Bill

People are, by nature, judgmental. Go to a car dealership, and the experienced sales guy at the front door will prequalify you before he ever shakes your hand. Based on the clothes you wear, the car you currently drive, and the time of day you arrive on the lot, he will have already determined (in his head) whether or not you’re an interested buyer & whether or not you have decent credit. If you are worth his time, he’ll step forward and greet you with a smile. If you’re not worth his time, he’ll nod and keep smoking his cigarette. This how the whole world operates, unfortunately. It starts in elementary school, and gets worse the older you get. It happens with college admissions, sports tryouts, job interviews, personal relationships, MOM groups, and even in the CHURCH! In this world, you get prequalified, prejudged, & labeled - and you have to work so hard to even be worthy of acceptance. People literally discredit you before you even get the chance to prove yourself. BUT GOD... In Romans 5:8, Paul tells us God demonstrated His love for us this way: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He didn’t just accept us before he met us, he LOVED us even when we were unlovable and at our worst. Gods love is not conditional. It is not based on anything we have done or could ever do for Him. Each of us, through faith, can have the opportunity to enter into a relationship with Jesus and experience peace with God, hope in every situation, and eternal life. God is different than the sales guy. He’s different than the coach, the admissions counselor, the potential employer, the church goer, the self-centered, so called “friend.” He literally loves you to the fullest before you even get a chance to prove yourself.

The #verseoftheday is John 14:6! Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. He didn’t just claim He could show the way, explain the truth, and give life. He said He IS the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the way: He prepares the road by traveling it before us and protects us by traveling beside us. Jesus is the truth: opinions based on feelings are often mistakenly referred to as facts. It has become normal for people to use the phrase, “This is my truth, that is your truth.” It is becoming increasingly common for God to be mocked (even by church going Christians), and the Bible is often referred to as unauthoritative. Jesus is the life: In Him, we discover our reason for living. Of course, life includes difficult times and hardships. But even in those times…especially in those times, Jesus gives us an unimaginable peace when we place our trust in Him. I’m thankful today that I’m friends with the way, the truth and the life….JESUS.

The verse of the day is Proverbs 13:6 "Righteousness guards one who walks in integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner." Righteousness Guards Wickedness Overthrows. There is protection in boundaries. This world seems to have less and less respect for Godly boundaries. Most people walk all over the boundaries that are put before us by God in his word. They are easier seen as metaphors rather than hard and fast rules. Have you noticed, folks who routinely

Sometimes Life is just uncomfortable. Sickness Cancer MARRIAGES breaking up Depression Job loss Family members dying It leaves you feeling -Resentment -Unforgiveness -Bitterness Sometimes in the midst of it all you can get so caught up in thinking about others, the pain they've caused, or the circumstances surrounding you, that you don't pay attention you your own discomfort. Suffering is uncomfortable. And God is a comforter. Isaiah 66:13 says, “As one whom his mother comforts, so

Have you ever said something you regret? Something hurtful to another person? Have you ever leveraged your words to hurt another person? Are you guilty of a “Freudian slip” OR even Pre-Meditated Bad Language? Either way... Scripture tells us that the mouth speaks out of the overflow of the heart. Todays verse of the day is Psalm 19:14 “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O

Let's talk about TRUST I don't trust cats I don't trust carnival workers I don't trust milk from a paper carton. Don't try to convince me - your cat is not cool, your carney cousin will never babysit my kids, and under no circumstances will i drink milk from a paper carton. Today's verse of the day is Psalm 91:2 'This I declare about the Lord : He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;

Whether you are employed or not, I hope that you have some work to do today. You have chores, you have things that you need to accomplish whether it's around your house, or taking care of your dishes, or cleaning your car. If you're a stay-at-home mom, you have a major responsibility today! If you’re working outside the home today you probably have some things that are on your list, stuff you've got to knock off

Jesus starts off the chapter by saying, I am the vine, you're the branches. I'm not the vine, instead Jesus is the vine. He's the vine and I'm the one who is bearing fruit. And if I'm fruitful, God keeps me. He might prune parts of me in order that I may produce more fruit, but if I'm unfruitful, if I'm not producing fruit for the God's kingdom, I get cut off. I don't think you

How do you hear from God? By listening to the Holy Spirit. When I was growing up, I played baseball. I remember there were times where I would be standing at first base, trying to figure out if my coach wants me to steal or does he want me to stay? I would always wait for my coach to give me the signal. And sometimes I would get lost in all his hand signals, (because I'm

How many times in life have you felt stuck, or unsure of your next move? Have you ever just wished that you knew the ‘right thing to do? You might be faced with a decision on where to go to school, who to marry, or where to live, etc. Truth is, sometimes it would be easier if someone would just tell us what to do in these situations. The verse of the day is Psalm 119:105

1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” In his book, Peter tells us to be alert, sober, prayerful, hospitable, generous and financially faithful to the Lord, but it is ultimately love, above all, that will keep us covered until the end. If I truly love God and people, it is difficult to sin against God or people. Sin happens only in the moments when our love

Sorry Not Sorry I once saw someone post online that they never say sorry because it’s too negative. They focus on the positive by just saying thank you. Instead of saying “sorry I was late” they say “thank you for waiting” Instead of saying “sorry I misspoke” they say “thank you for understanding” It sounds good at first glance, but that’s bad wisdom because it's assuming that sorrow is bad. Sorrow is not always a bad

In the verse of the day today, Jesus had just broken the law. Some of the pharisees were charging him with the crime of breaking the Sabbath, and worse, claiming to be equal with God. Instead of backing down, Jesus intensified His claims to be God. In John 5:24, Jesus says “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has

Can't we all just get along? Have you ever heard that question before? What's the answer? It's always "yes and no". See, living in peace is one of the toughest things that we could do. There's two kinds of peace. There's internal peace and external peace. Internal peace with God is not the absence of trouble, but it's the presence of Jesus. Right? And external peace with other people isn't always the absence of conflict. It's

"If you give me $77 for 77 weeks, it will activate your blessing!" I once heard a TV preacher say this, and while I question his motives, and I wholeheartedly disagree with his logic, the general principle is actually pretty valid. Let me explain. The verse of the day. Today is Luke 6:38. It says give, and you will receive your gift will return to you in full press down, shaken together to make room for

The verse of the day, today, is Philippians 1:9. It says "it is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all insight." Knowledge and Insight. In the book of Philippians, Paul mentions love several times. It's no secret that the Philippian church was known as a loving church. They kind of remind me of Oasis church, my home church. And so this love that he's talking about is not just

Today's #thirstythirty #verseoftheday is Colossians 3:1, and it says "if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." We're about a month away from Easter, and on that day we're gonna all sing and shout and probably use the word "risen" as we celebrate the amazing reality that God raised Jesus from the dead. And here's a thought that kind of comes