For so much of my life I thought that God was indifferent towards me. I felt like I had to achieve some kind of spiritual status for Him to care. I bought into the exhausting idea that as long as I was praying, attending, and serving then I deserved His attention. While I now know that isn’t true, I sometimes catch myself trying to revert...
I’ve been thinking about the events leading up to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and every time I read the scripture it becomes more and more mind blowing. I’ve known for years why Jesus died on the cross, but only recently have I taken the time to learn about how He died. He died in victory and it happened in a way that no one...
Your emotions and feelings aren’t always the easiest thing to control. A lot of times they seem to take control of you. Often all it takes is one mistake, one issue, or one problem to completely de-rail your day. Trying to figure out and control your feelings can be overwhelming and most likely you will just exhaust yourself trying. Instead, I...
For most of my life I honestly didn’t look forward to going to church or reading the Bible. I thought that everyone in the Bible was perfect and everyone in church was close to perfect. I was afraid to be honest and open because I didn’t feel like I could relate to anyone. I thought that everyone around me had it all together and I was the...
If you are like most people, when you hear the word ‘worship’ you think of praise music and hands being raised. We tend to think of worship simply as an event. Something with a definite start and finish time. While what we do on Sundays is in fact worship, it’s only one form of it. Worship is not just something you do; it’s a way...
That statement in John 15:15 – “..but I have called you friends” – astounds me, stops me in my tracks. The Son of God calls… ME … friend. It doesn’t make sense to me. I mean, I can understand why I have some of the friends that I have. For example, we both like sports or we attend the same church or we work at the...
This morning I made some coffee, sat down with a fresh cup, and stared out the window at the falling snow. At this point, the entire yard was completely covered in a blanket of fluffy white. All except for one small patch underneath my wife’s Jeep. It was there that several birds were hopping about and pecking at the ground. It was their safe...
One of the saddest things I see as a Christian is someone who is trying to earn grace and forgiveness. Just watching it is exhausting, and unfortunately I watch myself do it more than anyone I know. When we give our life to Christ, God pours out His grace and mercy like a flood. It’s unconditional, never ending, and always fulfilling. In...
