Reducing faith in God to a religious transaction is a great temptation. The formula of religion says if I do A, God will do B, and misses the point that God desires a reciprocal relationship that transforms.

The key to a relationship with God and real spiritual growth is very simple but not easy. Our human tendency to complicate things because of our sinful nature gets in the way.

Mary is not in control of what’s happening. Though a child is a joy to a mother, this situation has a very real possibility of Mary being shamed, exiled and left helpless. The angel Gabriel gives Mary the news, and her response is exactly the type of faith we long for.

Being lost in life is one of the worst feelings in the world. Being lost and not knowing you are lost is tragic. In Luke’s Gospel we see that the way home for the lost is only found in Jesus.

David was a shepherd, soldier, musician, outlaw, king, and poet. He was also an adulterer, murderer, and not so good husband and father. How was he a man after God’s own heart?

The result of faith in God is to trust Him. But when things are difficult, hard to understand, or out of our control, trusting God isn’t easy. The great danger of not trusting God is a spiritual plague that ravages lives.

Whenever God does a significant work in human history it’s through a band of totally committed people. But what does total commitment really look like?

God is faithful and keeps His covenant with those who love Him. David earned nothing. In fact, his life was vastly affected by his sin and it’s consequences. His faith, in contrast, redeemed him.

Supposedly we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with, and we become just like those we follow. This means the most important decisions we make are who we will spend time with and who we will follow.

The plot lines of old westerns pitted good guys in white hats versus bad guys in black hats. But Jesus said no one is good except God alone. So where does that leave us?