Theme of the Day: Grace Instead Of Condemnation We assume people get what they deserve. We assume that what goes around comes around. We assume God helps those who help themselves. Those assumptions are false. God does not operate on the principle of merit but of grace. No one is beyond the reach of God’s […]

Theme of the Day: Always Present, Always Patient The heavenly Father is always present in the lives of his children. He sees every sorrow we endure. He also sees every sin that we commit, even if it’s only in our thoughts. He is always present. Yet, he is also always patient. God does not snap […]

Theme of the Day: No Detours Allowed The door to God and the glory he has prepared for us stands wide open. However, he has mapped out a very specific pathway to that door. It is not an easy one. As it did with Jesus, this route takes us through opposition, suffering, and even death. […]

Theme of the Day: One Stands; Everyone Else Sits Normally in a family everyone must do their part. . . pitch in. . . pull their weight. In God’s family, he assigns and accepts the work of one on behalf of all. In God’s house, God’s Son—our brother, Jesus—stands alone on the field of battle […]

Theme of the Day: Glory Is Hidden In Order To Be Revealed Would you look directly at the sun? Only if you wanted to burn your retinas and have permanent blind spots. Would you like to look directly at God? It sounds wonderful in theory. Yet Scripture describes God’s glory as being brighter than the […]

Theme of the Day: Love Your Enemies; Overcome Evil With Good Throughout this season of Epiphany, Jesus has described the governing principles of his kingdom being completely opposite to the governing principles of the world. This week Jesus asks us to befriend our enemies, to love those who hate us, and to repay evil with […]

Theme of the Day: Blessings Are Cursed; Curses Are Blessed “This is good. That is bad.” We often think life is that simple. We believe we can assess a situation accurately determine if it is positive or negative. It’s hubris. As Jesus gathered followers, he taught them that his kingdom runs exactly opposite to the […]

Theme of the Day: The Least Qualified Are The First Sent Imagine you need heart bypass surgery. When meeting with the surgeon, you ask, “How many of these have you done?” He responds, “You get the honor of being my very first patient!” You probably feel more anxious than honored. With important jobs, we understand […]

Theme of the Day: Popularity Is Not Proof Of Success In 2009, Facebook added the “like” button. That same year, Twitter added the “retweet” feature. Interestingly, reported cases of depression began to rise sharply in 2010. It is easy to think that the more people like us, the more successful our lives must be. Likewise, […]

Theme of the Day: Rejection Is Not Proof Of Failure When you are trying to share some important information with someone, but they refuse to listen or perhaps totally reject what you are saying, it feels like you have failed. This is especially true when someone rejects the gospel! We proclaim the good news because […]