the.Sold.Out.Soul

Castles made of sand

We serve a God who is a creator, a builder.  It is no surprise that He calls us to build as well.  If we are wise, we will follow the Lord's counsel to build on the solid rock.  Not only that, but we will build with good spiritual stones and not with grains of sand.  After all, no sand castle ever lasts.

Are you in for a penny or a pound?

Are you all-in?  Are you maybe in for a little here and a little there but not fully committed anywhere?  Are you straddling the border and thinking that life simply must be that way in this imperfect world?  Let us consider once more what it means to be all-in with the Lord and what it takes to sustain that.

Lock me up, please

We have been freed.  The chains are gone, the doors are open, and we have been shown the way.  Those who are wise would appreciate that freedom and do whatever it takes to keep it.  Yet, so many of us willfully walk back into bondage.  Let us ask God to show us how we have imprisoned ourselves again so that we can break out of the pattern.

No one stands alone

The truth is simple; we were made for one another. No one can go it alone. There is no such thing as a 1-on-1 relationship with God yet without his people. His word does not leave room for that. In God's kingdom, you must be part of the Church to be part of him.

One day, the window will close

Let us learn a lesson from Judah.  There will come a day when repentance no longer is available.  Our Lord will come like a thief in the night, so we must be ready today.  Make today the day you change.

To thirst for him

We serve a God who will quench our thirst for him, but that really depends on us.  We can have a little thirst for him, or we can thirst for him like the wandering Ibex searching for a stream in the wilderness.  How much of God do you want?  How thirsty are you? 

To hear or to listen

As we walk out our salvation with fear and trembling, we have a responsibility to make sure that we have subscribed to the truth.  We do not take the words we hear in teachings and simply accept them.  We are to take what we are taught and compare it to the word of God to see whether it is true.  Let us be sure to discern between the truth and the lies so that we are not deceived by false teachings, by false gospels and man's own ways.  The Spirit reveals the truth of the scriptures to us if that is what we are really pursuing.

Confident confessions

What do we say when asked the simple, foundational, yet controversial truths of our faith?  The answers will tell us what we really believe and who we really follow.

Continue to contend for justice

The Lord will have his way.  The scriptures are clear that He one day will set all things right for eternity.  In the interim, while we still reside in this fallen world, God also will move justly in response to our prayers.  We do not always see the result of our requests for God's justice, but we can be sure that He will answer us.  Let us not lose heart but have the faith always to contend for justice with expectation.

The truth is the truth, and that’s the truth

Pilate asked the Lord, "What is truth?"  Only the word of God reveals the answer.  Every question of fact that matters, every truth of any real and lasting consequence for our lives, is found in the Lord.