Food for Thought

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The latest at Calvary Baptist Church

Stay up to date with the happenings of Calvary Baptist Church by visiting our blog. You'll find information such as announcements, sermon notes and thoughts from our pastor to encourage and challenge your walk with the Lord.

We Gather Together

by: Gene Ziesel

04/02/2025

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Good morning, saints of God,

Today, I want to emphasize the significance of gathering with fellow believers in your local church—not just for the treats at Calvary Cafe after the service but for the meaningful connections made before and during it.

In 1 Corinthians 14:26, Paul reminded the church at Corinth of our weekly gathering purpose. He wrote: 26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation

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In The Moment

by: Gene Ziesel

04/01/2025

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Good morning,David writes in Psalm 86—11 Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I came across the following illustration in a devotion I’ve read, and it helped me gain a better understanding of truths that happen in just a moment.Jean Shepherd is an author, and she wrote an essay on the various trials of adolescence, and in this case, blind dates:“There are about four times in a man’s life, or a woman’s, too, for that ma...
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From a Friend

by: Gene Ziesel

03/28/2025

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Good morning, saints,

Thank you for praying for me; I am doing much better. Today, I read a post from a friend that dates back to my Bible College days. I want to share it with my Food for Thought readers because I found it very thought-provoking. Thank you, Clifford M. Morton Jr., for your post; he writes:

“I copied the following in my diary years ago. I'll just place it here with updated pronouns so that it can touch some hearts as it has mine:

Return unto Me; for lo,

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Shine

by: Gene Ziesel

03/25/2025

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Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a peaceful rest. One of my favorite verses to quote or reference in my sermons is this reminder from Matthew 5:16: '…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.'  

I came across some thoughts on this verse and would like to share them with you as you prepare for the day!

“Most of us follow routines each morning to make ourselves presentable. Many of us

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Conversations with God

by: Gene Ziesel

03/24/2025

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Good Monday morning,

The Psalmist David writes in the 27th Psalm, You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” 

Consider this: the God of the universe is a personal God who desires a daily conversation with us. One of life's truths is that to maintain an ongoing relationship with someone, we must engage in conversations. A while back, I read Brother Lawrence's book The Practice of the Presence of God. While I may not agree with al

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Having Confidence in God's Character

by: Gene Ziesel

03/23/2025

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Good Lord’s Day morning to you,

Today, let’s reflect on having confidence in God’s character. In 1 Kings 3:9, we read: “Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to govern this your great people?”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of our presidents made the same request to God that King Solomon did? I believe that if they did, our divisions and hatred for opposing political parties m

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How Thirsty are You?

by: Gene Ziesel

03/22/2025

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Good Morning,

David begins Psalm 63 with these words, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

After reading this verse, one might ask, "How thirsty am I?" One of the best reasons to wake up early, before the sun rises, is the tranquility that comes with those quiet hours. If you've ever been camping or lived near a lake, you can't help but notice how still the w

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Having The Right Motives

by: Gene Ziesel

03/21/2025

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Good morning everyone,

I want to apologize to everyone who was expecting this much earlier. I was up late last night video chatting with my grandchildren who live in Arizona. Additionally, I got some much-needed rest and didn’t make it to the gym either. So here we are, haha!

How often do you reflect on your motives? I've heard it said that our motives can be quite elusive. One moment, they can seem as pure as snow in terms of why we are doing what we do, and the next,

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Finish Strong

by: Gene Ziesel

03/20/2025

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Good morning,

When I played football in grade and high school, we had one overarching goal: to reach the end zone whenever we were on offense. In biblical terms, we were taught to be steadfast in our pursuit of this goal and to keep our eyes on the prize.

Jesus was steadfast in pursuing the singular goal or purpose for which He came during His first visit to Earth. In Luke 9, we find an account of Jesus being rejected by an entire Samaritan village. Did this rejection

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Caring

by: Gene Ziesel

03/19/2025

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Good morning to everyone reading this blog post, 

A fellow Facebook poster, Dan Steele, asked me if I would consider putting these posts on his site, Wisdom of Words. To which I thought, WHY? But thank you, Dan; it is appreciated. If you happen to know anyone who might benefit from my posts here and they don’t use Facebook, you can direct them to lifeatcalvary.com and look under Sermons, and the link will pop up: Food For Thought.

Very early in my walk, I was introduced

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Sensing God's Gaze

by: Gene Ziesel

03/17/2025

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Good morning, saints,

The story is about a minister who had served over 30 years and struggled intensely with entering into ministry. His brother, Dallas Willard, writes about the struggle:

“One evening, he faced a major decision that had to be made the next day. He prayed into the night, falling asleep only to be awakened as the “room lit up with the glory of God. I saw a figure. I did not see a face, but I recognized it to be the person of Christ. I felt a hand on my s

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Never, Never, Never Give Up!

by: Gene Ziesel

03/16/2025

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Good morning, friend,

I read a brief book on Sir Winston Churchill, and I was captivated by the man’s fortitude and eloquence. Churchill was a fiery leader of Britain during World War II and remains one of the most recognized leaders of modern times. His defeat at Gallipoli in World War I forced him to resign from the admiralty in 1915 and nearly ruined his career. But quit was not in Winston Churchill’s vocabulary.

On May 10, 1940, Churchill succeeded Neville Chamberlai

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An Attitude of Gratitude

by: Gene Ziesel

03/14/2025

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Good Morning, everyone.GraThe Psalmist David writes, “1 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”If you're like most people, giving thanks to the Lord usually occurs after you've seen Him at work. It isn’t easy to be thankful for what we haven't experienced yet. A mother once bought a new violin for her son after they both saved for months to afford it. Excited about the instrument, the young boy promised to take care

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Eternity Values

by: Gene Ziesel

03/13/2025

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Good morning, life journeyers,

Soon after I placed my trust in Jesus, I began to hear the phrase "living with eternity's values in view," which I later discovered is part of a song. If you’ve read my posts, you know we all face challenges daily. These challenges can divert us and even temporarily defeat the ultimate lessons God wants to teach us. As a result, we may find ourselves repeatedly going through the same experiences, often because we haven’t yielded to His guida

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Trust

by: Gene Ziesel

03/12/2025

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Good morning,

Here is today’s Food for Thought! 

Due to human sinfulness and the struggles we encounter, many people go through seasons of darkness when everything feels overwhelming. However, our perspective when facing difficulties will determine how we handle those dark days.

From May 11 to August 1, the morning has a unique significance in Barrow, Alaska. Located 330 miles from the Arctic Circle, Barrow is often referred to as "The Real Life Land of the Midnight Sun

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