God can do anything He wants. Literally anything. We can't even comprehend His power, let alone match it.

But when it comes to the things most important to us, for some reason we try to limit His power. Yes, He can create the universe, raise the dead, multiply fish and bread, but what is that to us?!

We think this one thing in our life is the one thing God can't handle. We trust ourselves to step up and handle a problem that we think is too big for Almighty God. It really is comically stupid.

We are naturally bent towards comparing ourselves to others. How skilled are we at certain tasks? How kind are we towards others? How much have we been blessed?

Looking only at ourselves doesn't tell us much. We need to know the answers to these questions for other people to know how we measure up.

Very little can come out of this. We either find ways to be jealous of others or find ways to feel superior to them.

But when we compare ourselves to Jesus, there's no room for either. He holds all the power, all the glory, all the knowledge, and all the love. We will never "out know" Him, or be able to "out power" Him, and we most certainly will never be able to "out love" Him.

He is the only standard worth chasing.

Sometimes we give our best effort, and things don't work out. Other times they don't work out because we don't give them our best effort.

I've honestly never known which was harder to deal with. On one hand, you have to deal with regret when you know you could have tried harder. But on the other, when your best wasn't good enough, it's a downright humiliating thing to have to accept.

Both are hard to live with, but neither can outrun God's grace. God's grace far exceeds our best efforts or our failures. More than our effort, God desires our hearts, to put our faith in Him and know that His best efforts always work out.

There's a scene from an old baseball movie called Moneyball. In the scene, a player hits a ball deep into the outfield and immediately runs as fast as he can towards first base with no regard for the ball.

As he rounds first, he trips over the bag into an embarrassing 15-foot barrel roll. Crawling frantically back towards first base, he looks up to opposing players and his own coaches' playful laughter at his expense. More embarrassing than his fall, was that he hadn't even realized that he'd hit the ball 60 feet over the fence.

It's easy to get so caught up in our search for God's will that we forget that, by accepting His salvation, His will for our life is already fulfilled, and we've received His ultimate gift. Our search should now be for how we respond to the grace He has shown us.

Contentment isn't about being satisfied with what God has given us. It's about realizing that He has already given us the only thing that matters.

The more we wrap our hearts around this concept, the less we see value in anything but Him and Him alone, and the more we rest in Him calling the shots from here.

What did Paul mean when he said "to live is Christ"? Charlie Kirk knew.

Very few people exemplify Christlikeness as well as Charlie did. He spoke the truth with more grace and love than most can manage these days.

He stood firm teaching the word of God courageously, never alarmed by the many opponents to his purpose. He worked fearlessly, and patiently, to try to unify a crooked and perverse generation.

He didn’t lay down his life voluntarily, but he was obedient to the point of death.

We lost a bright light in a dark world yesterday, but his life didn’t end. Charlie’s life was eternal from the moment he surrendered it to Jesus. Our loss was his ultimate gain, and I am grateful for his faithful service to the Gospel.

• (00:00:02) - Living on a Privete
• (00:02:44) - I Didn't Read The Flashpoint
• (00:03:54) - How Do We Live As Christ?
• (00:07:20) - Corinthians, Galatians and Ephesians
• (00:09:28) - Too Good to Be True
• (00:12:25) - Tongues tied in the seminary
• (00:14:12) - Reverend Kenny on Communion
• (00:16:32) - When You Can't Plan Your Life
• (00:18:53) - What's Your Lesson for Today?
• (00:20:59) - The Too Good to Be True
• (00:24:02) - Jesus on Personal Responsibility
• (00:26:21) - John 11:1-2
• (00:31:14) - Bradley on God and the Creationist
• (00:38:10) - God's Truth in One Verse
• (00:40:29) - The Man Who Missed Ben's Sermon
• (00:43:38) - Good Samaritans on Facebook
• (00:47:36) - If God Were One of Us
• (00:51:51) - Paul's attitude toward Philippians 2
• (00:52:31) - Being Nice to Non-Believers
• (00:54:40) - John 8: Don't Forget How Much He Loves You
• (00:57:42) - There's Still Plenty of God's Beauty in Your Neighborhood
• (00:59:27) - A Lesson on the Nones
• (01:05:05) - Deception of the Good News
• (01:08:46) - How Much of the Country attends Church on a Regular basis
• (01:12:50) - Creeper Creep in Southern Baptist Church
• (01:18:38) - Protecting the Fabric
• (01:20:23) - Contentment in Psalm 18:1-3
• (01:23:24) - In the Elevator With Grading Homework

There's a subtle, but huge difference, between knowing about God, and having a personal relationship with Him.

You can know that God is all powerful and all knowing, without experiencing the peace that comes from trusting Him.

