Brandon Liebe

Like so many others here at Pathways Church, I have committed to reading through the Bible this year using the Life Journal Reading plan developed by Pastor Wayne Cordeiro. In addition to reading he also encourages journaling without trying to journal about everything you read. Instead, capture one thing that God brings to your attention and really observe and apply that one verse or section to your life.

This week the schedule took me through Luke chapter 3. John the Baptist was explaining to the crowd that had gathered what God wanted them to do. After telling people who had 2 coats to share with those who had none, and telling those who had food to share with those who didn’t, he turned to the tax collectors and soldiers who had typically abused their authority. He said something so small but so profound…

“Be content…” (vs. 14) Continue reading ““Be Content”” →

Over the course of the last few months living in Wisconsin, I have been driving to and from the office from Waupaca, about a 45-minute trek each way. Although it is never my favorite hour and a half of the day, the drive has allowed me to listen to podcasts from some great preachers. This week I was listening to one of my favorites as he was guiding his church (like many across the world) through this holiday season. As he said, “We’re going to be opening our Bibles to Luke…” I was sure I knew his exact destination. Everyone references chapter 2 of Luke to read the Christmas story, but on this particular morning, this pastor threw one of the most inspiring curveballs my way that I had ever encountered. He finished his sentence with “… Luke, chapter 10, verse 38.” The story of Mary and Martha? Really? For Christmas? Yet, as he continued, it was absolute perfection! Continue reading “Always in Style” →

Last night I was back where I have spent what seems like half of my life… a church!  This time it was actually for a funeral service (see “My Rock” post for some back ground).  As the pastor officiating the service was giving his sermon he used a verse in the bible and continued on with the passage but something stuck out to me that I couldn’t move away from so quickly.

In John chapter 14 Jesus is talking to his disciples about his upcoming exit from this world.  They can’t understand what is happening and start to question how this whole “Father in Heaven” thing, to which Jesus answers, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well… (v.6-7)”  Philip still didn’t understand and asked Jesus to show them who the Father is.  Once again, Jesus replied, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” Continue reading “Who do they see?” →

Every now and then we experience moments where we realize how fragile life really is.  In the past month I’ve experienced two of them.  First being when our Worship Pastor’s 4 year old son had a stroke about a month ago.  That night I held my son a little bit longer than usual.  God has done amazing things through that situation and you can actually hear him tell the story by checking out his sermon last week by clicking here.  Then last night one of my friends from high school and her husband, who still live in the same small town I do, lost their 13 month old daughter unexpectedly.  It’s a harsh reminder that even when we have a relationship with Christ we aren’t hidden from the storms of life, we just have hope to get us through them. Continue reading “My Rock” →

So, tonight was like any other night in the Liebe house.  As we progressed towards bedtime Amber began to feed Grayson, and Brody and I got a bowl of Kix and headed to “mom and dad’s room.”  This is, by far, my favorite part of every day!  I feed him bites of cereal between tickling, snuggling, stories of the day, and laying on our backs while patiently waiting for the smoke detector to blink (he noticed it one night and ever since has thought it was the coolest thing in our house).

While laying on the bed with him snuggled under my arm and pointing at the ceiling saying, “Watch!” I realized two things about my nightly routine… 1) This NEVER gets old.  And 2) Although it seems to be the same motions every night, it’s never the same!

In the middle of this whole event I had a God moment.  I’m sure this is exactly how God feels about us.  Some times we allow the thought into our head that our “routine” with God gets boring, or we have to do more to impress Him, when in all reality all He is looking for is time to connect!  Throughout the Gospels we see over and over again that part of Jesus’ routine was pulling away from everything else to pray and connect with God.  If we call ourselves Christians and claim to be Christ-followers, shouldn’t we be doing the same?  Let’s be honest, even as we begin to do this in our daily routine, I promise it will never get old and it’ll become your favorite part of your day!  Just like Brody does with me, God will always keep it interesting!