Character matters. In fact, particular kinds of character stand at the heart of God’s purpose for his people.
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People need more than information on screens. They need relationship. They need people willing to take time out of their day to listen without judging. They need people to point them to the hope of Jesus.
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Do you know the feeling of having a life-long fear fall away and be proven wrong? Do you know the feeling of someone looking at your secret shame and not walking away? Do you know the peace of sitting with someone who knows the worst of you and having it make your friendship stronger?
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As I reflect this week about the sermon and the way it made me feel, I am asking God to take away the guilt and shame and inviting him to speak through me. I am asking that my basic desires not be at the forefront of my mind and heart but that I will trust in him and believe the truth of the gospel above all else.
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Just as they were in the time of the early church, people notice and are drawn to others who fellowship and have genuine relationships with people who are nothing like themselves.
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God is love; so we were not only made for love, we were made by love. And while our hearts too often settle for lesser love, true love is what we long for. True love is what penetrates the deepest parts of who we are.
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So why in the world are we spending an entire summer studying prophets from thousands of years ago? Hopefully, now that we are halfway through the summer, you aren’t asking that question anymore. If you are, this blog post won’t answer that question. But at this point in our series on the minor prophets, you might have some questions about the historical context for these prophets. So this blog post is my attempt to answer those questions better than Wikipedia would.
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But there is no double meaning to Jesus’ words. He tells Judas that Mary did exactly what she was equipped for—what he equipped her for. She did exactly enough. Jesus fills in the gaps between Mary’s small action and Judas’ harsh words. And because she didn’t let the standards set by Judas hold her back, Mary’s story speaks to me all these years later.
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Yes, life might be easier if we could simply void out our emotions. But that kind of life wouldn’t be true life, would it? It wouldn’t be the kind of kingdom living that God invites us into. If God created emotions, then we can trust that they are good and serve a purpose. So what are we to do with them? It has been my experience that when we fully acknowledge our emotions, and entrust them with another person, we are on our way to holy feeling.
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When I close the Bible and live my life according to my own will, when things start crumbling and the walls of my life cave in, my first reaction is always to blame God, and it’s never God’s fault.
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In our study of Galatians, we have been looking at Paul’s defense of the gospel and his call to the believers in Galatia to not add anything—no rules, no laws, no additional steps—to their simple and profound faith in Jesus and in his death and resurrection. … I was reminded of the false gods that I and many believers that I know are tempted to serve again out of laziness, frustration, or just our plain self-centeredness.
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This past year, my family struggled to be committed to our Connect group. We were trying to sell our house, with a new baby, a 3-year-old, and a kindergartener who often took our entire family out with sickness. We had unexpected work meetings, out of town guests, and an 8U softball schedule that plagued our presence on any given week..
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