"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." 2 Corinthians 3:5 Once you have crossed the Red Sea and left the "fence" of Egypt behind, the adrenaline of the miracle eventually fades. You look around and realize that while you are free, you are also in a wilderness. There are no grocery stores in the desert, and the "onions and garlic" of your old life are thousands of miles away. This is the survival stage of the

"Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea." 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 We have spent time discussing the "fence," that middle ground of indecision where we try to keep one foot in our old life and one foot in our calling. But there comes a point where the fence isn't just a place of stagnation; it becomes a place of death. Fo

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service". Romans 12:1 In our last conversation, we looked at the danger of the "middle ground." We identified the "fence" as that place of false safety where we try to balance our worldly comforts with our spiritual desires. But once we recognize the fence for the trap that it is, we often face a second, more subtle tem

"So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth". Revelation 3:16 These are some of the most sobering words in all of Scripture. They remind us that Christianity doesn’t leave room for the middle ground; you’re either on fire for God or you aren’t. Jesus didn’t say that being "lukewarm" was better than nothing. In fact, He said He would prefer we were cold rather than middle-of-the-road. Why? Because "lukewarm" is a state of fals

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20 Grace Waiting on the Road Home Imagine for a moment that you are the son in this story. You are walking back toward the life you left behind, but your head is down. Your feet are heavy, and your heart is even heavier. With every step, you are rehearsing the speech you think you need to give. You’re practic