Forged By Faith

2 Peter 3:18 NIV A couple of weeks ago I was riding down the road and for some reason unbeknownst to me, I noticed the trees drifting past as we continued on our way. Looking up at their dark branches contrasting against the brightness of the sun-lit sky behind, I was suddenly stuck by this realization that every branch, every limb, every single stem and tiny offshoot was pointed upward toward the source of the light that gives the tree its life. It's absolutely beautiful the ways in which God speaks to us when our time is otherwise unfilled and our minds too are unencumbered by life's many worries for a moment or two. He can send His Word into our hearts during a simply seemingly ordinary, completely mundane trek to get some lunch. But only if we remain vigilant, vested, and ever willing to listen. A task that sadly remains quite difficult when caught in the hustle of a hurried life. Those dark little branches reminded me of how precious life is and how we should be fighting f...

Matthew 6:33 NIV Have you ever been so distracted that you didn’t even realize you were distracted? I’d venture to guess that each of us have, but we obviously didn’t think to see it that way. The truth is that each of us often find ourselves so worried about a hundred different things all at once that we likely don’t even realize that we can’t actually worry about a hundred different things at once. Instead, what we’re really doing is bouncing violently between concerns, only spending a moment or two looking at or thinking about each before our mind races off to the next. As I’ve kind of shared a little over the past few days, this past month or so has been one of countless distractions in my life that have wonderfully succeeded at turning my focus away from where I know it should have been, where it always needs to remain. I think that truth is far more commonplace around this holiday season. Again, that’s something we’ve discussed at fairly good length in recent days. But the main p...

Matthew 14:30 NIV An interrupted faith. It’s sadly something that each of us have experienced at one time or another. Whether it be in a situation like Peter who was suddenly overwhelmed with the fact that he too was walking on water beyond the safe confines of the boat he just stepped out of, or simply another miserable day where everything you tried seemed to add up to nothing, all of us have had times in life when life itself and the circumstances in which we sometimes find ourselves cause us to take our eyes off of the One leading us down this incredibly skinny street. But oddly enough, as it’s something that we never really stop to think about, it’s amazing how fragile our focus really is. Now, we don’t tend to notice it because we manage to keep our lives busy enough that we don’t need to worry about it all that much. When we’ve a million different things going on at any given moment, completely focusing on any individual task or responsibility or opportunity simply isn’t somethi...

Luke 14:18 NIV Well, the woman you put with me here, she gave me the fruit and I ate it. Well, the serpent deceived me and I ate the fruit. Well, I’m not a smooth talker so I won’t be able to give your messages the panache and pizazz they deserve. Well, I have little experience as I am still young, so I doubt anyone will pay me much attention. Well, I’ve made too many mistakes and so surely I’m useless for anything good. Well, there’s a lion outside and I’ll die if I step out there. Well, we made the golden calf because we didn’t know where Moses had gone. Well, at least in Egypt we had food to eat. Well, I didn’t know changing would take so long. Well, I thought being cleansed of my leprosy would be far easier and much quicker. Well, I can’t possibly remember all the rules. Well, I don’t have any nice clothes to wear. Well, I’m afraid I’ll mess up and look like an idiot. Well, I don’t want to go to Nineveh, so I’ll head the opposite direction. Well, I’ve spent my life persecuting your...

Proverbs 4:25 NIV The distractions in this world never cease. They will never cease. All of the wayward priorities and interests and ideas and promises and hopes and illusions and lies and pressures will never stop. In a world so in love with things like self and sin and the satisfaction placed in both, folks will simply never run out of new things to chase after and tell others about. Just goes to show why our ability to remain focused on our faith is of utmost importance. Because as we walk through the rest of our time here, we will be bombarded with many things from many different directions and many different people all aiming for the same outcome: Our stumbling. You know, I think most of us still hold this kind of passive hope in humanity and for the world in which we live. We still like to assume the best if at all possible. We still can't fully bring ourselves to admit that much of the world and the things done in it are truly bad, let alone despicable, let alone dangerous. ...

Luke 5:16 NIV It's something that all of us take for granted, tend to ignore, and largely undervalue. It's an opportunity that few of us, if any, actually take advantage of or make a priority in our lives. Instead, we usually get busy staying busy. We get caught up in thinking we have to stay caught up in all that's going on around us. And this truth is typically more clearly evident in the holiday season that has, as of now, begun fading into the past. But one of the biggest things that tends to be overlooked is the vast importance of quiet time. Calmness. Tranquility. Even loneliness. Yes, you read that right, being lonely isn’t a bad thing, definitely not the horror to which modern society has equated it. We need to be able to be alone to finally realize that we are never alone! We need a priority placed upon finding time and space away from distraction where we can completely focus in on what really matters. In this fast-paced, hustle and bustle, keep up or get left beh...

John 1:5 NIV Christmas Day. The one day a year that our world, or at least some in it, set aside to celebrate the arrival of a tiny promise that would grow into an eternal salvation. It's a time when we slow down and reflect upon all we've been given, all we have to rejoice over, all we have to look forward to in the days ahead. Yes, Christmas is in many ways the best time of the year because it's the most different time of the year. And though not always popular or widely agreed upon, different can often be among the greatest of gifts. Ironically, most view this day here toward the end of December as a day of getting more. It's a season of exchanging gifts, unwrapping packages, and finding room for all the new excess unto which we've been bestowed. In recent years this holiday has become a rather commercial venue aimed at witty marketing ploys spent toward garnering the gluttonous greed of those who can't help but feel drawn to the allure of having a bunch of s...