Illuminate

I saw the Hunger Games the night it was released. It has quickly become the biggest movie of the year and one of the biggest movies since Twilight. The biggest crowd this movie appeals to is definitely students. So I went to the movie with an open mind. One of the most interesting quotes I heard in the movie was this, "the only thing more powerful than fear is hope."  As soon as I heard that quote I began to think about the power of both fear and hope. Fear has the power to make someone never do something ever again or never try it. There is certainly a good fear and a bad fear. A good fear is found when it helps us avoid things that can harm us. I am talking about the fear that shackles us down from doing the things God has called us to.  What is the emotion that can break that fear, hope. There is power in hope. I heard this past week of a teenager that was adrift in the ocean for 26 days! I wonder what kept him alive? Maybe it was fear, fear of death, fear of neve...

I am very excited to preach this Sunday on reaching out to those who have yet to start a journey of faith. One of the stories that really illustrates the beautiful picture of someone coming back to the Lord is the story of the prodigal son. It gives me hope when I read that story for myself and others. The interesting thing about that story is not only the story of the younger brother that ran away but also the story of the bitter older brother. Now I know what it is like to have a younger brother so I can kind of relate to this story. In the parable Jesus describes a younger brother who takes his inheritance from his father, falls on his face, and returns to his father hoping for a better life. The beautiful part of the story is when the father receives his young son back and celebrates that he has returned. But where is the older brother when all of this is happening? Well he is pouting and being bitter that his father received his younger brother back. I am sure he was asking how ...

I went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago. Just between you and I, I hate going to the dentist! Maybe it is because growing up I had 6 teeth pulled (I was awake for all of them), braces, and a couple of cavities. All of these incidences have brought pain and some resentment about the dentist. Through all of that I now realize that even though there was pain and trouble, that it was all for a good purpose.  Why do people work out? Who would want to experience being sore all the time, because they know it produces a stronger better them. There is an old saying that usually applies to working out and maybe even my dentist appointments, no pain no gain. To many times I think that we as humans want the gain without the pain and we are unwilling to go through the pain to get the gain. The same is very true with God. We want the gain of spiritual growth and maturity but we are unwilling to go through the pain it takes to get there. What I am not saying is God delights putting us thr...