John 15:15

 Learning TJ be Christ like is getting rid of my temptation to compare myself to everyone else. Either I’m one up on someone or I’ll never measure up. Either I know more or that guy is a super brainiac. I’ll never have as much as someone or I’m better off. But Jesus has a different way to activate kingdom thinking and living. Love others because He has lived me. 

“We're told in Psalms 46:10, to "be still," or to "cease striving," and know that He is God. Some people are familiar with this verse but not the larger context, which is that of someone looking over the remains of a battlefield. The original Hebrew is suggestive of stopping the fight, letting go, and relaxing.

God wants us to drop our arms.

No more defensiveness. No more taking things personally. He'll handle it. Really.

Trust Him. Rest.” - Brant Hansen, Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better

Merrill C. Tenney urges disciples of Jesus: “Unity instead of rivalry, trust instead of suspicion, obedience instead of self-assertion must rule the disciples’ common labors.”

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends: Jesus described the measure and quality of His love for them, to use as a pattern for the way they should love each other. His love is complete and of surpassing greatness, laying down its life.” - Based on The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik.

Unresolved bitterness

 Biblical Man blog

The Long-Term Effects of Unresolved Wounds

Bitterness doesn't happen overnight. It festers. It grows. And eventually, it destroys.

The Bible gives us a tragic case study of what happens when unforgiveness takes root the story of Absalom and Ahithophel.

Both men had reasons to be angry.

Both men had legitimate grievances.

Both men let bitterness consume them.

And in the end? It destroyed them.

THE BITTERNESS OF ABSALOM

Absaloms story begins with a terrible injustice.

His sister, Tamar, was raped by his half-brother Amnon.

David, his father the man after Gods own heart did nothing.

The righteous anger Absalom felt? Justified.

But instead of confronting David or trusting God's justice, Absalom let his bitterness take over.

For two years, he plotted, schemed, and nursed his grudge.

Then, he took vengeance into his own hands and murdered Amnon.

Even after being brought back to Jerusalem, he remained bitter.

He refused to forgive.

He set himself against his father.

And eventually? He led a rebellion that cost him his life.

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.

—Hebrews 12:15 KJV

Bitterness doesnt just destroy you it defiles those around you.

THE BITTERNESS OF AHITHOPHEL

Then theres Ahithophel.

This man wasn't just an advisor he was Davids's most trusted counselor. His words were as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God (2 Samuel 16:23).

But Ahithophel had a reason to resent David.

His granddaughter? Bathsheba.

His grandson-in-law? Uriah the Hittite.

He had watched David abuse his power, take Bathsheba, and murder Uriah.

Can you blame him for being angry?

But instead of leaving his grievance with God, Ahithophel let his wound become his identity.

Years later, when Absalom rebelled, Ahithophel saw his chance.

He joined the rebellion and gave one of the most wicked pieces of advice in Scripture:

And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy fathers concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father

—2 Samuel 16:21 KJV

Ahithophel wasnt just trying to help Absalom win he was trying to utterly destroy David.

And yet, it was Ahithophel, not David, who ended up dead.

When his advice was ignored, he went home, put his affairs in order, and hanged himself (2 Samuel 17:23).

Bitterness led him to vengeance.

Vengeance led him to despair.

And despair led him to destruction.

BITTERNESS: A FAMILY DESTROYER

Absalom was bitter over a crime that was never punished.

Ahithophel was bitter over a sin that was never undone.

Both had every reason to be hurt.

Both had every reason to seek justice.

But bitterness twisted their sense of justice into a thirst for destruction.

And in the end, it destroyed them.

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.

—Ephesians 4:26-27 KJV

Notice what Scripture says:

When you let anger fester, you give place to the devil.

WHAT DO WE DO WITH BITTERNESS?

1. Recognize it for what it is.

• You can’t heal what you refuse to acknowledge.

• Do you constantly rehearse old wounds?

• Do you feel like you need to see someone else suffer before you can move on?

2. Take it to the Lord.

• David sinned—but David repented.

• God handled David’s discipline.

• God avenged Tamar’s suffering.

• The Bible is filled with proof that God deals with injustice.

• “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Romans 12:19 KJV)

3. Forgive—before it destroys you.

• Forgiveness doesn’t mean ignoring sin.

• It means releasing your right to be the judge.

• It means letting God deal with it—so it doesn’t consume you.

• Unforgiveness didn’t hurt David—it destroyed Ahithophel.

