It is a training ground for eternity. It is where we learn to overcome and destroy the works of the devil. The rewards in Heaven are for the overcomers.
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Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs
Through the weekly and daily devotionals you can be constantly encouraged in your great role of parenting, the highest career in the nation. You can also stay updated on what's happening with the Above Rubies ministry.
The humanistic worldview in our society makes mothers feel insignificant. They are told they should do something worthwhile with their lives. This is opposite to God’s plan. God designed women for the home--to raise His children in the home (yes, they are ultimately God’s children), to influence their children for God and His truth, and to make their home a sanctuary that is strong and secure against the storms of this life.The words of Zechariah 13:7 also apply to motherhood: “Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.” Just as the shepherd is essential for the survival of his sheep and lambs, so mothers are indispensable for their children.
Satan’s plan is to smite motherhood and scatter the mother-shepherds out of the home. When he lures mothers away from their home, he can then turn against “the little ones” and entice them to his thinking and ways.
It is sad that many have fallen for Satan’s trap. It is time for watchdog, protective, lion-like, standing strong, never-giving-into-deception mothers to arise. Mothers who will not be moved from their homes and who will guard their children and homes with all diligence.
Don’t be lured away, dear mother. No one, no matter how professional they are, can ever replace you, your children’s mother! You are more important than you realize.
Blessings to you today,
Nancy Campbell
Painting: Maria Roeva
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Hospitality should be part of our lives all through the year but Christmas is such a lovely time for special functions.We have many traditional family functions which we love to celebrate. We love to celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas.
We don’t celebrate Christmas in a commercial way but love to take this time to meditate on the miraculous conception and birth of our Savior and to share special family times. Today we woke up to snow and minus 2 degrees. A freezing day but so blessed to have snow for Christmas.
Tonight we sang carols by candlelight in our home and sang them with all the gusto of our hearts, remembering again that Jesus came to this world in such humility, entering as a seed into the womb of a woman and yet He is King of kings and Lord of lords.
Come thou long-expected Jesus,
All creation groans for Thee,
We all yearn for Thy appearing,
When Thy glory we shall see.
As the wise men and the shepherds
Bowed before Thee as Thou lay,
So all men from every nation
Shall all bow on that great Day!
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I am meditating on the awesomeness of Christ coming into this world. Bible commentators agree that Jesus was not born at this Christmas time when the world remembers His birth. He would most probably have been born about the month of September during the Feast of Tabernacles. However, this is most probably that time that He was divinely conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost. Incredible. God coming to the earth as a "seed" from the Father.Yes, He came as a “seed” and yet He was the King of kings.
Although it happened without the world knowing, it was the most powerful event in history. Christ, the Son of God, growing inside a mother's womb, becoming flesh, dying, and shedding His blood for our sins, and bruising the head of Satan. Although it was all prophesied, it was not how the Jews expected their Messiah to come.
But from the womb of a lowly woman God brought forth His Son to fulfill His plan for the ages. He came as a baby, but it was to deal a death blow to the enemy, to bruise his head (Colossians 2:14 and Hebrews 2:14-18). This is a time to remember that we are in a battle, a battle between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light.
God spoke to the serpent in Genesis 3:15 (NET): "I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel." Satan still tries to bruise our heel, but Christ has bruised his head and He will have the final victory when all nations and all people will be brought into subjection to His power and authority.
One translation of Genesis 3:15states: "There will be war." There is still a war against the womb of the woman. Satan tried to prevent Jesus, the Holy Son of God, being born into this world. Because he hates life, and especially the godly seed, he continues to stop children being born into this world. He brings his deception to women to deny the fruit of their womb. So many women today do not value their womb even though it is their most distinguishing feature as a woman. So of course, they cannot even answer the question, “What is a woman?”
Let's not be tricked by the devil's plan.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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What are you filled with this Christmas? Many folks have cars filled with gifts, homes filled with decorations, tables filled with food, and stockings filled with things we will never use. We are filled to over the top. However, when we read about the birth of Jesus, we find that instead of being filled with the things of the world, they were filled with the Holy Ghost!
* The angel came to Zacharias and told him that he would have a son who would be "FILLED with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15-17).
* When Mary came to visit her cousin Elisabeth during her sixth month of pregnancy, the moment she greeted her “the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was FILLED with the Holy Ghost: and she spake out with a loud voice” (Luke 1:41-42).
