daddy4ms

If you have not picked up Jesus Outside the Lines by Scott Sauls, you are missing out on a great book.  I think this book should be required reading for all in church leadership and every Christian. Why?  Because in the church, we are horrible at dealing with disagreements.  We take sides. We hurt people.  This book is a breath of fresh air for me and I think it will be for you too.  Here are some quotes from his chapter on "Affirmation or Critique": Jesus was offensive to smug, judgmental, religious people. He was a breath of fresh air to broken, nonreligious people. This longing for affirmation makes sense. Both existentially real and biblically true, it is reason we Christians should be the most affirming people in the world. Have we grown accustomed to relationally including and excluding others based on a list of spoken or unspoken "clean laws" that have no basis in Scripture? Have we grown accustomed to scolding others for certain sins while exempt...

I finished reading through the devotion, Hidden in Christ by James Bryan Smith yesterday.  I loved it!  I would recommend it to all of you.  It is a great reminder of who God is and who we are in Christ.  It is based on Colossians 3:1-17.  It has 30 entries based on words from this passage.  One of my favorite parts of the 30 entries is the affirmation at the end. Here is the affirmation at the end of the book based on praying "in Jesus' name." "I am privileged to act, to pray, to minister and to do all that I do in Jesus' name. I do not act alone; I operate with the power and presence of Jesus in all that I do." May we all love others today in the power and presence of Jesus!