Faith That Acts

Eternity, it is before us all. Do you wonder about it? Contemplations on Billy Graham's Where I Am Reviews his new book and I share my observations.

A young local missionary explains what it means to "surrender all" to the Lord and to serve in America's affluent culture where the perceived need for God seems to lessen every day. But, in reality He is greatly needed. This is a story about the reality of God in a young woman's life who deeply desires to reach America's youth for Christ in their most vulnerable years.

In Of Pride and Humility, I speak to the issue and how pride, part of our being, is at the root of sin in our lives. Not all pride is bad, however. Like good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. If you should boast, boast in Christ as the apostle Paul said. I invite you to take a journey with me into a discussion of pride in life, how Jesus was free from it, and how He is the example we are to follow.

Faith, Surrender, and Learning to Serve, is the story of a missions-minded young woman growing in faith through her formative years. Here, you will hear about the importance of community, the positive impact of youth leaders in the Church, and how the grace and hard love godly mentors give keeps us pointed toward the cross. Krysta has a deep passion for discipling young women and helping others. A recent college graduate, she speaks with a maturity beyond her years noting that, "Now, I own my faith." We are delighted to bring you this episode. It will encourage you in your walk of faith.

In Plug in the Jug: Alcoholism to Saving Faith, a young father discusses his decent into dependency and how he found recovery and the love of Jesus.

August 5th and 6th, I attended the 2015 Global Leadership Summit. It is a Christ-centered leadership event which since it's inception has expanded to satellite broadcast worldwide in over 105 countries and 250,000 attendees.This podcast will share key takeaways from the event as well as a lite review of the content. In the end there are several age old theme that come through; we need people, it is better to give than to receive, when we become leaders we forfeit any right to make excuses, everybody benefits when leaders improve and our minds can deceive us, and in the hands of Jesus our insufficiency becomes abundance. Listen with pen in hand! No matter what you lead or hope to lead, there is something here for everyone.

In God's Faithfulness and Ours I discuss multiple observations about faith related to our spiritual development, growth in faith and God's ultimate faithfulness and that it multiplies our confidence and dependence on Him.

Here's how what is in our hearts comes out in our lives. Do we edify and build people up or tear them down? Do we keep our commitments or walk away. Do we receive criticism with a humble heart or reject it? Why do we justify our leaving relationships because somebody offends us while at the same time claiming our freedom in Christ. Our true character is often revealed in crisis. In Relationships Matter, I discuss 3 relationships that have impacted my life.

Here's the story of a man who logged 4.5 million miles driving a tractor trailer all over North America. Having been "really out there in the world," Burt Porter discusses the struggles of being away from home for 2 - 5 months at a time while raising a young family and the struggles of exercising faith on the road. In From Big Rigs to Christ and Bikes, get the inside story of a career on the road and the transition to an active life of service for God.

This is a great story of a man with a heart to follow and serve. Kyle openly shares his testimony revealing his faith, doubts and struggles. God is faithful and you will see how in Kyle's life God drew on all of Kyle's life experience and skills as he pursued his calling. From education, to marriage, to missions, to ministry; enjoy this beautiful testimony of a young man mature well beyond his years.

In How to Make Worship Personal, I share how I discover natural unmanufactured worship, genuine acknowledgement of God simply because He alone is worthy. This is also the wrap on Season 1 and I offer a brief summary of key lessons learned in season 1.

Discover Spiritual Disciplines and how they can impact our walk in faith. In Spiritual Disciplines - What? I offer my experience. Perhaps you will identify with these, and perhaps you will learn something new. Be encouraged to be intentional about your faith.

Here's how I handle doubt. Doubt can be devastating in our walk of faith. For some, it may prevent them from stepping forward to accept and know God. Have you experienced moments of doubt? It can hit from many angles from God's existence to does He answer prayer. It can even cause us to question our calling. In experiencing doubt in faith I discuss the relationship between doubt, faith, and obedience. I have found that doubt is a part of my experience and in fact is an integral part of the development of my faith and isn't always negative.

Sometimes we're too busy to notice the small things in life. Hear how simple observations about a Christmas cactus that insists on blooming at Easter each year deepened my faith.

Missions trips were something I never thought I'd do myself. I reasoned that was something for someone else to do and report on in church occasionally. In Missions - A Growing Heart to Serve, a must hear episode, I share heartfelt, life altering, perspective changing lessons-learned, while on a trip to 4 countries in Asia that would result in my stepping out to unashamedly share my faith.

In Honoring Parents - My Tribute, I discuss the impact of my parents in the context of honoring them. Here I use a tribute to honor them publically. Listen. Here's why honoring parents matters.

In How To Know Your Calling - A Pastor's Perspective, gain biblical insight about just what calling is and how we can come into the knowledge of it. Also discover how connected identity, purpose, and calling are.

In Why YOU should mentor, enjoy an intimate view into the importance and incalculable value of these special relationships. In Season 1 Episode 5, I shared the mentee's perspective. Here, in Season 1 Episode 8, we discuss the mentor's perspective. Two men seeking God together intentionally and authentically. In his oft encouraging way Ralph states concerning people considering mentoring, "...we are not close to perfection. But, we might be a little further along in our experience. We might be a little further along in our wisdom and be able to share that. Find somebody to mentor, a generation before us. The value of that is incalculable."

In this episode, My Calling - How I knew, I share how I confidently knew my calling. Have you ever wondered what your calling is? I think we all have a one time or another. I remember sitting with the guidance counselor at school to discuss what I would do with my life. You know, that time when they try to align your interest, academic strengths, and possible majors with a suitable institution? You just kind of hope they get it right. Ultimately, life happens and adjustments get made or it was never right to begin with, we're unfulfilled and we begin to search. Well, I took my search to God. I was shocked by where it led and learned much about myself in the process. At the end of the episode, I outline the key steps I saw in my experience.

Before we get to calling in the next episode, it is important to understand purpose. For years I thought the world was my oyster - or at least parts of it! In reality, getting beyond myself was a long and sometimes difficult process. There was a point that I discovered that the world was not all that I thought it to be. Getting there involved brokenness, recognition of need, loss of self in terms of realizing that God’s purpose is greater than my own and putting the prideful, self-sufficient me aside, the impact of His word, and the positive godly influence of both people and community in my life.