* At the circumcision celebration for John the Baptist, his father, Zacharias was "FILLED with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied” (Luke 1:67).
* Jesus was conceived by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT COMING UPON Mary (Matthew 1:20 and Luke 1:35).
* When Joseph and Mary took baby Jesus to the temple to be dedicated, Simeon, a man FILLED with the Holy Spirit and waiting for the coming of the Messiah, took him up in his arms and blessed God (Luke 2:25-28).
* During Jesus' childhood he was FILLED with wisdom (Luke 2:40).
The challenge is: what are we filled with as we remember the birth of Christ? Are we filled with anxiety and busyness or are we filled with the Holy Spirit? Imagine if we spent as much time seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit as rushing around buying gifts and preparing for Christmas. What would happen? Imagine if we took time to listen to the Holy Spirit. What would He say to us? What difference would it make in our lives and in our homes? Imagine if we asked the Holy Spirit to lead us instead of doing our own agenda. How would He direct us?
May you enjoy a FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT Christmas or Hanukkah if you are celebrating Hanukkah.
Love from Nancy Campbell
How I love this painting of Simeon, FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, holding Jesus in his arms, and blessing him (Luke 1:25-32).
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Oh, come and see what God has done! How did He come? How did God choose to send His Son? We immediately think of how He came as a little helpless baby. But first He came into a womb, the womb of a young virgin. Luke 1:31 states: “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy WOMB, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.” Who could ever dream of such a thing? Our Savior, Jesus Christ related to every aspect of our humanity, even to being conceived and growing in the womb of a woman.Isaiah 49: 1, 5 is a messianic prophecy which also speaks boldly of the womb: “Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far (God wants the whole world to receive this amazing news!); The LORD hath called me from the WOMB; from the bowels (WOMB) of my MOTHER hath he made mention of my name. . . . And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the WOMB to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him . . . “ three times He uses the word womb.
Because God put such favor and importance on the womb to bring forth His Beloved Son, Satan hates the womb (Genesis 3:15). There is still war against the womb today. Satan seeks to delude and deceive women about the power of their womb. The Son of God came through a womb to deal a death blow to the enemy and bring salvation to the world. But God still wants children to come forth from the womb to bear His image and to bring salvation to many.
The womb is God’s blessing to us. It is His blessing to the world. Nothing in this world can happen except through the womb. All the mighty works God wants accomplished can only happen through His servants and they must come into the world through a womb. All the great feats and accomplishments of this world only happen through someone who was conceived and birthed from the womb.
Why do so many women today choose to close their womb? To stop the function of their womb? Many reject their womb, and yet GOD CHOSE A WOMB! Think of it. God chose a womb for His Only Beloved Son who is King of kings and Lord of lords.
Mary’s response was: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). What is your response?
Be blessed today,
Nancy Campbell
Painting. The beautiful picture of Mary and Elizabeth meeting. Not only do the mothers meet, but their babies recognize one another! When John the Baptist (in the womb) supernaturally recognized Christ the Lord in the womb of Mary he “leaped in her womb” (Luke 1:39-45). So powerful. This is such an irrefutable truth that babies in the womb are fully human!
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Gathering the family around the meal table provides a wonderful opportunity for family interraction.I certainly don’t believe in the old adage, “Children should be seen and not heard.” The table is such a special place to engage our children in conversation. However, it is important to keep everyone together in the conversation. No side conversations! We as parents direct the subject and the conversation.
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Ezekiel 19:10, 11 NLT says: “Your mother was like a vine planted by the water’s edge. It had lush, green foliage because of the abundant water. . .. It grew very tall, towering above all others. It stood out because of its height and its many lush branches”Read the whole passage in Ezekiel 18:10-14. It is an allegory about Judah, but God likens her to a mother.
Therefore, as we behold this picture, we see God’s heart for motherhood. God holds motherhood in high esteem. In this one passage He uses THREE different Hebrew words to describe the magnitude of motherhood. Let’s look at them.
Verse 10 tell us that “her STATURE was exalted among the thick branches . . .” The word stature is qowmah meaning “high, tall.” It comes from a root word koom meaning “to rise.” Motherhood is a high calling. It is higher than all other careers for women. The New Living Translation says that it “towers above all others.”
God established motherhood at the very beginning of the world. He stated his plan for the mother and father before anyone had even seen a mother and father (Genesis 2:24). Because it is God’s plan the devil hates it and seeks to destroy it.
