Forged By Faith

2 Corinthians 7:10 NIV Lately I’ve felt this heaviness in life. It’s like this weight on my shoulders of things that I need to be doing better, doing differently, or simply not doing at all. It’s almost this sense of distress in knowing that if I don’t make a few changes and get rid of some things then I will only miss out on experiencing even more of who God made me to be and what it is that He’s calling me to do. I know that I can do better. I know that I want to do better. I know without a doubt that there are things in my life that aren’t helping me do so. And I think that’s maybe some of that Godly sorrow that this verse is talking about. I don’t know about you, but personally I haven’t found a way to turn off that tiny voice that speaks up every time I do something wrong. It sure seems like many around us have, but I still hear it. A lot! And I’m thankful for it. You see, I know that I’m about as far from perfect as anyone has ever been. But rather than live in some sort of delus...

1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV Growing up is a part of life. A big part. It’s inevitable. Problem is that in many ways we all try to avoid it. We try to find ways to remain the same because it’s easier. When we were kids we didn’t understand things like responsibility. We didn’t have to worry about weighing options, considering consequences, or making the right choices. We just ran around laughing and having fun all the time. To be fair, who wouldn’t want to live like that forever? Who wouldn’t want to avoid the tougher side of growing up and the responsibility that comes with knowing right from wrong? But that just isn’t how life works. We may want to remain immature and ignorant to the gravity of our thoughts and actions. We may prefer to act like we don’t know the truth or the reality of the ramifications for our immorality. But as hard as we may try to sneak right on past those things, there’s simply no avoiding them. At some point we have to grow up. We have to start thinking for ourselv...

Hebrews 10:27 NIV We're pretty good at pretending. So good in fact that we can reach this place where we don’t even realize that we’re deceiving ourselves. We paint on smiles that tell the world around us that we're okay. We cherry pick the best parts of our lives to piece together this picture perfect existence that we're nowhere close to living behind the scenes. We create these wonderful sounding lies that help us remain convinced that we're not struggling or doing anything wrong. We keep running full speed in the direction we selfishly want to go while telling ourselves that we’re the ones in control and that we can determine our own destiny. Maybe that’s one of the biggest reasons that we find ourselves tired so often. We talked about that a bit yesterday, and I think this may have some correlation to it. Maybe we wear ourselves down by stubbornly refusing to accept the fact that God’s will is going to be done no matter what we say or do. Perhaps we wear ourselves ...

Isaiah 40:31 NIV Yesterday we talked about the vastly different versions of freedom that we have to choose from. There’s the worldly version that we all know so well. The version where we just throw caution to the wind, ignore responsibility, and cater to our personal desires. But then there’s the version found in Christ that sets us free from the illusion of control and power that we’ve grown accustomed to. His version is where we can finally find rest and peace for our souls. But sadly many will never find it because it requires us to lay ourselves down and let Him take over. The reason that I will continue to focus on my faith and fight every single day to grow and strengthen it is that I’m tired. I’m worn out. I’m done with carrying this load of thinking that I have to this all on my own. I’m tired of this idea that my life is nothing but a culmination of the petty things that I want. I’m tired of serving myself. I’m just tired of this miniscule existence where all that matters is ...

John 8:32 NIV There's comfort in lies. They help us avoid the pain that sometimes comes with the truth. It's far easier to choose to believe something that makes sense to us than to be faced with the truth and forced to change because of it. Maybe that's why the truth isn't very popular. It requires us to act. It sparks this fire inside that refuses to leave us comfortable where we are. The truth brings with it this undeniable knowledge that makes change and responsibility mandatory. And well, those things are all but detestable in our world today. Knowing the truth, knowing God's truth, will compel us to acknowledge our sins. It will open our eyes to indisputable fact that we're not perfect and that we never will be. It will push us to change our ways and fight every single day to stop allowing sinful temptations to retain control over us. God's truth meets us right where we are but demands that we never stay there. And again, that's just not something ...

1 Timothy 1:15 NIV Yesterday we talked about this foolish practice of taking the Bible out of context in order to make it fit what we want it to mean. We don't have the right or the authority to twist Scripture or to find ways to undermine its power in order to make ourselves feel more comfortable in our sin. We need to understand our role in this thing. What we have to realize is that we're not the heroes of this story. We're the messed up little heathens that ran off and got lost. We don't have any ground to go back and blame the One we left behind! I think we're so used to living in a world where everyone goes out of their way to justify their actions that we can quickly fall into that trap ourselves. We look around and there's no accountability anymore. No responsibility. No owning mistakes or admitting guilt. Everyone seems blind to the truth that we're all sinners who mess up countless times every single day. But what do we usually hear instead? That e...

