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Wednesday 6:30pm - 7:30pm Sunday 10am - 12:30pm

Jackson Bluff Community Church, Tallahassee, FL (2026)

06/05/2026

Found: A Dog’s Perspective
(Today’s Old Lazy Dog Blog)

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”
- John 3:16 HCSB

I don’t like being lost.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Dogs have noses. We can smell a hamburger from three neighborhoods away and somehow find the exact bush where a squirrel hid his acorn last Tuesday. But even with all that, I’ve managed to get myself turned around a few times.

One afternoon, a gate was left open. Just a crack.
That’s all it took.

At first, it felt like freedom.
New smells.
New sights.
New adventures.
I trotted down the road with my tail high and my ears perked.
But after a while, those exciting smells weren’t so exciting anymore.
The houses looked unfamiliar.
The road seemed longer.
And suddenly I realized something important:

I didn’t know how to get home.

Fear has a scent.
Trust me.

I wandered and worried until I heard a familiar voice calling my name.
My human was looking for me.
Not because I deserved it.
Not because I was smart enough to find my way back.
He searched because I belonged to him.

When I finally saw him, I didn’t stop to explain where I’d been.
I just ran.

As I lay at his feet later that evening, I listened while he read from his Bible. That’s when I heard John 3:16.

It sounded a lot like my afternoon.

The Bible says we’re all born wandering.
“All we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6).
We chase after our own paths, convinced we know where we’re going.
Yet sooner or later, we discover we’re farther from home than we ever imagined.

The good news is that God doesn’t stand on the porch waiting for us to figure it out.

He comes looking.

Jesus said, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

That’s what the cross is all about.

Because God loved us, He sent His Son to do what we could never do ourselves.
Jesus took our sin, paid our debt, and opened the way home.
Through faith in Him, the lost are found, the guilty are forgiven, and the wandering are welcomed into God’s family.

I think that’s why my human smiles when he talks about grace.

He knows what it’s like to be found.

And so do I.

When I got lost, I was relieved to hear my master’s voice calling my name.

Someday, every believer will hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and be gathered safely home forever.

Now that’s a tail-wagging thought.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for loving us when we were lost. Thank You for sending Jesus to seek and save us. Help us hear Your voice, follow You faithfully, and rejoice in the grace that has brought us home. Amen.

Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem

06/03/2026

Joy When Life Hurts: A Dog’s Perspective
(Today’s Old Lazy Dog Blog)

“This life is not all there is.
Your poverty is not permanent.
Your hunger will be satisfied.
Your sorrow will turn to joy.
And your rejection will turn to reward.”
- Tony Walliser

“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!” Take note—your reward is great in heaven, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets.- Luke 6:20-23 HCSB

I like leaping for joy.

In fact, if there’s one thing dogs do well, it’s celebrating.
We celebrate breakfast.
We celebrate supper.
We celebrate when our humans come home after being gone for seventeen minutes.
We even celebrate finding that same tennis ball we’ve misplaced twelve times.

So when my human read where Jesus said, “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,” I figured I had that part covered.

Then I noticed something.

Jesus wasn’t talking about joyful days.
He was talking about hard days.

That changed everything.

The lesson started one rainy afternoon.
My human sat quietly by the window reading his Bible.
Usually, he scratches my ears while he reads, but this day his hand rested still on my head.
I could tell something was weighing on his heart.

Now, when something hurts me, I have a simple strategy.
I limp dramatically.
I look pitiful.
I position myself where everyone can see my suffering.
It’s quite effective.

But my human was different.
He wasn’t pretending things were fine, yet there was a peace about him that didn’t make sense.

Later I heard him read aloud:

“We also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance”
- Romans 5:3 HCSB.

Rejoice in afflictions?

That’s not how dogs usually operate.

Then I remembered all the times my human had cared for me.
The trips to the veterinarian I didn’t enjoy.
The medicine I didn’t want.
The restrictions that kept me from chasing things I shouldn’t chase.

None of those moments felt good at the time, but they came from someone who loved me.

Maybe that’s what Jesus was teaching.

The people He spoke to were poor, hungry, grieving, and rejected.
Yet He called them blessed because their story wasn’t ending with their pain.
God’s promises were bigger than their present struggles.

That’s true for believers today.

