Forged By Faith

2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV I'm a pretty visual person. I usually find myself just sitting around watching the world and taking notes. Don't talk all that much, hardly at all depending on who you ask. I try to listen as much as I can because I know that people need to know that someone cares about them and what they're going through. But I gain most of my information with my eyes. So this verse is one that really hits home for me personally because it calls me to go in a direction that I don't normally go. It reminds me that our faith isn't one of comfort but of trust. We've talked a lot about not fitting in and not being dragged away from God by the world around us. Yesterday we discussed how bad company corrupts good morals and how we need to walk away and stay away from the things that will pull us in the wrong direction. That's scary for many. We're hesitant to walk away from what we know or what's comfortable because we know what we have. Even if it...

2 Corinthians 6:14 NIV We've been talking about how we need to stop trying to fit in and be like this world. It's one of those things that pretty much all of us have done, but it's never given us anything that lasts. Not only do we not gain anything from the effort, but chances are we're going to lose a lot because of it. We're going to have to trade away little bits and pieces of ourselves and our beliefs in order to be like everyone else and do what everyone else does. What we need to understand is that when we turned to Christ, our lives were changed. Our sins were washed away by His forgiveness. Our pasts were taken away so that we wouldn't have them holding us back. He gave us His Spirit to lead us in a better direction. His light came pouring into our lives, chasing the darkness away that once held us captive. So things are going to be different. And the more that we pour into our faith, the more that we're going to change. So by trying to be more like...

1 John 5:19 NIV This right here is why we shouldn't be so focused on trying to fit in and make this world like us. We're going in two completely different directions! Or at least we should be. The way this world is going isn't the one that leads to the promises of God. All the sin and filth that is accepted and celebrated down here is leading to something far different than an eternity of peace. Far different! So why walk the direction that everyone else is walking? Why go along with things that we know aren't okay? Why bend and twist and conform to fit a mold of depravity? The Bible makes it crystal clear what sin leads to. There's no debating what's waiting across the finish line for the evil of this world. I guess maybe some just like the heat and the flames of hell sound appealing. Personally, not really interested. I think that's why I talk so much about not trying to fit in and be like the world around us. It's not a game. Worldly popularity and ac...

Romans 5:1 NIV This has become one of those verses that seems to always be on my mind. Yesterday we talked about the difference in living to please man and living to please God. We're led to believe that we need people to like and accept us. We're sold these ideas of popularity and admiration. We think that our value is found in fitting in and going with the flow. So we cave. We give in. We lose ourselves in order to be what others want us to be. But it's nonsense! So many people spend their lives trying to earn something they already have. We've all tried to earn the love and respect of others. We've conformed to what others wanted from us so that we could feel approved and accepted. We go along with things that we don't like or agree with just so we can feel like we belong. What we need to understand is that it's all meaningless. Losing our souls to please this world is one of the worst things we can ever do. Like I said, we simply don't need approval ...

1 Thessalonians 2:4 NIV You have to stand for something or you'll fall for anything. That was a line from this old country song that I heard a bunch when I was kid. But it stuck with me all this time. I think it took root because it's just the truth. Sadly there are a lot of people who don't stand their ground anymore. Many are okay with bouncing from one movement to the next without really caring about anything. Conviction is one of those dying traits in our world. It seems like everyone just wants to fit in and be accepted. And they'll do or say whatever it takes to make it happen. It's a scary thing to lose yourself and what you believe so that you can please other people. I guess some feel like they need that justification to find their worth. But no matter how hard you may try to fit in and be liked by others, there will always be someone who doesn't like you or agree with what you have to say. That's why we need to find our backbone. We need to have su...

1 John 1:9 NIV This one hit me out of the blue yesterday. I was in the middle of my workout and started thinking about the things that I'm trying to change, trying to do better, trying to leave behind. I realized that God is helping with every bit of it, but I keep trying to undo what He's doing. I ask Him to help me leave something behind and then I go right back to it as soon it's gone. We're not very smart are we? We ask God to take something away and then as soon as He does we try to take it back. We want to change, we just don't want to change. It's this weird human problem that we all struggle with. This constant relapse keeps us lost, broken, confused, and full of torment. We get to the point where we start wondering if we can ever break free. Well, we can, but it takes a kind of complete surrender that we rarely tap into. We have to seriously let it go. Whatever 'it' is for you, let it go. God will help us get rid of things. He will help us chang...

