Forged By Faith

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV Thankfulness is something that is pretty much only found when life is going our way. We humans are so wrapped up in what we want and how we want life to go that anything that differs from those preferences is almost always met with disdain and disappointment. We sit around every single day and dream up these perfect lives that always work out just right and lead to every desire fulfilled just as we'd like. But as we all know by this point, life doesn't take into account our preferences. We've been talking for a couple of days about our tendency to complain. We look at what we're handed in life and compare it with those perfect ideals that we have brainstormed. And when the perfection of our dreams seems a far cry from the confusion and uncertainty of reality, it leaves us with a choice. But unfortunately, we often allow our circumstances to make that decision for us when we fall into anger and disapproval every time that life unfolds in a manner...

Romans 1:21 NIV Complaining. Taking things for granted. Failing to see the beauty in the countless blessings we receive each and every day. Being able to find the worst in any given situation so that we can maintain this victim's mentality that keeps us believing that we somehow deserve better than life's trials and tribulations. As humans, we seem to have this innate inability to be thankful. It's almost as if we simply want to be angry, or dissatisfied, or disappointed, or doubtful. But why? Yesterday we discussed the Israelites and their grumbling against God as they began their journey through the desert toward freedom from their lives of slavery in Egypt. They just had their lives changed for the better as they were no longer forced into hard work and enslavement to Pharaoh, yet they didn't care about the big picture. They were focused on the difficulty and the desolation into which they were venturing. They took their eyes off the enormous gift they'd just bee...

Exodus 14:12 NIV In yesterday's post we discussed the fact that sin has enslaved the hearts and minds of every single person who has taken a breath of this temporal air. Sin has been a part of every person's story since Adam and Eve chose to go against God's instruction. And as our world has progressed and grown and found more ways to do wrong, sin has only grown more prominent and widespread. But, thanks to the gift of Christ there is freedom. There is hope. There is change. But humans can always find a way to complain about even most amazing of gifts. As I mentioned yesterday, I've been reading in Exodus for a few nights, and this one jumped out at me night before last. The Israelites had been in bondage in Egypt. They had been forced to hard labor and kept beaten down by those in power in a foreign country. And they cried out to God. They obviously wanted something better than being slaves. They wanted their freedom. God heard their prayers. He listened to their crie...

John 8:34 NIV It's amazing what happens when you make reading the Bible a daily priority. As you read it again and again you start noticing more and more as you go deeper into God's word and start to actually consume the messages and stories and wisdom found in those pages. You start to realize just how timeless and personal it all is. It isn't just some book written by some random people a long time ago. It's something that has a personal connection to everyone, and as you allow yourself to be changed by it, then you'll see just how incredible Scripture really is. I've been reading through the beginning of Exodus for a few nights now, and this time through the whole story of the Israelites in Egypt has just really hit home. Sounds weird right? I'm not from Israel. I'm not living in Egypt. I'm not a slave of some Pharaoh. None of us are. But just because none of us are any of those things, that doesn't mean that the story doesn't have a perso...

James 4:17 NIV There's an indisputable fact regarding sin that absolutely nobody wants to admit. It's something that immediately destroys all of the excuses that we look to whenever we do something wrong. It's a truth that we know in our hearts but try to ignore with our minds so that we can somehow try to get by with doing as we please without incurring the shame and guilt for having done wrong. That unavoidable fact is that sin, every sin is a choice. It's a choice. Now we all know that it may not seem like it in the moment. Whenever our eyes are glued to the allure of what's sinful and our hearts are set to the tune of the appeal that sin offers, it's hard to remember that we're making a choice. At the time it's almost impossible to think of that fact because we're so consumed with what we want to do. We're zeroed in on satisfying that desire, soothing that craving, and putting ourselves first for just a second or two. But the fact remains tha...

Romans 3:23 NIV Okay, so yesterday we nailed down the how in regard to laying down the ways of living and thinking that we've been used to up until now. Walking away from the desires that have consumed our thoughts for so long isn't easy, but just because it's hard doesn't mean that we can avoid it. It's something we absolutely have to address because having anything in our lives that takes focus away from God simply isn't alright. But now that we've discussed the assistance that we have in the Holy Spirit who helps guide us away from everything that doesn't matter so that we can better focus on the things that do matter, we're left with yet another question. Why? Why do we have to learn to stop chasing and prioritizing worldly things? Why is it so dangerous if it doesn't really seem to harm anyone? Why is our desire to want earthly possessions and comfort such a problem when for the most part it's all about things that bring us joy? Well, be...

Galatians 5:16 NIV Ok, so we've covered the dangers of material desires and our instinctual human need to feel as though we need to fill our lives with everything we desire in order to find meaning and a sense of success in life. But how? How do we learn how to go against what we've always known? How can we break free from the normalcies of a fallen society that is consumed with the pursuit of excess? How can we free our lives from the control of our deceitful hearts that crave material comfort? We can't. We ourselves cannot do it. It's in our bones. It's instilled in our human DNA. We're born into a world that is built around what you have and what you want and what other people are idolizing. We grow up being bombarded with messages and ideas and lies that point us toward ourselves and all those worldly desires that we're surrounded by. We can't free ourselves from those desires. We can't heal the brokenness into which we're born and raised. Bu...