Author: ForCommonGround

Truth vs. Tradition

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Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Matthew 15:1-9 (ESV)

We all have traditions whether they be cultural, national, family, or even personal. Traditions are generally passed down to us from those who have gone before us. I would even argue that many of the origins of our traditions are not even known by many of those practicing them. Does that matter? Well, I happen to think it does and I know I’m not alone.

Traditions generally seem harmless and often center on some sort of celebrations. Family and personal traditions are far less likely to have drifted far from their original purpose and meaning, but how about cultural and national ones? Do you know why we have candles on birthday cakes or a best man in a wedding ceremony? The candles originated from the ancient Greeks as a sign of sacrifice and dedication to Artemis, goddess of the moon. The Best Man position dates back centuries to when a marriage was more of a financial arrangement. He was considered the Groom’s best swordsman and his job was to prevent anything or anyone from interjecting in the ceremony. Of course, many cultures have adapted these practices, and many others, to new meanings. I would even venture to predict that the majority of cultural and national traditions held today have ancient roots that are either sinister or revolve around the worship of a false deity.

I know what some people who read this are already thinking. So what? Who cares where traditions come from? I am not saying that you shouldn’t light up pretty candles for your child’s birthday cake because thousands of years ago ancient Greeks worshiped a false deity with the same practice. Nor do I want to dissect our way of life and call us to abandon it all. What I am saying is that it’s not a bad idea to know where our traditions come from, most importantly, when it comes to the traditions within our Christian life of worship. Traditions for fun are one thing. Traditions for worship are a whole other world. The ‘new’ information I alluded to at the beginning of this chapter revolved around that exact topic…ways we worship and honor God.

Holiday: Old English hāligdæg, translated ‘holy day’.

 New Oxford American Dictionary

Many of our nation’s traditions are highly laden with pagan and spiritual undertones that were designed at worshiping false gods thousands of years ago. Our two most beloved holidays are no exception. This may be a shock but Christmas and Easter are both riddled with paganism. I’m not talking about how they’ve been polluted over time, but rather they originated as pagan rituals. That was a very hard discovery for me to make. For most of my life my year revolved around Christmas, Easter, and my birthday. No one was a bigger fan of those days than me. But when the veil was removed from my eyes about where those days came from, I was wrecked. This post isn’t a place to reveal the many proofs behind what i’m saying. Chapter four of my book goes into a lot of detail on the subject. I’m sure that you may have even been exposed to some of the information already. Just to give you an idea though, nearly ever single tradition connected to the two days were designed to admonish a false god in the past. Yikes!

So why do I make a point in telling you all of this? For one reason: Jesus is a big deal. He’s the biggest deal, and worshipping Him is never a light or unimportant matter. Neither are His commands. In verse three of Matthew 15, Jesus presents two waring objects: the commands of God and the traditions of men. Keep in mind, the Pharisees and Scribes whom He’s addressing were the religious people of the day in Israel. They were the ones who believed that they worshipped God properly and were the most knowledgeable about God’s written word to date. The scribe’s main job was to write and rewrite the Torah and other scrolls over and over. So you better believe they knew what it said. For us today, we could easily, and rightly should, put those who proclaim allegiance to Christ in the same figurative boat with the Pharisees and Scribes of old. What I mean is, Christians claim they worship the one true God correctly as did the Pharisees and Scribes. So by default, when Christian tradition is adverse to Jesus and His commands, it is opposed to everything our life is meant to be about as Christians.

Any time our traditions come under fire we can easily feel insulted or accused even. However, the idea for every person who confesses Christ, is to live a life of worship and praise to His glory. Right? Sometimes that means taking a good hard look at our most cherished traditions. So why am I picking on tradition so much? Well, perhaps it’s because it so often distracts us from the pure worship of God. Traditions are man-made, usually with the purpose of making us comfortable in the pursuit of God. Traditions have also been used by a small minority to have a sense of control over the masses.

Churches have been inundated by false man-made traditions and teachings. For example, in some churches you can’t take part in communion unless you are a member of their church. Some places hold to the teaching that you have to confess to a priest and he can absolve you of your sins. Some people actually believe, and teach, that if you’re not speaking in tongues you’re not saved. Traditions are empty in comparison to the life God has called us to live, and most dangerous of all, traditions can contradict the word of God. Scary!