1 Corinthians 15:19 NIV This one goes right along with what we talked about yesterday. Looking for joy, peace, hope, or satisfaction in any worldly thing is only going to lead to disappointment. Things don't last, so they can't offer us anything lasting either. Thankfully there is more than this world. There is more available to us than what our eyes can see or our hands can touch. We need to stop limiting ourselves and our hope to this world! Reading through 1 Corinthians 15 last night talking about the hope of eternal life through resurrection. At some point all of this is over. This world and everything in it will fade away. Our lives have an expiration date that none of us know or can avoid. All of the things that we pile up around us will be left behind when our time is up. None of it comes with us to the next step of this journey. None of it! So we shouldn't place all that much importance on it now. We need to stop looking only to the temporal things in life. The mone...

Psalm 119:37 NIV How many worthless things have stolen our attention? How many worthless paths have we travelled looking for peace or happiness? How many times have we bought this idea that something of this world held the key to everything we hoped for? How many times are we going to fall into that trap before we learn the lesson? How far are we going to drift away from God in search of something that only He can provide? This is one that I have seriously had my eyes opened to here lately. I've always been a collector. At one point my room had so many things hanging on the walls that you couldn't tell what color they were painted. It took me a ton of time just to clean and dust because my room was filled with everything that had caught my eye. I surrounded myself with things that I thought made me happy and helped fulfill my life. I was wrong. And I'm now a recovering collector. I've discovered that I don't like being surrounded by things anymore. It just gets dust...

1 Corinthians 12:27 NIV Read this one last night and thought it fit pretty well with what we talked about yesterday. And it's another one of those truths that we've forgotten in our modern society. Our differences don't separate us as much as let them. Our unique abilities, interests, and strengths give us chances to help one another in different ways. Unfortunately, these days our differences are all too often used as grounds to argue. What we've forgotten is that we're all united in Christ. It doesn't matter what denomination the building says where to go to church. It doesn't even matter if you go to a church. It doesn't matter how tall, ugly, rich, skinny, strong, or goofy you are. We are all a part of the body of Christ! Each of us are connected to one another through the blood that He spilled on the cross. It's so easy to forget what we have in common when we're busy looking at what makes us different. It's easy to forget that we're...

Matthew 22:39 NIV Sticking with our topic of getting back to the basics of our faith. Yesterday we discussed what Christ calls the first and greatest commandment: to love God with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our minds. Today is the second part of that message: to love others. So you see, despite all the rules and regulations, the expectations and the religious side of things, our faith is built upon love! It's amazing how quickly that idea gets lost behind other stuff. As we've talked about a lot in these posts, we've gotten all caught up in religion. We've gotten mixed up in worldly things that people have come up with. We've taken something that is seriously simple and made it nearly impossible. All of these man-made rules do nothing but distract us from the main goal of our faith. If we don't love others then it doesn't matter what we do, what we look like, what we wear, how well we speak, or anything else. If love isn't the reason behind w...

Matthew 22:37 NIV Thinking about getting back to the childlike faith that we talked about yesterday. I really do believe that faith shouldn't be anywhere near as complicated as we make it. So how do we make it simple? Well, we go back to the basics. Strip away all the requirements. Toss out the desire to be perfect. Forget all about using faith to make us look good or feel better about ourselves. Take all that away and focus in on the very foundation of what our faith should be. As we talk about quite often, it's a relationship. We've gotten all caught up in the religion side of things. Making sure we check all the boxes so that we meet expectations is sadly what faith is for many. It's nothing more than some exclusive club that meets once a week and talks about the Bible for an hour. It's mega churches and rock-star preachers. In short, Jesus paid for freedom but we built it into something far different! It's a relationship between us and our Father. It's a...

Luke 18:17 NIV Y'all ever miss being a kid? Everything seemed so much easier. There were no worries, no fears, no stress, no doubts, no shame, no regret, no weight. We just ran around having fun and enjoying life. We didn't wonder if things were too good to be true. We didn't worry about being let down. We weren't carrying around the burdens of weaknesses and mistakes. We were simply alive and carefree. Simpler times indeed! Personally I miss those times. Back when trust was natural. When we didn't worry about having things or money or power. Back when our biggest concern was watching cartoons and getting to play with our friends. Unfortunately life never stays that way. We grow up and go through things that bring on the stress and worry. We learn fear. We pick up those bad habits that bring shame and regret. We lose those simple childhood ways. But here lately we've been talking about making changes and walking away from the negative aspects of life. We've ...

