I want to be perfect because I do not want to need grace, mercy and forgiveness from you or God or anyone else.

Who doesn’t want to be the hardworking superwoman with the perfect family who appears to do everything, well, perfectly? None of us can ever be her, but we sure are going to kill ourselves trying. This is what we have come to expect of each other; this is what we expect of ourselves. For all our effort, we get resentment and broken relationships. Striving robs us of our peace, and most important of all: we cannot hear what Jesus is saying.

Contemplating the glorious riches of His love turns our wondering into wonder, and so we receive the hope of glory, and the strength to persevere.

The next morning Judah’s army sets out to meet the enemy led by, of all things, a choir. 

So for those of you who, like me, are dead-dog tired of your own impressive self-reliance, what’s the solution? Abiding, remaining, staying in Christ...

When I start to judge how Jesus is dealing with another person, I need to mind my own business, tend my own garden.

I am a little superstitious about worry, as if worrying is the work I have to do in order to keep bad things from happening...  Jesus urges us to re-learn how we think about God’s ability and willingness to care for us and for our loved ones. 

Spieth may have lost, but he did not fail. Through losing he gained an opportunity: to humble himself in order to honor someone else.

Ozzie, like me, wants to do what he wants to do. He’s not convinced that what I want him to do will either be fun or good for him. Unless he decides he will be “blessed” by coming close to me, he prefers to keep his distance. Even if something motivates Ozzie to come, he has no intention to stay. 

As difficult as it is to imagine myself swinging free and trusting God to catch me, it is even more difficult to imagine releasing my loved ones to Him, setting them free to fly in full faith that He will catch them. 

Our hope is alive because Jesus is alive.

So when I ask God to build His kingdom here, I am surrendering everything to His lordship. But oh, what a King He is. 

" It is only goodness which gives extras, and so again I say we have much to hope from the flowers."

How we respond to the challenges threatening to divide our country reveals much about what we think of our God.

 It’s a principle of the kingdom that we can use our pain, tragedy and regret to minister to other people. Sharing our experience with God brings strength and hope to those who need it.

He knows my struggles because He struggled; He knows my sorrows because He cried: He knows my temptations because He resisted them. Jesus was willing to walk a mile in my shoes, so to speak, and He paid the highest price imaginable in order to do it. Such costly solidarity with humanity certainly deserves our passionate response.

Our human relationships often bring much joy and happiness, but those same relationships can also break our hearts... If I don't believe God gets personal with me, I won't trust Him when His Word says He loves me.

But there is something far stronger than a brick wall: the immoveable, eternal Rock, Jesus Christ, Whose Word to us reveals the greatest reality, far more true than the apparent reality of earthly circumstances. 

"Sin exposed is grace revealed."

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is NOT to save the world. Jesus already did that. Nor is it to convince other people to share your values, think like you think, or make the choices you make. (Talk about a mission impossible.)