It takes minimal grace to weep with those who weep; it takes a lot of grace to rejoice with those who rejoice...especially when you are in a spot in your own life where you feel there is a little to rejoice about.

The next time you feel jealousy, envy, and unhappiness…remember that God never intended this present world — in all its brokenness to provide perfect happiness for you.

If Faith is trusting God enough to do what he says… Faithfulness is trusting God enough to do what he says and not quitting…

Religion is the gospels number 1 competitor: the most common substitute for reconciliation with God. People “get religious” fast and often when trouble abounds. The problem: religion can’t fix the problem; it just makes it worse.

churchandculture.org/blog/2023/2/9/… Killer article—should be incredibly alarming….but pastoring for years in suburban America…..doesn’t surprise me one bit.

Who would dare to accuse us, whom God has chosen? The judge himself has declared us free from sin. Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. Be Free my friends!

God call us not to a platform,but an altar. Jesus saved us not despite his wounds, but through his wounds. Sometimes life as a living sacrifice hurts. Stay faithful.

No one needs a leader to go backwards; you can just go back. We need leaders to push us forward. There is a tomorrow. There are generations yet to come. The plans and purposes of God are before us. Leaders….take the next step forward.

A child is healthy, in direct proportion to their having parents whose self-esteem is least dependent on their child’s achievement. - Edward Friedman Whenever a parent’s self-esteem is dependent on their child’s achievement, it leads to an unhealthy burden on the child.

Yet, if anyone hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him—for I did not come to judge the world but to save it. -Jesus We aren’t the morality police. We are Jesus followers. Love leads to salvation way more often than correction does.

There are a lot of people who have never been pastors but have built their entire brand/platform around telling pastors what to do. Some are consultants; some are commentators; some are critics. None are the One who called you into ministry. Keep following Jesus and carry on.

All Scripture follows a pattern that is clear, but not necessarily easy. We are owners of nothing, but stewards of everything. The way up is down. We become first by being last. We rule by serving. We win by worshipping. Clear. But not always our first instinct.

Most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself. I have learned you have to “speak the truth” way more often than you “feel the truth” in conversations with yourself.

God has always drawn straight lines with crooked sticks. He has always used the weak to show off his strength. He has always chosen the undeserving to demonstrate his grace. We should not be surprised if he continues to do the same thing today.

Fame on earth and fame in heaven are two very different things. Many who are first now will be last in the world to come, and many who are last here in this world may be first in the world to come. Jesus’s life shows us that greatness and obscurity are not opposites.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Proverbs 3–the MSG

When our lives are united to Christ through faith, we have the assurance that our best days are always ahead of us and never behind us, that every Christian’s long-term “worst-case scenario” is resurrection and everlasting life.

Jesus had a way of comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. He gives grace to the humble and opposes the proud. He is kind to the shame filled prostitute and fierce with the self filled Pharisee. Following the way of Jesus just makes you different.

Pastor/Leader: Prayer resistance is not just a bad habit; it’s a resistance to the vision, direction, and power of the Spirit of Jesus.

Obsessing over the future is not how God wants us to live, because showing us the future is not God’s way. His way is to speak to us in the Scriptures and transform us by the renewing of our minds. His way is not a crystal ball. His way is wisdom