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This is a guest post by Doreen Frick. Doreen is the daughter of prophecy writer Salem Kirban, and was most influenced by the people in her life who showed her Christ in the practical ways. She and her husband, Wes, have four “kids” and 11 grandkiddies.

You can view her other writings at Grand Magazine, “I Long to See My Fairy Godmother” and Edge Magazine, “Rain, Rain.” You can read more about Doreen here. She wrote a previous guest post for Redeeming God, which can be found here: Have Your Next Corona on Me.

If you would like to write a Guest Post for RedeemingGod, begin by reading the Guest Blogger Guidelines.

For nigh onto a year, I was texting someone I thought was my son. It didn’t matter that he never texted back, I figured he was busy with his law and his family and his coaching and his friends so I kept my “corresponding” short, sweet, and always about football.

Specifically The Chicago Bears.

I’d text when they were doing good, or when I thought someone shoulda caught that pass. No reply, not even an “I’m too upset to watch this game another minute!” typical Josh reaction. When the Bears played my team I could rightly understand his lack of response–after all my team was the Seahawks. The Superbowl Seahawks.

But then one day out of the blue I did hear back with a text I didn’t expect.

I’m not Josh. Please stop texting me.

Yikes. I looked at those sad words and went back in my mind hoping I never said anything I wouldn’t want anyone else to read. Nope. My mom always told me never to write anything you didn’t want broadcast all over so I was pretty sure I continued to follow that advice once the tech age began ruling the correspondence world. My next decision involved how to politely respond to this dear soul who’d been receiving unwanted texts meant for a son somewhere out there who apparently changed his number and never bothered to tell dear old mom.

I texted the unknown Mr. or Miss or Ms. or Mrs. I’m NOT Josh with all the innocence a mother left in the dark could muster,

Thank you so much for letting me know. Mom’s always the last to find out when their kid changes their number. So very sorry I’ve used so many of your texts this year!

And then I guess the poor soul on the other end felt sorry for Joshua’s mom left with no cell phone number to bug her son with about football because he/she replied,

That’s ok.

I called Josh’s firm and got his voicemail. My message was short and sweet and you can guess what I said.

A quick text came back. Mystery solved:

You mean your number isn’t ###-8083? Because I’ve been texting someone who never replies either!

Ah ha! I get it now. Josh got a new phone last year and a new number which he attempted to text me but when he entered my number he inverted two digits which for someone in his business is pretty ironic since he gets all over his secretaries about proofreading his stuff before it becomes the law. I knew I suffered from inverting number dyslexia, never knew til now he did too. Maybe it’s inherited, I thought and a lovely understanding and spell of relief flooded my slightly hurt feeling a little bit ignored mother soul. Josh had been in touch all this time and thought I’d been ignoring him.

Alas all was reconciled, Josh and I were reconnected, life was back on track. Just then another text came through, an oldest son’s word of caution:

Be careful who you text, Mom. Not everyone out there is nice.

Hmm, I thought about that and guessed he was right though it would have been nice if the mystery person on the other end would have told me sooner I had the wrong person dialed in but yeah maybe they figured most moms were smarter than I am and would eventually catch on. Maybe they just wanted to give me time to figure out a fairly tricky situation and I’m just lucky I got a good one who didn’t take advantage of my delicate predicament. So thank you whoever you were out there in cell phone land. Maybe someday you’ll text the wrong person and they’ll let you know kindly, like you did me.

Today I read my Bible in John and ran across the lady at the well talking to Jesus and not knowing He’s the Son of God. She’s telling him how when Messiah comes He’ll take care of His people, He’ll provide like Jacob provided this fine well and how is it that He, a Jew speaks to her a Samaritan and then comes to a well with nothing to draw water with. Oh don’t they have a nice chat in the broiling heat of day as Jesus draws her in with a promise of Living Water even better than anything she’s drinking now and she’s so thirsty for the real thing she wants to know who will give it, and Jesus ever-so-gently responds:

“I that speak unto thee am He.”

Jesus was so succinct, so powerfully textual and welcoming she was already falling for Him before he got to that part, but just as quickly as she learns the truth she goes running to tell all the men in the village she’s met a Man who told her everything she ever did. He’s gotta be the One, doesn’t He? And don’t you know all the men come right out to meet this Man who spoke with this woman and who knew all things. As I read this part the picture of a bunch of fairly curious and perhaps a little worried townspeople rushing out to see what the commotion is all about comes to me and then I smile when it’s recorded how they all believed Him. Not because she told them, but because they heard Him for themselves.

