Deep-End Discipleship

  “ Listen also to the immigrant who isn’t from your people Israel but who comes from a distant country because of your reputation— because they will hear of your great reputation, your great power, and your outstretched arm. When the immigrant comes and prays toward this temple, then listen from heaven, where you live, and do everything the immigrant asks. Do this so that all the people of the earth may know your reputation and revere you, as your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I have built bears your name.” - 1 Kings 8:41-43 CEB - We’ve all been there. The new person. A new space. The incredible awkwardness of feeling uncomfortable and alone. While it is tempting to celebrate the season of fall by thinking only of the return of what is familiar, we easily can skip over how the fall brings new rhythms and new places in our lives. Whether we ourselves have all the newness happening now or not, we know there are those around us that are entering into...

 “ Fear of the Lord is where wisdom begins;     sure knowledge is for all who keep God’s laws.         God’s praise lasts forever!” - Psalm 111:10 CEB - So if you have tuned in at all during this last summer’s Sunday night youth fellowship times, we have been looking at what does it take to be wise. (God pities the fool!) I admit that wisdom is one of those topics that just fascinates me about our faith and the call that God gives us as Christians. It feels like an embodiment of literally chasing after goodness. We are told to be wise, but what do we exactly do to make wisdom? We are told that wisdom is a virtue, but rarely do we get or gain wisdom instantly. We can’t just download an app, approve an update or change to a better wiser model. Even in our Scripture, we are told that wisdom begins with “fear of the Lord” but that easily seems like a phrase that is just tossed around in the Bible...

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” - John 6:41-42 NRSV - A few years ago, a man robbed a Wendy’s in Atlanta, Georgia. The unknown man approached the drive-through at the Wendy's, pointed a gun at the cashier and demanded the cash drawer. Then, he sped away with what he might have believed was a wealth of cash. But, police say that the masked robber later called the Wendy's store twice to complain about the take. In one call, he said "next time there better be more than $586." However, that’s better than what police say Arthur Bundrage did. Bundrage approached a Syracuse, New York, bank teller and demanded $20,000. When he got home, he discovered he’d been shortchanged. Outraged, he stormed back to the bank to tell them what he thought of their serv...

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” - John 6:35 NIV -  Have you ever forgotten your lunch at school, or not packed snacks to get through the day? I often make the mistake of not packing snacks or lunch with me when I go to class, and I always end up being that person in the back of the class that sounds like I have a small monster growling from my stomach. I also notice that when I get hungry, I cannot focus as well. I don't know if it's because I'm day dreaming about the pizza I want to eat later, or just because my brain is running on empty and is giving up but I can never focus when I am hungry. There is something about feeling like there is nothing in your stomach that offsets your entire day. In this verse from John, Jesus is telling everyone around him that whoever believes in Him will never go hungry, or be thirsty. Can you imagine never being hungry...

Count on it: They will be in utter panic because God is with the righteous generation. You evildoers may humiliate the plans of those who suffer, but the Lord is their refuge. Let Israel's salvation come out of Zion! When the Lord changes His people's circumstances for the better, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will celebrate! - Psalm 14:5-7 CEB - One of my favorite artists is Jason Emmanuel Petty, better known as Propaganda. He is most recognized for his spoken word and I admire him for his honesty, as he speaks on issues openly and genuinely, not attempting to seem perfect or put-together. In one of his spoken words, he addresses a challenge to his faith by asking fellow believers, "Have you never felt like this was all in your head?" What Propaganda meant was that sometimes, as Christians, we can doubt our faith, coming to feel that perhaps we have made it all up in our heads. This sentiment is often fueled by the fact that we hear it from the world. The...