Beautiful Feet Bring Good News

 Wednesday, May 13, 2026

How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.  Romans 10:14-15

Beautiful Feet Bring Good News

 

Paul has just finished telling the Israelites about how they can trust in God: If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9-10  They were still hung up on trying to do enough or be good enough for their salvation and Paul’s heart was broken at their unbelief. Now Paul is pointing out that unless they believed in God, they were not going to call on him. Unless they know who God is, believe he is who he says he is, and trust him, they will not be saved.

 

The responsibility comes back on those of us who are already Christians to take the truth that saved our lives to the lost ones in this world. And how can they believe without hearing about him?  Paul is saying that it all goes back to the spreading of the gospel, and preachers must be sent. Disciples must be sent.  God calls them and we (the body of Christ) send them.

Paul is specifically speaking about preachers, but Jesus gave all Christians the Great Commission - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 27:19-20 

Our testimonies of how God has changed us and what he has done in our lives needs to be shared. Maybe you don’t have an amazing story of transformation. Maybe you have been in church from the time you were born, became a Christian, and have been in a steady relationship with him since then. But you still have the greatest story of all time to share. God has changed you and he has worked in your life. Sometimes we have to take a minute and reflect on our lives, and we can see the hand of God. That is still a powerful testimony and good news that a lost and hurting world needs to know.

As Everyday Missionaries, we have been entrusted with the most glorious truth anyone can ever hear, and we have been equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit to share it. Paul says that we can either go or enable others to go and share the good news. But we have not been given the choice to do nothing. Jesus commissioned us that very same day he commissioned his disciples to take his truth to the ends of the earth. When we share his truth, we are giving them something they can believe in, call on, and be saved. 

Hope For Dry Bones

 Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Then he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I replied, “Lord God, only you know.”  He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!  This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. Ezekiel 37:3-5 CSB

Hope For Dry Bones 

This past Sunday we heard the second sermon in the series Everyday Missionaries where we are learning how Everyday Missionaries are ordinary people empowered by an extraordinary God for an extraordinary mission. As believers we are called to be Everyday Missionaries as we walk out our faith in our day to day life. We have the hope, only found in Jesus, that the rest of the world needs. If you are looking at the world and the circumstances and events that the world gages hope by, there is not much promise of hope to be found. But we have the hope they need, and it is our job to show them how they too can have hope in hopeless circumstances. 

 

Is There Any Hope?

Israel was in ruins.  Their enemy, Babylon, had defeated the nation and there was nothing left of the army but a valley of dry bones, with survivors in captivity.  Ezekiel wanted to see revival in the land, but the people wanted no part of repentance.  God gave Ezekiel a vision so he would know that revival would one day come to Israel. This vision seemed impossible at this point in Israel’s history because of her present condition: dead, both physically and spiritually. 

 

God's vision leads Ezekiel through a valley of dry, dead bones — a vision which symbolizes the lifeless faith of an exiled Israel.  Ezekiel was given the vision of dry bones as a sign – as hope to cling to. The dry bones were a symbol of the lifeless faith of Israel. God promises restoration and revival to Israel after their exile is over. 

 

God gives hope.

The Israelites had no hope. They were dead, both spiritually and physically. But God promises to bring them back to life. God always follows through on his promises and he is the only one who can give real and true hope. The Bible proves his faithfulness in one account after another. When we start to believe that we are forgotten by God, or a pile of dry bones that has no hope, we can trust him that he has not forgotten about us. 

 

God gives life.                 

I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

⁷ So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. ⁹ He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,^[a] prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This is what the Lord God says: Breath, come from the four winds and breathe into these slain so that they may live!” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me; the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army. Vs 6-10

God breathed life into a heap of dry bones. He put skin on them, and breath into their lungs and resurrected them back to life. He brought what was spiritually and physically dead back to life. 

 

When was the last time you felt hopeless? Maybe it is your own consequences, like the Israelites. Maybe it is a situation such as divorce, looking for Jesus calls us forward, not backward. No matter how dead you feel, God can breathe life back into your lungs. We were dead in our sins, and he came and gave us new life in him. He breathes spiritual life into the spiritually dead.  

