The intended purpose of humanity was to reflect the character and priorities of our Creator. To enjoy relationship with Him, with the created world, and with each other. The pre-fall creation was a place of harmony, order, beauty. Unfortunately, because of humanity’s sin and its effect on the world, a lot of the things that were created good, perfect, and beautiful have suffered and become disordered and deformed. But God didn’t just discard what He so lovingly designed and created. Instead, He intended to restore it…

God brings order out of chaos and fills it with purpose. Everything that God creates is created with care, given what it needs to thrive, and an environment to do it in… He loves creation so much that He wants creation to enjoy their existence under His loving care…

The story of the Bible is a story of redemption. It begins with freedom, harmony, belonging and life, but then rebellion and sin traps humanity in captivity, chaos, isolation and death. We were never intended to be slaves. We were created to live in peace and harmony and freedom with our Creator. Because of God’s great love for us, He enacted a plan to rescue, redeem and restore us to Himself…

Even some of those who profess faith and participate in Christian community look to faith as another good or service to consume, rather than looking at it as something to give themselves to. They want to enjoy the benefits of church or faith, without the commitment and contribution that it demands… But in doing so, they miss out on the real blessing of the Christian life. The benefit of faith is not only in what we receive from God, but also in what we give to Him and His Kingdom. Acts 20:35, “It is more blessed to give than to receive…”

Because our lives are busy, we often outsource our spiritual growth and connection to God to books, classes, podcasts, and worship music. John Mark Comer writes, “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life… Both sin and busyness have the exact same effect - they cut off our connection to God, to other people, and even to our own soul.” A slow, intentional spirituality filled with opportunities for relational connection to our always present Saviour is what we our souls need in order to live wisely in our day and age. I believe that in order to abide in Jesus, we need to remain fully present in attentive relationship and ongoing connection with Him. We commune with Him, are taught by Him in His Word, and our actions and words are shaped by His influence.

One of the most remarkable things about our faith, is that we serve a God who is eager to speak to us. The Bible is filled with stories of God who speaks to mankind – who instructs and corrects, and warns and directs, and comforts and protects people who tune their ears to hear Him…