Love

Life is Surrounded By Words

“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.” – John 6:63 Today is Valentine’s Day, a holiday to honor love! It is through the Holy Spirit that we have received the love of God into our lives — isn’t this great news! The word love is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection. As we think about the power of words, here’s a question for you: How would your name be remembered if it was kept in a jar and put on a shelf? What words will be reflected when that jar is opened? Throughout our lives, the words we use to describe ourselves will change. Especially when you’re designing your life and defining who you want to be. Designing a name is clearly one of the most important things you can do. Only

February 14, 2023 No Comments

Words Are a Big Deal

“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” – Acts 20:32 If you want to become the kind of person you were born to be, here’s something to think about: Words form the foundation of your life, so it’s important to consider what kind of words you want to surround yourself with. Words are a big deal, aren’t they? As a pastor, there are certain words that I cannot say from the pulpit. If I did, I would be defrocked and lose my job. Each of us has a responsibility to be accountable for the words we speak, and that’s a good thing. I believe there are certain words that I say every week that change people’s lives for the better, and that’s a positive thing. Words are powerful.

February 13, 2023 No Comments

Receive Power and Grace

“At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’ ” – Mark 1:9-11 The Gospel of Mark is fascinating, and in its earliest form, it can be referred to as the Gospel of Peter. According to most scholars, Peter and Mark wrote it together. The Gospels had been told, memorized and shared, but eventually, they wrote it down so people could remember what happened. In my imagination, I see these two deciding where to begin. It was the exciting memory of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist that came to them! John was a peculiar man who

February 5, 2023 1 Comment

The Thick Skin of the Beloved

“Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” – 1 John 5:5 When someone has “thick skin,” they don’t get offended by criticism. If we live our lives around God’s love for us and live in that space, we develop a thick skin that enables us to do better and succeed. There’s this great guy who paints my house. He’s got an awesome truck covered in all sorts of rock and roll bumper stickers. He has long hair and tattoos and my son thinks he’s a pirate! As soon as he enters our house, he says, “What’s up, Pastor Bobby?” The last time he was at our house, I asked him, “How are you?” and I shook his hand. It was as if I had grasped a baseball glove that was wrapped in sandpaper; in other words, he had

February 3, 2023 1 Comment

A Man of Unclean Lips

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’ ” – Isaiah 6:6,7 Yesterday, we saw God’s love and mercy extended to His servant, Isaiah, the prophet who was dedicated in service to the temple of the Lord. His whole life changed after one moment in the temple where God in theophany appeared. His reaction: “Woe is me. I am a man of unclean lips.” Today, I want to share that as a teenager, I would teach our small high school Bible study from this passage in Isaiah Chapter 6. I thought that “unclean lips” meant he cussed, so I would teach my peers not to use foul language. I have

January 21, 2023 1 Comment

God Thinks Long Term

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:3,4 Culture and civilization have always been greatly influenced by Christianity. Faith has been so important in art, education, humanity, and philosophy. And as Christians, we believe we will receive consideration for our deeds when we transition to eternity. Although most of us won’t ever be famous or experience public recognition, we will know the impact of our decisions when we stand before God. There are many of us who make significant sacrifices for others without receiving recognition or credit. Your admirable deeds may not have found an audience or weren’t photographed and posted on social media by anyone, but God saw you. There will be a

January 18, 2023 1 Comment

Overcome Evil with Good

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:21 Yesterday we encouraged you to not be fearful, and always share the reason for your hope in Jesus! I want to look further into the great question Paul asked: “Who is going to harm you if you do what is good?” Will God or good people harm you? The answer is a resounding no! God and people with sound character will not hurt us. So, who exactly will harm you if you are good-natured? The answer is people of questionable character. So stop trying to get people of questionable character to like, love, appreciate, or root for you. That’s the kind of goodwill you’ll never receive from people like that. And I guarantee you this type of relationship will not be to your benefit. I think it’s important to understand how people of uncertain character view

January 5, 2023 No Comments

Forgiveness is a Great Gift

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” – Luke 6:37 Every good relationship consists of two people who are good at forgiving. When we live with others and do life with them, we will have to forgive offenses, whether large or small, in order to have joyful, fruitful connections. All of us have people in our world who can be challenging at times, but we need to release them to God. Especially since we ourselves can be challenging at times, so we want grace to be extended to us as well! Whether a roommate, spouse, best friend or colleague, Jesus’ forgiveness is a great gift. As we learn to be like Jesus we learn to have a merciful response to everyone we do life with. God has forgiven you for all of the

November 8, 2022 No Comments

Jesus Responds to Great Faith

“Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.” – Matthew 15:28 Over the next few days, we will look at one courageous woman of great faith who needed her daughter to be healed. As the Biblical account states, Jesus traveled to different regions, teaching and healing the sick. As He entered the area of Phoenicia, a woman started yelling out after Him to heal her daughter. She was making a scene begging loudly for Jesus to heal her daughter. So much so until finally, Jesus’ disciples said, “Will you please just send her away?” It’s hard to believe that Jesus was non-responsive to this urgent plea, making him seem unkind and insensitive. The Bible states, “Jesus did not answer a word.” Do you ever feel that way when you’re praying to God? It’s easy to feel

October 25, 2022 No Comments

Do You Know Him?

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more they were called, the more they went away from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.” – Hosea 11:1-3 God desires us to know Him intimately. In my recent Bible study of the poetic book Hosea, the question came to me, “Do you know God?” Hosea begins like this: He marries, and almost instantly his marriage goes wrong. His wife cheats on him, and God tells him to pursue his wife and win her back. This unfortunately became a cycle of life for him. It’s a heartbreaking story of a man who wants nothing more than to save his family. As the

August 14, 2022 No Comments

Life is Surrounded By Words

Words Are a Big Deal

Receive Power and Grace

The Thick Skin of the Beloved

A Man of Unclean Lips

God Thinks Long Term

Overcome Evil with Good

Forgiveness is a Great Gift

Jesus Responds to Great Faith

Do You Know Him?

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