Forged By Faith

Hebrews 13:5 NIV Less isn’t more It’s actually everything. And that’s because it gives us the ability to see everything that would elsewise be missed were we too busy being impressed with only some part or portion of whatever is. It’s the opportunity to stop focusing on trying to see something specific or find something the same and rather just embrace this journey spent through both time and strain. It’s a heart willing to let go and look beyond and live for more. It’s the mind’s audacity to take stock of everything the eye can see and heart can crave and stand there and say, “No! No, there must be more to all of this than all of this.” Because if all there is is all there is then nothing much matters. For if in this life we can find our treasures, feel our pleasures, seek out both fame and fortune and, having successfully found them, make friends and have fun with them and because of them, then this world would then be our goal. Because here would have and hold all that we might need...

Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV Empty walls There seems to remain this universal if not indeed unanimous understanding that has in fact led to what’s always been an equally common undertaking as is undertaken by literally everyone literally everywhere. And that understanding is that there must be some reason, some meaning hidden inside or beside, or sadly these days most often only behind the truth that says we are standing here in what is a life we are living in what is a place that is too most certainly alive. What seems strange then is why it so often seems entirely otherwise. For there’s no denying that all of us are in fact living. We’re breathing. We’re thinking. We’re trying, even if said trying is only trying not to think too much about anything. We are all here doing something, chasing something, choosing something in which to place something that is called our hope, our trust, our faith even as is given on the then basis of our understanding that there again must be a reason for our be...

1 Timothy 6:6 NIV To lose sight the simplicity of serenity is without question one of the greatest losses possible for mankind. And yet, as we look around at a world running so fast chasing after so much that it's tripping to the point of falling down every slippery slope imaginable in search of something with which to satisfy and satiate the selfishness thriving inside, it's clear to see that calmness, composure, contentment are all increasingly rare. Indeed, they're rare to the point of severe endangerment, and thus every soul alive finds itself likewise in the crosshairs. Because we've forgotten a great many things in all our efforts to learn from the world how to live a life in this place. Lost sight of countless truths, amazing hopes now considered impossible by minds broken down to the accepting of the meager crumbs which fall from the tables of those who pretend to know what life is all about. And with eyes wide closed to anything other than that which is popular...

Philippians 4:11 NIV Contentment is another one of those lessons that life’s circumstances sometimes give us a chance to learn in weird ways. Sitting here still in the hospital and just find myself praying about how thankful I am to be here. Not my preferred locale, but when we allow ourselves to stop clinging to our preferences and focus in on finding the good in our situations, then we just might learn that it’s all good anyway, whether it’s what we’d consider perfect or not. You see, we get caught up in what we want life to be far too often. We focus on our dreams, our goals, our wants, our wishes. And in the midst of all that, God’s countless simple blessings become forsaken in the background. And so sometimes He takes us to places we don’t want to be to help us see that even there we’re still blessed beyond measure. He takes things away so that we can finally learn what we had. He leads us through trials to help us learn what we have inside and Who we have above. And all of it wou...

1 Timothy 6:6 NIV We've been discussing this human desire to desire. It seems like our hearts are always on the hunt for something that we can bring into our lives. We think that if we can stack it up around us that hopefully it will bring us some happiness and sense of success in the process. But the problem is that looking in so many places is going to use up a whole lot of time. And when you consider that we tend to look in worldly places and to earthly things to find our inner happiness, well, we're going to be left with nothing but a lot of disappointment. That's one of the biggest things that I've been thinking about and trying to convey in these last few posts. This world doesn't have what we need. It can't offer us anything lasting because this world itself is not lasting. The Bible tells us quite plainly that this place and its ways are passing away. So when we build our lives in this place then we're building lives that simply won't last either...

Genesis 4:6 NIV Yesterday we talked a little about the original sin and how each of us are born into that same broken way of living. And since that first sin against God, sin has only grown and found new ways to manifest in our lives. Arguably one of the most common ways in which sin shows up in our hearts is through jealousy. We spend so much time comparing our lives to those of people around us and we find ourselves asking all sorts of questions as we start to see the differences. Why can't I have what they have? Why can't I get the same results that person received? Why do they seem to have more in their life than I do? Why it is harder for me? Why is my life so unappealing when their life seems perfect? Why does God seem to have more favor and love for other people? Does He love me at all? You can see how once we start off down that road, it just snowballs into this massive disconnect that leaves us with nothing but anger and resentment. And in fact, anger and resentment an...

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...

1 Timothy 6:6 NIV I'm thankful for contentment. It's one of those things that is dying a pretty quick death in our world today. In fact, it may be one of the rarest traits to find anymore. But it is without a doubt one of the most important things that we cannot afford to lose if we truly want to find peace in our time on this earth. Without it we'll always be searching for something to keep us going or bring us joy. In all of my studying of the world around us I've noticed just how rare being content seems to be. It just seems like everyone is always wanting something more. Something new. Something better than what they've already been given. Nothing is good enough anymore. Nobody knows how to be happy with simply having what they need. We've been taught to chase everything we want and we've allowed being content to become a lost art. It's gotten lost in the hustle of life. It's buried underneath all the worldly definitions of success and power. It...

Philippians 4:11 NIV I've been thinking a lot about happiness here lately. I think it's one of those things that we all want in life but it often seems evasive. Hidden behind our circumstances. Dictated by our disappointments. The truth is that happiness is easy to find but it requires us looking in a place that not many people know how to find anymore. Happiness is directly connected to contentment. Being satisfied in life is definitely rare anymore. Everyone is always looking for something else. People never have enough, and what they do have can't come close to filling the holes left by hopes and desires. We've gone so far in the direction of materialism and comfort that we have completely lost the art of being content. And if we're not content with our lives, with who we are, with the simple things then happiness will continue to elude us. As I said a few posts back, if our happiness is tied to things then we're headed for disappointment. If we can only be j...