By Ryan Kelly –

While Paul was on his missionary journey in Corinth, he had great opposition especially from the Jews. Being a former Jewish leader himself, this was especially burdensome on him and caused him to want to leave the area.

Don’t we ourselves have discouragement like this in life? Perhaps to the point of wanting to give up on someone or something?

The Lord encouraged Paul with the following encounter.”

“One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” Acts‬ ‭18:9-10‬

If you face opposition for your faith or witness for Jesus, do not lose heart. God has called us to stand out and stand up as a believer in Jesus Christ, and He will give us the words and voice when we need it. Don’t fear, but be confident in what He is doing in you and through you.

By Ryan Kelly –

It can be hard to approach a brother or sister in love and rebuke sin in their life. But it’s a job of each Christian in the church – to refine one another by fire in order to build one another up in Christ. Paul uses the Corinthians as an example of what can be produced after church discipline takes place.

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.” 2 Corinthians 7:10-11

Don’t dodge opportunities to help a brother or sister, but take advantage of opportunities that God gives you. Doing so allows them to grow even closer to the Lord.

Just a thought to help start your week.

This is the kind of road that I like to leisurely travel.  There is no traffic.  It’s only wide enough for one vehicle.  It seems peaceful.  And, because it isn’t easy to see around the next curve, there is always a sense of adventure.  Perhaps we could call it the road less traveled.

I make it a point to take advantage of those times when I can venture off of the main road, even for just a little while, and experience someplace new to me.  I have seen some beautiful countryside that way.  I’ve run across abandoned churches sitting beside immaculate cemeteries.  I’ve found ages-old log homes tucked away behind the hillside kudzu.  Because I’ve taken the opportunity to explore, I’ve gotten to see and experience some things in God’s world that I would not have otherwise, had I stayed on the main highway.

Life takes us barreling down the path toward success, fame, fortune, happiness and disappointment.  Yet, when we take the time to glance around, not so very far away from our regular routes and routines, we might be privileged to find an adventure just right for us.

As you begin yet another busy week ahead, my prayer for you is that God will give you the opportunity to venture off the beaten path this week.  Maybe you’ll find that peaceful spot you’ve been longing for.  Maybe you’ll travel for miles never meeting another vehicle.  Maybe you’ll see nothing at all, and enjoy it because your life has been so full.

Whatever you find, may your week be one of rolled-down windows, turned up radios, sunshine, and a moment to explore the blessings in God’s world.

Just a thought.

By Ryan Kelly –

We are instructed as Christians to be “in the world but not of the world.” God does not want us to isolate ourselves from society, as easy as it could be to do so, but He also does not want us to be so integrated into the world that in unbelievers cannot tell us apart from believers.

The latter is a trap that many believers face themselves in each day.

2 Corinthians 6:14 tells us, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?”

‭‭If the average person cannot tell that you are fundamentally different than the world around you because of your faith, there is a problem. Place yourself in the position of someone looking at you, seeing your friends and where you go after work, how you treat your family, what language you use and how often you witness to others about your faith. Does this look like a Christian should?

There is no question that we can all do better. After all, that is sanctification – growing closer to God and being more like Him each day. He will help you to grow closer to Him and grow apart from the world, just turn to Him and let Him work in your life.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

I dug out an old picture for this week.  My girls can get back at me later.  These three beauties are what makes life grand for my wife and me.  But look at how young they are in this picture!

Time flies.  Years pass.  Holidays come and go.  School requirements are met.  Graduation ceremonies are held.  Aisles are walked.  And life goes on.  But where did it go?  One is about to get married.  One is graduating college and about to begin graduate school.  One is completing her first year of college.  The house is too quiet.

But as I think on these things, I am reminded of just how truly blessed a man I am.

Look around you this week.  Enjoy every moment with those you love.  Take time to carry on a conversation with the 96-year-old “last one living” baby-of-the bunch who braves an 8-hour car ride to attend the family reunion.  Share a moment to discuss the family photos with the one who knows everyone in the picture but can’t remember their names.  Chase down the soon-to-be grown-up 4-year-old who giggles every time you get near, and give her a big bear hug.

