Deep-End Discipleship

Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my plans than your plans. so is my word that comes from my mouth; it does not return to me empty. Instead, it does what I want, and accomplishes what I intend.  - Isaiah 55:9, 11 (CEB) - We’ve all been there. We feel exactly like a dead cell phone - drained, useless, practically dead weight. We wonder what on earth God could do with us. We hear talk of God’s purpose, but without some spark beyond ourselves we will never be more than what we feel. This is exactly why I love reading the prophets sometimes. Sure there are times when they are hard on God’s people, but there are beautiful places when they also remind God’s people that their goodness is not determined on what they think. God is ready to work in us before we even know what to do. God’s plan is so much bigger and larger than any of our own doubt, self-pity or uncertainty. God’s plan does not r...

Jesus and his followers came into Jericho. As Jesus was leaving Jericho, together with his disciples and a sizable crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, Timaeus’ son, was sitting beside the road. When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was there, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, show me mercy!” Many scolded him, telling him to be quiet, but he shouted even louder, “Son of David, show me mercy!”  Jesus stopped and said, “Call him forward.”  They called the blind man, “Be encouraged! Get up! He’s calling you.”  Throwing his coat to the side, he jumped up and came to Jesus.  Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”  The blind man said, “Teacher, I want to see.”  Jesus said, “Go, your faith has healed you.” At once he was able to see, and he began to follow Jesus on the way. Mark 10:46-52 CEB The Gospel of Mark is full of healing stories, to the point where the gospel glosses over some of them because there are so m...

“The truly happy person doesn’t follow wicked advice, doesn’t stand on the road of sinners, and doesn’t sit with the disrespectful. Instead of doing those things, these persons love the Lord’s Instruction, and they recite God’s Instruction day and night! They are like a tree planted by streams of water, which bears fruit at just the right time and whose leaves don’t fade. Whatever they do succeeds.” -Psalm 1:1-3 CEB- Have you ever had to make a really difficult choice? It can be very difficult to decide between multiple options for a situation, and decide which one you are going to choose. Sometimes these choices are between multiple good things, and sometimes it’s between good and bad. There are so many things that influence the things that we do every single day. TV shows, friends, parents, social media, peer pressure and many other factors come into play everyday as we decide how we act and operate in our daily lives. It is sometimes crazy, and scary to me how influenced w...

1  Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!   Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion! Wash me completely clean of my guilt;   purify me from my sin! Psalm 51:1-2 CEB Have you ever had a moment where you found yourself overwhelmingly upset at something you've done? Perhaps you knew the thing was wrong at the time or you realized it later, but you got to a point where you felt so sad, perhaps angry, at yourself for doing it. We all have these moments. Perhaps the regret comes in the moment of getting caught for the wrong thing we did or perhaps seeing the negative consequences of such an action created remorse with us. The weight of our sin is incredibly burdensome, but the good news is that God always forgives us when we confess our sins. Today is Ash Wednesday which is a day that begins the season of Lent which is the season that leads to Easter. Lent has often been associated with giving something up for a period of time. Th...