Very, very telling.

And maybe, just maybe, I wonder if what she was told was not so much what she did, but why she did it. Maybe, just maybe, this man she met at the well was hearing her sad heart. Her needs. Her wants. Her full self. Maybe He was the Perfect Hearer, not the perfect teller. All humans want to be heard and I imagine her heart felt it was finally becoming whole.

Sure we don’t go to wells to do our socializing (i.e. gossiping) and yes she was there during the heat of the afternoon because she was somewhat of an outcast and alone in her world of many husbands and no she probably didn’t have a good relationship with the women at the quilting bee yet she was the one in Samaria who was tuned in and ready when her Messiah called her number.

Because maybe just maybe there’s no such thing as a wrong one …

Her pot of clay was empty
As well as her poor heart
She sat at the well just waiting
For a drink a hope a fresh start

One of the Best Commentaries on the Psalms

By Jeremy Myers

1 Comment

It is extremely difficult to write a good commentary on the Psalms, partly because there are 150 of them, and if all you do is say the barest minimum about each Psalm you will easily end up with a commentary over 300 pages long.

The main reason that is difficult to write a commentary on the Psalms, however, is that they deal with the full range of human emotions. How does one go about analyzing and dissecting emotional poetry without killing it? In some ways, emotions are like jokes: you kill them if you have to explain them.

Both of these difficulties were masterfully solved by the leading Hebrew scholar, Allen Ross. He solved the first problem (that of length) by not even trying to fit a commentary on the Psalms into one volume, but published it as three volumes instead.

Volume 1 covers chapters 1-41,Volume 2 covers 42-89, and Volume 3 covers 90-150. All 3 can be purchased from Amazon.

Regarding the problem of how to analyze emotional poetry, Allen Ross accomplishes this in three ways. First, he makes sure his commentary on the Psalms is not overly technical. Though he does frequently refer to Hebrew words, his language is not academic or full of theological jargon. He write plainly and simply, which is a sign of true genius. Also, there are relatively few footnotes for an academic commentary of this size.

Second, Allen Ross keeps from destroying the emotions in the text by providing the context in which the Psalm was written. By helping the student see what the author was going through, we can better identify with the emotions that were being felt. Though there is not much which is known about most of the Psalms, Allen Ross provides what is known.

For example, on Psalm 52, which is an imprecatory Psalm where David calls down curses upon his foes, Allen Ross indicates that this Psalm was probably written in connection to the incident with Doeg (1 Sam 22:17-23). This is helpful in understanding this Psalm, because all of us have felt this way at one time or another about our foes.

Finally, Allen Ross avoids killing the emotions in the text by providing commentary “In Expository Form.” In other words, the text of the commentary often reads more like the text of a sermon. It is still commentary, but it doesn’t read like a technical commentary, but more like an exhortation.

In the end, these are great commentaries on the Psalms. If you are looking to preach, teach, or study the Psalms, or simply want an aid for your summer devotional reading of the Psalms, I highly recommend Allen P. Ross’ Commentaries on the Psalms.

[#39] Genesis 3:1-7 – The Shrewd, the Food, and the Nude

By Jeremy Myers

6 Comments

Why was the serpent in the Garden? If the serpent was Satan, as some New Testament passages teach, why did God allow the serpent to be there in the Garden, knowing that it would tempt Adam and Eve? What’s going on here?

It is these sorts of questions we consider today in this episode of the One Verse Podcast. Listen to this discussion about Genesis 3:1-7 to learn more!

The Text of Genesis 3:1-7

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

In this discussion of Genesis 3:1-7 we look at:

The cultural background to Genesis 3:1-7
The symbolism of the serpent in other religions
Two stories from Babylon about sacred food from the gods
Why we should not think of the serpent as Satan

Resources:

Gilgamesh Epic
Adapa and the Food of Life
Adam and Adapa: Two Anthropological Characters
Heiser, The Unseen Realm – Amazon
Walton, Lost World of Adam and Eve – Amazon
Wenham, Genesis 1–15 – Amazon or CBD
Zevit, What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden – Amazon
Genesis 1:28 – Let Them Have Dominion
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Downloadable Podcast Resources

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Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Do you like learning about Scripture and theology through my podcast? If so, then you will also love my online courses. They all have MP3 audio downloads, PDF transcripts, quizzes, and a comment section for questions and interaction with other students.

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

We Stopped Going to Church…Now What?

By Jeremy Myers

35 Comments

This is a guest post by Jim Gordon.