 

God mobilizes a people.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look how they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’¹² Therefore, prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them, my people, and lead you into the land of Israel. ¹³ You will know that I am the Lord, my people, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it. This is the declaration of the Lord.’” Vs 11-14

 

The vision that God gives Ezekiel is Israel coming back to life and being mobilized as an army for the Lord. Through his Spirit he revives our spiritually dead souls and gives us new life, and mobilizes us to take his Gospel of hope to everyone around us every day.

God gives spiritual life where there is spiritual death so we will take the hope he gives to the world and to everyone we come into contact with every day. He does not give us life to sit in church every Sunday and never do anything with the Gospel that gave us hope. We should infiltrate hope into every area of our lives.

 

God and his word meet us exactly where we are in life – whether we are broken, hopeless, rejected, or betrayed. We are never too far or too unreachable for God. He breathes life into our spiritually dead places. This is the hope of the Gospel the world needs. There are plenty of realities in life that leave us feeling too broken and hopeless to ever come back from but God meets us and restores us where we are, in whatever current reality we are living – or dying in. Even if we are buried in a pile of bones. This is the Gospel. This is the hope and as Everyday Missionaries we have the opportunity to share that Gospel of hope to a dark and hopeless world. 

 

 

 

 

Responding = Moving

Thursday, May 7, 2026

While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. Which, he said, you have heard me speak about; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days. So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time? He said to them, It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  Acts 1:4-8 CSB

 

Responding = Moving

When Jesus called the disciples, he called them to follow him. They immediately stopped what they were doing, left their jobs, and followed him. They continued to follow him, doing life with him for about three years. They learned from him, witnessing how he shared the Gospel and ministered to people. Jesus set this example for them, as well as for us, so we have a model of we are to live our lives as followers of Jesus. Part of Living the Jesus Way is movement, as Pastor Jim shared with us in the Living the Jesus Way series in 2024. We cannot be followers of Jesus and be obedient to our calling from him to be his witnesses and go and make disciples – in our everyday lives – unless we move. This past Sunday Pastor Jim shared with us that Jesus calls us to respond when he calls us. Part of responding is moving. The call is to go. We are not called to only go when we are part of a mission trip or serving. We are called to go every day. The call is to be Everyday Missionaries, everywhere we go. 

Living the Jesus Way – The Way of Movement

Acts chapter one opens with Jesus having spent 40 days with the disciples following His resurrection. During this time Jesus continued to teach them more about the kingdom of God and prepared them to be His witnesses. Their faith became stronger and when it was time for Jesus to ascend to Heaven, He gave them some final commands. He said His final words to them - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

In verses 3-5, Jesus told the Disciples that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Jesus had previously spoke of this promise in John 14:17 - And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him because he remains with you and will be in you.  v16-17 This is Jesus telling them of the promise of His Father - the Holy Spirit. When they received the Holy Spirit, they would receive power from the Holy Spirit right away. Not in 10 years, or 5 years, but right away. With this power, they were to be witnesses for Jesus so the world can know His truth. In the power of the Holy Spirit they would spread the news of the gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 

 

As believers, we often strive to do everything in our own power, including share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus told the disciples that the Holy Spirit was coming, and He would give them the power they needed to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We forget, or fail to understand, that we have that same gift, or power from the Holy Spirit. We are not to stay in the center of the Kingdom of God bumping up against each other. Living the Jesus Way means that our lives are a testimony of what God has done for us. Our lives are the Gospel, and we are His Disciples. The command Jesus gave them as He was ascending to heaven is our command also - to go, to move, to do more than just live our comfortable Christian lives. We are to take His Gospel into the dark places where the Light is needed, and time is of the essence because the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus is coming and people need to be saved. 

 

Responding as Everyday Missionaries means that we are not to live stagnant religious lives sitting on the same pew our whole lives. We are to move. We have been given the power of the Holy Spirit to rely on as His power as it works through us to reach people for Christ and lead them to salvation. His power is far greater and more effective than anything we could possibly do on our own. He goes before us and prepares the way – softens hearts and makes  them open to hearing and receiving His good news. 

