The Bible

Ask 10 different people about the purpose of the Bible and you will most likely get 10 different answers. For us the Bible is everything God felt like we needed to know in order to connect with Him and others and live a fulfilled life on earth. It is our field manual to walking with God in this world. It gives us a window into the reality of God that changes us into that reality. You see the amazing thing is that it is a living book. There is something about it that actually begins to transform those who spend ample time pouring it into their life. The Bible is a book of complete truth because it's author is God. It is not a book about politics or social regulations though you can certainly find some of that in it. It is not a book meant to be used to keep people in oppresion or ignorance though it has been abused to do that as well. The Bible is God's Word to us on how life ought to be lived indeed how it will be lived when His kingdom comes.

God as our Father

When we speak of God as a Father it is hard for some people to get past the poor relationship they had with their own father. But we have come to understand that unlike your earthly Father, God is a perfect Father. That means He does everything just as it should be done. His love is perfect, His desire is perfect, His discipline is perfect, and His will is perfect. He is a "father to the fatherless" and one who will never let His children out of His sight. As our Father we know we can trust Him with our daily lives, we can believe in His plan for our life when we may not understand it all. Our Father provides and our Father protects but most of all our Father loves.

Be encouraged today by knowing that no matter what you face in life you always have a heavenly Father who loves you and wants nothing more for your life than for you to understand just how vast that love is.

Who is Jesus?

Without question the most talked about, beloved, and controversial person ever to walk the face of the earth. Why does Jesus cause so much stir? This tends to happen when you are just as much God as you are man. Say what? I don't know how to explain it but that's the way it is. Jesus is the perfect representation of God to man, if you want to know how God would live, take a look at the life of Jesus as expressed in the New Testament. He is the perfect representation for one simple yet complicated reason, he is God as well. Jesus is God in human flesh, he chose to come to earth in the form of a man and live as one of us for 33 years. During those years he showed us how to connect with God personally and how to live the abundant life of the kingdom of heaven now. He was like you and me in many ways but unlike you and me he never sinned, ever. He lived his life as a testimony to what life could be and he sealed the deal with his own death. As a perfect man he blew up the power sin had over us, namely death, and gave us access to eternity in heaven.

Today he waits eagerly for the day he will return to reclaim this realm as his own rightful possesion. And if I were you I would want to be on his side when he came back.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is probably the most mis-understood person in all of scripture.  Yes, He is a person, this is part of the confusion.  He is the character, personality and power of God.  He is the one who carries out the will of God on earth today.  It is his power and presence that flows through the life of every believer.  He is actually the one who raised Jesus from the dead and he is the one who indwells the life of every follower of Christ.  Jesus called him a counselor because he is ever present and always leads us to the life of the kingdom of heaven.  It is through him that we have access to Jesus and thus the life of God.

As you walk through your day, stop and open yourself to the presence of God.  And when you do say hello to the Holy Spirit by name and remember you are in his presence.

Mankind

Man is a wealth of contradiction and conflict. It is in man that we find the ultimate creation of God, made in God's own image. It is also in man that we find the greatest demise and pain to God for man has the power to reject God. It is that same power to reject that has also given man the power to love. God's desire for man is that he would turn from a life of sin, discover the love of Jesus and follow him as lord. Every man (and woman) who ever lived has an innate flaw called sin. We do not earn it or build up to it, as if some were good and some were not, we're born with it. But in spite of this great stain on us all, God still desires to see us live in the glory of the purpopse he created us to fulfill. God desires all men to come to know him and spend eternity with him in heaven.

The Local Church

The church has taken quite a beating over the years. Sometimes from within and sometimes from without. People find it easy take shots at "organized religion." But the church is not a building or an institution, it is God's people. When God's people live in community with each other and invest in each others lives that's when the church is at it's best. The culture of the church is the greatest testimony to the world of the life and love of Christ. When the body of believers in any community pull together to love each other and share that love with the world around them, then the church is fulfilling it's purpose. There are few things as powerful as a group of believers who commit themselves to each other and to the work of God's kingdom. There is great freedom in giving yourself to others and allowing them give themselves to you for the sake of the kingdom. The church is quite simply the living breathing embodiement of Jesus Christ to the world.