Good News Community Church

06/01/2026

05/31/2026

Used with permission through our CCL copyright license number 913440 and streaming license number 21598138.

05/28/2026

MOM’S SWEET SPIRIT – Ephesians 6

Mom was known for her prevailing sweet spirit. Oh, she had her moments of frustration, depression and self-pity, but they were always overcome and she would regain the sweet richness of the Spirit of Jesus in control of her attitude and outlook. She had her outspoken moments of dealing with people and worldviews that opposed her values, principles, priorities and attitudes. She didn’t care for facial hair and let her boys know it. In recent years she struggled with not being able to hear conversations and the added frustration of keeping track of hearing aids that never functioned to her satisfaction. There were moments when she experienced the sadness of aloneness. Then she had to deal with pain, isolation, and immobility when she broke her leg during COVID. Only God knows the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional challenges she had to face over the course of her nearly 95 years on earth. But, with the inspiration of the Sweet Holy Spirit, she always seemed to rise above and find reasons to praise God and keep praying for others to do the same.

We know that Jesus was the secret to her resilience and prevailing sweetness. She found His presence with her in prayer, in meditating on the Scriptures, in the songs of faith, and in the fellowship and friendship of others who knew and loved Jesus – especially her family of 10 children and all their spouses and offspring. We celebrated all those things on what would have been her 95th birthday, May 12th, 2026. One of the things I wish we had more time to emphasize was a passage of Scripture that meant a great deal to her in overcoming the challenges to her mind, body, soul and spirit. It’s one she wanted shared as part of her own testimony, hoping others might benefit. It’s found in Ephesians 6:10-20 – hope you’ll read it. Here’s mom’s application:

Mom found her strength in the Lord and in His mighty power. Her sweetness was no accident or simply a totally natural personality thing. She armed herself against the devil’s schemes to discourage her and destroy her sweet spirit. She recognized that the struggle to sustain a right spirit was not against other people, nor the attitudes they brought into her life, it was against the enemy of her soul; against the spiritual powers of darkness and evil. She learned to be intentional about putting on the full armor of God, so that she could stand firm against all of the onslaughts of the devil which intended to take her down. She girded herself with truth, guarded her heart with righteousness, and stood firm and grounded in the Gospel of peace. She extinguished all the flaming arrows of the evil one with her shield of faith – she really believed that what she believed was really real. She guarded her mind and her thinking with the helmet of salvation – she knew above all else that Jesus was her salvation and nothing was going to change her mind. All those pieces of armor provided a strong defense and fortress for her sweet spirit. Her offense was the sword of the Spirit; that would be the word of God. She had so many Bible passages that sustained and encouraged her; they empowered her to do serious damage against the spiritual foes that sought to bring her down.

And her sustenance came from a spirit of prayer. It was rare not to end a phone conversation or visit with Mom without prayer. She always wanted her words to be seasoned with grace and hope, in ways that honored the Lord of her life. There was not a request for prayer that she ever turned down and was always alert to the needs of the Lord’s people. Mom was not bashful about the gospel and left no doubt about her confidence in the Good News of salvation through faith in Jesus. She wanted everyone to come to know the same assurance, peace, joy and contentment that empowered her sweet spirit.

Mom wanted everyone to learn to keep their eyes on Jesus who is the author and perfector of our faith; to consider what He endured at the hands of oppositional people for the sake of our salvation. He endured the false accusations and the shameful excuse for a trial; He took the brutal whipping and the mockery from both the soldiers and the mob; He endured the hateful spitting in His face and pulling out of His beard; He stood before the riotous crowd in a purple robe meant for scorn, all the while with blood dripping from His head from the crown of thorns forcefully pressed into His brow; He carried His own cross up Calvary’s hill until He fell beneath the load; Jesus willingly embraced the nails that the soldiers drove into His hands and feet; He accepted the jarring thud of the cross as it slammed into the hole in the ground, wrenching every joint in His body out of socket. This was perfect faith in action, overcoming all the brutality and hate that the devil could muster through humans. And even in death, He forgave!

Mom would say that the secret to sustaining a sweet spirit is found in intimacy with the author and perfector of faith. She would agree with some things that I once wrote in a poem:

Though often you’re hurt, neglected alone, and tempted to cash it all in,
Remember that Christ left His heavenly home, to suffer and die for OUR sin.

Oh, He gave ALL He had, in spite of the shame, and even in death He forgave.
His promise to all who believe on His name, from wages of sin He will save.

