There's an old hymn that goes, "The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people!" But it's more than just a nice rhyme -- it's the truth. As Christians, God dwells in us, and that means we bring Him with us everywhere we go. When we congregate in a "church setting", it's more than just a ritual or a tradition; we're coming together as the Church, the Body of Christ!

God calls us to step into the unknown, to walk away from what's easy and comfortable and to trust that He's got better plans for us -- even when we can't always see them. Often, it's not until we look back that we can see specific markers in our lives that point directly back to His faithfulness. But we're not the only ones who see those markers; when other people can witness the miraculous work that God's done in us, it's a reflection of His glory and a testament to His love!

We weren't put here to just ride out our lives until it's time to join the Lord in heaven. God's given us a purpose, and it's to share the Gospel and reach the lost with the love of Jesus. But in order to get people "hooked" on what He's offering, we've first got to be genuinely experiencing it ourselves! Only when we have an active relationship with Jesus can we bear true witness to His love, His grace, and His gift of salvation.

Jesus encourages us through Scripture to ask our Heavenly Father for the desires of our hearts. No prayer is too big or too small for the Lord, and He wants us to ask and believe in faith that He'll give to us according to His perfect will. When we decide to follow Christ, His Spirit resides within us, and like a remote control, He enables us to access His power through prayer wherever we're at!

Peter once asked Jesus how many times we're supposed to forgive those who have sinned against us. Jesus replied, "seventy times seven" times! The point Jesus was making is this: we can all think of reasons to not forgive those who've hurt us, but none of those reasons are justifiable in God's eyes. No matter how great the offense, we're called to forgive others completely because He's forgiven us completely. When we release the hurt that someone's caused us and extend forgiveness to them -- even if we think they don't "deserve" it -- we're doing for them what God first did for us -- even when we didn't deserve it, either.

Have you ever known someone who's done so well at representing their company that they're given a "company car"? That car is a reward for a job well done, but it's also a way for the employee to keep representing the company while on the road. In the same way, we represent God to the world. When we yield our lives to His direction, we become vehicles for Him to use to reach other people. And when we represent Him more clearly, we'll reap the "company benefits" that come with living the way He intended for us to live!

When sin was first brought into the world by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, shame came right along with it. Our sinful nature was suddenly exposed and we were naked and ashamed before God. But now, because of Jesus, we can live under the covering of God's grace instead of living in shame. His mercy covers all of our sins, and rather than being ashamed of our past, we're able to stand sanctified in His presence because of what Jesus has done for us.

 

It's easy to get caught up in the frenzy of spending, especially as the holidays approach. But how would our view of finances change if we started seeing our money as God's money instead? He's entrusted us to be good stewards of all that He's given us, and He's also promised to provide for all of our needs. Before we buy anything, let's pray and ask God if it's really something we should spend money on -- He'll give us wisdom if we only ask for it!

We all struggle with different sins, and sometimes we try to pretend that ours aren't "as bad" as someone else's. But sin is sin, and it's all the same in God's eyes. When He calls us to give up our sin, He's not asking us to gradually ease off or to just sin a little less -- He's calling us to quit cold turkey.

We have a tendency to thank God for what we see as the "good" things in our lives -- but have you ever made it a point to purposely thank Him for the "bad" things? When we offer God a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, even in the midst of difficulty, we're honoring Him by showing that we trust Him to use our struggle for His glory and to bring something good out of it. And when we focus our hearts on God and His plans instead of on whatever trial we're walking through, it allows us to take our eyes off the circumstance and fix our eyes on the Savior.