He is the mastermind behind all the humanistic and feministic education that woos women out of the home. The devil doesn’t want women in the home. He wants them out of the home. He entices them into the world God created for men and makes them think that’s where they are meant to be! But he is the deceiver and a liar. He is the father of lies. Jesus said in John 8:44: “When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” We cannot listen to one word he says!
The next word God uses is EXALTED. The Hebrew is gabah and it means “To soar, mount up, raise up to a great height, exalt.” Dear mother, God doesn’t want you groveling around in your misery and unhappiness. He wants you to understand His plan and come into the glory of motherhood. It’s time for you to rise up! To mount up to all that God has planned for you in your great career of motherhood.
When you feel full of self-pity and wonder why you are stuck in your home, remember that it is the devil filling you with his lies. Resist him in the name of Jesus and embrace God’s will and plan for your life. When you embrace it, you will rise up into the glory of it.
The third word is in verse 11: “She appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.” The word HEIGHT is gobahh meaning “elation, grandeur, excellency, height.” It is the same word that is used to describe the height of Heaven in Job 11:8.
The HCSB translation says: “It was conspicuous for its height.” The NET says: “It reached up into the clouds. It stood out because of its height and its many branches.”
What amazing descriptions God has given for motherhood. As you raise godly children, your “strong and sturdy branches” you are involved in the greatest career in the nation. You impact the nation. You determine what this nation will be like because a nation is only as strong as the strengths of its marriages and families.
Rise up today into your high and noble calling.
Be encouraged and blessed,
Nancy Campbell
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What is your plan as you begin homeschooling your children each day? Are you facing the huge challenge of completing all the curriculums you purchased for each child? Your goal is to make sure you get through them all?Dear mother, can I encourage you to relax. To make sure your children complete all their lessons each day is not true education. What is the meaning of education? It comes from a Latin word meaning, "to draw forth from within, to bring out, to lead forth, to develop the innate capacities of, to rear." It has the meaning of upbringing rather than instruction.
Get on the right track, dear mother. There is much more to education that stuffing your children with information that they will invariably forget. God has divinely put desires and aspirations to seek out knowledge in each one of your children. He has given them unique gifts and abilities. Seek to draw forth and bring out what God has already put in them. This makes education exciting, and you work with God instead of plodding on your own.
I am most probably looking from a different perspective than you. My children are mostly in their fifties. My oldest son will be 60 years this coming birthday! What do I see looking back? More than ever, I see that God put His plan in them from the beginning of time. They have accomplished amazing things, beyond what I could have ever taught them. They have fulfilled their dreams in spite of me! It wasn't their school lessons that helped them do what they are doing today. It was the gifting God had already put in them.
Of course, there are disciplines of teaching and learning that are important for life. But dear mother, always keep in mind that your highest calling is to draw out from within your children the amazing gifts God has put in them and LEAD THEM FORTH with encouragement, motivation, and vision to fulfill the GREAT THINGS GOD HAS FOR THEM.
This makes your homeschooling exciting rather than a weight on your shoulders.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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Repost. Very true words.
Read about it again in the first two chapters of Genesis. Gods made His plan clear to us in the very beginning. And God’s Word is true from the beginning and from the beginning God’s Word is true (Psalm 119:160). God made men to be manly and women to be womanly. It’s not complicated. Just let’s be who God created us to be. Then we live in the glory of who we are meant to be.
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Are you currently facing an impossible situation? Can I encourage you to not look at the “impossible” situation, but to look to God? Did you know that the word “impossible” means nothing to God? It’s not in His vocabulary.What did Abraham do in the impossible looking situation when God promised him a son? He was 100 years old, and Sarah was ninety! It couldn’t happen naturally. Romans 4:20 says: “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith giving glory to God.” The ESV makes it clearer: “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.”
I was challenged again as I read this Scripture. Abraham became strong in faith AS HE PRAISED AND GAVE GLORY TO GOD. His faith would have weakened if he had kept dwelling on the impossibility of the situation.
Praise God in your situation, even when you feel the opposite. Even when you can see not light at the end of the tunnel. Give glory to God that He is in control and can do what man cannot do. Even when doubts consume your mind, keep giving glory to the Lord, and your faith will grow strong. Our faith doesn’t grow strong when we can manage the situation ourselves, but only when we are totally cast upon God.
