"Turn my heart toward your statues and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your Word." - Psalm 119:36-37 I've known people earning enough money to buy anything they want and do anything they desire. Accolades and success from earthly sources are continuously pouring in. But you know what else? If they don't have Jesus, they're still empty. They're still searching. Their heart still isn't satisfied. Think about it. I'm not an artist, but if I was, you better believe I would sign my name to my artwork. If I write a book, my name will go on the jacket. If we work to create something, we will put something on it to make sure people know its source, right? Don't you think God did the same thing when He created each of us? Don't you think He didn't put something inside each one of us that will only be satisfied when our Creator is recognized? And no matter what else we try to fill it with, nothing else will satisfy? Pursuing selfish gain & worthless things will still leave us empty. Searching. Craving. Restless. Unsatisfied. Restless. Useless. Insignificant. Pursuing God's [...]

I've read lots of definitions of humility, but John Piper's is one of my favorites. He says, "Humility is the exact opposite of the "You owe me," mentality. Think about the application of this verse with this one mindset shift: "Others don't owe me. I owe them." I owe them grace. I owe them love. I owe them service. I owe them kindness. I owe them gentleness. I owe them respect.   Our world has an entitlement problem. Too often, we get wrapped up in the, "What's in it for me?" question instead of asking, "How can I give in abundance what has been given to me by God?" As for selfish ambition, we'll be digging into this soon in the membership portal, but for now, let's just leave it at this: We can recognize selfish ambition in our hearts when feel jealousy over what He's doing through someone else vs. praising Him for Kingdom results. As we memorize this verse this week, use the prayer guide below to specifically lift up how God might ask us to live out these verses in our lives. Prayer Guide: Sunday: Jesus (How would God have me to sacrificially use my talents for His [...]