Messages of Faith

My childhood was less than stellar. Abuse of multiple kinds was not uncommon. As a result, this left me with struggles with People Pleasing. In my case, as I call it, Reverse People Pleasing.

I love going on walks when there is a gentle but comforting wind. The type that isn’t just a simple breeze but isn’t a gust either.

Psalm 139:7-12 (ESV) 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is brig

I remember so fully of my “past life.” The life I lived prior to God changing me and regenerating my heart. I at times look upon the old Jesse and go through a great deal of feeling and spiritual battle.

I can safely say, that each and every single person reading this right this moment has a “person” or “persons” that, as believers, we have looked at with distaste.

Typically, we all think of the Holy Spirit as our BFF. He is the one who resides in us! He helps us to experience the love of God! He guides us and walks with us and nurtures us further and further towards godly living!

My Grandmother was one of my closest prayer allies. From the time I was born until the time she went to be with Christ in eternity. She was always petitioning God on my behalf.

I love God. I LOVE God. I love all of His attributes. I love all of His characteristics. I love that He exists in three persons. I love the sound of His voice. I love His church. I love His creation. I love what He loves.

I have struggled at times with feelings of self-doubt and putting people up on pedestals.

Most husbands will make jokes regarding their wives having more shoes than they have socks. I have an admission to make…I have more pairs of shoes than my wife. Blame thrifting.

I have a close friend who is atheistic, who considers himself a “good man.” This friend truly is a downright good dude. He is generous, kind, gentle, hardworking, and compassionate.

When you think of Eternity…what do you think of? Your first thoughts typically would be about “endless periods of time.” It is a natural thought to arrive to. We often have these sayings, typically at red lights or in the self-checkout,

We have all been in that scenario where we look upon someone “utterly horrible”, who has knowingly done atrocities, and we say to ourselves, “I’m so glad I’m not like THAT guy.”

I am a nerd. A giant, big ole, sometimes cringy…nerd. I grew up loving superheroes and comic books and the movies and cartoons and video games they were featured in.

My oldest daughter knows everything. It is truly a marvel of Creation that at the tender age of 10, almost 11 at the time of writing this, she is knowledgeable about all things seen and unseen!

One of the most comforting, and most well remembered facts about God is that He is absolutely “everywhere at all times.” This is a true statement!

Romans 8:38-39 (ESV) 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I sit here today as I write this as a very different man than I was merely 30 days ago. I am not a pastor. I am not a preacher. I am not a theologian. I am not a husband to a godly wife. I am not a fath

Do you know the story of Zacchaeus? I remember singing a song about him as a kid. He was a rich tax collector. And he was hated. All tax collectors were hated by the Jewish people. Why? For a couple of reasons. First, they collected taxes established by Roman law, plus they also dreamed up taxes of their own that they forced the people to pay. Basically, they were thieves—taking money to pay phony taxes. Sometimes they even hired thugs to threaten people who “owed” taxes. Bec

You know, I so want to love God with all my heart. I want to be loyal, obedient, kind, patient, filled with joy. I know God loves me.

This week, I have been thinking on what it means to have faith. Daily we “put our faith in” so many different things and even people, but what does that all mean?