• Unforgiveness didn’t hurt Amnon—it destroyed Absalom.

4. Break the cycle.

• Bitterness is generational.

• Absalom’s sin led to division and death.

• Ahithophel’s bitterness led to self-destruction.

• If you don’t deal with bitterness, your children will inherit it.

FINAL WARNING: DON’T BE AN ABSALOM IN THE GATE

In 2 Samuel 15, Absalom stood at the gate of the city, whispering in peoples ears.

Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

—2 Samuel 15:6 KJV

Bitterness is never content to stay silent.

It seeks allies.

It breeds division.

It steals hearts.

Thats why bitter people are always whispering.

And thats why, by the time you notice the the damage is already done.

The church is full of Absaloms in the gate.

Wounded Christians whispering against their pastors.

Family members bringing up old wounds to keep division alive.

John 15:14

Do you ever struggle with insecurity, anxiety, and assurance that you are living the right way? My angst goes all over the place, nearly everyday. Becoming Christ like is a journey of realizing how much He loves us, inviting us into His presence, His kingdom way of living. I keep sensing His voice saying, ‘Calm down; rest in me. Quit worrying and hurrying!’  How can we filter out the cultural noise and the temptation to compare ourselves to the expectations of others or what we think we shoulda, coulda, woulda mindset?

“The unfathomable mystery of God is that God is a Lover who wants to be loved. The one who created us is waiting for our response to the love that gave us our being. God now only says: “You are my Beloved.” God also asks: “Do you love me?” and offers us countless chances to say “Yes.” This is the spiritual life: the chance to say “Yes” to our inner truth. The spiritual life, thus understood, radically changes everything.

Henri Nouwen assured us:

Every time you listen with great attentiveness to the voice that calls you the Beloved, you will discover within yourself a desire to hear that voice longer and more deeply. It is like discovering a well in the desert. Once you have touched wet ground, you want to dig deeper.” - Henri Nouwen, Beloved

Quotes - Eugene peterson

 I love Eugene Peterson's A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. It is a balm, a kick, a nudge, a lesson, counsel, conversation, realistic, hopeful, and profoundly biblical and beautiful. As he walks through the Psalms of ascent the reader is drawn into worship and closer to God. Here are 40 of the best quotes from it.

https://open.substack.com/pub/barnabaspiper/p/the-best-quotes-from-eugene-petersons?r=43vew&utm_medium=ios

A person has to get fed up with the ways of the world before he, before she, acquires an appetite for the world of grace.

Joy is not a requirement of Christian discipleship, it is a consequence. It is not what we have to acquire to experience life in Christ; it is what comes to us when we are walking in the way of faith and obedience.

John 15-13

 Have you been avoiding someone who you know could use your care or attention?  If you are like me, I’m reluctant to approach a few people in fear they would reject me one more time. Should I write them off?  I’m being convicted that I need to change. At least my attitude needs to be removing in case I ‘accidentally’ bump into them. If I’m full of rejection, how does that reflect on my love for my Father?  

“….our souls are timid creatures. We won't come out from hiding if we think we are going to be rejected, condemned, judged, gossiped about, right? The mask will stay up. But because we all shared this common longing, that paved the way as we grew in trust for one another, as we began to see that we are for you, not against you, that this is a safe place where we can name our regrets, our guilt, our shame. The Lord led us into opportunities to confess aloud to one another, things that had never been spoken out loud before.” - Richard Foster, Celebration of Disciplines 

“ Jesus has a different vision of maturity. It is the ability and willingness to be led where you would rather not go.” - Benri Nouwen

“Reality wins 100% of the time. This is how it is, right? But it's up to me to change the things I can.

And for me at this stage in my life, I'm much more focused on the person right in front of me. What can I do to help this person? How can I be of service in this moment?  What does love require of me in this moment right now?” - Ian Morgan Cron

From The Russell Moore Show: Humanity's Universal Addictions: What is the Cure?, Jan 22, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-russell-moore-show/id1074011166?i=1000684991706&r=629

This material may be protected by copyright.

Legacy or Likes

 In 1383, a stonecutter in Florence spent 47 years carving a single pillar. He died before the cathedral was finished. He knew he'd never see it completed. That didn't stop him.

In 2025, we can barely finish watching a YouTube video without checking our notifications.

Something's broken. Not in our technology. In our souls.

