Forged By Faith

Psalm 119:18 NIV As much as we want life to go our way according to our desires based on our dreams toward our goals, what we truly need it God's plan. The problem is that when push comes to shove, we will instinctually revert back to what we want because it's what makes sense to us. It's harder to trust in something that we haven't considered, let alone ever dreamed was possible. We've become so used to thinking that we know best that this idea that we don't is hard to consider. When God starts to lead us away from what we've always thought was right toward something that we don't understand, it's going to be pretty tough for most of us. It's hard because it forces us to reconsider everything. It opens our eyes to the possibility that everything we've done, every choice we've made, and every priority we've had was all for naught. And it's just hard to let go of everything we've always known in exchange for something that we c...

Proverbs 3:6 NIV We hear a lot about the hills and valleys of life. Now many of them are things that we can't control. We can't decide the external things that come our way. But the internal, well, that's another story altogether. We can control the choices we make. We can control the things that we prioritize. We can decide here and now what matters most to us, and in doing so, we can eliminate some of those ups and downs that we'd otherwise have to endure. We've talked quite a bit about how we get lost in chasing everything we want in life, and honestly, that's one of our biggest problems. It's one of the biggest causes of many of the ups and downs that we face in life. It ends up leaving us feeling like we're bouncing back and forth, up and down, completely lost in this completely chaotic existence with very little semblance of normalcy and peace. But much of that bouncing we tend to feel comes from being so adamant to do things our way and chase afte...

Proverbs 19:21 NIV Yeah, we do like to think we've got it all figured out. We plan our course to the destinations we dream of. We sit around and daydream of what we think a perfect life would entail. We set our sights on what we want based on our own individual ideals. We set ourselves up to carve out a life that fits who we want to be, what we want to achieve, and what we want to have around us for the journey toward the destination that we want to arrive at one day. Now that's all well and good but it has one main flaw. In the grand scheme of things, what we want doesn't really matter. It doesn't come into play. It's not going to carry much weight when posed against God's will for us. That's kind of what we talked about yesterday. What we want and what God wants for us are probably very different things. But no matter how adamant we are that we know what's best for us, God's not going to compromise. That's where many start struggling with this ...

Psalm 37:4 NIV I've got a feeling that this verse is one that many people don't quite understand. On the surface it sounds like this new prosperity gospel that so many folks apparently believe in. But while this verse says that God will give us the desires of our hearts, that doesn't necessarily mean what many probably assume it means. It's just a matter of seeing things through our worldly eyes and human perspectives. We've been talking a bit about all the things we want in life and how selfishness undermines the point of the Gospel. This isn't about us. Our lives aren't about living to obtain all the junk that catches our eye. It's not about gaining a bunch of gold and glory that loses its meaning when we're no longer here to testify to its importance. But man, selfishness and human desires sure are the driving force behind so much of our society today! The Gospel is there to help us learn to see the danger in doing what we want and chasing after w...

Luke 12:34 NIV We've been talking a bit about all the things we want and how getting our way is such a common desire in life. We live in a world that teaches us to believe that we know what's best. There's a kind of hubris in this place that is truly blinding. It gets us all wrapped up in what we want and keeps us from seeing or considering anything else. And that leads to all sorts of struggles when those dreams of ours inevitably go unfulfilled. It's a hard thing to even begin to consider letting go of what we've spent perhaps years dreaming of. It's hard to imagine a life that doesn't unfold according to the plans and visions that we've had. It's a truly strange feeling when you start to realize that maybe all this stuff that has long seemed so important may not be what it's been made out to be. Maybe all of these worldly material things and even our picture-perfect future isn't the end-all be-all goal that we should be focusing on. Person...

1 Timothy 6:6 NIV I don't know if it's because it's such a short verse or if it's just how all the words flow, but this one is one of those that just always seems to be in the back of my mind. Yesterday we talked about how God must become greater while we become less. There's too much us in our lives and that causes all sorts of issues. Selfishness and greed and material gain are some of the most common yet most destructive things in our world today. We all conveniently overlook the fact that worldly things have no real value or meaning. We think they do. We're told they do. We may genuinely believe they do. But the truth is that if we can make it then it's not really that important. As I've said in the past when discussing this topic, if it has a price-tag then it's not really all that valuable. But our world is built to consume. Want is one of the main driving forces that fuels our society. And we all get caught up in it. We become consumed with al...

John 3:30 NIV I guess it's just because we're the ones that are stuck with us. We're the ones living our lives. We're the ones carrying our hopes, our dreams, our problems, and our pasts. We wake up every day to another day of our lives as the person we've been with the focuses that we've been chasing. So I reckon that it's only natural that we make our lives about us so often. But as we all know, that can lead to some issues. When we become focused on what we want then we quickly start realizing all that we don't have. We notice all the things that have eluded us up until this point. We start feeling this lack of contentment and joy that comes from not getting our way or laying our hands on all the things we want. Before long we only see what we don't have and forget to realize all that we've been given. Or maybe it's our problems and struggles that we've been dealing with. Maybe we get consumed with all these feelings of frustration and...

