The Central Moment

Through all the clutter of religious and institutional norms we must never lose sight of what is most important. As he concludes his letter to the Galatians, Paul tells us clearly that Jesus’ transforming work in our hearts trumps external rituals and religious protocols. Instead, it’s all about a “new creation.”

Ministry leaders can, unfortunately, have self-serving motives. Those motives can lead them to manipulative behaviors to get what they want, or outright spiritual abuse of those they want to control. Let’s trust God today to help us see our own motives for what they are and redirect them in Jesus-centered ways.

One of the most powerful life principles in the Bible is that of generosity. We would naturally think that our inflow should determine our outflow, but Jesus taught that it is our outflow that actually determines our inflow. Look past how this principle may have been abused by others and embrace its potential for yourself.

Comparison and people-pleasing can cripple us both emotionally and spiritually. We tend to either be too impressed with ourselves or our insecurities turn us into our own worst critics. But neither self-obsession nor self-hatred are options for us as followers of Jesus. We need instead to live out a healthy sense of who we are in Christ.

What is our responsibility to one another as followers of Jesus? And how does the awareness of failure in others affect the way we see ourselves? Paul’s counsel to the Galatian churches on this difficult issue gives us some helpful handles to work with.

In the last of five special episodes of The Central Moment, Dr. Wave Nunally recounts the long and very unusual 70-hour journey home from Israel, and the difficulty of leaving dear friends behind. However, we have an assurance that they will never be abandoned by God as clarified in the New Testament book of Romans.

Dr. Wave Nunally continues the story of his recent trip to Israel, and the reason for their eventual departure: the call by Hamas leadership for a worldwide Jihad against Christians and Jews. Instead, all who follow the Lord are to engage in proclaiming liberty to captives, setting prisoners free, and rescuing and delivering the weak and needy.

Dr. Wave Nunally describes his team's volunteer efforts. As evacuees from the south filled their hotel, they helped with housekeeping, kitchen work, and organizing toys and books donated to the children. In the same way they prayed for the evacuees and the kidnapped, Isaiah calls us to mobilize in an important prayer effort.

Dr. Wave Nunally continues our special series on his recent time in Israel, and describes their arrival at the hotel at the beginning of Israel's war with Hamas. He concludes with a discussion of our responsibility to the innocent in harm's way in light of Proverbs 24.

This week on a special series of The Central Moment, Dr. Wave Nunally recounts the story of his recent trip to Israel. It's one of countless trips he's made, but this time he arrived just as the war with Hamas began. His story ultimately reminds us of God's call to all of us to comfort His people.