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 – Love Upwards

We, as Christ followers, aren’t so good at loving God fully and completely. If we aren’t so good at it, then the collective of Christ followers must suffer from the same flaw. Did you know that loving God completely is actually part of our nature? God created us that way, and until a piece of fruit and a slithering tempter altered the path of history, that’s the way it was. God created human beings different from other beings. Humans are created in the image of God and are able to think and make choices. Inside this creation was the longing to be tied to God. Outside of it was the sense that…

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A Little Understanding – The Footings

People often ask, “Why does life suck?” For those who find the language offensive, please forgive me, but it wouldn’t be a quote if I tried to soften it. Pastors may use more carefully chosen words, replacing the offensive ones and reworking the question this way: “Why is everything a struggle at my church?” I would never go as far as to say the solution to life sucking or a struggling church is Proverbs 3:5-6, but I can say the solution to navigating through these times is not in your hands, your strength, or how you understand things. The solution lies in letting God take over, and He will plot the course. He will carry the weight. “He will make your paths straight.”

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A Little Knowledge – What We See Becomes What We Know

Many personal growth, church growth, and outreach how-to books and motivational sermons are “mirrors,” or to bring it back around to the building metaphor, pictures of the décor. They address the appearance. This isn’t a bad thing. Appearance will go a long way when it comes to enticing people to visit your church or ask about your faith. What people see demonstrates the commitment, enthusiasm, and passion of Christ followers.

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Blueprint – A Little Knowledge Is A Dangerous Thing

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:21- 23 (NIV)

How fast it all changes.

When the pandemic hit, there were things we had been doing in the name of Christianity under the umbrella of church that were really our way of “staging the house” to make it look good.

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Jenga™ and Jesus

Alliteration is a great tool to get people to take notice but in this case putting Jesus and the popular game Jenga™ in the same sentence may do much more.  Because of this, I believe I should make a few things clear. I have not found any scriptures that lead me to believe that Jesus played Jenga™. I do not believe that Jesus has or ever will promote the game Jenga™. I do not believe that following Christ requires the playing of Jenga™. Lastly, and probably most important, just because I am using the name of the popular game Jenga™, doesn’t mean that I am promoting the game Jenga™, nor am I under any obligation to mention the game Jenga™, and I do not receive any money or other benefits from using the name of the popular game Jenga™ over and over again in this blog – but I should!

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