Today's Stories - Me

My life feels kind of unbalanced sometimes, kind of like a teeter totter... that isn't balanced. Maybe the same is true for you; that 1) you're terrible with analogies, and 2) you're worried about your actions and whether or not they're truly honoring to God. Today's Story isn't about me because I'm a marvelous, ineffably sublime human being. Woah. Lies. Many lies. This story is about me, because in my generic doofus-ness, I've learned some pretty incredible things. Here they are.

---

My first self-realization: I'm unaware of important realities around me too often. I saw this pretty clearly beginning a few months ago. It was lunch time after church (you all know what that's like) and my parents decided to take me and my siblings to Mongolian barbecue. The food was abnormally delicious. Like, mind-bogglingly tasty. Like, I should stop thinking about it because it's making me hungry. Anywho, we were eating and talking and stuff, and I felt like being funny, so I said: "Okay, Mrs. [Thomas] is pretty awesome. She basically runs the whole church and can harmonize like a boss."

At the time, it seemed legit. This lady, whom we're calling Mrs. Thomas is one of the head administrators at our church. She's responsible for events and organization and... it seemed at the time like everything except head preaching. And she really can harmonize like a boss.

Obviously, it was a slight exaggeration, but I did make it to my brother's Twitter with that quote. So, yeah. Much proudliness points for Andrew.

My quote didn't come up again for quite some time.

Enter important reality. It's kind of boring, but it really struck me.

Becoming a church member has been something I've been wanting to do for a while, so I printed out the form to do so and read it. Part of the form dealt with understanding and agreeing with the church's statements of faith as found in the constitution and bylaws of the church. I knew those documents existed, I'd just never taken the time to read them. Well, it was time to read them.

Y'know what I found? I'm dumb. That's what.

Basically, the constitution and bylaws have a ton of information for leadership roles in the church and who does what and how council meetings should go and what discipline should look like and how to resolve disputes and how to vote for deacons/deaconesses... I was kind of blown away by what was there. Not because it lulled me to sleep, but because I saw how sincerely my church leaders cared about creating an accountable, God-honoring set of rules that exemplify the Scriptures. Reading it made me think back to the idea of who runs our church. Not the senior pastor, not Mrs. Thomas.

Just God.

---

My second self-realization: I forget about the planks in my eyes too often... and it is so easy.

A few weeks ago, it was Christmastime! Yay! As usual, our church had a small Christmas cantada, with music and candlelight and singing about the birth of Jesus. It's always a wonderful time, and I wanted to share that with our neighbors. So, I wrote on some sticky notes saying that it would be great to have them there and attached the notes to our bulletin inserts about the event. Sadly, however, I wasn't going to have time to give the invitations to our neighbors. Accordingly, I gave the invitations to my little brothers and asked them to walk around the cul-de-sac and put them in the mailboxes when they had time.

Flash back to the reason why I wouldn't have time: a speech tournament! I was preparing for this tournament the Monday before at my church where our club meets, and rode my bike to get there on time.

That Sunday, two things happened at the same time. My little brothers told me that they hadn't remembered to hand out the invitations like I asked, and my dad reminded me for the 5th time that the bike I rode on Monday had been left at church and he would have to bring it back that night.

Gosh, I was so mad about my little brothers forgetting such a simple task... I completely forgot about my own small responsibility of taking care of the bike.

That night, none of our neighbors came to the cantada and my dad had to ride the bike home from church. Good work, Andrew.

It made me think about the value of forgiveness. Not the kind that comes from me, or my dad, or my little brothers.

Just God.

---

My third self-realization: I think about myself too often. I'm sure you can relate. It's human nature... but just 'cause you can relate doesn't make it any less awful.

On December 19th, our family remembers a rather difficult day in our history. I won't go into the whole story, but will just say that now, whenever that day roles around, we like doing something special, just as a family.

Well, last time that day hit, the little guys and I were at home with our parents. Not a whole lot was going on, and we were sort of thinking of something to do that evening, but nothing came to mind. I wanted to make it special, but wasn't quite sure how.

We (little guys and I) were in the boy's bedroom throwing ideas around and whatnot, and I suggested we watch a movie. I had wanted to watch this particular film for a few days leading up to that, and I thought it would be fun to do and stuff. In my mind, it was perfect: I got to watch the movie and my family got to hang out for a while. Win win...

