Forged By Faith

Jeremiah 17:5 NIV My strength comes from the Lord alone, not from the many opinions of man which will prove merely perspectives that can have no say in the ultimate determination of a life’s worth. Sounds quite the contrary to this culture of collapsing chaos we’ve constructed into this destruction we see deepening by the day. No, down here at this rock bottom of disbelief and division we’ve designed as if a home fit for these kings we see ourselves each to be, well, we’ve all but lost sight of a singular service given in joyous surrender unto our only hope. Rather we’ve settled instead for the hope of appeasement achieved through affirmation affording us only an image of love hiding perhaps the worst kind of hatred underneath. For to please man is a snare which enslaves us to people’s opinions, preferences, pretenses and pride. And down that road, God is only inevitably forgotten. Because the Word which He breathed for our benefit is profoundly posed upon this problem proven in servin...

Hebrews 10:23 NIV You've probably heard someone utter the phrase 'put your money where your mouth is.' It means that it's time to do more than talk. It means that it’s time to back up what you’ve been saying and prove that you mean it. And judging by the condition of this world and just how amazing things are getting down here, (obviously a joke!), I think it's safe to say that we've reached that time in regard to our faith. It's time for us to do more than say the right words. It's time for us to make sure that our choices and their corresponding actions testify to our faith. It's time that we get to living the lives that we've talked about. It’s time for us to find the fire inside that will help us stand up to the trials and persecution that are coming our way. You see, this world has been destined for disaster since Adam and Eve plucked that apple and shirked God’s command to not do so. And ever since that original sin, mankind has lavished in...

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...

2 Timothy 1:7 NIV Each of us have this strength inside of us that we often don't even realize we have. It's the Spirit of God that He gave us to help guide us through this warzone that we like to refer to as life. Sadly we often forget or fail to realize that there's something so special inside. We get stuck looking at the sheer scope of our circumstances and allow the size of the battle ahead of us to keep us cowering in fear. But it doesn't have to be that way. God knows that our world isn't kind. He knows that going against the grain isn’t for the faint of heart. He knows that each of us will go through trials that will push us right to the very edge of our strength and abilities. He knows that some things we come up against will in fact require more than we have to give. And He also knows that we're prone to wandering and struggling because we're a fallen humanity. But even with all of the issues and struggles that we have and all those that will come ou...

Ephesians 6:11 NIV I've been hitting this topic of being careful what we let in and making sure our faith is built upon the truth of God's word because something dangerous is coming. It's absolutely crucial that we understand that those outside of our faith aren't just going to give up and stop being hateful and foolish. This world's penchant for sin and wickedness isn't just going to fade away. If anything, and the Bible makes this point pretty clear, it's only going to get worse. We're headed straight for a war unlike anything we've seen in our lives. If you've read through Revelation then you know exactly what I'm talking about. The time for weak-minded and compromising Christianity is nearing its end. This Sunday-only kind of faith isn't going to cut it. The filth and evil around us will only continue to grow. People will only drift further and further away from God's truth and His calling for people to live righteous and holy liv...

Isaiah 40:31 NIV Yesterday we talked about the vastly different versions of freedom that we have to choose from. There’s the worldly version that we all know so well. The version where we just throw caution to the wind, ignore responsibility, and cater to our personal desires. But then there’s the version found in Christ that sets us free from the illusion of control and power that we’ve grown accustomed to. His version is where we can finally find rest and peace for our souls. But sadly many will never find it because it requires us to lay ourselves down and let Him take over. The reason that I will continue to focus on my faith and fight every single day to grow and strengthen it is that I’m tired. I’m worn out. I’m done with carrying this load of thinking that I have to this all on my own. I’m tired of this idea that my life is nothing but a culmination of the petty things that I want. I’m tired of serving myself. I’m just tired of this miniscule existence where all that matters is ...

James 1:12 NIV "The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you're made of, not the circumstances." My mom shared that one with me last night and you know how I love my little inspirational quotes! As I've talked about in plenty of posts before, the things we face in life don't have the right to dictate our peace or joy. Stop letting them! The trials that we face in life are what they are, and there's no changing it. The only thing we get to control is how we respond to them. And how we respond says the most about what we have inside. Our reactions to the hand that we get dealt tells the world everything it needs to know about who we are. If we respond to uncomfortable or unfortunate situations with anger or frustration, then we're showing that we have a lot of negativity deep down. We're showing that the pain, darkness, or doubt is only boiling over and exploding outward. Sadly, that's what we see for the mo...

2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV When I am weak, then I am strong. Wait, isn't that backwards? Well, in the world's perspective it is. We're all led to think that we have to be invincible. So many people have gotten used to painting on these smiles and pretending that everything's just fine so that they don't let anyone else see their weaknesses. But living a lie never helps anyone in any possible way. In truth, we're our strongest in our weakest moments. That's because when we've reached the end of ourselves, then we've found the beginning of Christ. When our own strength has run out, then we get to see His take over. We never get that opportunity as long as we're managing things on our own and making it under our own steam. So in all reality, it's the things in life that completely break us down and expose our weaknesses and flaws that help us the most. They push us past what we can do by ourselves and finally get us to that place where we have to l...