The Gospel Still Changes Everything

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Joel 2:13 — Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.

Have you ever noticed how quickly the best news in your life can turn ordinary?

The promotion. The wedding day. The birth of a child. At first, it changes everything. Then, over time, it becomes part of the wallpaper.

I think that’s what can happen with the Gospel. It’s easy to wake up carrying burdens and forget that Jesus already carried them. We forget that the story of Jesus isn’t just about getting into heaven someday. It’s about being brought from death to life today.

That’s why I love the song “Running Back To You” by Seph Schlueter. At its heart, it’s a modern retelling of the Prodigal Son story. You know the one.

A son wanders away. A father watches and waits for his son to come home. And when the son finally turns around, he discovers something shocking: the father is still glad to see him.

He’s not tolerant.

Not reluctant.

Glad. 

The son had rehearsed his apology, but the father prepared a celebration. The son came home ashamed, but the father met him with love.

That sounds a lot like how God is described by the prophet Joel. He is the God who is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and overflowing with faithful love. That’s the Father the prodigal ran toward. And that’s the Father we can run to today.

And maybe that’s what makes repentance so beautiful. It’s not crawling back to a disappointed Father. It’s running back to love.

The Gospel is the best news ever. It announces that Jesus has already done what we never could. What sin separated, Jesus restored. What death claimed, Jesus conquered.

It only becomes ordinary when we forget what it rescued us from.

So today, remember. Remember the chains He broke. Remember the life He gave. Remember the Father who still watches the road for His children to come home.

And if you’ve wandered, even a little, you can still turn around.

You’ll find Him exactly where He’s always been. Waiting with arms wide open.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • Have you allowed the good news of the Gospel to become familiar instead of life-changing? What helps you remember what Jesus has done for you?
  • Is there an area of your life where God is inviting you to return to Him today?
  • How does knowing that God is merciful, compassionate, and full of unfailing love change the way you think about repentance?

L Y R I C S

(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)

I was an orphan
Defined by mistakes
Thought I was forsaken
That You gave up the chase
I went to the reaches
To try and ease the ache
Turned my back on the One
Who kept calling my name
You kept calling

Didn’t matter where I was at
You just kept calling me back

Back to the table
Back to my home
Back to my Father who never lost hope
For the first time in ages
I know what to do
With my arms wide open I’m running to back to You

(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I’m running to back to You
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)

Now I have been rescued
My soul is remade
But even the ransomed
Can fall on their face
When I’m drowning in questions
When I’ve lost the path
Your love is the answer
You’re calling me back

Back to the table
Back to my home
Back to my Father who never lets go
Whatever I’m facing
I know what to do
With my arms wide open I’m running to back to you

(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I’m running to back to You
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)

It doesn’t matter all the times where I’ve been in over my head
I’m never too far gone where Your arms cannot pull me back again
I’m never been so lost where Your love could not fill my emptiness
I’m never too far gone where Your arms cannot pull me back again

Back to the table
Back to my home
Back to my Father who never lets go
Whatever I’m facing
I know what to do
With my arms wide open I’m running to back to you
Back to the table
Back to my home
Back to my Father who never lost hope
For the first time in ages
I know what to do
With my arms wide open I’m running to back to you

(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I’m running to back to You
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I’m running to back to You
(Oh-oh-oh-oh) Oh-oh-oh-oh
I’m running back to You
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I’m running to back to You

Songwriters: Seph Schlueter and Jacob Sooter

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The Power of Going All In

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Joshua 24:15 — If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

When I was growing up, summertime had one speed: wide open.

My friends and I rode our bikes, chased lightning bugs, drank from the water hose, and then barreled back into the house like we owned the place. Five minutes later, we’d head right back outside.

And I can still hear my mom when she’d finally reach her limit.

“Either in or out! You’re letting all the cool air out!”

I know you can relate.

Back then, she was talking about the electric bill.

But looking back, I think she was teaching me something bigger.

Life requires commitment.

Because a lot of us still live standing in the doorway.

One foot in.

One foot out.

Partly committed.

Partly surrendered.

We want God, but we also want our own way. We want His peace without fully trusting Him. His leadership without giving Him control.

But eventually, every heart has to decide where it’s going to live.

Joshua stood before the people of Israel and gave them that very choice: “Choose this day whom you will serve.” Then he declared, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

God still gives us that same dignity today.

He doesn’t force His way into our lives.

He invites us.

And every day, through the choices we make, we’re answering the question of who we’re going to follow and what kind of life we’re going to build.

The decisions that shape your future are usually the ones you make today.

