Searching for Meaning and Purpose...

Kingdom People Seek the Father's Approval, Not People's Applause It is possible to do all the right things and still completely miss the heart of God. Giving, praying, serving, and appearing spiritually mature can all become performances aimed at the wrong audience. Jesus addresses this directly in Matthew 6, and His words are as challenging today as they were when He first spoke them. What Is Jesus Actually Warning Us About in Matthew 6? Jesus opens Matthew 6 with a clear heading for everything that follows: "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven." - Matthew 6:1 He is not condemning giving, praying, or fasting. He expects His followers to do all of these things. What He is confronting is righteousness performed for the wrong audience, acts of obedience aimed at earning the approval and admiration of other people rather than honoring God. Jesus gives one th...

Love Without Asterisks: What Jesus Really Means When He Says Love Your Enemies Most of us are comfortable with the idea of loving people who are easy to love. But what about the neighbor who returns your lawnmower with a bent blade? The coworker who got the promotion you deserved? The person who hurt you deeply and never apologized? Jesus has something to say about all of it, and it is not what our instincts want to hear. Why We All Want a Loophole When It Comes to Loving Others There is a deeply protected instinct in the human heart. We believe we should get to decide who we love. We want the ability to draw a line and say, "I will love this person, but not that one." It feels reasonable. It feels fair. But God makes it clear: He decides who we are called to love. And He modeled it first. He could have walked away from us. He had every reason to. But He did not. He loved us anyway, and He is asking us to do the same for others. What Does the Bible Actually Say Abo...