You can know that God forgives sin, without experiencing the grace of His forgiveness for the worst thing you've ever done.

You can know that God wants you to have joy, without experiencing the patience He shows while you fight His plans to provide it.

You can know that Jesus paid for your access to this relationship, without feeling the love that compelled Him to pay such a price.

• (00:00:02) - Swimming in the Pool
• (00:03:08) - TRAVEL: Adventures along the Mississippi
• (00:04:11) - Strengthening Yourself in the Lord
• (00:05:09) - Lost Phone
• (00:06:02) - Strengthening Yourself in the Lord
• (00:12:01) - Trusting God
• (00:16:18) - Heavenly Wait: Praying For Changes
• (00:19:45) - How to Strengthen Our Souls in the Lord
• (00:26:24) - Part 3 of Humility
• (00:31:57) - Knowing About God and Knowing God
• (00:36:37) - Getting Away From the World
• (00:41:45) - Quiet Time on Vacation
• (00:46:08) - Pray Without Ceasing for the Lord
• (00:48:16) - Another homework assignment for Philippians
• (00:48:33) - Philippians 1:21: To Live Is Christ
• (00:52:16) - Andy Griffith on His Face

As I grow closer to the Lord, the more I am marveled by His creation around us. I love to point out nice sunsets to the kids, or find a good place to go for a walk away from the man made stuff.

But it can be easy to forget that of all of God's creation, we are His most precious. He created the world around us to show us His power, but He created us to show us His love.

How can we be a light that points others to His love the same way the sun points us to His power?

• (00:00:02) - Hong Kong Phooey
• (00:03:23) - Dukes of Hazzard
• (00:05:41) - Andy Griffith on His Color Episodes
• (00:08:52) - Southern People Driving On Highway 401
• (00:11:43) - God Seeing Me As Righteous
• (00:15:31) - God Isn't Here for Me, but I Am
• (00:20:29) - How Can a Holy God Love Me?
• (00:23:31) - John 1: Truth in Our Hearts
• (00:28:44) - Labor Day is the earliest it can be
• (00:33:07) - Does Flood Insurance Work?
• (00:34:51) - Prayer: To glorify God
• (00:40:00) - Blowhard on His Condition
• (00:41:14) - Brain Task: Judas Never Had a Spiritual Interest in Jesus
• (00:46:37) - Separation of Judas and Jesus
• (00:50:17) - Pride is the Biggest Sin
• (00:53:14) - David at his lowest point
• (00:57:03) - Judea on Judas in the Bible
• (01:01:09) - Saved From Other People's Sins
• (01:04:46) - North Carolina History

Serving God isn't an obligation. It's a priviledge, one given by Him and Him alone. God doesn't take church attendance. He doesn't count Hail Mary's. We aren't credited with righteousness based on mission trips or Sunday school. We are credited by grace alone, through faith alone.

We are natually born scorekeepers. We appreciate that Jesus wiped out the bad that we've done. But we still want Him to credit us for the good He's done through us.

He doesn't need us. He can do anything, any way He chooses. And He chooses, above all else, to have a relationship with us.

He paid all He possibly could to offer us this gift, and we expect a pat on the back for accepting it.

• (00:00:02) - Benjamin on Confessions
• (00:00:57) - Daniel Had A Funeral
• (00:03:35) - Sausage in the City
• (00:06:05) - Birthday Gifts for Kids
• (00:09:09) - Swimmer's Swim Cap
• (00:12:31) - A Good Guy's Gift
• (00:14:03) - Brandon Gets A Birthday Gift
• (00:15:28) - Ben's 55th Birthday
• (00:18:05) - Kenny Westbrook on His Birthday Present
• (00:18:29) - God's Love For Crazies
• (00:22:03) - Don't Worry About Relationships at 25
• (00:25:37) - Don't Worry About Tomorrow
• (00:29:39) - God's Love for Us
• (00:34:11) - Walking by the Spirit
• (00:37:18) - Golf Lessons For Amateur Swimmers
• (00:39:15) - God's Weight on Us
• (00:42:07) - Daniel 9: In Jesus Name
• (00:45:17) - The Lord's Prayer
• (00:49:31) - He Uses The Sip Club at Panera
• (00:52:39) - How To Get Out of a Racket
• (00:54:14) - Daniel 9: The End of Man in One
• (00:57:49) - Patriotism in the South
• (01:03:24) - Understanding the Infinite Love of God
• (01:05:39) - How to Love Your Mother
• (01:08:40) - How to Pray for Your Own Life
• (01:12:18) - Ben's Car Gets Passed Inspection
• (01:14:12) - The 6 P's of Bible Study
• (01:18:43) - Reasons We Had A Pool