So if you’ve been standing in the doorway spiritually, maybe today is the day to step fully in.

Not someday.

Today.

Choose whom you will serve.

And as for me?

I’m all in.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • Is there an area of your life where you’ve been “standing in the doorway” instead of fully surrendering to God?
  • What does Joshua’s challenge to “choose this day whom you will serve” mean for your life today—not someday?
  • What is one practical step you can take this week to live more fully committed to following Christ?
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The Beauty in the Broken Road

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Psalms 103:2-4 — Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things He does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.

Have you ever driven through a construction zone and thought, This is such a mess. Who planned this?

Lanes suddenly shift. Orange barrels are everywhere. Traffic slows to a crawl. Dust is flying, and nothing looks finished. Then you come back six months later, and there’s a new road, fresh pavement, and a bridge where there wasn’t one before.

Suddenly, the mess starts making sense.

Peter Burton’s song “Where Would I Be” comes from a deeply personal place, and it reminds me of that kind of roadwork. He has talked openly about his struggles with mental health and how God walked with him through every step of recovery.

He calls the song his testimony—a reminder that Jesus changes everything, and even in the mess, God is still at work.

Maybe that’s why the song hits home for so many people.

It’s your testimony and mine too.

We all have chapters we’d rather skip. Seasons where you felt buried under shame. Choices you wish you could erase. Anxiety, fear, bitterness you didn’t know how to shake.

But then Jesus steps into the mess. He starts breaking ground, healing hearts, doing a deep work in us. And one day you look back and barely recognize who you used to be.

He’s that good.

He’s the God who forgives all your sins, heals your diseases, redeems your life from destruction, and crowns you with love and tender mercies. Don’t forget that.

Because those moments that felt like falling apart were often the very places God was quietly rebuilding you.

And somewhere along the way, you may find yourself asking what Peter Burton asks in the song:

“Where would I be? Where would I be if it wasn’t for the love of God?”

…and honestly, thank God we’ll never know.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • What “construction zone” season of your life can you only now see God was working through?
  • Where do you need to remember (not just believe, but remember) that God has forgiven, healed, and redeemed you?
  • Is there a part of your story you tend to skip over or feel ashamed of—how might God be inviting you to see it differently?
  • How has your testimony changed as you’ve looked back and recognized God’s presence in the middle of the mess?
  • Who in your life might need to hear your story of how God met you in a difficult season?

Lyrics:

Standing where I stand now
I know that He’s the reason
I almost can’t believe it

Every wrong turn He turned around
and I can just imagine
If it didn’t happen
How it happened

Oh
Seeing how good He’s been to me
Oh
I can’t help but think

Where would I be if I didn’t have Jesus
Pulling me outta that grave
Where would I be if I didn’t have mercy
Pulling me away from my ways
I’d probably crash and burn
Stay stuck down in that dirt
Like a prodigal running from home
Where would I be if I didn’t have Jesus
Thank God, thank God, thank God
I’ll never know

I used to feel the weight
Of the chains that I was holding
Til my savior came and broke em

I used to walk with shame
I was living at a loss
Til he settled up my cost
At the cross

Oh
Giving His life so I could live
Oh
Didn’t leave me where I’ve been

Where would I be if I didn’t have Jesus
Pulling me outta that grave
Where would I be if I didn’t have mercy
Pulling me away from my ways
I’d probably crash and burn
Stay stuck down in that dirt
Like a prodigal running from home
Where would I be if I didn’t have Jesus
Thank God, thank God, thank God
I’ll never know

Thank God
I’ll never know

Where would I be if I didn’t have Jesus
Pulling me outta that grave
Where would I be if I didn’t have mercy
Pulling me away from my ways
I’d probably crash and burn
Stay stuck down in that dirt
Like a prodigal running from home
Where would I be if I didn’t have Jesus
Thank God, thank God, thank God
I’ll never know

Thank God
I’ll never know
Thank God
I’ll never know

Written by Peter Burton, Matt Armstrong, AJ Pruis

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Fly Higher, Together

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1 Peter 4:10 — God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

I still think about those backyard trampoline days. They were something else.

The neighborhood kids would come over, and before long we were making up games or playing classics like “crack the egg”—you know, the one where everyone bounces around trying to get someone tucked into a roll.

But if I had to pick a favorite part of those afternoons, nothing beat the feeling of getting “double bounced.”

You know what I’m talking about.

Because at just the right moment, your bounce would meet your friend’s bounce, and suddenly you were flying twice as high. It felt like you could touch the sky.

Now, if you were the friend doing the bouncing, it didn’t feel quite as magical. Your timing had to be right, your legs took the strain, and your own jump got interrupted. You were absorbing impact so someone else could go soaring.

