Forged By Faith

Matthew 28:6 NIV There's a problem with promises in our world today. We've grown accustomed to them being taken lightly to the point of never really being sure if we can count on them. We're used to being let down and disappointed by promises that we thought we could lean on. It's a really unfortunate thing when the whole idea of a promise now comes with this hint of doubt because we've been burned in the past and we know that that same disappointment can happen again. So it's no wonder that when people outside of our faith or even those who are maybe not quite sure what they believe don't really know if this whole Easter story can possibly be true. As humans, we have this innate doubt built into our hearts that typically keeps us at a bit of a distance from fully letting go and trusting anyone because of those who have failed to uphold their word. Even those back in Christ's day weren't quite sure. So they got up early in the morning and went to His...

Lamentations 3:26 NIV . . . . . . . .Waiting. . . . . . . . Good Friday gets a fair amount of attention. Easter Sunday is obviously the big celebration. But the Saturday in between doesn't get much fanfare. It's sort of just this day of patiently waiting. A quiet day of hope. A day in between what seems in all reality to be the end, and yet this hope that it really is only the beginning. The Saturday between may not seem as important, but that's definitely not the case! Yesterday marked the start of the culmination of what Christ came to this earth to do. To take our place. To bear our sins. To atone for our mistakes. To open our eyes to the cost of our living carelessly. To wake us up, tear the curtain, and let us see that this life isn't just a game that we can afford to play around with. Good Friday is the reminder that we don't get to make the rules up as we go. God has set in stone the difference between right and wrong, and the penalty of walking on the wrong ...

John 19:30 NIV Death seems like a weird thing to celebrate. We’ve been taught to have a rather negative view of death because, to many, it seems like the end. It seems like the inescapable fate that awaits everyone when their sand runs out. And this idea that that's it, that there's nothing left, that the story is over is a really sad and unfortunate thing to spend our time here nervously dreading. But for those who believe in Christ and trust in the truth of God's word, we know that death is nowhere close to the end. It's only the beginning! That's the amazing thing about how God works. He can take something that our world sees as scary and flip it around to something that some even look forward to! He takes something negative and turns it into one of the greatest gifts ever given. He takes a horrible day filled with pain, misery, suffering, mourning, and sadness and uses it to fulfill a promise of something indescribably good. Good Friday. The start of Easter week...

Colossians 3:9-10 NIV Over the coming days the world of faith gets to celebrate the fulfillment of the greatest promise that we've ever been given. It's the culmination of not only the old law that we've failed to uphold in every way imaginable, but also the completion of the old lives that we've lived according to the ways and wants of this world. It's the celebration of the death, burial, and resurrection of our promised Savior, and the corresponding death and burial of our old lives in exchange for the rebirth into a new life filled with a desire to know Him more fully. That's why this whole other "gospel" that this modern version of Christianity teaches bugs me so badly. What we celebrate during Easter is what matters. Not the things that we've been taught to desire. Not the pride we get from obtaining something that we've had our eyes on. Not the sense of superiority some feel in taking on a religious label. But the freedom in knowing that...

Hebrews 11:6 NIV I think one of the biggest questions that we have to ask ourselves is who are we trying please? What is the reward we’re looking for? Where are we searching for our hope? Where are we focused on building our lives? The answer to those questions determines who or what we serve, focus on, and worship. Sadly, as we've been discussing, all these twisted new messages that some are sharing are completely geared toward us and what we desire for ourselves. It's not at all hard to see why those new "gospels" are so popular. They're all about us, and wouldn't you know it, but we're all about us too! The problem is that this isn't about us. That's something that we've covered plenty in these posts recently. And yet, these messages that have reeled so many in with their enticing lies are built on catering to self. They place the focus on seeking the lives that give us this sense of power or control or success according to the definitions o...

Matthew 11:28 NIV I've been hammering this whole progressive, prosperous, and in many, many ways false teaching that so many are sharing and so many are being led off course by these days. The more I learn about it, the more I hear these speakers and what they're saying, the more I feel this need to help people see that it's not what Christ came to give us. He came to offer us freedom and salvation. But this progressive religion is only settling for furthering our desire for worldly things. We have to wake up and see the tremendous dangers in spinning the Gospel of Christ in order to meet our desires. I want everyone to take a minute and think back to why you ever turned to Christ in the first place. Or maybe you haven't made the decision yet. If you're in that group who are still on the fence or not quite sure, what made you interested in Christ? I think we all get distracted more easily than we'd probably care to admit. I think we all fall for the tricks and d...

Matthew 4:9 NIV All of this false teaching is built upon one of the oldest tricks in the book. Luring people in with all these incredible promises. Limitless freedom. Worldly acclaim. Social approval. Health. Wealth. Happiness. Fulfilled desires. It's not hard to offer up something that appeals to the masses. This world is full of things that we have all been taught are valuable, important, and fulfilling. But in reality, it's just worldly stuff. As great as someone else may think it is, it will all end up as dust and ashes. Yet, there are people who are only out to find that worldly stuff. They want the approval. They want the silver and gold. They want the lives free from sickness and pain. They want to be like the world because that's the only way they know of to feel like they're loved, like they belong, like they matter. And those chains are hard break! We're stuck here for the moment and this world may be our home for a long while still to come. So this is all...