Author: Dale Heinold

Aug132018 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

Jesus Says Talk To Them

For our next Jesus Says command we need a kind of wrapper. Some fences to keep us from straying too far off course. The first fence is scope, this command is specific to our brothers and sisters in Christ and not necessarily towards the world. Or as Jesus put it, the tax collectors and sinners. The second fence for this article is holding onto generalities lest we write a book of law. Each locality must develop their own norms for this command. And what is the Jesus Says Command that requires these fences? “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ I

Aug82018 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

Jesus Says Don’t-Do-Don’t Be Afraid

Encouragment, Jesus Says

Let’s say for a moment that we’re trying to find a radio transmitter hidden in a barren desert. We mark one point and gain a general direction. We move to another spot which narrows down the area even more. But to precisely locate the transmitter we need a third point. Then using that information we can triangulate the position of the transmitter. That process of triangulation is illuminating as we consider our next Jesus Says command. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth m

Aug62018 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

Dale’s Rules for Life, Changing Our World

Encouragment

I have these rules for life. Some of them are witty, some are cute, some challenge me in ways that are hard to describe. This is one of those challenging rules. Click here for the previous Dale’s Rules. We’d all love to change our world. To fix what is wrong. To have peace, prosperity, and meaning without days that are difficult, painful, or fearful. Maybe we have a desire to fix to broad areas of life like our nation, our culture, the government, or other power brokers that shape our world. Perhaps we’d like to change some big things like poverty, discrimination, or the lack of basic fairness and civility. Maybe our desire for change is closer to home with the changes needed in our family, our friends, our workplace, our home, or our church. No doubt, there are a lot of things that n

Aug32018 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

The Hunter

Encouragment, Short Stories

The mark was easy. A country hick that wandered into the wrong alley of City Center, my alley. So, I welcomed him to our crusty city by relieving him of his bulging wallet and cheap watch. I didn’t even have to pull out Bertha, my six-inch bowie knife. Just the threat had him shaking like a California earthquake. I can hear the sirens already; the rube must have called 911 from Sam’s Corner Deli. No worries, there are plenty of alleys, backstreets, and dark corners in my hunting grounds. Tucked in a shadow of another alley I watch as my most recent benefactor recreates his story to two patrol officers. I almost laughed out loud when he stands in my footprints and tries to look like me. I’m more menacing than I thought. Good. “There is no fear of God in your eyes,” a voice said wit

Aug12018 by Dale Heinold1 Comment

Jesus Says Ask for Workers

Encouragment, Jesus Says

I’m a fixer by trade. It began with a few mechanical things around the house. I graduated to the electronics of old radios, TVs, and VCRs. I eventually tried to make that into a business and learned that I’m not a businessman. I then got hired to fix copy machines and eventually computers and computer networks. Two realizations came out of that. Fixing things is often providing a solution to a problem instead of just repairing something. The other is that sometimes the customer needs repair than the device. But there is another piece of the puzzle needed to be good at fixing things; understanding and responding to the urgency of the need. Understanding the urgency and doing something about it is the root of today’s Jesus Says command. Matthew records that one day Jesus was ministering t

Jul302018 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

Jesus Says Abide in Me

Encouragment, Jesus Says

Sometimes, when someone comes up and says, “let me ask you a question,” I will jokingly respond “42” before they even have a chance to ask it. According to Douglas Adams in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy “42” is the answer to the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. It isn’t of course, it is simply a number which Adams admittedly plucked out of thin air. But what if I told you there is an answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything else? An answer found in a command. Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you.” How in the world is that the answer to the meaning of life, the universe, and everything? Jesus, knowing that we would have a hard time understanding this gave us a simile. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither

Jul252018 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

Jesus Says Beware of False Prophets

Encouragment, Jesus Says

Warning signs are all around us. Danger Falling Rocks. Deer Crossing. High Wind Area. These signs don’t guarantee what is coming next but what may come our way. Were we live deer are a problem. You never know when one will race in front of your car. While there is always a certain level of alertness while driving, it gets kicked up a few notches during twilight and evening hours. Not only am I watching the road, other traffic, and navigating but also scanning for eye-shine. That tell-tale glow when an animal is near the roadway. It’s that kind of alertness Jesus is commanding when He says, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles,

Jul232018 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

Jesus Says Enter the Narrow Gate

Encouragment, Jesus Says

Which gate will you open? Which path will you follow? We are faced with these questions daily but take little thought of them. Do we follow the crowd? Do we go along to get along or play the part of the rebel? I remember my High School Football coach saying that there was the right way, the wrong way, and my way. You can guess which way he wanted his team to go. But in the end, the choice is still ours. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13–14, NASB95 We know the power of the crowd. How following its ways can be fulfilling, satisfying, and loaded with confir

Jul202018 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

Psalm 23- A Barnyard View

Jesus Says Take Up Your Cross

Encouragment, Jesus Says

As we explore our next Jesus Says command it is going to be extremely important to remember our previous one – Jesus says do not judge one another. Today’s command often causes folks to compare themselves with others. Either in the sense of pride, “I’m better than Joe over there.” Or a sense of judgment that so and so aren’t Christians, just look at their lives. There are so many ways we get this wrong, but one way to get it right. Jesus says to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me. This command is repeated in Matthew, Mark, and Luke with Matthew and Luke’s being nearly identical with one small difference. That one-word difference in Luke’s quote gives us the necessary perspective. “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, an

Jul112018 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

Jesus Says Do Not Judge

Encouragment

It's a simple rule of nature. If you plant a kernel of corn you will get corn. Assuming that a healthy stalk of corn produces two ears that would be about 1600 kernels from that one seed. That same multiplication effect applies to every plant that I’m aware of, even thistles and nettles. It is that multiplication effect Jesus has in mind when He says, “do not judge.” It would appear from the Gospel record that Jesus said this more than once. In Matthew’s record of the Sermon on the Mount we read, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1–2, NASB95) But we have a tendency to think that this is a one for one exchange. If I judge someone harshly that I will be judged

Jul92018 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments