How do you treat the people that are unkind to you? It’s hard to maintain an attitude of love when someone is constantly pressing your buttons. On a larger scale, how do you handle those that are outright against everything you are and stand for? Today, Pastor Bill reminds us that we were all against God at one point. We were enemies of God. And during that time, He sent His son to save our lives. He didn’t save His followers only, He died so that everyone might have a chance at salvation. Talk about maintaining an attitude of love.

Do you have a hard time with forgiveness? It’s tough to have a heart of forgiveness when you know that someone’s not truly sorry for their actions. We don’t want to give them grace until they earn it. But that’s not grace then… is it? Pastor Bill reminds us today of the overwhelming love that God has for us, that while we were still sinners – while we were still enemies of God – He sent His son to die in our place. That’s the love we can’t even fathom! He sacrificed Himself for His enemies, so you might have a chance to know saving grace.

We may fantasize about what it felt like to be a child, but nobody truly wants that forever. You want to have a say in your life and what it looks like; you don’t want to be weak and helpless. Today, Pastor Bill reminds us that spiritually, God desires the same things for us; He doesn’t want us to crawl through our spiritual journey, He wants us to strengthen our legs and learn how to walk. In order to grow in Him requires practice and we can’t practice without trials in our life; so, think of your trials like stepping stones toward Him.

How privileged do you feel when you know someone well-to-do? It almost feels like you’re in a secret club; you have access to connections that very few others even know about. Today, Pastor Bill reminds us that – as believers – we have that kind of privilege with Christ. We don’t need to jump through corporate hoops to try and get a hold of Him, we don’t need to beat around the bushes when trying to communicate; God loves you and wants you to talk to Him more. You’re not bothering Him, you’re pleasing both of you.

Perfectionists fight an endless battle against themselves; when perfection isn’t viable, what do you settle for? Will your best be good enough? Today, Pastor Bill reminds us that – as humans – we will never be perfect. Even our understanding is faulty. So, thank goodness our salvation doesn’t require perfection! We get to rest in the grace of God that goes on and on; never will He ignore or betray us, and never will He not have our best interests in mind. Be thankful that Jesus loves and accepts you, exactly how you are.

No matter how even and fair we try to make society, there will always be things that are more conducive for some and not others. People with fairer skin are always going to get burned by the sun before someone with darker skin does. Women will probably always hold keys in their knuckles when walking alone. But no matter how unfair our society may be, know that you can find fairness in Jesus Christ. He doesn’t care what you look like or what you’ve been through, His door is always open; you just have to knock.

When life wears on us, we learn to trust only in ourselves. We’ve been through too many betrayals and deceits to put our faith in any other human being – loved or otherwise. What Pastor Bill reminds us of today is, that you can’t even trust in yourself; God is the only one who will never fail you. He’s the only one you can trust with all of your insecurities and questions. He won’t be angry with your doubts, but He’ll prove Himself to you over and over again. Who else could love you unconditionally and without end?

We have tendencies to hold onto material things; typically, it’s for sentimental reasons, but it’s not like we’d forget if we parted from those things. Today, Pastor Bill reminds us of a man who gave up everything – his home, his family, his country – because He trusted in the promise of God. We know that man as Abraham – the father of Israel. If God asks you to give something up, it’s not because He wants to hurt you, it’s because He has something better in store for you; all you have to do is trust in Him.

We like simple processes; we work: and we get paid. We exercise: we burn calories. We pay for something: we receive it. It’s easy enough to understand the balance of life. But today, Pastor Bill reminds us that, there’s nothing we can do in order to save ourselves from sin. When you realize that you’re a slave to sin, the only thing that can help you be free from it is Jesus Christ. While our society isn’t used to accepting gifts freely, I think we can all appreciate God stepping in on our behalf, accomplishing what we couldn’t.

We live in a world where work is necessary in order to survive. Even if you think of a world without money, work is still required to accomplish the simple things we need in life. Today, Pastor Bill reminds us how Christianity is the one exception to this rule; most religions still require you to do something in order to be saved, but Christianity doesn’t require anything of you, because Christ already did all the work. You don’t have to strive after perfection or holiness, you simply have to accept God’s saving grace.