Take advantage of every God-given moment this week to cherish the ones you love and to love on the ones you cherish.  Time passes too quickly.  All too soon the house will be quiet.  Don’t waste a minute.  We love and honor the Lord by loving and honoring those around us, and then, once again, we are reminded just how truly blessed we really are.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

The photo that shows a fence row in the foreground was made in the countryside of Sumter County, AL, near the town of Gainesville.  It shows simple yellow flowers, probably weeds, but beautiful.  The other photo, with the green pasture in the background, was made in the countryside of France.  It shows a field of canola, from which we get canola oil.  Both fields are bright and beautiful, but they are in quite different places and serve quite different purposes.

Take a moment, or longer if necessary, to look at those ever-so-familiar coworkers and friends around you this week.  They may look very similar, but they may be in a very different place.  What I mean is this – We never know what another person is really going through.  Be kind.  Be patient.  Be compassionate.  Love your neighbor as yourself this week.  All may seem bright and wonderful on the outside, but they may be going through (and growing through) some very different dirt.

Shine brightly for those around you this week, knowing that we all grow in different places.

Just a thought.

By Ryan Kelly –

“The purpose of creation was for God to be glorified by man being created in His image. The purpose of salvation is for God to be gloried by the rebirth of man in the image of Jesus.” This quote from Dr Darryl Craft reflects a study from John Piper on Isaiah 43 and is one of the more impactful analysis of the purpose of creation that I have heard in a while.

God has always had a plan for each of us, and this plan always comes back to the glorification of himself. Whether your life is going well, or you are facing struggles or concerns, remember that God will never leave you or forsake you. You are part of His purpose and plan. You have not been forgotten, but rather you are meaningful to your creator because you reflect His glory. Stay close to Him, and you will stay in His will.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

We are just coming off of a beautiful Easter weekend.  Many folks were in our churches to celebrate and to remember the great gift of love that Jesus gave through His shed blood on the cross.  Perhaps that word – “remember” – sums it up the best.  Because as we remember, we focus on what took place.

This photo comes from one of our D.C. trips several years ago.  It is a wall of remembrances hand-decorated by children and lining an open wall space inside the Smithsonian’s Holocaust Museum.  But why would anyone want to remember the holocaust or 9-11 or any other horrific tragedy in the past?

I think the answer is that we need to remember.  Even if we weren’t physically there, we need to remember the pain of those events.  We need to remember the anguish, the terror, the disgust, and the tears.  Only when we remember the pain do we remember the One Who takes away the pain!

Easter is about remembering the pain, anguish, and certainly the great love of the One Who took all of my sins upon His shoulders so that I could live.

Remember.  We must remember.  The world needs to hear us tell of His work in our lives, His blessings upon our families, and His watchcare over our every living moment.  We weren’t physically at the cross when He died, but we were all represented and accounted for!

Look ahead, planning your week and doing what must be done.  But be careful to also remember the pain of your yesterdays and celebrate the One Who continues to bring you through.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Hi all.  Just at thought to help start your week.

Multnomah Falls, the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon, is much more breathtaking than my photo can possibly portray to you.  It is an absolutely beautiful place to see and behold for yourself, and I highly recommend doing so if you are ever traveling the Columbia River Gorge bordering Oregon and Washington.

Isn’t that the case with nearly anything else you could photograph in God’s great creation?  It must be seen and experienced for oneself, because a photo or description just doesn’t do it justice.

Now put that same thought into the greatness of what God the Father has prepared for His children one day – a mansion on a hilltop in a land that John had such difficulty describing in the book of Revelation.  Beauty beyond what can be explained with our finite minds and vocabularies.

In a very uncertain and ever-changing world, it ought to bring peace to the heart and a smile to the face of the child of God to know that even the most beautiful places we can experience here on this earth absolutely pale in comparison to the beautiful place waiting for us on the other side of the Jordan River.

Waterfalls that defy explanation.  Beauty beyond comprehension.  Just a couple of the many wonderful things I look forward to experiencing for myself.  How about you?

Just a thought.