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Affirmation Is Not the Doorway to Joy

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Affirmation Is Not the Doorway to Joy

This article challenges the cultural obsession with affirmation as the path to healing, arguing instead that true joy begins with truth—not comfort. It explores how grace-fueled transformation starts with conviction, confession, and repentance, not denial or flattery. Rooted in the gospel, it reminds us that while tears may come first, they are the seeds of a deeper joy only Christ can bring. Transformation isn’t achieved—it’s received. And joy, in the end, is not manufactured but harvested through surrender.

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How to Protect Your Reputation

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How to Protect Your Reputation

How to protect your reputation when you're under spiritual, personal, or public attack—drawing wisdom from Nehemiah 6. When you're building something meaningful, resistance is inevitable. Rather than reacting to gossip, slander, or false accusations, the biblical approach is to stay grounded in integrity, avoid petty arguments, trust God for vindication, and keep your hands on the work. With a bold, minimalist tone inspired by Seth Godin, this piece challenges readers to remain faithful to their calling in the face of character assassination and distraction. The higher you build, the louder it gets—but your persistence is your protection.

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Influence Without Control

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Influence Without Control

In this article, Darren explores the powerful difference between control and influence through the lens of Nehemiah’s leadership. He challenges the idea that leadership requires a title or authority, showing instead that true influence is built on moral authority, integrity, and consistency.

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When the People Cry Out

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When the People Cry Out

There’s a moment—
A shift.
A sound too raw, too human, too urgent to ignore.

It doesn’t come from enemies.
It comes from within the walls.
From the people we thought were safe.
From the voices we trained ourselves not to hear.

They weren’t strangers.
They were family.
The very people of God.

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Build And Defend

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Build And Defend

We love the idea of building.

The thrill of starting something new. The excitement of vision, calling, purpose. The sense that we’re participating in something bigger than ourselves.

But what happens when opposition shows up?

What happens when the enemy sees what you're building and decides it’s worth tearing down?

Most people hesitate. They assume that if an idea is truly from God, it shouldn’t require a fight.

Nehemiah knew better.

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Fighting for What Matters

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Fighting for What Matters

You are where you are because of the fights you were willing to have—or the ones you avoided. It’s that simple.

Somewhere along the way, we bought into the lie that keeping the peace is the goal. But Jesus didn’t call us to be peacekeepers. He called us to be peacemakers. And there’s a big difference. Peacekeepers avoid conflict. Peacemakers step into it, take ownership, and build something better in its place.

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Revival Begins at Home

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In Nehemiah 3, as the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt, the workers weren’t assigned random sections of the city. They built opposite their own homes.

Their own neighborhoods.
Their own streets.
Their own front doors.

Why?

Because before you build anything significant, before you restore what’s broken in the world, you have to secure what’s happening in your own home.

Nehemiah’s people understood something we often forget: a city isn’t strong if its families are weak.

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Altars Before Walls

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Altars Before Walls

If you walked into Home Depot today, you’d expect to see contractors, electricians, weekend DIYers. You wouldn’t expect to see a high priest in the tool aisle, picking out lumber, asking about the best fasteners, buying a tool belt.

But in the book of Nehemiah, that’s exactly what happens.

When the city was in ruins, when the walls were crumbled, when the people were vulnerable—the first person to step up and rebuild wasn’t a military leader, a politician, or a businessman.

It was Eliashib, the high priest.