FLAMES OF GLORY
Of all the elements He could’ve used, why did God choose fire? It’s a polarizing thing, it can destroy as suddenly as it can bring life. It can scald as easily as it can bring soothing comfort. Much like the Savior who warned us that His coming would be divisive in the world, fire can be terrifying or a great source of peace. His fire refines and sanctifies, it tests and reveals the quality of anything placed in it. Fire only burns that which isn’t holy. Put something holy in the fire, and it will come out as gold.
THORNS AND THRESHOLDS
In the middle of an intense moment of battle and desperation, God commanded Joshua to debilitate his armies. Why is it that God made them weak, instead of simply making them victorious? It serves us well to find the areas where we’re resisting being made meek and lowly—these are the exact areas God wants to put His glory on display in our lives.
TO WASH A TRAITOR'S FEET
It’s no accident that Jesus introduced the commandment ‘to love each other as He loved us’ in the same moment He felt the sting of betrayal and denial from two of His dearest friends. If He could get on the floor and wash their feet knowing how deeply they’d wound Him, we can certainly set aside our offenses and forgive each other—for the sake of our own health, for the growth of the church, for the needs of the lost, and for the glory of God.
THE FATHER'S JOY
When watching catastrophic circumstances roll in like a storm, or getting news of impending doom, what is your first response? If the plan He gives involves humbling yourself, are you willing to let that be the solution? Would you be lowered on behalf of another, to be a conduit of His great mercy? Will we trust God’s promises to exalt the humble and lift up the lowly? There is someone whose story gives us a remarkable example of the unwavering confidence we can have in Him, and the powerful things He will do with our lives from that place.
LOWLINESS AND LEGACY
Most of us won’t die as martyrs in the face of savage persecution. Most of us will go through our lives trying to stay faithful through bouts of disappointment, suffering, or day to day discouragement. Testimonies like this remind us it’s possible to not only endure, but to find and reflect His triumphant glory in this life. This person endured more suffering than most of us will ever even have to imagine, and came out brighter than most of us will ever shine.
A WHISPER AFTER FIRE
FELLOWSHIP OF AFFLICTION
It’s easy to dehumanize God, to view Him as a rock wall. At best, we see Him as able to connect with our pain and empathize with us. But what if it is His pain we connect with when we suffer? When affliction won’t relent and life has wrung us out, we’re stepping into an area of God’s heart only suffering can take us to.
THE PERIL OF PRINCES
It wasn’t God’s design for the people to have earthly kings. His desire for them was to have judges as the leadership in place, men and women who knew Him and were familiar with His ways, listening to Him for their guidance, rather than lusting after power and control—the undying, infamous motivation of earthly princes. We all long for a good and trustworthy king, but there is only one.
WHAT'S "KINGDOM CULTURE" ANYWAY?
Many Christians fall into the deception of believing their practices to be biblical, rather than cultural—and placing culture above kingdom. When Jesus called people to follow Him, He called them to leave behind their cultural priorities. There is a disciple of whom He said, “Truly I tell you, wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told,” because she set aside her culture in order to worship. May we remember her reckless abandonment of cultural idolatry, and the King who made it worth it.
BLESSED ARE THE UNOFFENDED
John the baptizer's life was remarkable even from before he was conceived in the womb. Prophesied by Gabriel, and cousin to Jesus, this man had remarkable clarity on the purposes of God. Jesus Himself called John's life "great"—but he still died alone in a prison, ending with his head cut off. How do we square this up, and remain unoffended?
WARRIORS AND GARDENERS
In our carnal nature, we see the gardener’s efforts as less powerful or impactful than the efforts of a soldier. But then we look at our Jesus, sleeping in the boat on a sea full of storms, perfectly at peace. His peace might even offend those of us who’ve been spinning our wheels. His own people did not recognize Him as Messiah, because they wanted Him to come as a warrior, but He came as a servant. The strongest human to ever walk the planet waged war in very different ways than we expected Him to.
UNBOUND IMAGE BEARERS
The Gospel without justice is empty. Justice without the Gospel is desolate. For all have sinned and fall short, all are needy of His righteous judgement and His scandalous grace. God invites us into the duality of this grand, epic, messy story in which He breaks down all our boxes. He is not bound by the limitations of this world’s rules, and so neither are we.
MYSTERIES OF MERCY
SERVING UNDER HEATHEN KINGS
Many of us know what it’s like to be placed under some type of authority we don’t agree with. Be it a president, boss, director, any kind of superior— there’s no sugarcoating how difficult it is to sit under bad leadership. As followers of Jesus, we can have a different approach to this issue than that of the world; because we have hope in a King far more powerful than earthly leaders. Scripture has some fairly surprising instruction—and examples— for us when we’re in these situations.
DON'T WASTE YOUR WILDERNESS (PART II)
Wilderness is uncharted territory, lack of direction—and lack in general. Whatever it is, you have the amazing opportunity to meet with Him there, and this mysterious opportunity only exists for a short window of time. The desert season is not just a time to endure scorching, it’s a time to look to the skies and watch manna fall. If you don’t see anything, go again in the morning and check the ground. And again, and again, every day until you’ve found what He wants to give you.
DON'T WASTE YOUR WILDERNESS (PART I)
Being in a desert (whether figuratively or literally) is far from easy or comforting, but it is rich with spiritual treasure. We have many examples in scripture of the intense trial that can occur in deserts, followed by intense outpouring and provision. What do you get when olives, coconuts, seeds, or nuts are hard pressed on every side until what’s inside of them flows out? In other words, what do you get when good things are crushed?
Oil.
WINE, SHAME, AND CONFIDENCE
THE GOD WHO SEES
God fulfilled every promise He made to Abraham and Sarah, and to Hagar and Ishmael. Both of these parties experienced extreme examples of things not going according to their plan, and they had to learn to trust. But the very names of their children are prophetic evidence of who God would be to them forever—His word never comes back void.
