People often look down on or mock others who miss things that are quite obvious. I myself have been the object of such mocking. I didn't purposely ignore what was going on, but by missing what was plain to everyone else, I became the object of scorn. This kind of mocking and joking is relatively harmless even if it’s a bit embarrassing for the one receiving it. But missing something obvious can have dire consequences in our spiritual lives. When Jesus was on earth, He performed many signs—some that the religious leaders even explained as being empowered by Satan. Even while trying to please God, their thinking had become so against God that they missed that these signs could come only from God. So, they demanded a sign from Jesus presumably to authenticate His words. Imagine asking that of someone who had just recently caused a lame man to walk, healed a man with a paralyzed hand, and given sight and speech to a man who was blind and non-verbal! How could they miss the signs!? The more I ponder that question, the more I wonder how I miss the signs. I’m so focused on what I want that I miss the clear teaching from God’s Word that is trying to redirect my passions. I get so intent on keeping rules that I suppress the work of the Spirit to change my heart from arrogant to humble. I am in need of eyes to see God’s work and a heart that will submit to it. May God continue to change our hearts so that we will see His work and submit ourselves to Him. - Pastor Rory Martin Read More

Everything we do and how we operate involves talking. Regardless if your daily wordcount is much higher or much lower than someone else, words matter more than we often realize. Jesus said in Matthew 12, “Out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks.” We may think words are not very important because so many of them live within the little mundane moments of our lives. But the fact of the matter is, words reveal our hearts. Neutrality does not exist. If you summarize James and the book of Proverbs, words either speak life or they speak death. Every conversation we have communicates love, joy, hope, wisdom, peace, or words of anger, judgment, contempt, etc. According to Christ, our words will either justify or condemn us (Matt. 12:37). The take-away is not to limit our word count or to even guard what we say, but rather to address the root cause—our own hearts. This is a more difficult task than simply curbing our tongues. The sad truth is “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick” (Jer. 17:9). It’s because of this reality that we must never stop believing in and depending on the transforming work of the gospel and the person of Jesus Christ. May our hearts be quick to repent and may our mouths be quick to confess that Jesus is LORD. - Pastor Nate Wagner Read More

In my heart I’m a legalist. I love rules and love enforcing rules. But more than anything else I love catching other people breaking the rules. I do this because it makes me feel like I’m better than I really am. One practical area of life where I see this is in my driving. I expect everyone to follow my interpretation of the rules of the road, and when they don’t, I look down on them. But I can always justify my own breaking of those same rules when my interests are at stake. I know that how we drive may or may not be as significant as issues in our spiritual lives, but in principle, I act the exact same way with people spiritually. I have set up rules in my mind that determine if someone is or isn’t a good Christian or even a good person. These rules usually ignore my shortcomings and magnify my strengths. What’s worse is that I convince myself that my standard is God’s standard; that it’s what He really wants from good Christians and good people. But the truth is that what God really wants isn’t people who keep my rules, but people who love Him. In the Shema of Deuteronomy 6, God calls His people to love Him before He calls them follow His commands. You see, God knows that we won’t obey Him merely because we have to or because other people say we have to. No, we’ll only obey God when we love Him with all our heart, soul, and strength. May God help us submit to His authority over the affections of our heart instead of the artificial rules we’ve concocted. - Pastor Rory Martin Read More