Wade Poe

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Anxiety is strong in our culture. Some people seem to breathe it. Some seem to live to create it. There's no shortage of people trying to tell you how to manage it or understand it or get rid of it - and that can make you anxious too - trying to figure out who to listen to. In his short letter to the believer in Philippi, Paul encouraged them to keep their eyes on Jesus and what God was/is doing for us through him - and nothing else. Don't look to your religious pedigree, your past successes, or anything else - just keep focused on the good things from God. That can be tough to figure out. I think that's why Paul gave them a list of things to really think about. I mean really think through. What IS true? What IS lovely? I might be wrong, but I am pretty sure peop...

I remember the joy and security of being inside a group of people and being a church insider. But I also remember the rules or the costs of being an insider. "Do what we say or you're out." The "we" was usually whoever had the most influence and power at the moment and specifically power and influence over something that was important to you, at the moment. Back then, it was seeking approval for additions to or modifications to things that were happening in a worship service, Bible class, in a church bulletin, building usage, or any number of little "church things." Rarely was it a discussion about a major idea or concern about life, God, church beliefs, or other "important things" that related to "the church". Regardless of the importance or size of an issue, the reactions, way back then, were often the same - don't tick people off or get on the wrong side of a decision maker - you'll pay for that in the long run. _________...

Quit thinking you can earn something from God. Stop believing people who say you can and should. Learn to live in grace and in confidence with God.  Consider the motives of people who benefit from you depending on them for answers about God, life, etc. Learn to listen to God and not just what some people say God said. ______________________________ "Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so.   We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat." In this short wrap up of a long sermon-style letter to the Hebrews, the writer tucks away some powerful ideas that I believe  we just skip over, including this short set of sentences  which remind us that ceremony, as it were, is NOT God's ideal, but instead, grace. We have become socialized to believe that worship services, per ...

Sundays were always "THE day" set aside to God or for God.  It was the Sabbath day we kept. Except we would occasionally mow the yard or do chores.  We didn't know much about any of that except that it was what people said about Sundays.  It was a little confusing when we learned that the Sabbath day was Saturday, but that we did it Sunday. We just took it for granted that what the preacher said was probably what God thought and just did that. __________________________ Back then, it wasn't the case that Sundays were the day we got "recharged" for the week ahead. It was more a reminder that you'd better get it right this week and if you messed it up last week, this is your chance to "go forward" at church and get right with God, again. It's kind of crazy to think about that now of days. Now of days Sunday is/was the time to get together to get filled up for the week ahead and to recharge our batteries. And if that seemed too selfish to say,...

Conversations. Sharing of information.  Learning to speak with others about our *potentially* shared faith in what God has done for us in Jesus.  That’s the start of what it looks like to “be church” as opposed to “go to church”. I know that sounds simplistic. And it probably is. But what I mean by conversation is taking the time to tease out fully what each of us/all of us have put our faith in.    It’s easy to chat about religious stuff. We all have opinions and experiences we can share.  We can talk about “church stuff” and religious things, but rarely do we get down to the heart of what we believe with one another. ______________________________   Why  is that? Things are often best kept somewhat vague or not discussed, people think. Kind of like the old saying, “don’t bring up politics or religion” so you can keep the discussion light and without conflict.   We’ve done that for so long in culture, we often don’t know how to have those kinds o...

Doncha-hafta-go-ta-church? Follow me on this.  It's a different route than what you might be accustomed to taking. God did it all through Jesus.  There's nothing I do to earn, keep, or re-gain my life with him.  That's just the truth of the matter.   And plenty of people can kinda, sorta go along with that, but wonder/struggle hard about "church" and how it's possible that it is not the central part of how you live out your faith.  Here we go... The early believers were dominated, population wise, by Jewish people - ethnic Jews whose identity, lifestyle, and just about everything was wrapped up in their "Jewishness". When you read through the New Testament from the book of Acts on to the end, you see so much of it is devoted to helping those people to stop trusting in their old Jewishness ways and just trust Jesus. They *already* were used to meeting together weekly for synagogue and *already* had a tightly wound community around their ethnicity.  Th...

Part of what I've come to believe now, straight from scripture. In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,   but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.   The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.   For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.   God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. In him we have redemption through his blood, th...

What's the largest story, the biggest picture we live in? In years gone by, the largest story, for me, was that God made everything, including people.  People messed it all up and God sent his son as a corrective to "fix" things.   The correction or "fix" that he sent made it possible that people could possibly earn their way back to God by being a part of a local church. All that people had to do was believe the right things about God, church, and baptism and do all the steps required before being baptized.  Those steps were to hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized. The hearing meant that you heard the steps and did the steps.  There was more to it, but that was how it came across. There were variations.  You could also hear the story about Jesus' death, burial, resurrection, etc and believe it.  You could repent from sin.  You could confess sin or that you believed the gospel.   And at some point you were to be baptized.  And usua...

In "The Devil's Advocate" the Keanu Reeves character is tempted and manipulated by the devil to do some awful things, but eventually, he resists, the devil is "conquered" and Keanu's character moves on... ...only to have the devil reappear in the next scene as another new, unrecognizable character who begins a new attempt to get Keanu's character to fall to a new, different temptation.  The cycle continues. It was one of those movie scenes that made a lasting impression on me about how things work and was a reminder that you need to be vigilant about anything that is important to you. ____________________________ Now that things have quieted down and a lot of water has passed under the bridge, the greater temptations arise - and they are actually the most mundane and yet most powerful that exist - routine and familiarity. It's been noticed that after the death of a loved one, people are shocked by the way everyone goes about their business "like...

Ever been around someone who has a different kind of relationship with you than they do another mutual friend?  Like different friends from different friend groups who meet in front of you, perhaps for the first time. I'm often forgetful that some of my friends and acquaintances don't know each other, so when they're in the same room for the first time, it's interesting to remember they don't know the amazing things about the other person and what a cool thing they're in for, if they get to know them like I do. For example, I have friends who work for bosses who are also my friends.  I knew their bosses before they began working for them.  Watching them interact with me as a friend and then turn to each other and assume the role of boss or worker is often funny, maybe even a little tasty or even super awkward to see how the unique personalities unfold in these very different roles.  _______________________________ Now of days, the same thing happens when I liste...

I woke at a little before 3:00. On the backside of a nagging cough, a crick in my neck, and too much caffeine after 6:00 PM. I was surprised to find God there too. Not that he's not always here with me and with you, but in that way that you're aware of it. I had a feeling it was going to be a bit before I could drop back into sleep, so I just stayed in the moment with God. There wasn't anything special or different said, just the normal "I'm here" feeling in a way that was reassuring and an end to itself. And, as always, there's a sense of invitation.  An inkling of "I'm always around. We might run into each other like this again." No need to try to chase down or replicate the moment, just the gift of a moment. And all of that under the well established relationship of trust and dependence that what he said is true. _______________________ I remember chasing after God's will for many years as if it was a secret to be found like some kind ...