Category Archives: Living the Christian Life

Living the Christian life is a journey of suffering and joy. It’s a road on the way to Damascus. These stories include what it means to live as a fisher of men in modern day times.

Posted on

What to do with what frustrates you the most

Living with the superpower of patience

Have you ever felt like you had the “right” to revenge? To get even? To have your say? To confront someone? Maybe it’s with your kids, your spouse, a friend, or someone at work who frustrates you. Emotions can make it difficult to make wise decisions. When we’re consumed with what we “deserve” to do, our thoughts cloud what God’s Word says we should do.

In the Bible, we see some great men of God, like Samson and David, prove that impulsiveness is rarely the right reaction. Both men made choices in the moment out of pride and lust that snowballed into more and more sin. We find that waiting on God could have prevented a lot of pain.

Demonstrating a little patience now can save us a lot of problems later.

patience now, less problems later

It’s easy to love other people when life is going our way, but what happens when the kids take too long getting ready in the morning or our boss asks us to stay late again? When someone tests our last nerve, the way to walk out patience in the moment is to:

  • Remember God’s purpose
  • See the situation from His perspective
  • Put others first

Remember God’s Purpose

The purpose of everything is to lead us to God. Even the devil unintentionally fulfills this truth. When Satan tempts us to react in frustrating situations, God is giving us the opportunity to focus on the One who settles it all. These difficult situations offer the perfect place to turn to God for the strength to endure this circumstance and to see things as He sees them.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 NIV

God’s ways might be difficult to understand, but His character is not. Above all, He is God Almighty. He is just. And we can trust Him completely because His character never changes and His word never fails. Becoming more patient means gaining a better understanding of God’s sovereignty so that we can let go of the situation. It also means acknowledging that God loves us no matter what.

See the Situation from His Perspective

Whenever you face trials, you can remain steady in a storm and patiently endure the hardship because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:3 NIV

When someone is selfish or rude or maybe just mistaken, we can look past the pain and stand patient in our love for others because of our love for God. Adopting God’s perspective is the key to becoming more patient with people, with ourselves, and even with God Himself.

Put Others First

Once we understand God’s purpose in all things and we gain God’s perspective, the last piece to living with more patience is to put others first.

It’s easy to think if we put others first then our actions suggest they must have done something “right.”

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God … Romans 3:23 NIV

None of us deserve the radical grace God extended to us through the death of His only son, Jesus. The truth is that obeying God’s commands means you’ll live life differently, just like the life of Jesus.

Instead of reacting to humanity’s failures or out of your own struggles, what would your life look like if you submitted to God’s purpose, His perspective, and put others before yourself? There is a secret superpower in becoming more patient; you are becoming more like Christ. For His glory.

Posted on

Make The Most of Your Days

More than just once a year

wisdom, number our days, Psalm 90:12, make the most of your days

Saturday’s are short, life is short. And though we make our own plans, many details are still so uncertain. We like to mark the years with our birthday, but we would probably be wiser to number our days. One day a year isn’t enough when we have 364 more chances to make the most of every opportunity God gives us.wisdom, number our days, Psalm 90:12

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 NIV

Living in light of eternity makes every day significant—no matter how many days we have on earth.

Your thoughts have tremendous power. Your day will follow the course of your thoughts. When you live with an attitude of faith and expectancy, you will be strengthened and empowered by the Spirit of God.

Take inventory of your thoughts and replace them with declarations of your faith.

When the storms come, be assured that these trials are refining your soul to produce a purer version of you. You are better having gone through it; that is how God works.

The beginning of wisdom is knowing that He is God, and you and I are not Him.

I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust! Psalm 91:2 AMPC

You can make the most of even the hard days because God honors a heart of faith.

If you’re bold enough to speak it, God is bold enough to do it.

Posted on

Faith is…

The gaze of a soul upon a saving God.

A.W. Tozer, Tozer, faith is, saving God

A.W. Tozer, Tozer, faith is, saving God

It’s pretty simple. The God of heaven, who made the sea and dry land.

The God of the storm and our oasis.

The God of our strength and every weakness.

The God of our only saving grace, His son, Jesus Christ.

Posted on

What to do when you don’t know what to do

obedience, eternal gain, small steps

What to do? Most likely, it’s a question you ask often. I do.

I’m convinced when my mind understands the eternal calling here on earth, then my earthly calling will be fulfilled in eternal ways.

In other words, when you grasp that God put you here to experience mercy in the face of emotions, to extend grace when situations fall short of expectations, to flood the nations with Jesus’ love and compassion, then what you should ‘do’ is exactly this.

