Shop Talk

Todays world is so divided and I think it may have to do with us putting the world over Jesus. We enter into these situations without love and then wonder why we cant find unity. We must remember that all are made in the image of God. We must remember that all have the opportunity to be covered by the blood of Jesus. We must do everything in the name of Jesus and give thanks to God. So let us put on love and find unity. Stay salty and be kind my friends!

Wanted to announce a change to the way I will be moving forward with the podcast. Hope you will continue to listen! Also, I will be preaching at Northfield on March 23rd! You are welcome to join us!

In the book 1984, George Orwell wrote about a dystopian future where the government had become a tyrannical overlord. The strange part is, many of the things that took place in this fictional book, are playing out in real life. In the episode, I talk about the similarities between the book and our current situation as a country. For a little extra fun, I had Chat GPT write a monolog on this topic in the voice of Ronald Reagan. I then edited it to add in some more similarities. When it comes down to preventing our government from having total control over us, two things stand in the way, our guns and our faith. Ultimately, however, the hope we have in Christ is their greatest enemy, one they would need all the tools from 1984 to stomp out. Even then, the power of Jesus will overcome. Enjoy! Stay salty and be kind my friends! #1984georgeorwell #RonaldReagan #Jesus #chatgpt

A poem about common sense, or lack there of. Music by Seth Zimmermann

This is my attempt at a modern-day parable using an old camper I bought that needed a lot of work. Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

A retelling of the parable of the sower from the seeds veiw, told in a way similar to Paul Harveys stories. @ShopTalk14 #daily #jesus #bible #parableofthesower #paulharvey #seed #soil #story #plantseeds #spreadthewordsavetheworld #faith #growth #roots #godsword #godslove #relationshipwithgod

Once again, I was testing out Chat GPT. This time, I asked it to write a monolog in the voice of a radio great from the past, talking about the consequences of America turning away from God. As before, it did quite an incredible job. My impersonation of that great, however, wasn't nearly as good. His iconic voice wasn't easy to match! Pay close attention to the message, though, because even though it was written with artificial intelligence, I couldn't agree more with what was written. Just saying that is slightly terrifying. Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

With Chat GPT's rise in popularity, I thought I would put it to the test. I wanted it to write a monolog on the pros and cons of AI in relation to our relationship with God in the voice of the Apostle Paul. Quite frankly, I was stunned with the results! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

We will be known by our love for one another. On Valentine's Day, let show the love of God to the world! And if you were wondering what love is, I cover Paul's definition here. Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

We should always run the race of life to win. Tony Dungy kept this verse close to him throughout his coaching career. Winning this race is finishing with Jesus. Stay salty and be kind, my friends! 1 Corinthians 9:24

When difficulties occur, it's easy to have doubts. Is it wrong to have them? Maybe you should ask Thomas about that. Stay salty and be kind, my friends! John 20:24-29

It can be scary to see loved ones struggle with keeping control of their mind. However, when it comes to their salvation, we can be grateful that God looks at the heart, not the mind! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

It's hard to keep doing the right thing when you don't get rewarded or even get punished for doing so. If we continue, however, we will reap a reward at the proper time. Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

We all have our weaknesses, but it's nice to know that God's power is perfected in that weakness! His grace is sufficient for whatever struggle we are going through. We just have to lean on Him and, more importantly, trust Him. Stay salty and be kind, my friends! 2 Corinthians 12:6-9

In this world, it's hard to trust anyone anymore. James tells us to live in such a way that our words can be trusted. Your yes actually means yes, and your no actually means no. Stay salty and be kind, my friends! James 5:12

Believe it or not, you don't have to have it all together to spread the good news of Jesus. just look at John the Baptist! He wasn't going to be on the bachelor any time soon! All God needs is you with a willing heart, He will provide the rest. Stay salty and be kind, my friends! Matthew 3:4-6

Some people are afraid to become Christians because they think one mistake and they are out. This simply isn't true. If we could do it on our own and remain sin free, we never would have needed Jesus! Stay salty and be kind, my friends! 1John 2:1-2

Welds are notoriously different to cut apart. Let that be your marriage as you have God as your joining agent, your filler metal! He can hold the two of you together no matter what the world throws at you! you just have to let him. Stay salty and be kind, my friends! Matthew 19:6

When we think of terrifying verses in the Bible, we usually think of fire and brimstone, hell, and revelation. However, I believe Jesus telling you he never knew you would be worse! Stay salty and be kind, my friends! Matthew 7:21-23

