Laying Future Foundations

OCTOBER 21ST, 2021      |    Some 500 years before Jesus arrived, the Jewish people were coming out of seven decades of captivity and returning home to a land filled with foreigners and antagonists. Zerubbabel, a figure in the lineage preceding Jesus, had a goal as leader of the Jewish people to rebuild the temple of the Lord and restore it as a prominent identity symbol for future generations. Zerubbabel accepted his current situation and understood that his plans to restore the temple were not as grand as the previous temple, but he knew that his part in constructing [...]

Don’t You Know What to Do?

OCTOBER 20TH, 2021      |    You pray and pray about a situation, pleading for God to give direction, but all you get is silence. No obvious sign appears. No booming voice offers clarity. Days or weeks or months pass by and you keep praying for an answer. Frustration sets in. Doesn’t God hear you? Doesn’t He know you’re waiting? Then one day, as you begin praying that prayer again, a still small voice says, “Don’t you know? Don’t you know what to do?” From brand-new believers to lifetime Christ-followers, holy nudges and whispers get missed as answers to [...]

Persevering to Maturity

OCTOBER 19TH, 2021      |     On the days that it seems hard to put one foot in front of the other, the specter of discouragement can loom large. But quitting isn’t really an option for believers in Jesus. Instead, James helps us redefine difficulty by forging a strong connection between testing, perseverance, and the ultimate goal of maturity.  If we give in to discouragement when difficulties come, we short-circuit our maturing process. James is so convinced of the value of maturity that he says we should even have joy when we realize what God is doing in us. [...]