The Tabernacle

Too often we as Christians find ourselves being short-sighted. We focus on the immediate and lack an eternal perspective. We allow fear and anxiety to drive our lives, when Christ is calling us to a fuller life.

Religious people believe that transformation happens from the outside-in, by following the rules and managing sin. But real change happens from the inside-out, and that heart work can only be done by the Holy Spirit.

The reality of following Jesus is found in the everyday and sometimes mundane moments of life. Many people miss that by chasing the experience of God rather than the person of Jesus Himself.

Everyone puts their faith in something. And at some point every honest person struggles with doubt. So what does it mean when your faith is in God but doubts still creep in? Does doubt negate faith, or mean you're not a Christian?

Jesus addresses three very personal issues that are often at the heart of our sin and frustration and gives instruction on how we can begin and sustain change in our daily lives. The three issues are love, judging others, and fruit (or deeds). His solution is to listen AND do, starting at the beginning of our faith and adding to it as we mature.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost and enlist His people into that mission. But we have built-in forgetters, are sometimes ruled by fear and doubt, and need to be reminded that every Christian has a job to do.

Reducing faith in God to a religious transaction is a great temptation. The formula of religion says if I do A, God will do B, and misses the point that God desires a reciprocal relationship that transforms.

The key to a relationship with God and real spiritual growth is very simple but not easy. Our human tendency to complicate things because of our sinful nature gets in the way.

Mary is not in control of what’s happening. Though a child is a joy to a mother, this situation has a very real possibility of Mary being shamed, exiled and left helpless. The angel Gabriel gives Mary the news, and her response is exactly the type of faith we long for.

Being lost in life is one of the worst feelings in the world. Being lost and not knowing you are lost is tragic. In Luke’s Gospel we see that the way home for the lost is only found in Jesus.

David was a shepherd, soldier, musician, outlaw, king, and poet. He was also an adulterer, murderer, and not so good husband and father. How was he a man after God’s own heart?

The result of faith in God is to trust Him. But when things are difficult, hard to understand, or out of our control, trusting God isn’t easy. The great danger of not trusting God is a spiritual plague that ravages lives.

Whenever God does a significant work in human history it’s through a band of totally committed people. But what does total commitment really look like?

God is faithful and keeps His covenant with those who love Him. David earned nothing. In fact, his life was vastly affected by his sin and it’s consequences. His faith, in contrast, redeemed him.

Supposedly we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with, and we become just like those we follow. This means the most important decisions we make are who we will spend time with and who we will follow.

The plot lines of old westerns pitted good guys in white hats versus bad guys in black hats. But Jesus said no one is good except God alone. So where does that leave us?

After the strife in Israel leading to the death of Absalom, civil war and the eventual return to Jerusalem of King David from exile we are at a crossroad. David’s choices can either bind the nation together in healing or  a splintering will occur. David humbly chooses forgiveness for those who have wronged him. Healing begins as pride is set aside and God is put back in his rightful place.  Perhaps David is recalling how richly he has been blessed and how richly he himself has been forgiven by the true King, God. He chooses to be merciful and gracious to those who have wronged him. Can we do the same in our life?

Pride is the root of all sin and rebellion and all of us are sinners. The only way to God is through humility, and without it the end can only be destruction.

How we respond to the pain of life determines everything about us. We can hang on to that pain and let it define us, or choose to give it to God and get moving.

The cursed consequences of sin separate us from God, one another, and desolate future generations. Is there anything we can do to break that cycle?