God bless you today,
Nancy Campbell
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The best way to live!
Proverbs 15:15 says: “All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.”In this Scripture the “afflicted” are not those who go through great misfortunes, but those who see the worst in everything. They are depressed in their minds. The New Living Translation says: “For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.”
When we see the negative in everything, we live a miserable life. And what is the bottom line? We are leaving God out of the equation! For no matter what happens in our lives, in the little annoying things of our daily lives or the big situations that seem like the end of the world, God is in control. He is bigger than our problems and difficulties. We can totally trust Him, and “Whoso trusts in the Lord, HAPPY IS HE” (Proverbs 16:20). Your life can actually be a continual feast!
When we put our trust in the Lord and rejoice in the fact that He is our Strength, our Source, Our Rock, our Help, our Joy, and our Deliverer, we can keep our hearts joyful in any salutation.
It’s all in how we look at things. I love Paul’s confession in 2 Corinthians 43:8-10: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed.” He goes on to say in verses 16-18: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a FAR MORE EXCEEDING AND ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Instead of looking on the dark side today, why not count some blessings?
Love from Nancy Campbell
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Satan loves to blind our eyes to God’s wondrous plans and truths. Because he is at war against women (Genesis 3:16), he loves to blind them about the power of their womb. Oh yes, now he is confusing women’s minds so they cannot even answer the question, “What is a woman?”I think of the words Mary sang as she praised the Lord, “For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name” (Luke 1:49). It is true that Mary was blessed beyond any other women in the history of the world as she nourished Jesus in her womb and gave birth to the Son of the Highest, the Savior of the world. God certainly chose her for GREAT THINGS.
In a lesser and yet still powerful way, God does GREAT THINGS through every baby that is conceived in a mother’s womb. Every new baby is born in the image of God. Each one is a fresh revelation of God to the world. Each one has the possibility of accomplishing marvelous things.
Let’s think for a moment of all the amazing things that have happened, are happening, and will happen in this world--the remarkable inventions, the amazing feats both intellectually and physically, the astounding advancements, and the brilliant discoveries. None of this happens on its own. Every single thing happens through a person. And that person comes through the womb. Without the womb NOTHING happens in this world. It all comes to a halt.
All the GREAT THINGS that take place in the world happen because of a mother’s womb. The womb is a place of destiny.
Can we grasp the fullness of this truth? God privileges women with the gift of a womb, a sanctuary from where God brings forth GREAT THINGS to fulfill His purposes and glorify His name. And not only for this world, but for eternity, for every child who is conceived is an eternal soul that lives forever.
Dear precious mother, don’t hold back your womb from God. Your finite mind cannot even fathom what great things God has ordained to happen in this world through creating a God-destined life in your womb (1 Corinthians 2:9). We are privileged and blessed beyond measure.
Be blessed today,
Nancy Campbell
Beautiful painting, “Waiting for the Birth” by Marco Ortolan, Argentina.
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I was talking to Val Stares, the Director of Above Rubies in Australia, last night about her new shipment of Above Rubies.Val has been with me in this ministry of Above Rubies from the very first day God gave me the vision, 45 years ago. When we left New Zealand, she and her husband and family (and other families) moved to Australia with us. When we left the shores of Australia 10 years later for USA, she took over the managing of Above Rubies in Australia.
Like me, Val is also now a great-grandmother. She shared with me this encounter. Her little three-year-old great-grandson was sitting on the bed with her.
“Do you have a baby?” he asked her.
“No, I don’t have a baby,” she replied.
Then he touched her breasts and asked, “Do you have milk?”
“No, I don’t have milk,” she answered.
He sat back and looked at her amazingly with his big eyes and asked, “Are you a woman?”
Wow! A little child instinctively understands “what is a woman” more than many adults today.
Love from Nancy Campbell
Painting by Mary Cassatt
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In understanding Scripture, the “law of the first mention” is critical. When God states something the first time, He lays down a foundation for that truth. He develops it throughout the rest of His Word, but never changes or deviates from the “first mention.” In God there is “no variation or the slightest hint of change” (James 1:17 (NET). His Word is true from the beginning and from the beginning His Word is true! (Psalm 119:160).The first mention of marriage in the Bible is in Genesis 2:21-25. In this passage God speaks of the man and his wife and the father and mother. God puts male and female together, His plan from the eternity. There is no mention of same sexes.
