Let me start off by saying that I am no Bible scholar. While that will be clearly obvious if you read some of my thoughts on the verses contained here, you should know that up front. I’m just a normal, everyday guy who is trying, like a lot of us, to make sense out of things. One of those things is the spiritual life I feel we all should have. I don’t consider myself all that religiousy (yeah, I made that up) but I’m interested in what the bible has to say about how I’m supposed to live. I’m a Christian so the bible is sort of my operator’s manual. I think it has a lot to teach us about how we get along with others and the world. I certainly haven’t read all of it and don’t proclaim to be entirely correct on my interpretation but what I do know is that when I read some of it every day and think about it; things seem to go better. So, that’s why the title “The Everyday Bible”. I hope that my ramblings, my take on the scriptures, will make you think and maybe you’ll get something out of it too. I know I sure did when I read them.

The Great Command

You can’t more direct than this

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Charity: Give to Receive

Circles are a heckuva thing

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Not easy, but clear

How do you define need?

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The Benefits of Kindness

At the end of the day, how do you want to be known?

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The Best Minimalist

The guy could really boil it down

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Making Plans

Sorry all you planners out there

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A Promise and a Test

Have faith in one as you go through the other

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The Salesman

Finding customers like you and me

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At the End

A long time ago there was this guy named Job…

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Earth, Wind and Fire

No, not the 70’s R&B group

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Hope and Depression

Yes, I know, these two stand on opposite sides of the room sticking their tongues out at each other

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Who’s that hypocrite in church?

Don’t look but we are all hypocrites

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Staring at that destination far in the distance

Be assured, you’ll get there, that’s a promise

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How to be a Man

Or at least where to go for answers when you’re stumped

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Noah and the CAFO

Not someone you associate with a Confined Animal Feeding Operation

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Ownership

Who wants to be owned?

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Spoiled

Spare the rod

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Wait does not equal Stop

“All we need is just a little patience”-Axl Rose

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Nothing New

Skepticism’s been a thing at least since we started counting time this second time around

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No Filter

Noteworthy or infamous, whatever way you slice it, not a bad guy

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Bread, Silver and a Good Scrubbin’

Not exactly a trinity as we think of it, but for today pretty close

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One and Only

Who knows if it is or it isn’t?

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Winnowing

We’re all part of the harvest, let’s hope we’re not the chaff

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Over-Valued Opinions

“Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.”

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Over-Run

A brief confession of inadequacy

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What a Party!

Water to wine was just for starters

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The ‘Ol Switcheroo

Things don’t always turn out the way you think they will

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Panacea

The only thing that’s sure-fire and 100%

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Never and Refresh

A couple of tough words to play out unless…

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Outliers

Not exactly what you’d expect

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The “Duh!” Verse

My mom’s least favorite expression comes to mind every time I read this.

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You Only Get One Shot (or do you?)

Taking the risk of you not being able to get Eminem’s voice out of your head, I know

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The Gift

Especially during this season, we need to recognize we’ve already received the ultimate

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Thou Shalt Not be a Wuss

An obscure and overlooked commandment

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Do Over

Just give me one more shot!

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Salvation through the Three R’s

Not “Readin, Ritin and Rithmetic” but almost as basic

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Transformed Relationally

From Dr. Phil to Einstein and Cousin Eddy, relationships are a tough nut to crack

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Elders

Far from being about bearded old guys, the true definition has more to do with progress down a path.

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Transformed Spiritually

Radically different begins on the inside

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Patience is a Virtue I don’t really have

Nowhere is this more apparent than when I try to fix something.

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Two Sides, Same Coin

Light and dark like good and evil both exist inside us

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Who Wants to be Happy?

It’s not a question of “want” it’s a question of “how”

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Our Hang-ups with Asking

It’s a little kooky how we avoid the one sure thing.

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The Walk of Life

John has some advice about how to treat others who are on their own path

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The Socratic Method

A master salesman pitches something that’s really a no-brainer

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Being asked to Zig when the World says Zag

It’s a real counter-cultural thing that Paul writes about.

