Test the Door.

This post is what happens when a student's chapel at our school passes through my mind. In this case, I must thank Mary Kate Arnold, a senior at Heirway Christian Academy, for the inspiration for this post.


     We are all born into sin, and for this sin we have been sentenced to death. We live our lives chained to the wall of a jail cell; left to wallow in the filth of our sin, waiting for the day that our captor will come to carry out our final sentence. When the day comes that we must pay the price for our sinful life, we will face the executioner. He will draw back his arm to deliver the blow that will end it all.

     It is at this moment that Jesus steps into the gap before us and the blows meant for us will fall on Him. As the blows land, the blood of this innocent man will splatter on us. As the blood falls on us, the filth of our sin is washed away and the shackles fall off.

     For all too many Christians, this is where the story ends. Their shackles are released and their sins are washed away, but there they sit in that jail cell still, the filth of their sin all around them. Jesus doesn't free us to continue sitting in the filth of our sin in that jail cell. He calls us to get up and check the door. If we do, we will find it open with the whole world outside of it. Becoming a Christian isn't a one-and-done event, it is a process that continues every day. We need to stand up and push that cell door open and exit into the life that God has laid out before us.





She used this video to open up her chapel and it is very powerful. It is a little long, but please take the time to watch it.

Has Anything Really Changed?

     We spent all of last month eagerly awaiting the arrival of Christmas. We decorated, we shopped, we baked, we were excited for the coming of Christmas day. We were looking forward to the arrival of the Christ Child. Well, now Christmas has come and gone. The decorations have been put away, the tree is gone, the food has been eaten, and the new has worn off of the presents. Did anything really change? What was all of the excitement for? Here we are only a few weeks later and it is like Christmas never happened.

     Unfortunately, I think as Christians this is all too often true of us. There is much excitement, rightly so, about Jesus' arrival in our life, but then a few weeks later nothing has really changed. The first Christmas changed the world forever. With the arrival of Jesus, man was provided with a way to escape the destiny that sin demanded. Jesus did more than change history, He changed eternity. We can now spend eternity with Him in heaven. His arrival in our life should leave a noticeable change in our lives, it shouldn't be a one day event. It isn't something we celebrate and then put away in the closet. We should live our lives as if we are meeting Jesus for the first time every day. Every day should have the excitement of Christmas.

One Little Girl

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28)


      I think we overlook Mary's role in the Christmas story. Yes, we know an angel came to tell her she would bring the Son of God into the world, and we know of her trip to Bethlehem and how she was forced to give birth in a stable, but do we really put any thought into what all of this meant to her?

     Yes, she had found favor with God, but what about with the people that knew her? She was a young, unmarried teenager and now she would be pregnant. This was a culture that could still stone girls for this kind of thing. The best she could hope for was basically exile from all of her loved ones. This young girl would be signing up for a very difficult journey, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. Knowing the dangers that lay ahead of her, she responded, "I am the Lord's servant, may your word to me be fulfilled." (Luke 1:38) 

     This teenage girl may not have understood all that was being asked of her, but she knew that it was God asking it of her, and that was enough for her. Yes, she knew the road ahead of her would be tough, but she knew it was ordained by God. If it was ordained by God, it would be worth the journey.

     I think we need to remember the courage of that young woman. When God asked her to do something, she didn't stop to count the cost. No, she simply said, "Okay, I am yours." As you celebrate the birth of the Savior, remember the faith of a young girl that made it all possible.

This video is "Be Born in Me" by Francesca Battistelli