Jim is the contributor for Done with Religion, a blog site about living for God in a non-religious way. Jim grew up being part of the Methodist church for several years, then was part of several non-denominational churches over the next few years before leaving the institution. He and his wife, after many years in the organized church, have been living for God outside the walls of the traditional church. They live in the central Ohio area. Along with his blog, you can connect with Jim on Facebook and Twitter.

If you would like to write a Guest Post for RedeemingGod.com, begin by reading the Guest Blogger Guidelines.

My wife and I grew up in the organized church, spent many years involved and enjoyed it. At the time we thought this is what God intended and was the only way to obey the commands of the Bible about meeting together.

After years in the organization, we began to have an uneasy feeling about the way church was done. We were very unsatisfied each week going to a building, listening to one group of people lead the singing, then listening to one person do all the talking.

We started wondering why the pastor was the only person who had authority to speak for God and tell us how we were to act and believe. When we read verses such as I Corinthians 14:26 about each one of us having something to say, we wondered why that never happened.

After several years of questioning and being unhappy with the way church was performed, my wife and I made a decision to stop attending and see how we felt.

Of course the first thing many people told us was that we were wrong for staying away because the bible says not to forsake the assembling of yourselves together. After thinking about that verse for a while, I came to the conclusion that it was not talking about an organized meeting once a week in a building. We took this verse to mean that we needed our brothers and sisters in Christ on a daily basis in normal day to day living.

The first several months after leaving church as we knew it, the thing that seemed like a priority to us was finding something else to get involved in such as a small group or house church. After a short time we came to find that many house churches and small groups were actually nothing more than church on a smaller scale.

Now that we have been out of the organized system for a couple years, we are coming to realize we are having more meaningful fellowship without any type of organized group or meeting. Living for Christ is a daily lifestyle not a one day or now and then way of living. Jesus is living within us by the Holy Spirit and we fellowship with Him daily. He has been bringing people into our lives that share our thoughts about organized church, some for a long period, some for a short while, and others just on a one time basis.

We have found that since being out of the church system, we depend on God more and enjoy meaningful fellowship with others more than we did when it was at a set place on a set time frame with only a few select people in charge and doing all the teaching.

We believe that Church is a community of believers who get together anytime, anywhere, no matter if it is only 2 or 3 people. This is the assembling of the believers to us, fellowship time together anytime God brings it about realizing God is within us and we are the Church.

I am not going to say that the organized church is a bad thing, though I do believe it is not what God meant when He said He would build His Church. I have many happy memories in church, made many friends there and learned a lot about our Father. Yet at this point, neither my wife nor I would want to go back into the organized church with its many doctrines and religious ways of doing church. We have found so much more meaning and fellowship outside the walls and we are enjoying our walk down this path God has lead us too.

We also find it interesting that God leads us to people when we least expect it, even when it is someplace that no one would expect such as a restaurant, park, work or even a pub. We have also made a lot of friends that many religious people would not want to be around, yet the love of Christ within us draws us together in love and acceptance.

We were always taught in the church that we should separate ourselves from the non-believers and only talk to them when we could ‘witness’ for Christ. Basically that seems to mean talk to non-believers only when we can point out their mistakes or condemn them for their way of life. I never found in the bible where Jesus treated anyone that way.

If you are satisfied with the week to week services and religious ways of doing church that is OK. Stay there and enjoy the time you have with other like-minded believers. If you are questioning the way church is done, or if you are dissatisfied and looking to leave the organization then do so without feeling guilty. Seek God and ask Him to lead you, teach you and guide you in this new path outside the walls of religion.

[#38] Genesis 3:1 – Scapegoating Eve

By Jeremy Myers

16 Comments

This study of Genesis 3:1 introduces the most important truth in all of Scripture. I believe that the truth you will learn today is discussed or explained or revealed in some way on almost every page of the Bible, and yet, amazingly, most of us have never seen that it is there. This is because the truth we see today is a truth hidden from the foundation of the world. It is also a truth revealed most clearly by Jesus.

The Text of Genesis 3:1

Genesis 3:1. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

In this discussion of Genesis 3:1 we look at:

The word for “serpent” and “cunning” in Genesis 3:1
What might have really happened between Genesis 2:25 and Genesis 3:1
Why Eve might not be the guilty one after all
Why scapegoating is the most important truth in Scripture

Resources:

Buy The Atonement of God on Amazon
Zevit, What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden
Hardin, Reading the Bible with Rene Girard
Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

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Do you like learning about the Bible online?

