The book of Malachi reminds us of a profound truth: “Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us?” This simple yet powerful statement reframes our entire perspective. We are not isolated individuals pursuing our own happiness, but part of a greater story—God’s story. We belong to something bigger than ourselves. We are part of a covenant, a promise that God has maintained throughout generations. Every time we exalt our desires above God’s will, we disrespect this covenant. Our faithfulness, therefore, is not just about our personal integrity—it’s about honoring our place in God’s grand narrative.

God’s love for us is not based on our performance but on His promise. Yet, when we lose sight of this love, we often slip into a lukewarm faith––neither blazing hot nor completely cold. We find ourselves in a weird middle ground, going through the motions without true passion or commitment.

In response to His people’s skepticism, God points to the story of Jacob and Esau. This narrative serves as a powerful illustration of a fundamental truth: God’s love is not based on our merit or performance, but on His sovereign choice. Both Jacob and Esau were flawed individuals, yet God chose to show mercy to Jacob. This choice wasn’t due to Jacob’s superiority but was a demonstration of God’s prerogative to bestow His love as He sees fit.

If you want to be used mightily by God, get yourself out of the way. Learn to see yourself as a garbage pail, or, in the words of Peter, to clothe yourself with humility (1 Peter 5:5). It’s not about you; it’s not your personality, it’s the Word of God. God doesn’t need the intellectuals. He doesn’t need great people, fancy people, or famous people. The people aren’t the power. The power is the message! He puts the treasure in clay pots so that “the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves” (2 Cor. 4:7b).

The Greek word we translate as “disciple” means learner. A disciple is a learner from the Lord Jesus. A learner is a listener and a practitioner. The Great Commission is a command to bring people to Christ to listen, learn, and practice. A disciple of Jesus becomes His learner forever.

Our obedience to God is critically important. It flows out of our love and gratitude toward God for what he has done on our behalf through Christ. True Christianity has always maintained that faith necessarily expresses itself in action.

We labor, and we rest. This seems to be the way of life in this day and age. But why? Have you ever wondered why this circle of labor and rest shapes our days? And what about us Christians? Should our labor and rest be different?

The unity of the church is to be a reflection of the unity of the one God upon which the church is built. The ideal (unity) and the real (division) do not always match up in the life of the church. A biblical theology of unity reveals a richer and deeper understanding of unity than mere uniformity, but it also holds out the goal of visible unity towards which Christians should aspire.

The most gracious people you and I know are people who have had an experience of grace and fixate on grace. The least gracious people we know are people who may know about grace academically, “theologically,” but don’t seem the least bit changed by it and really have a fixation on the law. They have an inordinate fixation on who did what wrong and what they deserve.

The church is not a place we choose; it’s a place to which we’ve been called. We are called there not to cherish human fame, but to cherish Christ. And we’re called not to an individualized entertainment experience, but to use our gifts to build up the whole community.