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So if you know me or anything about me, all it takes is a single conversation to work out that my thoughts move infinitely faster than my words do. It’s why I’m a much better writer than a conversationalist. As such, we’re going to explore two completely opposite ends to the same topic. Because friends, it's time to lace up. 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” But we’re not there yet. If you’re reading this, you’re no

We’ve been talking about and breaking down what it means to be free in Christ for about two months now. I know that sounds like a lot, but trust me, it was a lot to unpack. However, we’ve now come to one of my favorite points in literature: the full circle moment. In Christ, we have freedom. Freedom to know Christ, to choose Him or not choose Him. Freedom to fail and repent, return again. Freedom to lead, freedom to have a relationship with the God on High. We have the freedo

“The true test of walking in the Spirit will not be the way we act, but the way we react to the daily frustrations of life.” -Beverly LaHaye In regard to these daily frustrations, these byproducts of sin, it raises a single question: Will you live as a victim, or will you live as a survivor? Sin is going to happen to all of us. Pain is going to happen. Loss is going to happen. But none of it has to define us. Romans 8:37 doesn’t call us losers, failures, or victims. Instead,

If you’ve never read—like, really read—the book of Job, I strongly encourage you to do so. “Brace yourself,” says the Lord in Job 38:3. “I will question you, and you shall answer Me.” “Who laid the earth’s foundation, the sea, and the clouds, orders day and night, commands the rain, numbers the stars, and has organized every fragment of creation from Genesis to Revelation?” The use of the word “Who” here is important. You see, “who” suggests that Someone, rather than somethin

Religion, loosely defined, is a manmade system designed to help people connect with a higher power. In Christianity’s instance, God. Religion is beneficial. It provides comfort, answers, and a sense of togetherness with other believers. Sometimes, religion comes with rules. It’ll claim to teach you how to live, how to pray, how to love, but religion itself is not alive and it does not love. It’s a closed conversation. It neither grows nor shrinks, it feels nothing, and what i

“Let our hearts be led by mercy. Help us reach with open hearts and open doors. Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, Break our hearts for what breaks Yours.” -Casting Crowns “Jesus Friend of Sinners.” Okay. So we’re free. But that fact alone doesn’t matter quite as much as what we’re going to do with it does. Are we going to use our freedom to lean further into the world or to draw closer to the Father? Are we going to sit on it . . . or are we going to share it with as many people a

“I saw mercy, Mercy seated where the judge should be. Was guilty, Guilty and getting out of jail free.” -Andrew Ripp “For the Love of God.” Guilty. Romans 3:23 calls us all guilty. James 2:10 offers no distinction whether we’ve only stumbled once or if we’ve fallen again and again. The truth remains, every time and for everyone, that we are guilty. The Bible calls him the accuser, and in the last days, accuse is exactly what he will do when we stand before the throne, the Boo

“There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.” -David Foster Wallace. Wallace was an agnostic novelist, so while his above statement wasn’t rooted in Christianity, it was, in fact, rooted in truth. Throughout history, psychologists and anthropologists have agreed that humans possess a psychological need for order, meaning, and a connection to something bigger than themselves. And since the beginning of history, God

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” -Philippians 3:13 For years, that scripture was my favorite. I found encouragement in Paul’s words (and specifically Paul) that no matter our past, we didn’t have to be over-encumbered by it. That, as believers, a bright future still lay ahead—a heavenly prize and God-appointed goal was waiting for us all (Philippians

“I just gave it to God . . . and He took it.” A few weeks ago, my brother shared with me a conversation he’d had with a lost sheep he’d encountered. They were discussing vices, hinderances. The sheep had a desire to overcome hers, and my brother shared how he did overcome his. Nearly a month later, I’m still digesting that one statement. “I just gave it to God . . . and He took it.” I have given it to God, am giving it to God, but admittedly, I don’t always leave it with Him.

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12) “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief S

We show up. Our hands are folded in prayer. We open the Book. We read the lyrics on the screen. But are we truly worshiping? It begs the question . . . what does it mean to truly worship? “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1). Worship . . . isn’t music. But music can be worship. One of my favorite “worship” songs is “Gratitu

“Edify” is a word that is not in many vocabularies. I know it’s not in mine. However, just because it’s not a word we typically use doesn’t mean it’s an action we shouldn’t frequently do. “Edify,” in a Biblical stance, has its roots in the Greek word oikodomeo, which means “to build a house” (ie House of God) — a temple. If you’ll recall, we spoke about temples a few weeks ago, namely the fact that you and I are temples. Focusing first on edifying our inner temple, Paul deliv

I’ve been amongst the 99: free from fear and resting beside still waters. And if I’m being honest, I’ve frequently been the one, too. The one that ran away. Too scared, too ashamed, too whatever to see that I was too loved to be forsaken, forgotten, or forbidden from returning. Too stubborn to look behind me to see my Shepherd—too faithful to shrug off the loss of one—in close pursuit. I share my testimony, the words God has whispered into my heart. Most often, I do it just l

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word and does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:22-25). There’s a "churchy" word Ja

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8) Many theologians would argue that the Garden of Eden was the first temple. A supporting factor in this argument is that the same Hebrew verbal form “Hithpael” was used in both the above passage and in Leviticus 26:11-12, in which God stated that He would put His dwelling place among the

In the beginning, God created. Everything. He spent six days forming the day and the night, the skies and the seas, the land and the trees and the flowers and the mountains and the fish and the birds and the animals and eventually man. Then, on the seventh day, God the Father rested. But why? He’s literally God. Scripture even tells us later in Psalm 121 that God neither slumbers or sleeps. So why did He dedicate an entire, God-breathed day to rest? Day Seven, the Sabbath, Sh

“No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). The specific scripture is related to God and money. But the same is true of faith and worry. As you’re drinking from one, filling your heart and your life with one, you’re draining the other. Matthew 6:31 goes on to tell us not to worry about food, drink, or clothing. Personally, I like to put the period after “worry.” Because worrying is something I’m so good at. Like, exceptionally so, if I’m telling the truth. So I appreciat

“The further we distance ourselves from God, the less that God can honor us.” In the depths of sin or the midst of running, that’s the furthest thing from our minds. Often, we run, we hide . . . because what we’re doing doesn’t honor God. We don’t stop to think that He, too, desires to honor us. But He does. Ephesians 2:10 states that we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. There are a couple things we can

I can’t dance, so when I listen to music, it isn’t for the beat or the melody. Jesus was a man who spoke in many parables, but arguably, the most well-known is the parable of the prodigal son. And rightfully so. After all, the spoken prodigal son wears shoes that would fit all of our feet. There’s this set of lyrics in a song I’ve recently come to love. Especially as someone who finds herself far from home more often than she’d like to admit but is kind of admitting now. “You