Romans 6:1 NIV This one hit me before I even got out of bed this morning. In light of what Christ has offered to us, why would we continue living in sin? Sure, we're not in Heaven yet but that's no reason to live in hell. And that's exactly what sin is. Sin is hell. It's misery. It's darkness and pain. It's shame, guilt, regret, anger, jealousy, greed, discontent, and every other horrible thing. In short, sin keeps us separated from God. Living in sin keeps us from living in His peace. Existing in darkness keeps us from experiencing His light. Choosing to continue living in sin prevents us from the freedom that Christ won on the cross. Doing the same messed up things that we have always done will only keep us separated from our source of everything good. We don't have to wait! Salvation isn't some future gift. The hope of Heaven isn't some distant dream. It's a promise. IT IS COMING! Christ is coming. So why wait? Why live this life of continuall...

1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV Who we were. Who we've been. Past tense is a powerful thing in our faith. That freedom to change, to let things go, to do something new and different is one of the biggest gifts that any of us could ever hope for. The lives we've lived do not have to be the ones we live today. The choices we've made don't have to be the same going forward. Thanks to Christ's redemption, we're no longer slaves to who we were before. Each of us have done things we wouldn't dare to do again. We've made choices that make us cringe at the very thought of them now. Words have been said that we would give anything to take back. We've all walked along paths that we now know we should have never ventured upon. Take all of those hard-earned lessons and use them to better yourself starting here and now. That's the opportunity that our faith affords us! Christ is our escape from those broken lives we've lived. He's the key that unlocks the cell...

2 Peter 1:4 NIV I've felt this shift happening in my life recently. It's hard to explain. Hard to sum up. It's this deepening of what matters and the letting go of what doesn't. It's a change in priorities and perspectives. It's this new outlook on everything that is leading me in a new direction that I couldn't be more excited about. It feels like the very essence of what we talked about yesterday in becoming fools to this world and its ways and learning something different. Throughout the 6+ years of sharing these posts I've talked a lot about not wanting to be like this world. But now that I feel God leading me through this process of actual separation, it's more amazing than I can describe! It really is this feeling of disconnect from all the weight that I've carried my whole life. It's the opportunity to let go of the past mistakes, the current expectations, and the future worries. But one of the biggest things is this freedom from the o...

1 Corinthians 3:18 NIV Who needs to be humble when you can be egotistical? Seems to be the new way in which our world has decided to operate. There are so many people who think they have all the answers. So much self-wisdom these days! Everyone knows everything, has everything figured out, knows exactly what's right, and looks down on everyone who doesn't agree with their self-righteousness. Reading through 1 Corinthians last night and this one really hit home for me. This has become one of my main focuses in life lately. You know, the more I learn about the world and its ways the less I want any part of it. The more I see how people treat one another the more I yearn to be different. The more hatred, anger, division, and foolishness that I see the more I'm thankful that I'm not called to fit in down here. So this verse really sums up this direction that I've chosen to travel in my life. I want to unlearn all the worldly stuff so that I have room to learn better thi...

James 1:19 NIV What's the first thing someone does when you tell them to not look down. They look down! Our world has pretty much done the same thing with the message of this verse. We've gone the opposite way. Not really sure why we do the opposite of what we're asked to do, but when it comes to this one, it's undoubtedly caused far more problems than solutions. These days far too many are extremely quick to be angry. They're triggered by anything they don't agree with. It's as if they actively go looking for things to be offended by just so they can scream and yell some more. Not many are slow to speak. Most never stop speaking. I guess they think that the way to prove their point or win some foolish battle is to say more or say it louder. And as for listening, well, there's little hope of that period. And yet we wonder why things aren't getting better? Why do we still have so much strife and division? Why haven't we figured out a way to calm t...

James 4:12 NIV Yesterday's verse really got me to thinking about all of the judgment that's so prevalent these days. With so many polarizing headlines and situations unfolding around us, it's no surprise that there are so many different lines being drawn. Everyone has picked a side before knowing all the facts and that's a dangerous way to go. As I said a few days ago, when our opinions become our truth then we're in trouble! Our opinions are based on our personal perspective of things. Whatever the matter at hand may be, we form our opinions based on what we think is right and wrong. And at some point, if we're not careful, our opinions can quickly lead us to judging those around us. But as we discussed yesterday, we have no right to judge anyone. As this verse here is reminding us, there is only one judge, God Himself. Everyone has a right to their opinions but I really think we've crossed a line. When we get to the point where our opinions are used as fac...