So, now can you see that the answer for you, lies not in defense of your rights?
But if you indeed will find love that is true, you must give the WHOLE of your life.

That’s what Jesus did, and Mom followed His example (which resulted in her sweetness). How about you?

05/27/2026

#544 - What does the Bible have to say about Israel and the identity of the Jews – how do they fit into God’s purpose and plan? SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN 2

In the previous piece, Christ Jesus described the persecutors of the church at Smyrna as a “Synagogue of Satan.” Such an assembly would be under the leadership and influence of the devil. Satan operates through motives and through people who embrace his incentives for conduct and attitude. But so does the Spirit! The Spirit of Jesus operates through holy motives and incentives that inspire Christlike conduct and attitudes. The Lord’s closing words to the believers at Smyrna indicate just that, “Whoever has ears let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Listen to some of what the Spirit said to the believers in the church at Smyrna in Revelation 2:10 – “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.”

Suffering is not on anyone’s bucket list of things they are eager to experience. In fact, quite the opposite, most people spend their entire lives seeking to avoid such painful discomfort, and the devil knows this. Persecution is one of his main methods to discourage us from keeping the faith. If he can cause us to fear losing freedom, health, safety, job, money, friends, even our lives or our loved ones’ lives, then he knows he’s got the upper hand. Jesus warned His disciples that they would have trouble in this world. The world, the flesh, and the devil are at enmity with Christ and His followers, and will never cease working to destroy faith until God puts an end to them. The Lord Jesus spoke these words to the church at Smyrna, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.” Our Savior and Lord inspires faithfulness in the face of persecution by His words and His example, and He will reward that faithfulness.

“The devil will put some of you in prison to test you…” Jesus reveals who is behind this persecution. The devil may have his henchmen in the form of rulers and authorities in high places in this world and those who make up the “synagogue of Satan,” but make no mistake, he’s the driving force behind it. We can take some heart in recognizing that it won’t be everyone, only “some of you” will be put in prison. Only “some of you,” it won’t be universal in the Christian faith community. This imprisonment and loss of freedom will be to test the genuineness of our faith. Do we really believe what we say we believe, or will we recant under this kind of persecution and acquiesce to the pressure to adopt the devil’s perspective?

“You will suffer persecution for ten days.” Christ assures us that persecution has a limit of time – it won’t last forever! “Ten days” provides a light at the end of the tunnel for those who will have to face this suffering. It tells us that Satan is given limitations, and we are given hope. So, “be faithful, even to the point of death…” “These are the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.” These words of encouragement come from our biggest and most powerful supporter. He is the One who loved us and endured the worst of all that sinful man and the devil could throw at Him and has prevailed! Suffering did not deter Him. Death did not stop Him, and the grave could not hold Him! This is the very One who encourages us to be faithful, even to the point of death.

Suffering has its reward. The One who is the First and the Last promises the gift of life as a victor’s crown to the faithful. He knows our afflictions and our poverty – He also knows that we are rich in faith, hope, and love! He knows the slander of those who claim to be people of faith, but are really providing a venue for Satan’s work. Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil doesn’t have the last word – the One who had the First word does! He will give life to those who are faithful, even to the point of death. “The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” The One who has the Last word has promised life eternal to those who keep faithful to Him in the face of persecution. His love endures forever, so don’t be afraid of what you may suffer for loving Him, and for believing all that He has done for you. HAVE A BLESSED DAY! GIVE THANKS, AND FEAR NOT!

05/26/2026

#543 - What does the Bible have to say about Israel and the identity of the Jews – how do they fit into God’s purpose and plan? SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN

For the final leg of our tour through the Bible on this subject, let’s go to Revelation. We turn to chapter 2 and 3 and the Lord’s messages to the Churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia. In the letters to those two churches we are exposed to the phrase, “Synagogue of Satan.” To the church at Smyrna, this phrase comes from the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. The author would be the same One who was in the beginning with God; the One who was God; the One through whom all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made; and the very One who did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather He emptied Himself of His glory and took on the form of a servant. He took on human flesh and humbled Himself to death on a cross. Jesus was God with skin on, reconciling the world through His sacrificial suffering and death. He is qualified to critique the church since He is the One who purchased it with His own blood.

