Searching for Meaning and Purpose...

Have you ever made a New Year's resolution only to abandon it within weeks? You're not alone. Statistics show that 92% of resolutions fail, with nearly half of people quitting by the end of January. But why do we keep pushing this idea of transformation when it so often fails? Perhaps it's because deep down, we recognize something is missing. In fact, research shows that 96% of people don't believe they're living up to their full potential. This isn't just about statistics—it's about our deep human desire for meaningful change. In Ephesians 4:25-32, Paul provides practical guidance for this transformation process, showing us how to become the new person God designed us to be. What Does It Mean to Become a New Person in Christ? Our faith is rooted in becoming a new creation. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture tells one story: how sin damaged God's perfect creation, and how God is working to restore everything through Jesus Christ. When we en...

The Centrality of Jesus: Why He Must Be First in Everything In a world full of competing priorities and distractions, one truth remains paramount - Jesus must be at the center of everything we do and believe. Jesus must be first and foremost in our lives. This foundational principle isn't just for our spiritual lives, but every aspect of our existence. Why Does Jesus Need to Be Central? According to Colossians 1:15-20 , Jesus is: The image of the invisible God Firstborn over all creation Creator of everything in heaven and earth Before all things and holds everything together Head of the church The beginning and firstborn from the dead This passage emphasizes the universal nature of Christ's authority using words like "all," "everything," and "firstborn" repeatedly. There isn't a single aspect of existence that falls outside His domain. To put it into Abraham Kuyper’s words, “no single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off ...

One of the amazing truths about Scripture is it's sheer reliability. There has never (not once in any way!) been an archaeolgical discovery that contradicts the biblical accounts. In fact, the oldest existing portions of Scripture are literally miraculous in their direct continuity with our current biblical text! What that means is that in every discovery of ancient texts from Scripture, the documents we find match the text we know and use today. Let that sit for a minute. The things we read today are the same things that believers read then. It's not a mythologized account, where Jesus is 10' tall and shoots lighting from his eyes as he exits the tomb, but an accurate accounting of the most important truths in the universe. In fact, the oldest existing portions of Scripture we have are from Numbers 6. They date to before the fall of the temple to Babylon in 586 BC. And they're essentially identical to what you read today (another interesting part- the text was inscribe...

 Have you ever felt stuck in a rut with no way out of it? Been stuck in that same sin with no way out? Or maybe you've thought spiritual growth was out of your reach? You can work your hardest, try harder, do more and never see any kind of positive change. If you can relate to any of that, there's a powerful truth you need to hear: you can't change yourself. God has to work in your life for meaningful change to happen! However, one thing you can do to see change in your life is to immerse yourself in His Word. Why is that? Hear what God has to say: "For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so my word that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.” (Isaiah 55:10-11) . If God's Word accomplishes exactly what He intends, part of that is us starting to ...

Our reflective thinking is often clearer at times New Year's than any other time. We evaluate what has been in the past year and think towards that blank slate of the new year. Often resolutions are made and started, but never followed all the way through. For example, how many of us have a One Year Bible that we've never finished? It turns into the One Year Guilt trip and we never get done because we have three weeks worth of readings to make up before we read that day! This year my family and I will be walking through the Bible Recap reading plan and would invite you to join us! It's a chronological reading, meaning the reading walks through the timeline of Scripture. You'll read Job while reading about Abraham in Genesis. Psalms are interspersed with the moments in David's life that inspired them. One of the reasons I love the Bible app is the way it handles plans. If you miss a day (or several) don't beat yourself up- just click where it says, "Catch m...

 One of the most important things we do is engaging the Word of God daily. While it might sound daunting, the tools to do so aren't something only accessible to pastors or people with special education. Here's a simple method you can use to engage God's Word so that it dwells richly in your heart: Pray. Ask God to speak to you through His Word as you read it and to give you wisdom to understand what you read. Read it. Just read the text in front of you. Ask the question, "What does it say?" Read it again. Read the text again. This time, ask the question,"What does it mean?" Read it once more. This time, ask the question, "What does it mean to me?" Pray. Thank God for what He has shown you and ask Him to guide you in living out His truth as He has revealed it. Whether you know it or not, these simple questions form the backbone of most every sermon preached and are some of the most important things we can ever wrestle with!