Expedition of the Soul - A Journey Into Restoring Our Soul
About the Blog & Author
Churches and Ministries
Recommended Reading
Teachers and Leaders
Submit A Testimony
Expedition of the Soul - A Journey Into Restoring Our Soul
  • About the Blog & Author
  • Churches and Ministries
  • Recommended Reading
  • Teachers and Leaders
  • Submit A Testimony
Belief, Faith, Grace, Justice, Obedience to God, Personal Life, Reading the Bible, Trusting God, Truth

Are We Hearing Correctly?

October 7, 2022 by Dale Jensen No Comments

I find that many people today hear what they want to hear rather than hearing what another has spoken. There seems to be a disconnect because many people listen to others and then arrive at a totally false conclusion. This can happen often between married couples but it also happens with friends, business people and the general public. We can hear people on the news and misunderstand what they said and then go around telling people our false conclusions. If people don’t learn the art of listening they will keep coming up with those bad conclusions.

Continue reading
Share:
Reading time: 7 min
Character, Complacency, Discipleship, Justice, Lifestyle Christianity, Loving Others, Obedience to God, Our Soul, Personal Life

A Divisive Person Is Like Cancer If Unchecked

September 30, 2022 by Dale Jensen No Comments

Many believers refuse to speak to a person who is causing division in the body of Christ because they are friends with this type of person or they just don’t like confrontation, so they stay silent. I’m not talking about correcting a person for every little word, or rebuking people because they understand a certain scripture verse differently than you. I’m talking about people who move with an angry spirit, who disrupts the body of Christ wherever they go.

Continue reading
Share:
Reading time: 7 min
Belief, Discipleship, Faith, Hearing From God, Justice, Lifestyle Christianity, Obedience to God, Our Soul, Personal Life, Reading the Bible, Spiritual Warfare, Trusting God

What Does It Mean To “WAIT” On The Lord?

September 9, 2022 by Dale Jensen No Comments

I have to confess I hate waiting in line at stores or restaurants, especially at the checkout line to pay the bill. The other day I was at the checkout line at Cracker Barrel and a lady before me was paying for her meal and buying some gift items. The checker was messing up her bill and had to ring her bill up several times with multiple tickets – O brother! I have just started walking with my special boot since my left foot Achilles surgery and I gave the bill to my wife and walked outside to sit down because I can’t stand long in one place.

Continue reading
Share:
Reading time: 5 min
Belief, Christ's Love, Complacency, Discipleship, Grace, Justice, Lifestyle Christianity, Obedience to God, Our Soul, Personal Life, Reading the Bible, Trusting God

Not Having Biblical Faith Is Dangerous 

June 10, 2022 by Dale Jensen 2 Comments

Warranties are so important for things like cars and houses. Even medical policies we call insurance are a must because most of us couldn’t afford the out of pocket expenses if things go wrong or they break. Imagine people’s surprise when they get a repair bill for their car or a hospital bill and discover the policy they purchased in good faith doesn’t covering their problem. This happens either the policy was misrepresented by the sales person or we failed to read the fine print before purchasing. The same can happen with our expectation of what salvation is all about. We can be told one thing by pastors and teachers in the body of Christ only to discover when we die that we were told the wrong thing and we are not welcomed into God’s embrace.

Continue reading
Share:
Reading time: 10 min
Belief, Complacency, Current Events, Grief, Healing, Hearing From God, Humility, Justice, Obedience to God, Our Soul, Personal Life, Politics, Spiritual Warfare

Evil Is NOT Just An Idea Or A Concept

May 27, 2022 by Dale Jensen 3 Comments

As people watch the recent shootings in Texas where 19 young kids and 2 teachers were killed by an 18 year-old boy, it should be a stark reminder of how violence is the outcome of a heart devoid of God. Seeing such sights reminds us of what demons did, and still do, in and through people devoid of the spirit of God. Throughout the gospels Jesus was constantly casting out demons that torment people. These demonic spirits are more active today as we get near to the return of Jesus and the final judgement of Satan and his demons.

Continue reading
Share:
Reading time: 5 min
Belief, Christ's Love, Discipleship, Justice, Lifestyle Christianity, Obedience to God, Our Soul, Personal Life

When Is The Church Going To Get Serious?(Part 2)

February 27, 2022 by Dale Jensen No Comments

I started this series on the book of 1 Corinthians because the book shows so many of the pit falls the body of Christ can gets into when building local churches and how to resolve these problems. Each church building, in each town, is different even though they may claim to be Christ centered or have a cross on the building or have the name of Christ in it’s sign, but the true mark of whether the building houses Christ followers is whether or not Jesus is at the core of everything it does and whether it is what Jesus said he would build.

