The Bible says that the best choice in any situation in life is to stop, submit, and focus on Jesus. Yet, the busyness and hurried ways of the world drive us to a life that is distracted, worried, troubled, and self-focused. If we ever hope to navigate the world around us, it will take us continually choosing to

Jesus says that we will never know the fullness of life that God desires without actively loving our neighbors. Jesus doesn't celebrate people who look right or know the right answers; Jesus desires people who literraly go and love their neighbors. He calls us to

Jesus calls us to follow him, and that is good. But at some point, following Jesus will require hardship, growth, and change, and then we have to decide how much we really want to follow. Even though there may be hardship, following Jesus is the only way to find complete, whole life. Nothing else will work and will ultimately lead to

Religion says that you have to change your ways and then you can come to God. Jesus says,

Encountering the fullness of what God wants in our lives comes from more than just obeying. It comes from the condition of our heart. The Bible says it is impossible to know the joy of God (or to boldly obey) if you are consumed with yourself instead of God.

Sometimes we can think that the things God calls us to are impositions, inconveinences, or God just trying to get his work done. The truth, though, is that obeying God's calls is less about what God wants to do through us and more about what God wants to do in us. Seeing what happens when we obey makes us realize that the chance to boldly obey God is a gift that he graciously gives us.