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S2 E29 - But Is That Really True?

Set Your Mind Above

Send us Fan Mail April Fool's Day. A day that I both love and hate. A day that I love because I enjoy a great practical joke. A day that I hate because you never know what to take seriously. No matter what you read or hear, it takes extra work to do some digging to discover whether or not it's actually true. Nothing can be taken at face value. Well...maybe that's not such a bad thing, and maybe we need to be doing that more, especially spiritually. We tend to take the words of others that we respect as truth, especially pastors & evangelists, but that can be dangerous when it doesn't aline wit

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S2 E28 - Seller's Disclosure

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Send us Fan Mail Since our family is expanding, we've done a little bit of snooping into the market to see if we could get some more space for our growing family. When purchasing a house, it's important to look at the seller's disclosure, where the owner of a home is obligated to list current or potential problems with the property. If there are extensive fixes and needs, most buyers will back out. Only those who really love the property will purchase it "as is" and make the renovations themselves. Well...what would your seller's disclosure say for your spiritual life? I don't know about you,

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S2 E27 - They Forgot About the Monitor

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Send us Fan Mail My son did not like the idea that it was naptime today. He kept getting out of bed and we kept having to put him back in. At one point, he ran to his sisters room and got on her bed. As I walked down the hall, Ava yells "Oh, quick, hide!" and they ducked under the covers, as though I wouldn't see them there. After putting him back in bed, this continued, but each time we were aware because we were watching on the monitor. Well...we might laugh at this, but we are just like this with the Lord. We think that we can get away with things, that as though because we've fooled others

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S2 E26 - Life Requires Death

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Send us Fan Mail Welcome back after an extended absence! We are so glad to have the podcast up and rolling again. Today, our podcast is inspired by a show I have recently gotten into called, "The Crafstman" centered around a master woodworker named Eric. In an episode, Eric was challenged as to how he could cut a tree down and make something out of it. He responded, "Because we have to. For us to live, something has to die, and we need to make the best of it." Well...if that doens't apply to our spiritual nature, I don't know what else could. We are alive because Christ died. The question that

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S2 E25 - A Special Announcement (Part 2)

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Send us Fan Mail As you all now know, we are expecting our third child! We also expected Kylie to be sick again as she has been with her past pregancies, but this one has been harder than we had hoped. As a result, I find myself stretched too thin trying to care for my kids, my wife, and all my other normal responsibilities as I juggle playing full time mom, dad, and evangelist. As a result, we're going to take a temporary break with this podcast to help free up some of my time. Hopefully in the next 2-4 weeks my wife will be through the worst of it and we will be able to resume! Until then, j

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S2 E24 - Let Me Paint You A Picture

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Send us Fan Mail This weekend is an estate sale at the home of my ailing grandmother back in Salem, Oregon. What has generated so much interest is her incredible paintings, as my grandmother is an extraordinarily gifted artist. While at first it made me sad to think of them being dispersed, they are not inteded to be put into storage. They belong displayed in the homes of others, touching the hearts of many she'll never even know. Well...we are God's paintings. He did not transform us from darkness to light to be hidden, but to display Jesus to the world. And when we shine the light of Christ,

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S2 E23 - We're Gonna Have A Baby, My Baby & Me

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Send us Fan Mail Well, if you heard the very special annoucement yesterday, you know by now that my wife and I are expecting our third little baby. We are over the moon excited to bring another child into our family Lord willing in September. Our other two children are excited too, especially our daughter who is hoping for a sister this time around. I feel like such a blessed man, and thank you all for your prayers. Well...our children are not our own, they belong to God. He formed and fashioned them, and they are entrusted to our care for a short period of time. The question is this: what wil

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S2 E21 - T & P Valve & Emotions

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Send us Fan Mail Over the weekend my father-in-law and I fixed the temperature & pressure relief valve on my hot water heater. Essentially, it's the most important system of a water heater, because it relieves pressure in the tank to keep it from exploding and ending life as you know it. From time to time, a properly functioning valve will open up and let pressure out. Well...emotions work the same way. We must learn not to bottle things up, or else we'll explode. But this is not just important in our relationships with others, but also in our relationship with God. True worship is not void of