Psalm 43:5 NIV Sitting here this morning watching the clouds slowly roll by outside our window, and I just feel like I've misplaced something. Like I've let something slip out of my hands. Didn't notice it at the time. Didn't feel it slipping away. Don't know when it happened or how long it took. But it just feels like something is further from reach than it should be. Life can be a heavy weight to carry. There's no doubt about it. We face rainy days and hard times. We get blindsided with challenges we never would have chosen to endure. We get caught in this seemingly endless ebb and flow of joy and sorrow. But if we ever took a step back and looked at things we might realize that much of the grief we face is actually caused by choices we make, or fail to make. Happiness is a pretty necessary thing in life but how often do we really make it a priority? How often do we actually evaluate the things we're doing to ensure that they're not keeping that happin...

Romans 3:23-24 NIV So what is the Gospel? What's this story that we hear so many people talking about? What is this message that everyone needs to hear so badly? What could be so important that it inspires people to gather together and celebrate? What could be so powerful that it changes lives and helps people break free from the prisons they've built for themselves? What is so amazing about this Gospel thing? The Gospel is evidence of God's love for us. It's the all-encompassing journey that each of us embark upon from sin to salvation. It's a brutal honesty that meets us where we are and tells us that we were made for more than that. It's a reminder that our choices have consequences that are sometimes bigger than we're able to face. It's this realization that all the pain, all the regret, all the humiliation that we've felt in life stems from poor choices we've made as a result of a fallen humanity that has taught us all that selfishness is pa...

John 13:35 NIV What if instead of spending our lives trying to earn something that we've already been given we set our minds on proving that we've received it? That's something that has been on my mind for a little while now. I think we all wrestle with those thoughts and questions about whether or not we're doing enough, doing what's right, and what we can be doing better. But we can't afford to let ourselves become the only mission we're working on. It's good to evaluate our lives and seek out those areas we have that need some work. But as we've been talking about lately, falling into this mindset that tells us that we have to work for God's love is a dangerous and simply worthless place to go. It can quickly lead us to wondering and maybe even believing that we've not yet received His forgiveness. After all, we wouldn't be trying to work for it if we were confident in the fact that His grace is enough and that He has already given it ...

Philippians 2:4 NIV We've been talking about how we so easily become focused on trying to earn our faith. We think that we have to work for God's love because this idea that He just freely gives it to us seems way too good to be true. But in thinking that we have to earn His mercy we end up becoming so focused on ourselves that we start forgetting that there's far more to all of this than just us. You see, God doesn't call us to wrap ourselves up in ourselves. He doesn't call us to tune out the world around us so that we can better focus on perfecting every aspect of our lives. He asks us to go into all the world and share this incredible news with the people around us. He asks us to share His light and His love with others so that we all grow and benefit from it. But that's all but impossible to do when we're busy thinking about us and everything we think we need to do to earn what's already been given. Instead of making our lives all about us and tryin...

Ephesians 2:9 NIV We get stuck trying to earn our salvation. It's something that everyone does. I do it. I know you do it. It's one of those weird human quirks that we all have in the back of our minds. We think that there must be something we can do to ensure that we've received forgiveness and mercy and salvation. There has to be something that we can do better, stop doing altogether, or change in some way that will suddenly make this clicking sound and leave us feeling like everything has finally fallen into place. But that's just not how it works because it's not about our works. As we discussed yesterday, the Son of God came to earth and died on a cross. What do we think we can possibly do to add to that? What can we offer that will equal that? Can we really do or say something that would make that more powerful? By thinking that we can work for it or earn it or somehow do something or say something that will sure up the whole deal is only pointing to a serious...

Titus 3:5a NIV We think we can do it by ourselves. We think we can earn everything. We think that doing enough good (in our watered-down definition of good) is all it takes to secure our eternal hope and peace. I don't know if it's a matter of arrogance, pride, stubbornness, or just blatant stupidity but whatever the reason we better learn to get over because it's just not going to help us. Any amount of hope that we put in ourselves is only going to lead to disappointment. No matter what we may have convinced ourselves, our best isn't really all that great. Our best is still a far cry from what our God desires. Our best is never going to be enough to earn us a ticket to Heaven. We can never do enough good deeds to make up for all the mistakes that we've made. Thankfully that's not how it works anyway! We're used to thinking that it's all based on us but in reality, it's all completely reliant upon God's mercy. Our best isn't all that great a...