Life gets so busy that we often don't take the time to just stop and be glad, let alone rejoice. We like to complain about the weather regardless of whether it's hot or cold. However, when we stop for a moment, we can start to see the beauty all around us and know that the same God who created all of it also created you! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

We all experience different types of pressure almost every day. The great news is that while it may seem overwhelming, God won't let it crush us! Press brakes use pressure to change flat steel into a usable part, let God do the same to you today! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

There are a lot of lies and misconceptions when it comes to the devil. This shouldn't be surprising considering he is the father of all lies. While he is opposite of God, he is definitely not equal! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

As it snows like crazy today, let's look at a verse that uses snow to describe how the word of God works. In Isaiah 55:8-11, He reminds us that his ways are higher than ours. We don't always understand why things happen, and that's a good thing! What kind of God would He be if we could understand all He does? Just turn everything over to Him and trust that He has a plan! Stay salty and be kind, my friends! And safe!

We all get angry, and sometimes we just want to hold onto that anger. However, we have to put our anger aside when we go to bed. this is especially true in marriage! it doesn't mean that we have to leave an issue unresolved, just that we need to remember that we can work it out in the morning. If we can't do this, the devil may use that anger to destroy your peace of mind as well as your marriage. Stay salty and be kind, my friends! Ephesians 4:26-27

It's important to remember our past in order to learn from it and have a better future. As much as we would like to rewrite our past, we simply can't. By trying to do so, we risk making the same mistakes. Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

In my late teens and part of my early twenties, I didn't think I would ever call dad a friend. However, God had something else in store. He was able to restore our relationship to the point that not only can we work together, we are best friends! If you are struggling with a relationship, especially with a father or children, have hope. God restores the hearts between a father and his children! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

Hard surfacing strengthens whatever piece of metal you apply it to. God does the same thing to us! He holds onto us and won't let go even when we make mistakes. Let Him strengthen you today! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

Everybody loves a great comeback story! On this episode of Shop Talk, Kyle and I tell about some of our favorite comebacks in the first interview of 2023! As is usual, Jesus tops them all and gives us hope that we all can have our own comeback story! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

It's sobering to remember that it doesn't matter how much money we have on the day we die. God is much more interested in your heart! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

We have all met people or been people who look down on others and their lack of faith. It's as though there is no memory of who we used to be before Christ. We need to remember where we came from in hopes of being able to connect to those who are still in a place of non belief. Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

Jesus wept. It's the shortest verse in the Bible, yet it speaks volumes about the love of Jesus. When we experience loss and tragedy, he understands that pain and emotion. He weeps right beside us. However, thanks to Him, we can have hope in the resurrection! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

We tend to think that the Church is a building we go to on Sunday and maybe Wednesday. The reality is that the building we go to only becomes the Church when we gather together inside! The people are the Church! Jesus didn't build His Church on an actual rock, He built it on a person, Peter! God isn't contained in a building made by human hands. He lives in us! As always, stay salty and be kind, my friends!

The smoke-eater is a device that helps clean the air when we weld. It can take the smoke and fumes from welding and give us safe, clean air to breathe. Christ can do the same for us in our lives! If you take whatever situation you are in and filter it through Jesus, you can find contentment. Don't mistake contentment with complacency, however. Contentment is being satisfied with where you are yet looking forward to the future that Christ has planned for you! So it's time to change your life filter! As always, stay salty and be kind, my friends!

Money

With kindness being a FRUIT of the Spirit, it's going to take some cultivating to do. It's easy to be kind to those who are kind to you, but what about those who aren't? Yet we are called to do so anyway, even if they don't deserve it. So be kind to that waitress, to the grocery clerk, to that one person writing a check at the check-out. It could be your opportunity to let the fruit of the Spirit and the love of Christ shine through you! Stay salty and BE KIND, my friends!

It's that time of year again! The time we all make New years resolutions! So what does the Bible say about becoming the new you? Find out with me in this episode! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

This episode is just an overview of the Iowa Hawkeyes bowl game for 2022. Something different than normal for fun. Congrats to the Hawkeyes on the big win! If you like sports content, check out some friends of mine on their podcast called The Knuckleheadz Hour. As always, stay salty and be kind, my friends! https://open.spotify.com/show/4mYTihurRCMkxgSE89iQCl?si=BfKunmdXSfqSuwo-fFrt0A

We all have told our own fish tales, but Peter might have the best! Wouldn't it be great to pay our taxes by catching a fish? Of course, we would probably get taxed on the catch, too! Jesus always provides, whether it was for his disciples back then or for you and me now! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

I always end by saying, "Stay salty and be kind." I do this because, well... Jesus told us to! Salt is no good if it no longer has the ability to flavor food or preserve. Jesus doesn't want us to lose our ability to impact the world, to lose our saltiness. We stay salty by showing love and kindness to the world while staying true to the Bible. Being kind in today's society, unfortunately, makes you different from most people. What is there to lose from being different in this way? It can be your biggest weapon when trying to impact others for Jesus. So stay salty and be kind, my friends!