But it worked because you knew the rhythm would shift. At some point, it would be your turn to rise.

And then there were days when no one was outside. No games. No timing. No lift. Just me jumping alone—no rhythm, just effort.

And honestly, that’s where life can start to feel like too.

We start believing we’re meant to do everything on our own.

“Me and Jesus, that’s all I need.”

But Scripture paints a fuller picture than that.

That’s what Peter is talking about here. God has given each of us gifts—not for isolation, but for building one another up.

Life with God was never designed to be solo jumps in an empty yard. It was designed for community, where what He placed in you strengthens someone else, and what He placed in them strengthens you.

Because if we’re honest, living alone can start to feel like that solo jump—no rhythm, no lift, just effort. But God never intended us to stay there.

So stay in community.

Because in God’s design, no one was meant to jump alone.

And sometimes, the very thing you need is someone willing to help you rise again… and sometimes, you’re the one God is calling to lift someone else.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • Where in your life are you trying to “jump alone” instead of leaning into community?
  • Who has God used to “lift you higher” spiritually, emotionally, or practically?
  • What gift has God placed in you that could strengthen someone else right now?
  • Are you more comfortable being lifted—or being the one who lifts others?
  • How might God be inviting you to participate in someone else’s growth this week?
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Ready Before the Rescue

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Ephesians 6:18 — Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Summertime, 2012. I’m sitting high in a metal chair by the pool, whistle at my chest, and the sun is beaming down.

It’s amazing what it took to get here.

See, I came here as a college dreamer, ten weeks ago. I felt like the Lord was leading me to serving at a summer camp as a camp counselor, and becoming a certified lifeguard came as part of the job.

They trained us hard.

Long days. Sore muscles. Drill after drill. They taught us how to perform rescues and how to scan the water—always attentive, always ready.

Now I’m here, watching a pool full of kids laughing and water splashing.

This day is uneventful, and I’m thankful for that. But I know I have to stay attentive. Because the real danger could come at a moment’s notice.

Isn’t that a lot like the Christian life?

Most days aren’t dramatic. There’s no obvious crisis. Life hums along, steady and predictable. And that’s exactly why it’s easy to let our guard down spiritually. We stop paying attention. We miss the needs right in front of us, or we aren’t prepared when challenges suddenly surface.

And just like that lifeguard chair, there’s a kind of watchfulness we’re invited into.

To live on purpose. To stay awake.

And believe it or not, that’s only made possible through prayer. That’s your training ground. Praying in the Spirit is how you stay sharp and connected to the heartbeat of Heaven. It’s how you learn to recognize God’s voice, notice the needs of others, and remain ready for whatever He places in front of you.

Because long before you ever need to jump in, you’ve already been watching.

Maybe today isn’t dramatic. Maybe nothing feels urgent. But what if this is your chair? What if this is your moment to stay awake in prayer—ready for whatever rises to the surface, ready for whoever needs you to notice?

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • What distractions tend to pull your attention away from prayer?
  • How would you describe your current level of spiritual alertness?
  • Is there someone in your life who may need prayer or encouragement right now?
  • What does “praying in the Spirit at all times” look like in your daily routine?
  • How can you become more attentive to what God is doing around you this week?
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Discipline, Desire, Delight

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Psalm 34:8 — Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!

I grew up in the nineties, and I don’t know if I imagined it, but…we were all told vegetables were gross.

I mean, on cartoons they avoided broccoli at all costs, so I treated it like the plague. In the school cafeteria line, I would pile my tray with anything but the vegetables.

It was probably just marketing, but it’s funny because years later, I became a high school teacher. And I finally tried veggies in the school cafeteria.

And they were… good.

Like, genuinely, they were the best seasoned thing on the menu. I stood standing there thinking, “Wait—have I been wrong about this my whole life?”

It wasn’t just the cafeteria. Every summer, my mom would make tomato pie. And depending on who you are, that either sounds incredible or completely disgusting.

To me it looked gross, so it was gross. No further investigation needed. Because…vegetables…am I right?

But no. I tried it for the first time in college and it changed my life! My momma is a good cook, but it’s one of the best things she makes.

It’s funny—and a little sad—how easily we opt out of some of the best things in life without ever really trying them. We write them off before we experience them.

Honestly, spiritual disciplines can feel like that too. Prayer. Scripture. Solitude. Worship. Sometimes they sound more like eating your vegetables than experiencing joy.

But every time I lean into those things—even a little—I find something I didn’t expect. Peace that steadies me. Clarity that wasn’t there before. A sense that I’m not alone.

