Online Archives 2022

WILL YOU PASS THE TEST?  God allowed the serpent in Eden, and he has allowed us to be tested ever since.  Grace is available for all who fail the test, which is all of us from Adam on.

GOD IS GREATER THAN OUR FEELINGS.  When we are slaves to our feelings, our lives can be miserable.  God has a simple solution for mastery of our feelings.  (from 1 John 3)

HOW CAN I KNOW I'M FORGIVEN.  : You and I are sinners.  We need to admit that.  If we want forgiveness, it needs to be confessed to God.  He will forgive us as he has promised because of his faithful mercy.  (from 1 John 1)

PROWLING COUGARS from 1 Peter 5:  The devil and his minions want to disable your faith.  They know they cannot have your soul so they settle on making you miserable with discouragement.  Stand firm and the cougars will look for someone else to bite.  The antidote for discouragement is gratitude.

SHOULD WIVES BE SUBMISSIVE?  Making the case for complementarianism using the Bible can’t be done with integrity.  Because of Jesus, we are compelled to treat everyone equally.  We’re here to serve, not to decide who gets to rule.

YOU MIGHT BE A PRIEST IF....  We’re all chosen by God to be functional priests that help bring people to Jesus.  As priests we do his work and speak out for him, so let’s live in such a way that the not-yet-believers trust us.

WHY DID I SAY THAT?  We say destructive things because we have the ability.  When we follow Jesus’ law of love, our toxic speech is greatly reduced.  When you treat others with dignity and honor, you develop a healthy and robust community around you.

WITH FLYING COLORS:  We can get through the tests and challenges of life with flying colors because our Master is cheering us on.  He sends us a special helper to get through the challenging times.

WHERE'S MY RIPPLE?  When Jesus comes into our lives, we can change the old way of looking at religion and embrace his new, much better way.

THE MISUNDERSTOOD DAD:  Sometimes dads, including “our father in heaven,” are misunderstood.  If we want serenity in this life, maybe we could stop judging our dads and accept the fact that there are lots of things we don’t understand.  We can accept our heavenly father as knowing more than we do and we can represent Jesus to our earthly fathers.

HOW TO AVOID ARGUMENTS: avoid arguments as much as possible.  No one ever wins an argument.   Instead, know what you’re talking about and teach gently.

ENDORPHINS FOR THE SOUL: Faith without good works is dead; faith with good works thrives and grows.  It produces endorphins for the soul.

WHAT'S YOUR PURPOSE?  The purpose of the church is not to keep church goers happy so it can collect their money.  The purpose of the church is to serve the community as representatives of Jesus.  Your purpose as an individual follower of Jesus is to represent him with all you do and say.

HOW TO GET A CLEAN SLATE:  Jesus has given you a clean slate.  Don’t let anyone try to dirty it up again.

WHAT IF I CAN'T DO ALL THINGS?  What if I can’t do all things through Christ who gives me strength?  This is one of the most misinterpreted and taken out of context verses (Philippians 4.13).  So, let’s look at this verse in its context and maybe we will see the show the deeper comfort and encouragement that comes from understanding it as it was intended.

HOW TO WORRY BETTER:  Worry and anxiety are choices we make when we choose to reject God.  If we change our worries into prayers and grateful thoughts, we will experience the peace that only God offers.

THE LOSER'S CIRCLE:  Be like Jesus.  Be a “loser” in the world’s way of measuring things.  Then, in Jesus’ kingdom, you will experience the great reversal.

HOW TO DUMP RELIGIOUS GARBAGE:  religious achievements are distractions from faith, dump them.  You are made right with God because you trust Jesus to save you and not because you have jumped through a bunch of religious hoops.

DRY BONES RATTLING: It’s time to live again.  Invite Jesus to make that happen for you.  Starting now.

AN EYE FOR AN EYE:  The Old Testament, which is the Jewish Bible, is useful for history and background but is not binding for followers of Jesus. Our second core value needed to be changed to reflect this.   The teachings of Jesus are the final authority for faith and practice.

HOW TO RENEW YOUR ATTITUDE, PART TWO:  throw off your nasty old thoughts and attitudes like you would throw off nasty clothes.  Then, let the Spirit dress you in new thoughts and attitudes and watch your behavior make a positive change.

HOW TO RENEW YOUR ATTITUDE, PART ONE.  Throw off your nasty old thoughts and attitudes like you would throw off nasty clothes.  Then, let the Spirit dress you in new thoughts and attitudes and watch your behavior make a positive change

GRAY STONING OR THROWING STONES:  Living up to your calling means making allowance for each other’s faults and being humble, gentle and patient.  When we do this, our relationships deepen with God and the people in our lives.

HOW TO OBEY THE DEVIL:  We obey the devil when we succumb to our negative emotions and selfish desires.  God changes us through faith because of what Jesus has done.

FREAKING OUT: the goal is to someday get to the point where we can trust in God in the moment and not just in retrospect.  Maybe things will work out, maybe they won’t – but we can either have a sense of God’s love during the crisis, or we can be so freaked out that we forget he is there.  Let’s choose to trust him in the storm.

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR KARMA: God cannot be bribed or manipulated.  If you want better results, you need to plant the seeds of better thoughts and better actions.

HOW TO CONTROL YOUR FEELINGS:  Feelings are the flatulence of the mind, or, as the Scriptures say, the desires of your sinful nature.  You don’t have to let them rule your life.  Instead follow the desires of the Holy Spirit and you will experience the beginnings of the Kingdom of Heaven in this life.  Children are dominated by their feelings; adults learn how to manage them.  How do you do this?  It is simple.  Invite the Holy Spirit to lead you.

POSERS IN THE PULPIT.  Religious rules produce posers.  Stop trying to be good and follow Jesus instead.  You’ll be much happier.

WHAT FRUSTRATES YOU ABOUT YOURSELF?  Embrace and accept your weaknesses and let God’s power work through them.  Experience godliness with contentment.

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END?  Death means an end to the testing.  You get a new body.  You get to wear it forever and it will not wear out.

SIMPLE ADULTING.  Love transforms us from narcissism to maturity.

HOW TO DEAL WITH THE OPINIONATED:  Followers of Jesus need to learn to trust each other when it comes to making moral or lifestyle decisions.  If someone sees things differently than you, the law of love applies.  Actively accept those whose opinions are different or offensive to you.  Even the obnoxious ones.

7 WAYS TO DEFEAT A BAD MOOD:  We can avoid being dragged down to society’s level of immaturity and let God develop well-formed maturity in us.  The last sentence of Romans 12 in The Message says it all:  “Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.”