we produce. But there is another important question. What happens after you consume something? This question takes us back to the thought that started this series. A mother eats food. The baby does not receive the food directly. The mother's body processes what she has eaten. The nutrients are absorbed, regulated and used by her body as part of the production of breast milk. The baby receives the nourishment through the milk. The food has gone through a process. That process made me think about our spiritual lives. What ...

WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION? PART 1: WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING YOURSELF?

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WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION? PART 1: WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING YOURSELF? MATTHEW 4:4 (NLT) “People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” In the introduction to this series, I shared how a simple question about our firstborn led me to think deeply about nourishment. A baby depends on nourishment for growth. The baby does not prepare the food. The baby does not decide what nutrients the body needs. The baby simply receives what has been prepared. That thought led me to another question: If we understand that physical nourishment matters to the growth of a child, what about spiritual nourishment? What are we feeding ourselves? Because before we can ask what we are feeding the next generation, we must first examine what we are feeding ourselves. EVERYTHING NEEDS NOURISHMENT A newborn needs nourishment to grow. The body needs food. The mind needs healthy information. Relationships need communication and care. And the spirit...

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