They found his journal recently. One line reads: "Each strike of my hammer serves generations I'll never meet." He carved his vision into stone while we carve ours into digital vapor.

Solomon saw this coming. Not the smartphones or social media, but the disease they'd reveal: "Where there is no vision, the people perish." He wasn't talking about goals or five-year plans. He was describing a spiritual flatline - walking dead men with pulses but no purpose.

Look around. We're there.

We've got people building follower counts instead of legacies. Parents chasing likes instead of leaving marks. Children inheriting our anxiety instead of our vision. We're alive, but we're not living. We're sophisticated dying.

Your ancestors built railroads that still run. They built businesses that still operate. They built communities that still gather.

What are you building?

"But he that keepeth the law, happy is he." Solomon wasn't selling religious restriction. He was revealing the secret of generational vision. The law wasn't a cage - it was the foundation of freedom. The framework for building things bigger than ourselves.

That stonecutter in Florence? He had two choices: create something that would outlast him or chase pleasures that would die with him. He chose vision over death.

We face the same choice.

You can spend your life building cathedrals or collecting notifications.

You can carve your vision in stone or scroll it away in pixels.

You can live for generations you'll never meet or die chasing moments you'll never keep.

There's no middle ground.

The disease is terminal, but the cure is timeless: Find a vision bigger than your lifetime. Build something that outlasts your death. Serve a purpose that survives your pulse.

Or keep scrolling. Keep drifting. Keep dying.

Your ancestors chose their path.

Now it's your turn.

Vision or death.

Choose wisely.

John 15-12

 Are you ever tempted wander from the love, faith and hope that God has shown you?  I think this is a huge temptation each and every day. We live in a noisy sin saturated world that also filled with so much good. Our sin primed life can wander down any rabbit trail. Most of all, I doubt at times if God really cares. Is He paying attention. A trickle down result is that I doubt His love for me as an individual person. I fire up my self sufficient independent attitude and neglect surrendering the day or an issue of the day to Him. But He always welcomes me back into His embrace. 

“While some might contend that our core problem as humans is that we think too highly of ourselves, I’d argue that most of us live with an underlying sense of worthlessness, alienation, and disillusionment. We achieve, trying to prove our worth. We grasp for love. We clamor for meaning. Here we struggle, wounded, weary, and wandering, as the riptide quickly pulls us away from Home, out into the storming seas where we’re tossed about once again, mired in the traumatic tumult. I’ve never known anyone who hasn’t wrestled with deep questions of worth, belonging, and purpose. Even those who’ve been loved deeply and held securely eventually find their way east of Eden, wandering in the wilderness, questioning God’s goodness and their “enoughness” in God.” - Excerpt, Healing What’s Within by Chuck DeGroat

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you: Jesus deliberately loved His disciples according to the way God the Father loved Him. We know that Jesus loved His disciples by teaching them, protecting them, guiding them, sacrificially serving them, and using His power and authority to do these things. In some way, the Father also did all those things for Jesus, and Jesus did them for the disciples after that pattern.

The love of Jesus for His people is so remarkable, that this is the analogy or illustration that He must make. He didn’t say, “I love you as a mother loves her baby” or “I love you the way a husband loves his wife” or “I love you the way the soldier loves his buddy” or even “I love you the way an addict loves his dope.” The only way He could paint the picture was to use the love of the Father for the Son.“ - Based on The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik.

The struggle to become Christlkke

 Most men struggle with an identity of being inadequate. Even though some portray themselves as calm, relaxed and put together, they can be passive aggressive. Others demonstrate their anger through angry competition and the blame game. Others fill their calendar with too much out of guilt and not measuring up, leaving no time for God. 

John 15-11

 As we remain connected to the Vine, continually cleaning and pruning, do you think we will realize when the fruit is ready for harvest?  Will we know and see the fruit that is produced?  Many of us have become used to measuring fruitfulness in terms of numbers and calculations. Budgets, butts in the pew, updated facilities, and even numbers of baptisms. Is the harvest measured in quantity only?  I’m thinking fruit can be separated by quality. I do not want to purchase seeds nor fruit that are old.  Fresh and ripe fruit is the best, reflecting effort behind the scenes. 

