Pea Ridge Audio Podcast

"Run to win." This is Paul's exhortation to the believers in Corinth, and it should resonate with us as well. While we should each pursue Jesus with everything in us, we also need to develop a vision of what it looks like to pursue him together as a community of believers.

God's design for the cycle of work and rest is intentional. He set the example for us in His work of creation and gave specific instructions to the nation of Israel through His law. Even today, following that cycle and having the right motivation for work and rest is what is best for us.

We live in a culture that pushes us to constantly strive for more. There are two sides to this coin. And these two sides might not be as clear as we would like them to be. Can a person be content and still have a desire to strive for more? For the believer, motives are the key.

There are two instances in the Gospel of John that record Jesus speaking of living water. When we consider these, along with other biblical references that are similar, we can easily see that Jesus is teaching about the power of the Holy Spirit to give life. God will not force us to open ourselves to the flow of this living water. He invites us to make that choice.

God has worked in different ways to speak to different people throughout history. One common theme in all of these examples is this: those who heard the voice of God were paying attention to Him. Ask Him to help you identify the biggest distractions in your life and then with His help, replace them with His truth and wisdom.

Our calendars and to-do lists reflect what we value. In our culture, we tend to add things to our lives without considering what these will do to our relationship with God and our relationships with others. This summer, choose a slower pace filled with purpose and intention. Spend some time in the river of life.

God the Father nailed our sin debt to the cross as Jesus became sin for us. This first execution was carried out so that we could be reconciled to Him. A second execution takes place when we put to death our own selfish desires, but we can only do this in the power of the Spirit. When we do, we follow the Spirit as he leads us on the path of obedience.