Sometimes life hurts.
Bodies grow weak.
Relationships break.
Prayers seem delayed.
Hearts ache.

Yet God’s children have something suffering cannot steal.

We have Christ.

We have His presence.

We have His promises.

And we have a reward waiting beyond anything this world can offer.

As my human closed his Bible, he smiled and rubbed behind my ears.

The circumstances around him hadn’t changed.

But his focus had.

And that’s when this old dog understood:

Joy isn’t pretending pain doesn’t exist.
Joy is trusting that God is still working, still loving, and still holding us even when life hurts.

That’s enough to make a believer—and maybe even a dog—leap for joy.

Prayer: Lord, when life hurts, help us look beyond our present troubles and fix our eyes on Your eternal promises. Fill our hearts with the joy that comes from knowing You, trusting You, and resting in Your unfailing love. Amen.

Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem

06/02/2026

All In: A Dog’s Perspective
(Today’s Old Lazy Dog Blog)

I was watching my human the other morning. He had his Bible open, a cup of coffee beside him, and that thoughtful look on his face.

You know the one.
It’s the look that usually means he’s talking to God and not paying attention to important things… like scratching behind my ears.

I plopped down beside him and listened.

Jesus was answering a question about the greatest commandment.
He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”
- Matthew 22:37 NIV

That got my tail thumping.

Because dogs understand something about being all in.

When my human comes home, I don’t greet him with half a wag.
I don’t think, “Maybe I’ll be excited tomorrow.”
No sir.
I’m all in.
Tail wagging, happy dance, big grin, whole-body wiggle.
Every bit of me is involved.

When I chase a ball, I’m all in.
When I hear the treat jar rattle, I’m all in.
When I love my human, I’m all in.

As I listened, I began to wonder if people sometimes struggle with that.
Not because they don’t love God, but because life has a way of dividing attention.

Work pulls one way.
Worries pull another.
Entertainment tugs here.
Responsibilities tug there.

Before long, a person can be partly committed in a lot of directions and fully committed in none.

Jesus didn’t say to love God with part of our heart, some of our soul, or whatever mind is left over after everything else.

He said “all.”

That little word is bigger than it looks.

Moses told God’s people something similar:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”
- Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV

And Jeremiah recorded God’s promise:
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”
- Jeremiah 29:13 NIV

Seems God has always been interested in wholehearted devotion.

Now, I’m just a dog, but I’ve noticed something.

My human is happiest when he’s closest to the Lord.

The circumstances may not change.
The bills may still come.
The aches and pains may still linger.
But there’s a peace in him that wasn’t there before.

Maybe that’s because God never asked for leftovers.
He asked for all of us—not because He needs us, but because we need Him.

So today I’m asking myself a question.

Am I all in?

Not with treats.
Not with tennis balls.
Not even with naps in sunny spots.

Am I all in for the One who created me, loves my human, and sent His Son to save the world?

That’s a good question for people, too.

Because the greatest commandment is still the greatest commandment.

Love God with all your heart.
Love God with all your soul.
Love God with all your mind.

In other words…

Be all in.

Prayer: Lord, help us love You with all that we are. Remove divided loyalties and distracted hearts. Teach us to seek You first and to follow You wholeheartedly. May our love for You shape every thought, word, and action. Amen.

Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem

06/01/2026

Crushed Rose: A Dog’s Perspective
(Today’s Old Lazy Dog Blog)

“For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”
- 2 Corinthians 2:15 HCSB

The other day my human brought home a rose. It sat in a vase on the table, looking all proud and smelling wonderful. Every time I walked by, that sweet fragrance drifted through the room.

A few days later, the rose began to wilt. The petals dried and started to fall. My human picked one up and gently crushed it between his fingers. That’s when something surprising happened.

The fragrance became even stronger.

I tilted my head.
That’s what I do when I’m thinking deep thoughts.

The flower had to be crushed for the scent to be released.

Later, I heard my human reading from his Bible about Jesus and how believers are the “fragrance of Christ” in the world. Suddenly, my dog brain started connecting the dots.

Jesus was like that rose.

Isaiah 53:5 says, “But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities.”

Crushed.

Not because He deserved it.
Because we needed it.