“I like to call this the rhythm of the kingdom, that this is a pattern that goes around and around and around. And it’s God’s way of inviting us again and again and again in those places of disorientation to reconsider new narratives, as you would say, a new way of doing life. And it’s really a time where our imagination begins to flourish.” - Dallas Willard

“Abiding in Jesus means abiding in His words, and having His words live in the disciple.  The faithful, abiding disciple should expect answered prayer as part of their relationship with Jesus. A failure to see prayer answered means something is not right in the disciple’s relationship. Perhaps something is not right in the abiding, and prayers are amiss and unanswered. Perhaps something is not right in the asking and there is no perception of what Jesus wants to do in and through His disciple.” - Based on The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik.

John 15-10

 Have you experienced the tension of living in this world while following Christ?  Have you sensed the tension ramping up in intensity?  I wonder what questions Jesus would ask each of us as He observes how we live. Who are we listening to?  So our daily thought patterns reflect how Jesus would think?  I’ve heard many church goers say that can’t wait to be ‘beamed up’ to heaven at the rapture. Many of these same people seem to be so angry at cultural issues. But I wonder how Jesus would have us respond?  

“You do not become a disciple, and you do not become a person who is content no matter what happens, unless you have chosen how to live your life. And that’s one of the biggest problems for us today, because the teaching of grace that we have has made us passive. And grace is treated as something that just comes upon you like lightning, not something that you make a point of cultivating.” - Dallas Willard

Lyrics to ‘Desperate’ by Jamie MacDonald

Verse 1]

I'm at the end of myself and I'm

Tired, I've tried all that I know to do

Right now it's just by a thread but I'm

I'm hanging on to you

I'm running out of hope

I need a miracle

And if I ever needed you, it's right now

[Chorus]

Oh God, I'm desperate

Down on my knees

Send help from heaven

'Cause that's what I need

Redeem this wreckage

Restore my peace

I'm not asking, I'm begging

Lord, come through for me

I need heaven and I'm

Desperate

Oh, I need heaven, need heaven and I'm

[Verse 2]

Prayed all the prayers I can pray but I

I won't stop knocking 'til you open the door

You can move a mountain

You can calm a storm

I know you can 'cause I've seen it before

John 15-9

 How would you respond when Jesus says to you, “You can do nothing without me!”  Most of us might say, ‘Now, wait a minute!  Look at all the good I’m doing!  Or ‘you are right, I can do nothing worthwhile and I’ll never measure up!’  I ask myself, am I building my own self illusion that I’m doing so much ‘for’ Him?  Or am I participating in His kingdom ‘with’ Him. He doesn’t need me to help out. But He desires my presence with Him because He is with me and in me. 

“God’s got plenty of grace, he’s not in short supply. Our daily habits and disciplines are things that enable us to grow in grace.  We grow in the degree to which God is active in our lives. That’s grace. That’s also knowledge. Knowledge is always an interactive relationship, isn’t it? And so, disciplines are things that help us.  Grace is not opposed to effort. It’s opposed to earning.  Earning is an attitude. Effort is action. Let’s see.” - Dallas Willard

“Without Me you can do nothing: It isn’t that the disciples could do no activitywithout Jesus. They could be active without Him, as were the enemies of Jesus and many others. Yet they and we could do nothing of real, eternal value without Jesus. 

F.F. Bruce mentions that, “Paul expresses the same truth when he says, ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me’ (Galatians 2:20), and ‘I can do all things through Him who strengthens me’ (Philippians 4:13).” 

Charles Spurgeon remarks, “‘Without Me ye can do nothing;’ if this be true of apostles, much more of opposers! If His friends can do nothing without Him, I am sure His foes can do nothing against Him.” - Based on The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik

John 15-8

 How are you remaining with Him, in Him, for Him?  Are you finding that your life in Christ runs counter to God’s kingdom?  Im re learning that my faith is far more than believing the right stuff. It is more than being a good person and having a good reputation. My faith is developing a moment by moment relationship with the Creator of the universe. Remaining connected to the Vine is being with Him, becoming someone new that is far different than what I expected. Participating in the kingdom is not for that Someday when He returns or when this life is finished. It is being His person in the here and now moments of life. 

“The challenge of participation in the kingdom, my friends, is to get my thinking, my seeing, and my acting into cooperation with that kingdom now. How in my life am I being invited to go and live in this world like Jesus really is king?”