Maybe that’s why we’re invited not just to believe God is good, but to experience it. “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” He says. And somewhere along the way, we discover, what first felt like discipline starts to turn into desire.

And desire… turns into delights.

So, I want to encourage you to seek God’s face today through spiritual disciplines. Because it really is so good!

Disciplines develop your spiritual appetite. Yes. You’ll end up hungry for more.

Please don’t miss out on the most incredible parts of life simply because they are branded to you as “boring” or hard.

No. Taste and see that they lead to the sweetest and most un-boring thing of all.

God’s presence.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • What spiritual discipline have you avoided because it seemed boring, difficult, or unappealing?
  • When have you personally “tasted and seen” God’s goodness in an unexpected way?
  • What keeps you from slowing down enough to experience God’s presence consistently?
  • How have small, faithful habits helped strengthen your relationship with God?
  • What is one practical way you can seek God’s presence more intentionally this week?
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A Super Life to Live

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Philippians 2:4 — Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

There are stories we’ve all played out in our heads and hearts since we were kids. Cops and robbers, kings and queens, or racecar drivers…

For me, I imagined life as a superhero.

Cape and all. With fight sequences, slow-motion landings, and last-second saves.

I remember having a trampoline in my back yard. That was the best place to play out action-packed superhero games with your friends.

The neighborhood kids and I would bounce and flip, shooting imaginary webs and lasers and taking turns being the hero while everyone else played the bad guys.

It was chaotic and creative and honestly… kind of perfect.

…until it wasn’t…

Because you remember how those childhood games go.

It’s all fun until someone breaks a rule. Rules, that of course, you are actively making up as you go. Rules that were never agreed upon. And just like that, the play fighting turns into real fighting.

Someone gets upset. Someone storms off crying. And somehow, the very next day, you all get back together again to play the same game expecting different results.

I think we still do that in life, don’t we?

We just don’t call it a game anymore.

We carry around quiet rules. Things like unspoken expectations about how people should treat us, respond to us, or show up for us. Some of those things are good. But some of them… are just our rules.

And when people don’t follow them, it stings. It feels like they’re playing it wrong.

But what if that’s the problem?

Maybe life was never meant to revolve around my version of the game. Maybe the real win isn’t getting others to meet my expectations, but learning to lay mine down long enough to truly see others. To value them above myself. To care for them.

Because the strongest kind of life—the kind that actually holds people together—doesn’t come from always being the hero. It looks more like Jesus’s life, who set aside the spotlight, picked up a towel, and served the people in front of Him.

Turns out, that’s a better story to tell, isn’t it?

And maybe, you start to see that winning looks a lot more like love.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • What “quiet rules” or unspoken expectations do you tend to place on others?
  • How do you usually react when people don’t meet those expectations?
  • In what ways did Jesus model humility and service instead of self-focus?
  • What would it look like to genuinely value someone else’s needs above your own this week?
  • Where might God be inviting you to trade being “right” for choosing love instead?
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Miles and Miles of Wonder

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Psalm 8:1 — O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.

The sky never repeats itself, and somehow that says everything.

Right after college, home still meant my childhood bedroom. My sister Lindsay had just started at ULM, and I was in that strange in-between—done with college, grateful to be home, but not quite sure what came next.

So I made a habit of escaping.

My sister and I would hit the interstate and head west toward Ruston. Windows cracked, music up, we’d talk about everything and nothing—classes, dreams, the future waiting somewhere out there. We had no plan. No destination.

Just one goal.

Chasing sunsets.

Have you ever done that? You can almost feel it before you see it.

The sun dipping low, stretching gold across the fields. Then orange. Then streaks of violet painting the horizon. It never rushed, but it never lingered either. You had to pay attention or you’d miss it.

It never gets old.

We started those drives knowing what we were chasing, but never really knowing what we’d get. And that was the thrill.

Somewhere along those miles, it became clear—our God is a master creator. His handiwork fills the sky every evening. And if you take a moment to notice, there’s more beauty than you can predict, and more wonder than you can control.

The heavens are always saying something, if you’re willing to look up. His glory stretches farther than your plans and bigger than whatever you’re trying to figure out next.

Creation keeps pointing back to Him.

And maybe that’s the invitation. Not to have it all mapped out. Not to rush past the moment. Just to notice. Because even now, His colors are breaking out all around you— unmistakable and daily.

And if you lift your eyes, even for a second, you might catch it.

