Follow these steps: 1. We must acknowledge God as the Creator of everything, accepting our humble position in God’s created order and purpose. Romans 1:20-21 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” 2. We must realize that we are sinners and that we need forgiveness. None of us are worthy under God’s standards. Romans 3:23 “For all…
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Something More
We moved into our new house 5 years ago. We love our place but no matter where we’ve lived, we’ve always filled up the space we have. Sometimes I think, “If I only had 3 more feet along the end of my garage, my garage wouldn’t be as crowded”. “If my woodworking shop had had more floor space, I wouldn’t feel cramped.” No matter what it is, we often want more. We want to be paid more for our work and career. We want more free time. The list goes on and on. More. More. More. Do you want more out of life? Of all the things in life we…
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What’s Your Passion?
Anybody who knows me knows that I love my coffee. People that also know me well, know that I love to grill and smoke meats. I grill and smoke meats year-round and it’s not uncommon to do something once or twice a week. Some people would say that I’m passionate about smoking meats and grilling. I also enjoy woodworking as a hobby. Most of my larger tools came from my dad who passed away when I was 18. I’m very passionate about how I take care of them and the fact that I get to use them. I also have 2 grandkids that were born earlier this year. My daughter, Brittany,…
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Keeping Life in Balance
This past week in our church, we studied Ecc. 4:1-12. Solomon looked around and he saw vanity. People were either lazy or they were a workaholic. He saw all vanity. Ecclesiastes 4:1-12 – English Standard Version (ESV) What does this mean for me? We often buy the latest self-help, time-management, making priorities, scheduling,… type of books and resources to try to get a better handle on our time and priorities. What I’ve learned though (and keep repeating the lesson) is that I need to start with God’s Word. Real change in my life will not happen apart from the Word of God. When I read verses like Matthew 6:33 (Seek God’s…
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Opinions – God’s Word
2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God[a] may be complete, equipped for every good work. God’s Word can be powerful. It changes lives. It encourages. It convicts. It opens eyes. It provides passion. God speaks to us through His Word. How can we understand it? John 14:26 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. The Holy Spirit helps us understand His Word…
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Getting the Most out of our Friendships and Relationships
1 Samuel 18, 20; 2 Samuel 9 Let’s look at the relationship between David and Jonathan. Saul was the king of Israel at the time. He was the very first King. Jonathan was his son. King Saul disobeyed God and God selected David to be the next king. Saul found out about that and wanted to kill David… So you can imagine quandary it put Jonathan in. Despite being King Saul’s son and the one people thought perhaps would be the next king after Saul, Jonathan befriended David and they became the very best of friends. From your experience, how do you improve upon your relationships? As you think about…
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Christmas – God uses the government to get Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,[b] who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn…
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The Great Marriage
Weddings can be FUN! Last week my son got married to a wonderful girl. It was a great wedding!!! What was the highlight? Many at the wedding commented how happy Brian and Jen looked at the wedding and especially toward each other. You could clearly see how he loves his bride and his bride loves him. When they said their vows, it appeared they had no idea all the guests were listening and watching them on stage. They were there for one reason… to marry and begin a new lifelong relationship. Even the reception and celebration was exciting and fun as we celebrated the new union. We had the blessing…
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Why Pray?
Today, I was asked the following question… Many friends (Christians) are saying why pray?…God has a plan and He knows what He is going to do and our prayers don’t change that…they aren’t challenging that He is God and sees the big picture…any help? This is a great question. It is obvious from the Bible that God wants us to pray but on the other hand the Bible is clear on the sovereignty of God. God cannot be controlled, coerced, influenced unwittingly or manipulated by our prayers. So, what does this mean? First, let’s look at some basic teachings on prayer. 1. Prayer was important to Jesus. Jesus prayed. Luke…
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Does God’s grace allow me to do what I want and still go to heaven?
As a follow-up to yesterday’s blog on “what the bible says about suicide”, I’ve been asked by a few people if God’s grace means I don’t need to worry about sin anymore. The question is that if we are saved by grace, does that mean I can now do whatever I want? In other words, does my eternal security that’s founded in God’s grace give me the permission and allowance to sin? Does God’s grace and assured forgiveness give me the green light to make whatever choices I want??? … whether it is to continue to live in sin, do wrong to others, or even do harm to myself? If…