One of my favorite things to do is to imagine what the life of a Biblical character was like and then try to understand why they thought and acted the way they did. It helps me see them as real people just like you and I, not a character in a story. It helps me… Continue reading “Do Whatever He Tells You” John 2:5
Blogs
Are You Willing?
I find the Christian walk to be very interesting. As humans we “try hard” to accomplish our goals. This seems to hold true with our walk with God. We “work hard” at doing all the right things, saying all the right things and acting out what we understand our Christian walk to be. The thing… Continue reading Are You Willing?
Where Else Would We Go?
Has anyone ever asked you what one verse in the Bible speaks to you the loudest? If you could say in one verse what your faith is built on, what verse would that be? I have heard people refer to it as their life verse. Mine is John 6:68 where Peter exclaimed, “Lord, to whom… Continue reading Where Else Would We Go?
The Trinity
How do you explain or understand the Trinity; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? On a Christian talk show, I heard a gentleman say, “The biggest problem Muslims have with Christianity is that they think we worship three Gods.” That made me think about normal Christian conversation or even some preaching I have heard about… Continue reading The Trinity
The Peace of God
2019 was a rough year for our family with our oldest son Rob fighting cancer and finally losing his battle. After that trying to minister to his kids, Shelby and Robby. 2020 is not shaping up any better. First, we started the year with the pandemic and in the last week Lin has battle kidney… Continue reading The Peace of God
The Faith of an Evolutionist
I am a very structured, logical man. I cannot agree with something that does not make sense to me. In the thesaurus “faith” is described as confidence, trust, reliance, assurance, conviction and belief. I struggle to know how an evolutionist can logically have that kind of faith in what they believe. Evolution itself is called… Continue reading The Faith of an Evolutionist
Man Born Blind
Jesus said, “This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life”. John 9:3 Jesus’ healing of a man born blind in John 9 is another interesting character study. We know why Jesus did miracles like this, to prove He was God’s Son and glorify the Father, but have you thought… Continue reading Man Born Blind
In the Beginning God Created…
These are the simple words that form the foundation faith. The words that God Himself chose to start out the collection of writings that He chose to share His wisdom and His promise to His people. Five simple words that start the most amazing venture any human can take part in, if they believe what… Continue reading In the Beginning God Created…
Faith like a Child
Jesus said, “I assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it”. (Matt 10:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17) I think these passages are glossed over most of the time. People were bringing their children to Jesus to have Him bless them. The Disciples tried to stop… Continue reading Faith like a Child
Two Views of the Stable
A human view- When I was young I always wondered how God the Father allowed Jesus to be born in a stable. Why was there “no room at the inn”? How could the Father allow Jesus’ first bed be a manger? How could He let the young woman that He chose to give birth to… Continue reading Two Views of the Stable
What Sin is Forgiven?
What do you do with scripture that you don’t understand or even worse scripture you struggle to believe is true? Does it shake your foundation of faith? Does it make you wonder if some scripture is not correct or has not been translated properly? I think about Job and all he went through. The reason… Continue reading What Sin is Forgiven?
Hard Teaching
What do you do with scripture that you don’t understand or even worse scripture you struggle to believe is true? Does it shake your foundation of faith? Does it make you wonder if some scripture is not correct or has not been translated properly? I think about Job and all he went through. The reason… Continue reading Hard Teaching
My Turtle and Me
We probably all remember the children’s story of the Tortoise and the Hare. A cute story with a surprising ending. Have you ever thought about how different they are? Could they ever become best friends? Can any two beings so completely different enjoy a relationship? My wonderful wife and life partner of 50+ years… Continue reading My Turtle and Me
Love One Another…A Work in Progress
“A new command I have for you: love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34) I have struggled with our society’s use of the word love for a long time. We use the same word love to describe how we feel about our wife and children and to describe how we feel about… Continue reading Love One Another…A Work in Progress
Surrender
We have all heard many messages talking about being surrendered. Typically, we think to ourselves of course we are surrendered. After all, that is what a Christian is, right? However, lately the word has been echoing in my heart and mind. What does it really mean? Part of what has this on my mind is… Continue reading Surrender
“How Great is that Darkness”
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6:22-23), “The eye is the lamp to the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great… Continue reading “How Great is that Darkness”
God Is in the Little Things
I had an experience a few days ago that I would like to share. It was a “touch” from God in an ordinary, everyday situation. First let me set the scene. I went to Meijer at mid-morning on a Wednesday. I just had to pick up a few things. There were not many people in… Continue reading God Is in the Little Things
Parable of the Bush
I love the way our God can speak to us through everyday occurrences, like one day when I was working on spring clean-up in our yard and began trimming the bushes behind our house. While hand trimming these bushes, thoughts about scriptural principles kept going through my head. At first glance the bushes appeared to… Continue reading Parable of the Bush
“I”dolatry
A few weeks ago, I read an interesting term in an In-Touch Ministries devotional; “I”dolatry. I find that a challenging term. If I put myself on the throne of my life instead of God, that is idolatry. If I am seeking my will not His will, making my will more important than His, that is… Continue reading “I”dolatry
My Problem with Evolutionists
One of my greatest passions is for people to know why they believe what they believe. As a society that is always in a hurry, when people hear something that sounds right to them they are quick to believe it is factual. They typically do not question or research the truth of the statement; they… Continue reading My Problem with Evolutionists
Candidate Crisis – Do You Believe Me Now?
I saw this coming years ago and have been writing about this crisis for years. (See other blogs on http://www.stanfieldassociates.com). It is now in full force. “We are hiring” signs are everywhere. I actually saw a sign on a Burger King front door that said, “Lobby closed do to lack of staff. Please go through… Continue reading Candidate Crisis – Do You Believe Me Now?
We Need a Bridge from Academia to the Work Place
A generation has been told by their parents and their teachers that a college education is the only answer to a “good life”. “Manufacturing is dead” was a common statement. Young people from their mid-twenties to their mid-thirties now have student loan payments than are as large as a mortgage payment. However, because of the… Continue reading We Need a Bridge from Academia to the Work Place
Building Bench Strength
How is your bench strength? When your key performers are sidelined, do you have others following in their steps that can step in and “carry the ball” in your key performers’ absence? Everyone has key performers, but the long-term winners focus on the next level to ensure success now and in the future. Some call… Continue reading Building Bench Strength
The Strategic Importance of Trust
I heard this phrase recently and it has echoed in my head ever since. As I pondered the statement, I realized that trust, or the lack of it, is the foundation that all relationships are built on, including business relationships. Who wants to do business with, work for or employee people you do not trust?… Continue reading The Strategic Importance of Trust
Engaged Employees are Self-Governed
As business struggles to build a productive work force in the 21st century, and at the same time engage four generations with differing approaches to work in the same work force, we must not loose sight of the basic foundations of building a great team. In the current employment market, good employees can easily find… Continue reading Engaged Employees are Self-Governed
Christian Life Coach 