Check out our latest Thoughts for the Journey podcast. On today’s episode we see that there is power in God’s presence, and we should seek to experience Him.
Pick up a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses. It is available on Amazon.
Life in general
How God Sees Us – New Podcast
New Thoughts for the Journey Podcast. It will encourage you.
Pick up a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses. It is available on Amazon.
NEW PODCAST: Thoughts for the Journey
Today, we launch a new podcast. Thoughts for the Journey: Things to ponder along the way.
These episodes will be 3-5 minutes long. I hope they will inspire, encourage, and challenge you. I pray it blesses you.
Pick up a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses. It is available on Amazon.
How to Have a Good Day
I read this thought from Levi Lusko this morning and it resonated with my spirit. Everything is a choice. Including how we go through our everyday lives. It is all about how we decide to start our day.
LISTEN TO THESE WORDS FROM LEVI LUSKO:
It’s hard to have a bad day that starts well. Not impossible, but you make it harder for things to go sideways and your attitude to get sour if things begin on the right foot. If you start your months well, your weeks well, and your days well, you position yourself to receive from God all he has for you. A lot of people sit under open heavens with closed windows. So what does it look like to open them up? At the start of the month, give God your first fruits; at the start of the week, gather together with God’s people; and at the start of the day, get in God’s presence, and then come what may, you’ll have already had a great day!
The Psalmist said, “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Start your day in God’s presence and learn to rejoice always, and again I say rejoice. This was the Apostle Paul’s secret to life. You cannot go wrong by beginning each day in prayer and Bible reading. It will shape your day, especially if you include thanksgiving and rejoicing. Now, have a great day!
Pick up a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses. It is available on Amazon.
Passion for God’s House
John 2:17 NLT, “Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”
In our society today we have a passion for a lot of different things. Sports, education, media and movies, food, and many other things that bring us pleasure. Jesus was known, from the beginning of His ministry, for His passion for God’s House.
Here is a fulfillment of a prophecy,” Passion for God’s House will consume me.” This begs the question, “Does a passion for Gods House consume us?”. If we are passionate about things of this world, how much more should we be passionate about the things of God.
We should be passionate for God’s house in the following areas:
1. Passionate to GO to God’s House.
Are we faithful to His House or do we let other things keep us away? We must be careful that we don’t let things keep us from corporate worship.
2. Passionate to PRAY for God’s House.
How often do you pray for your church? If we belong to a church then we should pray for the church, its pastors and leaders. There is no greater way to impact the church than to pray for it. Prayer equals power.
3. Passionate to GROW in God’s House.
There is an old saying that says we should bloom where we are planted. Are you planted and blooming in church? It is difficult to mature spiritually apart from the church. Now, this doesn’t mean that it is the church’s job to make you grow. You have to feed yourself. But growth happens at a greater pace when you are linked with other believers. Being taught and ministered to. You grow when you are feeding yourself at home and then blooming in a Bible teaching congregation.
4. Passionate to SERVE in God’s House.
If you belong to a church, are you serving in that church? Everyone is called to ministry. We must use our giftings to serve others. People who are passionate for Gods house serve in God’s House.
5. Passionate to BUILD God’s House.
When is the last time you invited someone to church? It is not solely the pastor’s responsibility to build God’s House, it is everyone’s. The pastor equips the saints for the work of the ministry and the saints minister. It means that every church member is a builder. Building by inviting and building by serving.
We all need to grow in these areas. Find where you are lacking and work diligently to grow in passion for God’s House. In a couple of weeks this will be a part of our Commit to Jesus. Series. “I am Committed to God’s House.”
Pick up a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses. It is available on Amazon.
Sometimes, Church Hurts Kindle Version Free
I am running the Kindle Version of my book, Sometimes, Church Hurts, for free through this weekend. It is available on Amazon.
Here is the description of the book:
Have you had a Christian friend turn on you? Has your church experience been tainted by painful relationships with other believers?
When Jesus instituted His church nearly 2,000 years ago, He declared that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it. While the enemy has never been able to overcome the church of Jesus Christ, he has still presented many challenges to it. Though the church was birthed in unity, division has marred many houses of worship. The reason? The church is centered on relationships and relationships can have problems. The church has been aptly described as a family, yet every family has its struggles and so it is with the family of God. Anytime there are problems in church, people get hurt.