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S2 E20 - Know That Your Father Loves You

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Send us Fan Mail My kids had a rough morning this morning, as they were not on their best behavior. There was correction and discipline, and they shed some tears. Not long after, I went to walk out the door for work, but they came running into my arms for hugs and kisses saying "Don't go!" You see, even though they made mistakes, they never doubted my love for them! Well...why is it that so many Christians can't understand that about God? They asssume when they sin that God hates them and suddenly they are kicked out of God's house until they come begging to be let back in. That's such a wrong

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S2 E19 - If You Only Had 24 Hours To Live

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Send us Fan Mail I listened to a survey where a fellow walked around and asked people this question: "What would you do if you only had 24 hours to live?" I thought about my answer, about spending time with family and reflecting on things that are most important, but I was shocked by the answers given. Family, friends, and faith never came up - most just living by no rules. Well...we are not promised tomorrow. It's not a theoretical question, our last day very well could be today. Are we living it the way we should? Are we doing the right things in holiness, love, and wisdom? Don't wait until

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S2 E18 - Blessed Are The Merciful, For They Shall Receive Coffee

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Send us Fan Mail I had about an hour to kill between meetings and studies today, so I made some phone calls in a long drive through line at Starbucks. They have been through the ringer - short staffed, shipping issues, menu limitations, it's a mess. I asked how their day was going and tried to encourage some exhausted baristas. When I pulled up to the window, they gave me a drink on the house thanking me for being nice despite the wait & many issues. Apparently, others have not been so understanding. Well...isn't it amazing how we want others to be patient and merciful to us when things are to

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S2 E17 - The Olympics, Unity, & The Church

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Send us Fan Mail The Winter Olympics started today in Bejiing. As I watched the opening ceremonies, it was fascinating to watch countries that would normally be at odds with one another cheer on their rivals and set aside their differences. However, it won't last, and in many ways is superficial. Once the games are over, it's back to the same fighting between nations. Well...you epect that of the nations of men, but what about the Lord's church? Jesus prayed for us to be one, as he and the Father are one, and yet that is not what I have seen in many churches. The unity that many have is superf

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S2 E16 - Done Is Better Than Perfect

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Send us Fan Mail I had a great conversation with a new friend today Brady Cook, who opperates and runs Diakonos Marketing. They seek to help educate and equip churches to better reach the lost through their online efforts. After some discussion, I told him I wished I was much better with my videos, because they weren't to my standard. He responded, "Done is better than perfect." Well...that's right. Nothing always will yield nothing. This applies in so many ways: to why people never come to Christ, or even to why we never grow to do new things in our discipleship. Don't just do nothing, it's t

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S2 E15 - National Signing Day

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Send us Fan Mail Today is national signing day in the world of college football. Athletes that have been saught after by different universities now make a full commitment to where they will choose to play ball. While many prior to today have made a verbal commitment, that often means nothing and can change come signing day. But today is official, and they are all in. Well...you are being recruited as well. Both Satan & God want you, but for different reasons. Satan wants to destroy you. God wants to save you. But God wants more than a verbal commitment, because talk is cheap. It's time to comm

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S2 E14 - Complete Transformation

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Send us Fan Mail Today was a big day for our community, becase it was the grand re-opening of the Hub Coffee House downtown. Over the past month they have been gutting and completey renovating the interior. When I walked through the doors today, I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. It was hard to believe that it was still the same place. It was the same...and yet drastically differnet, and drastically better. Well...one day we will all undergo a similar transformation when these bodies will be raised from the dead. They will be the same...and yet they will be different. What is sown mortal

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S2 E13 - Tell Me What I Want To Hear

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Send us Fan Mail I use YouTube all of the time for so many reasons. Well as I was using it today, I noticed something was missing: you could no longer see how many dislikes a video had. I've used that to gauge the credibility of a channel many times, especially tech reviews or how to videos. The reason YouTube gave for doing this? They did not want to contribute to "hostility" or "hate speech". So essentially what they just said is that if you don't like something or disagree, it's hateful. We'd rather just be told what we want to hear than be challenged or corrected. Well...it's not different