 

Living The Jesus Way does not mean we just live our lives as a Christ follower and hope it rubs off on everyone around us. The good news is that it will rub off when we are just going through the motions of life in The Jesus Way. But the other part of living The Jesus Way is that we give the Gospel to those who don't recognize it because Jesus tells us that those who don't know Him will not recognize His truth. (The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. John 14: 17) 

 

Trust Him to lead you in His power to share His gospel as you live The Jesus Way. Pray for opportunities and surrender to take His gospel to the ends of the earth, but if you never leave Parker County, then Parker County is your mission field! There are dark places that need the light here too. Live your life and share His gospel just as you would to the most remote people group in a country far away. The field is ripe and is wherever you are. The harvest is all around us every day, so don't just stay comfortable - move the Gospel out to everyone you can. 

 

Living Out What You Believe

                                                                                                                                                                                        Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it. Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produc e bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you’ll recognize them by their fruit. Matthew 7:13-20

Living Out What You Believe

As we begin this new series in being Everyday Missionaries it is good to revisit some of the principles we have been learning for the past couple of years, such as from the Living The Jesus Way series. As followers of Jesus, we strive to live out the values and principles of His Kingdom with our whole lives. We follow his model and live our lives in step with the Spirit. To live the Jesus way and to share his Gospel with the world we must know him and his Gospel. After we become followers, we grow in our relationship with him and we get to know him through that relationship and learning from his word and leaders and teachers in the church.  

Living The Jesus Way - The Way Of The Gospel

In The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns against the easy road and the hard road, one leading to life and one leading to destruction. He then warns us of false prophets who will try to lead us down the easy road of destruction. If we are going to be Everyday Missionaries to spread the 

Pastor Jim told us about six different kinds of gospels that people believe and how they can lead us away from the road that leads to life.  

Six Gospels:

Forgiveness only – Be forgiven; creates following Christ as an option; Only have to pray a prayer-it is a one-time event, not a lifetime commitment to be a disciple of Christ. 

Left – help the needy; no transformation or eternal life; accommodation to culture; Biblical truth is optional. Can’t really know we are saved, and we are all going to heaven anyway. 

Prosperity – claim your rights; give me what you promised and that I am entitled to; God management; If God doesn’t answer my prayers it is because I don’t have enough faith or didn’t pray hard enough. Works based salvation.

Consumer – Meet my needs. The church exists for me – I do not exist for the church. Self-indulgence; addiction – desire. Go to church to consume only.

Right – I am always right. Theological swagger; exclusiveness; detachment; if you do not agree with me, you are wrong. And you are not going to heaven.

It is easy to see how believing the wrong gospel can lead us away from abundant, transformative life in Christ.  The five gospels above are the hollow bones of Christianity with absolutely nothing that helps us grow in our relationship with him. They are watered down ideas of the gospel that leave us unfulfilled and stagnant in our faith. Discipleship and following Jesus is not optional in the Christian life, although we have made it optional. 

Kingdom – Follow me, transformation through a relationship with Jesus. Become apprentices of Jesus, learning to live and love like him.

Jesus then goes on to tell them to beware of false prophets who are ready to lead us down the easy road that leads to destruction. He says we can recognize these false prophets by their fruit. If we are living The Jesus Way, not only will it be evident in every area of our lives, but there will also be fruit in our lives. Fruit is the evidence of a growing, transforming relationship with God. We are always growing through the process of sanctification, but as we are growing, we are to be living out His word in our lives - producing fruit. Coming to church and hearing a sermon every week is not enough if there is no heart transformation and no fruit.

The kingdom gospel – the gospel of Jesus Christ – is to be invited into an eternal, never ending relationship with the King of Kings. We follow him, becoming his disciple and being transformed by him. We can then go out as Everyday Missionaries, making more disciples for his kingdom.

What do you believe?

Have you been living in one of the five gospels that do not bring transformation into your life?  

What about the fruit in your life? What fruit will you be known by?  

