Adopted

This past weekend we as Love City Church served in Our Calling Ministries in Downtown Dallas. We helped give out clothing, tooth brushes, water, and we got to worship with some of the homeless in Dallas. We were also encouraged to build relationships with these people and to share God's truth with them.

 I approached one of the homeless men there and asked him where he was from and his name. He said, "Oh, I'm nobody." He said this with all sincerity. This broke my heart.

I knew if he accepted Christ he could see that we become someone because we are adopted into God's family.

When we think about the gospel we often forget this element of our salvation (I am guilty of this as well). This idea of adoption shows us that God accepts sinners as his sons and daughters. Our salvation does not just save us from spending eternity from God but make us a part of a great community that is God. We become someone in God's family!

We are all adopted!

Hate Sin

A big reason as to why I was an atheist early on in my life was because I was baffled as to why such a "loving" God would allow such heartache and violence happen all across our globe. I used 9/11, Columbine, random terrorist attacks, and other tragic events as "proof" that there was no God. But I was only looking at the surface. Now I am a follower of Christ and I now understand. (This next idea didn't come from me originally but from a blogger at The Gospel Coalition. She wrote about the Sandy Hook shooting. Her name escapes me but I am giving the credit to her.) These horrible world tragedies aren't God's fault, Its sin's fault. When the bombs at the Boston Marathon exploded (Killing three people)our initial reaction shouldn't be "Why have you done this God!?" but it should be "I hate sin." Sin caused this. Sin brings on destruction. The sins of people causes them to commit terrible acts of violence. But they are not the only ones with sin, we also sin daily. This is what our sin and everybody else's sin in the world is capable of doing. I don't know about you but I hate my sin more today than I did yesterday. I pray that God brings peace and understanding to the people who are hurting here, Boston, and everywhere else in the world. I pray that we all realize that Christ died for our sins so we didn't have to suffer for all of eternity. He died the death we deserved and lived the life we couldn't live.

For Jack!

Philippians 2:3-4 "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of mind regard one another more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interest but also for the interest of others."

The Nebraska football team regarded Jack as more important than themselves, and it was beautiful.

All the glory to God for allowing us to love one another so much.

Its All Around You

The winter weather has been hanging around these parts a little too long this season. But now the spring weather is coming! So now is a good time to go out and enjoy the nature that God has surrounded us with.

In Romans 1:19-20 its reads, "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."

God is saying "Just look all around you!"

The trees, leaves, grass, hills, mountains are all witnesses to how good God is! The are all proclaiming and shouting "I am God's creation!" We are also his creation. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. It's time we go outside and and enjoy what God has made