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FEATURE: Encouragement
The favor of God should always excite us and encourage us when we see it playing out in Scripture because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
Sometimes I wonder have Christians forgotten the power of grace.
After covering the different categories of "testimonies" we see in the New Testament, the majority of this message is me sharing my personal testimony, highlighting the grace & providence of God in my broken, crazy past that led to my salvation.
Romans 5:12-21 is a pivotal passage in Romans. Paul stacks up Adam & Jesus and reveals why both are significant to who we are and where we are. The truth, hope, and encouragement in this passage is astounding and often overlooked.
Come explore it with me, and be pushed to something so much more.
It’s not why do bad things happen to good people, though I do answer this question too. The better question is, why do good things happen to bad/evil people? This question is the 1st I get to answer from a 3-part series hosted by P4CM during October entitled “Tackling Tough Questions”.
I unquestionably believe Psalm 23 is a must scripture memory for every Christian. It is jam-packed with declarations and assurances about God as our Shepherd and us as His sheep.
Since God can be nothing less than incredible, the worship He deserves and requires can be nothing less than incredible. We are going to skim through the story of Nehemiah, park at chapter 9, and see how our incredible God showed up during then, the incredible worship the Israelites responded with, and how all this relates to us now.
From January until today I have been spending my morning devotion with God in Genesis. No commentaries. Just me, the Holy Spirit, and His Word. Each day I would read either a chapter or multiple chapters, and then I would journal my personal gleanings and takeaways from my reading that morning.
By now I shouldn't be surprised when I check my social media or turn on the TV and someone new is in the news for some screw up they've done that many of my fellow “Christians“ are going to share their compassionless thoughts and opinions. And the fact that I shouldn't be surprised bothers me greatly, because we as believers should expect better from us as believers in this area. This blog article is not about the Ray Rice incident. This is about a heart issue that we must address.
I woke up on Friday morning, December 14th, to the sounds of my wife gasping as she found out that an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut had been shot up. For the next several hours we sat, mouths open, watching the news.
I just ended a phone conversation with a fellow believer. We had a good convo. It was edifying. However, some of what we talk about left me thinking about how some believers don't understand grace in action and that saddens me and makes my stomach hurt.
While I was in praying this morning, I came to a notion that I had some hidden confidence in a project of mine. Now, is there anything wrong with having confidence? No, absolutely not. However...
I heard a pastor talk on this passage on the radio the other day. It made me pull over, open up my Bible and do Bible study in a Travelodge parking lot. Here are some notes I jotted down.
As I am continuing to read through Genesis, two things stood out to me: the curse of Cain, son of Adam, and the Curse of Ham, son of Noah. We'll explore these two and their takeaways for us.
I had a trial over the weekend. So I grabbed my resources, took a ride and talked to Jesus about what I was going through and how to deal with it. At the end of my time with Jesus I asked Him about forgiveness.
NEWEST POSTS
I have not posted anything about my retirement from pastoral ministry since May 26, 2025, and that was on my Facebook page. I was hesitant to post this, especially since it might turn out to be nothing more than a personal realization, which is fine, as it has brought great resolve and satisfaction to my reluctant, turbulent pastoral journey. However, my posting this suggests that I think God may be up to something. We shall see.
Since God’s glory is supreme and worthy of boasting, the transformation of Job's faith is a representation of what God intends to do in each of His redeemed children's lives: move each of us from hearsay to experiential, from “I have heard” to “I have seen,” so that we may glorify God whole-heartedly no matter what we suffer, encounter, or accomplish in this life.
My aim is to walk through Daniel 3—seeing the similarities between their account and us—to demonstrate how we, as Christians, can withstand & press through the fires we face in our version of Babylon.
As I have been navigating my own transition period, I was struck with conviction when I realized the posture of my heart hasn’t been reflective of grace. The Holy Spirit took that opportunity to convict me about neglecting to reflect on the glories of God’s grace and revealed to me the reason for my heart’s sour posture & the disquietness of my mind is from a lack of gratitude.
That said, I believe we can never go wrong and will always benefit from hearing about the grace of God, especially as it is extended to us in Christ Jesus. Thus, I ask that you listen to be encouraged & exhorted by this great grace we have.
As I have been navigating my own transition period, I was struck with conviction when I realized the posture of my heart hasn’t been reflective of grace. The Holy Spirit took that opportunity to convict me about neglecting to reflect on the glories of God’s grace and revealed to me the reason for my heart’s sour posture & the disquietness of my mind is from a lack of gratitude.
That said, I believe we can never go wrong and will always benefit from hearing about the grace of God, especially as it is extended to us in Christ Jesus. Thus, I ask that you listen to be encouraged & exhorted by this great grace we have.