Embrace Podcast

Why does holding grudges kill our relationships? Because we're refusing to forgive like Jesus first forgave us. Some grudges are petty—the driver cutting us off in traffic, the offhand comment made by a friend—those we simply need to get over and move on from in kindness. Other grudges are not so easy to get past. It's in those moments that we need Jesus' example of forgiveness more than ever—to prevent those grudges from consuming and killing our relationships.

What's one thing that kills our relationships? Magnifying faults. All too often we use a magnifying glass to see what the people in our lives are doing wrong, when really we should be using a magnifying mirror to examine ourselves first. How do we bring these relationships back to life? Simply switch the order: first looking at ourselves, then to Jesus, and then to helping our neighbors.

We've all been thirsty before, but have you ever felt a thirst that only Jesus can fill? Jesus is the living water, quenching our thirst in a way nothing else in life can. But Jesus doesn't just fill us so we can be satisfied, he fills us up so we can overflow and bring his life-giving water to everyone around us.

Ever feel like God has left you without a trace? You're stuck and don't know where to turn next? Sometimes our lives can feel like the movie, Ghost—the one who was always supposed to be there has left and we feel directionless, alone. But get this, God's presence isn't dependent on our ability to see it; God's presence is dependent on His ability to keep His promises. And He never breaks His promises. We are never alone.

Have you heard about the gremlins? They may look cute and cuddly at first, but they can be deadly. Kind of like us and sin. It sounds nice to follow our hearts, but in the end our desires, apart from God, can lead to death. The only way to kill a gremlin is to bring it into the light, the same goes for us. When our sin is brought into the light of God's truth we're able to get rid of it—killing our sinful desires with God's promises and His truth.

What do we have in common with a little alien from another planet? We both don't belong on Earth. All E.T. wanted was to go home—as Christians, our home also isn't here, it's in heaven. But while we're here on Earth we're called to think about heaven, bring heaven down to Earth, and eagerly wait for heaven. Someday we too will be heading home.

What can the 80's movie Back to the Future teach us about Jesus? A lot actually (and not just how to drive a DeLorean)! While Marty McFly travels to the past to change things, Jesus doesn't want to change our past, instead he wants to redeem it. To redeem our past Jesus frees us from it, he's drawn to it, and he uses it. Our past isn't something to be ashamed of, to Jesus it's something to remember and be thankful for.

In the last four weeks we've learned what we're made for: generosity, rest, work, and community. But before anything else, what we're really made for is Jesus. As fall begins and our schedules get crazy, we're made to set Jesus as the cornerstone of our days, of our lives. We were made to start with Jesus.

We're all made for community—to share our lives with other people. The community Jesus wants for us is one where the people in our lives show up, when no ones else does. It's having people who will do anything to drag us to Jesus. Do you have this kind of community? Are you showing this kind of community to others? We were made for this kind of community, let's go out and create it.

Sometimes it's hard to think that we're made for work. But just like how we're made for rest, we're also made to glorify God through our work the other 6 days of the week! We were each created to work, using our talents to give God, not ourselves, glory. We were made for Monday!