<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Steve Holt Online]]></title><description><![CDATA[Steve Holt Online]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 11 Sep 2026 04:24:23 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.steveholtonline.org/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Theme for 2026: Build and Battle Together]]></title><description><![CDATA[So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor. (Nehemiah 4:16)  Nehemiah had a monumental task before him—uniting the discouraged Jews and rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. They were in constant danger of attack from enemies within and without.  They had the dangerous responsibility of simultaneously building and battling together. The story of their rebuilding effort is found in...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/theme-for-2026-build-and-battle-together</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c8a421979b2d972a5c0</guid><category><![CDATA[New Year]]></category><category><![CDATA[Warrior]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2025 13:13:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e4d28ab17ca049bd91eb6fcbae60a0b0.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Trauma of Hurry]]></title><description><![CDATA[As I mentioned in my last blog, I am currently on a sabbatical. I am attempting, poorly I might add, to unwind, get refreshed, and find some peace in my heart.  Because of recent trauma I have gone through in the church and my family, this has been a difficult time in my life. I have trouble sleeping, and I have battled, for the first time in my life, with waves of unworthiness and depression.  Yet the past few days, I’m beginning to regain my spiritual, emotional, and mental equilibrium. I...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/the-trauma-of-hurry</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c8a421979b2d972a5b8</guid><category><![CDATA[Transformation]]></category><category><![CDATA[Focus]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 22 May 2025 01:09:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_b5d4171b52ee478897cfb6deb092ad37~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[An Invitation to Adventure]]></title><description><![CDATA[After walking with Christ for almost fifty years, the word I like to use for the Christian life is “adventure.” The greatest adventure one can live is a life fully and wholeheartedly devoted to Jesus. For anyone who wants to experience all that life has to offer, being a Jesus disciple is the greatest adventure we can experience.  From smuggling Bibles in Eastern Europe and China to living in Japan, from planting churches to raising a big family, each situation has felt like a great...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/an-invitation-to-adventure</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c8a421979b2d972a5b9</guid><category><![CDATA[Faith]]></category><category><![CDATA[Adventure]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2025 01:18:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a44c7ce954db4e49abcd184097a97d76.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Calm Down and Learn]]></title><description><![CDATA[I am on a “sabbatical,” which means I’m being granted by the church two months of rest, study, and time away from ministry. We developed this to honor all our pastors for every five years of full-time ministry. Liz and I, with a group of bloodstained allies, planted The Road Church eleven years ago, and by the amazing power of God, we have grown very rapidly. The staff team has gone from two to over thirty. It’s been a great adventure, but not without setbacks, mistakes, and constant change. ...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/calm-down-and-learn</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c8a421979b2d972a5b7</guid><category><![CDATA[Meditation]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 08 May 2025 04:47:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_7b886148765e4489b7dcfa8bc8944c9f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Dark Matrix and the True Self]]></title><description><![CDATA[“He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13) I have recently encountered what I am calling the  Dark Matrix . It’s a place we find ourselves entering whenever we are overly stressed and overworked. I have to confess my desperate place of unfulfilled Bible study, quick prayer times, and a distracted mind. In this matrix, I have hurt some people who I am very close to.  The Dark Matrix is a confusing place in which we are...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/the-dark-matrix-and-the-true-self</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c8a421979b2d972a5bc</guid><category><![CDATA[Refining]]></category><category><![CDATA[Character]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2025 05:11:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_ef0b610e01dd40aab8d58f5db150d5c0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Gift of Prophecy and Protocol]]></title><description><![CDATA[At first glance, one might expect that New Testament prophets would be like Old Testament prophets. But when we look through the New Testament, we find little similarity. There is no evidence in the New Testament churches of groups of prophets speaking the “very words of God” (as in the Old Testament). There is no evidence that their words had divine authority (as in the Old Testament). There is no evidence that a prophet could not be questioned and could write the very words of scripture (as...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/the-gift-of-prophecy-and-protocol</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c8a421979b2d972a5bf</guid><category><![CDATA[Prophecy]]></category><category><![CDATA[The Church]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 23 Apr 2025 22:15:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/08507f1daac04d0d9a787556c9c88951.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Habit 9: Be Wholehearted]]></title><description><![CDATA[Excerpt from Breakthrough Courage: 9 Habits to Conquer Fear and Build a Brave Heart   Every fall in Colorado, the Worshipper Warrior Men’s Ministry leads a “Wholeheart Advance” with men from around the nation. This is a challenging four-day conference on wholehearted living. Each message is designed to target some aspect of the masculine heart. In seven-person groups of “bloodstained allies”, the men open their hidden places of shame, failure, and those unmentionables that no one wants to...