Romans 14:10 NIV It really is incredible just how pervasive judgement is. Even the most kind and caring person can still fall into that trap. We look around at others and see the differences. We judge the choices that they make. We look at someone else's mistakes and wonder how they could be so foolish. We think that we could never be so weak or make such poor decisions. But the fact is that we're all weak and we all make those bad choices. So none of us have room to judge! It dawned on me the other night that I still do far more judging than I should. It's one of those things that I know isn't okay and I don't want to do it. And it's always for some petty little thing that has no significance at all. But I think we get used to doing something so often that it almost becomes natural. It's one of those sneaky wrongs that all of us get tripped up by. What I think we need to remember is that each of us have plenty of things to work on ourselves. Not a single on...

Romans 13:12 NIV The idea that people like you and I can be a part of something so great, so big, so important is incredible. To have the opportunity to leave our sin filled pasts behind us and live for more is an unmerited gift. Reading through the last little bit of Romans last night and found this one that I think really speaks to what our focus should be. We don't know when Christ is coming back, but we should probably get ready as we're undoubtedly getting closer! There's no doubt that there is a lot of darkness in our world. So many are lost in sins that people a hundred or a thousand years ago wouldn't have imagined! The things that we say, the way we treat one another, the deeds done in secret are pretty far from righteous or uplifting. A lot of things are broken and messed up down here. And each of us have gotten mixed up in some of it. That's why it's time to do something different. Time to evaluate our choices, our actions, our words and get things li...

Romans 11:23 NIV Yep, more Romans! Why not? There is so much wisdom and guidance to be found in that book, almost to the point that we could do a daily post on just about every verse. This goes right along with yesterday's message. God is always reaching out to pull us back to Himself. We've wandered off chasing all this other nonsense. And well, we've payed the price in guilt and shame. So the question I think we should be asking ourselves is why we wouldn't want better than that? Why would we not want to change? Why is continuing to live with all this regret good enough? Do we really want to continue to live apart from God and all His goodness and the promises that He has? Haven't we had enough of trying to find joy in all these other things and places that do nothing but disappoint us? No matter how far we've wandered off or how much we've messed up there is always hope. Again, God is always there reaching out for us to help lead us to something better. B...

Romans 10:21 NIV Continuing on this little trek through Romans and this one goes right along with what we discussed yesterday. We have taken it upon ourselves to decide what's right. We have rewritten the rules to better accommodate our inability to adhere to the old ones. We've developed our own truth that fits our opinions. But when our opinions become our truth then we're headed for trouble! Having an opinion about something is fine. We all do that. But when we let our opinions become our facts and refuse to budge then they become stumbling blocks. We shut ourselves off to any perspective that differs from our own. We refuse to listen to reason because we've already decided that we're right and anything different is wrong. That is a seriously dangerous place to go. As we talked about yesterday, we can take that mindset so far that we make our sins seem okay. We can become so set in our sinful lives that being told we're screwing up only leads to a fight. That...

Romans 10:3 NIV I am loving this trip through Romans lately! Every single night leaves me with at least one verse that I have to go back and read again. Anyone who thinks that God doesn't speak through His word anymore just ain't reading close enough! This one from Romans 10 fits our lives today as much as ever before! Sin is so rampant in our lives that we go out of our way to make it seem okay. We would rather keep on sinning and tell ourselves it isn't so bad than to stop and actually address our weaknesses and problems. I guess it's easier to make things conform to what we want than to put in the work to change and do things better. We are catering to our brokenness so that we don't have to fix it! It's amazing what we'll do to convince ourselves that we're right. We redefine truth so that it fits what we want it to mean. We rewrite the rules so that what we're doing fits within the lines and we feel better about our choices. We spin things, twis...

Romans 7:17 NIV Yesterday we discussed how sin doesn't benefit us in any way whatsoever. Any temporary excitement or momentary thrill is only fleeting and leaves us feeling ashamed and broken every single time. So why do we keep making those bad decisions? Why does sin continue to plague our lives? Why can't we seem to figure it out and get ourselves under control? Those are questions that I know all of us have asked at one time or another. Are we just bad people? Are we broken beyond repair? Are we just hopeless and destined to suffer the consequences of our weaknesses? Not at all! The mistakes that we make aren't evidence that we're hopeless. Our sins don't tell the whole story. Our weaknesses do not disqualify us from God's love. All our sins and bad choices show is that we still have work to do. We still have room to improve. Our sins are proof that there is still darkness inside of us that we need to deal with. It's so easy to just sweep things under th...

