Author: Phil Rehberg

racism and Jesus

Jesus, Racism and President Trump – Issues From Charlottesville – Part 2

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Last week (see Part 1 here) we looked at problems with President Trump’s comments about the Charlottesville demonstrations. We explained why his comments about the racists were disappointing. This week we look at responding to President Trump and what we say to others. In spite of Trump’s character issues, some Christians supported his nomination, though most Christians supported other candidates. (In the general election Christians didn’t have much choice – Trump’s opponent was not concerned about declining religious freedom so what could Christians do?). But why would a Christian who cared about the virtue of America vote to nominate someone who lacked virtue? How could someone without character bring character back to America? His lack of character includes owning casinos, starting a strip club, his multiple marriages, justifying looking into a room of beauty contestants who were dressing, sexualization of women, habitual disrespectful comments, habitual glory-seeking, boastfulness, habitual distortion of Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Finding Supernatural Harmony – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“…in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6-7 (ESV). This is a great encouragement because it teaches us a practice that will bring us to freedom from anxiety and inner turmoil. If we make our requests to God, and trust him then we will find peace for our souls. Our hearts and minds will find protection from the circumstances of life that steal our peace. And we can not even understand the peace for it is supernatural and so by faith we live in the Kingdom of God which transcends earthly knowledge and we learn to dwell in supernatural harmony in Christ. The Marriage Of Prophecy And DiscernmentSeptember 18, 2026God Gives Us Victory Over Enemies – Weekly Words Of EncouragementSeptember 14, 2026The Continue Reading →

racism and Jesus

Jesus, Racism and President Trump – Issues From Charlottesville – Part 1

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When the great pioneer of church renewal, John Wesley, visited the American colonies in the 1730’s he observed that slavery in the colonial south (and other places in the world) was barbaric and cruel and later wrote a tract “Thoughts Upon Slavery” condemning slavery and declaring it should be abolished. It took many years for America to outlaw slavery and so it was guilty of a great moral crime. Hundreds of thousands died in the Civil War in the struggle to rid America of slavery and Christians were pioneers in the drive for abolition. But once freed America succumbed to another great crime — the Jim Crow laws, which allowed legal discrimination against blacks. African-Americans have been trying to recover from this ever since. This is why it is so discouraging for an American President, President Trump, to respond to the white supremacists in Charlottesville with comments about the protests Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

6 Fantastic Features Of Our New Bodies – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“[Jesus] will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Phil. 3:21 (NIV) It is extremely encouraging that Jesus will give us bodies like his. Here are 6 fantastic features of our new bodies: We will shine brightly, like Jesus’ body does. We will all be beautiful – no more worrying about what we look like. We will not experience sickness or disease. We will not have to spend time maintaining our body. Our body, soul and spirit will be in perfect harmony. We will have the capacity to see God directly and to be one with him, which is the best gift of all! Exercise: Put your name in the verse above and repeat three times. The Marriage Of Prophecy And DiscernmentSeptember 18, 2026God Gives Us Victory Over Enemies – Weekly Words Of EncouragementSeptember 14, 2026The Kingdom Of God Flows Through Our Spiritual GiftsSeptember Continue Reading →

listening, contemplation

God Wants To Bless You In Receptive Prayer

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I’ve read that in conversations we should find ourselves listening as much as talking. Of course, this just makes sense – it would be selfish if we were in the habit of listening 30% of the time and talking 70% of the time. But does this apply to our conversations (i. e. prayer) with God? Sure. God wants to do good things for us. He wants to speak his words in his way. He wants to continuously transform us into the image of Christ. So wouldn’t God want us to spend time listening for him, or at least being in a receptive mode so we could receive anything he might want to do? That’s why the image for this post is someone listening to headphones: they are in receptive, listening mode. It is common to think of prayer time as a time when we talk the whole time. We thank Continue Reading →