Until I got punched in the face by my little sister. And by punched in the face, I mean severely humbled.

While we were talking about what to do, Rebekah says in her completely adorable, regular voice: "What if we made dinner for mom, or gave mom and dad money to go to dinner together?"

I guess I don't really need to tell you how I felt after that.

It ended up being a very nice night where we had a regular dinner at home and didn't watch any movies. That made me think back to an important truth: we didn't need much more than our family and the One who put that night together for it to be special.

Just God.

---

"Love, we need it now. Let's hope for some."

Andrew

Yesterday's Stories - Mary and Martha

"Take out the trash. Do the dishes. Make your bed. Stack chairs. Complete some ordinary, boring, exponentially droll task." These are the words of millions of people everyday. Accomplishing such jobs are simple acts ofservice. They're boring, and seemingly insignificant, but they aren't to be disregarded as useless. Jesus had quite a lot to say about this servitude, and His actions were always much louder than His words. Ultimately, service is to be a pretty significant portion of a Christian's life. Or is it?

---

Martha kept on feeling the sting of just how menial her life was. It was as if she was some kind of Jewish scribe, sitting, never moving, never having fun. Then again, Jewish scribes got paid for their work. She didn't.

Day in and out, sitting there, completing necessary, but seemingly purposeless acts. This was Martha. A Jewish woman in her early 30's. Two siblings. A house. Not a lot to enjoy. Ever since the passing of these sibling's mother, Martha had stepped up to the role of the responsible, sage one in the house. She swept, she cleaned, she prepared food. She didn't get out much. One of her few pleasures in life came from strangers seeing the beauty of her home. She took plenty of pride in that.

Then, there was Mary. Martha had always described her as three things: A bomb, a butterfly, and a bum.

She had this supernaturally powerful propensity to talk and talk and talk and talk. She loved being with people, experiencing things, laughing, eating, and generally getting out of the stuffy house her sister spent so much time in. Being out, however, resulted in her not helping with many of the chores. Martha wasn't super fond of that.

Now, it's not like Mary and Martha disliked each other. They just had plenty of differences, which occasionally made it difficult to get along and communicate properly. And of course, if they weren't great at getting along regularly, you can just imagine what it was like for them when something controversial was going on around them.

"That Jesus... He just sounds so wonderful! What do you think, Martha?"

"Don't be naive, Mary. Anyone can go around telling stories about themselves and how great they are! Very few people are actually great, though."

"But everyone's been talking about Him. Seriously. Like, everyone. He seems to have this wild effect on people, and no one can explain it. Isn't that exciting?"

"I'd love to think so, Mary, but there are bigger problems in my world that need to be solved before we turn to some wild man claiming to be God."

"You just lack faith. You don't care about anything."

"Ha! At least I'm responsible, and know how to care for things!"

"You... that's a lie! I can be responsible!"

"Wouldn't that be a lovely change."

"Hmph."

"Hmph."

Their relationship was at a standstill like this for a long time. They both felt like chocolate pudding scraped across too much ham. Mary always stretching Martha by being irresponsible and idle, and Martha doing the same to Mary by being this boring, emotionless stickler.

Something had to change. They both wanted it, but that desire was outweighed by their individual stubbornness. Stinks, right?

Finally, Martha thought. Something interesting. Something exciting. Something where she would get to prove herself right to Mary once and for all. He was coming to their town after weeks of enthusiasm and impatience. It was Jesus.

Finally, Mary thought. Something interesting. Something too cool to be true! Something where she might get Martha to see her side of things. The right side of things. He was coming into their town after weeks of enthusiasm and impatience. It was Jesus.

Okay, technically, that was just a rumor. Mary had heard from a friend who heard from a friend who heard from a friend that He was considering stopping by Bethany, their town. But still.

It was the morning of. Martha got up before the first hour to make sure everything was especially lovely in the house. Whether or not He was the Messiah, she was going to prove to Mary that responsibility was the way to go. This was it.

It was the morning of, and Mary got up at the third hour. She was impressed by her own skill. And nervousness. She spent most of the morning making sure she looked as beautiful as could be. Whether or not He was the Messiah, she was going to prove to Martha that the right words and enough faith can get you anywhere in life. This was it.

