Philippians 3:12-14  (NLT) Pressing toward the Goal 12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one…

In Hebrews 10 1-7 the writer reminds us that God’s plan was for a relationship not a process of sacrifices that would be offered in exchange for something temporary for us. When Jesus came to fulfill God’s plan, his expression is in Vs 7 – He had come into a time of sacrifice and religious…

Romans 7: 14-17      God’s Law Reveals Our Sin    –     Struggling with Sin 14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I…

Romans 12:3 NLT 3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Paul’s warning here is actually a straightforward and simple order…

James and Paul see our use of God’s Word to be an active engagement not just a reference. Our review of our lives in Lent doesn’t have to be complicated but it needs to be of value to our lives in how we serve God and others. If the Lent time of repentance is meaningful…

Lent is technically the 40 days leading up to Easter ( excluding Sundays ). It is a reminder of Jesus 40 days of temptation in the wilderness and has historically been observed as a time of repentance and fasting. It is a period of time for review and examination of our lives and our mortality…

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of a 40 day period of prayer and fasting or abstinence. Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a celebration and reminder of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God.  Ash Wednesday is a day…

Mark 8: 11-12 11 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority. 12 When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous…

While we can learn valuable things looking into our past by learning from our failures. All too often that can consume a lot of time digging into the details that may or may not contribute to improving our future. The Negatives of the past often overshadow our lives – we try to realize that Our…

As the result of circumstances in our lives we sometimes would describe ourselves as “broken”. The term “broken” can take on many faces; it can describe a part of our life that is dysfunctional for one reason or another; it can refer to a vital relationship in our lives that was a part of our…