Front Porch Confessional

Good works from God lead people to God.  Do we believe we are a light in the darkness or are we giving in to the weight of the world.  We are called to be different and make a difference. Matthew 5:16   In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

We tend to lean towards passive or violence, but Paul helps us see something about who God is and what we are promised.   Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

We hate the middle, but it's the place where faith in God is truly lived out.  Moses diets the people of God NOT to look at their circumstance, but the Lord...how about you? Exodus 14:14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

The promise of the Lord is that he is near to those who are suffering, but why is it that we resist.   Psalms 34:18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

WE DID IT...a years worth of podcasts.  Thank you so much for all the love and support both through listening and also financial.  This verse has been so important to me, and was the 1st verse on episode #1. Ecclesiastes  7:13 Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?

How cool that Jesus calls us to be a child and not a CEO.  Why is it important to be like a child and to see how Jesus was? Matthew 18:2-3   And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Words are cheap...woudn't you agree?  Lot's of people talk, but what is the internal reality for them?  Jesus is calling out the talkers and getting to what's most important. ***Note:  One correction.  In the podcast I said that Jesus was quoting Isaiah in 20:19, but the passages is Isaiah 29:13 Matthew 15:8-9 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;...

How do you know who to follow...those who bear good fruit.  But how will we know?  Do they look and live like Jesus. Matthew 7:18-20 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Pastor John through the revelation of the Spirit shows us how to defeat satan.   Revelation 12:11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

In a world that is looking for direction, why do we turn to anything other than the Words of God?  David is pointing us to the worth of God's words, we need to pay attention. Psalms 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Peter is trying to teach us how to live out the gospel in an unjust world.  Are we looking for justice or the approval of God? 1 Peter 2:20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

We need to confront our individualism and see that it has always been about God and it will always be about him. Ephesians 1:11-12   In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

I am so convicted by the passage.  God is pointing out the real error in our hearts and lives.  The way we see and serve people really matter.  So how are you doing? Matthew 25:40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

This passage is so great...we can actually shut people up by the way we love Jesus and those around them.  This is the gospel and this is Gods will. 1 Peter 2:15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

This is such an amazing passage..a crossroads moment for the Israelites and for us.  Who will you serve?  It can't be both.  You have to make a decision.  Life is the culmination of the decisions we make. Choose God! Deuteronomy 11:26-28 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, 28...

The focus of our thanksgiving tends to be circumstance oriented.  When it's good, we're thankful, when it's bad we're ticked.  Pastor Paul is showing us a different "Jesus Way" to live. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always,   pray without ceasing,   give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Your burdens are a gift to one another.  I know that feels weird in a myopic society, but it's what Paul through the life of Jesus is inviting us into.  Give others your burdens, and bear others burdens. Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Why do we lob off parts when Pastor Paul says we are ONE body?  1 Corinthians 12:20-21 As it is, there are many parts,[ a ] yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

We tend to go after those we sinned against secondary as opposed to dealing with the primary person we've sin against: God.  David realigns our thinking! Psalms 51:4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

We tend to lose perspective when we're in the midst of life's storms.  God through his prophet is trying to refocus us...HE's WITH us! Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Have you ever wondered why sometimes plans don't work out?  What do we do?  Do we try to push through or do we submit to the fact that God made be frustrating those plans for a purpose. Psalms 33:10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

We tend to look at the exterior in most situations and in the process avoid what's really most important, what's inside. 1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

So many of us have been hurt and abandoned.  We spend so much of our time living out of that hurt.  But the Lord will take us in, not just when we're hurt but every day. Psalms 27:10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.

So many of us are in the middle.  We feel stuck.  We're frustrated.  God where are you? Go what are you doing?  What if the way we're dealing with middle is pointing to what be believe about God?  God through Moses is teaching us about what to do. Exodus 14:13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the...

We have all focused on things other than the Lord...it's no wonder why we have a stressed out culture. David is refocusing us on the truth that will set us free. Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?