PocketNeif Podcast

A plain cardboard box appears in my office seemingly out of nowhere. I don't recall how it got there. I open it and find... (You'll have to listen to discover that!) This incident got me to thinking about God's choice of people to take the good news to the world. That's what I'm talking about in this episode. (I promise there's a big reveal at the end!)

I've had more than a few addictions in my life. (Nothing illegal!) I'm working on them with God's help. In this episode, I talk about a verse from one of Paul's letters which helps me judge whether something is okay to continue in or something which I must rid my life of.

You reap what you sow. That's the consistent message of Paul's writing. (Jesus says the same in a variety of ways, too.) In this episode, we'll hear a few of Paul's sow and reap passages and talk about the freedom we can have when we sow the right things.

The song I share with you today was and then almost wasn't. I recorded the tune and typed out the words at the beginning of the year, then forgot about it till, two weeks later, I was looking for another song I'd written. There it was. Unfinished. With a little work, I finished the composition process and recorded the final version. In this episode, I share the song, but more than that, the proces...

Can you believe a guy who is sort of, kind of, mostly dealing well with ADHD has stuck with a podcast for 100 episodes? Amazing! In this episode, I talk about why I'm still here and think about the future of this little thing called the Pocketneif Podcast. (Thanks for listening!)

You have needs. I have needs. What would happen if we looked out for each other? I have some ideas of what that would look like. I share them in this episode.

An incident at a recent basketball game and a note stuck in my mailbox at the school triggered thoughts about my willingness to share my faith with others.

This is another one of those episodes which, if you have small children around, you might want to wait to give it a listen. While I won't be overly graphic or terribly detailed, I will be discussing the abuse I suffered in my teen years. Tim Hein's book, Understanding Sexual Abuse , which I finished a month or so ago, was helpful to me as a survivor and as a pastor. Hein understands abuse because...

You can tell what kind of fruit tree you're looking like by what you find hanging from its branches. You can tell if a person has the Spirit of God living in them by the fruit displayed in their lives. In this episode, I offer a few questions for you to evaluate how fully the fruit of the Spirit is showing in your life. There's no condemnation here, just honest queries to help you see where God mi...

God commanded his people when they were in captivity to pray for the peace and prosperity of the place to which they'd been exiled. Obeying his instructions to them seems right and good for those who love him today. In this episode, I pray for the city in which I dwell and encourage others to pray earnestly for their communities

When Isaiah encountered God's holiness, he was undone. He pronounced woe upon himself. We would do well to take sin as seriously as the prophet did. In this episode, I sing my woe out to God and ask him to purify me as he did Isaiah. Woe to Me Verse 1: Woe to me! My heart unclean! My sin of - fends the holy King! Woe to me! Woe to me! I am undone! No righteousness that is my own! Woe to me! Chorus...

Pretending you don't have a sin problem, ignoring the mess others make as they sin, doesn't make the problem go away. It makes things worse. In this episode, after a story about a physical urge to purge and a stinky situation, I talk about confession and the freedom faith in Jesus brings.

This Christmas my family will gather together to remember Jesus' birth and celebrate the salvation he came to bring. When we sit down together in the living room at my mom's house, my dad won't be with us to read the Christmas story or point us to Jesus. Even though we know he's with the one whose birth we celebrate, my dad's passing leaves a hole in our hearts. We miss him. In this episode, I ref...

My prayer as I share my reinvention of the classic, "O, Come, All Ye Faithful," is that you would be moved to worship the newborn king, Jesus, God's Son, and honor the Father for the great gift he's given us! O Come, Ye! Adore Him! Intro: O, come, ye! Adore him! Verse 1: O come, ye faithful people, hearts filled up with joy! O come and behold him, born the Word made flesh. Refrain: O, come, ye! Ad...

George of the Jungle had a problem with trees. His friends warned him often, but he kept meeting up with said trees as he swung through the forest on a vine. Sometimes, we fall into sin because we don't heed the warnings of God and our friends.

We all want to communicate. We see evidence of it all around us - people talking on phones, notification dings, kids staring at their phones frenetically typing texts. How much of our communication is messed up? Is there a way to fix it? This episode explores those questions. I hope it will instruct and encourage.

When someone does something good for you or gives you a special gift, giving thanks is good and right to do. In this episode, I invited friends and family members, people around town and across the country, to give thanks with me to honor Thanksgiving Day in the United States. I hope you are encouraged by the words of thanks all of us together put forth. Music Attributions:  Rain Soaked Windo...

A weird online purchase made. A mistake made. A complaint sent. That's the scenario which led to the recording of this episode. Listen in and consider what complaints you might like to make.

Sometimes life can be hard. You feel like you're running up a hill, barely able to catch your breath. The song I present in today's episode is as much about the rough patches in life as it is about the sandy, hilly rural byway which inspired it. Falcon Road, a side road a mile or two south of Sawyer, Kansas, is a road I and the cross country team I coach have run numerous times. It is challenging....

We all have annoying habits, right? I know I do, right? I talk about a couple of them in this episode and suggest a habit which might be worse than any of my others, right? Hope you enjoy it, right? It's going to be good, right? Let me know, right?

This episode is a confessional of sorts. In it I confess the almost constant fearfulness of my past and tell the story of how God rescued me from it. I'm grateful for all God has done for me and want to give him praise for this change he's made in my heart and give him credit for every good thing that anyone sees in me. It's all him! Trust me!

What or who are your eyes fixed on? The writer of Hebrews, in chapter 12, urges his readers to fix their eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (See verses 1-3.) The song I share in this episode draws from Hebrews and other biblical source material to call believers to keep their eyes on the One who saves from sin! Eyes on Jesus Verse 1: Eyes on Jesus! Eyes on Jesus! Pure and holy, fre...

I am a coach and a pastor. In both arenas, I recognize the need to focus on each and every person and not the nebulous blob of humanity. Coaching and pastoring are both about leading individuals. It's about teaching people not just a sport or just a theological truth.

Years ago, H.B. London, then a nationally recognized pastor to pastors, set aside October as Pastor Appreciation Month. In this episode, I take note of the support from my congregation, from denominational leaders, and from my local crew of pastors who encourage me all the time. If you are thankful for your pastor, send a note! Let the person who preaches God's word to you know of your appreciatio...

I am not the most patient person. I’m not good at waiting at all. I need help! God, through the psalmist, invites me to wait on the Lord and enjoy the benefits of that waiting – forgiveness, full redemption, steadfast love. In this episode, I share a song based on a few verses from Psalm 130. The words encourage me (and you) to wait on God and receive the good things he has for us. I Wait for the...