At the cross, Jesus willingly endured suffering, rejection, and death.
Yet from that crushing came something beautiful.
Forgiveness.
Grace.
Salvation.
Hope.
The sweet fragrance of God’s love poured into a world that desperately needed it.

As I stretched out on the floor, I thought about something else.

My human often says that believers are supposed to smell like Jesus—not literally, of course.

No, he means our lives should carry His fragrance wherever we go.

Love instead of bitterness.
Kindness instead of harshness.
Grace instead of judgment.
Hope instead of despair.

When the Holy Spirit lives within us, Christ’s character begins to permeate our lives just like the scent of that rose filled the room.

People may not remember every word we say, but they often remember the fragrance of Christ they experience through us.

Then I realized something else.

My human talks about how God often uses difficult seasons to shape His people.

Nobody enjoys trials.
But God has a way of taking pressure, hardship, and surrender and producing something that smells a lot more like Jesus.

Galatians 5:22-23 calls it the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Those qualities don’t usually grow when everything is easy.

Sometimes the sweetest fragrance comes after the crushing.

When believers trust Christ through trials, the aroma of His presence spreads to everyone around them.
Grace where anger should be.
Peace where worry should be.
Hope where despair should be.

That’s the fragrance Paul was talking about.

The crushed Rose still fills the world with His fragrance today.

And every believer has the privilege of carrying that sweet scent into homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, and wherever God leads them.

Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem

06/01/2026

Holiness is not something we can obtain on our own, but with Jesus, the Holy One, we can become holy for He is holy.

Through Him and His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness… and our repentance, and trust and belief in Him, we are made holy... found spotless... washed clean.... forgiven.

No matter the sins.

No matter the failures.

No matter what.

If we trust and believe in the One who bled and died for you and me, we will become clean.
(Old Lazy Dog)

06/01/2026

You are not who you used to be before Christ. I know that sounds simple, but many believers spend years agreeing with that truth intellectually while still living as though their past has the final say. They know Jesus forgave them, yet they continue defining themselves by old mistakes, old labels, old failures, and old seasons of brokenness. The finished work of Jesus Christ tells a different story. The moment you placed your faith in Him, something far greater happened than behavior modification. You became a new creation. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

One of the enemy’s favorite tactics is to constantly introduce you to old versions of yourself. He wants you to remember who you were before Christ more than who you are in Christ. He wants you looking backward instead of upward. He reminds you of what you did, where you failed, how far you fell, and what people said about you. But God does not relate to you according to your old identity anymore. He relates to you according to what Jesus accomplished on your behalf. The cross was not simply the forgiveness of your past. It was the beginning of a completely new identity.

Many people wake up every day carrying shame that Jesus already carried away. They live as though they are still trying to earn God’s approval when they already have it through Christ. They still see themselves as damaged goods, broken projects, or second-class believers. But the gospel says something radically different. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” You are not God’s repair job. You are God’s workmanship. He is not embarrassed by you. He is not reluctantly tolerating you. He delights in you because you belong to His Son.

The amazing thing about grace is that God starts with identity before behavior. The world says change first and then you can be accepted. The gospel says you are accepted first, and from that place of acceptance, transformation follows. Before you ever overcame a struggle, before you ever grew spiritually, before you ever got your life together, Jesus already declared you His own. That means your relationship with God is not hanging by the thread of your latest success or failure. It is anchored in Christ.

I think one of the greatest forms of spiritual exhaustion is trying to live under labels that Jesus already removed. Some people still call themselves what God no longer calls them. They define themselves by addiction, failure, divorce, fear, shame, or regret. Yet heaven speaks a different language over your life. Scripture calls you redeemed. Scripture calls you forgiven. Scripture calls you righteous. Scripture calls you beloved. Scripture calls you a child of God. Those are not motivational statements. Those are spiritual realities purchased by the blood of Jesus.

The enemy wants your attention on your history because he knows your future becomes dangerous when you understand your identity. A believer who knows they are loved becomes bold. A believer who knows they are forgiven becomes confident. A believer who knows they are accepted stops striving for acceptance. The finished work of Jesus gives you permission to stop introducing yourself to yourself through old chapters that God already closed.

