MRLPJ

Friend… God loves you. He loves you not because you’re a well-behaved person but because He’s so prodigally extravagant and inexpressively good that He cannot help but love you. At the risk of sounding blasphemous (and I pray you see the spirit behind what I’m about to write), I believe God loves you so much, and I believe He’s driven so much by the desire to give Himself away to you, that, where you and His desires for you are concerned, He almost doesn’t quite know what to do with Himself. Have you ever felt that way about someone? Perhaps for your husband or wife? Or for a newborn child? That’s what God’s love for you stirs within His own Heart-mind! You, my friend, are that dear to Him… that valuable to Him… that loved by Him. YOU (!!)... move the Heart-mind of God Almighty! Let me write that again (in case you missed it!): YOU (!!)... move the Heart-mind of God Almighty—The Supreme Master of Forces and The Eternal Lord of War and God of Angel Armies! Sit with that thought fo...

I'm a noun, but I'm not JUST a noun. By that I mean...While I'm a human, a male, a senior citizen, a movement enthusiast, a solver of problems, Papa's Son, Jesus' Baby-brother, and The Holy Spirit's Temple-oasis, I'm not only those descriptive words and phrases. Okay, Dave... If you're not just a noun, what are you in addition to being a noun? My quick answer? I'm a verb. Being slightly more specific (and, yet, still staying a little abstract)... I’m An Unfolding Event… Anthropologically, yes, I'm A Human Being. But... I’m also—in this very moment—An Unfolding Event. My life is—and will forever be—An Ever-expanding, Never-ending (that is, Eternal) Stream of Creative, Unfolding Events. I am who I am. I'm also becoming The Person I'm in the Process of Becoming. Provided below are nine Scripture verses to consider when contemplating the person you’re becoming (or becoming like!). I recommend that you memorize all nine of these and begin allo...

When I was conceived, I was conceived with the disease of sinfulness. Did I create the disease called sinfulness or the disease-nature (that is, a diseased second-nature) that was already at root within me from the start? No. Am I responsible for every sin I commit? Yes. As A Follower of Jesus, my fallen nature was Annihilated on The Cross. While I still carry residuals and echoes of the fallen nature, I am No Longer a Sinner. I am A Son of The Father, and I’m A Baby Brother of Jesus. I’m also The Rightwiseness of God. Regarding the residuals and echoes I just mentioned, can they be progressively exterminated? Yes. In addition, I can, through my own Holy Spirit-channeled Agency, choose to be Impregnated with God-wisdom and God-life. My Friends... Many in The Church teach that I (and you), as A Follower of Christ, am still a sinner.  I believe that's a lie.  While I still sin, I'm NOT a sinner.  I'm Papa's Son, I'm Jesus' Baby-brother, and... I'm T...

The whole concept of sin and sinfulness can be confusing. Our sinfulness is a condition of being that’s commensurate with our being sinful (that is, filled with sin). Adam and Eve became sinful (that is, they were stricken with the disease of sinfulness) when they committed their first sin in The Garden of Eden. This is historically (and commonly) referred to as “original sin.” A sin is a specific act or instance of falling short of God’s Glory (that is, falling short of being fully alive and Fueled by The Abundant Life of God). When Adam and Eve committed that first sin, they immediately contracted the sickness of sinfulness. Because they really had no idea what was happening to them, they were, in a very real sense, raped (or molested) by sin/evil/sinfulness/evilness. A sinful person is a sick person, who has the disease of sin (aka sinfulness). A sinful person behaves sinfully and cannot help but behave sinfully. That person is, quite rightly, “a sinner”—by identity. When I w...

Even though I was born into sin and, thus, born “a sinner” (by identity), such an identity is no longer the case for me.  Because of Jesus, I’m Not a Sinner.  No.  I’m A Son of The Father, I’m Jesus’ Baby Brother, and… I’m A Temple Oasis for The Holy Spirit. In addition to this, I am and am becoming The Rightwiseness [see definition at the end of this post] of God. THIS is who I am.  Because of Jesus. Rightwiseness, a defintion:  The Wise-, Just, and Harmonious-ordering of Oneself in and by The Trinity.

Almost ten years ago, veteran Raleigh-Durham news anchor Larry Stogner (of ABC 11) passed away from ALS.  I first met Larry in the spring of 2014.  At the time, I didn't know he was a news anchor (as I don't have or watch TV).  When I met him, we were both part of a team preparing for a mission trip to Kenya, Africa.  I asked Larry if we could be prayer partners on the trip.  We, almost immediately, developed a friendship (and prayer partnership) that continued until his death in October 2016.  Anyway, early on in our friendship, Larry shared with me what has long sense been called "The Announcer's Test," which was first developed in 1940 for radio and TV announcers.  (I understand Jerry Lewis practiced it a lot.)  Larry encouraged me to practice it, too, as "You never know when you might need to speak publicly.  It helps me as I prepare for my nightly news broadcasts.  Someday, it might help you as well." Provided below is "The Announce...