PocketNeif Podcast

A chance meeting on the "wrong" day of the week led to a solution to a couple of housing problems and, eventually, to love. My friend told me his love story this week and gave me permission to share it with you. Hope you're encouraged by the way God showed up in his life.

A prayer written down by St. Ambrose of Milan from the mid- to late-300s A.D. inspired a song, A Heart for You , which pleads for a new and pure heart. May his words and my song move you to give thanks to God and choose to walk in his ways. A Heart for You Lord, give me a heart of flesh within Instead of a heart of stone A heart to adore and enjoy you, my King To follow your ways alone Lord, kindl...

It's Boxing Day. Don't know what that is? Listen and learn. (My apologies to the Brits and others who actually know what the day is about and celebrate it annunally. My ignorance might show to you.)

Battery-powered candles have taken the place of the real flaming kind. They do the job, but aren't very warm. In the spiritual realm, only real fire works. There's no human-powered option.

A week or two or three back, the Christmas displays in one of our local parks were turned on. My wife and I were there for the "Let there be light" moment. Shepherds and angels, centuries ago, were on hand for a much more important light coming into the world moment.

The church recently received a bill or two from an out-of-state tollway addressed to a man who was not a part of our church. With a little effort, I discovered this man's identity and current condition. Deceased. He wasn't going to pay the bill.

For what are you thankful? A normal question for this week in November in the U.S. every year. I asked this question of a group of middle schoolers along with a more fun question. Their answers were great! Hope you'll give thanks along with them as you consider the usual question and the more unusual one.

What is God capable of? More than we could ever ask or imagine. That's what Paul said in Ephesians 3:20-21. This song, based on the words of these verses, is encouragement for the church to trust God's power for us. To Him Who Is Able Verse: Now to him who is able To do immeasurably more Now to him who is able To do far more than we ask Or even imagine in this world To him be glory in the...

Finding salvation isn't just about saying a prayer. It's about putting faith in Jesus, of course, but it's shown in following him.

Watching a dad urge his daughter to finish the race she'd started got me to thinking about the love of God for his children.

Who is God? What is he like? The Bible tells us a lot about God and his attributes. Who he is is worth exploring. He is far more than we can know.

Who is God? What is he like? The Bible tells us a lot about God and his attributes. Who he is is worth exploring.

God is holy. That's what the Bible says, but what does that mean?

While working on a sermon about Psalm 24, I wrote a third, Jesus-focused verse to my song Who Is This King of Glory? to honor our savior. I share the full song with this new verse in this episode.

I went to a baptismal and listened to more than two dozen people promise to follow Jesus as Lord before they went down into the water. I thought about that promise and reflected on the difficulty of living it out daily.

What you do on a regular basis, you will produce on a regular basis. It's true in sports and in life, even spiritual life.

Our church has visitors pretty regularly on Sunday morning, but fairly infrequently on Wednesday nights. A couple of strangers showed up a week or so ago and it was good.

After discovering I'd shared all of my fully-completed worship songs on this platform, Psalm 16 inspired a new song of praise to the God who is our shelter, our safe refuge. I trust You Keep Me Safe, Lord will encourage your faith in him.

I was caught off guard by a question following a sermon on Psalm 63. I'd been talking about experiencing dry times and a visitor brought up Jesus' words to the woman at the well about never thirsting. How do you reconcile these things?

I have a spreadsheet which lists all the songs I've written and indicates whether I've posted them to YouTube or to this podcast. I recently discovered I'm basically out of serious songs to add to the PocketNeif podcast. Yikes! What does this mean for this show? For my life?

I do not love root beer. It's ok, but not a fav. When I ran across a root beer flavored sparkling water in the clearance aisle at the local grocers, I almost passed it up. I looked at the low price and...bit. It was, for me, a win. For my wife?

What do Jonah and Peter have in common? More than you suspect. While listening to a recent episode of the Ten Minute Bible Hour, I discovered an amazing connection between the two. Listen to TMBH bonus episode to learn more... https://open.spotify.com/episode/74Hmrfd5pKbo8bYw1d8CyH?si=2a52175013e44bdf

I was taken aback while talking with a worship leader at a concert a few years ago. He said something about music which stunned me. Thinking back on his words, I've come to this conclusion: A song is a song if it's created and sung. It's a worship song if it is written for and sung to God.

About 11 years ago, I wrote a short chorus inviting sinners to return to God. I wrote it from God's perspective, so it felt like a person plea for repentance. I recorded my original idea, then forgot about the project. A week or two ago, I found the original work and finished writing Return to Me, O Sinner . I pray it will encourage you to turn to God and find freedom. Return to Me, O Sinner V...

I owned a blue beret for about 24 hours. I returned it because it was not my style. Find out why I owned it and what I gleaned from my temporary possession of this bit of French fashion.