And... nothing happened. They were waiting for some crazy awesome "Bum-bu-du-duh!" and fanfare and flower girls dancing ahead and this beautiful white steed and this shockingly good looking man... and it didn't happened. In fact, it took quite a while for them to recognize that apparently, that wasn't Jesus' style. When He finally did arrive, they learned that He had been in the city for more than an hour before anyone recognized Him. He was accompanied by nothing more than a few other men, something common for a Jewish rabbi.

That's so cheap, thought Martha.

That's so classy, thought Mary.

Martha was reluctant to head out of the house, as it wasn't quite ready for guests, but she did anyway. He was less than a mile away. It was time.

Mary was still getting ready when she saw Martha head out. She couldn't wait! This guy was the talk of the town. It was time.

The next hour went by like a whirlwind: Martha inviting Jesus and His companions into the house, serving a meal, and finally, Mary found herself at Jesus' feet.

This was like nothing she had ever experienced. This Guy wasn't just a smart teacher or a cool dude; this Jesus was the real deal. His words hit Mary like bullets of truth, greatness, and awesomeness. After the huge shallowness she experienced in her own life, how refreshing it was to meet someone who could explain God, and the Torah, and the prophets, and life to her! Snap, she thought. He is amazing.

Mary, Martha thought, how typically lazy of you to not help dust the floors or clean the house after mealtime. It had gone too far. Martha was fed up.

She walked (okay, stomped) right over to Jesus, and said “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

She was worried. What if Jesus sided with Mary? What if He wouldn't even talk to her? What if the house wasn't good enough?

“Martha, Martha," He said, "you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Mary was watching on this whole time with sadness. Look at Martha, she thought, working her tail-end off for me and Jesus so that we can have a nicer time. Can I really blame her for working hard and being responsible? Is she right, after all?

Martha, having just been blown away by Jesus' words, was disappointed that He sided with Mary. It was clear she was doing something wrong.

Look at Mary, she thought, sitting there, looking lovely, doing something truly good and not worrying about the things of the world. Isn't that what this Jesus is all about? Is she right, after all?

At that moment, both the sister's did something that they hadn't done in quite a long time, and wouldn't know about for quite a long time.

She is my sister, they both thought. Maybe, just maybe, she's right, and there's something I desperately need to learn from her life.

---

"A warm body don't mean I'm alive."

Andrew

Today's Stories - Shai

It's said that bravery is the kindest word for stupidity. I guess that might be true, but it depends on what's being damaged. Think about it. You do something that's brave (or maybe stupid) because it will have a valuable outcome if everything goes properly. If it doesn't go properly, then you and the cat fall out of the tree onto the concrete, you need someone to Google the Heimlich because you wanted to try a food you were allergic to, and your hand actually catches on fire while you wave it over a small flame. All that to say, bravery/stupidity is only dangerous when it's you that's being damaged. Guess who can't ever be damaged? Good work! You got it. It's God, and historically (and futuristically, I guess), battles fought against Him don't end well for the other guy.

---

This whole talk of bravery is something of a springboard for one man. His name is Shai Linne. Now, I've never met him and he has no idea who I am, but he's influenced and encouraged me more than most of the people I know.

For the sake of context, Shai is a Christian rapper who got saved in the late 90's.

"Rap? Blech."

Yeah, fair enough. I'm not out to get any of you to fall in love with the genre. In fact, that's really a bad idea.

What I, along with Shai are out to do is to get you to love God's perfect Word that much more.

Since I like asking you guys dumb questions, try to figure out this one: is it hard to know God's Word? Again, you are all geniuses. The answer is yes. The Bible makes sense and what not, but so does the end of Inception (a movie Shai references in one of his songs). The hardest thing about figuring them out is that there so manyopinions out there. Concerning the Bible, which opinion is true? Which one honors the Spirit's work properly? Which one holds the most truth?

I believe that Shai Linne has found the secret. It involves something so simple, but so ignored. That the Bibleitself is true. It has come from a living, powerful God. It is our source of bread and water and life. It is our guide, our compass, our map for the directionally challenged.

