You’re Not Afraid of Jesus — You’re Afraid of Doing It Wrong If you’re honest, this might be the part you’ve quietly worried about the most.

Not because you don’t love Jesus.
Not because you don’t care deeply about people.
But because somewhere along the way, sharing the Gospel started to feel like something you could mess up. You may have replayed conversations in your head, wondering when the right moment would come — or whether you’d even recognize it if it did. You’ve likely felt the tension between wanting to be faithful and not wanting to be forceful. Wanting to speak… but not wanting to damage the relationship you’ve been carefully nurturing.

Love Moves Toward Pain — A Personal Introduction Sometimes the moments when we need help the most are the moments when we have the fewest words to say. Life has a way of knocking the wind out of us — not just emotionally, but practically. And in those places, love becomes something we feel more than something we hear.
Real love moves toward pain.
Real love notices where someone is hurting.
Real love meets needs — sometimes with words, often without them.

This is why the third step of Luke-10-Living matters so much. If blessing prepares the heart, and relationship opens the door, then Step 3 is where the love of Jesus becomes unmistakably visible. This is where faith becomes embodied — not merely spoken, but demonstrated.

Life moves fast, doesn’t it? And somehow, the start of a new year makes that even more obvious. Many of us entered the year feeling a little dazed — surprised that the calendar had already turned, still carrying last year’s pressures, and trying to catch our breath while everything around us speeds up again. In all the motion, it becomes so easy to overlook the quiet, sacred moments God is placing right in front of us. Moments with people who are hungry for peace, longing to be seen, or silently hoping someone will slow down long enough to care.

Yet this is exactly where the Kingdom loves to break in.

There is something beautifully simple about the way Jesus sends out the seventy-two in Luke 10. He doesn’t give them complicated instructions, theological talking points, or persuasive strategies. He begins with a single, gentle command: “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’” — Luke 10:5

Before preaching. Before healing. Before teaching. Before anything else… Bring PEACE.

Today, we pause to remember the miracle that reshaped all of history — Jesus Christ stepping into our world not as a distant king but as Emmanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). The God who created the universe chose to draw near, to take on flesh, to walk among ordinary people, to sit at ordinary tables, and to speak hope into ordinary lives. And His nearness was never meant to be admired from afar. It was meant to be experienced — and then extended. The same Jesus who came close to us now invites us to come close to others. The incarnation is not only something we celebrate; it is something we participate in. As the Father sent Jesus, Jesus now sends us (John 20:21). The God who moved into our neighborhood now calls us to carry His presence into ours.

“Am I really different since I gave my life to Christ? Does my life reflect this change?” I’ll be honest—this is a question I still ask myself from time to time. And if you’re leading others, it’s even more critical. Why? Because how well you understand and live out your identity in Christ directly impacts your ability to guide others. Leadership in God’s Kingdom isn’t about titles, influence, or checking off programs. It’s about who we are in Christ, and the truth is, our identity has two essential sides:

In a culture that often celebrates authority, achievement, and status, Jesus modeled something entirely different — servant leadership. He showed that true greatness is not found in how many people serve us, but how many people we serve. He defines greatness as a heart poster versus relying solely on the quantity or quality of our actions. Is there a willingness to serve others? And is there humility present as an ingredient as we serve? He searches and invites us to search the roots.

Exodus 17:11-13: As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

The family unit is intended to add to and strengthen our lives and life’s mission. With Christ and Christ in us, we are to spur each other on to experience a refreshed and an optimistic sense of a purpose-driven life. The family unit lives with an appreciation for friendships and should be packaged with assurances to fulfill the great commission as stated in Matthew 28:19-20. Jesus gave all of us this mission to grow into Christ-likeness and go to the lost and fallen world. It is understood that we are worthy and selected to continue the work that Jesus started in the world.

How well do we follow Jesus intimately?

Mark 8:34-38, “….. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

James 1:20: “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires”.

Biblically, all anger is not necessarily considered wrong. However, in most cases, what a person feels is “righteous anger” is simply his or her way to justify sin. As such, we need to be equipped to address sinful anger in a way that honors God and brings repentant change within our hearts. Did we see the equation represented  in the passage from James?

The Spirit of God wrote these words with Moses’s hands. Many scholars believe that the book of Deuteronomy was Jesus’s favorite book due to the number of times that He quoted it. Moses submission and his writings left enough of an impact on Jesus himself would He would refer to Deuteronomy in His ministry. He quoted many lines from this book evidenced by when He spoke the scriptures in the wilderness when He was tempted by the devil.

We can tag along with someone’s faith and be encouraged by them for a season. However, there is a point when we have to get grow past Moses or Joshua and calling Him the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. If He's not our God that means we have not been with Him, which means we don't know Him. So many of us know God of the Word but we don't know the God that lives inside of us. Jesus said, Who do you say I am?, in Mathew 16. Why would He ask that question to people who have spent time with Him? This does not make sense, but it did to Jesus.

Prayer is, at its heart, the communication that is the fabric of the human being relationship with its Father, God. Praying together was one of the hallmarks of the church from its start. In Acts, they gathered to pray in the days after Christ's death -- this is even before the big event in Acts 2 that started the church. Then right after that first event, they devoted themselves to prayer. How do we start?

When seeking help, being discipled, being shepherded or following leadership these are 3 things you should ponder and pray about.

Colossians 3:12 - “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, tapeinophrosunē [humility].”

The uncommon virtue of humility. Virtues are habitual exercises and inclinations of the heart for good things. Virtues are truly valuable, important or yours when you desire them want to receive and you want to provide for others. Virtue consists in the beauty of those heart-exercises and of the actions that flow from them. Uncommon virtues are in limited supply both in world and in the Body of Christ, sounds weird doesn’t it? But mainly, and most importantly, uncommon virtues are those habitual exercises of the heart rooted in what makes us disciples of Jesus.

To find out the true identity of something/someone, you have to start with the original/origin. In Exodus 34:6-7, God fills out His own birth certificate and describes to us who He really is. It is this self-description that is referenced time and again for the rest of Scripture. This is the identity that ought to shape our lives. Our lives or our witness ought to be shaped by the true identity of God not our identity. Our lives are not to be shaped by what's in style or what draws a crowd, but rather by the true identity of God. Hear these words about God's true identity (Ex. 34:6-7, NIV).