If you've ever raised kids (or been responsible for them for more than 5 minutes), you've also said something akin to "Be nice to your sister!" many, many times over. It's a twofold theological reality that spills over into our everyday lives: 1) humanity really IS broken by sin and 2) we innately know that treating others with kindness is something we should do simply because that is what any human deserves. Kindness (though nice) is hard to do and can be dangerous to us. And yet we're called to do that very thing - the hard work of kindness - and brave the dangers that accompany it.

#FruitOfTheSpirit #KINDNESS #MoreThanBeingNice

In each of our lives, it would probably be very safe to say that we all lack one particular thing, to one degree or another - patience. And it’s not because we don’t see the value in patience, but it’s because it’s so easy to lose it along the way of life. But what if patience itself wasn’t the thing to pursue, but rather the culmination of pursuing other virtues and practicing those? Maybe then we’d all find it a little easier to be patient in very impatient times.

#FruitOfTheSpirit #PATIENCE #VIRTUE

Across the vast expanse of human experience, from the moments just after the dawn of time through our very own days, humanity has found itself embroiled in chaos, destruction, and war, which makes us yearn for peace … but maybe peace is more than just the stopping of hostilities. And maybe - just maybe - we’re destined to be an integral part of the peace that our souls long for and that God decreed for us.

#FruitOfTheSpirit #PEACE #LIFE

It’s easy to think back to happy memories, to times when things are going well and we’re enjoying ourselves. Unfortunately, those memories and feelings can be oft so fleeting, overshadowed by the pain and struggle and weight of this life. But what if there was a way to transcend this vacillating roller-coaster between happiness and pain? And what if it were available to all of us, all the time?

#FruitOfTheSpirit #JOY # HOPE

What we do reflects - in one way or another - who we are and what we truly believe. Jesus Himself shared a parable where He taught us that we recognize what kind of tree something is by the fruit that it bears. In the Bible book of Galatians, we learn that the primary “fruit” in the life of a Jesus-follower is love. In fact, the truth is that we simply cannot be Christian if we do not love.

#FruitOfTheSpirit #LOVE

All of us will do something when our days of this life end … we will leave a legacy. We will be remembered in one way or another, regardless if we want to or not. So how will you choose to be remembered? How will you live today that impacts all the tomorrows that will follow you?

#ALLinTHEfamily #Legacy #LEAVINGaLEGACY #Family

While family is good and is designed to be good, life has taught us that family is often broken. To understand why this brokenness occurs - and what we can do about it - we need to look at what is broken all around us first. And the beauty in the midst of darkness is that (with God’s help) each of us holds the key to bringing light into those dark places.

#ALLinTHEfamily #BrokenFamilies #Broken #Brokenness #Family

Current US demographic statistics show that over 50% of adults (16 years and older) are single … the first time this has happened in our nation’s history. If this is so, why is it that we so rarely hear messages or programs geared towards this vast subset of the population. Today, Dennis Foreman speaks to this group as one of them … of which he’s been a part for the entirety of his life. Find out what it means that singleness can truly be a gift, even if it doesn’t look like it one the surface.

#ALLinTHEfamily #Singleness

One of the hardest jobs in existence (and one of the most frustrating, rewarding, confusing, inspiring, and constantly-changing ones), is being a parent. There is no singular guidebook, no neat formula that works all the time or with every situation. But that doesn’t mean that there is no hope or no help in the process … we just need to look a little beyond ourselves and find strength in what God has revealed to us and in the community He’s created for us.

#ALLinTHEfamily #Parenting

When we talk about family, we have to start at the beginning - marriage. And to start at the beginning of marriage means we start at the beginning of the Bible - in the book of Genesis. If we look at how the Bible describes the essential nature of family from it’s beginning stages all the way through what Jesus & His followers affirmed, we discover a deep, rich reality of what community in general is supposed to be.

#ALLinTHEfamily #Marriage

The universal human longings for the things like truth, justice, love, & beauty are all genuine signposts to the fact that we humans are made by a good and wise Creator. But we so often find that each one of them is “broken.” They fail to deliver on what they appear to promise. Or perhaps we should say, we fail to deliver. However, there is one thing, one who, that never fails, who has shown that to which all the good in this world (broken though it may be) points. This perfect signpost, this Jesus, gives hope and life and a future

#BrokenSignposts #JESUS #Easter #ThePerfectSignpost

We’ll often mock weak leaders while resenting powerful ones. We want justice, but there must be power if justice is to flourish. Yet, people in power regularly bend justice to suit their own ends, accomplishing neither justice nor equality. Power has been abused, abdicated, hoarded, denied, and deified. And yet we still know that it is essential, even with all the dangers that it brings when applied improperly. How do we move forward?

#BrokenSignposts #TRUTH #Resolved

One of the most basic, fundamental drives that we see in the human condition is to be free. Wars are fought over it, protests are held to demand it, books & films are written to describe it’s loss and (hopefully) triumphant return. Yet the very fact that we yearn for freedom points out that there is something that stands in opposition to us being free.

#BrokenSignposts #Freedom #Resolved

One of the most basic, fundamental drives that we see in the human condition is to be free. Wars are fought over it, protests are held to demand it, books & films are written to describe it’s loss and (hopefully) triumphant return. Yet the very fact that we yearn for freedom points out that there is something that stands in opposition to us being free.

#BrokenSignposts #Freedom #Resolved

There is something about a gorgeous sunset, about peering across a vast chasm, about subtleties of light & color in a magnificent painting, about the play of meaning & sound in a skillfully woven poem, about gazing at your spouse yet again after decades like it’s the first time you’ve seen them … there’s just something in this world that resonates deep within us when we encounter real beauty. And that encounter points us to even greater truth and more stunning beauty.

#BrokenSignposts #Beauty #Resolved

NT Wright has written, “There are a great many people in today’s world who do not think of themselves as either religious or indeed Christian but who do think of themselves as somehow spiritual. Yet Christianity speaks uniquely to … our longing for spiritual connection by interjecting glimpses of heaven on earth.” What does it mean that we all seem to long for something more than our eyes can see or our fingers can touch?

#BrokenSignposts #Spirituality #Resolved

Almost every story ever written, almost ever song ever sung, almost every movie ever created all have one central component to their tales - love. The loss of it, the quest for it, the unrequitedness of it, the deep enjoyment of it, something about love. This is because love is central to the human condition. And that is something that points us to an even deeper reality of what it means to be truly human.

#BrokenSignposts #Love #Resolved

We all long for things to be, well, right. That’s why we instinctively recoil when we see injustice being done. Or at least, what we think to be injustice. And the Bible has a lot to say about this idea, and some of it challenges what we might think.

#BrokenSignposts #Justice #Resolved