Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

“Before we give ourselves in mercy, we give ourselves in worship.”

God wants our first, and best. This is with the tithe, and this is with our bodies and life. He should get our first and best, and then we give ourselves to others in our mercy.

We are grafted into God’s tree of life, and the tree is massive and abundant. I see this visual of the natural rain forest, expansive and never ending tree source. Gods Kingdom is abundant and limitless, and we should not treat it any other way. 

The Bible doesn’t answer all our questions, and we shouldn’t pretend it does. Evolution, the “Big Bang,” predestination, free will, pre-tribulation, post-tribulation, new Earth, old Earth, the Trinity, and the list goes on and on. These are the easy ones to draw out, and I am comfortable with leaving some of these a mystery. 

The mind of Christ, a mindset we must bring into our daily lives. Powered by the Spirit in us, that should guide us and move us closer to Jesus every day. Walking through the realities of life that is hard, challenging, and produces much suffering. This is life, and this is our reality. But our future glory, our hope we walk toward and live for is so much greater. 

We do not have to be slaves to sin; we have a choice with the grace of Christ in us. We must step into today and lead our hearts, guide this in the way that honors God. Time to lead. 

Glory in our sufferings! Not what we all like to hear or read, I am sure, but its life on earth as we know it. We will have trials and sufferings on this side of heaven. Paul isn’t just bringing empathy and sympathy for the Romans; he was making a much larger point. Suffering has a point, and it creates something in us if we let it. 

If you have been with me for a while, you know this saying, “I am a recovering Prideaholic.” It’s true, thankfully recovering and have been clean and sober for a while now...but the reality is I am a Prideaholic. Pride is a weakness of mine, and it has crippled me in the past. It took many years of maturity and wisdom to get to a point to be able to see it clearly for what it was and to start doing something about it. 

Paul has laid out so far in Romans 1-3 that we have a debt to pay, and it is impossible to pay. Maybe something similar to coming out of college and post-grad work with $250,000 in debt, and you get a $10/hr job...and live in NYC. Impossible! The only hope is in redemption, an exchange, clearing, and forgiving of the debt we carry. 

Romans chapter 2 is a heavy chapter, and it is meant to be that way. It is the weight and reality that we are all sinners in need of a savior. ALL OF US. We read many times in Paul's words, “first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” To simplify this, think Jew = Religious, Gentile = Godless heathens. A vast spectrum, all in that spectrum, are sinners, apart from God without Christ. This is the case Romans chapter 2 is building. 

Most don’t intend to be dangerous in their journey, but we must recognize our flaws and blind spots. We all have them, so we need to be careful how and when we speak with authority and know the damage that can be caused by our ignorance. 

To understand the Gospel, and the transformative power of Jesus..