When commitment costs more than you have to give, and there’s a way out, the practical thing to do would be to take it. But, Ruth chooses to stay, speaking words we associate with weddings in the cold shadow of funerals. God calls us to be willing to hold fast in our darkest places, too.
Sin distorts our ability to understand what God is saying to us and how much we need His mercy.
Sometimes we look at technology as a force opposed to God. But is that what the Bible actually says about about human innovation?
It’s easy to talk about being bold for Jesus until opposition comes—when it’s dangerous, uncomfortable or people may look down on us. In Matthew 2, Joseph and Herod both have choices to make in response to God coming into the world. Do our own responses to God look show bold faith or frantic fear?
When we find ourselves demanding mercy from God do we see all the mercy He’s already provided? Do we understand the true mercy He’s offering?
There’s a pull in all of us to take the kind of strength the world respects—talk tough, take no prisoners, own the other side—and call that faithfulness. Does the way we fight for truth actually looks anything like Jesus?
What do the days we live in indicate? What should we truly be anticipating? As life and the uncertainty of the world swirls around us, God calls us to focus in our anticipation.
Pastor Tim talks about what the Rich Young Ruler was missing and how it parallels the experience of the Prophet Jonah.
Pastor Tim continues our exploration of the Fruit of the Spirit by looking at the opposite of “faithfulness” in this week’s devotional.