We are Everyday Missionaries

 Monday, May 4, 2026

As he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter), and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. “Follow me,” he told them, “and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, preparing their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Matthew 4:18-22

 

We are Everyday Missionaries

 

As Jesus called each one of His disciples there was only one thing they knew for sure...they were going to follow Jesus. They didn’t see a four plan laid out in a document. They were not given a salary, even though they left their jobs right then and there. They were not given a guarantee that everything would be great in this new life. They might not have even realized when they dropped their nets to follow this man that they were not going back to those nets. All they knew was they trusted him and were willing to leave everything to follow him and fish for people. 

 

This past Sunday we began a new series called Everyday Missionaries where we will examine how all believers are Everyday Missionaries and what that looks life as we apply it to how we live our lives every day.Our Key Truth for this series is Everyday missionaries are ordinary people empowered by an extraordinary God for an extraordinary mission. What does it look like for us to join God in His eternal mission and to take the good news of Jesus into every realm of culture?

 

Peter, Andrew, James and John were by vocation fishermen.  The day Jesus came calling they were busy with the ordinary things that kept them in business…casting or caring for their nets. They were busy with their normal, everyday lives. They Jesus came. He said, “Follow me.” Two simple words. All of a sudden their business was not as important because in that very moment they realized that Jesus – the Messiah who they had heard about – was calling them to come with him. 

 

When Jesus calls us, he is calling us to come with him, to follow him, and join him, and to be a part of his kingdom and mission. It was time as Jesus was already preaching to everyone: Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near. Matthew 4:17 What Jesus was saying was that the kingdom of heaven had come near because Jesus (the King) had come near. The time had come and the prophecy was going to be fulfilled. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

 

When we become followers of Jesus and have a deep, growing relationship with him, it becomes a part of our DNA. It becomes who we are and as a result we take Jesus and his gospel everywhere we go every day. We must be good stewards of the gospel. Just as it was the day Jesus called those disciples to follow him, the time is now for us to follow and the time is now to share the gospel. The kingdom of heaven is here and we have to take that gospel to the world so they to can repent and believe. 

 

It sounds like a daunting task to take the gospel to the whole world. After all, we have jobs and bills to pay and families to care for. Yes and Jesus wants us to steward our lives responsibly, but he also wants us to join him in his mission of sharing to gospel and we can do that too. We share the gospel every day, everywhere we go and in everything we do. Our lives are a living testimony to Jesus and how he has transformed us. As we are living our lives at work, school, and in the community we have the opportunity to share the love and light of God everywhere we go, and with everyone we see. 

 

Jesus called the disciples and they responded immediately. When is the last time you responded to something Jesus called you to immediately? The time is now for you too. The kingdom of heaven is here and if you are believer, the king is in your heart. He is calling us to follow and join him on mission - to go out every day and share his Gospel - that he died in our place for our sins, rose from the dead, and if we repent and believe and accept his free gift we have salvation and eternal life. In our relationship with him we learn to live and love like him and to step where the Spirit steps. If we live out our lives in relationship with him every day, we will point others to him everywhere we go. 

Everyday Missionaries: Called to God’s Extraordinary Mission “Life on Mission”

 

Everyday Missionaries: Called to God’s Extraordinary Mission
“Life on Mission”
Matthew 4:18-22 (CSB)

 

-     Key Truth: Everyday missionaries are ordinary people empowered by an extraordinary God for an extraordinary mission.

Main Question: What does it look like for us to join God in His eternal mission and to take the good news of Jesus into every realm of culture?

1.        Jesus calls us to follow Him.  (vs. 18-19a)

2.        Jesus calls us to His mission. (vs.19b)

3.        Jesus calls us to respond. (vs.20-22)

The First Thing You Should Do…

 Friday, May 1, 2026

After threatening them further, they released them. They found no way to punish them because the people were all giving glory to God over what had been done. For this sign of healing had been performed on a man over forty years old.  After they were released, they went to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them. Acts 4:21-24

 

The First Thing You Should Do…
Peter and John had been thrown in jail for healing a lame man and proclaiming the Gospel. They were threatened heavily by the religious leaders – yes, the very ones who could not take their eyes off of Peter and John as they stood before them declaring the power of the Holy Spirit. They were threatened to not speak or teach in the name of Jesus again, on no account. Peter and John’s response was that they could not keep quiet about what they had seen and heard. Surprisingly, the leaders let them go – after renewing their threats once more. They couldn’t keep them in jail, and if they had tried the people would not have stood for it – they were all praising God over what had happened. 

