Personal thoughts from Pastor Jeff on a(n almost) daily basis.
Jesus Christ made an amazing statement in one of the most profound recording of His words in Scripture. He was praying to the Father in the most intimate of ways, revealing a communion and oneness with Him that is difficult for us to soak in. Amazingly, Jesus begins to speak in this prayer of those who would carry on the …
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You may not have noticed, but we are subtly walking through a blog mini-series over the last four posts (including today’s). God honors the intentional communication of what His word says, and we are always helped to think about how we apply what He has written to our present-day realities. Thus far in this little series we have covered: The …
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Every Christian has an opinion about what the priority needs to be in their home church. The beauty of the local assembly is that it is comprised of many different people, all of them uniquely fashioned by the Father for an express purpose in His Kingdom. None of us are wired exactly the same as another. God intends to take …
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It’s Father’s Day, and I won’t get to see my dad today, but I woke up grateful for him today and wanted to share a few words to honor him. He’s a good man, that Doug Lyle, and he continues to have an impact on me, even in my late forties. Dad will tell you that he is flawed, and …
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In my last post, I shared from the Apostle Paul’s words to the young pastor, timothy, concerning Timothy’s need to rise above some of the stereotypical pitfalls of young people, specifically, young men, even more specifically, young male zealots. As we move farther into looking at what else Paul wrote to Timothy, the field of applying his words to everyday …
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Over the last two years, an awareness that I am no longer the young kid has found me. I began full-time vocational ministry twenty years ago at age twenty-seven. Our church was an older group of people back then, and I regularly found myself as the youngest person in leadership meetings, conferences and fellowships. I actually enjoyed the privilege of …
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Finishing up this three-installment blog series today, I want to ask you a very simple question: do you believe in your heart that God is for you, that He wants you to win? Please linger over that question a few moments before you answer. Your response is actually a big deal, and both the trajectory and the quality of your …
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In my last post, I began to unpack an explanation of why your breakthrough sometimes lingers longer than we desire. If you did not read it, please take a few minutes and do so before reading today’s post. Most of us have a hard time waiting on God to move when we sense that the pressure is rising while the …
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Recently, we finished up a 6-message Wednesday night series that focused on worship scenes which take place in the Book of Revelation. That series (along with all other series & sermons) can be accessed in the free Transforming Truth App for anyone who wishes to watch or listen to them. This morning, I solidified our next midweek series, and I got …
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Vacation breaks are always good for me on some level. God wired me to work, to accomplish and to complete tasks, and I enjoy living out the purposes He has designed for me. Yet, running hard for months on end without stopping to refresh and recalibrate myself is unwise. That is why, when we packed up the van ten days ago, …
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Occasionally I have to conclude that God is purposefully endeavoring to get His point across to me. It is likely that He works this way in your life also from time to time. It often includes a repetitive message that follows you from various, unconnected sources. Maybe it’s a sermon you heard in church followed a few days later by …
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A great danger for us is to spend time wondering what people think of us. Let me declare how people think of us: INACCURATELY. No matter whether they think more of us than they should or less of us than they should, they never hit the bulls-eye. A very common affliction for many is the preoccupation with how other people …
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There’s a great character study on a not-so-famous fellow in the Old Testament named Gideon. If his story was rewritten today in a modern scenario, Gideon would have been a nerdy underachiever who flunked out of community college, took a minimum wage job, and spent the bulk of his time in his mom’s basement playing Xbox. As far as our eyes could see, …
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When I proposed to Amy in May of 1997 I spoke the verse from Proverbs 18:22 which says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.” I asked her to marry me, and she changed my life when she told me that she would be my wife. Three years later our firstborn, a …
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Recently, I spent some time with a pastor friend who was grieved over a family who had left the church where he leads and serves. He, like all pastors, understands that people will come and go as he fulfills his ministry, so he was not pouting for himself. The struggle that had landed upon his heart was that this family …
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It is not that we are ignorant. It is not that we are uneducated. It is not for a lack of information or opportunity or access to knowledge. No, if it were any of these things we might very well be candidates for God’s pity and mercy. But we are none of these things. Do you know what we are? …
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“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Herein we find the reason for so much of life’s poundings. Those three words, “sanctify you completely” reflect the determination of God for every one of …
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GRACE …for when you’re not sensing spiritual depth …for when your body is tired and your mind taxed …for when your flesh seems greater than your faith …for when doubt dares your holy confidence to show up for today GRACE …for days when you’re more faithful to serving God than you are to worshiping Him …for days when you’re more concerned about what others think than what God knows …
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Unforgiveness is the illegitimate child who springs forth from the unholy union of Hurt and Fear. Here’s how this birth occurs in an individual’s life: Some form of pain comes to us which catches us off guard. A wound quickly opens and throbs there while we seek to regain our balance and understand what has just happened to us. We …
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Recently listening to the Sovereign Grace song, The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus, I was struck by the singer’s statement to Christ that He had ruined her for the world. Those are great words for us to ponder. Prior to coming to Christ, in one form or another, we were all destined to be worldlings. We were locked into auto-pilot, …
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So I spent some time this morning reading up on denominational divisions within the global Church: just sticking with Protestants, I found that research shows some 9,000 separate denominations. Nine thousand. Nine THOUSAND! My whole Christian life was lived out under the denominational banner of ‘Baptist’ for the first 22 years, but that word clearly means very little when we …
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When I am praying I need to see Jesus enthroned. It is essential for me to remember the One to whom I am speaking, and where He has affixed Himself while we are living below. He is not walking the earth anymore as the Son of Man, where He once experienced hunger and weariness and pain and death. He is …
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“May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” – Colossians 1:11-12 Father, we thank You that this prayer has been answered for all of us who are in Christ. …
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Emails used to haunt me when I was working sixty office hours a week. My inbox would be full of communications from a host of different sorts of people. On a normal day about fifty emails would need to be read and most of them required a response so I learned to dread the clicking of the “Send/Receive” button. Some …
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Over the last few days, both through my own mind and from outside sources, the Father has been speaking to me concerning this important issue of His children unnecessarily (and dangerously!) listening to the voice of the accuser. Have you ever pondered this passage from Revelation? “I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power …
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