So, the Eternal One, who died and came to life again, spoke these words to the church in Smyrna: “I know your afflictions and your poverty – yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan…” Smyrna was a poor congregation of Jesus followers that faced many slanderous challenges from Jews who did not accept Jesus as their Messiah. The believers in Smyrna may not have been graced with financial plenty, but they had plenty of the riches of God’s grace. They were rich in faith, rich in hope, and rich in the love of Christ Jesus. Nothing could separate them from that bond of fellowship with Christ and with one another. They were a model church in this regard. Yet, they were undergoing heavy persecution. The Lord of the church identified the source of their persecution as coming from those who were “a synagogue of Satan.”

Synagogues historically have been recognized primarily as Jewish religious meeting places. The word “synagogue” actually refers to an assembly or gathering. Smyrna was one of those areas in Asia Minor with a Jewish community that opposed the followers of Christ. The Lord describes them with this sharp language that declares they had rejected divinely revealed truth and had aligned themselves against the church. Christ’s description of this assembly of persecutors of the church makes it unmistakably clear that claiming to have a certain heritage does not automatically make one a part of God’s true people. We’ve already written from passages that define a true Jew and a true son of Abraham. Throughout Scripture, being a true Jew or being a member of God’s household is connected with faith in God’s promises and obedience to His will.

In John 8:44, Jesus confronted some Jews who sought to kill Him, proclaiming, “You belong to your father, the devil,” thus pointing to their rejection of divine truth rather than affirming their ethnic lineage. In this message to the church at Smyrna, the Lord of the church uses the same strong language. Their persecutors are a Synagogue of Satan. They are of the same lineage that sought to kill Jesus; the same assembly that rejected divine truth. They have murderous hate in their hearts, just like their father, the devil.

But Christ concludes His letter to Smyrna this way, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” I’ll offer some further thoughts in the next piece on this spiritual warfare experienced by the church in Smyrna, and Christ’s words of encouragement to remain faithful.

05/25/2026

Greater Love

My meditation for this Memorial Day takes me to John 15 where we find some of the most repeated Biblical lines that demonstrate how Christians tend to view this special holiday. Those words are: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” It is a fitting passage to depict the ultimate sacrifice of those who laid down their lives for the cause, protection, preservation and advancement of freedom. By this, we honor those who have fallen in defense of that cause, and we ascribe to them a greater love that went above and beyond the general measure commonly recognized as love.

While it may serve a worthy purpose to be used in this manner, the believer in Christ Jesus must look at the context of our Lord’s use of the phrase. Jesus laid out for His disciples where this kind of greater love originated; it originated with our Creator Himself. Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, was the recipient of that greater love. In turn, Jesus invested that same greater love in the world. So, He stated to His followers, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” This greater love is intended to become the standard for those who belong to Jesus. He continued, “Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love.” He described that abiding in His love as being the same as the way that He kept His Father’s commands and remained in His love.

Jesus said that the reason He shared this with them was so that they could have His joy in them and their joy could be made complete. Greater love is the joy of the Lord operating in the heart and soul of the believer who is acting in obedience to Christ’s commands. And this is His command: “LOVE EACH OTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.” That command is not just a mere suggestion for the Christ follower; obedience to the command is evidence that we are abiding in the love of Jesus. That’s when He says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Then He told them that they were His friends if they do what He commands. They are not His servants; they are His friends because Jesus shared everything with them about love that He had learned from His Father.

Greater love is loving like Jesus loves! Jesus had His followers understand that they had not chosen Him, HE had chosen THEM! Jesus handpicked and called those whom He had chosen. He chose them on purpose; they were chosen to go and bear lasting fruit, so that whatever they ask in His name the Father will give them. And the fruit of God’s Spirit is: “love, joy, peace, patience/perseverance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” – that’s fruit that will last; that’s fruit we should ask for in Jesus’ name. All of this still applies to those who are now called by His name. We are chosen to love like Jesus first loved us; investing in others as He invested in us – by choice, intentionally, sacrificially, faithfully, patiently, peacefully, and humbly. He not only washed the feet of His chosen, but even in death He forgave His haters. And this was His command: “Love each other.”

God the Father was in Christ Jesus the Son, reconciling the world to Himself through GREATER LOVE. Now Christ Jesus, God’s Son is in us, empowering us with that same ministry of reconciliation that invests GREATER LOVE in each other. Let’s remember these things that have won our hearts to God and have brought liberty to our souls, while we remember the greater love that has bought and preserved our national liberty. May we be recognized as those who are the recipients of GREATER LOVE that we freely invest in one another. This is the Gospel at work in our lives, bringing salvation freedom to our world.

05/24/2026

Used with permission through our CCL copyright license number 913440 and streaming license number 21598138.

