Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a story of judgment that turned to blessing and forgiveness in a way that only God could script. 21-year-old Simon Child was recently photographed and criticized on Facebook by a disgruntled woman for sleeping in a McDonald’s restaurant. The picture was circled around and Simon was soon identified as the man in the picture. What the world didn’t know until Simon was identified and asked about the incident was that Simon was homeless a

These days most of the news cycles are made up of one political party saying or doing something and the other responding to it. This has happened for years now, but in recent years, the parties are not just disagreeing on policy, they are campaigning against the motives of the others. While it is true that not everyone has pure motives all of the time, it is a slippery slope when we begin impugning the motivations of others. We are meant to work together towards noble and rig

Tensions continue to rise both with Iran as well as in a different way between our political parties. With all this tension, it is hard not to worry about the future. Jesus, as he often did in his day, spoke directly to common human conditions, and he made sure to speak to our tendency to worry for the future. He questioned his disciples, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” We all need a reminder to step back and remember that God is always in control

The increasing of tensions with Iran is leading news programs today as peace with the country is becoming less and less likely. With military action potentially looming, it can lead to strong feelings of anxiety, anger, and/or support. However, what our nation does in times like this is beyond the scope of any of us. A famous saying in sports and business is “Control you control-ables,” meaning that what you have power over, you should control, and what you do not, don’t worr

Life gives us an infinite number of routes and countless choices each and everyday that decide those routes. The choices we make also decide the ease by which we reach our end destination. When we decide to value worldly gain over our fellow man, we do not act in a way that is righteous in the eyes of God. Righteousness, while it may not always lead to a comfortable life, will always lead to a peaceful life. God says in Isaiah, “The work of righteousness will be peace, and th

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a small story of appreciation by a man whose life was forever changed recently. James Holzhauer famously just completed a historic run on the popular game show Jeopardy, winning millions. The long time and beloved host of the show, Alex Trebek, also recently announced that he has pancreatic cancer. This week, James a small donation to a pancreatic cancer charity in honor of Trebek. Though it was a small donation, the sentiment behind

One of the greatest sources of discontentment and stress in our lives, that we do not usually look to, is that fact that most of us have the tendency to live one way on Sunday and a completely different way the rest of the week. In this case, the person we are during worship and fellowship at church is at odds with the person we are at work, out with friends, or with our families. When we commit to serving and following Jesus, we cannot do this only on certain days or at cert

The political race is underway on both sides of the aisle as President Trump kicked off his campaign with a large rally last night. The next 17 months are sure to be wild with national debates springing up each and every week. With so many topics of debate, it can be hard to keep focused on what really matters: our relationship with Jesus. What makes the difference in our ability to focus is what we are reading and looking at each day because what we set our eyes on determine

Now that the presidential race is in full swing, there really is nothing in current events that won’t become political. Candidates always comment on current events and often use language to stir up excitement, gain notoriety, or clearly divide their voting base. When we get too excited or focused on politics, we can easily move from an interested party to a political zealot — something that carries characteristics incongruent with God’s wishes for His people. Colossians says,

Happy Father’s Day! Today we pause to honor and thank our fathers for the sacrifices they have made for us and the love they have given us. Our parents each play different roles in our lives and when done correctly, each role is vital to the upbringing of a child. The father, Biblically, holds a special role as the leader of the household and the one charged with raising children in the discipline of the Lord. Doing this correctly will always yield countless blessings in life