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Articles published in 2018

God Got Personal

 
John 1:14 “The word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
 
A number of years ago I got really excited about the rumor of a new family that was looking to move into our neighborhood. The neighbor two doors down was planning on moving to Florida and decided to put their house on the market. One of the potential buyers I heard was a famous baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates! I immediately began to imagine the fun we woul
Tags:  God Got Personal, John, Christmas, God Became Flesh, Connected, Good Good Father

Slow Down

Luke 2:15 “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
 
Slowness is not usually rewarded in our culture today. No one says, “You know what is amazing about Mike: He moves so slow!” We don’t cheer the slowest runner in a race or reward the slowest worker on our team. However, if we want to make room for Jesus this Christmas season we need to learn to slow down. 
 
This time of year
Tags:  Slow Down, Luke, Shepherds

Open to Change

Matthew 1:18-19  “but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”

Tags:  Open to Change, Matthew, Plans, Interrupted, Interrupting, Fear of Change, Make Room, Make Room for Jesus, Christmas Season

Prayer

Matthew 6:9-13  “This, then, is how you should pray: “’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
 
One of the most important parts of our spiritual walk is prayer. In Acts 2 we see that the early church was devoted to prayer. Which meant they prayed first before acting, that prayer unified them, was based in scriptu
Tags:  Prayer, Lords Prayer, Matthew, Acts

Devoted: Life Together

Acts: 2:44 “And all who believed were together and had all things in common.” 
 
Have you noticed that it’s increasingly difficult to find “common ground” with others? The world today seems more fragmented than ever and more and more we have become focused on our differences. However, when one is changed by Jesus they have a core commonality with every other follower of Jesus in the world! 
 
In Acts 2 this bond was so strong that the early followers of Jesus began to call each other “brother” or “si
Tags:  Acts, Devoted, Devoted For Life, Brother, Brother In Christ

Devoted

Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
 
I heard the incredible story this week of Robert McQuilken. Robert was the president of Columbia International University and under his leadership the school doubled its enrollment. While he was beginning to enjoy the fruits of his success, tragically his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. As it progressed, she was terrified to be without Robert.
Tags:  Devoted, Acts

Devoted

Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
 
I heard the incredible story this week of Robert McQuilken. Robert was the president of Columbia International University and under his leadership the school doubled its enrollment. While he was beginning to enjoy the fruits of his success, tragically his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. As it progressed, she was terrified to be without Robert.
Tags:  Devoted, Acts

Boxes

Matthew 12:11 “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?”
 
I was driving by a store the other day that specializes in selling boxes. All they do is sell different size containers to help organize the stuff that we have. This is fascinating to me because I like boxes. I like to keep my stuff organized and in places where things can easily be found when I need them. There is a form of comfort that comes when you have your life organized in boxes. It feel like thing
Tags:  Boxes, Matthew, Boxing in God

Encounter Jesus

Mark 2:9-12 “Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all.”
 
You never know how a simple encounter can change your life. Looking back on my life some of my deepest relationships have started with the most unexpected encounters. The same can be said
Tags:  Encounter Jesus, Mark, Paralyzed Man

An Unexplainable God

Acts 2:46-47  “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.  They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.  And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” 

Tags:  Unexplainable God, Acts, the Church

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