We bought gifts, wrapped them (least Andra did), and then they were presented to the giftee, and oh what a joy. A gift given from someone in love, and many times given beyond what we feel like we deserve. That is the thing with a gift. It is not about manipulating for position to be the best "gift giver", but just a gift from the heart. I love buying gifts when I have money for them, and I love receiving gifts that are unexpected. It warms my heart. God gave us the gif

We find many different things happening around the birth of Jesus that teach good life lessons and possibly expose our hearts. One is the visitation of the Magi to find Jesus. Here is the story. Matthew 2: 1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2  “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3  When Herod the ki

Would you be ready to respond to God moving in your midst? Would you be spiritually aware and ready to join in, or would you doubt and fight it? When the shepherds were visited by a great company of heavenly hosts, they could not miss that God Almighty was up to something. The shepherds got the heavenly announcement, and they decided to follow the instructions given to them by the angels. No hesitation, just a total attitude to follow the instructions and go into Bethlehe

Luke 2: 8  In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night. 9  And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10  And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11  for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Chri

God has been moving and shaking things in our world and in our personal lives forever. God puts things together over time, and when it all falls into place, all the anxiety about something and worry all fade away. God is ever present in our lives, and in our faith walk, He is moving and doing great things we just don't understand. God's time is perfect. Here is one major example of God's timing. The Birth of Jesus! Yes, the birth of Jesus was all part of God's timing, n

The opportunity to change direction is supplied by a crossroad. It can mean going in the right direction or the wrong direction. When I am traveling down a highway, and I come upon a crossroad, I always think, "Where does that lead?" The Word of God speaks to a narrow road that is chosen by very few, but those who choose it see that there is a wide open life available should you give your life to Jesus. I believe in the abundant life Jesus spoke of in John 10, and satan do

I remember seeing a car that was almost on its side because it ran off the road, and the ditch was so deep that the angle almost turned the car over. There was a wrecker doing its best to get the car back upright and then on the road again. Ditches are tough, And if you don't keep your eyes on the road, a ditch is waiting for you, and they can be very hard to get out of when you drive into one. In our faith walk, we realize quickly there are ditches everywhere, and satan

In James, we see the words "draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." James 4: 8  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. When we were born again, we cannot get any closer to God than receiving the Holy Spirit, who is also God, and receiving our undeserved grace. The words in James 4 begin by telling us what things we need to avoid, and then he challenges us to turn toward God for man

When raising children, we always need an excellent example to follow, and God is the perfect example, so why look further? Hebrews 12: 4  In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5  And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6  because the Lord disciplin

There is a spirit of apathy and indifference in our world, and it has leaked into the Christian faith as well. Satisfied is the new "buzz word" for being happy and contented, and the only problem with that is it takes away the vision of the on-fire believer. Jesus was not satisfied to just come into the world and walk around teaching and healing; in fact, Jesus did some of His best work "immediately" and without procrastination. What a witness!! Immediately (def) - at once

Consecration (def) - the act of dedicating something or someone to a sacred purpose, which can involve a formal religious ceremony to make it holy or set apart. To be or not to be, in this case, is not for a Shakespearean play, but for a sacred commitment to serve Jesus as He calls us to a higher calling. To be called is one part of the whole thing, and that is important and cannot be taken lightly because of the requirements of such a calling. A person will direct their l

Contrition (def) - the state of feeling remorseful and penitent . Matthew 6: 5  “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7  And when you pray,

When God completes something that completion is perfect and DONE or finished. When Jesus died on the cross there was a point where He said It Is Finished, and that statement proclaimed the completion of the eternal sacrifice that paid the debt for the sins of man forever and it was over. OVER. John 19: 30  When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” or tetelestai , Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. All that was needed to pay the penalty for the sin d

Mark 4: 35  As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36  So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37  But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. 38  Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to

Have you ever been frustrated? Here is the definition and it may hit you right between the eyes, and if it does, I relate. Frustration (def) - the feeling of being upset or annoyed , especially because of inability to change or achieve something. For whatever reason, I am a mover and shaker. I tend to stay focused on completing this thing to get to the next thing. I want to be a great finisher and then.....next. But, what if God is the one frustrating me to the point of

We know this ole world has nothing of value to offer to any of us, but in the opposite direction, God offers us a beautiful final curtain call for heaven, our eternal home. We have descriptions of heaven and one of those descriptions was given by Jesus to the thief on the cross, where He described the final destination as "paradise." Praise God for paradise. Those who have gone on before us are not dead, but truly alive in glory or paradise. Andra and my nephew Chase McCle

I always sign my blogposts with the words The Pilgimage Continues, and those signatures now hold me captive to continue to follow the vision for ministry that God has given me. As I share this podcast I will be as transparent about the vision as I can be, and stay true to the course He has birthed in my heart and mind. All of this began at my salvation when a dear lady by the name of Audra Lea Stone came through the welcome line at First Baptist Church, West Plains, Missour

Confession in my faith walk is a growing necessity. Why? Because John, in 1 John, lays out the importance of that confession for self-realization and growth. The critical part of our faith walk is the realization that "we are supposed to grow stronger as a believer." We cannot grow stronger without the eternal, perfect guidance of the Word of God. A "THINKING" person might say to themselves, "I need to figure out life according to God's Word." 1 John has some powerful t

Manipulation (def) - the action of manipulating someone in a clever or unscrupulous way. Have you ever been manipulated? It can happen so easily, and the action of manipulation done in an unscrupulous manner is very evil at best. A person will feel the need to manipulate to get their way if they feel they are no longer in control of a situation. Pure truth needs no manipulation because it is perfect, and nothing can be done to make it purer. Thus, the point of followin

Our faith is very fluid as we do not let it stop with us, but pass it on to other reliable people. Paul wrote the following words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2: Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. 2  You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. There are some important factors to think about when