The power in the Bible is one that makes old things new. Ugly things beautiful. Sinful things holy. Shai Linne's life is a picture of that. As a young man, he was an absolute atheist who would have gotten seriously mad at anyone who talked to him about the truth of scripture. He was rebellious, evil, and "a child of wrath."

Then, everything changed. God is really good at whacking people on the side of the head. It hurts for a little bit, but it's memorable... and it gets attention.

"One thing led to another."

Ever since, Shai has been thoroughly devoted to spreading the truth of scripture. He lives it, too. In arguing, he does so with grace and biblical analysis to back his arguments up. In song-writing, he does so with skill, wisdom, prayer, and bravery. If he truly believes that the bible supports something, then he's not afraid to fight for it. That was epitomized when he released a song called False Teachers that names the names of 12 prosperity gospel teachers. He released this song only after consulting with his entire church elder board, the pastors of other churches (including John Piper), and serious prayer. Ultimately, he wasn't afraid to release a song that would significantly damage his reputation in the eyes of many fans and non-fans. All he was worried about was defending the value of scripture.

He's also written songs about both the Millennium and Election. Few people agree totally on the doctrine of election, and even fewer agree on End Times theology, but he, through his dependence on the Spirit and on scripture has expressed his beliefs about these things without fear.

It's kind of crazy. There are entire churches that separate over these issues, and then he comes along and writes rap songs covering pretty much everything he believes about them.

That takes guts.

Ultimately, though, this guy is amazing because of his passion and love for Christ. You can hear it in each of his songs (which I would recommend that you listen to). You can read it in the lyrics; the fact that each line does nothing more than try and try to make God known. You can see it in his interviews and blogs: that all he wants is for others to value and treasure Christ. It's kind of awesome.

And yes, I understand. His story is the most exciting or fascinating thing. I've never met him, his life isn't terribly adventurous... but he does hold one thing, and only one thing dear: that from Christ, and to Christ, and for Christ are all things.

Here's something he wrote in one of his blogs that struck me as really fascinating. I thought I would share it with you guys as a way to close.

"God is beautiful. This fact is plainly taught in the Scriptures. But we shouldn't think He is beautiful in the same exact way a painting, a flower or a melody is beautiful. This would belittle Him. God does not conform to some standard of beauty outside of Himself. In His very nature, God is the superlative of everything good. He is the standard by which all other beauty is to be measured and understood. God's beauty is prototypical, inherent and intrinsic. All other beauty is derived, contingent and dependent. All other beauties are streams that spring forth from God, the eternal ocean of beauty. His dwelling place is called the perfection of beauty (Psalm 50:2). The hope of the believer is to forever gaze upon His beauty (Psalm 27:4, Isaiah 33:17). The reality of the beauty of God is truly astounding, especially when considered in conjunction with another fact that is also plainly taught in the Scriptures:

God is invisible.

God cannot be seen. 1 Timothy 6:16 says that "no one has seen or can see" Him. He has no physical form. He is hidden from our eyes. And yet He is perfectly beautiful. What does that say about the nature of beauty?

grace and peace,
shai"

---

grace and peace,

andrew

Yesterday's Stories - Paul and Silas

The girl in the last Story we discussed has a life-thesis that might look something like this: Christ generates humility, sacrifice, and dedication while breaking down sinful barriers.

The life-thesis for our Story today could be composed in the following manner: Christ destroys human commonalities. Y'see, the first of Yesterday's Stories is really very bittersweet. Actually, bittersweet isn't strong enough. Desecratedglorious is a little better.

---

Eyes slowly, yet certainly closing, Paul tried hard to think of all the people and places he could pray for. His journeys had been long, but often fruitful. After parting with Barnabas just a few short days ago, he traveled with a fellow Christian named Silas to a billion places in just a short amount of time. Cicilia, Syria, Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Phrygia, Galatia... You name it. Tonight, they were finishing up their trip towards Troas.

Paul was very tempted to be just a little frustrated at God's sense of humor. On one of the nights when he was most drowsy, his sleep wasn't restful at all.

"HELP! Come over to Macedonia and help us!"

The very obscure, dark-skinned man appeared out of nowhere and jumped into Paul's dream like Steve blue-ska-dooing into one of Blue's picture frames! The next morning, Paul only vaguely recollected the man... And then there was the part of the dream where he was flying with penguin wings through an African jungle filled with guerrilla sharks in togas.

