How to Create a Loving community...

“...any effort on the part of believers to create a loving community of hospitality will have to include a focused intentionality and energy on the part of all. Otherwise, believers will just meet to be meeting, going through the motions and not really meaning it. Such an atmosphere of indifference and fiction would not be worth the time expended.”--Steven Fetke

Stress and Family Prayer...

God grant me the grace to not kill my family. I know the difficulty I endure helps create in me great endurance (Rom. 5:3-4). Yes, that's it. Endurance.  #closertogod

76% of pastors...

When the question was asked, if Christian churches accepted others and loved unconditionally; 76% of pastors said 'yea,' and 80% of outsiders said 'nah'--Barna. Who's the better judge?

99% of what we say...

"The people to whom we minister and speak will not recall 99% of what we say to them, but they will never forget the kind of person we are"

Angelic visitation...

My life thus far has convinced me that an honest talk with a good friend is worth 2 angelic visitations. Bless you my friends. Words can not express how you've blessed this life.

God treats you like an adult...

"God treats the mature leader as a mature adult, leaving more and more to his or her spiritual discernment and giving fewer buts if tangible guidance than in earlier years"--J. Oswald Sanders

Worth of a person...

"The worth of a man must be measured by his life, not by his failure under a singular and peculiar trial"--James Anthony Froude

God-illusions...

“We don't want to face sin because we don't want to lose our god-illusions, we're afraid that if we're not the gods our lives and actions we're nothing."--Eugene Peterson

86% of teens...

86% of teen say they know a Christian, only 15% reported that they could see any difference--Barna

God will not...

God will not: fit in a box, be a puppet, or condemn those that are in Christ (Rom 8:1)  #closertogod

God's creative genius...

“The Bible makes it clear that every time that there is a story of faith, it is completely original. God's creative genius is endless.”
― Eugene H. Peterson

Wondering what God had wrought...

“We lay on our backs looking at the ceiling and wondering what God had wrought when he made life so sad and disinclined. ”--Jack Kerouac, On The Road

Tired of God substitutions...

The point our faith becomes most real is when we realize we've been searching for Heaven all along, and disappointed with substitutions. #closertogod

Are you sin insane too?

When we do the same foolish things over and over, expecting different results, is this not the definition of insanity? Only God can save us from ourselves (Rom 7:15-25). #closertogod

The religious heart...

The religious heart is unsatisfied until it finds a sinner to prosecute, ask Jesus (John 9)  #closertogod

Heaven knows we need...

"Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlaying our hard hearts"--Charles Dickens

Pray when you don't believe..

Pray when you don't believe, give thanks when you're disappointed, and don't be surprised when your heart changes flow and your joy is released. #closertogod

The Internet and God Humility

In a day in which pastors (that aren't Jesus, by the way) can have over 70,000 Twitter followers, and everyone these days is expected to be an expert on something so they can monetize it. God still calls Ruths Samuels, Davids, Priscillas. He still works on behalf of the people that think nothing of themselves. And He works on your behalf friend. Trust & Wait

The point of failure and frustration...

"I've come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level if living I now enjoy"--Tony Robbins

Try accepting yourself...

Try accepting yourself, your strengths and your short comings as Divine Grace, you'll be glad you did

All judgement happens...

All judgement happens in retrospect. How do you know these aren't the best days of your life?

In order to see God...

In order to see God do the impossible, you have to be in an impossible situation (Ex. 14) #closertogod

What we don't do for God...

What we don't do for God is often far more critical than what we in fact do--Eugene Peterson

Sometimes the hardest...

Sometimes the hardest folks to love are those that say they love us back

Recipe for Happiness

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness--Charles Spurgeon #closertogod

The Reward of Faith?

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe-- St. Augustine #closertogod

Exhausting God's love?

Exhausting the Love of God is like trying to stay dry in a downpour. Good luck, it's impossible #closertogod

The best God?

The best God is one that wakes you up at 5 to share that they love you #closertogod

Why Guilt?

Guilt continues to be, the best evidence for humanity's addiction to control #closertogod

The sins we proclaim...

The sins people typically proclaim to be greatest are the ones with which they do not struggle. Interesting. #closertogod

What's your vision?

Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world-Arthur Schopenhauer

In between the shores...

In between the shores of "I don't know how" and "I've made it" is the water of turmoil and circumstance. Jesus wants to walk on it with you #closertogod

Anxiety is...

Anxiety: death by ghosts

If the money...

If the money in your pocket dictates your mood and well being, say hello to your master (Matt. 6:24) #closertogod

To make religion...

out of following Christ, is to turn the Holy Spirit into an appliance with an On/Off switch #closertogod

Relationships are like...

a car engine, sometimes they need to flushed.

The briars and thorns...

of life are antithetical to the sensitivity of Love. True Love can not exist in this world without suffering. And that is why I trust Jesus. #closertogod

Dear Satan...

I regret to inform you that due to my own expertise with screwing up life, your services will no longer be needed #closertogod

No one chooses...

the desert (Matt. 4:1), to be tempted, weak, alone; but wealth is best enjoyed after lack, and life is most radiant when emerging from the valley of death #closertogod