Random Thoughts...

 “First Love” The Church at Ephesus… Revelation 2:1 - ( NIV ) “ To the angel (Or messenger) of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.  2  I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.  3  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.  4  Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.  5  Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.  6  But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.  7  Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spi...

Here’s my thought process for this post today, I want to hear someone say/speak/preach something - meaningful. I have been getting calloused with the same messages. Can we please talk about the real stuff, I personally don't want another message about how to get along with my family in quarantine again. Are your kids really that bad that you need another one??? Not making light if they are.  I will be praying for you.  Is your spouse so bad that you need a preacher to keep you married right now? Again, if he is then you might need a marriage counselor not another message. Just saying… I want the big questions answered:  What is going on? Is this the End Time? Is Jesus really coming back, if so, when? What’s the mark of the beast? Where are we in prophecy? Let’s just dive right into this topic that I see many people asking about. I want to kick off this blog talking about the Book of Revelation and how it applies to us today. You are probabl...

Cross Equals Love Who’s Your One? Who is your one?  As you read this blog, I want you to be thinking and praying for the one person you want to see have an Encounter with Jesus for themselves.  I am partnering with you, I have my one that I am praying for and believing God will bring him and have an amazing encounter with him this Easter. Why One?  Luke 15 begins with three back to back stories by Jesus – Parables, as we call them in church.  All three center around the same theme – Lost and Found.  The last one begins in verse 11 – is about a  Lost Son , or The Parodical Son. It is an amazing story of a son who left home under bad circumstances, and a father who just would not give up.  Just like our Heavenly father today. He never stops looking and waiting for his son to return. The second is the  Lost Coin . ( vv. 8-10 ). A lady loses a coin – must have been pretty substantial for her. ...

Palm Sunday! The day when the crowds of people shouted in the streets, laid down palm branches, and called Jesus the Messiah.   We see the story played out in the Gospel of John.     in   John 12:12 - “ The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” Palm Sunday! A day of victory, celebration and festival. During this single event, over about 3 days, we get some of the best soundbites from Jesus.     This was a “CNN Breaking News” frenzy:     We have people laying their coats and palm branches for him to ride in on so he didn’t even have to touch the ground.     It was like us rolling out the red carpet.     He is cursing fig trees, weeping over Jerusalem, chasing out those selling goods in the temple for pe...

My wonderful wife,  Deidre , sent me this e-mail a few years ago and I posted it to my blog then. I felt compelled to repost it today, I hope it brings some light on your life, I know it has mine. I live on Spring Street. The same Spring Street in Hot Springs, AR that my parents lived on in 1972 when I was born. I know, I know, what’s remarkable about that? Lots of people live in the same town that they were born, right? Lots of people live in the same town their whole lives. What’s remarkable is that I left. Well, more accurately my parents left 28 years ago. They moved 1,200 miles away to Maryland. I was raised there. I grew up there. There was my home – not this place of southern remote quaintness that I don’t quite get. What I get is right outside of Philly- Delaware bluntness.  You see, I was never coming back here. Graduated from college, got married, moved to Florida 3 years later, had 3 babies, co-pastoring a church, living it out. I was never going to live in...

“BEST POEM IN THE WORLD” I was shocked, confused, bewildered, As I entered Heaven's door. Not by the beauty of it all, Nor the lights or its decor. But it was the folks in Heaven Who made me sputter and gasp-- The thieves, the liars, the sinners, The alcoholics and the trash. There stood the kid from seventh grade Who swiped my lunch money twice. Next to him was my old neighbor Who never said anything nice. Herb, who I always thought Was rotting away in hell, Was sitting pretty on cloud nine, Looking incredibly well. I nudged Jesus, What's the deal? I would love to hear Your take. How'd all these sinners get up here? God must've made a mistake. And why's everyone so quiet, So somber - give me a clue. Hush, child, He said, they're all in shock. No one thought they'd be seeing you. I think we all fit in this category from time to time. We all "Think of ourselves a little higher than we ought...

We have just an article in Leadership Magazine, called 10-10. IN it, we are challenged to spend 10 minutes a day in prayer, 10 minutes a day in the Bible, pray for 10 people to be saved, and be involved in a small group with 10 other people. In a world where the average Pastor does not pray or read their Bible daily, wouldn't it be awesome if we had an entire church that became committed to setting aside time to be with Jesus?   John Maxwell says that the way to grow an organization is to grow the people, and the way to grow the people is to grow yourself. As a church we must be committed to starting at home. We are growing ourselves first. God has given us a vision for Hot Springs, to  Occupy  Every Street, but that will only happen as we prepare ourselves for the moving of the Spirit. Louie Giglio said, on a Catalyst Podcast, that his job, as the leader of Passion Church, was to " keep the sails up ". He said there are two ways to move a boat, you can paddle yo...