Spoiler alert, nothing I say tonight will be about you improving your behavior to get something from God. In times past when I heard this verse from Haggai, my mind immediately shifted to what improvements I needed to make. I used to think it was a condemnation so I didn’t “consider my ways” very often.…
I’m going to propose something tonight you may find a bit insulting. We all learned a certain way to live life. Because we were unaware and did not know better we were easy prey. We were taught a way to live that really didn’t involve God. Oh sure, we made obligatory appearances and some attended…
It’s that time of the year when folks partake of a communion service. I think they feel sometimes that there’s a little magic in the bread and wine. As if there is a special property associated with the symbolism. Some folks do communion every Sunday, good for remembrance and not so good when practiced as…
Recently, we purchased a huge swing set from Costco. The Summit Vista to be exact. Raised high above the aisle in the store it was impressive to say the least. How much would the grandkids love this, we mused. Then it came time to load the boxes. Enter the first clue. Despite their foreboding weight,…
You know, there’s much talk these days about folks being wired differently. In other words, some folks apparently come out of the factory with different wiring than other people have. People don’t show tenderness and love and then report, “I’m just not wired that way.” Others skulk around like recluses, terrified of the world at…
I understand this topic may be a little heady for you (smile), but your mind has no power. There is no power in your mind that you can focus outward by your thoughts or anything else in order to make something happen. None. The self-help gurus have sold you a bill of goods. Accordingly there…
I think it would be a fair assumption that most people hope to get into heaven. Heaven being that place where we live with God forever. Yet, so many religions and creeds and dogmas exist, all with different entrance exam requirements. Some preach self-denial as a response to their “wicked” flesh. Others have extensive lists…
Recently, I attended a weekend seminar focused on living our identity in Christ. There’s more to that, of course, but for now this is how the weekend started. We took a dreaded redeye flight from Salt Lake City to Tampa. It was scheduled to leave at 11:30 pm. but ended up one hour late. Now…
Living life as we do, we spend our days evaluating and analyzing our experience. It’s the strangest thing. We interact with the world, then we tell ourselves stories about what it means. We really have no way of knowing what someone means, other than asking them, and even then you still my not know. We…
The concept of faith or belief has been wrestled with for centuries. It’s almost universally known that faith gets the job done. The Olympics would testify to that with some kid winning gold because they actually thought they could. Yet for most people, faith is a real head scratcher. I will sheepishly admit to spending…