Justice, like so many things, is much easier said than done. There is no shortage of talk about justice in our world and yet we still seem to fall so far short. But justice will continue to evade us until our hearts become aligned with the very heart of God because that is where true justice comes from.
God's grace always exceeds expectations. It doesn't matter how much you think grace can accomplish, grace does even more. It doesn't matter how far you think grace can go, grace goes further. We can't even begin to fathom all that God's grace can do.
Without empowerment things don't have what they need to operate properly. Our lives are no different, but the kind of power we usually seek is not the kind of power we really need. True power is not in strength and might, but is made most manifest in our weaknesses.
For most of us, prayer tends to be more of a last resort rather than a first response. We are often so confused about what prayer is supposed to accomplish that we feel like our prayers are ineffective. But once we realize what prayer really is we might just see why we can't make it without it.
If something seems like it's too good to be true then it probably is. We learn not to expect too much so that we don't end up disappointed. But, in doing so, we may also be missing out on the so much more that God is doing in our midst. The God of resurrection is a God of so much more!
When things aren't working out the way we want our go to response is to just try harder. But sometimes it doesn't matter how hard you try. Things are not always based on our own efforts and what we need is not to give more, but to give up and allow God to do for us what we cannot do ourselves.
We have a lot of questions about how it's all going to end. But, even though we get fixated on finding out how and when, that is not the details Scripture reveals. The end of the world is not a when; it is a who. Once we see God for who he truly is we can't help but to see the whole of reality in a whole new light.
One of the things we know about Christmas is that it was no accident. Christmas was not some Plan B response that God had to make up on the fly. Rather, the gift of Christmas was in the heart of God from the very beginning and reflects God's heart to redeem all creation.
Giving thanks is so much more than words alone. True thankfulness is an expression that runs much deeper and is embodied in the way we live. There may be no better expression for what it means to live a Christian life than to not just give thanks, but live thanks for all that God has done.
The life of faith is a journey of grace. Faith is so much more than a one-time decision we make or a trip to the altar. Faith is a never-ending process of ongoing discovery that takes place as God continues to reveal himself to us all along the journey of grace.
In a world where bad news seems all too familiar, a little good news goes a long way. Thankfully, good news is not hard to come by because there is no better news than the good news of the gospel! But, in order to share good news, we must first and foremost learn how to be good news.
Behavior modification just can't get the job done. We need something more than just to hone off the rough edges of our lives if we really are to live the lives we were meant for. What we need is a whole new heart which means there is no part of us left off limits to the transformation God wants to bring in our lives.
We all know that God is supposed to be first and foremost in our lives. To love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength means he must remain our first love. But with love at the center of the Christian life we really must learn what it looks like to live a life of love if God is going to be our first love.