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We all know this is not wise

Pulling a piece of a letter from a guy named Paul today about being yourself.

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An Unpopular Guy

We may not want to admit it but this Jesus guy wasn’t really the life of the party.

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Identifying with all the Wrong Guys

I’m not happy about it but I have to say I understand why they did what they did.

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What Are You Looking For?

Seems like even if what we need is right in front of us, sometimes we can’t see it.

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Say What?

Making some wild guesses about the Ephesians who sound a lot like us

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Sculpting, Sculpting, Every Day Sculpting

We probably don’t realize what we’re fashioning every day. Here’s what I’m talking about today: Exodus 20: 1-6

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Basic Life Programming

Marv Heckman would be so proud Here’s what we’re talking about today: Philippians 2: 1-5

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I have Trouble being Accountable: I blame God

Everyone else doesn’t give me a pass!

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Who do You Belong To?

It’s a simple, fundamental, but important question we all need to answer.

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Salesman

The successful sales guy recognizes a marketing opportunity others have forsaken.

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Guilt (and other things) By Association

Appearances have always been the cornerstone of wrong impressions

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Here’s One Poor Dinner Guest!

I’m guessing Jesus made things really uncomfortable for the others at this table.

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At the End

We’ve all come to the end of our rope at one time or another

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Five Great Lessons in Fatherhood

Here’s some guidance to deal with everything from spilled drinks to astronomical electrical bills.

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See what you’ve done

Whose attention are we trying to get?

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Kids/Family

You don’t choose them and yet you wouldn’t/couldn’t have it any other way.

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Stepping In

We all need someone to speak for us once in a while.

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A Rock Crumbles

You won’t find a more graphic example of leaving a friend high and dry.

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Makin’ Money while you’re out of Town

A guy takes an extended vacation and expects his servants to multiply his wealth

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Trying to Line up Life with Purpose

It looks to me like if we’ll just listen to a little advice things will go our way.

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Of Order and Beds in the Bible

There are a lot of beds in the Good Book and a few things about order too.

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Doing this Death Thing Right

We do a lot of dancing around this. If only we could take the words to heart.

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Sleeping and Church

Read that again, it’s not IN it’s AND

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School’s Out

Alice Cooper was on to something we Christians ought to heed.

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Bob and Josh Choose Sides

Headed back to 1979 in a little divergence this week.

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Let’s grab a bite: How dining used to be

It’s clear our meals today carry far less importance than they used to.

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Why Ferris Bueller Got it Right

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”-Ferris Bueller

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The One Thing We All Like

Love is universal and devotion is something we all like.

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The Inevitable Parting

We’ve all been there and seen the handwriting.

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Potty Mouth

I got some good advice on cussing during confirmation class.

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Work with a Larger Purpose

No doubt about it; the bible is definitely pro-work.

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You Do You

Chasing the right stuff has a huge impact on how happy we are.

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To Boldly Go?

I’m no Captain Kirk but then again I’m not going up against any Klingons.

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Rejection

“Do what they say, say what they mean. One thing leads to another”-The Fixx

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Go ahead and cry

We gotta cut ourselves some slack on this whole crying thing folks.

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Know Yourself

My old football coach pointed out who I was; something that had been determined by a much higher power right from the beginning.

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Scars to your beautiful

What is beauty and how do we get it?

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Express Yourself

Clear advice about whether saying something is the right way to go.

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Pokemon Heartbreak

Who knew the little fellas were so soft-hearted?

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Something just like this

Ever defeat something in your mind before you ever actually start it?

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Everything in its time

Sometimes just accepting that things are going to roll through your life is the toughest part of all.

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End > Beginning

I’ve had this one upside down for years!

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Believer

“First things first I’ma say all the words inside my head”-Imagine Dragons

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Success 

Looks to me like defining your own personal finish line is pretty important.

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Don’t get me wrong 

Judgment is a heckuva thing and shouldn’t be misunderstood.

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In Plain Sight 

Sometimes the most difficult thing to see is the thing right in front of us.