He decided not to tell Silas that part.

They did, however, thoroughly discuss the Macedonian man begging for help. It was odd, but certainly not a coincidence. After prayer and contemplation, he was resolved that the dream was from the Lord.

With this new and rather unexpected information, Paul and Silas began to prepare the boat to sail to Macedonia that they might preach the gospel to those living there.

A few pit stops later, Paul stepped onto the docks at Philippi. As convinced as ever that this was where God wanted him to be, he summoned Silas to follow and began walking through the crowded Macedonian streets. The air was salty, the people were busy, and the gospel was powerful. Paul had seen hundreds of transformed lives, including, firstly, his own.

He could not stop praising God.

They found a place to stay and lodged there a few nights. As Sabbath dawned, they went to a place near the closest river, which held a group of people meeting for prayer. It was wonderfully refreshing, and a moment that Paul cherished. They were met with great hospitality. Silas was about to bring the terribly suspicious (and unorthodox) group of people heading towards them to Paul's attention, but Paul was busy meeting with the fellow believers and preparing to pray. The group emerged swiftly and furtively without warning, but certainlywith reason.

Silas thought of them almost as he would his own church. Diverse, dedicated, determined.

There were two older men following closely behind a very young, frail girl. The men stopped and watched as they came to the edge of the clearing, leaving the girl to walk straight up to Paul and himself alone.

She approached without fear and shouted, no, rather screamed: “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation."

Silas was rather taken aback. This girl, at such a young age, was certainly not learned in these things, but she said it with such authority. He was baffled.

Paul, on the other hand, was not.

He ignored the girl, and continued with the work at hand. In fact, that was the situation for multiple days. Silas couldn't make it out. Why let her do this and distract so many from our work, he pondered? There wasn't a whole lot he understood about the situation, until one day when it started making sense.

Maybe Paul was trying to be patient; maybe he was waiting for God's timing. Either way, the girl was just about to repeat the phrase for the thousandth time when Paul yelled at her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.”

...And the pieces fell into place.

He wasn't yelling at the girl, or ignoring the girl, or even looking at the girl.

He was looking at a demon.

An evil spirit, used by Satan for his own pleasure.

An evil being that, in turn, was using this little girl.

An evil nothing, that was banished by the name and power of Jesus.

The girl fell to the ground panting, afraid, scared. Just a moment ago, she was talking with her mother about their new found religion. Then, a blur, and now these strange men staring down at her.

Her "escorts" close by were not at all interested in the girl's well being. Through her divining spirit and seemingly prophetic powers, the girl had been their source of profit for years. They were outraged at Paul and Silas. One grabbed Paul's shirt. Another grabbed Silas' hair. Yet another starting kicking their shins fiercely.

The two men were dragged along and thrown to the ground at the feet of the local magistrates. “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe," they falsely claimed. 

Even false claims said cleverly can influence people, though.

The multitudes rose up, the magistrates delivered their sentence, and Paul and Silas were in jail. The jailer took their already bloody backs and shoved them against a cold, inhospitable wall. Hands chained, the jailer left the two men in as secure a spot as possible.

So.

Here are our heroes. Our great men of the faith, our forefathers, with no strength, no comfort, and no hope in this foreign city. Bound, stuck, and technically, criminals.

This situation brings us a question: what do they do now? A much more important question is this: what would you do if you were in their situation?

Wanna' know what I would have done? Wanna' know what you would have done? We both would have been scared.

Scared of what the authorities might do. Scared of how the churches might feel. Scared of what God would think.

Wanna' know what Paul and Silas did? Wanna' know how powerful their love for Christ was?

It was more powerful than fear, and bitterness, and despair.

It contains so much power that it strengthened them in the darkest time. So much influence that it turned their eyes from the circumstances and straight to Jesus. So much love that it lifted them up when they should have been down.

Their response? Worship. Unabashed, full fledged, straight up worship. Singing their hearts and lungs out to the Lord that saved their souls and would bring glory out of this desecrated time. Everyone in the jail heard this strange noise, but this pair didn't care. They were too busy loving Christ and embracing his presence.

Now, what if the curtain closes on this scene. In a couple moments, it lifts back up and reveals Paul and Silas at the stake, about to be publicly executed for their actions. Would their mindsets have changed? Not for an instant.

