Growing in the Lord & Walking in the Spirit

Happy belated Valentine's Day. Let's talk about love in our culture today. So many people say that "love is all that matters". The LGBTQ community is searching for what they mean by "love is love". It is evident in romance movies, books, and it is on so many billboards. No matter how cheesy this sounds, they are not all wrong. In fact, they might be a little bit right. However, their definition of love if what needs to be established. Searching for love in the world is not going to lead anywhere. But genuine peace and trust is found when the love of Christ is found and recognized. So, I began with this idea of an article about two years ago. But this has been a topic in American culture for years now. While I could (and probably will in the near future) home in on the community specifically, I want to highlight the issues of reading only a small portion of a viewpoint for anything through the use of a personal example.  One time as my family was in a new nei...

When you ask people what their favorite book of the Bible is, there are a variety of common answers. Over the past few years, one of the most popular answers I have heard is the book of Romans. The book of Romans contains so many good nuggets of truth, as do all books of the Bible. It is known for containing pieces that can be put together to explain the truth of the gospel to the Western World.  Many people have written sermons and devotionals on many of the verses and ideals that seem to pop off the page for every seasoned believer as they read the book. However, one of the more common verses talked about in this book is Romans 8:28.  Romans 8:28 reminds us believers that God is in Control and that He will work everything out for good. However, that is not all that can be learned from this one verse. In fact, that is not what should be the focus of this verse. In the ESV, the verse reads "For God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called acc...