Isaiah 55:9 NIV As I was saying my prayers last night I had something hit me out of nowhere. I've spent a massive portion of my life living for me. Focusing on what I want. Chasing after what I think is important. Worrying about what I'm afraid of. Doing what I think suits me best. That's a whole lot of me. And all of us can say the same thing. We've learned to "look out for #1" as the world likes to put it. But there's a huge danger in living for ourselves. The danger of always putting ourselves first and prioritizing only what we want is that we just may get it. We just might be able to find everything our hearts desire. We just may have very selfish dream fulfilled. But what if we get everything we want only to realize that none of it is what we need, and worst of all, that it's nowhere close to what we could have had if we had followed a different path with different priorities. That's the painful realization that awaits all of us, we just get ...

1 Peter 2:10 NIV We've gone so long believing the lies of sin that breaking free from them can feel anything but possible. The shame, the guilt, the regret, the realization that our sins and mistakes have long kept us from being something better. It's a very heavy weight realizing that we've been living a lie that has prevented us from being who we were meant to be all along. It's hard. Sin has stolen all the good that God created us to be. It's reduced us to nothing. The lies and deceit that sin makes us believe have destroyed us from the inside out and that's one of the most painful realizations that there is. Knowing we could have been different. Wondering what our lives may have been like had we not fallen for the deception. Knowing that things would have been far different and far better had we stood up to the devil's lies is one of those truly miserable feelings that most of us grapple with when we finally come to see the truth of who've been and w...

Isaiah 55:7 NIV Yesterday we talked about how we can't afford to let shame to hold us back from sharing the message of the cross with those who desperately need to hear it. It's a message that applies to all of us because it meets us in our sins and shame and helps us understand that we don't have to stay there. But all of us can agree that shame and regret are some pretty strong feelings. The thing is that they're just lies. Shame tells us that our pasts are what tell the whole story of who we are. It reminds us of all the bad choices we've made and the horrible mistakes that have resulted because of them. But what we have to understand is that shame is something that we give power to, it doesn't actually have any power of its own because again it's a lie. We have to reach the point where we're just done listening to a repeat of the past and realize that we are actually free to change. All of us have lived our lives like they're some kind of game wh...

Romans 1:16 NIV For the past couple of days we've been talking about how our job here is to share what we've been given. The message of the Gospel is something that every single person needs to hear because it's a message that can and will save every single person who takes it to heart and allows it to change them from the inside out. The gift of Christ's salvation is something that has been given to all of us and everyone needs to know that they've been offered such an amazing opportunity. But there is probably some trepidation when it comes time for us to step out there and do what He's calling us to do. Fear of what people may think. Worry about the hatred and ridicule that it will bring our way. Feelings of shame that come from sharing our personal testimonies of God's grace. Embarrassment that we feel in laying all our mistakes out there for all to see. But sometimes the best way to explain the size of the gift is to show others all that the gift has do...

Acts 13:47 NIV You know, I think we often fall into thinking that our faith is a solely personal thing. In many ways it is. It's our walk with Christ. It's our choice to follow His path. It's our life that we've decided to spend serving His will. But our faith doesn't matter to us alone. In fact, when we give our hearts to Christ He fills us with His light so that we can then share His love and mercy with the world around us. That's why I said in yesterday's post to leave no doubts. Our faith should be one of the most evident things about us to those we meet along the way. It should be clear that we've been made differently because we have. God has started an incredible work in us through His salvation and our humility. He has wiped away all the junk that was once our lives so that we could shine for Him rather than continue hiding in the dark that we'd always known. I was talking with a friend of mine the other day and he referred to it as feeling l...

1 Peter 2:12 NIV All of us have lived our lives trying to be what the world wants. But we don't need to be what the world wants. We should want to be what the world needs. So many of the issues our society is facing are due to the entitlement that comes from a people always getting their way. And when they suddenly don't get their way they lose their minds. Well, in case you didn't know, there's a day coming when getting our way will be done with for good. That’s why we have to stop catering to what other people want us to be and remain steadfast in being who they need us to be. While this place may want us to be good little boys and girls who stay quiet and simply do as we're told so as to never rock the boat or disturb the delusions, we're here for a much different purpose. This place has prioritized its selfish ideals for so long that any voice that speaks out in opposition is seen as a detractor that's spewing only lies and hate. It's amazing how we ...

Isaiah 2:22 NIV What are we doing? Why do we give people so much power over us? Why do we allow ourselves to let others dictate our worth, our importance, our identity? Why do we put so much stock into the opinions of those around us who are literally no different than we are? Friends, we're allowing this world to have an input on who we are every time that we listen to what someone else says about us or stop to wonder what other people think. Has to stop. We've been talking for a few days about the hatred and judgement that will inevitably come our way as Christians. We're called to be love in a place that runs on hatred. We're called to do good in a world that embraces evil. We're called to rise above sin and selfishness in a society that is built upon both. We're here to follow Christ while the rest of the world follows the countless paths of darkness and delusion. We're simply going a different direction than the vast majority of people have chosen to go...