I love what Romans 8:1 says: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Notice it says now. Not someday. Not after you become mature enough. Not after you prove yourself. Right now. Condemnation has no legal right to occupy the heart of a believer because Jesus already took it upon Himself. The cross settled forever what God thinks about you. You are not under judgment. You are under grace.

Sometimes the hardest person to convince that you have changed is yourself. You may still remember every failure in vivid detail. You may still cringe when you think about certain seasons of your life. But God’s memory of you is not centered on your failures. Through Christ, He sees you clothed in righteousness. The blood of Jesus speaks louder than your regrets ever could. What God says about you is infinitely more important than what your past says about you.

There may be people who still see the old version of you. They may remember your mistakes. They may remember your failures. They may even try to remind you of them. But their memory of you does not determine your identity. Jesus does. The resurrection is proof that your story did not end in your brokenness. Grace had the final word. Mercy had the final word. Jesus had the final word.

So today, stop carrying names that Jesus never gave you. Stop wearing labels He already removed. Stop defining yourself by seasons He already redeemed. The old has passed away. The new has come. Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, you are not who you used to be. You are forgiven. You are righteous. You are accepted. You are loved. You are secure. And nothing in your past is powerful enough to change what God has already declared true about you through His Son.

05/31/2026

1 Peter 1:18 says, “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold.” Peter wrote these words to believers scattered throughout the Roman Empire who were facing suffering, rejection, and persecution because of their faith in Jesus. Many of them had left behind old ways of living, old systems of thinking, and old identities. Peter wanted them to remember something that would strengthen them in the middle of every trial: they belonged to Jesus because they had been purchased at an immeasurable cost.

The word “ransomed” is one of the most beautiful words in this passage. The Greek word is lytroō, which means to release by paying a price. In the ancient world, it was often used when a slave was purchased out of bo***ge and set free. The audience would have immediately understood the imagery. A slave could not simply free himself. Someone else had to pay the price. Peter is reminding believers that Jesus paid the price that they could never pay themselves.

Imagine hearing those words in the first century. Slavery was common throughout the Roman world. Many people personally knew what it felt like to belong to someone else. Some had experienced the crushing reality of being bought and sold as property. Peter takes that familiar image and transforms it into a picture of redemption. Jesus stepped into the marketplace of sin and purchased His people for Himself.

Peter says they were ransomed from the “futile ways” inherited from their forefathers. The Greek word for futile is mataios, meaning empty, useless, vain, or without lasting value. Before Christ, people often spent their lives chasing things that could never truly satisfy. Some pursued religious rituals. Others pursued wealth, status, achievement, pleasure, or approval. Yet all of it ultimately left the heart empty because none of it could solve humanity’s deepest problem.

I think many people still struggle with this today. We live in a world constantly telling us that fulfillment is just one more achievement away. One more promotion. One more relationship. One more purchase. One more accomplishment. Yet countless people reach those goals only to discover the emptiness remains. The human heart was never designed to find life in temporary things. It was designed to find life in Jesus.

What makes this verse so powerful is what Peter says next. He reminds believers that their freedom was not purchased with silver or gold. In the ancient world, those were the most valuable forms of wealth people could imagine. Gold could buy land. Gold could build kingdoms. Gold could influence governments. Yet Peter says that when it came to redeeming your soul, even the world’s greatest treasures were insufficient.

This reveals how valuable you are to God. Sometimes people feel forgotten, insignificant, or unworthy. They measure their value by their failures, weaknesses, or past mistakes. Yet heaven measured your worth differently. God did not determine your value based on your worst moment. He determined your value based on what He was willing to give to rescue you. And what He gave was infinitely greater than silver or gold.

The finished work of Jesus completely transforms how we view ourselves. You are not a project God is trying to fix. You are not a burden He reluctantly tolerates. You are not someone barely hanging on by your own effort. You are someone who was fully redeemed by the blood of Christ. The cross was not God’s backup plan. It was His declaration of love. Jesus willingly paid the highest price so you could belong to Him forever.

Think about the security this brings. Gold loses value. Economies rise and fall. Possessions break. Investments fluctuate. Everything in this world is temporary. Yet your redemption rests upon something eternal. It rests upon the finished work of Jesus Christ. What purchased your freedom cannot fade, rust, weaken, or disappear. The foundation of your salvation is stronger than anything this world could ever offer.