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

John 4:23-24 (ESV)

Man-made doctrines and traditions of worship are vanity. God doesn’t say to worship me as you please but worship me in Spirit and in truth.  This is the truth of the bible, not of churches, or of human tradition, or of worldly knowledge. If we are not careful or watchful we can easily be taken captive to empty traditions and false teachings and practices that tickle our fancy and play to our desires and comforts.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirit of the world, and not according to Christ.

Colossians 2:8 (ESV)

 

Marriage Series #1: I married you why?

~ ForCommonGround ~ 4 Comments

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This is the first post in a five part series on marriage that I’ll be sharing over the next several weeks. For our first post I thought it best to start from the beginning and talk about how people approach the marriage relationship. Most people ponder the day they’ll meet Mr. or Mrs. right at some point while growing up. They imagine the day they’ll walk the isle and their dreams will come true and they’ll have that happily ever after fairy tale story that Disney and so many others have filled our imaginations with. But then they get married and they see just how different it actually is. They wonder then if they chose the wrong person. They ask themselves what went wrong. And sadly, so many decide that they just can’t continue any longer. That’s the bleak reality, and unfortunately, it probably hits home with a lot of those reading this post. Statistically speaking, most people in the United States have experienced divorce either first hand or second hand. I believe that to be the case due to the fact that the view of marriage is all wrong from day one. The faulty view in itself, sets us up for one bumpy ride!

If someone were to ask you why you got married, or wanted to get married, what would you say? The romanticized version would probably be that you fell in love and wanted to spend the rest of your life with that special someone. Am I close? Whatever the response I’m willing to bet that it had something to do with feelings of love and not wanting to be apart from them. We like the way we feel when we are in love and most people don’t like to be alone all of the time. We are relational beings. It’s how God designed us. So it is good to want to be with someone. It is good to want to be loved and valued. We are designed that way too. But neither of those should be the reason for getting married.

Most people begin a marriage with a self-centered point of view. Meaning, they want to get married so that they won’t be alone, or so they can be loved by someone, or so they can feel valued and wanted. Some people may get married because they want kids. Some people get married because it’s an expectation of them by parents or society. In all of these instances, marriage is all about them. Whether we admit it or not, we enter marriage with a “what can I get out of this” mentality. Put two people together with a self seeking approach to marriage and you no longer have to wonder why the divorce rate is so high.

I remember watching my bride walk down the isle on our wedding day thinking, “wow, I can’t believe she is going to be my wife!” Her beauty captivated me and her heart was as big as the sun and warmed my very soul. I was the luckiest man in the world. I’m sure most people felt similar feelings on their wedding day. But I was looking at things all wrong. She is extremely gorgeous and she has an amazing heart, but instead of being enthralled with having her as my wife, I should have been thinking about how awesome of a privilege it was going to be to take care of her for the rest of my life. It’s great to admire her qualities and feel blessed to have her, but I should’ve wanted to marry her because I wanted to help her become everything that God created her to be by encouraging her and serving her. I should’ve wanted to marry her so that I could show her Christ’s love in how I related to her. I would love to say that all of those things were running through my mind when I decided to ask her the big question, but that wouldn’t be honest.

There is nothing selfish about marriage. At least that’s how God intended it. Here are just a few verses that depict that:

Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

Ephesians 5:22-31 (NIV)

The best way for a marriage to thrive is for each person in the relationship to view it as an opportunity to make life easier and better for the other. Instead of looking at our spouse as a means to our end, we need to view ourselves as a vehicle for love and nourishment in their lives. Instead of pondering what we want out of our spouse, we need to think about what they need from us. Getting married is not about your spouse giving themselves to you, it’s about you giving yourself to them. A wife has to die to self in order to submit to the godly leadership of her husband. A husband must die to self to lead through servant hood and sacrifice.

Imagine how families and culture would change around the world if people were making the marriage commitment in order to further the gospel of Christ. Imagine how things would change if people were giving themselves in marriage rather than taking others in marriage. Imagine if the words “I do” meant that I will love and serve you till the end. Imagine if the words “I do” meant that I do lay down my life here and now for you. Imagine if people didn’t get married to fill a perceived need of their own but as an opportunity to fill the needs of another.

For those of us who are already married, it’s never to late to change gears. Even if we didn’t start from a place of selflessness, we can live the rest of our lives that way. That hardest part about all of it is, our spouse may not be selfless too. But, that doesn’t matter. After all, Christ didn’t come to serve us and give his life for us because we were such amazing people who served him. It was quite the opposite. Jesus is our example, our spouse isn’t. And the only way a selfish spouse will ever change is by seeing your selflessness and only if that selflessness is genuine. We can’t serve in order to manipulate our spouse into doing the same. That’s selfishness and deceitfulness. Yikes! We love them because Christ first loved us and because it’s how God designed marriage to be. We want others experience the love of Jesus. Who more than our spouse?

