We all are going to face opposition in life with every opportunity we have. But, just as there is opposition to every opportunity, there is also an opportunity in the opposition we face.
The zig zag in our faith is the ability to keep pressing on even though we are facing opposition. We don't have to let the things that oppose us stop us dead in our tracks, we can zig and zag by faith.
It seems as though hope is something we constantly need to be fighting for. As it’s been said, there are no hopeless situations, only people who have grown hopeless about them.
Hope may not always be easy to find in our lives, but it is something we must learn to continually fight for. And, the best person to do that for you in your life is you!
The aim of the critic is to get their voice to become the voice within your heart. You don't have to live according to what your critics say and you can crush the critic within!
An interview with Dr. Len Lantz where we discuss depression and his new book about Christians and depression called "Unjoy".
When we feel boxed in we can become very easily discouraged. But, we can take courage and know that God is making a way for us to go forward.
Fractures in meaningful relationships can be a very difficult season of your life to walk through. With God, there is always hope for healing from past hurts.
The simple way forward is to trust, but that's not always easy when you're facing your greatest fear.
Everyday we are left with the choice to stay as we are or to go forward. When we continue to pursue our dreams, our hearts are truly livin’ on the edge.
Our thoughts can take us captive and leave us feeling powerless. But, the good news is, we can challenge them and change them!
We can keep trying to butt our heads up against a wall or accept that some things are just not gonna to change. Instead of being controlled by what we can't change, we can take control and change the things we can.
Everyone has fear, but fear doesn't have everyone. We can live confidently and courageously by faith and continue to face our fear!
We definitely all ask this question in our life. There is no easy answer for it, but we don't have to live like a victim to it.
It’s hard not to be stumped by the things that happen to us and others in this life. But, we can always trust that God isn’t stumped and is working all things together for good.
There are so many "IF's" in life, and they are usually based in our fears. We can't erase fear, but we can face it and say "even IF".
It is so easy to get caught up in a negative cycle when what we had is taken from us. But, we have a choice, we can focus on what was taken, or take hold of what we've been given.
It's so easy to lose ourselves and not even know it when we go through something traumatic. Finding and regaining the you in you is one of the most courageous things you can do!
It's so easy to get frustrated and upset when life doesn't go how we thought it would. However, that becomes the perfect time for your faith and love to grow and flourish.
We've all been hurt by religion in some way. Christ came to this earth to set us free from the tyranny of all religion.
We have all experienced rejection and we accept all that comes with it. God offers us acceptance, will you accept all that comes with it?
We project in order to protect. Love frees us from having to live in the prison of the projections of ourselves and others.
We place so many expectations on ourselves that can really lead us to a place of frustration. A shift takes place in our hearts when we see that God never placed those expectations on us.
Perfection is not a prerequisite to following God or having a relationship with him. We can embrace our flaws and our faith at the same time.
We can very easily be off in our perception of others, ourselves, and God. We have to fight to see things the way God sees them and it's in this "look" we find our victory.
Rejection is a very painful thing that we all experience in our lives. We want to be able to hold those hurts in a way that can bring healing into our lives and the lives of others.
This doesn’t stop with death so you can step into life now. No matter what you’re going through, continue to choose your faith over your fear.
There is much suffering and many struggles that can make our lives very uncomfortable. But, we can go through life learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
We all have things that become too much for us to carry alone. We can give it up to God and leave it there.
We don’t like to be interrupted, it can annoy and anger us very easily. But, learning to live in the interruption can be a powerful tool to grow in faith, hope and love.
We never know how life will go, so it’s best to go with the flow. When we find our flow, we will find the faith we need to grow.
One person that we can really fail to stand up for in life is ourselves. It's not an easy shift to make, but it can be done when we see how God stands up for us as well.
Getting over attitudes of unlove in our hearts can be one of the most difficult things we do. But, if we don't get over it, we will live under it.
This message by Rick Lyman is about the Lord's power to heal our hearts. Finding our healing is about receiving the love that God has for us in Christ.
The longest journey we take in life is the 18 inches from our head to our heart. It's there we find God's love and learn to love as God loves.
To know God is to know love. If we claim to know God we should show this same love to all people.
The cruelest thing we can do is close the door to God's love on others. We are called to love the world around us as Jesus loves the world around us.
Desiring hell for others who may not be like us cannot be Godlike. To be like God is about growing beyond our prejudices and extending the same goodness to others that he has shown to us.
There's a lot of fishy business going on when we are no longer showing compassion to all people. We have to grow beyond our prejudices and allow our hearts to become more like God's.
