We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

3620602917_af1ca8905e

Following Jesus as You

Rachel Held Evans posted an insightful blog today (it was actually a repost from 2011) engaging the problem of discouragement as we encounter various ideals of what it means to be a Christian versus the reality and limitations of our particular lives. I think we all struggle with this at one time or another. Rather than giving up, it’s good to struggle with the question of what it means to follow Jesus from the place you find yourself today. What are the commitments that Jesus is calling you to?

From the blog post:

Follow Jesus TODAY
—not in some future state of perfection, but in messy, boring, unglamorous today.  This is the only moment I am promised, and it’s the best moment to seek after God.  Something tells me He can be found here.

Image by Nicholas Blumhardt. Used in accordance with Creative Commons. Sourced via Flickr.

Related Reading

How God Changes the World

All who place their trust in Jesus look forward to a day when he will return and fully establish the kingdom of God. When this happens, Scripture promises that everything will change. There will be no more sickness, death, hunger, natural disasters, violence, fear, heartaches, sin, or evil. There will be no more racism, nationalism,…

Responding to the Negative Fallout of Trump’s Election

Yesterday I suggested that we refrain from judging the motivations of brothers and sisters who voted for Donald Trump (see post). As the young lady I spoke with illustrates, a person could genuinely grieve over the negative implications Trump’s Presidency might have for certain people groups but nevertheless believe that there are considerations that outweigh these negative implications…

Following Jesus Doesn’t Work

I met a middle aged woman one day who told me she had given up on Christianity. “It just didn’t work for me,” she said. My response was: “What on earth made you think Jesus was supposed to work for you? The truth is that you were supposed to work for him.” The sentiment is…

The “Kingdom Now”: Reflections on Magical American Christianity

One major problem American Christians face is that we tend to embrace a magical view of the Christian faith. We assume that if a person “prays the sinners prayer,” “surrenders their life to Christ,” and “accepts Jesus as Lord of their life,” this somehow magically “saves” them and will sooner or later magically transform them…

Guante: Starfish

http://youtu.be/oYkoVFfYdC0 Guante is a Minneapolis-based spoken-word artist. His piece here is called Starfish and it speaks to the tension between working for small changes and dreaming of a better world where much bigger changes are needed. Amen. (Special Thanks to Rod Thomas for reminding me how great Guante can be.)

Sermon Clip: Hunger Games

To begin the series on emotional intelligence and the roles this plays in our relationships, Greg Boyd introduces the foundational teaching of the entire series. Here’s a hint, it’s LOVE. In the full sermon, Greg takes a look at the role Jesus plays in our relationships and the importance of letting Christ be the source…