Forged By Faith

1 Peter 1:16 NIV When I was a kid, I wanted to be just like my dad. He used to be an area supervisor for a local convenience store company, and he'd always wear dress clothes and button-down shirts and ties, and so I did too. Apparently I'd button my little dress shirts up all the way to the top button, top it off with a clip-on, and walk around like a little version of my dad. He's the hardest-working, most family oriented man that I know, and I have such a deep appreciation for everything he does and everything he has helped me learn. And I'm thankful that God gave me such a good dad to learn from and be encouraged by. But then the day came when I didn't put a dress shirt on. I didn't grab that clip-on tie. I didn't try to copy my dad. I didn't do everything he did or say everything he said. I started changing. I started making different choices. And as I grew up, those choices grew more different, more unique, more like me and less like him. And I thi...

Romans 2:4 NIV I think one of the biggest problems facing our society is that we've learned to see things like kindness and patience as signs of weakness. We see so many people out here yelling and protesting and looting and setting things on fire and we assume that they're the ones with the power. We've fallen for this lie that it's always the ones who are loudest that have the most authority. We think that in order for someone to make a difference or do something that has meaning they must do it in the loudest and boisterous way possible because that's what gets noticed. Yet then we look at God and this idea of faith and we don't see that. We don't see Him thundering away at the evil in our world. We don't see Him splitting the earth open to swallow the wicked like He's done in the past. We don't see fire raining from the heavens or plagues of Biblical proportions. We don't really see any sign of His anger or hear any whisper of His wrath o...

Nahum 1:3 NIV We've been talking about our responsibility to love like Christ and how that calling relies fully upon His truth. His truth is that we're all sinners who have chosen countless times to spurn His calling to repent and change our lives and kill off the sinful ways that we've deemed normal and acceptable for so long. His truth is that each of us have been separated from God through our desire to chase our selfish dreams and follow our deceitful hearts. His truth is that each of us have earned death through our choices. But how often is that what we hear? Most of the time, we hear messages focused on how loving and kind our God is. We hear messages built upon His mercy and grace. We hear about how willing He is to forgive our sins and heal our hearts and lead us to a new life focused on Him and His will for us. We hear messages that lead us to this idea that He will just continue to overlook our sins and poor choices. We hear messages that bring us comfort but ign...

James 4:4 NIV We've been discussing the monumental differences between God's definition of love and this world's far inferior version. This place has made a hobby of redefining everything in order to ensure everything fits their own personal interests and agendas. Self is now king, feelings are more important than reality, truth is shunned, and anyone who goes against this new way of living and thinking and speaking is to be attacked and silenced so that they don't cause any uproar with their attempt to cut through the nonsense and maybe help people see the dangers caused by living like the world chooses to live. The issue is that so many people are far too worried about being a friend of this world. They're willing to sell their souls to gain social acceptance. They're willing to trade eternal peace for worldly popularity. They're willing to say whatever they need to say to please the ears of people who can only stomach hearing what they want to hear in ord...

Romans 5:8 NIV I look around at the way in which our world behaves, the way people treat one another, and this gross misconception of kindness and compassion and I can't help but wonder how we've managed to get it so wrong. I mean, we have the perfect example of what love ought to be, and yet, even with that exquisite definition, we've still managed to miss the mark completely. It's one of those things that just leaves you wondering if there's any chance of change or improvement because it seems that so many have simply settled in and adopted this new version of love. My main issue is that there shouldn't be any room for complacency in love. But sadly, this world's version of love not only allots room for complacency, but it basically runs on it. People are only worried about making others feel good, and they think that's all that love requires. Hugs, smiles, pats on the back, some thumbs up, and a few high-fives. No hurting someone’s feelings. No saying...

John 15:12 NIV There seems to be a massive misunderstanding in our world as to what love really is. Perhaps it's one of the many things that have been sucked up in this attempt to redefine everything. Maybe it's something that's gotten lost in translation as society tries to figure out ways to be open and accepting to all. Or maybe it's just a matter of true love no longer being what people really want as love isn't always comfortable and easy and safe. But whatever the reason, it's something we definitely need to address because loving others is literally what we're called to do. Problem is that we're not here to love as the world loves. Worldly love is all about being nice. It's all warm and fuzzy and more than willing to overlook potential issues. Worldly love is blind, crippled, weak, broken, helpless, scared, inadequate, unhelpful, uncaring, and unwilling to do and say what needs to be done and said to ensure the beneficial growth of others. You...

Philippians 2:4 NIV We've been talking about how genuine love must be grounded in the truth because the truth of God's word provides each of us with the foundation upon which we can build something that lasts. Problem is that our society has taken it upon itself to craft a new, weak, and honestly just sad definition of love that has left those of us who are following Christ scrambling trying to figure out how to keep doing what we're called to do without ruffling feathers or facing backlash from the angry horde that we're now living along side. But the thing we need to understand is that just because this world has changed what it wants from us, it doesn't mean that God has changed what He wants from us. And when it comes down to the nitty gritty, we have to choose who we're serving with these lives we've been given and the time we have to live them. Are we going to alter everything we say and do in order to please a world that loves all the ways in which it...