Tag: abide

Nov262018 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

Overcoming in Christ

In our journey concerning overcoming, we’ve traveled a difficult path which may seem overwhelming. We began with changing the perspective from overcoming in the worldly sense of conquest to overcoming our internal struggles with sin. Along the way, we examined the three receptors of temptation seen in the temptation of Adam and Eve, Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, and 1 John 2:16. And we looked at overcoming regret, guilt, and shame. But there is one more stop on our journey, one which changes how we strive to overcome. Just by way of reminder. Our key verse for this journey is found in John’s first letter. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory 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

Oct192016 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

Jesus Said That?! Radical Life

Encouragment

Consider all of the things science can do. Like understanding the Human Genome to the point of analyzing and distinguishing individual differences and wired in traits. Whether you agree or disagree with Genetically Modified Food, just consider how a scientist can enhance an attribute of a plant, bypassing decades of traditional modification through selective breeding. But in all of that, there is one thing that science has not been able to do, they can’t create life. They can encourage it, modify it, enhance it but not create it. In our next Jesus Said That?! we tackle one of the hardest sayings recorded in the Gospels but one that leads us to an understanding of the radical life offered by Jesus. John recorded, “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the fle

Dec112015 by Dale Heinold1 Comment

Who Are You? God’s House

Encouragment

Church buildings take on many different shapes and styles. Some are magnificent pieces of architecture with carved stone walls, towers, and flying buttresses. Others are classic prairie with white siding and a tall steeple. Some are modern metal buildings while others are brick and mortar. Some church buildings are simply storefronts or any variety of leased property. And some are buildings that have other primary purposes like a school or a community center. I’ve even been in barn or two that have been used for a church. The point, of course, is not the outside appearance but what happens on the inside. Our next two facets of who we are in Christ considers us to be the dwelling place of God. The Bible sees this in two different lights, one will be covered in this article and the other

Oct232015 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

You Are What You Eat

Encouragment

Hang around with folks long enough and you’ll discover where they live. Now I don’t mean what country, state, city, or neighborhood they live in, that’s easy. But where they live at in the sense of what’s important to them; what drives their thoughts and motivates their actions. A sports nut for instance lives, abides, and is saturated in, well this seems obvious, sports. They are constantly keeping up with the latest scores and sports news. They can recite player’s statistics from memory like most folks talk about the weather. They are at home and comfortable with their passion. You could say that they eat, drink, and sleep sports. This “at homeness” could be about anything. It could be an activity like sports or their vocation, an ideal, a set of convictions, a time in history, a hob

Feb72015 by Dale Heinold1 Comment

Rooted in Christ

Encouragment, Faith

A few days ago a message landed in my inbox with this question - How does one know he's deeply rooted in Christ? I thought that it was an excellent, thought provoking, soul prodding question. How do we know that we’re rooting our life in Christ and not our selfish desires, religious duty, or just satisfying the need to belong? Roots have two basic functions, they collect and transport water and nutrients for the rest of the plant and they provide stability. We see this demonstrated in the Parable of the Sower. On the first soil, the seed could not even grow, its roots could not penetrate the hard compacted ground. The seed took root and even thrived in the shallow rocky ground until the harsh sunlight of temptation, affliction, and persecution caused it to dry up. The third seed fou

Jun242014 by Dale Heinold1 Comment

A Little Word that Means Everything

Encouragment, Faith

I’m old enough to remember the Apollo space flights and the day Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon. In grainy black and white, we watched the white-suited astronauts bounce around a gray and black landscape. I marveled at the achievement without realizing the precariousness of their position and their utter trust and dependence on their space suits. For those that follow Christ, there is a familiar verse, it is part of the Roman Road, and it explains in just a few words the truth of the human condition. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NASB95) In a way, this verse is similar to Neil and Buzz’s moonwalk. Many have asked, “why would a loving God send anyone to hell.” Wrong assumptions always lead to wro

Jan262014 by Dale Heinold1 Comment

Got Living Water?

Encouragment, Faith

There is a project in my garage waiting to be tackled, Grandpa Joe’s windmill. It’s a three legged prairie windmill that was originally used to pump water from a farmer’s well. Grandpa originally restored it in the 70’s. I always enjoyed turning it on whenever I visited. Lifting the lever to release the brake. Watching the vane swing out, catch the wind, and steer the head into the breeze so the multi-bladed wheel could begin to turn. Originally, the rotation of the wheel was changed by the head to a reciprocal motion. This motion was transferred by a rod to the pump which pulled water from the well. In John 7 Jesus declares, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ”