Tag: Sanctification

Digging in Deeper: Hebrews 3:12-13

1 Comment

“Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Let’s start with a quick pop culture quiz: Who is the hero of the Star Wars film franchise? That’s a trick question, of course. There are several possible answers, and if you find yourself on the right fandom website, it could spark hours of vigorous debate. But if you were going to have to pick just one, who would it be? I’d personally lean in the direction of Luke Skywalker, but I could be persuaded otherwise. However you answer that question, though, do you know who you’re probably not choosing? The franchise’s most popular character. There are two primary contenders for that particular distinction and neither of them were heroes. In fact, one of them is one of the chief villains: Darth Vader. But while Vader’s story ultimately has an heroic arc (which, I believe, is a big part of why he is so popular), it begins in tragedy. Seeing someone succumb to what Star Wars calls “the dark side” is always tragic. Having made his second case about the greatness of Christ, the author of Hebrews here offers us another warning. This time it is essentially to not succumb to the dark side. Let’s talk about it.

Read the rest…

Making an Investment

1 Comment

This week we wrapped up our month-long series, How to Read the Bible. So far we’ve talked about what the Bible is and why engaging with the Scriptures matters. What we haven’t yet talked about is how to actually do that. This week we fixed that. In this message we talk about several different approaches to engaging with the Scriptures. Some of it may be familiar, some of it may be new. And this is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination. All of it, though, will help you move in the direction of coming to know and better understand the God revealed within its pages. Dig in here and see what you can put into practice.

Making an Investment

One of the most common bits of investment advice given to young people is to start doing it now. If you can put a small amount away on a consistent basis, over time, that small amount has the potential to grow very large indeed. Now, sure, anything could happen, but all things being equal, and assuming on the basic stability of our nation’s economy, a little bit added to a little bit at a time can become a lot if you go far enough down the road. Even if you don’t know anything else about investing at all—and I don’t—taking this basic approach will pay off over time. You just about can’t go wrong if you take it. The very worst thing you can do here is not to make a wrong decision, rather it is to make no decision at all. Even a small something is better than nothing. 

Read the rest…

Knowing Jesus

Leave a comment

This week we got back on track with our series, Hard Sayings.  One of the things Jesus made fairly abundantly clear over the course of His ministry is that following Him isn’t something to which we can get by with giving merely a cheap lip-service.  The hard saying we examined together yesterday morning makes this even clearer than most.  Too often we rely on serving Jesus to cover up for not knowing Him well.  That won’t cut it.  Keep reading to see why.

 

Knowing Jesus

Think back with me for a minute to your bedroom growing up.  What kind of stuff did you have in it?  Specifically, whose poster did you have on your wall?  Was it an actor?  A musician?  A sports star?  Who was it?  How much did you know about this person?  Were you a casual fan or a full-blown disciple in the model of the Beliebers?  It is not at all uncommon for young people to have someone they idolize.  A lot of young, aspiring basketball players today want to be the next Steph Curry.  Baseball players look up to Aaron Judge—literally, since he’s a giant.  Singers want to be the next Arianna Grande or Miranda Lambert or Taylor Swift. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Daniel 6:10-11

Leave a comment

“When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem.  He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.  Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Daniel had been doing this three times a day in this same place for years.  This time, though, had to feel a bit different.  This was the first time he knew he was actively breaking the law by doing it.  And yet, the place and the pattern were both well-worn in his life.  At the time to which he was very much accustomed, Daniel got down on his knees in front of the window in his upper room and prayed.  Shortly afterwards–as he knew would happen–he was arrested and hauled before the king. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: 2 Peter 1:5-8

Leave a comment

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Do you want to be effective?  We all do, don’t we?  We want to be able to have an impact on the people and environment around us.  Not only that, but we want to do so in a way that will last and have meaning.  The question, then, becomes: How do we do this?  How can we have an effective impact on our situations? Read the rest…