Posts with the tag “pastor-michael-hammond”

If you google “pursue” you will get the following definition, “follow (someone or something) in order to catch or attack them.” That certainly has a negative connotation to it. A secondary definition ...  Read More

More and more I wonder about the things I get angry about. There is certainly righteous anger, and there is sinful anger, but sometimes I wonder if there’s a third category; sometimes I wonder if I’m ...  Read More

I long ago gave up the hope that I would always understand the ways of God. Time and time again I see things that make little sense to me with my earthly vantage point and yet somehow make perfect sen...  Read More

I grew up near a small town called Grass Valley. It started as a gold mining town and still has a historic downtown area. I spent a lot of time walking up and down these streets over the years. When m...  Read More

I don’t have much of a green thumb so sowing and reaping is not something that I have a lot of experience with. I certainly appreciate those who have a knack for growing things, especially those thing...  Read More

I’ve always been someone who has a lot of questions. When I was in first grade the teacher gave out awards to all the students at the end of the year. I was the recipient of the “Most Inquisitive” awa...  Read More

I love how clearly the Bible states things. Let’s be honest, we all sin and fall short. We often try to hide our shortcomings from each other and might want to pretend we have it all figured out, but ...  Read More

Does anyone want a beverage that is supposed to be hot or cold to instead be lukewarm? If I want a cup of ice-cold lemonade, I don’t want it to be lukewarm. If I want a cup of hot coffee, I don’t want...  Read More

As a child, I always thought the “armor of God” sounded like the coolest thing. If you were to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, a knight would have been pretty high on the list. When I read ...  Read More

When my wife and I were newly married we heard some advice that has made a huge impact in our relationship. The advice was to try to out-serve each other. It’s a simple shift of mindset, but it makes ...  Read More

My wife and I are not Fresno natives. We both grew up in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. Usually we tell people “The Sacramento area” because that’s the nearest major city. We actually lived in a small t...  Read More

I first read through the book of Judges when I was about 18 years old. Before that I had heard some of the stories, mostly ones about Gideon and Samson, but I had never read the book in its entirety. ...  Read More

I love a good story. I love hearing stories and I love telling them. This is no doubt why I appreciate the way Jesus told stories to make a spiritual point. Whether short or long, Jesus’ stories are a...  Read More

Sometimes I think of the great difficulties others have faced and feel my own difficulties pale in comparison. The other side of that coin is to look at some difficulties that others face and think th...  Read More

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how much above our understanding God is. It’s tempting sometimes to look at parts of the Bible or even at the world in general and think “I would have done things...  Read More

Sometimes the Bible has commands that seem impossible. I don’t consider myself a particularly selfish person (does anyone?) but when I think about doing NOTHING from a self-seeking standpoint, I feel ...  Read More

I’m the youngest of five children and I come from a fairly competitive family. Game nights were always entertaining, if not for the game themselves then for the great lengths we’d go to try to win. Ev...  Read More

I do not have a green thumb…at all. I don’t think I’ve ever kept a plant alive my entire life. Any greenery that we have around our house is solely due to my wife’s persistence and dedication. I can m...  Read More

There’s lots of things I’ve prayed for and hoped I would get the answer I wanted. One such time was the night before my eighth birthday, and I prayed to win a million dollars from a box of cereal. Let...  Read More

If you come into my office, you’ll see a rather large painting of Spider-Man hung up on my wall. One might see that and assume that I really like Spider-Man, which would be true, but there’s more to i...  Read More

The Fourth of July has always been a fun holiday to me. It has a lot going for it, no school, warm weather, barbecue, swimming, and of course, fireworks! I still remember the awe and wonder I had as a...  Read More

We’ve probably all had a moment where we realize we’re missing something. My family has a text thread with all my siblings, their spouses, and my parents (12 of us all together). The other day I was a...  Read More

Imagine, if you will, a world without instant communication. You could call locations such as homes and businesses, but not an individual person. Cell phones were not yet prevalent, and smart phones w...  Read More

We live in a world where qualifications matter. If you are applying for a new job the necessary qualifications are always listed. When someone is running for political office, it’s often asked whether...  Read More

All good stories have an element of foreshadowing; a hinting at something that will be important later in the story. In comedy there is an idea called a “call-back” where a joke is made early in the s...  Read More

I’ve had a lot of surprises in life. After growing up on cartoons, I was very surprised to learn that you can’t walk on clouds. After years of drinking V8 with my dad, I was surprised to learn that To...  Read More

Like many other Psalms, this Psalm was written by David. When you look at David’s life it’s no wonder that he was so confident in God. He took out lions and bears as a kid, defeated a giant when all t...  Read More

I hurt my shoulder. I don’t know how but it happened. I went to bed fine and woke up the next morning unable to move it without shooting pain. Here’s the kicker, it literally happened on my birthday. ...  Read More

When I read this verse today during my morning devotion time, I was struck by what seems like two contradictory ideas: “wait” and “be brave.” We don’t often connect bravery with waiting. The brave cha...  Read More

I always thought it was interesting that there’s no day honoring the virtue of wisdom. We commemorate love (Valentine’s Day), thankfulness (Thanksgiving), and patriotism (4th of July). We even have Ap...  Read More

Off the South-Eastern coast of Massachusetts sits Nantucket Island. In 1641, the Earl of Stirling deeded the island to man named Thomas Mayhew who then sold 9/10 of the island to nine other individual...  Read More

When I was in fifth grade my teacher was talking about the pressure exerted on us from our atmosphere. I honestly don’t remember much about that lesson, but there is one thing he said that was forever...  Read More

Before we moved to Fresno, we lived in house that had a lot of interesting quirks. There was a closet that was converted to a bathroom, a bathroom that was converted to a laundry room, and a laundry s...  Read More

I once heard a comedian tell a story about an interaction he had with his friend that went something like this:Comedian: Do you want to get a donut?Friend: No, I’m not hungry.Comedian: What does that ...  Read More

80% of drivers say they are above average drivers. Stop for a minute and think about that. It’s statistically impossible for 80% of people to be above average at something. Even though 94% of people s...  Read More

We can look at a verse like this and think it’s too harsh. ONE failing makes you guilty of breaking the whole law? How is that fair?! At first read, it may seem unfair, but I think if we shift our per...  Read More

Have you ever wondered about how you’re doing at something? I know I have. How am I doing as a husband? How am I doing as a father? How am I doing as a friend, brother, pastor, neighbor? How am I doin...  Read More

When I was 20 years old a friend and I decided to go backpacking through Europe. We had grown up together and often figured things out on a moment’s notice with little or no planning. We thought that ...  Read More

A verse like this is one of the reasons I really like James; he gives it to us straight. James doesn’t sugarcoat it; he flat out says that if your faith doesn’t work then it’s worthless. We can do “re...  Read More

In 1314, a huge threat to the national security of England was discovered. This threat was leading the nation’s youth down a bad path and was causing adults to completely shirk their responsibilities....  Read More