Forged By Faith

Romans 4:23-24 NIV Yesterday we discussed the sting of the truth found in God's law. That harsh realization that even our best isn't good enough is enough to send many running away from following God. That other option, the option that allows us to believe that we're doing okay and that our mistakes aren't that bad, or that we don't even make any mistakes, just has far more appeal to those who prefer the lies of sin over the opportunity to pursue righteousness. Or maybe that’s the stumbling block that sends so many running away from a life of faith. Maybe it’s the fact that pursuing righteousness is a goal that none of us can achieve. We talked about that a day or two ago. We will never be perfect. No matter how hard we try or how focused we are, we’re going to make mistakes. Nobody will ever be able to actually catch up to righteousness. So maybe some folks don’t see the point in trying something that they’re only going to fail at doing. But if you’re humble enough

Romans 3:20 NIV There's a pain that hurts and there's a pain that alters. Unfortunately, we've been taught to see pain as nothing but a negative thing to be avoided at all costs. That's why the truth is regarded with such disdain anymore. It hurts. It stings. It confronts the places we try to keep hidden and forces us to consider perspectives that don't involve us being correct. So we instinctually run from the truth and anything or anyone who forces us to deal with it. People look at God's law as this list of things that we can't do. And when they start digging down into what it says, they’re hit with this painful realization that they've broken many aspects of His design. The truth of God's way compared with ours leaves us with the understanding of just how wrong we've been. It makes us either admit we've screwed up or it forces us further into this delusion that has us believing that we're not as broken as the truth says we are. Sadly,

Romans 6:21 NIV This is one of my favorite verses because it asks such a simple question that sin manages to keep us from asking. It's just one of those eye-opening thoughts that breaks through all the different levels of justification that we come up with to make our sins seem okay. It gets down the basics, and that's always something that we can all benefit from. Keep it simple. Ask the simple questions. Find the underlying problems. Consider the elementary, and you just might find that what you've been doing isn't really worth doing. The problem with sin is that it makes us think we're gaining something. It offers us the opportunity to satisfy our wicked desires. It convinces us that it holds a freedom that leads to everything we’ve ever wanted. It makes us believe that if we'll just give in and go along then we have an open door to do as we please. It's no wonder that sin is so widespread and popular. It's no wonder that people glorify wickedness and

Romans 3:12 NIV There's just something about the books of Romans that hits closer to home for me. I don't know if it's the way that it's written. Maybe it's all of the wisdom and truth and powerful lessons that it holds. Or perhaps that it's written by someone that I feel this connection with for some reason. But whatever it is, whenever I come around to reading the book it just hits differently. I'll be the first to admit that I think a little differently than most. The majority of people want to hear that they're doing good. They want people to pat them on the back for whatever they manage to accomplish. They want to be praised for their work and have their failures and flaws ignored. Me personally, I'm just about the opposite. I want to know what I'm doing wrong. I want to hear what I can improve. And I don't want any praise or applause or approval because I just don't deserve any. Maybe that's why I love Romans so much. It just do

Ephesians 2:10 NIV Yesterday we discussed how easily we forget who we are and what we have inside of us. Odds are we've never had to look for the strength that God has given us. Sure, we've all endured some rough days. But how bad were they? Were they life-changing or simply inconvenient? Have our trials been enough to bring us to our knees in search for the power our faith holds? Or are they just enough to maybe encourage us to send up a quick prayer to help distract us for a moment? The fact is that while what we've gone through may have been painful or challenging or uncomfortable, none of it has been enough to break us. That’s because whether we've taken the time to notice it or not, God has been with us every step of the way. That's the gift we receive when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. We receive the promise that He's with us. Not that we'll never struggle or face another tough day. But that He will be there with us ready to help us keep goi

Galatians 2:20 NIV God doesn't lead us through trying times to punish us. He doesn't pull us away from what we find comfortable to make us angry. He doesn't lead us through the hills and valleys of life just to watch us struggle to find our balance and figure out how to handle it all. He does it because He sees something in us that we don't know is there. He sees what He sent His Son to die for. He sees our full potential, something that we can't possibly find on our own. So often we look at the situations and circumstances that we're up against and we let them beat us. The sheer magnitude of life's trials is enough to leave us cowering in the corner begging for mercy. And that's what we usually resort to. Asking God to take it all away. Asking for the mountain in front of us to level out so it will be an easier road. But as we discussed yesterday, praying away life's difficulties is praying away the very things that are only there to help us. We nee