If we want something to work properly, we must read the manual from the One who designed it. God created our bodies, and He designed marriage. We better make sure we take notice of His manual.
One of the synonyms of marriage is matrimony, usually called “holy matrimony” -- the union of a man and woman for life. It comes from the Latin word, “matrimonium,” from “mater,” from which we get the words: mother, maternal, maternity, matrimony, marriage, wedlock, nuptial, connubial, and hymneal (which comes from hymen, the virginal membrane pertaining to marriage),
Therefore, the full understanding of marriage is that the wife becomes a mother. This cannot happen naturally in a homosexual relationship. It is totally unnatural and against God’s divine order of creation and eternal plan for us.
We cannot bow to mortal man’s deception, distortion, and desecration of divine truth.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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What’s happening in your home today? Is everything piling on top of you--laundry, dishes, and teaching the children all waiting to be accomplished? Don’t despair, dear mother. Don’t look at everything waiting to be done. Just tackle one job at a time. Keep plodding on. Priorities first.But do each task with ALL YOUR MIGHT. Not half-heartedly, grumblingly, or lazily. And teach your children to do their chores with all their might, too. Inspire this attitude in them as they see the way you work in the home.
The Bible always shows us the way:
Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy MIGHT.”
Colossians 3:23, 24: “And whatsoever ye do, do it HEARTILY, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
Colossians 3:17: “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, DO ALL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS, GIVING THANKS to God and the Father by him.”
1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the GLORY OF GOD.”
Philippians 2:14: “Do all things WITHOUT MURMURING.”
Matthew 25:21, 23 and Luke 16:10: “He that is FAITHFUL IN THAT WHICH IS LEAST, is faithful also in much.”
Enjoy a great day in your home today as each one does everything with all their might.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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I posted yesterday about living in the true reality, the reality of the heavenly world. How can we practically do we do this?When Christ dwells in our hearts everything is sacred. No matter how mundane the task at hand, it cannot be anything less than holy when Christ dwells in us. What is the real truth? “Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). We need to acknowledge this truth and believe it!
When you clean up dirty messes, sing for joy because Christ sings with you and over you (Zephaniah 3:17).
When you wash dishes and laundry, acknowledge the presence of Christ with you.
When you prepare yet another meal for your family, do it with joy and excitement because Christ is with you.
He doesn’t leave you when you do the commonplace duties. He is not apart from you in the humdrum of life. He is in you and with you.
He promises: “I will NEVER leave you, or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). No matter what you are doing (unless you are sinning and grieving His Holy Spirit), He is with you.
I love Zechariah 14:20, 21 (NET): “On that day the bells of the horses will bear the inscription “HOLY TO THE LORD.” The cooking pots in the LORD’S temple will be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will become holy in the sight of the LORD who rules over all.”
Every saucepan you pick up is holy because you, and everything in your home, is sanctified by the power of the living Christ who abides in you. To prepare a meal for your family is as sacred as a minister who prepares a spiritual meal for the church!
Therefore, enjoy every moment and every task in your home today.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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The reality of life is our day-to-day responsibility to manage our homes, feed, nurture, and train our children, and everything else that clamors for our attention. But there is another reality, a reality that has the power to affect our daily life in our home. It is the reality of the heavenly.Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT) states: “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”
These words seem so far from our experience, don’t they? And yet this is normal Christianity. The realities of the heavenly realm are the TRUE REALITIES. The eternal realm is the real world. This world is passing away. It is like a vapor that appears for a moment and is gone.
When we focus our ordinary, daily life on the eternal, it takes us from the doldrums to delight, from misery to the miraculous, from pre-occupation with self to praising God. Instead of being overwhelmed about all our challenges and problems, we lift our eyes to Christ who sits at the right hand of the Father. We give our difficulties to Him. Nothing is too big for Him to handle.
Did you know that God never gets in a state of confusion or tension? And He dwells in your heart by His Spirit? Therefore, you don’t have to get all tied up in knots. Allow Christ to take control. He’ll do a much better job than you!
I am challenged by the AMPC version of Colossians 3:1-3: “If then you have been raised with Christ (to a new life, thus sharing his resurrection from the dead), aim at and seek the (rich eternal treasures) that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. And SET YOUR MINDS AND KEEP THEM SET ON WHAT IS ABOVE (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.”
Many blessings to you today,
Nancy Campbell
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The words we speak to one another either build up or destroy our marriage.
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