“Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

Ephesians 4 is one of those chapters that has so much content, and every reader is guaranteed to find something to work on. If you can live Ephesians 4 out perfectly, you are probably already in Heaven with your perfectly renewed mind and body!

3 John is a one-chapter book with just 14 verses but it’s packed with an awesome comparison of the lives of two different men. One, lives the truth of the Gospel out in love; the other lives for himself. Let’s read about these two men and as you do keep asking yourself the question: “Which of these men am I most like?”

Don’t ask, “Which of these men do I wish I was more like” or “Which of these men would I most like to be like,” but look hard and fast at the daily actions of your life. Your daily actions will reveal whether you are more like Gaius or Diotrophes.

Choose your own adventure

Give away $20 today. 

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” — Galatians 6:2

It’s amazing how little we know about Jesus’ earthly father. Somehow in the equation of Jesus’ life, Joseph didn’t factor in to the story much, yet he played a very significant role.

Rightly so, we often spend time as a Christian community talking about ways to reach out to those who don’t know Christ.  We talk about commands in Scripture to share our faith and we talk about strategies for witnessing and go to seminars to help us overcome our doubts and fears.  All of this can be good for doing God’s kingdom work.

Today, however, I want to focus on how NOT to reach the lost — how you and I can totally screw up an opportunity God gives us by the way we act or the things we say.

3 John, 64 of 66

“Hospitality is dead”

The next 10 days are about the Tensions in life. The tension between the desire for purity and the dirty places we find ourselves in. The tension between sacrifice and pleasure. The tension between dreams and reality. The tension between the Kingdom life and the earthly life. These are a few of the tensions we are going to explore. What it comes down to is this: We want you to live an unbalanced life. We want God to tip the scales in such a way that the life He calls us to entices us more than the lust of flesh. 

 

This series will be 10 days of learning, stretching, growing and seeking God more. We want to walk with you through this journey of sweet surrender. It is going to take work, sweat and sacrifice to go deeper so if you aren’t up for being challenged Tension isn’t for you. But if you want to be a part of a community that really wrestles with the Scriptures and seeks to be more and more like Jesus then join us for these next 10 days. 

 

Just like Progress the main focus will be Monday through Friday. The weekend will be light and reflective. So without further ado . . . 

 

Tension.

“Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.” — Philippians 4:5

*This is part 9 of a 10 part series on the Fruit of the Spirit that started on November 23, 2009.  You can access past material by using the calendar archive button on the right side of the screen.

One of my Bible professors once gave me a great definition of kindness:  “Kindness” he said, “is love in action.”  I’ve never forgotten that simple, yet accurate, definition of kindness and we’ll explore it further in today’s Tenth Dot.

*This is part 6 of a 10 part series on the Fruit of the Spirit that started on November 23, 2009.  You can access past material by using the calendar archive button on the right side of the screen.