If you’re not yet married, then you have a huge advantage. You get the opportunity to walk into marriage with the right mentality and the right heart. You get to have an even greater impact on your spouse! How cool for you and how unique you’ll be.

Follow up: These are for you to ponder and, if you want, use as a way to start a discussion with your spouse.

1-How am I serving my spouse currently? How could I serve them more.

2-What unfair expectations have I placed on my spouse?

3-Am I seeking fulfillment in any way from my spouse?

4-How can I make life better for my spouse?

5-Am I loving my spouse like Jesus loves me?

Follow the Leader

~ ForCommonGround ~ Leave a comment

31Wci55k5UL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:  he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

                                                                        -Luke 6:46-49 (ESV)

We can all be inspired by stories, movies, music, etc…but inspiration can fade. We can be moved to tears or even moved to action, but inspiration rarely lasts. Think of a movie, book, or testimony that inspired you. Think of one that emotionally moved you. Now think about how many of those are still affecting how you live your life today in a big way. I’m willing to bet, not many. The reason why is that inspiration is mostly surface deep, unless it gives way to being captivated. Chapter three of the book draws out the comparisons between inspiration and captivation and how that defines how we relate to people and things in our lives.

The question that Jesus poses in verse 46 of Luke chapter 6, is not one that suggests a lack of inspiration on behalf of the audience He’s addressing. Look no further than the title prescribed to Jesus by His audience. They called Him Lord, and that was not a title to be taken lightly. We give lordship to things or people that captivate us. Whether it’s an addiction, a near and dear possession, or a relationship, we place priority and power in the hands of that which has stolen our hearts. Giving lordship to anything other than Jesus is summed up by saying we prefer the flesh over the Spirit. And anything and anyone who takes preference over Him has more authority in our lives than He does.

By nature, humans gravitate towards submission. Sound crazy? Think about it. We either submit ourselves to our own selfish desires, to cultural norms, to a relationship, to money, to fame, or we submit ourselves to Christ. No matter the choice we make, it’s a choice of submission. We submit to holiness or worldliness. Romans chapter six describes it as either being a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness.

The title of Christian means to be of Christ or to follow Christ. In all actuality, this is a title that is demonstrated by a person’s life, not given to them by someone else or even by themselves. This isn’t about the age old debate of faith-based vs. works-based salvation. It’s not really a debate though. The bible never says that a person in saved by works. It does say all throughout that faith is what saves us. As a result of our faith we are driven into a deeper pursuit of Christ. That’s where the works play themselves out. Has anyone ever told you to love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life? It’s the same with following Jesus. We love Him and love following Him so it ceases to be about doing work and is more like doing what we love for Who we love. Christ becomes Lord and leader of our life. Our life then becomes about following The Leader.

Follow Him because He is a way better leader than we could ever be.

Peace and blessings in Christ!

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20 (ESV) 

Finding Faith

~ ForCommonGround ~ 2 Comments

31Wci55k5UL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

-Mark 4:35-41 (ESV)

Faith has become somewhat of an obscure word. If you were to ask ten people what it means, you may get nearly ten varying answers as to what the specifics of the word are. Even so, one common thread that you may see in those responses is the notion of trust. Another key element to defining faith has to be belief. In fact, belief must precede trust for this system of faith to work itself out. A third partner in the faith family is often the most forgotten. That element is action. Faith is one of the most important aspects of human life. Because it’s so important, we need desperately to know what it means. Chapter two of the book takes a deep look at the meaning of the word faith from multiple sources and how it plays out in the people of the bible as well as our own lives.

How we meet circumstances in life will depend on who we believe Jesus to be and whether we believe He cares for us or not. Have you ever uttered variations of these statements:

“God has bigger things to worry about than what I’m dealing with.”

“Why should God help me through this?”

“Where was God when  __(fill in the blank)__ happened?”

I read a blog post one time that said (my paraphrase) that doubt is what leads us to God and that we should embrace our doubt. It went on to propose that our doubt deepens our relationship with Christ. I had to read and reread their statements a few times because I thought that I might have made a mistake because these statements couldn’t be further from the truth. Doubt is the exact 180 degree opposite of faith. Doubt is the result of disavowing the Lordship of Christ. Doubt says that Christ is powerless and indifferent. Doubt drives us deeper into our own insecurities and further from the freedom that an intimate relationship with Jesus produces. Doubt cripples and paralyzes while faith heals and moves us.

