A question I often hear from sincere Christians is, “How do I renew my mind?”

My first answer is that we don’t renew our own minds. We are changed by the “renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5), and it really can be quite effortless.

Just a thought from the parable of the wheat and tares…

My main takeaway is that we can damage the growth of good things (wheat) by focusing on getting rid of bad things (tares). That’s why legalism actually does damage.

In the beginning… God made us like Himself.  The intention was that we would be united with Him.  He would be our Life, our strength, our everything we would need.

Later, Adam would separate from God.  The man would not see himself as belonging with God, but Adam become “the other”, someone whose differences could not be overlooked.

We all love a good underdog story. It feels so good to see someone overcome their difficulties. We love that they succeed, even when people said they could not. I think most of us relate to those stories, because either we have overcome obstacles ourselves, or we are in the process of overcoming something now.

When you put cream in your coffee, it all becomes one. It literally becomes a different drink, because of the union of the ingredients. Once they are mingled together, you cannot take it back. You cannot make it black coffee again.

“When will the kingdom of God be established on earth?” the Pharisees asked Jesus. He responded by telling them that the kingdom of God does not come with ocular observation because the kingdom of God is within you. (see Luke 17:20-21)

What can we do when it seems like the world around us is falling apart? When it feels like the hate is palpable and the end of division is nowhere in sight?

Love who is in front of us.

What can we do when the world seems hopelessly lost? And nobody seems to regard the Jesus we know and love?

Love who is in front of us.

When we were newly married, I traveled with Rick to a church meeting where he had spoken previously, but I had never been. They had known Teresa, his first wife of 34 years who had passed away from cancer. I was nervous but excited to meet this special group of people.

When Judi and I were getting to know each other, we had fun revealing everything about ourselves. Judi would ask me all kinds of questions and I was happy to answer them because I wanted her to know me. She later said that most guys try to present themselves in the best light possible, but she liked that I didn’t do that. To which I replied, “Well, I wanted you to know the real me, even my weaknesses.”

Like an electric current, the Holy Spirit has come into us and connected us with God, the Source. The current/power is within us now. We are no longer trying to get God outside of ourselves to do something for us. He’s given us everything already. He’s given us Himself.

Did you ever see the little “Christian” comic booklet titled, “This Was Your Life”? 

It was horrible.  It depicted a dead man watching his life as a movie. He was shown telling a dirty joke, leering at a woman, and smoking and drinking.  Obviously, he went to hell in the story.

In “Star Wars”, they often say, “May the force be with you,” but the true Force, God in us, is always with us, so it’s not something to hope or wish for.

In fact, we can confidently say, “The SOURCE is with us.”

I’ve often heard that God is a God of justice. This is usually used as an argument for punishing sin, but maybe we misunderstand the whole idea of God’s “justice”. From what I see in the Bible, and from what I personally experience with my Father, His justice is completely different from a human idea of justice.

As we look at the beauty of the gospel, we become truly awestruck by the goodness and copiousness of God’s heart. We come to realize that He is Love, and nothing less. 

We begin to notice that so many things that once seemed vital, even urgent, become small in the light of Love.  The knowledge of good and evil gives way to a higher life and a higher cause. 

Let’s talk about that poor, misunderstood word in the Christian language: obedience.  It somehow carries a connotation of drudgery and sacrifice, when in fact, it’s not a sacrificial act at all.  The Bible even shows the difference between the two, stating that, “Obedience is better that sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22).

When I grew up I (Judi) was told that God loved me. But it didn’t mean much to me because I didn’t really believe it.

Too many bad things had happened to me. Too many mean people. Too many mistakes others had made. Too many mistakes I had made. Too many problems in front of me.

“Who is my neighbor?” the lawyer asked Jesus.

He wasn’t asking out of humble sincerity, wanting to learn. The bible says he was trying to test Jesus and justify himself.  Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. 

Forgiveness is the anecdote to a wounded soul. But how do we get there when we are so hurt? The way of the world is to shame those who wound us, to try to get “justice”, thinking it will validate the harm we’ve been put through, but this is only a mirage. Man’s justice and condemnation never bring true healing or life. It simply digs us deeper into the pit of wounding. 

When I (Judi) was a little girl, I sucked my finger. Not my thumb, but my forefinger. It was my preferred, go-to self-soothing practice. 

My mother tried everything to get me to stop sucking my finger. She reprimanded me, she said it made me look like a baby, she applied very yucky, bitter-tasting liquid to deter me, she explained to me why it wasn’t good for me to continue sucking my finger as it could interfere with my speech development, cause orthodontic issues, and even lead to me being made fun of/bullied by my peers. All to no avail. I was entering the fourth grade still sucking my finger. 

My first sermon was titled “Love is Perfection”.  Forty years later, that is still my message. There is just nothing better. I have been blessed to spend my life telling good news about the heart and power of God. I’ve seen it heal and encourage countless souls.