Pastor JD

I recently did a series of blogs about spiritual prayer and the role of the Spirit in praying.  Now I want to do a series of blogs about spiritual living and the role of the Spirit in setting our vision for life.  When Paul writes his second letter to the church at Corinth, he says, “So we do not lose heart.  Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but the things that are unseen. …

I want to take one more look at prayer and a familiar passage in Romans.  “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26-27.  Paul points out that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and does so with groanings to too deep for words. When it comes to intercession, the one doing the interceding must be able to have access.  Prayer is communication with God, but what allows us to have an audience with God?  What allows us access to Him so that we…

In an earlier blog, I started a look at prayer.  I wrote about the spiritual discipline of prayer and what it looks like compared to the physical action of praying.  I want to return to those two key verses in Romans and learn something else about prayer.  “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26-27.  Paul pointed out our physical weakness in terms of spiritual praying, now he turns his attention to our mental weakness.  How do we pray when we do not…

We all know we need to pray more. The problem is not our failure to know but our failure to do. In order to understand the nature of prayer, I want to look at two verses in Romans.  “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26-27.  I am planning a series of blogs on the subject of prayer, for for this one, I want to look at the spiritual nature of prayer and why that is a weakness for us. Paul tells us…

I have been looking at a key passage in Isaiah.  “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:30-31. Some of the previous blogs have talked about soaring like an eagle and running and not growing weary.  For this blog, I want to look at the final image, walking and not growing faint. Isaiah has written about strength, endurance, but now perseverance is the quality he exalts.  There is nothing super amazing…

A previous blog looked at some encouragement from Isaiah and the beautiful picture of soaring with wings like eagles.  Here is what Isaiah said, “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:30-31. Today I want to look at the second image, running and not growing weary. Isaiah is guiding us into the secrets of endurance and strength, two things every runner needs.  The sport and hobby of running can be both…

These days have been hard on me.  I feel worn down and exhausted.  The first few weeks were full of adrenaline as I pushed through, but now the daily grind has started to wear me down.  Maybe you feel the same way.  So how can we find strength when life wears us down? The prophet Isaiah has a specific word for people who are exhausted and worn down by pace or the type of life they are living.  “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;…

The newness of the “sheltering in place” has faded and the grind of learning to live in the new normal may be wearing you down.  In the midst of all the new adjustments, are you wondering what God is doing or are you wondering who God is?  In Exodus 33, Moses is overwhelmed by the task of leading the people of Israel into the promised land.  Maybe right now you feel overwhelmed.  Overwhelmed by the pressures of guiding children through online school.  Overwhelmed by the pressures of working from home.  Overwhelmed by the unknown elements, the anxiety of the situation, the fear of your health and others, or any number…

Depending on the person who does the counting and which version of the Bible they use, there are about 365 times the Bible tells us to not be afraid or to fear not.  That is almost one per day.  Clearly a believer is not to live in fear.  But how do you and I not live in fear when the world can be such a fearful place. How do we function in places that can promote our fears and increase them? In John 6 there is an account of the disciples in a boat on the sea of Galilee. This is just after Jesus has performed the miracle of feeding the…