He is still the God of wonders, and His glory still fills the earth.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • When was the last time you slowed down enough to truly notice God’s creation?
  • How does creation help reveal the majesty and creativity of God to you?
  • Are there moments in your life where you’ve been so focused on the future that you missed the beauty right in front of you?
  • What does Psalm 8:1 teach us about God’s glory and presence in the world around us?
  • How can you intentionally “look up” and notice God’s wonder in your everyday life this week?
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Beauty in the Slow Down

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Psalm 37:7 — Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

There are some things in life you have to learn to appreciate, aren’t there?

Porch sitting is one of them. As a kid, it used to bore me to tears. I couldn’t understand why that was all the adults wanted to do—just sit there. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve discovered it really might be one of the greatest pastimes there is.

Most simple things are.

Things like slowly reading a book or watching the clouds roll by.

For me, one of those simple pleasures is time spent watching hummingbirds with my mom.

Back during COVID, we would do this daily. I’d sit on the porch working on my laptop. My mom would sit nearby, keeping me company. We wouldn’t always say much. We’d just be there, together, occasionally pointing out the skittering birds when they showed up, and we’d refill the feeders when they ran dry.

It was mesmerizing. It felt like catching a glimpse of something you were never meant to miss. They stopped by just for a moment, then dart to and fro again. They would be gone almost as soon as you noticed them.

But if I’m honest, I think this would’ve bored me to tears before, too.

So, what changed?

It really boils down to one thing.

Stillness.

That’s the acquired taste that most simple things require. Simple pleasures like front porches, slow books, and hummingbirds ask you to sit down enough to pay attention. And that’s harder than it sounds.

Because life will hand you plenty to fixate on. Things that feel unfair. Things that seem like they’re falling apart or impossible to manage.

But out on that porch, none of that follows you.

You sit. You breathe. You notice the beautiful things God is doing around you.

So today, maybe there’s an invitation there—to be still in the presence of the Lord. To wait for Him to act instead of trying to carry everything yourself. To loosen your grip on all the noise and let Him meet you in the quiet.

Because it’s often there—in the stillness—that the smallest, most beautiful things come into view.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • What distractions or worries have been making it difficult for you to be still lately?
  • When was the last time you slowed down enough to notice God’s presence in ordinary moments?
  • What would it look like for you to wait patiently for God instead of trying to control the outcome yourself?
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Build Unshakable Hope

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1 Peter 3:15 – Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

It was late on a Wednesday night when the pastor told the small group his son no longer believed in God.

He swallowed and explained why. “He told me I taught him what to believe, but I never taught him why.”

You could feel the silence in the room. That sentence followed each of them home, especially for one father in the congregation.

When the man walked into his kitchen, his twelve-year-old son Caleb was at the table, finishing his memory verse homework. Though that scene usually reassures most parents, the father sat across from him and asked, “Why do you believe the Bible is true, buddy?”

Caleb shrugged. “Because it’s God’s Word.”

“How do you know that?”

Another pause. “Because the Bible says so.”

Something sank in the dad’s chest. His son wasn’t wrong, but that line of reasoning was circular. He knew that foundationless faith often collapses under pressure.

Over the next few days, the father asked more and more questions. About Jesus. About forgiveness. About why the cross mattered at all. His son Caleb never pushed back, but he just didn’t have the answers. And quietly, the father realized neither did he.

And a verse came to his mind. “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

Preparation. Reasoning. Hope.

But it all starts with this—making Jesus not just someone I know about, but the One who leads my life.

These were things he desperately wanted for him and his son. So he invited his son to ask the deep, hard questions. And he studied the Bible more and more, until he could answer his son’s cosmological questions at a sixth-grade level.

They slowed down. They talked. And strangely, the more Caleb understood, the more naturally he prayed. He quit repeating “the right answer,” and His faith became his own.

What that dad found out is that faith doesn’t fall apart because it’s false—it falls apart because it was never reinforced.

You see, the God who created our brains is not shaken by hard questions. Every answer is found in Him when we invite scripture to inform us.

So, I want to encourage you today to do the work that matters. Don’t be afraid of God, when your questions come. Study the scriptures and discover the meaning behind the message of our hope.

Because thinking deeply about the Bible like that doesn’t replace faith—it gives it a spine and teaches the soul how to stand.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • If someone asked you why you believe in Jesus, how would you respond?
  • Where does your faith feel solid—and where does it feel untested or uncertain?
  • Are there questions about God or the Bible you’ve avoided instead of exploring?
  • What would it look like to grow in both understanding and trust this season?
  • Is Jesus truly Lord of your life—or mainly someone you know about?
  • How can you begin preparing yourself to explain your hope with clarity and confidence?
  • Who in your life might be asking questions that you have an opportunity to engage with?
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