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

How to talk to God for REAL

By Jeremy Myers

42 Comments

How do you talk to God? How should we talk to God?

I often hear Christians who have picked up a really bad habit of saying “Father God” at least once every 5 words. I am not making this up. You have probably heard something like it yourself.

Such prayers sound like this:

Father God, I thank you, Father God, for being here, Father God, and for allowing us, Father God, to study Scripture today, Father God. And Father God, may you bless our minds, Father God, with your Spirit, Father God, so that, Father God, we may become more Christlike, Father God, and in your name, Father God, bring others to you, Father God.

And on and on it goes. I have written about this before here. Such a way of praying certainly develops a good rhythm, but is that really what we are going for in our prayers? Rhythm? No. I think that when we pray, our goal should be communication with God.

So how can you do that?

Talk to God like you Talk to Others

When people say “Father God” over and over in their prayers, I imagine God does not mind as much as I do … but please, when you pray, learn to talk to God like you talk to anyone else. You do not need fancy words, fancy language, or lots of repetition.

And God definitely doesn’t need to be reminded of who we are talking to.

On a recent Facebook Post, Vicki Manera shared this image with me:

Let’s start talking to God the way we talk to anyone else. God does not need to be reminded that we are talking to Him.

In fact, you don’t even need to start your prayers with the word “Dear” and end them with the word “Amen.” Do you do this when talking to anyone else? Nope. So just talk to God like you talk to any other friend who is standing right next to you. Because that is exactly where God is.

The Lord’s Prayer for Today

Here is “The Lord’s Prayer” which follows this way of thinking about God and about prayer:

Hey Dad, I know that you want people to know who you are, and so help me learn to follow your ways here on earth just as they are followed in heaven. Help me do this by trusting you for my needs today and avoiding the way the world wants me to live. Hopefully as you teach me to live this way, others will come to know you through me. I’m serious about this, okay?

Now really, that prayer is quite generic. It doesn’t say much. But it’s a template for how our conversations with God can go. You don’t need to memorize this prayer or recite it. After all, do you memorize a conversation you want to have with your wife and recite it to her every night at dinner? I hope not…

The point is this … God is a real person who wants to have real conversations with you. So talk to Him that way!

Do you want to pray like never before?

Do you what to talk to God like you talk to a friend? Do you want to see more answers to prayer?

If you have these (and other) questions about prayer, let me send you some teaching and instruction about prayer to your email inbox. You will receive one or two per week, absolutely free. Fill out the form below to get started.

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If you have been curious about my new book… The Atonement of God

By Jeremy Myers

27 Comments

My newest book has been out for a couple months now. If you have been thinking of buying a copy to read, this post will help you learn more about my book, The Atonement of God.

There are quite a few places on the internet that have posted excerpts and reviews of the book, and there are also several locations which are selling it.

Reviews and Excerpts from The Atonement of God

If you write a review or publish an excerpt of the book and want it listed here, please let me know!

Places to Buy The Atonement of God

Amazon (for the Kindle and for Paperback books)
Barnes & Noble (for the Nook)
Google Play Books (for Android devices)
iTunes Bookstore (for Apple devices)
Kobo (for a Kobo eReader)

Buy the Paperback in Bulk

If you have read the book and want to buy paperback copies in bulk to give away or to study with friends, you can do that right here:

[#37] Genesis 3 Introduction

By Jeremy Myers

3 Comments

This podcast episode provides the normal explanation of Genesis 3.

There is nothing really wrong with this traditional explanation of Genesis 3. When I was a pastor I preached through Genesis, and I went back and looked at my sermon notes on Genesis 3, and what I am going to share with you today is what I would have preached 20 years ago from Genesis 3.

But now I believe there are many more significant truth from Genesis 3 that we miss. I will point those out in future podcast episodes.

In this discussion of Genesis 3 we look at:

The normal explanation of Genesis 3
The identity of the Serpent
How Eve added to the law of God
The consequences of eating from the Forbidden Tree

Resources:

The Lust of the Flesh (Luke 4:1-4)
The Lust of the Eyes and the Pride of Life (Luke 4:5-13)
Theology.fm – Helping you and your Theology Look Like Jesus
Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

If you are not part of any group, you may learn about the various groups and their benefits here:
Join Us Today.

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

Do you use these Christian Clichés? Please stop.

By Jeremy Myers

106 Comments

I have written about this before — “10 Christian Clichés to Avoid Like the Plague” and “Stop saying God Bless You” — but I keep running into more Christian Clichés that I wish Christians would remove from their vocabulary.

