Forged By Faith

Isaiah 48:10 NIV This road through life will unfold exactly as it's supposed to go, as God's ordained it to go, but how it goes is entirely up to us. Yes, the fact that that entirely confusing opening gambit in today's message is likely entirely confusing is because it points to our inability to see just how often we allow our preferences to dictate our understanding of life as a whole. So much of what we know of life in this place is made of what we want, and eventually, what we want becomes the only place where happiness if found. And if getting what we want is the only road that leads to happiness, then we'll find little of it during our time. Because while this road only goes one way, the little choices we make along that way determine our entire outlook upon this ride. It's no secret or shock to say that all of us would like an easier road home. Even if you're among those who believe this world to be your home, you'd still agree that you'd like it a...

John 15:19 NIV What if I told you that billions of people all around the world were desperately looking for something they've already been offered? You've heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting different results. But I contend that there's another scenario which displays a mind clearly going insane, and that is to continue looking for something that has already been found. Because it takes a mind entirely disheveled to reach the point where you're able to miss that which is right in front of you. Yet as we speak, the search goes on. People are so frenzied and frantic trying to find a way to belong. Folks seem to need this sense of camaraderie as they've accepted that their true identity is only found once they're found as being of some worth in the eyes of their peers. Everyone wants a place to fit, a group in which to feel at home, a bolstering of their inability to find worth within themselves. And ...

2 Corinthians 5:14 NIV If it were up to us, sure, we’d probably eventually agree to do as so many are asking of us and just shut up and go away. Problem is that it ain’t up to us. Not anymore. No, doing as the world wants us to do is one of the many considerations laying broken and bleeding on the ground behind us. It’s not the only one though, it definitely has company. It has been left lying beside things such as worldly success, material wealth, physical comfort and even concern for personal well-being! So, contrary to common opinion, we’re not just being mean when we refuse to do what the world’s asking us to do. We literally just can’t help but be different. Because we now know normal is pretty boring. No, there's nothing normal about who we become along the path leading us unto the fringes of this world. And that's one of the most beautiful parts of this gift we’ve been given! But, everybody wants to be normal. Yay normal. Jazz hands for normal. The outlook of many in thi...

Matthew 28:19 NIV The cross isn’t merely a place where we’re to come and rest. It’s a crossroads dividing who we’ve been from where we go from here. See, once Christ came and took our cross upon His shoulders, our understanding of life and how to live it changed forever. Before, making a name for ourselves made sense. It’s what everyone’s always done. To be seen. To be heard. To be noticed and known and applauded for living a way of life appreciated by the masses. But dead eyes seeing life for the very first time can’t see it that way anymore. No, on this side of a stone rolled away from a tomb we shouldn’t be able to leave behind, the only Name that matters is that of He who saved us from ourselves. Because in Him alone is found the hope we all need. And that’s why we’re called to go and make disciples, not distractions. Sadly, distractions are in fact most of what we’re seeing and receiving in this world today. People still set on serving themselves as if doing so will somehow lead t...

John 7:18 NIV In a place of so many mixed messages made possible by maniacally misplaced motivations, we have to both read between the lines as well as listen between the words. Because that’s often where the truth is found. That words convey a message quite clearly is clearly the main benefit they offer. What we say says much about who we are, what we care about and what we feel others ought to know in light of our personal experiences and the wisdom we've gained through the struggles we've faced. Our words allow us to pass information onto another who may well benefit from our willingness to share that which would otherwise remain locked away inside of our lives. This is something that I have found myself considering more and more as I grow older. I've always been a quiet person, very reserved, far more inclined to listen rather than insist others listen to me. I've always just found that many if not most of my thoughts weren't altogether pertinent to the many con...

Psalm 37:30 NIV Many may see themselves wise within their own eyes, but if they fail to prove wise unto those within earshot, their lofty opinion of themselves may well hasten the fall of another. You’ll have noticed we’ve been talking quite at length about wisdom of late. That’s because we live in times wherein wisdom is seen as something uniquely definable by each individual. So many people writing so many false truths into their lives, but not stopping with themselves, seeking to also graft their ideologies into the hearts and minds of those around them. And it’s this indescribable insanity against which we must rage if we’re to come anywhere close to standing for anything decent. Let alone if we’re to actually uphold such a calling as we’ve been given. Contrary to common conceptuality, wisdom isn’t a solitary pursuit. It’s a communal commonality not able to be determined by any one person within that community. Wisdom is a gift handed down from the One who authored truth, the truth...

Proverbs 11:2 NIV Where humility is absent, so too will one fail to find wisdom. Just look around. You ever wonder how a world so clearly broken and stumbling can still manage to retain such haughty opinions of itself? Everywhere you look you’ll find someone entirely enthralled with themselves and all that they’re doing, even if there are many there saying they’re only heading for a whole heap of problems. It’s as if we’ve reached this point in our progression away from reality that nobody realizes the fragility of living a lie. Instead, living a lie has become the only way of life that seems to make any sense for some. For many. For most? Sadly, there’s this incredible deception hidden within our arrogance that convinces us that we’re of such immense power and authority that we’ve the ability to do anything our minds want done. We can deny reality. We can avoid consequence. We even have people “living their truth” as they pour endless energy into this attempt to rewrite truth, as if t...