Deep-End Discipleship

  “ What is the source of conflict among you? What is the source of your disputes? Don’t they come from your cravings that are at war in your own lives? - James 4:1 CEB - So much bubbles inside me at times, I am at times ashamed to admit how much inner turmoil and uncertain decisions lie under the surface of what might to others seem like a well put together façade. There is always doubt, angst, hesitancy & chaos right under the surface at times. We often assume or hope that being a Christian will smooth out and quell the storm within us.   Yet often it is quite the opposite. Once we pay attention to what we should be doing and what God wants from us, our hesitancy and guilt take over and create more inner voices pulling at us. Much like the classic Jedi and Sith push and pull described in the Star Wars movies, the light sides and dark sides of ourselves are at war within us. And sadly the turmoil does not just give us stress, it leaks out and can poison th...

"Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that I am?' And they answered him, 'John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.' He asked them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Peter answered him, 'You are the Messiah.' And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, 'Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.' He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, 'If any want to become my followers, let th...

"The people who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion: never shaken, lasting forever. Mountains surround Jerusalem. That’s how the Lord surrounds his people from now until forever from now!" - Psalm 125: 1-2 CEB - "'Because you have little faith,' he said. 'I assure you that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Go from here to there,’ and it will go. There will be nothing that you can’t do.'" - Matthew 17:20 CEB - I was never someone who wanted to be outdoors when I was younger. I don’t like bugs, heat, dirt, and am always terrified of what creature may be lurking under a bush or behind a tree. That being said, sometime in the last few years this changed drastically. I do not know if it was a random hiking trip, or getting tired of the north Texas landscape, but I suddenly started longing to be in the mountains. I love the weather, the hiking, the smell of the air, being surrounded by trees,...

"Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes from above. These gifts come down from the Father, the creator of the heavenly lights, in whose character there is no change at all." - James 1:17 CEB - We're a few weeks into the school year. We're getting into our classes, working hard in sports, practicing for performing arts, and adjusting to the crazy normal that is the school year. It feels like life is constantly changing sometimes. Some people love the excitement of an ever-changing life while others dread the inevitable changes and wish for something constant. In this passage of the letter of James, James reminds his readers that God does not change. God gives good gifts and gives them perfectly. Based on the verses before verse 17, it appears the audience of James was tempted to sin. We all still sin even 2000 years after Christ walked the earth! James reminds them that the temptation to sin does not come from God. God does not give us bad things su...

  “ 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...