Please note that as I point these out I am not trying to be critical of Christians. Instead, I am hoping to make us real. The watching world is tired of empty answers to important issues, and instead wants us to engage them in real conversations about the pressing questions of our day. We can never do this if we always resort to Christian Clichés

So here are a few more Christian Clichés to avoid like the plague:

You’re Covered in the Blood!

Eeewww. That sounds … terrible. It sounds like a Freddy Krueger movie. I really don’t want to take a bath in blood.

Just Press In to God

Press in to God? What does that mean? How do I do it? Where is God so that I can press in to Him?

And won’t He think that’s a little strange if I press myself up against Him?

God is Good? … All the Time! … All the Time? … God is Good!

Lots of Christians include this sort of chant in their Sunday services.

But what does it mean? Is it even true?

Well, of course it’s true, but when a person is facing trouble and trials in life, does chanting this do anything to help? No. Not really.

Brother … Sister

This is when Christians refer to each other as “Brother” and “Sister” as in “Brother Bob here …”

It just sounds cultish. Don’t use it.

Jesus Saves!

He does? From what? See my post here on this: Saved: The Most Misunderstood Word in the Bible

Bless Your Heart

Unless I have heart problems, I am not sure my heart needs to be blessed.

It’s Good to Be in the House of the Lord

The house of the Lord? This building we’re in is God’s house?

Does He live here? Does He sleep here?

And what about the church down the road? Is that His House also? Why does He have so many houses? Does He really need them all?

Let Go and Let God

Let go of what? And let God do what? Are you saying I should just sit on my couch all day and let God run things for my life? I’m pretty sure that if I did this, I would lose my job, destroy my marriage, and die from starvation. So clearly there are numerous things God cannot do for me in my life. How can I know that God will actually do the things I am supposed to “Let go” of?

I’ve Got a Word for you from the Lord

Ironically, “a word” is usually hundreds of words. And the words are usually so vague, they could apply to anyone. They are often sort of like a fortune teller’s predictions about the future.

And even when the message from God is specific, it tends to benefit the person giving me “a word from the Lord” more than it benefits God or me. This makes me very suspicious that “a word from the Lord” is actually a word from you, and you are saying it came from God so that you can manipulate me into doing what you want.

Someone once told my parents “God told me to tell you to that you are supposed to give me your house.” My mother’s response was perfect. She said “Ok. As soon as God tells us the same thing, I will do it.”

Amen

I said this recently in a conversation with a non-Christian and he did a double-take at me and said, “Amen? As in the Egyptian Amen-Ra? Why would you say that?”

I had to explain that “Amen” is old way of stating agreement, and it means “Truly” or “That’s the truth!” A modern equivalent might be “Right!” or “Yes!”

He said, “Oh. Well, why don’t you just say that then?”

Amen!

The Spirit is Moving

He is? Moving where? Moving how? How can you tell? Does He need a U-Haul?

Isn’t God everywhere? If so, how can He move?

I’m going to lift you up in prayer

Lift me up? How? Do you need to touch me? Lift me up to where?

Lord, Put a Hedge of Protection Around Us

A hedge? Like … bushes?

And the bushes are going to protect me from what exactly? Maybe from The Knights who Say Ni!

I think a wall might be better, but with the things I’m struggling with, I don’t think even a wall will help. I’m not trying to keep out immigrants.

The Bible Says It. I Believe It. That Settles It.

Yes, well, the Bible doesn’t actually say what you think it says, which means you don’t actually believe it, and so nothing whatsoever is settled.

I wrote about this before as well: Nobody believes the Bible. not even you

A Cliché Sermon

There have been times when I have sat through Sunday sermons that were nothing but one long string of clichés like the ones above. The sermon went something like this:

Good morning! It’s good to be in the house of the Lord! Amen? (Audience: Amen!)

I’m Brother Bob! Wasn’t that song by Sister Mary just beautiful? Bless your heart, Sister Mary!

This morning, I’ve got a Word from the Lord for you. But before we get to that, I just want to say this: God is Good? (Audience: All the time!) All the time? (Audience: God is good!) Amen. Amen.

Can I get an Amen? (Audience: Amen!)

I am really excited about what the Lord has laid on my heart to share with you today. God just touched my Spirit this week, and I know that the Spirit is moving in this place today, and what I share with you is going to help you press in to God this week. Amen? Hallelujah!

What God wants you to do is just let go and let God. Whatever you’re facing in life, always remember that Jesus saves. That issue you are facing? That trouble, that trial? It’s covered in the blood! You’re covered in the blood. We’re all covered in the blood!