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/habit-9-be-wholehearted</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c8a421979b2d972a5bb</guid><category><![CDATA[Wholehearted]]></category><category><![CDATA[Courage]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2025 05:55:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_78a588e6b38e40de895099b5935fa968~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Habit 8: Work Out Your Problems]]></title><description><![CDATA[Excerpt from Breakthrough Courage: 9 Habits to Conquer Fear and Build a Brave Heart   I’m taking a break from my busy schedule by spending a few days at our cabin in the Rocky Mountains. A snowstorm passed through last night and the driveway is covered in six inches of snow. First thing this morning, the sun was shining brightly and the forecast called for temperatures rising into the thirties, so I grabbed a snow shovel and got to work.  Our driveway is thirty-five yards long. I started at...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/habit-8-work-out-your-problems</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c8a421979b2d972a5be</guid><category><![CDATA[Courage]]></category><category><![CDATA[Health]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2025 23:25:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_48b80f6a828e4ff3912821b061bc477c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Habit 7: Build a House of Truth]]></title><description><![CDATA[Excerpt from Breakthrough Courage: 9 Habits to Conquer Fear and Build a Brave Heart   The single-family house is a hallmark of American civilization. A house is an important structure to any family. It is meant to be “permanent”—to remain standing for the indefinite future. It provides shelter and comfort. We could drive through most any small town in America and see old houses built a hundred years ago that are still standing, still providing warmth and protection to families. We’ve all...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/habit-7-build-a-house-of-truth</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c8a421979b2d972a5ba</guid><category><![CDATA[Courage]]></category><category><![CDATA[Truth]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 20 Mar 2025 14:46:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_5378fadb66ef46078a6418d3aaf7f0cf~mv2_d_6540_4365_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Habit 6: Practice Gratitude]]></title><description><![CDATA[Excerpt from Breakthrough Courage: 9 Habits to Conquer Fear and Build a Brave Heart   My Grandmother Lucille was an intriguing woman. Born and raised in a small town, she was the daughter of one of the leading educators and poets in North Carolina. We vacationed at her home once or twice a year, and I adored her spacious library, where I spent much of my time.  Though she grew up as the privileged daughter of a famous father, her life was anything but easy. She married a man, Arnold Holt, who...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/habit-6-practice-gratitude</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c8a421979b2d972a5bd</guid><category><![CDATA[Courage]]></category><category><![CDATA[Gratitude]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 13 Mar 2025 04:12:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_5e01807ab874466ea90ec94c61c307fb~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Habit 5: Eat the Book]]></title><description><![CDATA[Excerpt from Breakthrough Courage: 9 Habits to Conquer Fear and Build a Brave Heart   Last year, my Labrador retriever, Sage, found a prize: a large bone. As I was sitting out by my fire pit working on a sermon, she plopped down beside me with this massive bone that was almost bigger than her and commenced to go through the routine every dog owner knows: shaking it, staring at it, slinging it up in the air, then dragging it to a quiet, solitary place and just chewing—making a lot of low,...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/habit-5-eat-the-book</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c892dc76a37da3f824a</guid><category><![CDATA[Courage]]></category><category><![CDATA[Meditation]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2025 20:36:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_05e0ca32bf24466f8d7291cc2191e925~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Habit 4: Face the Unmentionables]]></title><description><![CDATA[Excerpt from Breakthrough Courage: 9 Habits to Conquer Fear and Build a Brave Heart   I am an avid reader of biographies. One person who has profoundly inspired me is Theodore Roosevelt. His story of tragedy and triumph, failure and comeback, is legendary. Many years ago, while reading yet another sketch of his life, I came across a portion of a speech he delivered at Sorbonne University in Paris in 1910. This renowned quote is framed in my study:  “It is not the critic who counts, not the...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/habit-4-face-the-unmentionables</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c892dc76a37da3f8245</guid><category><![CDATA[Courage]]></category><category><![CDATA[Shame]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 27 Feb 2025 03:38:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_abd50e512f22499f94473200938ccd38~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Habit 3: Develop Bloodstained Allies]]></title><description><![CDATA[Excerpt from Breakthrough Courage: 9 Habits to Conquer Fear and Build a Brave Heart   In November 2013, I finished a seminar at the church I was pastoring at the time—one I had planted with my wife and children in our basement twenty years earlier. Despite many sleepless nights and spiritual obstacles, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the congregation had grown into the thousands.  At the time, I was filled with joy. My newly married daughter and her husband would soon be visiting us for...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/habit-3-develop-bloodstained-allies</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c892dc76a37da3f8247</guid><category><![CDATA[Courage]]></category><category><![CDATA[Bloodstained Allies]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:32:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_c884459b70884d18886818288cea0746~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Witnessing for a Valentine’s God]]></title><description><![CDATA[Guest Author: Liz Holt Many believers have “shake up, wake up stories,” marking their discipleship journeys. God allows surprising circumstances to come their way to shake and wake them because He is going to do a new work in their lives. The new work will require their full attention. I am about to tell you one of mine.  