Continue reading
Share:
Reading time: 5 min
Belief, Discipleship, Justice, Lifestyle Christianity, Loving Others, Obedience to God, Our Soul, Personal Life, Trusting God

Have We Become “COMFORTABLE” With Lying? (Part 4)

June 13, 2021 by Dale Jensen No Comments

In these articles on the subject of lying we have attempted to understand the why and the why not of telling the truth all the time. Making a hard law out of something the scripture does not teach is wrong but many times we try to justify a truth that seems right to us without really investigating the “Whole Truth” of God’s Word. Take, for example, the law of God about committing adultery. The pharisees who wanted to trap Jesus used the law of God against him so they brought a woman caught in the act of adultery to be judged by him. They thought they had him over a barrel where he would have to uphold the law and agree to stone the woman or show mercy and prove he was a law breaker. Jesus turned the tables on them and exposed their hypocrisy! If you haven’t read the first three articles please do so before reading this one or it will not make sense.

Continue reading
Share:
Reading time: 7 min
Belief, Character, Discipleship, Justice, Lifestyle Christianity, Obedience to God, Our Soul, Personal Life

What Principle Guides You?

February 10, 2021 by Dale Jensen No Comments

We live in an age in which people are clamoring for the newest and latest singer, musician or actor to entertain them. It seems even in sports that for the most part no longer are people able to identify an athlete or sports hero that lives a life that defines good character and values. It seems the teams and athletes are concerned more about if they can beat the next team. Why is this? How have we advanced as a society and culture only to throw our advancements into the proverbial toilet?  Simply put, we sold our principle for gain.

When you study history one thing becomes clear, when a culture no longer cares about others that culture is doomed to extinction. The old saying, “If we don’t learn from the mistakes of the past we are bound to repeat them” may not be as correct as we thought. It may be if we don’t learn from our past successes and failure we won’t be around.

The Founding Fathers of our nation sacrificed everything, including their lives, to secure a nation that would out last themselves if only the future government and people were governed by men and women of principles. These principles were written into the Constitution of the United States and have, for the most part, served  this country well for over 200 years but this also seems to be changing. Let me first define what principles are and then move on with my observation of why we are losing ground fast.  I believe America and Christians are at a crossroad.

PRINCIPLES –

“A fundamental TRUTH or proposition that serves as foundation for a system of belief or behavior or chain of reasoning”

Though we still have the original Constitution on paper its principles are being eroded quickly by unprincipled leaders in America. Now, the stupid part is these rotten leaders are voted in by the general population. So who is to blame? I would suggest both though we need to investigate why. This is like the question, “Which came first the chicken or the egg? To me, its pretty simple. The chicken, of course, and then the chickens started laying eggs.

Principles, as good as they may be, can be lost or ruined. What the Constitution defines can not guarantee future generations success if they do not embrace those principles and understand how to protect them for future generations. From my perspective, if you want to dismantle a group or a nation you have to “Uneducate” the population so that they can’t comprehend what good principles are and then you can strip those principles away.  Once that happens you can build a system that makes little sense but seems to benefit the masses, at least in appearance. This would be branded as “Situational Ethics” which in truth is no ethics at all. Let me illustrate.

The story of the first king of Israel illustrated how situational ethics work and how God hates a false presentation of what godly leadership should look like. God defines in his word that he wants people who stand on the principles of his word that defines what justice and fairness looks like. So, let’s take a look at Saul and what happened to him and Israel when leaders acted like hypocrites and led their people astray.

1 Samuel 9:17                                                                                                                                                                                             When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.”

The first king of Israel was not only a capable leader, he also was defined as a “Mighty Man of Valor”. You would think with that reputation he would have been a good pick to lead Israel. Secondly, he was handsome and taller than any other Israelite. Thirdly, and most importantly, scripture says God changed him from the inside out.  Look at what happened when the prophet Samuel anointed him.

1 Samuel 10:9-10                                                                                                                                                                                            As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.

