God's Sign Language

December 1, 2017

How often do you ask God for "a sign"? Are you as guilty of it as I am? I say things like: “If God wills it”, or “God, I’m putting this in Your hands”, or just simply “Lord, give me a sign.”

I like to include God in every little decision that I make, hence the constant fishing for reassurance by asking for a sign. But it’s listening to His answer that always drives me nuts. I can never tell if/when He’s responding. My struggle is always — how do I discern if this is a spiritual sign or just a plain old sign that I’m trying to see spiritually?

Another Excerpt from "WHATEVER, GOD"

November 21, 2017

Chapter 15 WHAT’S A PARACLETE?

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Paraclete) will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7)

That’s an incredible verse when you think about it. Do you understand what Jesus is saying? Think about it from the perspective of the disciples when they first heard it.

By this time, they had been following Jesus for three whole years. They’d left their jobs, their homes, their friends and family . . . they left everything to follow Jesus. Their only job on a day-to-day basis was to follow Him and do whatever He told them to do. He alone gave meaning and purpose to their lives.

Death for Jesus meant orphanhood for the disciples. They had nothing without Him. They were disciples and He was their Master, and you can’t be much of a disciple without a master.

So how could Jesus say that they’d be better off after He left? How could that be true? Sure, it would be great to have the Holy Spirit, but come on . . . this is JESUS we’re talking about! The five-loaves-and-two-fish Jesus. The walk-on-water Jesus. The healing-the-sick, casting-out-demons, raising-the dead Jesus. Could it really be “to your advantage” for Him to go away? How could Jesus say that?

The Prayer App

June 9, 2017

Sometimes I wish prayer was as easy as using an app. I would ask to get to my next life destination and God would Uber me from point A to point B. I would ask for direction and He'd lead me to google maps. I would ask for creative inspiration and I'd get a Pinterest thread in my thoughts.

I Am the Good Shepherd (I AM Part 2)

July 8, 2013

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." (John 10:11)

In the first message of the I AM series, we heard Jesus declare His power and His divinity. In this message, we heard how Jesus plans to use that power and divinity - that is, to lay down His life for us.

In a world where power corrupts even the best of people, come see how Jesus uses His power for the sake of His sheep.

What Makes Me a True Child of God

September 7, 2012

As a parent, if there’s one lesson that I’ve learned repeatedly over the years, it’s this: as much as I know that God has many things that He wants me to teach my children, He has an equal number of things that He wants me to learn from them.

Last night was one of those nights. All week I’ve been thinking/blogging about the idea of hearing God’s voice and discerning His will – how to make decisions and how to know what’s right, etc. And then last night, during our family Bible time before bed, we read this passage:

“Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:48-50)

After reading that passage, we discussed it together as a family and my kids came to the following conclusion: we need to obey God to be in His family.

The Answer to Your Decision Making Dilemma

September 5, 2012

Yesterday I posed one of the most important questions in life: how can I know the “right” thing to do in whatever situation I’m in? Ultimately your life is nothing more than the sum of all your decisions. Make good decisions and you’ll probably find yourself in a good place. Make bad decisions and you’ll find the exact opposite. The question for us is: HOW DO I MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS?

I mentioned yesterday that sometimes it seems (emphasis on the word “seems”) that Jesus was inconsistent in His decisions. Sometimes He would heal people and sometimes He wouldn’t. Sometimes He’d raise the dead person, other times He wouldn’t. Sometimes He’d speak softly and compassionately; other times He spoke sternly and harshly.

How did He know when to heal and when not to heal? How did He know when to say yes and when to say no? How did He know the “right” thing to do?

SPIRITUAL GROWTH | PERSONAL GROWTH | RELATIONSHIPS | ENCOURAGEMENT | STSA Church | GUEST POSTS

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