A common misconception that many people have regarding faith is that all of our questions will get answered, all of our doubts will be erased, and all of our struggles will be disappear. In fact, often times our faith calls us into asking more questions, causes us to have more doubts, and makes us endure greater struggles. So why would anyone in their right mind become a person of faith? It’s because spiritual growth and peace is found in the questions, doubts, and struggles. Staying in the valleys of life will ensure one thing: we stay exactly the same. It’s precisely when we traverse the mountainsides and enter into the wilderness where genuine spiritual wholeness is found.
Faith invites us to enter into the wilderness.
Restart After Resurrection
Have you ever wondered what happened after Jesus’ resurrection? As we learned last week, Jesus’ resurrection was first experienced by a handful of people. Over time, more of Jesus’ followers witnessed Jesus’ return from the grave, but His resurrection was never meant to be for the crowds of spectators like some of His miracles, His entrance into Jerusalem, or even His death on the cross. Yet after His resurrection, Jesus hung around for 40 more days before He ascended in heaven. But why? Well, it’s because Jesus’ resurrection was only the beginning, not the end. It was a restart.
Hope of Easter
The definition of hope can differ from person to person. When people speak about hope in a spiritual sense, it might mean believing good things will happen with faith in God. For others, it might mean always looking on the bright side and seeing challenges as opportunities. In other words, always “hoping for the best.” Merriam-Webster’s definition makes “hope” seem close to “wish.” “To cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true.”
In general, hope is the belief that life will get better. Now, that could mean that your circumstances may not change; maybe you’ll change to be able to better handle life’s difficulties. Perhaps God will send people your way who will help carry your burdens. Maybe God will give you a spiritual fulfillment that will outweigh the hardships.
I don’t know about you, but my life is still really difficult. One thing is certain, it is impossible to experience any joy without hope. This is what Easter is all about: hope.
Palm Sunday
There’s an old adage: all roads lead to Rome. The reason why this saying came to be is because the Romans developed an advanced road system that connected various cities in their expansive Roman Empire. In ancient Jerusalem, however, there was only one path to Jerusalem because of where the city was situated on top of a plateau. The walk to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was the longest walk that Jesus ever took in his life because he knew what waited for him in that holy city; joyous welcome, healing miracles, meals with friends, malicious religious leaders, and his death on a cross.
We all walk long roads sometimes in our lives that lead to heavy endings. These ends are often mixed with positive and negative experiences. Yet thru it all, God has a purpose or purposes behind them. While not “everything happens for a reason,” we can always learn, grow, or heal from every experience.
Life After Separation
Have you or someone you know gone through a difficult divorce, separation, or breakup? Then you may want to check out our next Sunday Seminar on “Life After Separation.” Many people separate from longterm relationships, but not many people put a lot of thought and intention into how they should recover or heal from the loss, grief, and hurt associated with the separations. Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Roy Kim will be sharing about what commonly happens after a separation, how to move forward with life, and even being healthier as a result.
New Paths
It’s been almost exactly two years since we’ve Covid was declared a global pandemic with various quarantine, mask, and social gathering mandates. Things are finally opening up again and life can move forward, but life doesn’t feel quite normal. In fact, many parts of our lives feel messier than ever before. Countless businesses closed down, many relationships are broken, and communities are left in shambles.
According to the Four Stages of a Crisis, it appears we are entering the Third Stage of a Crisis, which is called Chronic. This is the “Clean-Up” stage. After the dust has settled, you assess the damage done and you start to cleanup the broken pieces. Most of us have never been this way before, which is why we need guidance from God, support from a community, and love for ourselves.
As a brother from Perch recently suggested, “Just take it one day at a time.”
That’s all any of us can do right now. Take it one day, one step, one task at a time.
Waiting
Have you been waiting for change? And what are your thoughts on waiting? Perhaps you think its a waste of time, a void, or counter-productive. What if waiting can be more than that? What if waiting is good for the heart and spirit? God designed our lives to have periods of waiting interspersed throughout. While most people live for the “big moments,” we can easily look down on the periods of silence, stillness, and in-between. If done correctly, waiting for change can profoundly change us while we’re waiting.
Connections: Living with Regret
Everyone has some varying degrees of regret in their lives, that is everyone who is relatively healthy and able to self-reflect. If you’re honest with yourself, you probably have your fair share or regrets too. But is there such a thing as healthy or unhealthy regret? Interestingly, the Bible has much to teach us on this topic. As long as we’re able to distinguish between healthy/unhealthy regret, able to self-reflect, and process our regrets well, we need not be afraid of regret; rather, we can embrace it has a part of life and a welcome teacher.