So everything points to a great start in the man and his leadership except it doesn’t work out that way. Within a short period of time, when the pressure was on, Saul compromised first with God and his directions and secondly, with his army which followed him. When a leader compromises on his principles (beliefs) he can be persuaded to do anything if the price is right or if the fear of loss is great. Saul compromised so badly that God took away his right to be king even though God intended to have him and his family be the line that future kings would come from. Samuel the prophet gave a stern warning about losing the principles of following the Lord and his commands. Saul heard this same warning yet failed to follow them himself.

Here is the predicament. If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God—good! But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.

So, the story goes that Saul and the Israelites get some courage now that they have a king to lead them and they rebel against the Philistines who were a bigger and stronger nation. During this confrontation, Israel became scared and went into hiding so king Saul started to lose his confidence. He abandoned his principles and thus started to offer sacrifice before going to battle, which is something he knew was forbidden. This was all for appearances, not for God’s future blessing in battle. Why did he do this? He did it because his principles were situationally driven, not heart driven, even though God changed his heart at the beginning of his kingship.

1 Samuel 13:7-10                                                                                                                                                                                       Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

Samuel is so mad that he prophesies the end of Saul’s kingship as it was just getting started. Samuel said Saul’s obedience was more important than his sacrifices. Saul chose to violate principles for appearance with his troops.

What have you done?” asked Samuel.

Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”

“You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.”

I will continue this topic on the importance of our principles in part two and focus on how there are consequences when we sell these principles for an advantage with people, power or wealth. Saul, even though he was changed, corrupted his changed heart and the same can happen to us.

Questions

1) Do you have principles that you live by? God’s word should be your standard to develop them.

2) Have you compromised the principles you currently have? Confess your failure to stand on your principles and then ask the Holy Spirit to reveal why this happened.

May the Holy Spirit give us a mind to think clearly.

Pastor Dale

Share:
Reading time: 6 min
Character, Current Events, Discipleship, Humility, Justice, Lifestyle Christianity, Our Soul, Personal Life, Politics

Are You Feeling Offended? (Part 1)

November 24, 2020 by Dale Jensen No Comments

Let’s be honest and not just biblically correct, although I want to also be biblically correct. I find I’m frustrated with so much that is going on in the world that I have to wrestle a lot with my emotions. After all, there is so much to get anyone mad who is awake. From politics, to the economy, to people loosing their business and people loosing their jobs– there is plenty to get me fired up about. The thing that bugs me a lot is feeling like I can’t do anything about it. Do you find yourself in the same boat? Read on.

Continue reading
Share:
Reading time: 6 min
Belief, Current Events, Discipleship, Hearing From God, Justice, Lifestyle Christianity, Obedience to God, Our Soul, Personal Life, Prayer

When The Brook Dries Up (Part 2)

March 31, 2020 by Dale Jensen No Comments

We are looking into the life of Elijah to learn principles of how to walk strongly with God in a broken and twisted world. We always need to remember that the brokenness of the world shaped much of what we expect from a good life and often those beliefs are misleading and also very harmful in walking with God. If you haven’t read the first article on this subject please do so before reading this one.

Continue reading
Share:
Reading time: 6 min
Page 2 of 4«1234»

Meet Dale Jensen, Author, Church Planter, Pastor, Mentor

Recent Posts

  • What Does “Being In The Spirit” Mean?(Part 1)
  • Do We Embrace The Hard Things?(Part 1)
  • Gaining Wisdom Isn’t Cheap
  • Have You Set Your Past on Fire?
  • Can You Trust God In The Darkness?
  • Do We Want To Go To Heaven ( part 2 )
  • Is Our Thinking Flexible or Rigid?
  • So You Want To Go To Heaven?(Part 1)
  • Do We Understand the Throne Room of God?
  • How Intense Is Your Love? 

Categories

  • Belief
  • Book Review
  • Character
  • Christ's Love
  • Christmas
  • Communion
  • Complacency
  • Current Events
  • Devotional
  • Discipleship
  • Easter
  • Evangelism
  • Faith
  • Fasting
  • Generosity
  • Grace
  • Grief
  • Healing
  • Hearing From God
  • Humility
  • Justice
  • Lifestyle Christianity
  • Loving Others
  • Obedience to God
  • Our Soul
  • Personal Life
  • Politics
  • Prayer
  • Reading the Bible
  • Spiritual Warfare
  • Trusting God
  • Truth
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
© 2017 copyright PREMIUMCODING // All rights reserved
Designed by Premiumcoding