Uncertainty is unavoidable. Being fearful is optional.
In The Beginning | Matthew
10:29–31 (9/14/16) Life is full of danger and uncertainty. We see news reports
almost daily about violence and terrorism. And sometimes it feels like faith is
under siege. 2015 was the worst year in modern history for Christian persecution.
More than 7,100 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons; 2,400
churches were damaged or destroyed. Surrounded by uncertainty, it’s difficult
not to be afraid. But Jesus offers us another option. Uncertainty is for
certain. It’s unavoidable. It’s beyond your control. But living in fear is
optional. Remember that Jesus—your Savior—was born into, lived through, and
walked into the jaws of uncertainty. A world too often defined by violence,
arrested and crucified him . . . and then God raised him from the dead. That is
the cornerstone of our faith. That’s why living in fear is optional.
Fix Your Eyes | Hebrews
12:1–2 (9/21/16) The New Testament records that early Christians didn’t fear
loss. They were selfless and confident. They weren’t arrogant or
self-confident. They were humble because their confidence wasn’t in themselves;
it was in Jesus. That faith in who Jesus was and what he had done for them
freed them to boldly love others. Does our faith look like that? How would it
change our world if it did? Is your version of Christianity worth the price
early Christians paid for it? The author of the book of Hebrews wrote, “They
were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the
sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and
mistreated—the world was not worthy of them.” What would that kind of faith
look like for you and me?
Our Once Upon a Time
| Acts 4:12 (9/28/16) Once upon a time . . . Jesus stood against the
injustice of an empire and the hypocrisy of the temple. He introduced God as
father. He taught his followers to love their enemies and forgive everyone.
Jesus never wrote a word or traveled farther than he could walk. But he taught
a way of thinking, believing, and behaving that, though it was foreign and
seemingly impractical, changed the world forever. Jesus isn’t finished changing
the world. He calls on each of us to stand against injustice, love our enemies,
turn the other cheek, and follow him. As a nation trembles in fear, looking to
the government for salvation, as rhetoric gets nastier and more dangerous,
people take sides. Compassion wanes. Racial divides increase. But there are
those who have no fear. They’re informed, but not worried. The worse things
get, the better they get. They are Democrats, Republicans, Independents, but
above all, they are Christians. What will our Once Upon a Time… story be?