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“Do you know Jesus?” Or “Have you found Jesus?” These type of lead in questions in sharing our faith can be so confusing for folks. Heck, I’m a pastor and much of the Christian jargon that is used is confusing to me because many Christians don’t use Biblical phrases but rather “churchy” phrases. Many folks are simply turned off of this kind of talk. What Christians need to do more than anything to have an effective witness to the world…

Recently, I’ve been reading through Genesis again. It must be said there is a certain shock value to reading the Old Testament. Mainly, I believe it is because there is so much cultural difference between then and now, but also the grim reminder that the people in Scripture weren’t the Super Saints like we suppose they would be. What I am reminded of whether it is Abraham or Lot in Genesis, or King David sometime later, God chose some pretty…

Hebrews 11:1 NLT  Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Have you ever had a question about life and someone responded, “just have faith”? In the angst of having a question it can be quite discouraging when someone gives you such a pat answer. So what does it mean to have faith?  There are two types of faith that we can discuss: Blind Faith & Evidential Faith. Blind faith is…

1/10/22 1 Peter 5:8–9 Does anyone ever get tired of doing the Lord’s work? You’ve been at it for years, see little change or impact, and discouragement takes over? I think we have all been there. This may be a result of becoming spiritually asleep. This reminds me of the passage when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane right before He was arrested and taken to trial. He asked his friends to go with Him and pray with Him.…

NOVEMBER 11, 2021 Romans 12:21            Have you thought about how good we have it to be Christians in America? Yes, we may experience push back here and there and be antagonized for our faith, but nothing like many in other countries. Even with how our cultural horizon has changed over the last few years, we still have it so good and many of us as Christians have failed to appreciate this fact. How many churches have split over silly…

Romans 12:17-18 NLT Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. The other day I referred in a talk which I was giving that the mission of the Christian is to stop evil with love through the gateway of forgiveness. I tried to make the point using the illustration of dominoes lined up in a row, and…

Proverbs 13:10  Arrogance leads to nothing but strife, but wisdom is gained by those who take advice. Arrogant people are hard to deal with and especially to get along with. It takes a lot of patient endurance to deal with someone who thinks more highly of themselves than they should. The truth is we are all arrogant at some level over something. If we are honest within ourselves we all struggle with thinking too much of ourselves or our self-importance.…

Romans 12:17-18 NLTNever pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. The other day I referred in a talk which I was giving that the mission of the Christian is to stop evil with love through the gateway of forgiveness. I tried to make the point using the illustration of dominoes lined up in a row, and that…

James 3:9-12   With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers,this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?  My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. Have you ever seen a snake poke it’s tongue…

Galatians 5:16  So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.  Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. So let’s begin with a few questions…What or who is guiding your life today in this very moment? Who are you taking advice from? Are they qualified to give advice? Who should we turn to for help?  As a person going through life there are many things that compete to guide our lives. The problem is that only One…