 

Have you ever been in a place where you didn’t know what would happen to you, but you expected the worst? I am sure Peter and John didn’t expect to be released. Given the circumstances surrounding their jailing and the situation with the church at the time, they might have expected to not get out of jail alive. Imagine the joy and pure relief! What would you do at that very moment? I imagine any of us would do just as they did – they went to their friends and told them what the high priests and religious leaders had said - and then they all prayed.

 

Sometimes, dropping to our knees is our last resort. First, we panic or fall apart. Next, we start trying to fix it ourselves. But nothing fixes our broken lives like the power of prayer.

 

 Nothing can bring us together like joining in prayer. There is no connection more powerful than being in the presence of God together, and when two or more are gathered together in His name – He is among them. If you have been in a prayer meeting like this, then you know exactly what I am talking about. God’s power is evident, and it gives us boldness to proclaim His praises, and to face whatever comes next.

 

 Nothing can bring us more comfort in a time of distress than for our Christian brothers and sisters to come together and pray with us and for us. I would imagine that all these Christians joined together in a big group, laying hands on one another and lifted their prayers up in unison for Peter and John. Even if our prayer may not be answered the way we prayed it would, we have community supporting us and loving us through to the end.

This world today is full of technology and there is an answer for everything at the tip of our fingers – literally. We seek answers everywhere before we seek God. The first thing we should do is to gather with our friends and break out in prayer (or at least ask for prayer) just like Peter and John did.

 

Perhaps we don’t want to appear weak, or needy. Maybe we are embarrassed by our circumstances. It certainly would contradict most of our social media profiles if others knew what was really happening in our lives. The sad thing is that we do not have to suffer alone. We have this awesome power of the Holy Spirit to help us through this life, and no matter how advanced our world gets, it will never surpass the power of almighty God to meet our needs and answer our prayers. There is nothing this world offers that will meet our needs and perform the miracles we need like our Holy God. Nothing is more fulfilling than seeking His wisdom, praying for His hand in a situation, and seeing Him move in your life. It does bring boldness. It gives us the power of the resurrection in the very breath we breathe, in the silent prayer, the weakest utterance of a word. Choose Him first over trying to fix it yourself. Give Him the opportunity to reveal His power in your life through the power of prayer. Ask your friends and family to pray with you as and rejoice together in the freedom to do so. 

A Heart of Stone

Thursday, April 30, 2026

I will give them integrity of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh, so that they will follow my statutes, keep my ordinances, and practice them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. EZEKIEL 11:19-20, CSB

 A Heart of Stone

Saul makes his first appearance in the Bible at Stephen’s stoning. He hated Christians and anything to do with the church. One day Saul was traveling from Jerusalem to Damascus and suddenly there was a bright light all around him, blinding him. He fell to his knees as he heard a voice speaking to him. The voice he heard was God asking Saul why he was persecuting Him. 

Saul was completely shocked at this strange light and this strange voice who seemed to know him. He asked the voice who he was, and the voice replied I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. The condensed version is that Saul was blind for three days while staying.at a home in Damascus. His eyes were closed, but his heart was opened, and He believed. He became a Christian – the very group of people he had made his life’s work to destroy. 

He was blinded for three days from the bright light, and then he was baptized. Immediately he began to proclaim Jesus with even more fervor than he denied him with. God took a person such as Saul, who had a heart of stone, and God melted it with His love. This turned him into one of the most powerful influencers ever for God’s kingdom. 

