Ronnie McBrayer

A Rolling Stone

"Take in the scope of this ancient proverb: 'A rolling stone gathers no moss.' It emerged in  ancient Antioch, was rediscovered during the European Renaissance, beloved in the peat moss bogs of the Scot-Irish, and institutionalized by the royalty of blues, country, and rock and roll music. And sure as sunrise, there was no moss on the stone that covered the entrance to Jesus’ grave. It rolled away just about as quickly as it had been put into place."  Listen for more pf Ronnie's Easter 2026 talk.

"Your God Is Too Small," Part 2 of 2

"Seventy percent of your body is water. Seventy percent of all you ingest is water. Seventy percent of this planet is water. Water is everywhere and in everything. Water is what each of us are made of, and water sustains us. Water sustains everything in our world. That's not hard too understand - because it is our reality. Is it then so hard to understand that Christ is in all and hold all things together?" This is part 2 of "Your God Is Too Small."

"Your God Is Too Small," Part 1 of 2

JB Phillips coined the phrase, "God-In-A-Box." What did he mean? We have tamed God. We think we own or control God. Just look how God works through the religious machinery we have built, after all. God is reduced to a wafer in the hands of a priest; a doctrinal statement; the rules and expectations of a particular denomination or church. But God is wilder and larger than any restriction humans might place on God.

What Really Matters

Francis de Sales said, "I would rather answer to God for being too lenient than for being too severe. Is not God all love? Is not God the Father the Father of all mercy? Isn’t God the Son as a gentle Lamb? Is not God the Holy Spirit like a Dove? Can we act any different than God? It is a terrible thought, but one that is true: We love God as much as the person we love the least."

Believe in the One, Part 7 (8 of 8)

"I am the true vine," Jesus said. "Abide with me." My friends in recovery really get this concept of abiding - finding home on the way. It’s captured in Step 11 : “Seek - through prayer and meditation - to improve your conscious contact with God as you understand God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will and the power to carry it out.”
Staying connected is how you stay on the wagon. Constant, conscious, mindful contact: If you don’t stay with it, you won’t stay with it. Be daily aware - be hour-by-hour aware - sometime minute by minute aware - that the source of your wellbeing, the source of your life is God, supplying what you need.

Believe in the One, Part 6 (7 of 8)

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” Only card-carrying Christians get to go to heaven? Not so fast. This statement has nothing to do with religion. Nothing whatsoever, for Jesus did not come to start a new religion. 
“Are you saying it does’t matter what people believe?” I didn’t say that. “Are you saying that all religions are the same?” I didn’t say that either. “Are you saying there are multiple ways to get to God?” Not at all. “So, what are you saying?”
It matters deeply what people believe; it matters more how people act. Religion is fine for as far as it goes, but no religion is capable of bringing us into contact with God. And yes, there is only one way to know God. It is the way of Jesus. And what is the way of Jesus? 
“This is my commandment that you love one another…Love each other in the same way I have loved you…Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself…Those who live in God live their lives as Jesus did.” Anyone walking the way of humble, sacrificial, love for others is on their way to knowing God. 

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.