Keeping up with the neighbors next door has always been a problem here in America. We see something someone else has and don't want to miss out. Pretty soon, we have lots of nice things but lots of debt to go with it. It's a house of cards waiting to be blown over in even the slightest bit of headwind. We would be better off to live diligently with our money and not worry about appearing wealthy, which is not always easy to do. Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

Despite all that is written in the New Testament about Jesus, it is only scratching the surface. John tells us that the world itself couldn't hold all the books if they wrote everything that Jesus did and said! While we don't have everything, we do have all that we need. Take a moment today, read a little of what we have, and get to know the Son of God who loves you more than you could ever imagine! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

After Jesus was born, there were two elderly people at the temple who recognized Him. Just imagine you have just given birth to a baby as a virgin, and then these two come up to you and say such wondrous things about your child! God allowed them to know exactly who Jesus was. With so little scripture about Jesus as a baby, the verses I've shared this week are very precious, just like the baby they are about. The world was not only saved by Him, but taught how to love and live by Him! Praise be to God for the love He has for us! Merry Christmas everyone! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

We are now finally to the birth of Jesus! There are still arguments as to whether He was born in a Manger or in a close by cave where sacrificial lambs were born, but ultimately, that particular detail isn't critical. The important detail is simply that He was born! He could have skipped this whole process and came as a man rather than a baby, but He didn't. He chose to come this way and can now relate with us from birth to death! All the struggles of childhood, of the teenage years, the young adult years, and even the years of admitting you are now 30. He understands you, has compassion for you, and loves you deeply! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

Joseph had a tough decision to make when he got the news that Mary was pregnant. He planned to divorce her in secret to try and not disgrace her publicly, which is an honorable thing to do. Most people today would have posted all kinds of things on social media about how terrible she was and more than likely thrown in some degrading names for good measure. But Joseph was a good man, a righteous man. Thankfully, he was visited in a dream by an angel who told him that he was to stay with her and help raise the child of God! Talk about a big responsibility! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

It's always amazing to see a prophecy fulfilled! This prophesy from Micah that was repeated by Matthew shows us that God can use us, even if we are small! Bethlehem wasn't much to brag about, yet the salvation of the world came from this little town! It doesn't matter what your past is or how insignificant you may feel, God can still work through you! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

It's Christmas week! With that in mind, let's look at some scripture that talks about his birth. Today's scripture, from Isaiah, was written approximately 500-700 years before Christ! This is just one more example that shows us He had a plan all along! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

Obria is a life-affirming medical clinic that services the Fort Dodge area. About once a month, my wife and I receive their newsletter that includes a story of a baby who was saved by their clinic. I will pass those stories on to you when I receive them! In this first update, I explain a little about Obria and give you the story of baby Muhammad Essa. Enjoy! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

Whenever we are fighting battles for the Kingdom of God, it's important to do so in love. Sometimes, that love may be tough love. No matter who we are dealing with or what views they have, we must remember that they are also children of God, made in his image, and that he loves them. His death was for them, too! So let all that we do be done in love! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

Love is certainly missing in today's society. The word "love" is thrown all over the place, but biblical love is not. Paul gave us a beautiful description of the kind of love we should have for one another and even told us that out of faith, hope, and love, the greatest is love! So let's not forget that with all the hate and lies as to what love is, love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

Often, when we hear the story of the rich young ruler, we focus on how hard it is for the rich to get into heaven. How the young man was told to give everything away and follow Jesus. Some even say that Jesus hates the rich or that he is a socialist! Sadly, they have missed the entire point. Jesus loves all of us, including the rich, and just wants to make sure our hearts belong to him! The rich young ruler saw eternal life as just another possession to obtain, something he could earn and add to his list of assets. Let's not make the same mistake! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!

We have all been given gifts and talents from God. We should always look to use them to further His purpose and His Kingdom. Even the smallest of talents can do great things for the Kingdom of God! Stay salty and be kind, my friends!