Paul spread the message of salvation far and wide after that. His story was one of huge transformation which made all the more glory for God. Maybe your transformation has not been as sensational as Paul’s, but that does not mean that the transformation He has done in your heart is any different than his. You don’t have to have a dramatic story of salvation to spread the gospel and be a part of God changing people’s lives. Remember in Him you are more than sufficient to do His work. 

Wisdom From Above

 Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:13-18

 

Wisdom From Above

While a prayer for peace is worthwhile, it seems that peace is a byproduct of wisdom in all situations.  A prayer for almost any good thing will find its answer in wisdom.  Need good relationships or health?  Wisdom with others and our habits is foundational.

The beauty of growing in wisdom is that it is never-ending.  It is like the dawn of a new day because when you grow in wisdom everything in life looks different - fears are quieted, emotions are controlled, worries are forgotten.

Wisdom is not selfish or even self-centered.  James’ list of the attributes of wisdom are: pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.  Who would not like to have these qualities in their life? Wisdom, as we know, is not knowledge; nor is it merely experience. It is truly a  combination of those plus a God-given understanding of both of these things. James calls it the wisdom from above.  

Think about how different you are today than 10, 20, or 30 years ago. Life experience is a great teacher of wisdom, and you just have to live long enough gain some parts of it. The Bible encourages us to learn from our each other and from those whose spiritual gifts are teaching. 

If you will listen to God’s lessons in experience there is much to be learned about what is really important in life and what is NOT so important after all. You can learn about the true sources of joy in life and the emptiness of the world.  Lessons come about the real power of faith and the value of every human being. You live long enough, and you can learn a lot of things. But why wait?

The Bible is filled with wisdom and we can share a great deal from their experience.  Maybe you can’t comprehend it all but the knowledge they share will certainly be valuable in the course of your own life.

Pray for wisdom above all and wait to see what God will show you each and every day.

So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom. Psalms 90:12

Faith and Obedience in Relationships

Monday, April 27, 2026

 …submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. . .  Ephesians 5:21-25 

Faith and Obedience in Relationships 

For the past couple of months, we have been in a series titled We Are The Church: A Study in Ephesians. In Chapter 5 of Ephesians Paul tells us that the key to living as children of God is imitating God in what we say and do, including walking in wisdom and treating others in such a way that the Gospel shines through our relationships with our families, at work and school, and brothers and sisters in Christ. Our key truth for the series, The Church is not a destination but a base of operation, speaks to how the church builds us up and then sends us out, living the Gospel out in our lives for everyone around us.  

Ephesians chapter 5 is well known for Paul’s words on the relationship between husband and wife. However, the true relationship addressed here is the relationship between Christ and the church (all believers) – and our relationships are supposed to be a reflection of that relationship. That relationship translates to all our relationships – husband and wife, children and parents, friends, and employers. 

We often focus on the “wives submit to your husbands” and “husbands love your wives” parts of this passage and don’t pay close attention to the rest of it. We focus on what this means for marriage, but we fail to see what this means for us individually. This is a beautiful picture of what Christ did for the body of believers. 

What Christ Did for Us: 

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her… v. 25

Christ loves us and gave Himself up for us – through His death on the cross. 

...to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word… v. 26

He sanctifies us and cleanses us with His sacrifice on the cross. The water that washes away sin and cleanses and purifies the soul, is the word. – Charles Spurgeon

He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. v. 27

Because of our Justification the moment we are saved, and our sanctification in our walk, we will be entered into glorification the moment we enter heaven. We are made this pure in heaven when we are joined to Jesus Christ in a way beyond all previous experience.

 If we can understand the Gospel, then we can understand what marriage, as well as all our relationships are supposed to look like. God designed marriage specifically for the purpose of teaching us about His love for us. Marriage – a true, selfless, sacrificing marriage - will make us more holy every day. God laid down His life for us and we lay down our lives for each other in selfless sacrifice. In marriage we are called to put the other’s needs before our own, selflessly. 

How should our faith be lived out in the relationships that we have with other believers? 