So if you ever wonder what you are worth, look at the cross. If you ever question whether God loves you, look at the cross. If you ever feel trapped by your past, look at the cross. Jesus did not redeem you with silver. He did not redeem you with gold. He redeemed you with His own life. The empty ways of the past no longer define you. The failures behind you no longer own you. Because of Jesus, you are fully loved, fully accepted, fully forgiven, and eternally secure. The price has already been paid, and the One who purchased you will never let you go.

05/31/2026

Start the Day Right
Psalm 34:22
The Lord will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

The best way to understand this verse is by exploring the definition of “condemned”, the Hebrew word, asham. According to Mosaic Law a guilt offering, asham, was a required sacrifice for sins against others which is the same as a sin against God. Unlike other sacrifices where only an animal was given, the guilt offering required compensating the victim and priestly inconvenience.

The Lord rescues His servant who takes refuge in Jesus from the condemnation, “guilt offering”/asham, caused by his or her sin.

05/30/2026

Many churches today unintentionally train people to approach Christianity like consumers.

Find the church with the best music.
Best kids ministry.
Best coffee.
Best preacher.
Best atmosphere.
Best experience.

And once the experience no longer satisfies them, they move on to the next option.

But the New Testament never speaks to believers as consumers shopping for religious goods and services.

It speaks to them as citizens of a kingdom.

Servants of a King.
Members of a body.
Living stones in a temple.
Brothers and sisters in a covenant family.

Consumers ask:
“What am I getting?”

Citizens ask:
“What am I building?”

Consumers leave when preferences are not met.

Citizens stay because they belong to something larger than themselves.

The church was never supposed to function like a religious marketplace competing for attention in the economy of preferences.

The church was meant to be an outpost of the kingdom of God in the middle of a fallen world.

05/29/2026

Paradigm Shift: A Dog’s Perspective
(Today’s Old Lazy Dog Blog)

“When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His robe, He reclined again and said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done for you? You call Me Teacher and Lord. This is well said, for I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done for you.’”
- John 13:12-15 HCSB

I used to think I had my human figured out.

He throws the ball.
I chase the ball.
He fills the bowl.
I empty the bowl.
Simple arrangement.
Good system.
Tail-wagging successful.

But every now and then my human does something that completely shifts my understanding of him.

Like the time he sat on the kitchen floor beside me after I’d tracked mud through the house, chewed up one of his socks, and barked at absolutely nothing for twenty minutes.
I figured I was headed for judgment day… or exile to the backyard.

Instead, he scratched the back of my head and softly said, “I love you, Buddy”

Now that’ll rearrange a dog’s thinking.

And according to that Bible my human keeps reading out loud, I’m beginning to suspect that God doesn’t see things the same way we do.

See, most of us—dogs and humans alike—expect relationships to work like the world works.
Perform well, get rewarded.
Mess up, get pushed aside.
Be important enough, loud enough, successful enough, and maybe folks will notice you.

But then Jesus comes along and turns the whole world upside down.

The disciples expected a conquering King.
Somebody important.
Somebody who’d sit high while others served Him.
Instead, Jesus wrapped a towel around Himself and washed dirty feet.

That’s a paradigm shift.

The Creator kneeling before creation.
The Master serving servants.
The Holy One touching dirty, calloused feet without hesitation.

And… He still does.

Not with a basin and towel today but by patiently changing us from the inside out.

The world says Climb higher.
Jesus says Kneel lower.

The world says Look out for yourself.
Jesus says Love one another.

The world says Power changes people.
Jesus says Love transforms hearts.

The world says Power means being served.
Jesus says Greatness means serving others.

The world says Protect yourself first.
Jesus says Lay down your life.

The world says Change the outside so folks will think better of you.
Jesus starts on the inside where nobody can see but Him.

I’ve watched my human change over the years.
He still stumbles sometimes.
Still gets tired.
Still says things he wishes he could take back.
But Jesus keeps working on him anyway.

A little more grace.
A little more patience.
A little less pride.
A little more kindness.

That’s how Jesus works.
Not just polishing the outside where everybody can see, but reshaping the heart where only He can reach.

Not religion from the outside in…
but transformation from the inside out.

A paradigm shift, indeed.

Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem

Jackson Bluff Community Church

06/05/2026

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