Not only do we need faith that Christ is with us in all circumstances, we also need to believe and trust in His caring nature towards us. To find assurance of that we need not look beyond the cross, where Christ’s great love for humanity was at its greatest. We have an amazing savior who loves us way more than we can imagine and more than we ever give Him credit for. That truth was not yet fully realized by His disciples as they crossed the sea with Him. And perhaps His love hasn’t been fully realized by so many of us today.

You need not every doubt Jesus’ goodness towards you.

Peace and blessings to you all in Christ Jesus our Lord

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

-Romans 5:6-8 (ESV)

 

How’s your reflection?

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We are all made in God’s image. What we believe and how we live our lives will determine whether we reflect that or not. It has nothing to do with race or nationality, income or occupation. It has everything to do with Jesus.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Colossians 3:1-11 (ESV)

 

America is missing the point about Charlottesville

~ ForCommonGround ~ 1 Comment

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I have heard a lot the last several days about Donald Trump, neo-Nazis, alt-right, alt-left, and Black lives matter. None of them are the big problem behind what happened. The news has been full of finger-pointing, blaming, and dividing rhetoric. None of that will bring healing and unity in the wake of this tragedy.

The problem is we fought a physical war over 150 years ago, to bring an end to confederate ideals that destroyed human dignity, but we didn’t offer a solution to the much greater need of a broken human nature. The problem is that we marched for civil rights over 60 years ago but still didn’t address the broken human nature that led to the formation of the violent KKK and black panther groups. The problem is that we banned to disgraceful institution of segregation but we didn’t lay the ground work to actually unite a people.

The human nature is broken. Humanity is fallen. Humanity needs saving. That’s not a new thing. It’s been that way since the garden. Charlottesville is a manifestation of humanities brokenness. Donald Trump is not dividing our nation. Neo-Nazis are not dividing our nation. Black lives matter is not dividing our nation. Our broken, sinful nature is dividing our nation. It’s a shared responsibility. It’s not just the brokenness of the protesters in Charlottesville. It’s the brokenness of you and me who refuse to speak the truth to everyone we meet and know. It’s the brokenness of every human who lives a life apart from Jesus Christ. It’s the brokenness of everyone who is meeting hate with more hate. It’s the brokenness of every person who would not wash the feet of their enemy like Jesus did but would rather publicly defame, ridicule, and verbally terrorize those who believe differently than them.

Nothing about what happened in Charlottesville was good. No matter the side you look at. Nothing. Let’s stop wasting time pointing fingers and start spreading the saving message of Jesus Christ who is the ONLY hope for our nation. He is the only one that can heal our human nature. He is the only one that can break apart the ideologies that promote any race because we are all God’s creation. No race is better or more important than another because we are all one in Jesus Christ. Love and truth are the remedies to our sickness. And that love and truth can only be found in Jesus Christ.

Jesus went to the cross out of love for all of those neo-Nazis. He went to the cross for every slave owner in world history. He went to the cross for Donald Trump. He went to the cross for you. He went to the cross for me. He went to the cross for the Black lives matter protesters. Alt-right or Alt-left, Jesus died for all them both. Marches don’t heal us. Protests don’t heal us. The media can’t heal us. Presidents can’t heal us. Only Jesus can do that. Only coming to the cross of Christ with our brokenness can heal us.

We have the words of healing and of hope. Let’s go spread the message!

Love and peace to you brothers and sisters.

Who is this?

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Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

                                              -Matthew 16:13-18 (ESV)

Chapter one of the book targets the most fundamental question for every human being: who is Jesus? It is so important because it will literally influences everything about a person’s life, both now and after they are gone. I spoke a lot on this topic in a post back in April of 2016 during the time I was beginning the writing process on the book.

The book is meant to engage the reader into a conversation with the living Christ. Sounds heavy right? It is! But how can anyone have a conversation with someone they don’t know? In order to have a conversation with anyone, it is important to know who it is you’re talking with and that’s what this first chapter is all about.

Much of what people initially form their opinions on is what those around them have expressed. Our understanding of who Jesus is, in most cases, originate in what we were taught by others whether they were our parents, friends, movies, stories, a missionary, etc…It’s decision time for all of us. Who is Jesus? Most people in the world, despite their beliefs, have good things to say about Him. But good isn’t good enough. Jesus had a lot to say about His own identity. We have to decide who Jesus is, not based on what people say, but on what Jesus Christ Himself said. Our life experience can’t dictate who He is, He does. Instead, our life experiences are meant to be dictated by who He is.

