Category: Spiritual Insights

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Jump-Start Your Relationship with Jesus Using These Simple Steps – Part 1

Recently, a lady in my Sunday School class shared that someone had told her not to take little things to Jesus.  Jesus isn’t to be bothered with little things.  He has too much to do.  My first thoughts were that Jesus is supposed to be our friend.  He wants a relationship with us.  Do you only talk to your friends about the “big” things in your life?  What a bizarre perspective!  My real friends and I talk about everything.  Silly things, things that don’t matter, things that make us happy, scary things, big things, medium-sized things, and yeah…little things.  If a person only talked to me about the big things in their life, I have to say, I don’t think I’d really consider them a friend.  That’s weird.  We wouldn’t really have a relationship. Continue reading Jump-Start Your Relationship with Jesus Using These Simple Steps – Part 1

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Gone With the Whim

PICTURE THIS

Right now, I want you to think of the most beautiful wedding you have ever attended or seen pictures of.  Maybe it was your own, but for me…I always picture the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Continue reading Gone With the Whim

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Abide in Me

Abide in me, and I in you.

There are many lessons in John 15, as is the case in all of Jesus’ teaching.  Something came to me in such a profound way today from it.  It was something I’ve been struggling with for several months now.  I felt I had a really good understanding of what the Lord was trying to teach me, yet there seemed to be something missing.  Like I wasn’t quite done with it yet.  Today…I got it, and I wanted to share it with you, because that’s what I do.  I want everyone to know how good our God is, and I know there is someone somewhere who can relate to my experience.  So…let me back up just a bit. Continue reading Abide in Me

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What Would Jesus Do?

Human Nature

It is a natural response to want to defend yourself.  I don’t mean physically, like from a shark attack (good luck with that), or with a shield and sword.  I’m talking about defending your character, your reputation, your religion, your political ideology, your sense of direction. Continue reading What Would Jesus Do?

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Satan’s Secret Weapon

I secretly loved being scared when I was a kid.  We’d watch the old monster movies – Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, Werewolf – they were awesome, and provided just enough fear to give you a thrill.  When I got a little older, the movies got a little scarier.  To get to my best friend Julie’s house, I had to travel down a stretch of road where some large, old trees hovered over the street.  There were very few street lights in this part of town, and it was pretty eerie.  Julie and I were always a bit apprehensive about traversing this stretch to reach the house at the end of our destination – if it was dark.  At some point, we convinced ourselves that we were perfectly safe…as long as we didn’t hear the theme music from Friday the 13th.  You know…the dreaded, “Che che che che che.  Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.” Continue reading Satan’s Secret Weapon

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The Most Important Thing My Mother Ever Taught Me

Not every lesson my mother tried to teach me went the way she planned.  One such time happened when I was about 15 years old.  Mom called my little sister, Mary (who was 12 at the time), and I into the room and told us to sit down…she wanted to have a talk with us.  I remember vividly, my mind racing back and forth, wondering what in the world she wanted to talk to us about.  Had something happened?  Was someone sick?  What is going on?  It was a bit odd to say the least.   Continue reading The Most Important Thing My Mother Ever Taught Me

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This Little Light of Mine

One of my favorite times in church as a child, is when we would sing songs in our Sunday school.  Often, we would perform one as a special for the congregation before the preaching service began.  These children’s church songs usually had hand gestures or other body movements to go along with the words, signifying the ideas in the verses.  I particularly loved, This Little Light of Mine.  The version we sang went like this: Continue reading This Little Light of Mine

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He Will Come to Us Like the Rain

I was raised near the South Canadian River in a small town in Oklahoma.  My family spent a lot of time on that river, noodling and swimming and searching for morels.  I have always understood the power of its raging waters after the spring floods.  A fact that was made all too clear to me when my brother, Robin, took me with him one day to hunt for arrowheads.  There had just been a heavy rain, and he knew this was a great time to find them.  Farmers had just plowed their fields for the spring planting, and the rain would help expose any treasure we sought. Continue reading He Will Come to Us Like the Rain

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How Much Does it Cost to Save the Whole World?

Roman Cruelty

The word “passion,” as most people know it today, comes from a French word associated with a state or outburst of intense feelings.  However, the word is also associated with the final hours of Jesus’ life on earth.  That “passion” stems from Latin and means suffering or enduring.  It is most definitely what Christ did.  He suffered more than we care to imagine.  The passion of Christ begins with His time in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He began to really feel the heavy burden of what He must do, through His death on the cross.  Jesus suffered so many things in those last hours: the betrayal of Judas, abandonment and denial by His disciples, arrest, trials, mockery, shame, and torture.  These things He endured voluntarily. Continue reading How Much Does it Cost to Save the Whole World?

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The Deliberate Life of Jesus Christ

I came across a little chart recently, that had a break-down of about 9 well-known religious leaders in the world today.  I won’t name any names here.  It doesn’t really matter the who…it’s the what that I’m more concerned with.  I’ll get to that in a minute.  The chart showed the amount of money each of these leaders and their ministries earned in a year.  Let’s just say it was quite a bit more than the teacher’s salary I earn in Missouri.  I can’t adequately assess these leaders solely based on how much they earn because I have no information as to how much of that money they give to God – and there is the what. Continue reading The Deliberate Life of Jesus Christ