ReGospel

We need to ReGospel our lives continually.  This means continually examining our lives to see if we are in line with the Gospel of Jesus.  We can naturally drift into being apathetic, cynical, comfortable and selfish.  It's almost like a tire alignment.  You get them all aligned and everything is cool until you hit a couple big potholes and then they have to be realigned again.  We live in a culture that is counter to the Gospel and must continually ReGospel our lives.

application

I workout at a gym, and over the years it has been amazing to watch people's bodies transform.  I have seen several obese people drop enough weight to equal a Jr higher!  Most people though, don't change. The reason is because they work out hard, and then leave only to undo everything they did.  They can't drive past the McDonalds on the way home without stopping and grabbing something.
Many people do this with church.  They worship, repent, give and then head home only to live completely opposite of what they have just heard and perhaps even professed.  So just like exercise is not enough with out eating right, so going to church without living it out during the week is self-defeating.
#ashleydukeman

weakness

A true team renders it's players weaknesses irrelevant.  A quarterback would make a horrible lineman, but his teammates make weakness that irrelevant.  Everyone playing their role, like the body of Christ.  A healthy team is a beautiful thing.

faith

FAITH PRECEDES PROVISION.
I think we always want it the other way around.  We want God to provide, then we will step out.  But where is the faith in that?  Faith is stepping out on obedience to God and trusting that He will come through for us.  It should go: Seek - Hear - Believe - Act - Receive.  In what area of your life is God asking you to step out in Faith, but you currently see no provision?

vacation

We just got back from vacation to Alabama, where we did a whole lot of nothing.  It was great just hanging with my family for a week and making memories.  With vacation, it's always good to leave, but it's also good to come back home.  I love having a job that I'm excited to come back to.

come and die

This past Sunday in our "Disciple" series, we looked at what it means to "take up your cross."  Jesus didn't sugar coat it at all when you look at the words He used in the Jewish context of His day.  Basically, His symbol is the cross and His slogan is "come and die."  Dying to ourselves in order to truly live for Him is a very tough and constant thing.  In fact, it must be done...daily.  What do you need to die to?

Napoleon

I was reading today what the great conquerer Napoleon thought about Jesus.  He was blown away how Jesus had won peoples hearts out of love and that they were willing to give up everything, even their very lives out of this devotion.  Napoleon mentioned how he could not force people to have such devotion and that someday he would be forgotten, but the legacy of Jesus Christ would continue to go on.  Pretty powerful coming from the most powerful man on the planet at the time.

guilty

Isn't it ironic that those who are guilty, don't want justice, but rather want mercy?  But if on the other side of that coin where the injustice has been done to them, they almost always want justice over mercy.