2 Timothy 3:16 NIV The Bible is a gift meant to help us. But we can quickly fall into this place where we end up using it to justify what we're doing. People can always find a way to twist and turn something to fit any kind of narrative that they want to fit. Taking the Bible out of context is sadly more common than simply being corrected by it. Now I know that people just want to be left alone to sin as they see fit. But using the Bible to justify our favorite flavor of sin isn't anywhere close to okay. It's straight up dangerous. Last night my mom shared this conversation that she saw somewhere online where the Bible was brought up. But sadly, this person was using the Bible to justify what they wanted it to mean. They even went so far as to say that the modern translations were "misinterpreted" and therefore didn't actually mean that the topic of this conversation was actually bad. I've seen some pretty questionable takes on things, but saying that the ...

Proverbs 29:25 NIV In my own personal opinion, one of the most worthless things that we could ever do is worrying about what other people think about us. That's something that we've talked about several times in these posts because I know it's something that a lot of people get caught up in. We're all taught to live in fear of being caught on the wrong side of what's popular or powerful at the moment. But we have to understand the opinions and even the actions of this place can not overpower, overwrite, or overrule God's sovereignty. Living in fear of the opinions, hatred, judgment, and persecution of humanity will only trip us up. It's a snare that keeps us stuck in one spot without the courage to move beyond the boundaries that have been set up by our society. Giving power to those around us that they don't really have is something that all of us have done, but it's also something that we can control. It's something that we can stop doing. And ...

Matthew 5:11 NIV To be hated. That's definitely not something that people are looking for these days. But I am. I'm not afraid of it. I'm not worried about being judged or ridiculed. This is going to sound weird, it even feels weird to type it: I want to be hated. Let me tell you why. I have lived a life that was dependent upon external validation. I have set my sights on gaining the approval and justification of those around me. And I know how utterly useless and damaging it can be. So I'm headed the other way. I had this thought hit me a while back and it's become one of my personal rules to live by. This world will judge us no matter what we say or do, so give them something to judge. Give them something to hate. You see, it is better to be hated for doing what's right and standing out because of it than to be loved and applauded for going along with the evil around us. That's something that so many have forgotten in our world. People are willing to go al...

Acts 17:30 NIV Got another problematic way of thinking that I have a hunch many people fall into. We hear so much about how God loves us. That's one of if not the most popular message about the Gospel. It's one of the first little songs that we learn to sing in Sunday School. But we can become so focused on that side of the Gospel that we forget the other half. Yes, He does love us. He loves us more than we can understand. He loves us too much to allow us to stay where we are: lost in sin and controlled by evil. This hit me the other night while I was praying. It's like I see God as my best friend. And He is. He should be. He should be the closest relationship that we have. But where it can become a little dangerous is when we allow ourselves to fall into this assumption that He will continually overlook our mistakes. He is the epitome of love, forgiveness, salvation, and mercy. But He is also a God that is to be feared and respected above and beyond anything else. That...

Proverbs 12:15 NIV We've been talking about a few of the worthless things in life that do nothing but keep us distracted and prevent us from growing in Christ. Without question, one of the most worthless and downright dangerous of them all is this arrogant thought that we have it all figured out. That mindset not only doesn't do anything for us, but it keeps us from learning because we think we already know everything we need to know. So when it comes to the possibility that we don't know something, or Heaven forbid, that we might be wrong, we just don't know how to handle that. There's this newish hobby running rampant where everyone comes up with their own truth. I say newish because it's probably been around for a while, but it has sure picked up steam the last couple of years. People have decided that real truth, God's truth, common sense kind of thing just doesn't really fit what they want. It doesn't allow them the latitude to do as they wish b...

1 Samuel 12:21 NIV How long are we going to keep going along blind to the fact that we're leaning on things that can't help us? How many worthless idols have we set up in our lives that we can spend our time chasing after and worshipping so that we feel like we're accomplishing something? How long will we stay deceived into thinking that anything of this world can offer us something better than what Christ offers through the cross? It's time to wake up people because the clock is ticking! We have fallen so badly for the lies and ways of this world that we don't even realize that we're being led around by things that don't matter. We've been taught to prioritize what everyone else says is important because that's where we find our value or this weird definition of success. We spend our lives chasing after material things that we think will bring us something only to catch them and discover that maybe they weren't as important as we thought. But ma...

Ephesians 2:9 NIV Well, if that ain't a hit straight to what so many in our world are chasing after. Much of our society is based off of making ourselves look good. It's like we're taught to run off of social praise and positive feedback. So we gear everything we say and do in order to please others. We bend and twist in order to fit the pretty wacky standards of what our world has deemed important. I guess we figure that if we can manage to earn the praise and approval of others then we must be doing something right. But while that way of thinking and living may work down here, it just doesn't fit what the Gospel is all about. We may be able to do all the right things so that those around us will tell us that we're doing good. We might be able to learn how to say everything just right so that we can earn that praise that fuels our ego and makes us feel better about ourselves. Our world is built on this idea of proving our worth and gaining the validation that we ca...

