Monthly Archives: July 2025

Spirituality, Uncategorized

Yes or No

There are a lot of things we aren’t going to understand on this side of eternity. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why did my life go left instead of right? Why am I even here?

God doesn’t owe us an explanation. The truth is, if he explained things to us we wouldn’t understand. Look at your own life. If ten years ago you had been given the opportunity to look at your life today, it wouldn’t make sense how you arrived here.

God is good and he is just. We just need to trust him. This includes trusting God during the shitty times in life. It’s easy to trust when everything is going well. He has been with us during every moment of our life, no matter what we were going through.

My encouragement to you is to say YES to whatever brings you closer to God. Say no to the things (and the people) who keep you apart from him. Look for God’s influence and direction in your life and other people’s lives. It’s there…

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Spirituality, Uncategorized

Look Beyond What You Can See

In The Book of Genesis we learn the story of Joseph. Joseph was a young dreamer who had a good heart. His older brothers sold him to some Midianite traders who sold Joseph to an officer of Pharaohs in Egypt. His brothers faked his death and thought they were rid of their troublesome brother, the “dreamer.”

Joseph was a righteous man and did well In Pharaohs eyes. God opened Joseph’s eyes to interpret dreams which saved Egypt during a long drought. The Egyptians had food while the rest of the world was starving. Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy food, not knowing that it was their little brother who would be the one selling it to them.

Through a series of fascinating events, Joseph and his entire family were reunited. Joseph informed his brothers that “what they intended for harm, God intended for good.” The story is worth reading. You can find it in Genesis, Chapters 37-50.

The story of Joseph, and many others, is a great reminder that God is always working in our lives. We do not see it, but it’s happening.

God didn’t create us and then forget about us. He’s working…

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Spirituality, Uncategorized

Miracles Happen Every Day

In several instances, Jesus healed people on the Sabbath which, in doing so, sent the religious leaders into orbit. You see, it was against the law to do work on the Sabbath. Healing someone was considered to be work.

There was a lot at play here. First off, Jesus created the Sabbath and was in control of it. Further, by doing good on this day in particular he showed his mercy and compassion for mankind. Jesus is at work all the time, not just six days per week.

We can get confused about religion. In its essence, religion is a set of beliefs. We believe and have faith in someone we can’t really see. Or can we?

While Jesus was among us, he performed incredible miracles. He wasn’t showing off, and he never did a miracle that benefited him. He was demonstrating the character of God. And miracles continue happening today. Childbirth is a miracle. So is the position of the sun.

Slow down and take a look around. Miracles are everywhere. In fact, you are a living miracle. Don’t take it for granted…

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Spirituality

Moral Majority

The Moral Majority was a political movement in the late twentieth century that officially disbanded around 1989. The party was founded in the name of Christianity, but over time became more religious than Christian. In the world of politics it’s easy to be divisive. This party took division off the rails.

Not everything about the Moral Majority was bad, though. Having a moral compass and doing what’s right is a good thing. Oftentimes taking a stand on morals will get you banned or at least ostracized. When legalistic religion crosses paths with imperfect people in any society, conflict is bound to happen.

Christianity is comprised of imperfect people trying to emulate the only perfect person who ever lived. We fall short, we try again, then we keep trying.

If the majority of people lived morally responsible lives, society and culture would improve. Selfishness would lessen and our focus would be on others more than ourselves.

People are important. All people. It’s always a good time to be conscious of the needs of others. When we do this, we become more Christ-like and less like ourselves…

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Spirituality, Uncategorized

Hanging Out With Jesus

Do you ever wonder what it would have been like to hang around with Jesus? Reading about him in Scripture gives us an idea, yet I wonder what he was like.

I’m sure Jesus had remarkable presence, and I bet he had a wonderful sense of humor. Jesus couldn’t have been serious all the time because if he was, no one would want to be around him for very long. Little children flocked to him. Kids don’t approach people who make them feel unsafe. Children have great instincts.

And Jesus was a rebel, a real badass. He didn’t mince words when calling out hypocrisy, even among the religious scholars. Doing something like this in Jesus’ time could get you kicked out of the synagogue.

One day we will all meet Jesus. Until then, let’s just try to be like him…

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Spirituality

Attention!

I’m easily distracted. My short attention span keeps me interested in everything going on around me. From a very young age I became observant of my surroundings.

There is an exception to this. When I’m engaged in conversation, my focus is on listening, really listening to my counterpart. When we get laser-focused on who we are with, it makes the other person feel important. After all, everyone wants to be seen, heard and understood.

It’s important to pay attention to what’s happening in the world, too. Geopolitically, the planet is very interesting right now. In geopolitics, motive is key.

The world is constantly paying attention to you and how you act. Let’s be sure we give others something worth their attention…

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Spirituality, Uncategorized

I Know You

Do you know people? I mean really know them? You see, people show you what they want you to know about them. They hide the things they want no one to see.

God knows us all the way down to our DNA. He knows everything, and nothing escapes his view. It’s inspiring to think that God was with us all our lives, even when we were infants and didn’t know him. Or maybe we did but we just don’t remember.

People put guards up. Many fear that if we truly knew them that we wouldn’t like them. God not only loves us, he likes us, too. And there’s nothing we can do to change that. Nothing.

I encourage you to let your guard down. Be open with others. Allow them to see you for who you are, not the version that’s not the real you.

When you open yourself up, that’s when you find true connection. And that’s what we want, to feel connected…

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Spirituality, Uncategorized

Come As You Are

I remember seeing restaurants advertise that you were welcome to “come as you are,” a sign that all were invited in to enjoy the food and experience. It was great advertising because it made me feel welcome before I went inside.

The church I go to is this way. Everyone is encouraged to come as they are and experience God’s grace. And true to their word, all are welcome. It’s a non-judgmental, no guilt or shame allowed place.

And there are other churches that are just plain churchy. They have good intentions, but the message gets lost because people are paying more attention to how the congregation is dressed than they are the Word of God.

Church is the one place where everyone should feel comfortable just showing up. It shouldn’t matter whether you are in a big building or meeting under a tree. You are welcome.

Jesus never turned anyone away. He even touched lepers! All could come to him and experience the kindness of God. Only this time he was in human form. What a truly magnificent Creator we serve…

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Spirituality

Like Minded

Have you noticed how people are always looking for things to agree on? This is rooted in people’s aversion to conflict. Some people will compromise their beliefs just to get along.

Conflict is going to happen in an imperfect world. That’s okay. Conflict doesn’t mean argument. It means disagreement. You can disagree without becoming disagreeable with someone else.

After Jesus’ crucifixion the disciples scattered. They were afraid for their own lives, and they had an internal conflict. Everything they had seen the prior three years wasn’t a lie. So how could this man, the Messiah be put to death when they knew he could stop it? The answer came later.

After the resurrection, the (now)apostles started the new way. It wasn’t called Christianity yet. They went far and wide, telling the world about Jesus. Many of the apostles died horrible deaths. You don’t die for a lie.

Be who you were created to be. Stay open minded, but that doesn’t mean you will be in agreement with everyone. Just stay true to yourself…

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