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S2 E12 - Wordle

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Send us Fan Mail I'm playing it, and I'm sure many of you are playing it. It's the new word game called wordle, where you have six attempts to correctly guess the word of the day. The interesting thing is how quickly this has caught on, and how everyone shares their results on social media - usually right at the start of the day. Actually, 4 out of 5 people start their day by grabbing their phones. Why? Because we feel the need to be connected to others. Well...what is more important than connecting with God before anything else? Jesus gives us a pattern in his own ministry, that even though h

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S2 E11 - A Gallon of Water a Day

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Send us Fan Mail I just recently started drinking a gallon of water a day, and I feel so much better! Generally people don't drink enough water, instead we drink what tastes good even though we know it's bad for us. It makes no sense, we know what we need, and yet we neglect it. We weren't desinged to fill ourselves with sugar & caffine primarily, we need water. Well...we weren't desinged to follow our sinful cravings, but to fill ourselves with the Lord. We need God, and yet most neglect him. We follow our temporary passions, even though we pay for it & it ultimately leads to death. But it's

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S2 E10 - Undercover Boss

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Send us Fan Mail While Kylie was gone to Texas over the weekend, I caught up on a show I havn't watched in a while: Undercover Boss. The premise of the show is that a CEO, founder, or president of a company goes undercover as an employee of their own business. In doing so, they discover the needs of those far below them, and then after revealing who they are bless these individuals by going above and beyond rewarding them. Well...the best episode isn't a part of this show, it's recorded for us in Scripture. God literally became flesh and dwelt among us. He subjected himself to his own creation

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S2 E9 - Don't Take Your Spouse For Granted

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Send us Fan Mail Yesterday was my wife's 27th birthday, and we spent the day celebrating her. But to be honest, we should celebrate her everyday. I cannot beleive how blessed I am to be married to Kylie. She is a godly, serving, faithful, hard working, loving woman. She is the greatest wife, mother, and friend. Well...I am sure that many of you feel the same way about your spouse, and you should! Scripture reminds us never to take our spouse for granted, but to value them and praise them! So many people value all the wrong things in a relationship, but when we value what God values, marriage c

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S2 E8 - Out of the Mouth of Babes

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Send us Fan Mail This morning was full of some wonderful teaching moments, and all of them came from children. The first was when my daughter brought the Bible to my wife, asking questions about Jesus and wanting her mommy to teach her. She concluded for Jesus to do what he did, he must be her best friend. The second was seeing a video of a friend's 5 year old son opening up the Bible and "preaching" to everyone, it was precious. Well...there is something special about the praise that comes from the mouth of babes. Even in the days of Jesus, those that should have praised him did not, but the

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S2 E7 - Elder, Shepherd, Overseer, & Steward

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Send us Fan Mail Tonight I have my yearly review with my elders, and I am so excited to sit down with them. Our relationship is not run like an employeer to an employee, because the church is not a business, it's a family. These men care for my soul, as well as those of the rest of the church, and have dedicated themselves to helping us grow as we should. Well...God's desire is for such men to lead in every church. As spiritual fathers, shepherds, overseers, and stewards - these men tirelessly and selflessly tend to every spiritual need of the children of God. As a result, we must learn as the

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S2 E5 - Coffee, Tea, Soup, & Pastries

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Send us Fan Mail Today we received one of the kindest gestures I have ever witnessed from a business. One of our local coffee shops caught wind that we were recovering from Covid, and delivered coffee, tea, soup & pastries to our door. We have become friends with the owners & baristas of The Hub Coffee Shop, and have come to appreciate their hearts and their faith. They serve many. Well...kindness is one of the best ways to put God on display. Kindness is a reflection of God's love as well as God's Spirit. You never know what a small act of kindness can do in showing the heart of God to those

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S2 E6 - Recruiting and the Transfer Portal

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Send us Fan Mail The world of college football has been insane recently, even after the national championship. Given new rules to the transfer portal & NIL (name, image, & likeness) - players are jumping ship right and left from one school to another. That's why I was impressed when our new head coach showed his first priority by going back and getting players that said they were leaving to return again for another season. It's not just about recruiting, but retaining. Well...as the church, we have not just been called to save the lost, but also to go back and get the one's that once were foun

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