The Christian walk can feel like it's across a balance beam, sometimes blindfolded. Seeking righteousness, we lean a little too far to the legalist side. We steady ourselves with grace, maybe a little too much, and stumble toward sin. 

Compare this to Jesus' own words: "I am gentle and humble in heart". "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light". Does that sound like He wants us to balance like an Olympic gymnist? 

We struggle to balance when we try to walk by ourselves. Jesus doesn't want us to learn how to balance. He just wants us to hold His hand. 

All Christians have done some regrettable things in our lives. Some years ago, some yesterday, but there are plenty of opportunities for us to look back at things we know we should have done differently. But should we hang on to them?

I can argue that remembering how prone we are to mistakes can be a healthy reminder to seek God's direction in every action. We rarely see a mistake coming before it happens (although to be fair, I probably have). We often think we are doing the right thing at the time we make the mistake. It's only after the fact that we realize we missed it. Anytime we act without God the risk of mistakes skyrockets.

On the other hand, we can spend so much time remembering the things we messed up that we only see ourselves for our failures. But that isn't how God sees us.

But God's love is in both. I think it's OK to remember your mistakes as long as they serve as a reminder of how much God loves us, flawed as we are, and how forgiving and gracious He is. But He also loves us enough to offer His Spirit and His Word as a guide, so we don't have to make those mistakes.

Best of all, God's power is displayed in what He is able to do with our mistakes. He did some incredible things with some sketchy people and continues to today. We just have to trust and follow Him.

It's easy to have faith when we like the way we see God working in our lives. But when we don't like His answers (or He just isn't offering them), those are the times we see our true faith. 

After Jesus' fed 4,000 people, Peter said He was the Christ. But when Jesus told them He would be killed, Peter argued with Him and Jesus called Him Satan. Peter flip flopped so fast he got two new names in five verses!

Believing in God's past goodness isn't faith. That's observation.

Faith is believing God is good even if the next phase of His plan is scarier than we could have imagined. It's remembering He is good when the scary part is actually happening. And it's relying on His grace to comfort us for as long as He allows the pain to last. 

It's not easy. Not at all. When things really got hard, Peter tripled down on denying he even knew Jesus. And this is the man Jesus tasked with building the church. 

I think He understands how difficult it is for us. But it's pleasing to Him. And that's all the reason real faith needs. 

Paul didn't include "argumentative" in his list of the fruits of the Spirit, but Christians seem to add it from time to time, especially when it comes to non-believers. We are called to be the peacemakers, not conflict seekers.

Whether we are confronting sin, discussing interpretations of Scripture, or even the existence of God at all, we can get so fired up defending our stance that conversations turn into arguments. And in doing so, we misrepresent the very thing we are so passionately defending.

God has done plenty to prove His existence and has all the power to convict others of their sins and theological misunderstandings. He doesn't need our help. He asks us to show patience and kindness to others. This is how we represent the one thing He commanded repeatedly: His love.

Christians can be the some of the worst representatives of what we believe sometimes. Grace, forgiveness, mercy, love, humility, these are the qualities Jesus commanded us to show as His disciples.

When we treat others as we think they deserve to be treated, celebrate and applaud our own righteousness, and act like we know the one and only correct answer in every scenario, we represent the complete opposite qualities of Jesus.

We judge non-believers for not accepting the faith that we fail to demonstrate. What do you think Jesus would have to say about that?

Sometimes it's hard to trust that God's process is good. Sometimes it's hard to believe He even has one at all. But He has known everything that was going to happen from the beginning, and knows exactly what is going to happen next, and further down the road.

When things don't make sense, trusting that He knows exactly what He is doing and that His way will ultimately be perfect, helps us to find peace in the storms. He wants us to stay focused on HIM, instead of the situations we don't understand.

A couple thousand years ago, we received the greatest miracle of all. God Himself was among us, in the flesh, experiencing everything we experience, yet without sin.

As ancient as the story may seem, His presence is with us as much today as it was then, and it's every bit as miraculous today. A holy God loves us and wants us to know Him, wants to be with us every day of our lives. It's incredible.

Merry Christmas!!

The Christmas season brings a lot of traditions along with it. Santa, movies, songs, gifts, trees, decorations, concerts and funny sweaters. But the whole season, the whole story, it's all about God and His love for us.

It's easy to get swept up in the chaos this time of year and forget why we are doing all these things in the first place. But what Christmas celebrates is so much more important than how it is celebrated.

The perception of Christianity, even sometimes from within Christianity, is that Christians are supposed to be perfect, righteous people. We equate God's ability to love and use us to our ability to perform at or close to His expectations.

Maybe that part isn't entirely untrue. The lie might be in what we think His expectations actually are.

God knows everything, so He most certainly knows we are nowhere close to perfect. He is aware of, and prepared for, all of our flaws. And He loves us anyway. And will gladly use us for His kingdom if we are willing.

Ironically, perhaps the only people God can't (or at least won't) use, are the ones who think they are perfect and righteous.

Living out the Christian life is really what the first 99 episodes have been about, so it was a fitting title for the 100th. 

Reading scripture, prayer, church, these are all great things that we need in our lives to grow closer to the Lord. But what we learn and how we grow should spill over into how we live our lives as well. If it doesn't, how much did we really grow? 

We should also remember God is the source of our growth; we certainly couldn't do it on our own. Don't forget to thank Him for that along the way.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!