Can I get an amen? (Audience: Amen! Hallelujah!)

Now I got a Bible verse I’m gonna preach from today. But before I read it to you, I want to remind you that the Bible is the Word of God, and whatever it says, we can trust it. Remember, if the Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it.

Amen? Amen and Amen.

This past week I was walking through town, and I passed Brother Jim back there – everybody turn around and say hello to brother Jim! (Audience: Hello Brother Jim!) – you know, Brother Jim’s been having a real hard time in life, and I told him I would lift him up in prayer, and I would invite all of you to lift him up in prayer as well – just pray that God will remind him that he is covered in the blood and that no matter what he’s facing, Jesus saves and that he should just press in to God. Anyway, I was talking with Brother Jim, and hearing about his problems, and right at that moment, the Lord gave me a Word to share with Brother Jim, and after I shared it with him, I realized God wanted me to share this word with all of you as well, and it comes from a verse in the Bible.

Let’s turn to [Fill in the blank here for ANY verse in the entire Bible] and read it.

[The speaker then reads a random verse.]

Now what we see here is that God is speaking to us, and this is His very word, and we know that if God says it, it can be trusted, and we can believe it.

[The sermon goes on from here, basically repeating everything that has already been said.]

Now, did the pastor actually say anything? Nope. He didn’t say a single thing. Go back and read it and see if you can figure out what he is saying.

A REAL Blog Post I Discovered:

As I was searching for images for my blog post above, I came across the following blog post from another blogger. Go ahead and read it, and when you are done ask yourself, “What exactly did I just read? What was the message? What did I learn? What should I do? How can I put this into practice?”

I’m dressed in red today. On fire for the Lord; covered by the blood of Jesus. God, you can do anything but fail. Your purpose will prevail.

The minute your feet hit the ground the devil’s rehearsing your past. Looking for anything to distract God’s purpose. Look to God on purpose.

The devil can do nothing to you without God’s permission. He won’t win. He may come in like a flood. God will lift up a standard against him (Isaiah 59:19).

When storms are raging around you and it seems nothing is working out, God is with you. He will calm the seas. He’ll make everything alright.

Be encouraged. You’re covered by the blood. Put on the whole armor of God. Don’t look to the right or to the left. Look to the hills from whence cometh your help.

No matter what comes today, glorify God in it. He’s able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Pray without ceasing. Walk by faith.

Devil you’ve been served notice today. God will have his way. No weapon formed against us shall prosper. Every assignment has been cancelled. It’s already done. We’re returning everything you sent signed, sealed, and undelivered! We are covered by the blood. In the name of Jesus. Glory. Hallelujah!

Be blessed!

I read through several other blog posts on the blog that this one came from, and found that every single one of them was just like the one above. In fact, as I read, I discovered about 200 more Christian Clichés that lots of Christians say but which are completely meaningless. Here are some more I found on the site:

God is Working Things Out in Your Favor
God Will Never Leave You Where He Found You
Don’t Fit In; Stand Out!
Preparation Before Elevation
Your Breakthrough is Coming!
New Year; New You!
New Levels; New Devils
By His Stripes, You are Healed!
You Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens You
No Weapon Formed Against You Shall Prosper
Don’t Fight the Battle You’ve Already Won

Yes, I know that some of these statements come directly from Scripture. But when we just quote them without thinking about them and do not really understand what these statements mean, even Bible verses can become Christian Clichés.

Why do Christians use Christian Clichés

There are a couple reasons Christians talk this way.

First, Christians talk this way because … well, because Christians talk this way. There is no other reason. Nobody in real life talks this way, and the only reason some Christians talk this way is because they spend a lot of time with each other and learn the Christian lingo so that everybody talks this way.

Second, Christians talk this way because it makes us sound spiritual. Christian clichés make us sound like we know what we’re talking about even when we don’t, they make us sound like we care even when we don’t, they make us sound like we understand Scripture even when we don’t.

I have heard cliché sermons like the one above where the pastor says absolutely nothing for 30 minutes, but because he got the audience to shout “Amen! Hallelujah!” a lot, they walk out of the building thinking that they just heard a really great sermon.

The thing is, outside of Christian circles, talking this way just makes people think we’re crazy. It makes people think we’re shallow and empty. That we don’t have anything to say. They hear us talk this way and all they do is roll their eyes.

So give up on cliché Christianity, and start living real life with real people as we have real conversations using real words about real issues. Can I get an Amen?