It was February 14, 1981. I was nineteen years old, attending my sophomore year at UCLA. I had recently made a commitment to Christ six weeks prior to the “shake up, wake...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/witnessing-for-a-valentine-s-god</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c892dc76a37da3f8244</guid><category><![CDATA[Love]]></category><category><![CDATA[Lessons of Life]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 14 Feb 2025 17:32:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0a2e17eb03fa4662b759578a9a3bd687.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Habit 2: Embrace Hard]]></title><description><![CDATA[EXCERPT FROMBreakthrough Courage: 9 Habits to Conquer Fear and Build a Brave Heart   God created you with the ability to overcome obstacles. Embracing hardship builds strong people. You have what it takes to overcome the challenges each day brings because God made you to be an overcomer. The entire Bible is a book about overcoming. Jesus challenged all of us as believers not to forget that our world will throw tribulation at us, but through Him, we can be overcomers.  Jesus said, “These...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/habit-2-embrace-hard</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c892dc76a37da3f8249</guid><category><![CDATA[Courage]]></category><category><![CDATA[Overcomer]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 05 Feb 2025 23:54:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_95490839f0e4476e990aad09a151b6ef~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Habit 1: Seek the First Thing First]]></title><description><![CDATA[Excerpt from Breakthrough Courage: 9 Habits to Conquer Fear and Build a Brave Heart    People are fearful – and social media and 24-hour news aren’t making things better. From pharmaceutical ads to quick-fix infomercials, the media traffics in fear. It sells, and we’re buying.  The rapid increase in depression is at an all-time high. In 2023, The National Institute of Health (NIH) found that over twenty-one million Americans struggle with some form of depression, with youth between the ages...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/habit-1-seek-the-first-thing-first</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c892dc76a37da3f8248</guid><category><![CDATA[Courage]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 29 Jan 2025 22:15:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_4fd2d7a518e14e07a78353e934abe373~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Habits Define You]]></title><description><![CDATA[Excerpt from Breakthrough Courage: 9 Habits to Conquer Fear and Build a Brave Heart   A habit is a routine, a behavior, or action that is performed regularly and, over time, becomes automatic. Our days largely consist of habits. Most of us probably have a daily ritual we diligently follow. We drink our morning coffee, take our kids to school, go to work, go to the gym, make the same dinner we did last week, and predictably stare into the freezer trying to decide to eat the ice-cream or not...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/habits-define-you</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c892dc76a37da3f824b</guid><category><![CDATA[Courage]]></category><category><![CDATA[Discipline]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 23 Jan 2025 14:23:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_9e8e4f465a7e42179273eed7c1d58739~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why I Wrote Breakthrough Courage]]></title><description><![CDATA[During the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t just the shock of a virus that authorities told us would kill untold millions, but the disbelief that so many people were fearful of death—even the Christians. I was constantly in a state of suspended emotional turmoil as I listened to friends, pastors, and leaders who were terrified of dying. Now let me be clear, I’m not saying I have a death wish or even a desire to die. I don’t. But since I gave my life to Christ over forty-six years ago, I’ve not...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/why-i-wrote-breakthrough-courage</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c892dc76a37da3f8243</guid><category><![CDATA[Courage]]></category><category><![CDATA[Fear]]></category><category><![CDATA[Covid19]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2025 20:54:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d7db8a_382b7812a7174652af9d2a2dfa2b635c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[2025: A Year of Getting Healthy Again]]></title><description><![CDATA[We have heard the mantra of President Trump: “Make America Great Again.” I love his vision. When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined his team, he came up with the slogan, “Make America Healthy Again.” Love it.  Combining both visions is an excellent way to begin your new year. Why not make our communities in the United States as great as they can be? Why not make ourselves healthy in every area of our lives?  This involves being committed to greatness. What a worthy and noble goal for our lives this...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/2025-a-year-of-getting-healthy-again</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c892dc76a37da3f8246</guid><category><![CDATA[New Year]]></category><category><![CDATA[Health]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 08 Jan 2025 22:21:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a9e7b58e7ddd46d9afcca87f3c8f2f12.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[2025: The Year of Breakthrough Courage]]></title><description><![CDATA[Americans are more fearful, anxious, and depressed than any other time in the history of our nation.  Consider a few facts: People are more fearful today. Time Magazine, Vogue, and U.S. News and World Report have found that more people are anxious and fearful than we’ve been since the second world war. People are looking for answers in all the wrong places. The major pharmaceutical companies own the narrative on sickness. Big Pharma controls the TV networks and promotes their products in...]]></description><link>https://www.steveholtonline.org/post/2025-the-year-of-breakthrough-courage</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a767c892dc76a37da3f824c</guid><category><![CDATA[Courage]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 23:44:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d7db8a_382b7812a7174652af9d2a2dfa2b635c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Pastor Steve Holt</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>