Author: J David Peever (Dave)

Son, Husband, father, grandfather, transitional pastor, author and blogger who desires to follow God's plan, done God's way, in God's timing, with God's chosen resources. #bgbg2 #Blueprint #Live4Him

A Little Understanding – Stuck in the Entryway

If something affects the individual Christ follower, it almost always affects the collective of Christ followers. The blur of needs, wants, and extras have made it difficult for churches to encourage maturing. With the world’s way of operating just outside the entryway, and Satan selling his snake oil fixes, the church has become more focused on talents and hard work than on God and His call. We do what we know and we work at it the hardest, trying to make God happy. We may not realize it, but the world has seen the church this way for a long time. Those outside the entryway think the church is a bunch of people trying their hardest to do stuff that no one truly understands to make an angry God happy.

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A Little Understanding – We Need More of God

“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Luke 18:17 (NIV)

A Little Understanding – The Entryway isn’t Enough

Childlike faith is the key to the entire floor plan, starting with the entryway but going far beyond. We must believe that there is more, laying out our lives in such a way that we can discover it. Childish faith is just happy where it is, in the entryway. When the entryway dweller does become a little restless, their options are limited by their one-room floor plan. They can look all over the space they have and discover there is no more to discover! The only way to improve the entryway is to give it a facelift. Make things look better. Continuing with the entryway metaphor, adding a coat of paint, a new closet organizer, updated tiles, a table for cell phones and keys, and new door mats should do it. It may be the same room, but it looks so much better!

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A Little Understanding – God’s Way or My Way

I hate choices. Okay, that isn’t totally correct. I hate choices that have an upside and a downside; I find it hard to make up my mind. I’ve been told it is a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, so why does a guy like me have so much trouble making up his mind? My theory is this “woman’s prerogative” observation was made by a man watching his wife shopping for clothes or shoes or both. The fact he was willing to say it out loud leads me to believe that he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the drawer. He was probably the same man who when asked by his wife during the shopping trip, “Do these pants make me look fat?” answered, “I don’t think it has anything to do with the pants.” Not being a medical doctor or psychologist does not exclude me from stating with 99.5% certainty: men can be indecisive (and fat) too.

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I’m Sorry

I don’t know how you feel about the relationship between bloggers and the bloggers who follow their blog but to me it is a friendship that is formed around the love of God and the love of writing. I look at those who follow my blog not only as friends but as brothers and sisters in Christ. I see the relationship we have formed as a loosely followed handshake agreement to meet up on the pages of each other’s site to read the newly posted material. Am I glad there is not written contract as I would be in breach and in danger of some form of penalty. I’m sorry I have not lived up to my side of the agreement!

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A Little Understanding – Above Ground – Humble Prayer

A Little Understanding – Connect to the Foundation & Footings

In my days, as a world-renowned scientist, well not so much days, more like hours. Well not so much hours, but instead it felt like hours when I had the dream. Okay, I really know very little about science, but I do know that this little thing called gravity cannot be defied while living on the earth. When a plane takes off, it must have more power from the engines and lift from the wings than the force exerted by gravity. It flies not because it defies gravity, but instead it overcomes the force until it runs out of fuel. Once it is out of fuel, gravity, the law that no plane can defy, does what gravity does: it pulls the plane back to earth. It is the same with our Christian walk. We can hold up the basic day-to-day living of a Christ follower’s life. We can hold up the day-to-day operations and programs in the collective of Christ followers. The problem is, we were not designed to defy the laws of spiritual gravity.

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A Little Understanding – Love Outwards and Inwards

How different would the parable of the Good Samaritan be today? If Jesus was asked in your country, “Who is my neighbor?” by someone claiming to follow Christian values, would the story be the same? I will take a chance and make changes to this well-known parable. I do not claim to know for a fact how Jesus would answer if He were physically walking the streets of your city or town and was asked this question. All I can say is my observations would lead me to believe that the following parable would not be out of line in Western culture and much of the developing world.

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