05/20/2026

#542 - What does the Bible have to say about Israel and the identity of the Jews – how do they fit into God’s purpose and plan? TRANSDICTIBLE

Whenever I have the chance, I enjoy sharing this word that showed up in one of my dreams; which I hope may become adopted into the English language. When you break it down in its parts TRANSDICTIBLE can mean, “with words” or “beyond words.” The Scriptures record in Genesis that, in the beginning, God created all things “with words” but “beyond words.” God communicated with the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets TRANSDICTIBLY – with words and also beyond words. God’s Word to them enabled them to communicate with the people – with words and also beyond words.

The first chapter of John’s Gospel gives us the same testimony as the apostle declares that the Word was with God in the beginning; that by the Word all things were created; and that the Word was indeed God Himself. God was making Himself known TRANSDICTIBLY – with words and beyond words. God’s Word was fleshed out in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ; the very personification of Almighty God our Creator. Jesus was the love of God in human flesh; God’s provision as the perfect sacrificial Lamb to atone for our sins, so that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For this piece, we move to 1 John chapter 1 and discover this same theme is being proclaimed once again. John was an eyewitness to this Word of life that was made known to the world with words and beyond words. He says it this way, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make your joy complete.”

John is telling the world that he personally witnessed the reality that God Himself is the Jewish Messiah in the person of His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus. He had walked with Him, talked with Him, listened to Him, seen Him in action, touched Him, and everything that He witnessed about Jesus brought John to this conclusion – that Jesus was God TRANSDICTIBLY communicating to the world His Word of eternal life. This is Good News and it should bring great joy to the whole world, especially to those who will receive it. This is God sending His Light into a dark world giving light to everyone; that’s John’s testimony. He says it this way: “This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from every sin.”

Jesus is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to God the Father by any other way. This is light for us to walk in. It will establish an intimate walk with Christ and His atoning blood will wash away all of our sin. It also bonds believers in rich fellowship with one another because we all know that we are saved by grace through faith. However, we can get into problems if we claim to be without sin. John says that would mean we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. He exhorts us to confess our sins, because God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And he warns us not to make God out to be a liar by claiming we have not sinned. That would mean that His Word is not in us. So, let the TRANSDICTIBLE Word of Christ dwell in you richly. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

05/19/2026

https://youtu.be/uizFBaQCxXw?si=DwKom5qD6no7hC7r

Tulsi Gabbard's speech from Rededicate 250 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

05/19/2026

#541 - What does the Bible have to say about Israel and the identity of the Jews – how do they fit into God’s purpose and plan? FOREWARNED IS TO BE FOREARMED

In the last piece, Peter clued us in, saying that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.” Is that a prediction that we should take seriously? Is this declaration really believable? Or, should we deliberately blot it from our thinking as the scoffers do? Peter stressed that this is a word from God that everyone needs to own if we would gain a healthy worldview. When we do, this prophetic declaration shapes the kind of people we are, the way we think, and the way we live.

So, since the Word of God says that everything will be destroyed in this way, just what kind of people ought we to be? Should we be people who say, “let’s eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die?” Ought we to be the kind of people who join with those who intentionally ignore this truth claim? Peter says, “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and eagerly wait for its coming.” In Matthew 24, Jesus said that we should “keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” We are admonished to stay ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when we don’t expect Him. Peter says that we ought to live holy and godly lives for the same reason.

We’ve already been told that that day will bring about destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. However, it’s not all doom and gloom; we have the promise of God that gives us something grand to look forward to. We are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth; where sin and corruption are no more and where righteousness dwells. Since we are looking forward to this, we should be making every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with God – this is holy and godly living. This is keeping our relationship with God and our brothers and sisters up to date.

Now keep in mind that the Lord’s patience means salvation – where there’s life there’s still opportunity to be saved. As it was with Noah, there’s still time to board the Ark. While His holy wrath and justice has not yet fallen, it is a day of salvation. So, if you hear His voice today, this is the right time of salvation; don’t wait for a more convenient day and time. This is the day! We are warned that some ignorant and unstable people will distort and misrepresent these hard to understand Scriptures about the day of the Lord, but Peter says they do so to their own destruction; they miss the day of their salvation.

Jesus Himself framed it in this parable from Matthew 24: “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” So, be faithful and wise!

Peter concluded his remarks in chapter three in this manner: “Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” So, we’ve all been forewarned of things to come; let’s live holy and Godly lives, understanding God’s patience and plan; and let’s grow more intimately in our relationship with Jesus as our Savior and Lord.