I believe that Godly people make ungodly decisions at times simply by not slowing down to consider what is really going on inside them and around them. In other words, discernment is needed. In my study of Biblical Wisdom Literature, I believe there is a progression to how we move forward in Godly wisdom to live with spiritual discernment. Consider … 

At the foot of the cross, the good news is really good. Stoop low, repent freely, and find the abundance of grace to needy sinners. That means you – believer. Your hiding, justifying, and deflecting only proves you still have more of the Gospel to lean into … so lean in my friend!

We can’t see into someone’s heart, and often people (like our Matthew 7 individual) can’t even see their own heart clearly. So, we must act with discernment, slow-our-role of judgment, and hold high the banner of True Saving Faith. 

His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower … Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan his work in vain; God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain.”

El Shaddai, the Almighty Ruler of the Universe and Creator of All Things … He’s behind this, because He’s behind everything. R.C. Sproul wrote – “If there is one maverick molecule in all the universe, then God is not sovereign. And if God is not sovereign, He is not God.”

God designed us to be embedded in relationships, having made mankind in the image of the Godhead (plural – Genesis 1:26), who was eternally in community. His design was hearts, minds, and souls able to relate together, in intimate fellowship, with God and one another.

We must not forget that! We must celebrate that! He is at work in your life. Do you see it? Look backwards and be reminded of where you’ve come. But always look forward and remember He hasn’t yet let you down or stopped leading you through the water.

May we rest in the place we have been given in this world, maximizing our days, and pointing to the Story of His Glory with our every thought, word and deed. “Not to us O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory!”

Before you ever even open your mouth to speak about the Gospel, you are communicating something. May it be a silent witness that is delightful, winsome, kind and selfless, so that when you open your mouth to be a truth-speaking witness, they are ready to listen. 

God has a design for our flourishing, and in His way of doing things, generosity is the key to ultimate satisfaction. How have you seen God train your heart in generosity? Where have you been ministered to by the generous heart of others? What holds you back from “giving freely to grow all the richer”?

God is at work in ways that are beautiful “on the front”, but we can’t yet see it fully. Such a necessary reminder of God’s sovereign care and leadership in our lives … always!

Sometimes relationships hurt so badly. Often because we let our own sin get in the way of really loving people. But at other times it is because we are courageous enough to wade into the deep waters of righteously wounding a friend.

May all true disciples of Christ take a moment this week to both thank God for our Christian heritage and remember our role in the preservation of our nation. God’s plan has always been the establishing of healthy local churches equipping men and women to live as disciples in the mission field that is their own nation.

To be known and loved by our Heavenly Father, and to love His Word, means that we will seek to know and love our true brothers and sisters … not optional!

Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed and trouble is certain. So, live on purpose, serve with generosity, give your life away for the Kingdom. What is certain for every child of God is a glory-filled future beyond our wildest dreams.

Building meaningful relationships requires time together around the table … This kind of familial hospitality ought to lead the way for us repeating this in our own homes with one another and our neighbors.

We obey this command, and our practice is to invite all believers to come to the Table monthly as an act of worship and remembrance that Christ did it all … all to Him we owe! 

The Lord’s Day exposition is the feast for God’s people leading them into the week as God and His Word are fixed at the center of the Sunday Worship Service. 

Explaining what we do and why we do it is easier than actually doing it, so please join us in praying for Redeemer to be a praying church … and make patterns of prayer central in your day and week. 

The variety of voices, instruments, and songs are a corporate expression of the one voice of God’s redeemed community gathering on the Lord’s Day to exalt, thank, confess, and delight in the God of our salvation.