Forged By Faith

Luke 2:9 NIV For faith is in fact quite the terrifying encounter as it asks that we alter our saunter in such a way that all of life is all of the sudden all walked backwards, pretty much blinded, and as upside down as none can imagine. All because it finds us in a life lived within our trying to find things ourselves. And this oddity of our not finding it sends us binding, bounding, bouncing into the believing in something that is in many ways indeed still terrifying. For how else might we go about the describing of all that we’re finding now that we’ve both been found and in that felt that our fears are futile so long as their forced to stay lost within the way in which we’ve won them from those many who share them? Seems that’s what changes now upon this celebration of a baby who came to change everything. So much so that a few guys going about their normal work out in the fields late one night were caught entirely unready for such a marvelous sight as the glory of the Lord shining ...

Isaiah 9:6 NIV Whatever we may ever need, He is. Wonderful Counselor. A trustworthy truth that cuts through, guides us through the countless lies that lie in wait for us to wander back into wondering about all that isn't Him as it's only found down here. An unwavering honesty that refuses to pull the punches as He knows bruises heal while hell can't. A steady place to go when we've left no idea what's going on nor what to do. Mighty God. The Almighty authority that renders all worldly counterfeit instantly forfeit. The Divine that needs not this wicked world to help design the line between right and wrong, light and dark, here and home. The Creator that created a creation that considered forgetting Him a reasonable accomplishment, yet still filled with such a love that refuses to lose what we've already agreed is loss. Everlasting Father. Unending wisdom being poured out from He who is Wisdom, a gift given in increasing fullness for all who might dare die unto t...

Isaiah 7:14 NIV God with us. Written at God's design some 500-700 years before its fulfillment, a promise proving that God not only knows what He's doing but that nothing we do can undo what He's begun. Yet it's somewhat a funny thing this trying to contemplate time in regard to Scriptural writings, an undertaking clearly taken only in an effort for us to better understand what maybe isn't ours to understand. Because, as the number of years between this promise being written and the birth of Christ culminating the conception is debated, such just shows that we down here will happily miss the point in preference of the proof. I didn't set out to stumble upon the discrepancy between opinions in regard to how early this verse was written before Jesus came to seal it, but having read a bit about the different ideas, it only speaks unneeded life to the unnecessary trees we plant in this path of faith, failing instead to simply appreciate the woods of refuge it afford...

Romans 5:8 NIV Something a little different hit me during Christmas this year. It's something that I don't remember thinking or realizing during Christmas before. It's a message that I think gets lost or overlooked or forgotten or is just too amazing to think about. But thinking about the meaning of Christmas left me with this incredible realization that I think we all need to hear: God believes in us! Even after typing that just now it left me sitting here for a second just taking it in. That's a message of Christmas that I don't know many have heard or considered. God sent His Son because He saw something in us worth saving. He saw something in us that was worth enduring that pain and suffering of shedding His blood to cover our sins. He saw something in us worth dying for. And that's something that maybe we haven't even been able to see in ourselves. I'll be the first to admit that I've not always seen what He apparently sees. I think many of us c...

Galatians 4:4-5 NIV The day has arrived my friends, Christmas is here! Today we celebrate a gift that is the very definition of undeserved. It's a kind of mercy and grace that our human minds can't fully comprehend. It's a freedom that extends beyond any definition of that word that we have ever experienced. It's a love that is so indescribable that trying to put it into words is futile. It's truly amazing to think that God chose to come down to us. He chose to reach out to us. He looked at us in all of our filth, all of our errors, all of our weaknesses and flaws and all the mistakes we've made and still saw something worth trying to save. He chose to look past the arrogance and pride and selfishness that had separated us from Him. He chose to love rather than destroy and that is something that should light a fire in us to do better. All of us have obliterated every aspect of His law. We've let Him down more times than we can possibly count. We've faile...

Matthew 1:23 NIV It's so easy to lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. And sadly, I have to admit that I've allowed that to happen more this year than any year before that I can remember. Not that I've forgotten what it's all about but I've allowed too many other things to get in the way. Too many things have crept in and stolen the joy that this season brings. And with the last couple of years going like they have I would imagine that I'm not the only one that feels that way. The past couple of years have left many grasping desperately at any semblance of normalcy they can find. Seems like every day brings some new challenge or difficulty that we didn't expect. And all of it just starts piling up until it's almost hard to remember what normal felt like. But maybe we needed help seeing that our old normal wasn’t as great as we thought it was. Maybe we needed help seeing that too much of this world’s stuff had begun to overshadow what really matter...

Matthew 1:21 NIV A Son. A Friend. A Teacher. A Healer. A Guide. A Rock. A Savior. Today we celebrate the greatest gift ever given! No matter what we have or don't have we always have Christ. No matter what we face in this life we always have the assurance that He's with us. Even we don't get our way we can rest peacefully knowing that things will always go His way. Nothing we face, nothing we do, nothing we feel will ever send Him running! I don't know about you but this Christmas just feels a little more special for some reason. Maybe it's because of all we've seen and experienced this past year. Maybe it's because of the hope that Christmas always brings for a brighter tomorrow. It could be that these past months have taught me just how blessed I truly am. Whatever the reason today is one that we should all spend celebrating and being thankful for the gifts in our life. Family, friends, shelter, clothing, food, water, security, peace, happiness, hope, free...

Matthew 2:10 NIV If you don't love this time of the year I don't know what's wrong with you! No matter what's been happening or how weird any year has been, once we get to Christmas time it all just seems more peaceful. And the more that I prioritize faith and focus on growing in Christ the more special all of this feels! Christmas is the fulfillment of a promise. It's the ultimate proof that God is faithful to who He claims to be and all He says He has planned. We're down here going through the day-to-day journey of His will and we can't possibly see the bigger picture. We get to open this thing called life one day at a time. But God sees it all. He knows what's ahead, what's behind, what's happening right now. He knows how we're feeling, what we're struggling with, and what we need to learn and grow into who He made us to be. And the most amazing part is that He will always pull through on His promises for us. We never need to doubt or ...