We can trust that God has a plan for our life according to his promise and purpose. We don't get all the details but we do know the destination.
God calls us to things equal to His strength not ours. God's presence in your person is all the power you need!
It seems easier at the start to run from ourselves and the things we need to face. But, in the end it just takes us further and further down in a hole.
When we feel like God has crossed us, can we still go forward in our faith and grow in our understanding of Him and His ways?
It’s so easy to get disconnected from the truth that is our freedom. A simple diagnosis of our connection can be the beginning of our deliverance.
At times life can really suck and be difficult. Fighting against our experience will leave us fighting against ourselves, so we must learn to embrace the suck.
The easy way out is not out, but through. God will lead you through whatever you are going though, just as He promised.
The cave is a place where we dwell in loneliness and despair, and it's a common experience for all of us. But, there is hope, and God is calling you out of the cave.
We so easily can get hooked on stories in our mind that come out of our imagination. The trance dance is when we match our thoughts with our feelings and lose sight of God's truth in our life.
Life is overwhelming in and of itself. But, when it becomes more that we can handle what do we do?
We weren’t promised a life without problems, but we were promised a life with God’s presence. It’s not an either/or, but a both/and deal.
We order things based on importance, and so does God. Getting the order right is key to enjoying your life and growing in your faith.
The key to living an empowered life is living a life connected to God and others. In order to be there for others, we must first learn to be there for ourselves.
We tend to see things as they are, and not as they can be or will be. On the surface, all hope may appear lost, but God is at work beyond the surface in our lives!
Faith isn't something we feel, it's something we do. There's going to be a stretching on your end, but transformation awaits you!
You got to be a bit of a rebel to make it in this life. In order to pursue who God is calling you to be, you'll need to rebel against things like the status quo, present critics and religious norms.
To grow in the new you have to let go of the old. The old can't hold the expansion that takes place with your new transformation.
You and I make up the church. We are a motley crew of people that are uniquely loved by Jesus.
Thinking outside the box isn't conventional, but it's the way to go forward in life with courage. It's how we get proper perspective and are able to live a life empowered by the Spirit of God.
We were created to do life together, to find strength from one another, like islands in the stream.
God is a wing giver not a wing clipper. You truly were created to soar and live as a free bird.
The pressures of this world can harden you or make you into who you were made to be. The strength to handle that pressure comes from knowing your why and choosing to live your life in line with that.
Quiet the voices that tell you you’re not good, capable or worthy enough of the plans that God has for you. The cross of Christ obliterates every lie that has ever been told and the chatter that we tend to listen to.
We all can get busy paying too much attention to the noise in our brains. But, there's peace and rest as we learn to turn to God and trust Him.
You are an earthly person with a heavenly calling. There is no higher calling than the call to follow God with your life.
Anyone who is marked for God is going to be marked by the opposition. You are valued, worthy and highly favored, and your life for God does count!
Psalm 147 says that “God heals the broken hearted and binds up our wounds”, so no matter what kind of wounds or how deep they are, we have a God who heals and restores by the power of the cross.
Don't get stuck in the comparison trap. Live authentically to who God made you to be, because there's no one else He wants you to be.
We all have an ideal way we want life to go, but then reality kicks in. If we can surrender the ideal for the real, we will see that the real is the ideal!
Doubt can be a good thing and not something God shuns us for. It’s a part of everyone’s faith journey, and it’s through our doubts that we come to find faith and the Lord!
It’s through our struggle that we find our strength. It’s in our pain that we find our power and the presence of the Lord.
It's called a "faith journey" because it takes place over the course of a lifetime. And, over time, God unfolds the promises He has spoken to you.
The things that work against you are not as secure as you think because you have God working for you and on your behalf, and they are no match for Him!
Three of the most powerful and important words ever spoken are "It is finished". Before you took a breath, before you took a step, and before you made a mistake, Jesus already won the victory for you on the cross!
The cross of Jesus is the love of God revealed to the world. God is drawing each and every person to his cross so they may see and believe the love God has for them.
God's heart toward you is a heart of mercy, and His mercy is calling the shots in your life!
You may feel like your failures and flaws let God down, but nothing can separate you from the love He has for you. Heaven is for you!
You are surrounded by God’s presence and His strength goes before you in all you do. Let your faith rest in the reality that Heaven fights for you!
We face so many trials and sorrows in this life, and the challenge is to make room for hope in our life. Even with all the pain and suffering in our life our hope is able to say "we shall overcome!"
