opportunity for faith

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.

The story of Christmas is full of people that had to live by faith. They had to make choices, and God honored their right choices and their living by faith.

Elizabeth and Zechariah lived by faith believing that in their old age they would have a child that would point people to Jesus. Further Mary and Joseph had to accept and act on what the angel of the Lord said to them about their baby being the Savior. The shepherds and wise men had to not listen to the people around them and press on to see the Messiah.

Here is my point: obstacles aren’t barriers but opportunities for faith to trust God. When some kind of barrier presents itself to us or if someone opposes us, the natural response is to change course and avoid the problem. Yet that might now be an opportunity to press on and to watch God work.

Hebrews 11:6 NLT

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

God is pleased when we live by faith, and Christmas is an opportunity to live by faith and share our faith with others. As we seek God, we live by faith. As we confess God and see His best, we live by faith and hope in God.

Habakkuk 2:4 NLT

Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

The righteous live by faith. Pride makes us fall short of where we want to be and where we could be. If I stop doing what God called me to do or pursuing the dream God gave me, I stop living by faith in God who is for me and not against me. Living by faith means I will not only experience the blessings of God but also the fact that God removes barriers and opposition in His plans.

May God help us not stop. May God help us see the vision birthed in our hearts become reality. I cannot wait to see what God does next as we stop allowing obstacles to keep us from living by faith.

1 Corinthians 16:13 NLT

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.

Pray for the possibility of an emergency winter homeless shelter in the coming weeks and a permanent homeless shelter in our community. Continue to pray for The Community’s new campus and the resources needed to make it a reality.

Francis Chan's "Forgotten God" (brand new book)

One of the most powerful preachers, writers and leaders of our time, in my opinion, is Francis Chan. His first book, Crazy Love , revolutionized my thoughts about God's love as well as my interacting with God. Now it is time for a brand new book from Chan being released tomorrow, September 1st. The book is Forgotten God . This is a phenomenal book about the power that Christians and the church can and must tap into. All of it is within the Holy Spirit. Francis talks about the power that was seen in the book of Acts when the Holy Spirit began to move among people. It is true that many have avoided or maybe forgotten what the Holy Spirit is all about. And like the Savior who poured out His life and blood so we have reason to rejoice, we were made to lay down our lives and give until it hurts. We are most alive when we are loving and actively giving of ourselves because we were made to do these things. It is when we live like this that the Spirit of God moves and ac...

inspiration from C.S. Lewis

There are many people, past and present, who get our attention by what they write or say or share. For me C.S. Lewis is one of those. He was a prolific writer who continues to grab the attention of thinkers from many different points of view. Lewis first grabbed my attention when I was in 5 th grader, and our teacher, Mrs. Foy, shared The Chronicles of Narnia with our class. It was a powerful time that this dreamer opened doors to thinking like I had never lived before. He wrote of faith, of far off places and of strong figures who found their character rooted deep in God. C.S. Lewis was born in 1898 and died in 1963, 7 years before I was born. It wasn’t until his 30’s that under the influence of his friend Tolkien that he came to be a Christian. He was raised in a traditional church going home, turned away from God as an Atheist in his teen years and through trying to stay away from God and faith returned to God with...

Catalyst ticket arrived

My ticket to the Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta Oct 8-10, just arrived. I'm excited!

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

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