My Crazy Faith

Considering the condition of the world nowadays - with its loosey-goosy morals and lack of a true, stable, meaningful foundation - I think a lot of people might find some encouragement in this sermon from Willow Creek.  For being such a sensitive topic, this pastor did a great job addressing it (though I agree with him that he could've spoken a lot longer and covered a lot more about it):  "Why does God care about who I sleep with?"  

[This is similar to #1 ( "Let go" ), but a little more specific.] T hroughout our lives, we will find ourselves being pruned over and over again as God continues to weed out anything that doesn’t bring Him glory, doesn't fit His purposes for our life during the season we are in, and isn’t for our best.    And this isn’t always easy.  In fact, it seldom is.    We like things to be our way.    We like having the control, following our own wisdom, relying on ourselves and our strength, holding onto the things we want. Well, we like it until we see what a mess we've made of things... and then we cry "O God, why did You let this happen!?!" But God wants more for us.  And He's got not just the here-and-now in mind, but also eternity, the things that will last.  And in order to help us have the best - the best eternities, the best now, the best relationships, the best Christian witness - He needs to prune us of the things that get in the way, that w...

I wrote about some of the "hardest spiritual lessons" years ago on another blog of mine, but I am updating and reposting it here.   These are normal, typical (often painful) lessons that we will all eventually struggle with (it's okay to struggle) if we continue to walk with God and to chase after a deeper relationship with Him.    (And I know there are more than I've listed here.)   In no particular order (and broken up into individual posts), here are some of the hardest lessons I've learned over the years when it comes to faith and walking with God: 1.    Let Go or Hold on? Imagine you fell over the side of a cliff and are hanging onto a tiny root sticking out the side of the cliff with one hand, and God throws a rope down to save you.  But in your other hand, you're holding onto a water bottle you think you need.  You need both hands to grab the rope and climb, but you're afraid to let go of the water bottle.   After all, w...