The life of Christ reproduced in the life of the believer is the fruit of heaven here on earth.
God hasn't left us guessing about the reality of heaven. He has given us glimpses of heaven through his word and our life experiences.
Jesus calls us to love others with same love that he has shown to us. This is the "Christian life" in a nutshell.
The blessing comes to you through Christ and through you to others. The same blessing we receive is the blessing we share with the world.
The battle in our heart is between the voice of Christ and the voice of the critics. Christ speaks to us in love, the critics in condemnation.
There's no part of our life that we need to hide from God. We can open our heart to Him knowing and trusting that He loves us.
Spiritual distortions are a highly misleading way of thinking about God, yourself, and the world. But, we don’t have to be fooled by the lies, we can believe the truth that sets us free.
There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to knowing and walking with God. The third eye, or our spiritual understanding, shows us how religion gets it wrong and Jesus gets it right.
God leads with compassion not condemnation. There’s complete love and acceptance present without judgment, this is radical acceptance.
Going forward in faith will trigger our deepest fears. But, being exposed to our fear is one of the greatest ways for our faith to grow.
Having faith is not about having all the answers about everything. It’s about having the freedom and trust to be able to say “I don’t know”.
You are worthy of God’s love. This is the beautiful reality that Jesus came to reveal to humanity.
If we only knew the love God has for us and all the good He has in store for us! It would forever change the way we see Him, ourselves and others!
So often religious leaders and religiosity gets in the way of people truly knowing God. Jesus says you can move passed all that stuff because even the best of them aren’t getting it and grasping God like they think they are.
In our faith journey we are going to experience frustration. When our faith is frustrated, we don’t have to lose faith, we can learn faith and continue to grow and go forward.
Miracle mode is simply a mindset we have where we leave room for God to work in our life. And, making room for God is always making room for miracles!
Leave room for the "Ah-ha's!" in your life. You'll be surprised by what God can and will do for you and through you!
It has been said that people miss heaven by 18 inches: the distance from the head to the heart. Heaven has been revealed to us in the person of Jesus and we don't want to miss it!
Don't let the world tell you who you are. Develop your own voice and be the person God has made you to be.
There's no greater reality in our history than this mystery: God in a human body. This is Heaven among us.
Following Jesus is not about turning all the uncertainties in life into certainties. We can't predict the future, but we can walk confidently knowing Christ is with us and will never leave us.
We are called to be different. Don't put your energy into blending in, put your energy into being the person God has called you to be!
There's only one person who can show up and do your part in this life: you! It's extremely freeing to take responsibility for your part, knowing that God has gifted you for what He has called you to.
We've been fed a lot of bull about what it takes to have a relationship with God. Freedom is found in choosing Jesus over all the bull.
We are called to live a spiritual life. Our way of living displays our heavenly calling.
The way is open to the presence of God for you. There's nothing more for you to do, the veil has been torn in two!
There's a major shift that takes place in our life when we begin to see ourselves as a contributor instead of a consumer. Contributors are people who are committed to adding value to the world around them.
God is working in a million little ways in your life. It's in the littleness of life that we see the bigness of God. If you were to put your life under a microscope, you would see God in every little detail of your life.
It’s through our relationship with God, not keeping the rules, that our hearts and lives are transformed. Our lives flourish when they are rooted and grounded in the greatest love of all.
Love, not law, is the basis of our relationship with God. It's a beautiful truth and reality that God invites you to walk with him as you are.
We don’t need to learn to carry different things, we need to learn to carry things differently, to hold on loosely.
Our life is lived best when it's lived independent of others, yet interdependent with others. A life of freedom is a life of autonomy and harmony.
You can live your life from a place of victory. The victory is yours through Jesus Christ!
We all have a thirsty heart within us. We don't need to deny that thirst, we just need to direct it to the right things.
Most of the time our fears only exist in our imagination. Just like Jesus' body only existed in the tomb in his friends' imagination. Fear can't rule where hope reigns.
When what we believed we needed is removed, what is necessary remains. We can live satisfied because we know we have everything that is necessary, and that is all that we need.
When we are able to look at things from the other side, we see that God is with us and that gives hope to every situation.
You may feel entrapped, but you are encamped. You may feel like fear is your option, but with God the other way is choosing to have faith.
We live in the world, but we don't have to live in fear. Our walk with God is our source of comfort, courage & freedom.
We don’t have to let people, situations or circumstances rule over us. There’s an antidote to living in bondage, and it’s learning to live in freedom.