James 1:3 NIV Whether it be jealousy, hatred, persecution, illness, injury, outside circumstance, or inner turmoil, we need to stop seeing things as a reason to complain or feel sorry for ourselves. We're going to face hard times in life. We're going to be hated by those around us. We're going to have days where it seems that everything is against us. But what if rather than seeing those challenges as something unfortunate that we don't want or need in life, what if we could see them as chances to increase our faith? So often we look at the things we come up against and take them personally. We take the jealousy and judgement of those around us as personal attacks on us. We look at the trials and tribulations that our lives are full of and think that maybe someone somewhere doesn't want us to be happy. Taking things in life personally is nothing but the first step down this road of seeing ourselves as victims of unfortunate circumstances. It's the first step tow

Acts 13:45 NIV I've been reading through Acts for a few nights now and one of the topics that has really stood out this time through is jealousy. People jealous of the success that the Apostles are having. The leaders jealous of the crowds the Apostles we're gathering. Jealousy is one of the most powerful feelings because it has this personal aspect to it that makes people feel as if they're being attacked, or as if their power or authority is being questioned, or maybe it just points out something that they've tried to ignore. This whole jealousy thing has had me thinking. I think that it’s one of the biggest reasons that the world hates Christianity with such fervor. It’s one of the biggest reasons that so many seem so willing to do whatever it takes to silence those of us who are following Christ. We've been talking about hatred and persecution for a few days, and having read all these stories about the jealousy that the Apostles faced back then, I can't help

Acts 5:39 NIV We give this world and those in too much credit. This world has taken on this idea that people get to decide outcomes. And we've fallen for that nonsense ourselves. We think that the opinions, hatred, judgement, and persecution of those around us somehow have this ability to change things. But as loud or angry or foolishly powerful as this world or anyone in it may think they are, nothing and nobody can change God's plans. Make no mistake, as we discussed yesterday, those plans aren’t always easy. His path leads us to a way of life that this world just can’t understand. This place is lost in sin and apparently just wants to stay there. And yet, you and I are called to abhor the sin that has held every single one of us captive. You and I are called to share the truth to ears that have been closed to it. We’re called to stand up against the evil in this world, the very evil that so many enjoy. As we talked about a while ago, that’s not going to go over well. But we

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV In case you didn't know, our plans don't always work out like we've envisioned. Surely you've noticed that. But if you haven’t, well, get ready because it’s gonna happen at some point. The thing is that we're called to have faith, and having faith only works when we're heading into situations and circumstances that we're not ready for. God doesn't call us to sit around and dream up our version of a perfect life. He calls us to lay down our goals, dreams, and desires in exchange for the plans He has instead. And the hard part is that His plans are different. His way is harder. His path leads through storms we'd rather avoid and battles that we would typically choose to run from. His plans for us don't revolve around the things that our plans are based on. Our plans are for our success, our comfort, our glory. His plans are for His glory. And friends, sometimes what brings Him glory isn't anywhere close to what we'd choos

Acts 4:29 NIV Here's something that I think many of us forget or overlook or just don't really ever consider: God knows. He knows what He's calling us to do. He knows where He's asking us to do it. He knows how people will receive this message that He's given us to share. He knows that this world just won't like it. He knows that we're going to face trouble, trial, and turmoil along this journey following Christ through a world that has turned its back on Him. So He knows that our mission isn't going to bring us the ease and comfort that we would prefer to have in this life. He sees what's coming our way and He knows what we're going to need to make it through and to accomplish what He needs us to accomplish. It's time that we stop worrying about the unknowns. Stop worrying about the opposition we'll face. Stop giving this world and the hatred in it the power to keep us quiet. Sadly, that's something that happens all the time. We live

2 Chronicles 20:15b NIV For the most part, our instinctual reaction to the friction we'll face in this world is to fight back. We're going to come across many people who don't agree with our faith, who don't like how we choose to live differently than the world, and who are willing to do whatever necessary to beat us back into the place they want us to stay. The world is all about conformity to norms, but our faith simply can't abide with what the world wants us to be. That's kind of what we've been talking about for a couple of days. What the world wants us to be and who God calls us to be are two very different things. And when we choose to follow Christ, well, this evil world just ain't gonna like it. They're not going to like us. They're going to hate, to persecute, to belittle, to ridicule everyone who doesn't fall in line and "do as the romans do." That means we're going to end up walking on the outside of society and the