From Bridgetown Audio Podcast: Beatitudes: Blessed are the Meek, Jan 27, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridgetown-audio-podcast/id84246334?i=1000685598223&r=2916

Dallas Willard - “If God is going to be with us, our lives will be extremely different. We minimize the importance of His presence, ignoring the power of Him being in our lives.   We must look at the ‘great with you’ passages. Do we really want His presence? There is no faking it. You will not drift into a relationship with God. You must want to have it. We must plan for this relationship to develop. The Biblical day begins in the evening. Shabbat.  Ask Him to help, to have an awareness of Him.  Many are afraid to pray because they don’t think God will do anything. But we need to get into our head God’s point of view. Psalm 33:12-30. (A description of how God looks at the world). Train yourself to have the habit of praying over your moments.   You will speak the presence of God into others if you are living it. “

Psalm 33:20-21

“Our soul waits for the LORD;

        he is our help and our shield. 

 For our heart is glad in him,

        because we trust in his holy name.

Rule of Life

 

Go be Christ in the world today!

Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

The stage is set  

In Scripture, numerous verses indicate God's absolute sovereignty. Here are a few key ones:

1. **Daniel 4:35:** "All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: 'What have you done?'"

2. **Isaiah 46:9-10:** "Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'"

3. **Psalm 115:3:** "Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him."

4. **Proverbs 19:21:** "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."

5. **Romans 9:18-21:** "Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: 'Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?' But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? 'Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?"' Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?"

These passages emphasize God's ultimate authority and control over all creation. They reflect the belief that God's will is supreme and that He governs the universe according to His purposes.

Numerous verses in Scripture emphasize God's desire for a personal relationship with His followers. Here are some key references:

1. **John 15:15:** "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."

2. **Revelation 3:20:** "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."

3. **Jeremiah 29:11-13:** "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'"

4. **Psalm 23:1-4:** "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

5. **Isaiah 41:10:** "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

6. **James 4:8:** "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

These verses highlight the personal, intimate nature of God's relationship with individuals, emphasizing His presence, guidance, and care.

“A person’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭9‬ ‭CSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1713/pro.16.9.CSB

If it’s in God’s will it will Halle  and nothing will stop it  if it’s not, He has a better plan  

“A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure. [Ps. 37:23; Prov. 20:24; Jer. 10:23.]”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭9‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/8/pro.16.9.AMPC

“A person’s steps are established by the  Lord, and he takes pleasure in his way. ”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37‬:‭23‬ ‭CSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1713/psa.37_1.23.CSB

“Even a courageous person’s steps are determined by the Lord, so how can anyone understand his own way?”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭20‬:‭24‬ ‭CSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1713/pro.20.24.CSB

“I know, Lord, that a person’s way of life is not his own; no one who walks determines his own steps.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭10‬:‭23‬ ‭CSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1713/jer.10.23.CSB

"No matter the choice you make today or in the future, Jesus is with you. He has gone before you. And he will remain with you no matter the result." –Emily P. Freeman

Rule of life - guard rails  vision of who Hod wants me to be - responder, listener to His presence 

A Rule then is a means whereby, under God, we take responsibility for the pattern of our spiritual lives. It is a ‘measure’ rather than a ‘law’. The word ‘rule’ has bad connotations for many, implying restrictions, limitations and legalistic attitudes. But a Rule is essentially about freedom. It helps us to stay centred, bringing perspective and clarity to the way of life to which God has called us.

A Rule offers ‘creative boundaries within which God’s loving presence can be recognised and celebrated.

It does not prescribe but invite, it does not force but guide, it does not threaten but warn, it does not instill fear but points to love. 

In this it is a call to freedom, freedom to love.

Henri Nouwen

"When we genuinely believe that inner transformation is God's work and not ours, we can put to rest our passion to set others straight" –Richard Foster

If the LORD is MY Shepherd, than he knows my name, my weaknesses, my longings, my tendencies, my wounds, my frailties, my insecurities, my desires, my deepest thoughts, my darkest emotions…and He is strong, smart and safe for me—always tending to my needs.  Doug Wolter 

What wondrous love is this—though we are fickle and often forget about Him, He remains faithful to his covenant. Doug Wolter

The Lord says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” -Jeremiah 31:3

“But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all you do. ”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭73‬:‭28‬ ‭CSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1713/psa.73_1.28.CSB

Communion

 “Some people drink to forget. We drink to remember.” Some drink to numb the pain, to self-soothe amidst the wounds of life, even those that’ve gone unspoken. At the Communion table, however, we remember: In the presence of God, we remember what Christ has done for us, his body broken, his blood shed, a God wounded in order to heal us of our wounds. We remember where we’ve been—the dead-end roads and detours we’ve taken—as we come to a feast fit for our flourishing. Chewing on bread and sipping wine is an embodied act. Our bodies are implicated in God’s mysterious means of putting us back together again, of re-membering us, amidst divisions within and without. At this table, our shattered shards are reconnected by the One whose body was broken for us. At this table, we’re freed to live lives of wholeness, of shalom, going forward.”