Romans 6:21 NIV There's something about this verse that just packs a punch! I've literally had to go back and read it over and over again for a couple of nights now. We've been talking about Easter and what Christ's gift means for us. But I also realized something last night while I was praying. Unless that gift takes root in our hearts it can't do the job it was meant to do. Until His death and the story of His resurrection become personal it won't be able to change us. Sin seems great on the surface. It's fun. It's easy. It's exciting. It's popular. It presents this care-free kind of life that appeals to everyone. Being able to do or say anything you want with no limitations, no regrets sounds like the ultimate kind of freedom. But we know better. In our hearts we know there is a big difference between right and wrong. And that knowledge brings with it a weight that we cannot escape. There's a reason that sin feels bad. There's a reason...

Romans 6:5 NIV hrist has risen, and now we get to rise too! The chains of sin and shame have been dealt with. I was thinking about this one last night and I think that's a hard thing for us to come to terms with. Personally, I still remember a lot of the things I've done. I may never forget some of them. Not sure how it all works because it's bigger than me. So how can we move on when those past mistakes still hold a place in our minds? Well, we have to understand that He really did die for us and that He covered our sins in the process. While the memory of our mistakes may still be there, it doesn't mean that we're that person anymore. Our pasts don't have the power to hold us back because the power of Christ's salvation is stronger. Any pull that our old way of living may have can't compare to the desire to live better knowing what Jesus did for us. The biggest part that I think we need to understand is that our old lives died with Him. Those twisted a...

Matthew 28:6 NIV Arguably the biggest day of our faith. Growing up it was all about the Easter egg hunts and bunny rabbits. Dyeing eggs and having dinners. Finding a gift basket filled with more sugar than anyone should consume in one sitting. Who would have thought as we grow up and get older that we'd find out that it's about something far sweeter! And the biggest surprise isn't an egg hidden in grass, it's a stone rolled away from a tomb. Resurrection Sunday is the fulfillment of God's promise to set us free and remove our sins as far away as possible. Forgiveness is something truly special and it's a gift that all of us can take part in because of Christ's death. He carried our sins and their punishment in His body to the cross. Then from the cross to the tomb. And that's where they were left. He buried them. He left them behind so that we could too. He washed our sins away so that we wouldn't be buried under their weight anymore. True freedom, t...

Psalm 27:14 NIV We know about Good Friday. The world celebrates Easter Sunday. What about Saturday? What about that day in between? Why doesn't it get more acclaim? Well, Holy Saturday is an altogether different kind of day. It's the day between the dying of our Savior and His resurrection. It's that time of waiting, hoping, wondering. In other words, Holy Saturday is the hard part! We all know that waiting can be excruciating! The promise of something better to come. The hope of promises being fulfilled. The joy of being rewarded for our faith. But so much of our faith and life itself is in those in-between times. We all do a lot of waiting and hoping that what we believe in will come to pass. And no matter how short the wait is, it always feels like an eternity because we know that what's coming is going to be so incredible. The Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is when Christ lay in the tomb. Those who doubted were filled with the joy that they have defe...

John 19:30 NIV I'm pretty sure I share this exact verse every Good Friday. To me, it's just the most impactful thought that I can think of when it comes to the meaning and celebration of Easter. Those three little words sum up so much of what our faith is built upon. It's beautiful, humbling, haunting, exciting, powerful. "It is finished." Looking up the verse this morning and I stumbled across the Greek translation of what Christ said before breathing His last breath. Tetelestai comes from the Greek verb teleo which means "to bring to an end, to complete, to accomplish." But the verb tense refers to something which has been completed in the past with results continuing in the present. So it's more than over and done. Jesus said that He accomplished what He came to do and the results will continue on! That's exactly why we're still celebrating His selfless gift on that cross 2,000 years later. What He did then still applies today. The victory...

Psalm 18:32 NIV It's all for God through God. So many times we try to live our lives for us and what we want. We've been talking about how we don't need to earn God's love or forgiveness. We don't need to conform to what others want us to be to find our worth. We don't need spend our lives focused on our pride or comfort. None of this will ever be about us! We are here to serve Christ by carrying His message of restoration to the world around us. It's about helping others learn about what He did for them. It's showing the world that there is a better way to live life. Spreading love and kindness will always mean more than storing up treasures for ourselves or striving for some kind of earthly acclaim. We need to ditch the selfish side of living and aim much higher. Living our lives for us will only impact us. That's it! Which is why He calls us to lay everything at the foot of the cross and follow His example. Where He is leading us there just isn...