Have you ever been scared of the dark? I know I have! If not, maybe instead of the fear of the darkness itself, you’ve been scared of what lurks in the dark. When you’re outside in the dark of the night without a light to guide the way, your perception is dimmed and you can’t see the tree root that will soon trip you, or the spiders crawling near your feet, or the coyote watching you from the bushes…

“Why should we not include the apocrypha in our modern Bibles? It was written around the same time and was in the Bible for a long time and still is for 70% of Christianity?”

Let’s preface all this with an analogy.

Say you come to me with a medical question (bad idea to start with, but roll with me here). I listen, try to understand what you’re dealing with, then promise to send you links to some articles addressing your issue so you know what sort of treatment to pursue. So what am I gonna do at that point? Just Google “stomach pains” and see what pops up? Randomly send you the first four results? Or will I, to the best of my ability, make every effort to make sure that what I send you is accurate, reliable, and authoritative in its advice?

We know that God loves us, and we see it most clearly in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The greatest act of love in human history is Christ dying on the cross and bearing our punishment. Jesus Himself tells His disciples this before He is crucified. In John 15:13 He says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Have you ever been literally punched in the gut? Those of us unfortunate enough to have experienced this sensation know a couple things. First, you literally cannot prepare yourself for the reverberating pain that you are going to experience. It is radiating, sharp discomfort that seems to last and last. Action movies don’t do justice to the toll even a minor injury like this can take on the body! Second, it will stop you in your tracks. You have no choice but to confront the pain that you are experiencing and let it sink in before you can move on…

Modesty. Just say the word and many people immediately grab their soapbox and get ready to spout their opinions on the subject. While no two opinions are completely alike, many would agree that a modest home, for example, is considered a well-cared for, but basic house. The same is true regarding a modest meal. While it may be small and simple, it’s still healthy and good. Although we likely disagree on the details, most of us agree that modest clothing is a good thing, yet when it comes to our behavior and abilities, people frequently say, “Don’t be so modest.” Like it’s a bad thing. So which is it?

From childhood, one of my favorite verses was, and still is, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”. I learned this as a song in a chapel service at a private christian elementary school I attended at the time, and it has always stuck with me.

Another one of my long time favorite verses is where God promises to give “peace…which transcends all understanding”.

And a verse I consistently recite to myself when I am in need of keeping my mind from sinful thoughts is, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things”…

You might be thinking, how in the world is serving a spiritual discipline? As Nate mentioned at the beginning of this series, spiritual disciplines are relational, things we do regularly to know God better.

So, how does serving grow our relationship with Him?

I’m glad you asked! God has given each of us gifts and talents for serving others and to bring Him glory. And He is a generous Giver, giving each of us many different talents…

It was a sobering moment when I realized I had become complacent and had begun going through the motions of my faith rather than being active and engaged. Christian complacency can look like different things for different believers, and it’s dangerous because it is easy - all you must do is sit back and go with the flow. This is because complacency does not require discipline, accountability, or action. Because of these things, a life of complacency can be appealing to many, making it a dangerous tool that the enemy uses against us…

What are you waiting for? Have you ever been in a place where you feel stuck? Where you feel as though life is passing by but you’re not moving with it? Where you feel like your sin is overwhelming, making you feel ashamed and broken? The Bible passage we will study today is written by a person who feels overwhelmed by their sin…