“Henri Nouwen writes, “Our first and most important spiritual task is to claim God’s unconditional love for ourselves. To remember who we truly are in the memory of God. . . . That we are God’s beloved.”[20] This is the deeper challenge of God’s “Who told you?” In it, we hear God asking, “Whose voice are you listening to?” ”

Excerpt From

Healing What’s Within

Chuck DeGroat

https://books.apple.com/us/book/healing-whats-within/id6478753458

This material may be protected by copyright.

Excerpt From

Healing What’s Within

Chuck DeGroat

https://books.apple.com/us/book/healing-whats-within/id6478753458

This material may be protected by copyright.

Cancel Culture?

 Michael Sprague

A History Lesson/Cancel Culture

July 19, A.D. 64, was the day Nero, the lunatic Caesar, torched his own city of Rome and then to save his own neck said, “The Christians burned Rome”. Great persecution followed for over 200 years.

Here’s the million-dollar question that Baylor University sociologist Dr. Rodney Stark asks in the subtitle of his classic book, How the Obscure Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religion in the Western World in a Few Centuries. Think about it. The Christian faith started with 120 followers in the upper room. By A.D. 40, Christians were about .0075% of the Roman Empire. However, Stark calculates that by A.D. 350 there were about 33 million, or 56% of the empire who named the name of Jesus. Christianity colored everything. This is an estimated growth rate of 40% per decade. It’s staggering.

Again, the question is how did this persecuted, insignificant, marginalized, often uneducated group of Jesus followers, who were considered vagabonds, gypsies, or members of some cult, turn the world upside down? What accounts for the phenomenon? Was it money? No. Was it power? No. Was it soldiers? Not a one. Was it weapons? No. Was it buildings? None existed for two centuries. Was it an ability to out-argue? No. Was it seeker-sensitive services, praise bands, or youth groups? No.

Stark concludes that the key to their success was a willingness to sacrifice themselves out of love for others. This sacrifice, such as the following, rocked the world: 

• They treated slaves as human beings, sometimes liberating them.

• They elevated women and treated them with dignity.

• They reacted to persecution as martyrs, not terrorists.

• They loved neighbors, as one pagan said, “as if they were family.”

• They offered charity and hope to strangers, orphans, losers, and the lame.

• Tradition has it that a Roman government official demanded St. Lawrence, the second-century treasurer of the church, bring forth all the treasures of the church. Lawrence showed

up with orphans, widows, the blind, the lame, and the poor and said, “Sir, these are the treasures of the church,” for which he was burned on a spit over a bed of coals.

• Clement in A.D. 95 wrote, “We know of many among ourselves, who have delivered themselves into slavery in order to ransom others.” Imagine you are a slave with no hope and no dreams. One day the master says, “You are free. Take off your chains. Someone has taken your place!” Clement said it happened many times! Some sold themselves into the salt mines

to minister even though they would never see freedom again.

Good works were Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and Exhibit C to a watching world. It was unlike anything the world had ever seen, and it drew people by high morals, good citizenship, and sacrificial acts of love. The raging opposition was overcome. Good works, in the power of the Spirit, won the day over a mocking world.

Do it again Lord. Do it again. Do it again.

Listening to everyone’s lament

 All our days were ordained. 🤍

Psalm 139:16 encompasses all days—joyful, sorrowful, and even those so horrific they leave you numb. God has a purpose for each one, working in and through them for the salvation and sanctification of souls.

Psalm 139:16 - Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

    in your book were written, every one of them,

        the days that were formed for me,

        when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 56:8   You have kept count of my tossings;

        put my tears in your bottle.

        Are they not in your book?

Galatians 6:2-5

[2] Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. [3] For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. [4] But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. [5] For each will have to bear his own load.

Did Jesus enjoy listening to the laments and complaints of the people?  Did His patience ever run low?  Compared to His love and care, I am very weak and my patience is seems out the window. I want to depend on His presence, not mine. A counselor’s help is not self help for sure. 