Romans 8:31 NIV So much of what we've been taught to worry about or focus on simply doesn't matter. The life we've learned to live doesn't necessarily have to be lived that way. Just because the world around us expects us to fall in line and adhere to the status quo doesn't mean that we have to do so. We don't have to live our lives according to the same set of norms that everyone else is living by these days. We're free to do something different. We've talked for a while now about all sorts of different distractions and common human worries that have plagued each of us in some way at some point. But it boils down to what this verse is reminding us. It doesn't matter who doesn't like us. It doesn't matter how unpopular we are. It doesn't matter the labels that society will place on those who go against the grain and live by a different set of priorities. All of that stuff is simply man-made nonsense designed to keep us focused on these te

Isaiah 2:22 NIV Just gonna toss this one out there: We give too much weight to humanity. We put too importance on things like opinions, judgement, the names we're called, the hatred we face, and this idea that we just have to find a place to belong in the midst of this sea of people. We've been taught since we were very young that having a bunch of people around us who approve of who we are and what we do is something extremely important. Folks, people are just people. We're all far more alike than we care to realize or admit. We're all broken. We're all flawed. We're all imperfect. We're all unworthy. We're all insecure. We're all scared. We're all worried. We're all unsure. We're all searching. We're all hurting. We're all trying. We're all learning. We're all hoping. We're all lost. We're all found. We're all a far cry from what we often try to portray. It's time we stop acting like or believing that one

John 15:19 NIV Not of this world. It's one of those things that has become sort of trendy faith thing. You see the stickers on cars and catch people wearing NOTW shirts. But it's more than a logo. It's more than some catchy phrase that we utter to make us feel good. It's the truth. It's a fact. It's a reminder that we're not here for what so many are chasing after. We're given the opportunity to reach for something that this world can't contain. We've been talking about rejection and fitting in and all these human desires to be accepted and loved. We're taught that the approval of those around us is where we find our worth and so we take on this mindset of doing whatever it takes to be who everyone else wants us to be. We bend, twist, conform, and give away the individuality of who God made us just so we can become what someone else wants instead. "Don't chase acceptance, you'll lose too much to get it." That's something

John 1:10 NIV Rejection comes with the territory. It's just something that we're going to face as we continue to follow Christ in a world that's focused on serving the devil. But as we discussed the other day, that isn't our problem and it's not something to be taken personally. Our mission is to follow Christ as closely and as faithfully as we possibly can, and to share His message with the world so that it can save anyone who is willing to hear it and open their hearts to His saving grace. What's sad is that God knew that the world wouldn't choose Him. He knew that this place would reject His Son. He knew that no amount of miracles, healing, sound teaching, or anything else would break through the hardened hearts of the masses. He knew that Jesus would be rejected, despised, beaten, and killed by the sinful down here. Yet He sent Him anyway. Christ came anyway because He loves us. He came to save as many as possible. He came to heal the ones who aren't

Matthew 13:9 NIV Thinking more about yesterday's verse and this world's rejection of the Gospel, and really, it's not surprising at all. Somewhere along the line, we humans got it in our mind that we know it all. We know what's right. We know what's wrong. We know what's important. We know what's worthless. We know what we want. We know what keeps us from getting our way. We know what we want to hear. And we know what we simply won't listen to. That right there is quite possibly the biggest hurdle, or stumbling block, or challenge, or whatever you want to call it when it comes to sharing the Gospel around here. People have ears, but they don't always use them. They listen to something right up to the point that it becomes something that they don't want to hear. They will pay attention until they lose interest. They'll stay interested until they hear something that goes against the comfort and complacency that they crave. And that's why th

Luke 10:16 NIV When we make our lives all about us then anything that happens is likely to be taken personally. We've talked for several days now about this instinctual desire to focus on ourselves and what we want. We've discussed the fact that we're not here to build up these perfect lives based on the world's definition of perfect. But all of it boils down to the fact that focusing on ourselves will only distract us from the job we're supposed to be doing in the limited time we're given on this earth. We're here to share Christ. To spread the Good News of His salvation. To tell those around us about the radical changes that He's made in our lives. To testify to the saving grace that we've found in the Gospel. And to help others see that a life without Christ at the center is really no life at all. We're here to help people find their way through the muck of worldly living so that they too have the opportunity to accept Jesus into their hearts