Out of a burden for today’s church, Danny Cheney seeks to make you aware of the need for forgiveness and reconciliation. Drawing on nearly two decades of pastoral experience, he gives insight into how to find healing from church hurts. Having pastored three churches that had been through major division, Danny has seen first-hand the wounds that believers endure in the House of God. Through these experiences, he has found that the Scriptures give us all the answers to the problems churches and believers face. In Sometimes, Church Hurts, you will discover truths that will help you heal fractured relationships while also finding healing for your deepest wounds. This honest and challenging book addresses the issues that many churches and believers face today and helps us realize, Sometimes, Church Hurts.
If this interests you, get it for free on Kindle, or it is also available in paperback here.
Pick up a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses. It is available on Amazon.
Becoming Sluggish
In our journey through life it is easy for us to slow down or become “sluggish”. Life has a lot of hardships and demotivators. One day we can be on top of the world and the next day find all of our dreams dashed on the rocks. The tendency when life deals us these cards is to slow down and quit pressing forward. A few years back, there was a company that specialized in demotivating sayings that I believe every one of us have thought at one time or another. One saying goes, “CHALLENGES – I expected times like this – but I never thought they would be so bad, so long, and so frequent.” Another that is written is, “DOUBT – In the battle between you and the world; bet on the world.”
This is often how we feel, and we dwell on things such as this, but the truth of the matter is God thinks of good things toward us not bad. Thoughts of a future and a hope. When life hands us sour grapes we have to press on and not become sluggish. Not to slow down but rather to press forward full speed ahead. The enemy of our souls wants us to quit and give up, but God wants us to stay on track and press forward. Hebrews 6:12 says, “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
Do not become sluggish! Imitate those who have experienced hardship but still pressed on. Imitate those who have faced disappointments and frustration but kept going and did not become sluggish. When the going gets tough we must grow closer to God not farther away. Press on!
Pick up a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses. It is available on Amazon.
FREE on Amazon Kindle until Sunday – my book, Sometimes, Church Hurts
Secrets of True Success
I have been pastoring now for over 26 years and it has been a joy in my life. There have been, however, many ups and downs and I have had to step back on many occasions and focus on the most important things.
I think I can speak for a lot of pastors when I say that 2020 and the COVID era have taken its toll on the church and its leaders. The successes we knew before, were challenged and much of what we worked for, it seems that we took several steps back. In reality, many churches have not recovered yet to their numbers pre-COVID.
Having said that, this last couple of years have caused me to evaluate what the most important things are for us as a church, and me personally as a pastor. What is true success? At the onset, let me say, that I believe God desires for a church to grow and to continue growing. But when things are at a standstill or seem to have plateaued, what are the most important things to remember? What are the things that we must focus on so that we will stay on track? Are there any principles, for us as pastors, that we can pay attention to in challenging times that will see us through?
I believe there are. My new book The Cloud of Witnesses was birthed out of these questions. It was my attempt to put on paper what I believe are the most important things for a pastor to focus on and then let God bring the results in our ministry. Many people in our society, ministry, and world in general have defined what success should look like. But, in The Cloud of Witnesses I wrote what I believe true success should look like. What is success? Not in the world’s eyes, but what is success in God’s eyes?
These things are not only Secrets of True Success for pastors, but I believe it can translate into every area of our lives. I will list the Seven Secrets of True Success in the abbreviated version here, but I have also put the full PDF version for you to click on and download. These Secrets (which are really not secrets) will revolutionize your perspective and your life if you will allow them to.
The Secrets of True Success
- I will be a person of true success.
- I will be a person of prayer.
- I will be a shepherd of God’s flock.
- I will be a person of humility.
- I will be a person of complete integrity.
- I will be a person of the Word, reading my Bible daily for more than just sermon preparation.
- I will be a person who is faithful in and through everything.
These are the springboard for what success looks like if we will hold these dear to our heart.
Click here for the FULL PDF VERSION
If you would like to read the story of a pastor who learned what True Success looks like, grab a copy of The Cloud of Witnesses. I believe it will bless you.
Life of a Pastor Blog 