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Assurance

How do you know you’re on the right track?

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Extrapolation

Trust is a dicey thing sometimes. Good to know God has faith in us.

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You like me! You really like me!

Sally Fields isn’t the only one who wants this assurance.

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Out There

Given our political climate, we could use a dose of Paul’s philosophy.

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Looking the wrong way

Sometimes for all our good intentions we just don’t see what we should.

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Harmony

All together now!

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Verbs

Here’s some action words for you to try.

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RICH

What are you buying with your time here?

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Lost and Found 

Everyone finds themselves “out there” once in a while.

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Rules

If you’re a “color outside the lines” person, here’s a guy you can follow.

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I’m Waiting!!

Promise and Hope make our waits easier.

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A Romantic’s Lament 

Head versus heart: which do you value more?

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Burned Again

Neither personal experience nor Baz Luhrmann seems to get through to me.

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Skeptic

Logic doesn’t always serve me well.

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Relax

Good advice on beating worry if you ask me.

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Winning!

With God on our side, it’s game over.

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It’s Simple

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do if you don’t say you’re sorry and change.

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Start with Faith

We have to go through some stuff to get to hope but it will come if we just hang in there

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Giving Back

Helping someone out, no matter the size of the gesture, shows our true humanity.

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Zigging when you expected Zagging

Turns out even way back when things didn’t always go according to plan.

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What a Friend

What’s it going to be: companion or friend?

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To Die For

Good ‘ol Nebraska logic says you have to deserve whatever you get. Good thing Jesus was no Nebraskan.

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Onion

Some things just keep going and going and going, like some sort of smelly vegetable.

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Of Light and Dark and Vision

What we see, light or dark, can’t help but go into us and become part of us.

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Chariots or Horses?

Which camp do you fall into?

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Good advice, I guess 

Paul has some pretty good advice about love for somebody I suppose.

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Scattered Abundantly

Paul surely wasn’t into precision agriculture but his advice is spot-on.

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Real

What’s real? What’s worth our time and money? We all have to decide but Paul’s letter to Timothy gives some good advice.

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Conditions

In this letter to the church in Thessalonia, Paul throws down a whole bunch of absolutes that we aren’t up to; without help.

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Where’d I put that needle? 

I’ve never been good at finding things. I always did poorly at Easter. I was never the kid that found the foul ball so I could get two pieces of bubble gum.

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Playing the Field 

Ever date two people at the same time? Yeah, me neither but I knew a guy who did and here’s what he told me about the experience.

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Supersize

We Americans are used to cheap food and a lot of it. We almost always decide to have the combo meal or the full entrée.

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It’s Your choice: Live Richly or be Poor

In this scripture, in the midst of the description of a tremendously selfless act we are reminded that even among Jesus’s inner circle there were very bad actors.

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Why? Oh, yeah.

I look at this scripture and it seems to me to be a set of verses where I ask myself why and then always answer, oh, yeah.

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Do ya get it?

Having belief and knowledge and understanding are sometimes difficult for us. Thankfully we were given a gift that allows us to see and learn and grasp just what we are.

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The Kids are all Right

According to Jesus, if you can be a kid, you’re in. Talk about good news!

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Doves and Cereal Bowls: All Related 

We couldn’t be more different and yet we’re all just really the same. You, me, Jesus and the utensil I ate my Life out of this morning.

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Be Quiet 

It looks like the process of becoming a follower begins with shutting up and listening. That’s how we get the bad stuff out of us.

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Marketing 101

Jesus clearly knew nothing about marketing or promotion. Look at the evidence.

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The Path

God described a path to success and fulfillment when he spoke to Abram.

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Marketing 101

Jesus clearly knew nothing about marketing or promotion. Look at the evidence. He obviously had a dynamite product (healing of sickness) an active and fervent following and a growing reputation but what does he do?

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Vision

In fact, one of my mom’s favorite stories about me is telling how, as we left the optometrist’s office and I was sporting my brand spanking new black glasses, I exclaimed something like, “Wow mom, I can see the leaves on the trees!” I guess that explains why I ran into so many things as a toddler.