Labeling Jesus with any less of an identity than who He truly is, would strip Him of His credibility. If He was lying, then He cannot be good. If He was telling the truth, then He has to be God. When we view Jesus as the bible teaches, as God has shown, and as Jesus taught and demonstrated, we will turn our attention to living for godly things. Our purpose becomes about pleasing God and not ourselves. Our decisions get weighed against the truths that Jesus taught and lived out during His stay on planet Earth. We start to live our lives as though Jesus is our everything and we owe everything to Him.

Do you know the real Jesus?

God bless brothers and sisters! Come explore more with me if you’d like.

 

 

My new book is out!

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Book cover by Matt Scofield, Copyright 14k Media

Today is the release date for a project that has been underway for nearly two years. A huge thanks to all the encouragement from my wife, family, and friends who helped me along this journey. The book is currently available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as well as an e-version on Kindle and Nooks.

Here’s a basic synopsis of the book if you’d like to have a read:

Asking questions was central to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus used questioning so much that sometimes He even preferred answering questions with a question of His own. In context, these questions are directed to the religious leaders of the time, His disciples, and the on-looking crowds. On a much grander scale, Jesus asks these questions as if He is having a one-on-one conversation with you and me thousands of years later. This book is going to help you get face-to-face with the Savior of World. He has asked questions that cut to the heart of our fears, our hopes, and our imaginations. Throughout this book you will be met with ten of Christ’s questions. They will act as a mirror into your motives, your wounds, your relationships, and your deepest desires. Keep a bible handy. You’ll be needing it a lot!

“My [Jesus] sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

John 10:27

I would love for you to pick up a copy and to hear your feedback. I hope that it blesses you as much as the Lord has blessed me through the process of writing it. The whole purpose behind this project is to reach the world with the Gospel message which is so way beyond good news! God bless you in Christ, my brothers and sisters!

Spend your life dancing

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My wife told me of a story she heard in a bible study of a man who danced whenever he worshipped. He couldn't contain it. Come to find out, this man had deserved a life sentence for a crime he had committed as a youth while mixed up in the gang lifestyle. But God gave him a second chance at life when the grandmother of his victim asked for leniency to be shown him. Instead of his life being over, he was granted parole. He gave his life to Christ and said that he would spend the rest of his life dancing in praise.

As amazing as that story is his condition was far less severe than humanity's spiritual state apart from salvation in Christ. Life in prison cannot come close to comparing to eternity in hell. For those who have given their life to Jesus, they have been paroled from a much greater peril. For someone who has been redeemed from spiritual death and adopted by the Creator of the universe, worship should be a constant in their life. Because we too cannot contain our gratitude.

But how do you worship your savior regularly when you have a job, multiple jobs, a marriage, a child, multiple kids, a nonstop life? We worship through distraction, not just in the absence of it.

One morning on the way to church, in a car with two chatty and noisy little girls in the back, I found myself lost in deep meaningful worship. I was getting emotional. Song after song hit me with a new piece to a powerful message. I was interacting with the Holy Spirit that morning! And it's not like I was tuning my kids out or ignoring them either. Which is exactly my point. We can have meaningful worship in the middle of life's craziness. We can worship at work. We can worship with the kids. We can worship all day long no matter what that day looks like.

Don't just find the time to praise God for His over the top goodness, make it the business of your day to do so. We have so much to praise Him for. Each breath is a gift. Come what may, just worship and let your heart dance within!

I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalm 63:4 (NIV)

Look at your own bubbles

~ ForCommonGround ~ 1 Comment


Today I was blowing bubbles for both my girls in our backyard. They absolutely love it! I will shower each  of them one at a time in a barrage of bubbles as they try to pop them before they hit the ground. As the fun went on both of my daughters kept starring off at the bubbles that I blew for the other. Because they kept looking at their sister’s bubbles they would miss their own. 

I couldn’t help but to catch the picture of what was happening and think of how most people, no matter the age, can be guilty of the very same thing. As we get older we look at things a lot different than bubbles but the problem is the same. We can so easily miss the great things right in front of us because we are too busy looking at what others have. 

Today I’m going to take the time to be thankful for all the people and things in my life. Most of all, I’m going to be thankful no matter the bubbles that others have because I have Jesus and nothing could ever beat that! God bless my brothers and sisters and may you see all the beautiful bubbles in your life.

“But godliness with contentment is great gain,”

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