Much of our psychological suffering comes from giving too much power and attention to a thought. Freedom is found in recognizing it’s just a thought, it’s not the truth.
Sometimes we get it wrong. We get ourselves wrong, others wrong and God wrong. We simply need to rethink the things we've believed about ourselves, others and God.
All in is not about if we’ll worship, but what we’ll worship. We surrender to what we worship reaping the reward or the consequences.
To have a product, there must first be a process. Learning to adapt to change and trusting God is all part of trusting the process.
The past exists in our memory, the future in our imagination, making the here and now the only true reality. We live empowered and free when we face what we need to face in the here and now.
It is 100 % certain that life is not 100 %. But, we can face the uncertainties in life with certainty.
The battle we fight between never enough and always enough is a very real one. God says you are enough for Him and He is enough for you.
Your life is on holy ground because of the presence of God in your life. Freedom is found in knowing and walking in this reality.
We all want to be a part of something, but not at the expense of our authenticity. True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are, it requires you to be who you are.
The opposition you face is real because the opportunity before you is real. You have to be ruthless in your attitude toward the things that oppose you.
Your life is unique, it is incomparable to any other. You face unique situations and find unique solutions that make you into the person you are today.
Wholehearted living is about showing up in life and being who you are instead of who people say you’re supposed to be.
Your story, like your fingerprint, is one of a kind. It's personal and it's powerful because is about what God has done for you!
Going forward in our pain can at times seem unbearable. But, if we can see our purpose in the midst of our pain we can take the little step that we need to.
We all have an internal narrative based on our core beliefs. God gives us a new narrative that is based on mercy, grace, love and worthiness that we can challenge and change our dysfunctional narrative with.
It’s always too soon to give God is fighting for you and He gets the final word, and He says “It Ain’t Over”!
Life is a gift we have been given. We want to own it and make the most of our opportunity. Jesus empowers you to pursue what God has put in you without being dependent on others.
Many times we find ourselves feeling trapped or like our back is against the wall. But, in reality, we are on the edge of something new and need only to take a leap of faith.
Life is short and we want to make the most of the time we are given. Go get the life you envision in your heart and live big!
We all want to live a life of purpose that influences other people. Legacy is not what you leave for others, it's what you leave in others.
Grief is love in its most wild form. Grief is not a problem to be solved; it’s an experience to be carried.
It all really comes down to one word: trust. We can't trust someone if we don't feel safe & loved. We can trust God in and with everything because He is a good & loving God.
We have to let go of some things to live with other things. It’s a big step, but we can take it with courage and faith knowing that God has a good plan for our life.
We all want to live an authentic life and not feel like we need to compromise our true identity for anyone. The big dilemma is the choice between living wearing a mask out of fear, or living authentically with courage.
Say what? If we heard the plan and purpose that God has for our life, we would laugh in amazement. If we're not laughing, we're not hearing it right.
Your life is full of possibilities. It takes courage to take the risks necessary to make those possibilities a reality.
We all have scars. Your scars remind you of who you are and what you've made it through. They are a powerful part of your story.
Nobody bats a 1000 in life, we all make mistakes. The question is how do we go forward in life in light of our mistakes?
God has a big vision for your life. And, vision is all about what God can and will do through you.
Everyone that is breathing is battling. We want to live our lives from a place where we are able to help others in the battle. We want to live with a big heart.
Keeping the big picture in mind throughout life is extremely empowering and totally transformational.
It's true that God has big plans for your life. Your future is full of promise, potential and the presence of God. So, be courageous and go big!
A message honoring mother's everywhere. There is no love like a mother's love, it is a reflection of the heart of God.
We can so easily project onto God our fears, failures, insecurities, sins and etc. But, that does not change the nature of who he is and how much he loves us. Each and every day, We have to battle in our hearts and minds to see ourselves the way God sees us.
We all want to live a life that is line with the dreams & desires that God has put in our hearts. We can go after those dreams and desires of our hearts with a whatever it takes attitude, trusting God to guide and strength us along the way.
An amazing shift happens in our heart when we choose to view our life from a perspective of hope. Our hope in Jesus tells us that no matter what we are going through, it will end in victory and not defeat!
Our weaknesses are not holes that we need to hide and patch up. But rather, they are holes through which we let God's light and love shine through in our lives!
We all get dirty feet walking in this world. But, the beautiful thing is that we can come clean on a daily basis and live in the reality that we are loved!
What if everything in our life is setting the stage for a life you can't see yet? No matter what you are facing or going through, there is a God aspect to your life. He is working all things together for your good. Believe it!