Of course, that's not nearly the situation God had planned for them. Instead, they witnessed both the immense power God has and a man getting saved.

It was a good night.

Through these men, the Holy Spirit spared lives, saved souls, and set a course for generations of believers. For us.

Will we ever be in situations like Paul and Silas? Probably not. No, we'll probably all live peaceful, great, happy lives in the US of A, with a good family and a great God. Do we have the capacity to do great things like Paul and Silas? To look death in the face and sing praises to the One who conquered death?

Cheeseballs, yes.

Think about what made these men great. It certainly wasn't their own wisdom or grandeur. It was the love and mercy of Christ, and only the love and mercy of Christ.

---

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."

Andrew

Today's Stories - Emily

This series will be comprised of both real people that lived ages ago and real people that are still alive today. By looking to great men and women (and children!) from the past, I think we'll be able to glean a lot of courage and timeless principles, as these people are found in eras long before ours. Through learning more about wonderful people alive right now, we can find role-models and living examples for what it means to "not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Both Today's Stories and Yesterday's Stories are worthy of being told.

-----

The first story is of a girl that we'll call Emily.

I originally met Emily many moons ago when I was but a wee lad; however, we got reconnected last year as good friends.

My first recollection of Emily was sitting with her and a set of other people as we discussed a particular speech we had recently heard. Much of the speech dealt a lot with God's forgiveness. What it meant, where it came from, and how it applies today.

I very vividly remember talking about this speech around a table with everyone giving their thoughts and opinions. We're all good at that, right? After a few moments of silence from everyone, Emily piped up.

"Man, it is just so incredible to think about. Like, how God would forgive us humans? It's amazing."

She said it with such sincerity in her voice and face, you could have been deaf and still believed her every word.

Wow. That blew me away. This kind of real, truly life-altering faith isn't something you come across everyday. Most people don't really just... say things like that out of the blue. Not without feeling awkward or out of place or ashamed. I knew that there was something rather amazing about this young woman, and over the course of the next year I got to continually see that.

Yes, Emily went on multiple Gospel outreaches. She's helped around with lots of volunteer ministries and been all over the place serving Jesus in action. Even now, she's working extremely diligently to become involved in Gospel ministries outside of her own church body, and it's great!

What's even greater by far, though, is the fact that Emily's dish, as Jesus put it, is clean both on the outside as well as the inside. Her spirit is gentle, loving and one of the most humble I know. Think about it; when was the last time you talked to someone outside your family where you weren't at least a little bit defensive. I'm sure you've experienced it; watching everything you say carefully to try to impress them, worrying about whether or not you're acting cooler than them, and being generally self conscious about your image.

I have never once felt that way around Emily.

She is humility personified in her words and deeds, and I know that all of that comes from Jesus, which makes it so special. So real. Her prayers are diligent and her actions are noble. I'm not calling Emily by her real name because if I did, she would have wished I hadn't.

Now, remember: Emily is not perfect. She has flaws, shortcomings, sins in her life that she struggles with as much as the next Christian teenage girl. She would be the first to admit it Even through those, though, I've seen a whole lot of Christ-exalting attributes in her life.

She inspires me, and that is a great thing. That deserves to be recognized.

-----

"Embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief in the potential of every person to be a force for good. That's what you can bring them."
Andrew

Stories.

Hi everyone!

Paul exhorts fellow Christians in Titus 3:1-2 in the following way:

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,
to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.

Being ready for every good work is tough. It takes prayer, patience, and, pervasive thoughts. Not dangerous or wrong pervasive thoughts, but, more properly, ideas that come from the life-thesis of amazing men and women in history. The life-thesis is a concept one of my pastors came up with; an attempt to determine one overarching sentence that ties a person's entire life together.

Throughout my life, I've seen dozens of people with fantastic life-theses. This blog will attempt to shed light on those people and how their good works have shown humility and Christ exalting love to the people they encountered. My hope is that the individual life-thesis from each of the people we examine will pervade your thoughts and cause you to look to Jesus always.

I'll do my best to post one story every few weeks. Please feel free to share it with others and ultimately, my hope and prayer is that this will encourage and bless each of you. 

Thanks,

Andrew