by Wayne Jacobsen.

“Follow the money!” The haunting words from Deep Throat, the unidentified Watergate informant for the Washington Post, proved to be the critical voice that unraveled the corruption in the Nixon White House.

I find it an interesting echo of Ecclesiastes 10:19, “Money is the answer for everything.”

When people ask me why do all the TV preachers sound the same, I point them to Ecclesiastes. When I’m asked why organized religion works the way it does, I point them to Ecclesiastes. When they ask me how do I know what my heart really wants, I point them to Ecclesiastes. Read the rest of this entry »

Two Fools on the Road to Emmaus Podcast – Here is a ‘re-run’ episode of one of the fav. podcasts.

Mark and Mike are extra ‘up-ity’ in this episode.  How easy is it for us to say one thing and sound all pious and do the opposite.  ‘Love the sinner hate the sin’?  Do we really do that or is it just some sweet churchy thing we say as we blow it all up and let God sort it out?  Just a heads up – the guys are on this like stink on a skunk!

Podcast: Download (6.5MB)

Jonathan was enjoying the fresh spring breeze as he strolled through the park.  It was his habit to take a long walk each Saturday, to mull his sermon for the next day.  It was invigorating this time of year; new life springing forth all around and he found it so inspiring.  He wondered to himself, whether the new life around him was going to coincide with new life inside him; he’d been asking God for a spiritual revitalization lately.  A decade of Pastoral ministry had left him weary, and he felt the need for something more—a personal revival.  The birds singing in the trees and the flowers blooming on the ground gave him hope that his prayer would be answered soon.  He could feel it in his bones. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Cheryl McGrath, www.greatsouthland.org used with permission.

“I hope you will be patient with me as I keep on talking like a fool. Please bear with me. I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. For I promised you as a pure bride to one husband, Christ. But I fear that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to Christ, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent. You seem to believe whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach about a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.” ( 2 Corinthians 11:1-4 NLT)

In this two-part edition of “Bread for the Bride,” I am inviting you to take a journey to freedom. Freedom, though, rarely comes without a cost, so be prepared for a few bumps and bruises along the way! My fervent prayer is that by the time you reach the end you will at the least be stirred to do some personal exploring of the scriptures, and at the most some long-held religiously-based mindsets will be shattered beyond hope of repair. Read the rest of this entry »