Tag Archives: #jesus

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

Daily Prayer

Here is my daily prayer. True story: it popped into my mind when I was sitting in church, checking out girls! When the thought grabbed me, I immediately wrote it down. If you like it, feel free to use it as your own.

“Use me. Work through me. Through my writings and through my words. Through my actions and through my deeds. Let me be a light to others in this dark world.”

Our world is dark. Be the one who brings light…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Eyesight

As I have gotten older, I have noticed my eyesight is not as sharp as it once was. But there are certain things I see clearly.

Consider the story of the man who was blind since birth. Jesus healed the man and restored his eyesight. In those days, when something bad happened like blindness, the people attributed it to either the sin of the man or his parents. Jesus declared it to be neither. The man was born blind so that in that moment, God would be glorified.

Some of the Pharisees were outraged because Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath. They missed it completely! Only God could restore the man’s sight, but they were blind to this because they were only looking at the law. Jesus didn’t come to bring us more religion. He came to show us the character of God. As you can see, there’s a lot of levels to this beautiful story.

I encourage you to open your eyes. See the unseen. When you see a wrong, don’t walk away. Make it right.

The unseen is not just the spiritual. It’s the people around us, too…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Redirected

Sometimes life throws us curveballs. We think we know the direction of our lives, and everything seems to be going smoothly. Then the shit hits the fan. Normal life is disrupted by an unexpected divorce, the loss of a job, or the worst thing possible happens, the loss of a child. Life as we knew it has forever been changed.

When dark periods occur, and they will, you have got to find your inner strength. Sometimes this is strength you didn’t know you had in you. The resilience you built through difficult situations in your past will serve you well now. You will get through whatever you are going through, even if it’s one baby step at a time. When you’re going through hell, don’t stop and build a house there. Keep going…

Life will get better. You will find a way to live with a pain that never goes away, it merely subsides. You will realize that God didn’t abandon you. He was in the mess with you.

And those curveballs I mentioned before. You will get good at hitting them, too…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Spirits

We know that God is Spirit. Are you aware that there are evil spirits all around us? Alcohol is called spirits. I believe this is because it weakens us. People do things they wouldn’t normally do while drinking.

There is a spiritual battle going on in the unseen world. Just because we can’t see it doesn’t make it less real. An impulse you get that might harm others or yourself originates in the darkness. God cannot cause us to sin. His nature is perfect. Evil causes us to sin and suffer.

Let’s face it, sin is fun. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t be tempted to do it. Sinful behavior is only good in the short term. Righteous behavior allows us to be free of worry and guilt. We face the choice of good versus evil every day.

I encourage you to read and absorb God’s Word. Make it part of you. In this world we cannot avoid sin. Yet, God gives us a way to fight through it. Guaranteed…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Accepted

We hear the news pundits and politicians refer to “average Americans.” Personally, I don’t know anyone who thinks of themselves as merely average.

People spend an inordinate amount of time trying to fit in rather than standing out. Oh we have the wonks who are constantly promoting themselves and saying, “look at me.” Many of those people are simply trying to cover up insecurities. Being liked on social media doesn’t take away feelings of inadequacy.

The only one who accepts us all the time is God. He wants us to find our true purpose He imbued in us, and then accomplish that purpose. God wants us to be ourselves. We don’t need to alter ourselves to fit in with the world. We are performing for an audience of one and only one.

If you’re going to perform, make it count…

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#spirituality

The Peacemaker

Jesus was the greatest teacher who ever lived. He redeemed and restored people. Everyone, including the hated tax collectors, prostitutes and adulterers came to him for the forgiveness of their sins.

Jesus healed people, too. Lepers, the blind, even dead people received healing. Jesus gave the people hope when they had little or none.

Jesus was a peacemaker, yet sometimes he raised some hell. He cleaned up the Temple (His Father’s House) and called out the hypocritical religious leaders. Jesus was a true rebel, a badass who lived his life fearlessly and with purpose.

I encourage you to get to know him. He will change your life…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

The Real War

We are in a battle, a fierce battle, whether you realize it or not. Our enemy, although unseen, is very real. His name is Satan. He hates you and wants to destroy everything good in your life.

Think about it. In the world today there are children having their body parts removed because “they feel like they’re in the wrong body.” There are people who loudly praise this behavior, and we allow them to get away with it because they are doing it in the name of “freedom.” I call bullshit on this one. Where are the parents??? And what about the physicians who perform the surgery? Misleading a child is the most heinous thing you can do.

Our food supply is poisoning us through additives, fillers and pesticides. The cellular structure in our bodies are being artificially altered. Evil people are instigating this in the name of “profits.” More bullshit.

Things do not have to be this way. Turn off the television. Educate yourself. Eat good foods free of chemicals. Exercise your mind and your body.

And don’t forget to pray. It’s your only defense in this ongoing war. And the demons can’t take it…

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#spirituality

Transformation

I know many people who can quote verses from Scripture from memory. They can tell you exactly what the Bible says about a wide array of subjects. Now it’s true, the Bible shares what God says about every area of our lives.

The Bible is more than a book. It is the living word of God, and it has power. When Satan tempted Jesus in the desert, Jesus responded with Scripture. The same tactic works today. The name of Jesus weakens the demons. They cannot stand it because it tortures them. Use it when you feel anxious or fearful.

The Bible is transformative. It changes you because it has the ability to. God works on us from within. We want miracles performed for us, but the real miracle comes from God’s strength that lives inside of us.

I encourage you to see the Bible as more than just a book. That’s because it’s much more…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Awareness

It seems that every month is some “awareness” month where we are encouraged to become aware of something we should already be aware of. Seriously, aren’t we already aware of Alzheimer’s Disease, Breast Cancer, Men’s Health and many other worthwhile causes? I believe it is naive to believe we could forget about any important cause we are supposed to be aware of.

On Sundays, we get cleaned up and head to church. But what about the drug addict we pass on the street corner. Are we aware of him and his needs, or do we look the other way and pretend he doesn’t exist? We should invite him in. That might make us get a little involved and perhaps a little dirty. But we need to remember (be aware) that in the eyes of our Creator the drug addict is as important as we are.

I encourage you to be aware of opportunities to lift others, not tear them down or ignore them. Remember what Jesus said: “what you do for the least among you, you do for me…”

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