Matthew 6:1 NIV Thinking more about yesterday's topic of turning our eyes away from worthless things. You know, I think we really enjoy convincing ourselves that we're doing good enough. We like that feeling of pride and accomplishment that we find in checking off boxes and crossing things off a list. And we think that will work for just about anything in life. But in all reality, if our faith is based on nothing but a list of things that we think make us good people then we're kind of missing the whole point. The truth is that most of human religion is worthless. It's based on rules and regulations that we humans have come up with to make us feel better about ourselves. We've sat around and written a bunch of rules that we expect ourselves and others to follow and we make that list our goal. We make a bunch of rules our guide to what make someone good or bad. The more of our rules we follow the better we can tell ourselves that we are. But true faith is about so mu...

Psalm 119:37 NIV I don't know about you, but the more I pay attention to the world around us the more down I feel. The more I try to understand why people are the way they are and why they prioritize the things they do the more distracted I become. So many of the things that people are chasing are just pointless. The way that so many people treat one another is simply unneeded. I don't understand it and I don't want to understand it. Trying to figure out this world will only require us to dive deeper into it, and we're called to go a different direction. Yesterday we talked about the blind leading the blind. That's basically the status quo in our world. People blindly following other people to some goal or desire that they think will bring them some happiness or sense of satisfaction. And it might. A lot of what people chase after does bring some satisfaction. That's why they spend so much time focusing on it. But that excitement or happiness or sense of accompl...

Matthew 15:14 NIV We better watch who and what we're following because where they go, we go. And friends, if you're not already aware, this world and its twisted ways are headed straight to hell. Yep, that's harsh language. That's offensive. That's a truth that is inconvenient and hurts a little bit. That's a message that slaps us in the face and makes us realize that our choices have consequences and we're the only ones that are responsible for them. So if the truth hurts our feelings and opens our eyes a bit, good. When we blindly fall in line and choose to mirror what everyone else is doing then we become just like them. We allow ourselves to model our lives based on the ways of life that are considered normal and common. But friends, what's normal and common in this world isn't okay. It's not anywhere close to good. What this world does, how it chooses to operate, and the sin that has so many enslaved is not acceptable in God's eyes. So f...

Proverbs 25:26 NIV Look, I'm not going to apologize for calling it like it is. I know that isn't a very popular thing in our world anymore. There's this aversion to the truth that our society has adopted that will only make matters worse going forward. People nowadays just want to feel free to sin at will without anyone pointing out the mistakes or having to deal with the consequences. But as comfortable as that may be while on this earth, it will not work when we're standing before God one day. So as much as it may offend or aggravate the masses, the truth, God's truth is what we're here to share. There's no arguing that this world is headed in a dangerous direction. So much wickedness and so little responsibility or willingness to turn and repent is only speeding things up. It just seems like so many have settled for sin and selfishness that there's not much chance of pulling things back and righting this ship before it sinks into the abyss. A post-tru...

Psalm 81:12 NIV Our stubbornness in this unrelenting desire to do as we wish is leading us to nothing but problems. The issue is that we've been taught that our freewill is what leads us to freedom. We've turned our world into this kind of free-for-all playground where rules are only there to be broken and consequences don't exist. Now as fun and carefree as that may be for now, it doesn't overwrite God's law. The world's twisted version of "truth" doesn't make His truth obsolete. It only leads people to thinking that they know better than He does. Problem. We don't know better. We never will. The issue is that we've become convinced that we do. So many have fallen in love with this idea that they can do whatever they want without consequence. The world around us sells this lie that sin isn't real and that we're free to do anything as long as it makes us feel good. And people buy it up. That lie has become so pervasive that reeling ...

Joshua 24:15a NIV It's a choice that every single person must make. In many ways it's a choice that we must make every single day. We're definitely given plenty of options to choose from in our modern world. We're surrounded by people who are serving a million different things for a million different reasons. And many of them are always in recruiting mode. They want us to join their ranks, agree with their priorities, and validate their choices. But what we have to understand is that just doing what everyone around us is doing may not be the best thing. So who or what are we going to serve? Who or what are we going to worship? Who or what are we going to devote our time, our attention, our energy, our lives to following? Whether we realize it or not, we make that massive choice all the time. Unfortunately we often make it blindly by just following the crowd and allowing others to pretty much make it for us. We allow this world to tell us what's important. We take th...