Previous Conversations

We are broken people, and, though we may try, we cannot fix all our brokenness. God could have left us this way, but He didn’t. Before time began, He planned the gift of our salvation.

Giving thanks “in everything” doesn’t mean that everything in a particular season or year is so great; giving thanks “in everything” means we acknowledge and appreciate how God has helped us through it all.

This has been a tough year, but God’s faithfulness to us is perfect. He wants us to praise Him in all the “wonderful things” He has done, even if they don’t feel “wonderful” right now.

We can’t fix all the brokenness around us or even in us. However, our great God doesn’t make us figure out how to mend and fix ourselves. He helps us and reconciles us to Himself.

With the threads of change in our lives, we go into a broken world as messengers about the mending God offers everybody. We can help change the world by telling the Good News of reconciliation!

We worship God by living according to His Word at all times. This election week is a good time to be guided by the praise and hope of Psalm 33

People may not like us; they may even accuse us. However, a godly life glorifies God and points others to Him. This “algorithm with an amen” matters because we want others to know Jesus, too!

When we choose God, we worship Him by giving Him authority over all the rest of our lives’ decisions. We choose what He would have us choose and live how He would have us live.

Choosing God means placing our lives under His authority so He determines the algorithms for our lives. This means we love what He loves, value what He values and call evil what He calls evil. This affects everything.

Our changing world may seem like chaos, but our unchanging God remains in control. He is doing exactly as He planned before the world began, fulfilling His purposes for His glory and our good when we seek Him.

What God has said, He will do. He gave His Word, and He’s not going to take it back. Because of this, we can hold on to His unchanging promises in our ever changing world.

Everything changes, at least, almost everything. In our season of history filled with extraordinary change, we want to look for what is unchanging. Jesus said His Word is one of these things.

Knowing God doesn’t change can give us hope and courage, strength and joy. The foundation of our faith is His character, so because He doesn’t change, His word, promises and purpose don’t change, either.

God’s consuming fire will either burn up our worthless works or make our hearts glow with passion for Him. With hearts afire for Him, we live for more than ourselves. We live for His glory and His Kingdom.

This world is shaky and in constant upheaval. However, we can be grateful and secure because He has given His children citizenship in a kingdom that is solid, secure and unchanging.

God wants us to run the race He’s given each of us. We will be able to do this as we keep our eyes on Jesus, looking to Him as our example.

Godly, faithful heroes ran their races and set an example for us as we run for Jesus, so that we can also run our race well.

Your whole life flows from your heart, so guard it! In other words, protect your heart, watch over it, be diligent about it! What you allow INTO your heart affects what comes OUT OF your heart.

To be loving is to seek what’s best for others; to be faithful is to be reliable and trustworthy. This is how God wants us to earn a “good name” – or “likes” – with people.

Being “righteous” isn’t nearly as interesting or popular as being “right,” but God sees and rewards not our “rightness” but our “righteousness.” Let’s worship Him by being more interested in being “righteous” than “right.”

You can protect and defend the “city” of your life with self-control, or you can leave broken walls through which enemies can attack and destroy you. It seems an obvious choice, but it’s one you must make every day.

For Christ followers, Scripture teaches that your enemy is not someone you hate but someone who hates you. God wants us to be kind to our enemies and even serve them in loving ways like these.

God encourages us to be picky about our people. He commands us to love everybody, of course, but His Word tells us to cautiously select those who are our closest companions.

The “poor and needy” are close to God’s heart, and He wants us to have them close to our hearts, too. When we speak up and defend those who cry out for our help, we reflect God’s character.