Tag: Following Jesus

Digging in Deeper: Romans 8:24-25

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“Now in this hope we were saved, but hope  that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Faith is a word that is essentially connected with the message of the Gospel that can be hard for someone who has not yet embraced it to understand. The nature of Gospel faith is often misunderstood—including by Jesus’ own followers. Another Gospel concept that can be similarly challenging to wrap our minds around is the word hope. Gospel hope is often mischaracterized as little more than wishful thinking. Yet that falls woefully short of what it actually is. Let’s talk a bit about hope, why it is so essential to the Gospel, and what it actually means.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 10:13

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“These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

It’s hard to work at one thing for a long time. It’s especially hard to do that nowadays when our attention spans have been shortened so much by television and smart phones and a digital media culture that gives preference to the quick glance over long engagement. It’s almost impossibly hard to do when we don’t ever see the end result of our efforts. Achieving that sort of thing takes vision; powerful vision. I’ve just finally finished watching the latest Star Wars property on Disney+. The second and final season of Andor is all about having just such a vision. Let’s talk about why you should watch it.

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Morning Musing: Luke 6:32-36

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“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Well, we survived the week at camp. Really, we only had to survive three full days. Monday and today were barely half days. Camp days always feel extra long (because they are), but the week always feels like it rushes by at breakneck speed. We’re all tired—I suspect most of the kids will sleep a fair bit of the journey home—but it’s a good tired. Yesterday, we came back to the theme from day one: Loving God. This time, though, we dove deeper into what it looks like to love God. Most notably, it looks like loving the people He loves. That’s easy with the people we are inclined to love. It’s harder with the people we aren’t. So naturally, that’s where we focused. Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading “Morning Musing: Luke 6:32-36” →

Morning Musing: 1 Corinthians 10:13

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“No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Day three of camp was all about living a holy life. If we are going to go higher in our relationship with God, we are going to have to come to look more like Him. This means growing in holiness. God is holy. If we worship Him, if we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we will come to reflect His holiness in and through our own lives. That’s natural for someone who is in Christ. What’s unnatural for a Jesus follower is sin. And yet sin keeps getting in our way. As a result, in worship tonight we talked about one of the vehicles sin uses for that: temptation. Let’s dive in a bit deeper.

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Morning Musing: Isaiah 55:8-9

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“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.’ This is the Lord’s declaration. ‘For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Day two of camp is in the books, and it was another fun day of worship with music, Bible study, good food, and tons of games. I even won a round of Gaga Ball. I will likely be paying for my victory for the next few days, but it was satisfying all the same. The theme for the day was the importance of putting God first. We looked at several stories throughout the day of different times and ways people put God’s will and ways first including Jesus Himself. At worship tonight, the camp pastor mentioned another verse that helps us understand why this is something that makes sense to do. Let’s dive into that just a bit more today.

Continue reading “Morning Musing: Isaiah 55:8-9” →