The world sees you through the eyes of your sin, but God sees you through the eyes of His Son. God created you on purpose, for a purpose and with purpose. You find your value and meaning in life by tracing your life back to God, not your sin.
God has a vision and a purpose for your life. He cannot quit on you because He cannot quit on Himself. Trust Him in the process and have faith in His purpose for you!
The life we are building is important, but what we are building that life on is more important. We have a choice to build our life on the dirt or to build it in the dirt. The dirt is the spot of the plot.
We all face hurt and rejection from others as we seek to follow the Lord in our life. The key to going forward is learning to shake it off and move on.
You may feel like you are being buried in life, but what if you were able to see it as being planted? Just like a seed, it's the dirt that gives birth to our purpose and potential.
Pain is a part of life. When we steward our pain well we can put it to work in a way that glorifies God, works for our good, and benefits others.
Nobody said the Christian life would be easy. It is a warfare. But God has given us all the armor we need to stand firm in every battle we fight!
Marriage is about a partnership not a power trip. It's two people beginning a friendship together and building upon it for the rest of their lives and not allowing what comes upon them to come between them.
When others hurt you, you want to hear "I'm sorry". But, what do you do when there is no apology? Are you able to live with the reality that there will be no apologies?
Let how God sees you shape you. A walk with God starts with who He says we are, not what we do. Our identity is found in who we are not what we do.
A little bit of faith will make a big difference in your life. Faith doesn't remove the obstacles in our lives, it gives us the power to overcome them.
Jesus came to this earth to show us there is another way to live & love. When we come to know Him as Savior, He not only changes the person we are, He also changes we path we take!
God loves you. He not only wants you to know His love, He wants you to share that same love with others. Let the focus of your life be that one little word that has a big impact: Love.
You can't control the darkness out there in there world, but you can choose to be a light right where you are. God says, "You are light". Let your life be a reflection of the Llight that is in you! Shine on!
Knowing the difference between who you were and who you are is that way to living a transformed life. The true you is the new you living inside you!
You are gifted! God has gifted you in a unique and special way to build others up in love.
Unity is something we need to continually work to keep. God didn't make us all the same, but He did make us all one! Therefore, the church can have unity and at the same time celebrate diversity.
It has been said that here's a God-shaped hole in our hearts that only God can fill. We spend our life looking to things trying to fill this void within our hearts. The problem is, the things that are filling us are failing us. We need God's love and presence to fill our hearts to truly live our life to the fullest.
Purpose to know your purpose. It's deeper than how you feel. It's greater than all your mistakes. It's bigger than all you do!
You are who God says you are. The lies you speak to yourself does not change who you are, it only changes how you see you. It's time to rise up and live in the power and reality of your God-given identity!
The cross of Jesus not only changes who we are, it also changes how we see people. Through the cross we see people as God sees them: loved, valued, precious, and worth dying for! A new kind of you will live radically and strive to love everyone just like God does!
We all struggle with identity issues. We so easily forget who God says we are and who He has created us to be. Life, joy, Freedom and peace is found knowing and living in your God given identity.
When it comes to our relationship with God so many of us feel like unworthy outsiders. But, that is not how God sees us or who He says we are. It is in Christ we find out who we truly are. Our victory is in seeing our value!
Can we and should we place conditions on the love of God? If God placed no conditions on His love for us, then He must have the same love for others, no matter how different they are from us.
"The people who are crazy enough to believe they can change the world are the ones who do." Steve Jobs
You can't change your position, but you can change your perspective. Change your perspective, change your life!
When it comes to changing others, we must accept that we are powerless. Ultimately, God is at work on and in every human heart, and we must trust Him as we seek to change ourselves and not others.
Owning your story and loving yourself in the process is the bravest things you can do (Brene Brown). Don't let others shame you out of your story, embrace your journey, the good and the bad, and see how it has shaped you into the person you are today!
Ture and lasting change takes place within the heart. It comes through knowing and experiencing the love God has for you!
The only thing constant about life is change. We must be courageous if we are wanting to change. By God's power, you can be courageous and make the change in your life!
Change simply means to be made or to become different. We all desire change in our life. The Good News is that you can change! God's power and presence are at work in your life bringing forth lasting change!
God has given each of us the freedom to choose. True freedom is found when our will is freely submitted to God and His will for our life.
No matter how big the battle you are fighting is, Jesus is bigger. You don't have to live defeated before the giants in your life, you can be a giant slayer!