Former President Obama made a few headlines recently when he embraced an idea that many have been saying for years: our nation’s “cancel culture” is both destroying people and our nation as a whole. The “cancel culture” is the unrelenting tendency for people online and in real life to bring shame and ruin to anyone who they deem has stepped out of line, or “cancel” them. We have all seen it for years and it has only gotten worse. This tendency is not new to human nature; it i

Our goals motivate us each and every day to work hard and chase success. There is nothing wrong with either of these endeavors. What God does not like to see is selfish gain or sinful ambition. God blesses those who show Him with their actions that they are charitable and responsible with their success. Often, when we face stagnation or just “feeling stuck” in life, it is because God is waiting for us to show Him we can be charitable and responsible enough to handle success f

God did not design us with the ability to see into the future, so none of us know what is yet to come in our lives or in this world. The fact that what lays before us is unknowable and the path to that place is unseeable is a daunting concept to grapple with. However, just as with all of God’s designs, he provided a way for us to walk with confidence, seeing each step we take and trusting in it: Jesus. Jesus is the light that shines within us and, when we live out our faith

A state of calm is hard to find when we are told each and every day that the world is in a state of calamity. This was just as true during Jesus’ time as now. The Gospel of Matthew recounts a time when the disciples were sailing along smoothly when “suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.” How often does it seem that a “furious storm” sweeps over us every time we turn on the news? We can all take a lesson from Jesus when storms swe

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a viral video that is melting the hearts of millions on the internet and also showing how adoption is truly the gospel lived out. 4-year-old Gabby was adopted by a couple in Dallas, TX and her adoptive mother recorded a video of a conversation they had together. In it, Gabby expresses with childish simplicity exactly what happened the day she met her new mother. She says, “Do you know what happened to my heart? Well, when the first ti

We all get angry and frustrated sometimes; it is part of being human. Often, that anger and frustration can be just as easily caused by the things we see and hear in the world as the things that actually happen to us. The Bible warns of allowing our anger to control us many times, but gives one poignant piece of advice in particular. Ephesians says, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” Every day we end stil

In an effort to live peacefully, it is tempting to just “tune out” or “sit back” or be generally apathetic. After all, if we do not care enough about what goes on around us, we can remain peaceful, right? Wrong. God did not create us to live peacefully ignorant. However, He also did not create us to live constantly at war — especially with each other. So how can we determine what we should stand and fight against and what we should ignore? Ephesians tells us to, “Put on the f

We all want a more peaceful life, but if finding peace were as easy as making a decision one day to be peaceful, life would be a lot easier. However, living peacefully requires discipline and perseverance to rise above petty arguments that extend far beyond the day we made our decision. It is no small wonder why living peacefully mirrors living for Jesus. They both start with making a decision but then require discipline, perseverance, and some times even suffering, to keep t

Who among us does not want to live more peacefully? Mondays often jerk us back to the pressures of life that we enjoy a break from on weekends. So how can we carry the peace we have on weekends into our week? The peaceful living we all desire demands living at peace with others. However, it is not natural for us to live this way, because we all have feelings of jealousy, anger, and resentment towards others at times in our lives. It is only through Christ that we can live at

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a story of triumph over tragic circumstances. Luke Siegel was a young boy like any other – he loved sports, laughed easily, and had big goals for his life. In 2015, he was tragically injured, and almost killed, in a golf cart accident that has left him stricken to a wheelchair from severe brain damage. However, the tragedy was not just for Luke, but also for his family. Tragedies such as these affect everyone, but those affects do no