After years of “doing all the things” to have a relationship with Jesus, I found myself sifting through the ashes, wondering what was left of me. But I don’t want to stay on the sidelines, forever. I want to participate in the spiritual life, but not in the way that was ingrained in me. And so, I am going on a quest.
We made it! As we begin the new year, we want to look back at 2017 and remember all that God did. Here are our top 10 moments of the past year.
Colorado Springs has a men’s competitive church softball league and Pulpit Rock has participated for over 10 years. We now begin a new year. And a new season of men’s softball. We are putting together one team (and hopefully two!) and we want you to join us.
With God holding our hands, fear is no longer fear; it becomes wonder. When He is near, the everyday is no longer boring; it’s an adventure. Even in the darkness, it’s in knowing that God really is with us that the doors of our hearts are opened and we are filled with joy.
If Santa’s reputation can be trusted, I’m getting coal this Christmas. It’s as it should be. This year my prayer life has limped along, and my selfishness has run rampant. I’ve done very little to foster hope, peace, joy, or love. So when they’re offered to me, I end up looking around, pointing to my chest, like, “For me? Is this some kind of joke?
If Santa’s reputation can be trusted, I’m getting coal this Christmas. It’s as it should be. This year my prayer life has limped along, and my selfishness has run rampant. I’ve done very little to foster hope, peace, joy, or love. So when they’re offered to me, I end up looking around, pointing to my chest, like, “For me? Is this some kind of joke?
My suspicion is that we don’t see things in this world as clearly as we think we do. Maybe it isn’t the world around us that needs to change. Maybe it is our vision that needs to change.
My wife Andrea and I are big … BIG … fans of Dave Ramsey. Why? Because within 2 years of following his steps we paid off $120,000 in debt! So when Pulpit Rock asked us to host the upcoming Financial Peace University we gladly said “Yes!”
Trying to teach teenagers about the Bible in a school setting has been my most difficult calling because the idea of Jesus as a friend is ironic. There’s a lack of loyalty and depth in friendships among our youth, so why would Jesus be any different?
At some point in the years between when I felt like a useless 16-year-old boy and the man I have become today, I started realizing that I was focused on a very narrow view of God’s desire for us to love one another. I was slowly realizing that I could use the gifts and abilities that God gave me to spread the love of Jesus.
I don’t think it’s coincidental that I found my diary from 3rd and 4th grades just weeks before I would be leading an AWANA group of girls at this very same age. I know now how God’s fingers weave their way through our stories, and this felt significant to me.
There is a holy way to deal with the hard of this world. Lament reveals our deepest fears, our deepest selves to the One who created us, the One who gently waits for us to reveal to Him what He already knows.
