John 15:13

Led by example, pruned to perfection. John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus showed us the way to love and live, and he led by example. There is no greater sacrifice for the ones you love than to take the ultimate one for them […]

Isaiah 61:1-3

Planting a forest of oaks. Isaiah 61:1-3 “1The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2to proclaim the year […]

1 John 5:1

Is there room for brotherly love? 1 John 5:1 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.” “Brotherly love is the effect of the new birth, which makes obedience to all God’s commandments pleasant. (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary) With so […]

1 Corinthians 15:58

Is it worth it? 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Ever wonder if it’s worth it? Ever wonder if it’s worth following Christ? […]

Isaiah 40:7-8

Grass houses and eternity Isaiah 40:7-8 “7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” A grass house won’t last forever, nor will a wood house, […]

Joshua 24:15

We choose what is important to us. Joshua 24:15 “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my […]

Deuteronomy 30:15-16

When does it matter? Deuteronomy 30:15-16 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your […]

Philippians 3:10-11

What we do for real… Philippians 3:10-11 “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection of the dead.” Wow, what a bold statement. “I want to know Christ”. Right there, in your face, […]

John 14:6

The real Forward John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The Way. From an article in Relevant, June 19, 2002, “being a follower of the way is not a path to travel, but rather a pattern to follow, an […]

Luke 10:27

Who’s the best lover in the world? Luke 10:27 He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ ; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (but please read the link for the whole story) Who showed us […]

Psalms 94:12

Life without boundaries Psalms 94:12 “Blessed is the one you discipline, LORD, the one you teach from your law;” Discipline. Teaching, commitment or both? How do we want to learn from God? We can be taught by God through his disciplining us, which is usually filled with some pain, drama, and rapid change. Or we […]

Mathew 6:33

Eternity, care, kingdom, righteousness, peace, the walk, life, content

Galatians 6:9

I am a Christian, expect me to act like one. Always. Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” What is doing good? What is good? Can you think of anything that eminates from God that isn’t […]

Psalms 16:11

The path leads somewhere. Psalms 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” The path. We know what the path is, but do we know what life is? Can we have life outside of the path? Pilgrim’s […]

Romans 8:6

Laws matter Romans 8:6 “6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” We have laws for a reason – without them there are no constraints and things get ugly in a heartbeat. Ever wonder why things go south? Could it be that we […]

Mark 8:29 John 7:38

“I am who I am” Popeye Mark 8:29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” Who do you think I am? Whoever believes in Christ. Living […]

Luke 12:48

Why we’re to walk the walk Luke 12:48 “48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Walk the […]

John 17:13-14

Out of this world John 17:13-14 “13 I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not […]

1 John 2:12

Forgiveness 1 John 2:12 “I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.” Very simply put, right there, not to be denied, fact: we are forgiven. Turn your life over to Christ, accept him as your savior, believe he died for your sins, your sins are […]

Proverbs 22:4

Proverbs 22:4 “Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life.” What does fear of the Lord mean? What does fear mean when used in this context? It’s like love, respect, honor all rolled into one (lospector?). It’s not the fear the world has of pain or death, it’s […]

Luke 12:4-5

Luke 12:4-5 “4 I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, […]

John 15:12-13

John 15:12-13 “12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 12 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Love each other as I have loved you. I follow a blog (tworiversblog.com) and there was a post the other day that painted injustice […]

Matthew 24:42-44

Matthew 24:42-44 “42 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 […]

1 John 1:5-7

1 John 1:5-7 “5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if […]

Proverbs 16:32

Proverbs 16:32 “32 Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.” NIV “32 Moderation is better than muscle, self control better than political power.” MSG “32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than […]

James 4:3-1

James 4:1-3 “1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When […]

2 Corinthians 12:9

2 Corinthians 12:9 “9 But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” I’m am broken and deeply flawed. Left to my own devices I leave […]

John 1:12-13

John 1:12-13 “12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” This blessing to all of those who made the decision to […]

Acts 1-8

Acts 1:8
” 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

We will receive power…. What does that look like? I don’t think we really know today. The power of the Holy Spirit is best leveraged by faith. Without faith, what does the Holy Spirit have to work with? Christ chided the disciples for their lack of faith (Matthew 17:20); where would ours rank?

The power of the Holy Spirit is to radically change the world.

That, however, starts with you and me. It starts with being able to, at a minimum, allow the Holy Spirit to radically change your life. If it’s not working, check your faith level, check your ears. Are you listening to and trusting in the Holy Spirit, or are you trying to get the Holy Spirit to listen to you? If your life isn’t working like you want it to, maybe God is saying “I’m not your co-pilot, I’m the freaking pilot. When you’re tired of crashing your plane I’ll fly you where I want you to go”. I’ve crashed many planes and it seems I keep buying new ones. Argh!

How strong is your faith?

Are you willing to be radically transformed? Are you willing to do the work He wants you to do? Are you willing to give up control?