One of the very popular movie genres over the past several decades could be classified as end of the world type films. From giant asteroids hurtling towards earth to rampant mutant viruses to natural disasters and more, we seem to be fascinated with what happens at the end of this existence on our planet. And our modern society has even borrowed a biblical term and applied it to these notions: apocalypse. However, as often happens, this term is used in a way that is rather divorced from it's biblical meaning.

Apocalypse doesn't really mean "the end of the world" as much as "an uncovering" or a "revelation."

Even so, as we think of the end of all things for us, it is important for us to grasp what it is that God IS revealing to us about what the future holds. We often get fascinated with the fantastic and dramatic and cataclysmic, but what the Bible reveals is actually way more glorious, way more beautiful, way more encouraging, and way more practical than we might be thinking … and it has WAY more to do with how we live today than it does with figuring out the details of how it will happen.

#Sountracks #Promises #Eternity #FreedomFromDespair

Unfortunately, there really ARE scary things out there. There really ARE things that go bump in the night, even if they are human actors behaving badly and not fantastical creatures. If you're alive, then you know what it's like to feel fear, and we're all constantly trying to flick on the lights of this life and banish the monsters around us.

So much hurt, frustration, conflict, & suffering can be traced back to humanity's desperate fight to protect ourselves from our fears, whether perceived or real. Wars have been fought over it. Friendships have been wounded. Marriages have ended. Anger, mistrust, hatred, and rebellion have all fomented beneath the shadow of fear.

But what if there was an antidote to fear? What if there was a way to disarm fear and step into being fully human? What if there was an answer to fear (or rather, our response to it) that allowed us to live lives of freedom & purpose & joy?

Gloriously, there is an answer, and it's closer than many of us might think.

#Sountracks #Promises #Power #FreedomFromFear

What gets you up in the morning? What motivates you to get going, to keep going, and not to give up? What excites you? What compels you forward day after day?

How you answer that will do much to tell you what you value, how much you value (or DON'T value) yourself, and what your outview on life is like. And too often, how we answer is based on things that don't matter as much as we think they do, on things that should not hold our ultimate allegiances, or on things that are simply unworthy for us to build our identity on.

Even so, there IS an answer that is worthy. There IS an answer that we all have within our reach. There IS an answer that checks every box & fulfills every qualification. There IS an answer that offers the purpose we all long for in the deep places of our soul.

#Sountracks #Promises #Purpose #NoFearOfEmptiness

Do you ever feel powerless? If we're honest, most of us could say, "Yes!" many times over. Whether it's about relationship conflicts, financial stresses, difficulties at school or work, or innumerable other situations, we often feel as if we are slaves to our situations. Even worse, many of us believe we're at the mercy of our own shortcomings & failures, victims of our sin, unable to overcome them on our own.

And the truth is … we ARE.

On our own, the Bible teaches that we're enslaved to our brokenness. But the ever-more-amazing truth is that God wants to meet us in our brokenness with His goodness and set us free from the power of sin in our lives. He wants to take the burden, shame, & power of our iniquity and replace it with His freedom, love, & righteousness.

#Sountracks #Promises #Righteousness #NoFearOfSin

One of the serial laments of humanity is how alone people feel, even though we're more "connected" to one another now than ever before in history, especially due to advances in technology. Yet, in many ways, we're actually LESS connected today because we've missed what those connections actually take to be valued - proximity, presence, passion, and more.

These words may hold different meanings for each of us, but the promise of true fellowship that God offers to us is meant to produce all those things, all within the context of authentic, enduring relationships. Relationships take work, but God promises to give us freedom from isolation when we embrace them.

#Sountracks #Promises #Fellowship #NoFearOfIsolation

One of the fundamental problems of life is, ironically, death. Every religion, every philosophical school of thought, every grand enterprise of humanity has wrestled with the notion that - at some point - life ceases to be alive. So what can we do about it?

Following Jesus provides a promise that answers that question to the full, and accepting the promise is the best, most foundational decision we can make. That promise - the promise of eternal life - provides us with all that we need to find freedom from death, the enemy of humanity.

#Sountracks #Promises #EternalLife #NoFearOfDeath