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Ready

I’m curious about odd stuff I suppose. I wonder about things, social norms, things we do just because we’ve always just done them that way.

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Following the Instructions

Rebels beware: the advice herein is that you follow the rules. What a concept, huh?

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Give it away

Odd thing about money according to the bible: you have to get rid of it to do you any good.

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What If?

Job was given a succession of Mondays and not just any Mondays, the mother of all Mondays. His reaction? Not what you would expect.

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Marvelously Ordinary

Apparently even way back when, following directions and doing what you were told was a pretty big deal.

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God’s Schematic

God’s Big Plan for us might leave us feeling overmatched at times but the truth is we’ve been made for it. So lean in and listen and trust.

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James 1:17

Ever get the perfect gift? That thing that you longed for hoped for and secretly thought you would never in a million years have?

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Hebrews 10 24-25

I’ve always been a head-down, get to my task, take care of myself sort of a guy.

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Ecclesiastes 5: 10-11

It’s important to note the emphasis is on spending, not having. Spending, not saving. Spending, not accumulating or pursuing or yearning for more but spending.

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So, you gonna do something about it, or not?

Caring, being empathetic, is good but is it enough? If you’re moved to act but don’t, maybe a look at what holds you back is in order.

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Everybody Hurts: Sometimes for Others

Jesus hurt when his friends hurt. It’s a lot like when we hurt because our friends or our children are hurting

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Go, Do

Sometimes I think we don’t realize or remember that the disciples were just normal guys and not necessarily stellar guys at that. Take this passage for instance.

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I can do that!

So, let me see if I have this right. Your leader, the guy you believe to be the savior of the world takes you up onto a mountain to pray.

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Move it Along, Nothing to See Here

In Acts 3 and 4 Peter and John heal a familiar, crippled beggar near the temple gates. They heal him but give Jesus the credit saying it was by His power that it occurred.

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Talkin bout Practice

Putting things into practice that we’re told to do is really what it’s all about.

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Some Simple Instructions

You wouldn’t think we would need a “how-to” guide for something like a simple conversation but apparently we do.

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Lamentations 3:19-22

Sometimes our biggest battles are fought in that six or so inches between our ears. We worry and we fuss and we stew about all the things we don’t have or the things we are not.

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Plan, Plan, Who’s got the Plan?

The steps and the how-to’s really aren’t all that important if your commitment is right.

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Don’t Question a Gift

Too often we get hung up on the details instead of just accepting what we’re given.

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Good Tree or Bad Tree?

I’m not sure how you’d classify me, good or bad, but I’m sure I need a lot of grace.

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Tidying Up

Paul tells us to keep things ship-shape to respect the deal that was made for us.

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Crazy upside-down Backwardsville

God flips the script on what we normally tell ourselves and he does it with an uber powerful gift.

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Now go on you kids and make nice!

God’s problem solving technique seems counterintuitive to us but it’s a gift we’re urged to re-gift to change our whole life.

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ACTS 2: 42-47

No, others thought the disciples were drunk and they laughed at them. Too often we don’t use those appendages on the side of our head and actually listen to what we’re told.

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ACTS 2:38-39

I used to think the whole repent and be baptized thing was a one-time deal. I figured you couldn’t double dip on God. Now though, I’m seeing this gift is one, as Cousin Eddy said in “Christmas Vacation”, “Is the gift that keeps on givin.” Thank God for that because I certainly keep on screwing up.

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ACTS 1: 1-5 1

It may be age or cynicism or bad luck but I think sometimes we tend to believe that we are more than just a part of a larger plan.

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Something Bigger than the World

John lays out a three step plan to win and claim victory over the world. It’s all about love and belief and rules. Yes, rules.

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This is How it All Began

This is how everything got rolling, at least according to John. It’s a story of a promise and an ironic twist that can give us hope.

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John’s One and Only Requirement

John lays down an either/or statement that we may not like until we realize it hinges on one thing.

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