Christians are tricky people. We say we believe in something but so often that thing we believe doesn’t really seem to do much to us. It’s like we’re saying I believe it…kind of but need more time to process it. But that’s not really how this whole Jesus follower thing works. The bible tells us that we’re either hot for him or cold against him but lukewarm just isn’t going to cut it! This week we spend a few minutes looking at what we live for as Christ followers.
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Some days life is just flat hard. Things fill our minds that really have no place in us. We worry and grow anxious about some of the strangest things in life. We face health struggles, financial woes, relationship pains, and parenting trouble just to name a few. The more these things mount up in our lives, the less adequate we feel in life and the more we feel like failures. It’s far too easy to let the fear of these and many other things in life stop us from living the life we’ve been called to live. But we’ve been told to fear no more.
Continue readingWe all have limitations. There are things in this world that I would love to be able to do but honestly never will be able to do. I’d love to benchpress 500 pounds but dislocating my shoulder while achieving 350 lbs tells me that’s just not going to happen. There are simply things we’ll just never be able to do. And that’s ok! There’s nothing wrong with having limits. But we also have to understand that just because we can’t do them, it doesn’t mean they can’t be done. Nothing is truly impossible.
Continue readingI’ve been told by people that I don’t smile enough. Maybe it’s because I’m too focused? Maybe because I have too much going on? Maybe because I don’t even think about it? But the long and short of it is people look for your smile. And there’s always a reason to smile!
Continue readingThere are days when you just realize how blessed you are. Some call it lucky. Others call it a fluke. But I’m not one who really does the whole lucky or fluke kind of thing. I believe it’s about being blessed. Blessings are those things that come to us from outside of ourselves that enhance our lives and make them better. Some blessings appear good in the moment, while others are good only in the aftermath. But what about the blessing of waking up today? What about the gift of being able to see or speak or hear or walk or run or jump? This week’s Music Monday (albeit Tuesday already) is about the blessing of being alive in Christ.
Continue readingHave you ever had one thing you just couldn’t get enough of? Maybe it was dinner at your favorite restaurant and you just wanted more. Maybe it was a day of vacation and you didn’t want to go back to work so you wanted more vacation. Maybe it was a person, maybe there is a person in your life that is so amazing you just always want to be around them. Jesus wants us to want Him. To desire Him. To crave Him so much that we cry out “I want more”.
Continue readingSome days you’re on top of the world and have it all together. You’re stronger than you’ve ever been. You’ve got it all together and things are seemingly just falling into place. Then there are the other days. You know the days when it’s a success to just get out of bed. The days when finding a matching pair of socks makes you feel like a champion! Both of these kind of days are going to happen. But how can we face the challenging days with as much confidence as the easy one? Maybe it happens in knowing that someone is actually fighting for me!
Continue readingAs a pastor, I kind of have a thing for worship. I believe it’s important to say the very least. As a matter of fact, I think we should all find a place to connect with God in worship with other people who believe what and how we believe! But that’s not all worship is. For so many Christians, worship is something that has to happen in a place at a certain time. It can only last a certain length of time and we have to act a certain way while we’re there. But what if worship was more than a 60 minute time slot on Sundays?
Continue readingThis week at Living Word Galena we started something called the Red Letter Challenge. The idea behind the RLC is to look through the bible for the most powerful words of the bible and then apply them to our lives. The RLC was written as a 40 day devotion, small group and sermon series by Zach Zender. You can look into the book here. But the red letters we’re referring to here are the ones in the New Testament of the Bible. They’re the words attributed to Jesus. These are the words that aren’t just inspired by God through earthly writers. These are the words of Jesus, the very Son of God. Now understand that all of the bible is profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training to be certain! But through this study, we’ll be pulling the red letters of Jesus off the pages and seeing where our lives match up to His teachings.
Continue readingWe generally fit into one of two categories. We’re either the can’t do anything right kind of people who are always down on ourselves and blame ourselves for the slightest problems that we had nothing to do with! Or we are prideful and arrogant and claim success and deny our own failures. Rarely is there a middle ground! This week’s Music Monday is about making the switch from both of these to the right way of living. It’s about finding the strength to let go of ourselves that we can find who we truly are in Christ.
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