Rewritten and Rebuilt

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. Luke 8:42-43    She struggled through the crowd, terrified and yet determined to get to her objective. People jostled her, pushed against her; they all wanted to get to Him too. Every shove and bump sent chills of fear through her, just one jostle too hard and she would start bleeding again. Then they all would know that she was in their midst; an unclean woman who had dared to break the law. If that happened then it was almost certain a stoning would follow for she had defied the law and possibly infected the town. But desperation drove her forward towards the Man she had heard about. Desperation, her constant companion, thrust her past the crowds and into the reach of His hem. And her desperation met the healing power of God and she was made whole.      The story of the woman with the blood issue is ...

John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Recently I’ve been going back to the gym and I’ve noticed a lot about the gym that I think we Christians could use in terms of presenting Jesus to non-Christians. Yes, I know what I just said, the weightlifting and water drinking hasn’t made me delusional. If we showed non-Christians Jesus the same way a fitness trainer shows you weights, we might make some progress in evangelizing; at the very least people wouldn’t dislike the topic of God nearly as much. What’s the first thing that happens when you walk into a gym looking at membership options? If it’s a decent one, you’ll be greeted nicely, someone will very quickly come over and begin to explain the benefits of a gym membership. They’ll probably ask questions like what are you looking to improve, any past injuries, or if there is some physical ailment that might stop you from working out. Then you’ll be taken on a tour of the facility and shown all the perks o...

 Sodom and Gomorrah. Three words that cause more hate than almost any other in our language. What was it about these cities that so angered God that He decided to destroy them? He had already decimated humanity in a world-wide flood and then said He wouldn’t do that again; therefore these people must have done some pretty terrible things to push Him to this point. I realize that almost everyone has very set ideas about why God decided to get rid of them, and arguing about them won’t bring either side together. Instead I want to understand the heart of God about Sodom and Gomorrah.    Was He stirred in anger towards a sick town of filthy sinners, or was it something more? What is God’s heart towards sin? God’s heart is to destroy sin, but to restore the sinner. He desires reconciliation over wrath. God desires to reestablish people, not watch them die in sin. Sin is what separates us from God and He loathes that division! God knows what sin does; ultimately it destroys ...

   Homosexuality is such a scary thing to talk about in the Christian world. It’s divisive and evokes such strong emotions from people. Just dropping the “H” word is guaranteed to stop all conversation in a 10- foot radius and make every single person uncomfortable. But why? It’s a sin, sure, but no more than any other one, right? At least that’s what we tell ourselves until we are faced with a lesbian asking questions about Jesus or a gay man wanting to know why Christians keep shying away from him. What makes it so much more scary or difficult to understand as opposed to gossip or lying?    Homosexuality evokes sin on both sides of the lifestyle. A person choosing to live in that lifestyle is sinning by not following God’s word. “I was born this way,” or “God made me this way,” are very good lies people tell themselves to negate the fact that they are making a choice. I know because I lived this lifestyle for over 10 years; but I had struggled with my sexual ident...

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26    August 26, 2018. D-Day. Well, for me at least. I had arrived on yet another visit to Kansas City under the guise of going on a road trip with my parents. The reality was I was there to go to World Revival Church again. In the past month after only two services I had been unable to think about really anything else. In Phoenix I had bought Pastor Steve Gray’s book “My Absurd Religion,” secretly and rapidly reading while hiding it from my girlfriend. I had an all-consuming desire to move to Kansas City; I thought of really nothing else. I watched old sermons on YouTube, did streaming whenever possible, and for the first time in decades started to read a Bible. But I was tormented. My life in Phoenix was great - solid job, happy relationship, good friends - yet I was miserable. And that’s why August 25 found me on yet another pl...

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light…” Ephesians 5:8   “This does not spark joy,” Marie Kondo’s simple phrase has been heard the world over. Until recently, I thought that her decluttering methods were a little silly and not at all necessary. Boy, was I wrong! I was recently urged to doing some decluttering of my room for a class project; I had no idea the intensity of the journey I was about to partake in. I figured I would tidy up some, throw out a few old clothes, and maybe rearrange my living area a bit. I just moved in with my parents in October and all my stuff is in one room, so I had already culled things down quite a bit. I would just do this silly assignment and my room would be a little cleaner, it would be probably the easiest school assignment I’d have all year. I had no idea the fight I was getting into.    I no sooner stepped into my room with purpose of cleaning it when I was suddenly hit with ...

Are We Ready Yet?    Have you awakened yet? You were once called the sleeping giant, but Church, while you slept you grew weak and small. Young people left you by the droves and you simply snuggled deeper in your dreams. Now people are beating on your walls, begging for help, dying from lack of love. Unplug your ears! Lift up your head, awaken oh sleeper, arise before you succumb to death!    Are you desperate yet? You called yourself history makers, swore to always seek Me. What happened? Did it get too easy to just go with the flow instead of pave the way? Look where the flow has led you, violence, anger, hatred. But I can still see it in you, that ember, a small flame; stoke it with desperation, fan it with a determination to seek Me. Seek and you will find; I will pour Myself out again if you would only reach for me. I want to be found!    Have you linked arms with each other yet? You disconnected from Me; is it any wonder that you can’t seem to agr...