Front Porch Confessional

This is the question for the years...what do you trust?  David in this beautiful prayer points us not only to his observation of others, but of himself.   Psalms 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

What a wonderful thing to know that we are clean before God because of Jesus' death and resurrection, but how should that impact the way I see myself?  How should that impact the way I live out my days on earth?   1 John 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

John  concludes this section by telling believers in Jesus to be like Jesus...and what did Jesus do?  He not only proclaimed things about himself, but he actually did them.  We are called to do the same. 1 John 3:18   Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

We have been given so much, and so much has been done for us...so what do we do now?  Pastor John confronts us...do we love our stuff more than others, if so...do we really know God?  It's a powerful question that we work through in this episode. 1 John 3:17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide...

We live in a time when so many things need to be redefined...LOVE is at the top of that list.  So when asking the question 'What is love," where do you turn?  John the disciple that Jesus loved, tells us what love is. 1 John 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

We all struggle with fear, and that is why Jesus wants to help us.  In this passage Jesus is realigning his disciples who have their focus on their circumstances and not him. Matthew 14:27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

Pastor Paul is once again teaching us the truth of what it means to be in Christ.  So often when we think about this passage is out of context biblically and practically.  In this episode I dig into the deeper truth of what Paul is helping us understand. Philippians 4:13  " I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

This passage in Thessalonians kicked my butt...it's so good!  So often we get focused on what we say instead of how we are present.  Jesus shows us the way forward and invites us into his way of loving and living. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to...

I know that title is in your face...so is Solomon as he tries to help us understand what is wise and foolish. Run away from your vices and return to the one who knows you most. Proverbs 26:11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.

There are so many times in life that we feel stuck..what do we do?  What happens when it feels like the Lord has given us a "no."  Well, Mary the Mother of Jesus displays for us what it means to anticipate the glory of God and move forward. John 2:5 "His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Am and blown away by the reality that even when things don't make sense, God is present and working things out far beyond my own understanding.  Genesis 50:20   As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people[ a ] should be kept alive, as they are today.

This passage in Galatians is SOOO good!  We tend to always start with ourselves and that's generally all we ever get.  Pastor Paul in the middle of a conversation with the Galatians catches himself to remind us of something so important. Galatians 4:8-9 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rat...

The truth of this passage should lead us to action...kingdom action.  If we don't embrace the 1st and greatest commandment, then we are really missing all of life, a loving life with our Heavenly Father. Matthew 22:37 and he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

Man this passage is so convicting and SO good!  Pastor Paul is reframing our pain in this world and trying to encourage us to have a balance.  The world is watching the way christians endure pain. 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

The Spirit of God is preaching peace to us every day, but we are also being distracted by phony peace offered by the world.  Jesus is saying to you and me: "Take my peace, I promise it's better!" John 14:27   Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

There is an evangelism that we can have just by our view fixed on the Lord. Psalms 34:5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

I love the title of this episode, I think it accurately describes what Pastor John is trying to say...Abide in Christ and anticipate securely his return. 1 John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.

For so many of us we have placed our lives in all the wrong things...it's unsettling and hard.  IN the midst of a very difficult time Habakkuk awakens us to a truth that we all need. Habakkuk 3:19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.

Do you know that your body language is a gospel presentation to the world?  Crazy right, but in this Psalms David is explaining to us the power of an inward truth and how it impacts the external realities. Psalm 34:5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

Sincerely, THANK YOU for joining me for 300 episodes.   Philippians 1:3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you

The real truth for all of us is that we've experienced abandonment...Do you understand how that effects you're day to day life?  Most people don't, but there is a truth that can set us free...we're not alone and we have been welcomed in by God. Psalms 27:10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.

We have a pride problem and that is why we can't receive the care that God wants to give to us.  Pastor Peter loves his Church and he wants them to experience the care he's received.  1 Peter 5:6-7   Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Pastor John is at it again...taking us back to a core truth: God is Love!  But why does this matter? How could this change our lives and others? 1 John 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Pastor Paul is once again awakening us to how discouraged we get...we have a focus problem.  We need to be realigned on who we are and who Jesus is.  In these bodies live death and life, what will we do? 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the...

These bodies we live in are so frail, but we struggle to really live that way.  Where does the power come from?  What is sustaining us?  Pastor Paul is working hard to let the church know with this tension. 2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.