Our ‘calling’ can sound daunting when we hear “nations” but see only our neighborhoods.obedience, eternal gain, small steps

Start with your next step. Small steps in obedience to God’s desire for your life leads to an eternal gain.

Are you fighting selfishness? Pray for the welfare of others before you begin prayers for yourself. Are you consumed with concerns of a comfortable life; more money, more time? Then say ‘yes’ to the company of others and give away what you have all the more.

In whatever way you share Jesus with others, that is what God has called you to.

The skills, talents, and resources God has gifted you with to carry His compassion to even just one soul, that is your calling.

God’s will is that you do this with a thankful heart. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Posted on

Prisoners of Hope

Zechariah, Zechariah 9:12, prisoner of hope

Zechariah, Zechariah 9:12, prisoner of hope

We are Prisoners of Hope!

We look at our circumstances and expect Jesus to enter in. We don’t panic in the storm because He gave us a promise. He is our Strong Tower, our stronghold in the storm.

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Our days are not dictated by the moods of other people. God is here in our midst and calms us with His love.

Posted on

The single worst day in history and God said it was good

death, sting, King, Jesus, His death brought goodGod wrote “good” on the single worst day in history. There is not one day, or week, or month, or year of suffering… not one trauma, loss, or pain with which God cannot write “good” over you in Christ Jesus too. All it takes is the belief that His blood covers all of you; in the past, the present, and what is to come.

In God’s presence, pain has no place, sickness has no place, weariness has no place, depression has no place.

At the cross, we find all our answers.

In what Jesus lived for, in what Jesus died for, that is the meaning to life.

Posted on

The bottom offers a new beginning with God

God will let you get to the bottom, maybe lose something important, or even become desperate just so you and I can experience Him all the more. The Almighty waits for our hands to surrender so we can see His sufficiency is all we ever need.

Our Creator God cares about having a relationship with His children. He holds the keys to life and is championing every effort to discover Him more.

Instead of complaining or stressing out about a situation, this is the time to say, God, you have created an opportunity for me to see your power, to experience your hand, to go deeper in my relationship with You by seeing You like I have never witnessed your grace, your favor, or your strength before.temporary losses, short-term loss, eternal gain, perspective shift, change your perspective, perspective

“Only God.” This is the beginning of every God-glorifying story.

Any temporary loss has an eternal gain if you can change your perspective on the problem. Our promise-keeping God never asks us to give up anything without offering something far greater in its place.

Posted on

Faith is more than a feeling

You can’t get confused if you refuse to get into reasoning. Faith trusts God and doesn’t need to know why. Our faith thrives when we don’t have the answers.

The Bible reminds us that we don’t lean on our own understanding but live our lives guided by God’s instructions.

God never intended us to know why things happen the way they do. Be careful that you don’t allow your desire for answers keep you straining and struggling in a sea of confusion. He created us to be devoted to Him. Faith is standing firm with a focus on His Word. Faith is persevering in praise to Him when adversity strikes. When the voice of the enemy comes to fight, faith rests in the all-sufficiency of Christ.

It takes greater faith to be denied what you want and love the Author, our Creator, just as much. thoughts on life, thought life, which direction are you heading

Posted on

What would your second chance look like?

second chance, change, jonah

Today is a second chance.

While you can’t change the past, you can change the present.

The crushing convictions you may have experienced in the aftermath of your past are not lost. That burden of conviction on your heart is a guilt between you and God, and He is a God of second chances; it’s called today.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. – Jonah 3:1-3 ESV

second chance, change, jonahToday is your second chance.

You can change how you respond to frustration. You can set new boundaries and protect what you have left. You can get help. You can walk away from that addiction. You can honor your loved ones by putting new priorities in place.

There’s still time to pick up the phone, text, reach out, show up. Perhaps for you it’s not picking up more but putting down what you already have; the pain, the blame, the worry.

Conviction is between you and God, the Author and Creator of your soul. He uses this kind of remorse and guilt on your conscious to change the course of your days ahead. He’s guiding you with a hand on your heart to steer your steps into more blessings, more favor, higher places with more responsibility.

If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. – Luke 16:10 NLT

Your Father will not give you more work or more burden than you can bear. He gives you and I a choice every day as He waits for change to reveal your growth, your strength, your resilience.

There is no shame changing who you used to be into the person you want to be, the person you know you can be.

Here is an opportunity to respect failed attempts yesterday by taking the second chance to change today.

If you don’t know how to begin again, a good place to start is with “I’m sorry.”

The past carries casualties of our ignored convictions. May your present be the change God is calling you to be.