REALLIFE Spokane

Jesus is coming – will He find us patiently waiting for Him?

No one thinks they are wealthy – No one thinks they are rich – yet our lives that are consumed with luxury and self-indulgence says we are. The seduction of wealth threatens to own us – yet I believe we can become stronger than that seduction.

Humility Is Freedom – when we are arrogant – we feel we are entitled to judgement…when arrogant we are bound by a self-determined course that we have no control over.  Humility frees us from the judgement and boasting attached to pride. 

We all experience competing desires with other people and within ourselves. Responding to those desires with humility and submission is what characterizes Jesus’ church. 

We are a wise and understanding people. We are a people who sow peace in every relationship we have. Our influence is growing not shrinking. We are loving more. We are serving more. We are keeping people our priority in the place Jesus has given us. We have been called by God to reach this world for him. We believe that we are given this amazing family, school, workplace, neighborhood to see the k...

The tongue is a restless evil that God’s people learn to tame. Like a wild animal, our tongue must be brought under control so we don’t destroy the work of God.  

Faith is incredibly important as a disciple of Jesus! But faith has to go far beyond mere mental assent to what is true. True faith will produce action and meaningful change in our lives. In fact, faith without those actions is actually dead.

Why is judgement infecting the church? How can we stop it? Why is it important?

Transformation is a process. Philippians 1.6 - Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. We don’t transform ourselves. That is the Spirit’s work. But here is our part. We keep pace with Jesus - that is when the burden is light. We make adjustments as he points them out. And we continue to love God and love people. Ho...

Times are tough. The economy is crashing, gas prices are through the roof, political and global turmoil continues to spiral - in the middle of it, is it even possible to choose joy?

You come to know God by experience as you obey Him, and He accomplishes His work through you.

God is speaking to us like crazy – but because we are unwilling to make adjustments in our lives to go where he is working – we may miss out massively. Like the crisis of belief, the necessity of adjustment is a second point at which many people miss out on experiencing God. To get from where you are to where God is requires significant adjustments in your life. These adjustments may relate to you...

There is a common belief that we can do our own thing AND still follow Jesus at the same time. That we can fit our idea of Jesus into the way we want to live.  But a genuine encounter with God will always lead to a place that will require us to make a decision. That is His goal. 

Question - how do you respond when God speaks to you? Let's become a people who seek to hear God's voice. A people that don’t settle for a notion about God – but diligently long for a relationship with God where he speaks. Where we hear. Where we are being moved by his promptings. It is a mystical thing – but a powerful thing. God wants to speak to you. 

This conversation is all about becoming God-Centered in our lives. Most of us are living for ourselves not for God’s purposes. If we are going to experience God in our lives we have recognize his invitation to join him in his work.

God wants to know you, and He always takes the first step to initiate. Will you respond?

In a time that has been so hopeless - Jesus’ people rise up and bring hope to everyone we know. This Easter is a moment for us to lock our hearts into the hope we have in Jesus - no matter what this world throws at us - our hope will not be shaken. Our hope is for this whole world. We commit Jesus to bring this hope to everyone we know! 

Jesus’ church has endured because Jesus’ people have allowed Jesus to affect their ordinary work moments. We have not allowed sacred and secular to become a divide. It is all God’s. We are his wherever we are.

Jesus’ church has endured as people sought to obey what Scripture teaches. Even when people have taken extreme stances that have led to problems, when people have a heart to hear the Word and do it, they are changed. People become stronger which leads to a strong church.

The danger of our time is to hole up and insulate ourselves - meeting our own needs and taking care of only ourselves. The church of the 4th, 5th and 6th century was struggling the same way. 536 AD was the most difficult year in recorded history. The dark age - tribal invasions and drop in Roman population- plagues 536- volcanoes in the north - meteor strikes Australia- worst year in world history...

The 4th Century popularity of Christianity because of Constantine’s normalization of Christianity - gave way to a massive dilution of the way of Jesus. The reaction was the monastic movement. The isolation and separation eventually gave way to a desire to help others re-discover or discover true devotion to Jesus in such a polluted world. This transition deeply impacted the church and created a st...

There has always been a process for followers of Jesus to grow. No matter what discipline we are talking about, there can always be a temptation to get comfortable and for maturity to become a program. Being a disciple who is being discipled has always been an important piece to maintaining the integrity of Jesus’ church.

Jesus commissioned His disciples to continue His work of making disciples before He ascended into heaven. These disciples became the first leaders of the church. However, according to church tradition all but one of these disciples had his life cut short. Peter, the first overall leaders of the church, was crucified upside down in Rome by the Emperor Nero. Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament...

Obedience and adherence to the Scripture has sustained Jesus’ church. A strong church comes from strong people who are anchored in unity under the authority of scripture.

Who is this Jesus? The uniqueness of Jesus.  A certainty of who Jesus has held the church fast in a culture that is swirling.