unexpected circumstances

At Home with Jesus

“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” – 2 Corinthians 5:1 A friend of mine sent me a video, and as is usual these days, it started with a commercial. The first shot was of a man and woman in their mid-thirties staring at a screen with saxophone music playing in the background, and it had a kind of salacious feel. When it came on, I was wondering if it was going to be appropriate, but it turns out it was an ad for Zillow, and the couple was drooling over houses they might buy if they lived somewhere more affordable. While to some, purchasing a home does not seem like a fantasy, to those of us who live in locations like California or New York, it can

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Live With Open Hands

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28 One of the most revolutionary shifts we can have in our thinking is to understand that when the Lord leads us away from something, it’s because He always has something better prepared. If we’ve invested a lot of time and energy somewhere or with someone — whether a relationship, business, ministry, or job — it’s easy to hold on to it with clenched fists. However, because God’s ways are much higher than ours, He often uses unexpected circumstances to make us uncomfortable so He can guide us to better things. He sees more than we do, and He understands the duration of each season of our lives. While He wants to use us where we’re at, it’s imperative that we don’t try

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Vision Crystalizes in Crisis

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:7 When it comes to assessing how we’re doing as we lead ourselves and others, one of the most important things to consider is how we respond to a crisis. When we’ve built a personal and organizational culture of safety and stability, unexpected circumstances can actually serve to make us stronger. I remember hearing an older gentleman say years ago that the reason he retired from the Navy after the war is because there wasn’t a whole lot to do in peacetime. So tightly and cohesively did the sailors work together in conflict that when there were no daily struggles, the pace grew to a crawl. Likewise, though not a physical war, some might say that the uncertain waters of the COVID-19 crisis created an uphill battle for individuals,

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