My guess is many of us had dreams of making our mark on the world in a recognized and celebrated way. And even though those delusions of grandeur faded into reality, I think we all still long for our lives to be significant. We want to matter in some way.

Maybe it’s time to chase a bigger dream?

As Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount, he paints a picture of what life looks like in his kingdom. And he starts with a series of blessings we know as the Beatitudes.The Beatitudes are good news!

However, to truly experience this good news, we have to let Jesus turn our thinking upside down. And this most certainly will involve choosing the opposite path from our culturally-formed instincts.

Most Christ-followers I talk to feel like we are stumbling into this New Year, a bruised, bickering, beleaguered church. The circumstances we’ve faced these past couple years have been exhausting, and our response to them has often exacerbated the difficulties. Don’t get me wrong, God isn’t in any kind of trouble. His kingdom will never be shaken. But as his people, we are a bit wobbly and weary.

We need a fresh start.

As we get ready to wrap up another year, I thought I would share some of my favorite reads from 2021. Have you read any of these books? What books would you recommend?

This season has been hard in our churches. But, I can’t give up on us. And why? Because of something I saw in the book of Revelation…

How old were you when you came to know the gospel? Because although I’ve been a Christian since I was a child, I didn’t understand the gospel until I was in my 40s.

I can honestly say that one of the reasons I love Jesus has to do with McDonald’s milkshakes.