Ronnie McBrayer

Believe in the One, Part 5 (6 of 8)

"I am the resurrection and the life." - Jesus in John 11:25
Martha says to Jesus as he arrives too late to save her brother Lazarus, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died." Mary says the same thing to Jesus.  Jesus had let them down. More so, God’s chosen one had let them down. Thus, God had let them down. But who has not been disappointed with God? Who hasn’t wanted - at least once in their life - a good old fashioned reckoning, an explanation from the Almighty?
If you’re never had questions, never demanded proper answers, never wondered why God seems so God-forsaken slow to respond to a crisis or an injustice - then you must check your pulse. To live in this world - under these rules - whatever they are, is to experience divine disappointment at the subterranean level of your soul. Yet...some disappointments are not forever.

Believe in the One, Part 4 (5 of 8)

Maybe the cowboy is the consummate American. Driven. All in with big, thunderous, stampeding noise. Armed to the teeth, fighting, pushing, and eating everything from the head to the hoof on the promise of big payday.
“I am the good cowboy.” Jesus wouldn’t say that. He couldn’t! Not in the stereotypical way. But he could say, “I am the good shepherd.” The cowboy consumes. The shepherd cares. The cowboy wants his pay. The shepherd wants his sheep. The cowboy’s trail ends in death. The shepherd’s trail ends with life - the only death he invokes is his own - in protection of his sheep.

Believe in the One, Part 3 (4 of 8)

Jesus said, "I am the gate." He didn’t speak of religion, sacraments, denominations, rituals, or even the Bible . He spoke of himself.  If we take Jesus at his word, and if he is the living in-the-flesh representation of all that God is,  then Jesus is enough. I am not anti-religion or anti-establishment, per se. I am simply pro-Jesus, and believe that our universe of faith revolves around the living Christ.

Believe in the One, Part 2 (3 of 8)

Consider the sun: It protects us, orders out time and the seasons. It provides what is needed for plants to grow, thus giving us air to breathe. It warms the oceans and keep the water currents moving. It is the basis of all agriculture. It disinfects our water. It provides renewable, abundant energy for life. It creates the gravity that keeps us grounded.
When Jesus says, “I am the light of the world,” he is inviting us into an ecosystem in which we can thrive. Come in from the cold. Come out of the darkness. Enter into a way of living that has meaning, purpose, and a future. It is an invitation to grow, to become, to rise and shine.

Believe In The One, Part 1 (2 of 8)

In this second part of the Ronnie's series on the gospel of John and Jesus' "I Am" statements, he turns to John 6 where Jesus says, "I Am the bread of life." Jesus offered his listeners, and his readers today, a fulfillment beyond their shallow or misguided desires.

Believe In the One: Introduction (1 of 8)

This is an introduction to the Gospel of John, Part 1 of 8: Of all the books in the New Testament, the Gospel of John sits unto itself. There is nothing else quite like it in the Christian Scriptures. Its most unique feature is its focus. From John 6:29: “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” AndvJohn 20:31: This book was written “so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.” More than any other author in all the canon, John writes to induce belief in the reader; he invites the reader to put his or her faith in Jesus - in the One.

Starfish

This is my motivational talk for 2026. “You cannot possibly make a difference,” will be whispered into your year, shouted at your face, and felt within the deepest part of your heart this coming year. But you can make a difference for "one little starfish." For one little classroom of school children; in one little corner of the community; with your one and only family.
Lasting differences are hardly ever made by some hero or heroine who shows up on a white stallion or wearing a mask and a cape. Lasting change comes through those who keep showing up, doing what they do. Nobody changes the world by setting out to change the world. Just do what you do - as good, as faithful, and as certain as you can do it. The world-changing results will take care of themselves.

In A World Where You Can Be Anything

In A World Where You Can Be Anything...Be Kind. This is Ronnie's take on the Bethlehem Innkeeper, with assistance from Frederick Buechner.

The Serenity Prayer, Part 9

In this conclusion to Ronnie's 9-Part series on The Serenity Prayer, the last word is happiness. "So that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with him forever and ever in the next:" Is the last line of the prayer. And this prayer shows us this way, if we are willing to surrender our wills to that Power greater than ourselves.

The Serenity Prayer, Part 8

"I really thought I had come up with something a few years ago. But it wasn’t me. It wasn’t John Lennon either, no matter what you read on the Internet. It was Brazilian writer and journalist Fernando Sabino: 'Everything will be okay in the end; and if it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.'
"This is my faith. This is my hope. This is what keeps me going, keeps me believing, keeps me looking toward the future. This is why I continue to follow Jesus - best I can and fail as I do. Because: 'God, who gives all grace, will make everything right.' In the words of the Serenity Prayer: 'He will make all things right if I surrender to his will…'"