Trust Without Borders

Dictionary.com defines obligation as a binding promise, contract, or sense of duty. As humans, we are obligated to do certain things in life. Based on our individual circumstances, those obligations may look different, but everyone has something he or she is obligated to do. As Christians, we all have one very important obligation in common: share the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Somewhere along the way, I have lost sight of this, and this morning, Jesus gave me a rude awakening in the book of Romans. In verse 1:14 , Paul says, "I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish." Hello. Thanks for that reminder, Jesus.   I have noticed a change in my attitude lately when it comes to other people and their sins, life choices, and messiness...My attitude says, "I can help you, love you, tell you about Jesus if you are a good person. I can accept you if you are like me. If you believe what I believe and act like I act, there is hope for...

As part of the way I serve my church, I get to help schedule, write, edit, and post daily devotionals on our webpage. Today's devotional is one that I wrote! Check it out !

Anyone who knows me knows that it's no secret that I love John Mayer. In fact, he is probably my favorite artist. A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to one of my favorite songs from his most recent album. In the song, "Love is a Verb," he sings, "when you show me your love, I don't need your words." While I honestly don't know where John Mayer's personal life with Christ stands, I think he got it right with this lyric. 1 John 3:18 says, "...let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." Do you see the resemblence? I can't be sure John Mayer consults the Bible when he sits down to write, but in that moment, I can tell you he hit a Christian principle right on the head. 1 John 4:19 says "we love because He first loved us." Jesus is love. He's the reason for it and the only way we know it. It only makes sense that we spend our days loving just as He does. The Bible is full of examples of the way th...

It's been a couple of wee ks since I got back from my second trip to Kenya, and I still can't quite wrap my head around everything that happened during the trip - or since I've been back . The Lord uses Kenya to absolutely w reck my world. ..there is no doubt about that. As I attempt to reflec t on my time in Af rica, I can't help but be overwhel med by the sheer fact that I got to experience something like Kenya not once - but twice. Our God is SO good.  So, in my effort to process, I'm just going to go through som e things that I think Jesus taught me and reminded me of while I was in Africa , tryin g to remember that this is a continual process of learning and growth. The only way I can really ex plain what it feels like when you come back from a trip like this one is that you feel like you've been through spiritual heart surgery. I literally feel like my heart was ripped out, cut open, sculpted, repaired , rebuilt, and shoved back in , and I have...

 #10. Prayer Well, it's obviously been a while since I posted, and I clearly didn't hold true to my once a week blogs...but I'm back! It's summertime, and a recent Discipleship Resources retreat for writers at NewSpring Church and one of my Fuse students this week reminded me of why I loved to write so much and how much I have missed it. It truly is my favorite and most productive way to process, and when I don't have it as part of my daily quiet time or even weekly routine, I never feel quite right. Six months later I still haven't completely finished processing all that was Passion 2012, and I really do want to finish. So, that's going to be my first writing project of the summer. I'm starting back with prayer and how it has become such an important part of my life since Passion. Maybe it's a good thing I waited to write about this topic, because what I've learned and put into my daily practice over the last sixth months involving praye...

I haven't made time to sit down and write for this blog in months, and I am feeling the weight of that. Writing is the way I process, and it's important in my relationship with the Lord. School is about to start back, and I always become more structured during the school year. If there is anything I've learned this summer, however, it's that you can't let things slide just because you have some free time and sunshine. I've been going through the book of Genesis, and so far the most striking reminder for me came out of Chapter 25. In verses 29-34, Esau gives up his birthright for some stew that Jacob was cooking. Esau was famished, and in a moment of foolishness and impatience, he gave up his rightful future for temporary pleasure. As I read this, I couldn't help but think of all the times I have done this. In moments of weakness, want, or insecurity, I have given up my birthright, the joyful life that the Lord has for me, for temporary pleasure. No thing t...