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"In some small way I feel like I can understand how the apostles must have felt during the Saturday between Jesus’ death and resurrection. Just like then, we are in a waiting period and we do not know what we are exactly waiting for; we are experiencing loss of what we thought we knew and what we most likely took for granted. We might even be experiencing, to some degree, a feeling of hopelessness. I also know many of us, including myself, are feeling fear in the face of the unknown. We know we must keep moving forward, but we don’t know how. However, unlike the apostles, we now know that Jesus defeated darkness and death and was raised again, and man, does that change our story."

"I showed up to a Sunday morning service recently where Pastor Justin spoke the words: “Never stop starting,” and I am really trying (and often failing) to apply that throughout my life. This is the message of the Gospel: through Jesus we are always given a fresh start. He is there to cover our sins and our failures so we are free to “never stop starting,” to never stop being renewed, we're allowed to fail."

"As Christians, we know that Jesus is the one true light; He defeated darkness and with His light he drowns out all the lesser lights that we might be drawn to. Through belief in Him we become sons and daughters of light so that others might see Him through us. We are mere reflectors of the true light, so that others are not blinded immediately by the true light and have a chance to see it’s brilliance. The God, who created the light of the universe, is the light inside us through His Son, so that we might never be in darkness again."

"Many of God’s promises, fulfillments of prophecy, and visions sent to his people were completed within the wilderness. Our God is a God of descension. He has shown time and time again that he is present in the wilderness. When we are in communion with God the wilderness is no longer a place of fear, but a place of renewal and strengthening. We may often exist in a desert place, but when we trust in God, according to his promise, the desert place becomes God’s place."

"Speaking truth in love (even to, or about ourselves) and asking forgiveness is a very important part in growing God’s people here on Earth. It is in this way that we can “Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8)."

"We instinctively meditate on things to the point that those things permeate our hearts and minds. Unfortunately, because we are sinners, the things we naturally meditate and obsess over are things that are not good for us, or our hearts. If only we would use this already natural instinct of meditation to meditate over scripture, and how it shows us how God has moved and worked in the lives of his people, and how He moves and works in our lives as Christians today. If only we would read scripture over and over like a mantra until it’s purpose and meaning became clear and lovely to us, and moved from our minds into our hearts and the message of the gospel filled us to overflowing and spilled out like a river."

"We NEED Christ. In Christ we can have hope that we don’t need control; that his blood was and is enough."

"The truth is, no matter what, I will never be completely fulfilled in what I do here on Earth unless I remember that I am doing it to further God’s kingdom, because that is what we have been made to do."

Despite the fact that Jesus literally states in the verse that he will be with us “always, to the end of the age,” I often feel alone when confronted with the idea of trying to share the Gospel.