John 15-7

 We don’t use the word ‘abide’ in today’s culture. But definitions indicate it is a versatile word: “ The verb "abide" means to accept or act in accordance with something, such as a rule, decision, or recommendation. It can also mean to remain, stick with it, persevere, to endure or withstand something.” One thing that hit me is that abuse is an action word, not passive. To remain in Christ, attached and cleansed to the Vine requires action on our part, paying attention to the details of attachment to the Vine. As Dallas Willard has taught, God is opposed to earning status with God, but He is not opposed to our efforts. 

The verb "abide" means to accept or act in accordance with something, such as a rule, decision, or recommendation. It can also mean to endure or withstand something. 

“Verse 1

For my waking breath
For my daily bread
I depend on You
I depend on You

Verse 2

For the sun to rise
For my sleep at night
I depend on You
I depend on You

Chorus 1

You’re the way the truth and the life
You’re the well that never runs dry
I’m the branch and You are the vine
Draw me close and teach me to abide

Verse 3

For the victories
Still in front of me
I depend on You
I depend on You

Bridge 1

When I pass through death
As I enter rest
I depend on You
I depend on You

Bridge 2

For eternal life
To be raised with Christ
I depend on You
I depend on You

• Lyrics, “Abide”, by Aaron Williams and Jon Reddick
• Abide | Aaron Williams & Jon Reddick (Lyric)

The inner struggle

 “While some might contend that our core problem as humans is that we think too highly of ourselves, I’d argue that most of us live with an underlying sense of worthlessness, alienation, and disillusionment. We achieve, trying to prove our worth. We grasp for love. We clamor for meaning. Here we struggle, wounded, weary, and wandering, as the riptide quickly pulls us away from Home, out into the storming seas where we’re tossed about once again, mired in the traumatic tumult. I’ve never known anyone who hasn’t wrestled with deep questions of worth, belonging, and purpose. Even those who’ve been loved deeply and held securely eventually find their way east of Eden, wandering in the wilderness, questioning God’s goodness and their “enoughness” in God.”

One word - present 

Defining Verse

Psalm 16:8

I have set the LORD always before me;

        because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

“The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake is confirmed by my sleeping heart. Day and night I’ll stick with God; I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.”

Psalms‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Dallas Willard - if God is going to be with us, our lives will be extremely different. We minimize the importance of His presence, ignoring the power of Him being our lives.   We must look at the ‘great with you’ passages. Do we really want His presence? There is no faking it. You will not drift into a relationship with God. You must want to have it. We must plan for this relationship to develop. The Biblical day begins in the evening. Shabbat.  Ask Him to help, to have an awareness of Him.  Many are afraid to pray because they font think God will do anything. But we need to get into our head God’s point of view. Psalm 33:12-30. (A description of how God looks at the world). Train yourself to have the habit of praying over your moments.   You will speak the presence of God into others if you are living it. 

Life with God is life without lack. 

Tyler Staton

“It seems to me that there are two primary ways that we are spiritually formed in discipleship to Jesus. And one is by our practice, and the other is by our submission. So our practice would be all of the habits I choose that shape and form me over time.

And our submission would be the circumstances of my life that I do not choose, but can submit to as the conditions through which my soul can be formed. And I guess I felt like I had a choice to buck and fight against the circumstances I was facing that I would never choose. And that can look like denial, it can look like trying to continue going at exactly the same pace, it can look a thousand different ways.”

“And so that means for the whole of my adult life, my primary participation with God would be like working on his team to see his kingdom come. And my primary way of relating to his church is helping lead and shape and shepherd the people.”

“And I needed not to love but to be loved. And the experiences that I had of God's love for me mediated through the people in my congregation who companioned me through six months of chemotherapy were unforgettable. And there were moments of encountering the living presence of Jesus through his people, loving me for my being, not my doing, in ways that were taking little broken pieces of my soul and little lies the serpent had whispered that were still tangled up in me, and detangling the lies and piecing back together pieces of my soul, and helping me come alive to his love and mercy, not my competency.”

“And every day, I think I had to make a choice to re-surrender all over again that day, and sometimes several times a day. But what I also found was that God was very gentle with me in making those decisions to surrender. He wasn't aloof and far off with his arms crossed, seeing if I would choose him again today.”

From Become New with John Ortberg: Step 3: Tyler Staton on His Spiritual Transformation After Accepting His Cancer Diagnosis, Jan 23, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/become-new-with-john-ortberg/id1554045522?i=1000685127889&r=551

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