The baby of the next century, a famous inventor promised, would be rocked in a steel cradle, the family dining at a steel table in a house of steel. Even the most famous visionaries come up short. So where do we find security when our ideas seem misguided or downright bankrupt?
What if zeal aimed at God can still be working against Him? The future Apostle Paul had plenty of zeal as he persecuted the church, but he would soon learn that isn’t enough.
Faithtoberfest returns to a crisp autumn night outside of FaithTree’s home, the Upper Room. On October 9 at 6:30 pm we will have a special, in-person and live streamed festival of incredible music from gifted artists all around our area, entertaining skits and terrific gift card prizes! Come in person if you can, because we will have delicious food as part of the festivities, but either way, please RSVP for this year’s event and relive last year’s fantastic festivities, below.
You said you would do it forever—and you meant it. Then the job vanished, and suddenly an honest promise looked like a lie. In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul’s critics pressed the same charge over travel plans that fell through: if his word couldn’t be trusted, why trust anything he said about the Gospel? When circumstances overturn the best intentions, where does trust rest?
If you have ever put your foot in your mouth, chased recognition, or failed when courage mattered, you may wonder whether God can still entrust you with meaningful work. In 1 Peter 5:1–5, the apostle once notorious for fumbling addresses the care of God’s people—and the ambition, reluctance, and pride that can distort it.
We tend to equate complex with superior. But that can deceive us into missing the truth.
You can spend hours in an old adventure game, testing gems in random combinations, unsure whether the puzzle has any answer at all. That sounds familiar because we wonder the same thing about life. Isaiah 40 speaks to people wondering if God has left us with a random jumble of puzzle pieces and assures us there’s something more.
As daylight fades earlier each evening, familiar rooms become harder to navigate—and life can darken just as predictably. In 2 Corinthians 1:7–11, Paul refuses to minimize an affliction so crushing that he despaired of life itself. His words confront the question that surfaces when relief does not come: where can hope rest when personal strength is gone?
It is easy to look at a life that way and decide you are not ready to speak for God—too inexperienced, too uncertain, too likely to say it wrong. Jeremiah 1 opens with a prophet making exactly that case — and God’s answer to him.
Faithtoberfest returns to a crisp autumn night outside of FaithTree’s home, the Upper Room. On October 9 at 6:30 pm we will have a special, in-person and live streamed festival of incredible music from gifted artists all around our area, entertaining skits and terrific gift card prizes! Come in person if you can, because we will have delicious food as part of the festivities, but either way, please RSVP for this year’s event and relive last year’s fantastic festivities, below.