The key to our faith and obedience being lived out in our relationships begins in verse 21 - submitting to one another in the fear of Christ. Marriage gives us a picture of God’s grace. You love and live with someone in grace as Jesus gives us grace. Your children and the world also see this grace in action. Love, in its purest form, is the best display of God’s beauty and His love for us. Marriage is just a picture of God’s relationship with us – unity in togetherness. Separate, but one.  It is a picture of Christ and the Church, so God created marriage as a gift to all the world and a reminder of just how much He truly loves us.  God uses our relationships - not just marriage - but all relationships - to teach us about Himself and make us more like Himself. This displays the Gospel message to the whole world through our lives.

We Are The Church: A Study in Ephesians “Walking in Obedience”

We Are The Church: A Study in Ephesians
“Walking in Obedience”
Ephesians 5:22-6:9 (CSB)

 

-     Key Truth: The local church is not a destination but a base of operation.

Main Question: How should our faith be lived out in the relationships that we have with other believers? 

1.        Wives and Husbands (vs. 22-33) 

God’s ideal for marriage:

a.         God designed and initiated marriage in the Garden of Eden between one man and one woman for a lifetime.

b.         God designed the husband and wife to complement one another. 

c.         God assigned specific roles for each marriage partner. 

d.         God not only designed marriage but wants to display marriage for a bigger purpose.

 

2.        Children and Parents (6:1-4)

3.        Slaves and Masters (6:5-9) 

We Have A Situation...

  Friday, April 24, 2026

 O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 2 Chronicles 20:12

We Have A Situation...

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you just didn’t know what to do? We have to make a lot of decisions every day and sometimes decision overload can wear us out. Other times, there are just too many options. Trying to order a cup of coffee in a coffee shop can be overwhelming if you don’t know exactly what you want. Making a decision about what kind of coffee to order is not going to change your life, but there are times when we have to make decisions that will change our lives and will directly affect the lives of those around us.

There is a story in the Bible about King Jehoshaphat, who was in a situation where he needed to make a decision that would affect many people and he didn’t know what to do. A huge army of Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites from across the Dead Sea declared war on the southern kingdom of Judah. King Jehoshaphat was understandably alarmed, so he declared a fast and called the people to the temple, where he prayed to the Lord. 

When Jehoshaphat prayed to the Lord, he told Him that Judah was powerless against this huge army and they did not know what to do. As King, it was Jehoshaphat’s responsibility to make the decision about what to do in circumstances like this and he was afraid. Not knowing what to do can cause us to be fearful - especially in the face of danger. But Jehoshaphat did the best thing right away - he prayed about it, confessing his feelings and saying that their eyes were on God. 

When we find ourselves in a situation where we don’t know what to do, often we look everywhere else except to God. We try to solve the problem ourselves, we ask advice from all our friends, or we google. We need to follow Jehoshaphat’s example and pray first, and then look to the Lord. 

We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you... 

How we see God will motivate our actions and inform our reality. 

What we think about God is what we will believe to be true about Him and what we believe about Him will determine how we handle our faith in Him. If deep down we really don’t believe in His power and sovereignty, we won’t have the faith in Him that will help us through any situation we face. He offers all the power and strength and answers we need, but we have to believe in Him, turn to Him and trust Him. 

How do you perceive God? Right now is the time to decide what you think about God. And when those uncertain circumstances come, instead of making decisions based on what we feel, we need to turn to God and remember what we know about Him. That is what we have to hang onto when we don’t know what to do. 

How we see God matters. Everything is a mess lately, and people are searching. Now is the time to be an example to the rest of the world, a living testimony of what we believe about God. When we come into these difficult decision-making times and uncertainty, the world will be watching to see how we handle it. If we say we believe in God - his sovereignty and power, then we need to be ready to live it. 

There will be times in life when it feels as if God has walked away from us but if we remember what God has done in the past and anticipate what He will do for us in the future, we can have peace in the present. We need to put our eyes on Him and not let our focus stray. We must keep our eyes on Him always. Some of these seasons last what feels like forever. It is important not to tire of waiting on God and go in search of another solution. There is never a better solution than the one He offers. Pray. Tell Him how you are feeling. Then fix your eyes on Him and keep them there.