Lost in the demands to “keep Christ in Christmas” and the requests to “remember the reason for the season” is a broader purpose: hope for a messed up world. You see, the Old Testament ends with a prophesy through Malachi. He was one of several prophets who tried...
A divine calling is not just a purpose or call. A lot of folks exhaust a lot of time searching for what it is God “wants them to do with their life”. And many writers distill the path to that down to a few “easy steps”. Presumably, getting to...
God’s ways are called many things; mysterious, unpredictable, wise, just to name a few. One phrase often said in relation is “God’s ways are not always our ways.” So much of this is true. God’s ways are mysterious. And they are unpredictable (to use at least)....
Despite what may sometimes seem otherwise, God hears his people. Prayer is an important and intimate communion with God in which we take our praises and petitions while seeking forgiveness. It’s a moment to gain clarity of God’s signal in our lives of constant...
It’s good to lament. Or maybe not. Who knows? Maybe we better back up and first ask “what does it mean to lament?” To answer that, let’s consult Got Questions, where they say: To lament is to express deep regret, grief, or sorrow. We can lament through words or...
We often speak of a heavenly reward. It’s usually said in relation to the phrase “you can’t take it with you.” The “it” in this case is all the stuff we acquire in life. Our homes, cars, clothes, gadgets, toys… even our money. This stuff is stuff we...
What does authentic love look like? It’s a question I’m often pondering. Never really landed on an answer, until now. You know it when I see it. Every now and then, God sends a perfect illustration. It’s sometimes like the missing puzzle piece that’s key...
It’s unnatural to really feel the personal pain of someone else. You can sympathize, but really feeling the suffrage of another isn’t something we intuitively do. And why does it matter anyway? Well, for starters, it’s a way we can keep our own personal pain in...
Though the term “Golden Rule” is never actually used in scripture, we receive it through Jesus’ words in the book of Matthew. In it, he says; “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets (Matthew...
You’ve heard it: “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.” Or, maybe you’ve heard a different take on it. It suggests that spending time on little things and details is a waste. I am a person who has always considered himself to be exceptionally average. It’s been distressing at...
When serving others, there are several paths we can take. There’s a lot of advice and many forms of motivation. If we’re going to succeed, we must develop individuals and our communities. It means seeing like Jesus, developing people and developing our communities....
I am excited about today’s post as we continue considering comfort zones. Perhaps you’ve noticed I have curated seven posts about every topic in this year’s series, A Year of Listening Up. I do this because, it 1.) helps me grow and expand my...