Greatness Archives - Tomme Stevenson

June 2, 2026May 7, 2026

What Does it Mean to be Alive?

A life worth living What does it mean to be alive? Is being alive the same as living? If you have breath in your lungs, why? God created you for greatness. Are you living up to God’s intent for you?

Isaiah 49:15-16, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion for the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”

Trouble in a Broken World

Troubles come, sometimes in waves. They are a product of a broken world. Sometimes that trouble is self-inflicted; other times it comes out of nowhere. But trouble does not define us; it refines us. It is one of the tools God uses to make us stronger and more relatable. We cannot speak into others’ lives with wisdom we have not earned. Unfortunately, most wisdom is born of suffering. It is regrettable how little we learn in prosperity.

Galatians 1:15, “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace.”

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Given all I have been through in my life, including the unimaginable, which I not only survived but also thrived after, I still find my existence a miracle. There are 100 sextillion stars and planets in our known universe, and over eight billion people on this single spinning orb. And I am me, unique, perfect for my purpose, seeing, feeling, thinking, walking, and talking. I am the impossible. Trillions of cells in my body are continually renewed throughout my life, yet somehow I remain me. The new me retains all the attributes of the old me. I keep living. There is a reason for all of this.

Psalm 139:13-14, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”

The Weight of Uniqueness

One of the great lessons from the parable of the talents is the statement “to each according to his ability.” Our lives were not meant to mirror one another. We were always designed to be unique, and with that uniqueness come unique challenges. We tend to treat our challenges as greater than others’ because they are the only ones we have ever known, having lived only within this single life. They are the only challenges we have felt.

Purpose in the Midst of Pain

If every life is unique and purposeful, how do we recognize whether we are truly living according to that purpose? It is a prayerful question, not why this is happening to me, but God, what do you want me to do with what lies before me?

God promises us that we will never experience anything that is not already known to man.

1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.”

But they are unique to us. Because we are unique, trouble and temptation affect us in distinct ways. Our experience can be “like” someone else’s, but never the same. We should not view others’ lives as an enviable path, because we don’t know the totality of their existence. We have not lived their life.

The path forward still exists. If you have breath in your lungs, you have purpose. God woke you up this morning because He has something for you to accomplish. You are standing because God wants you here and now. As dark as your life may seem at times, it is a light for someone else down the road.

Your Overcoming Is Someone Else’s Hope

“Believe that, when you are most unhappy, there is something for you to do in the world. So long as you can ease another’s pain, life is not in vain.” ~ Helen Keller

It is not the challenge that gives hope; it is what you do with it that can lead someone to a better life. You are important to the person who is waiting for you in your future, just as someone is going through something that will echo in your life.

Your greatest testimony is not memorized scripture, but a life that reflects the love of Christ.

Someone else’s survival may one day depend on what you choose to do with your suffering.

Romans 12:13, “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.”

May 26, 2026May 4, 2026

What Was There Before?

Before The basic question one asks when seeking God is: what was there before? As humans with limited knowledge and finite experience, we struggle to grasp something that has no beginning or end. Our minds are wired for sequence—before and after, cause and effect, start and finish. Everything we have ever known fits within that framework.

So when we turn our attention to the universe, we instinctively ask:

What was there before it began?

No matter how we theorize about its origin, we feel there had to be something prior—something that set things in motion. That instinct is deeply human. It reflects how we understand everything else in life. Every event has a cause. Every effect has a source. Nothing appears without explanation.

Or so it seems.

Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.”

Following the Chain

Science has taken us remarkably far in answering the “how” of existence.

We can trace the universe backward through expanding galaxies to an early, dense state described by the Big Bang theory. We can move deeper still, beyond matter into energy, and further into the quantum fields that govern particle behavior. At that level, what appears to be space is anything but empty. It fluctuates. It moves. It produces temporary bursts of energy, governed in part by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

But this only pushes the question back.

If particles come from fields, where do the fields come from?
If fluctuations arise from laws, where do the laws come from?

We move from one explanation to the next, but the chain never completes. It simply ends—somewhere.

Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Where Explanation Stops

At some point, every explanation reaches a boundary.

Philosophers such as Aristotle recognized this long before modern science. If every cause requires a prior cause, you are left with two options: either the chain goes back infinitely, or there is something that does not require a cause.

Later thinkers, such as Thomas Aquinas, argued that an infinite regress does not truly explain anything. Instead, there must be something that is—something that does not come from anything else and exists by necessity rather than by chance.

Modern thinkers have challenged that idea. Bertrand Russell famously dismissed the need for a deeper explanation, saying the universe is “there, and that’s all.”

Three different conclusions. Three different stopping points. None of them is fully satisfying.

John 1:3, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

The Problem with “Before”

Part of the difficulty stems from the question itself.

When we ask what came “before” the universe, we assume time existed before the universe. But according to modern physics, time is not outside the universe—it is part of it. It began with the universe.

2 Peter 3:8, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

If that is true, asking what came before the universe may be like asking what lies north of the North Pole. The question assumes a framework that no longer holds.

And yet, even if we remove time from the equation, the deeper question remains:

Why is there something rather than nothing?

Colossians 1:16, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

Four Ways to End the Question

When we strip everything down, there are only a few ways to answer that question.

1. 1. Something has always existed.
    Reality, in some form, is eternal. There is no beginning to explain.
  2. Something exists necessarily.
    There is a foundational reality that must exist. Everything else depends on it.
  3. Reality explains itself.
    The universe is a closed system with no need for an external cause.
  4. There is no explanation.
    Existence is a brute fact. It simply is.

These are not scientific conclusions. They are philosophical endpoints. Every line of reasoning eventually lands in one of them.

What We Are Really Asking

When we ask what came before the universe, we are not really asking about time. We are asking about dependence.

- - What does everything else depend on?
  - What is the foundation beneath the foundation?
  - What is the one thing that does not require an explanation?

We can move backward from matter to energy, from energy to fields, and from fields to laws—but eventually we encounter something that does not point to anything else.

At that point, explanation gives way to acceptance.

Hebrews 11:3, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”

The Quiet Conclusion

There is a point in this line of thinking where progress stops—not because the question is flawed, but because we have reached the limits of what explanation can do.

Something must exist that does not come from anything else.

It just is.

1 Corinthians 8:6, “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”

April 28, 2026April 13, 2026

The Legacy of Hanson Gregory

Heaven by C.S. Lewis Few people know the name Hanson Gregory. Hanson Gregory (1832–1921) was an American sailor credited with inventing the ring-shaped doughnut by adding a hole to its center.

We eat donuts at a surprising rate, but almost no one knows who first thought of the idea. This illustrates the core concept of the eternal echo. One person’s effort influences millions, maybe billions, of people, yet hardly anyone knows who he is.

Legacy Effort

Gregory is not unique. History is full of people like him. Konrad Zuse built the first programmable computer. Hedy Lamarr helped enable modern wireless communication. Granville Woods, Willem Kolff, Garrett Morgan, and Mary Anderson created systems we depend on daily—from railways to medicine to traffic safety.

There is an endless parade of people who made significant contributions to our current happiness, yet few people remember them. These are people who created things that we take for granted, but whose names are mostly unknown to us.

Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

What do these people have in common? They develop infrastructure ideas, not just products. Their work often becomes invisible once adopted, and their impact is multiplicative (echo effect)—one idea enabling thousands of others.

What is Our Infrastructure Idea?

Psalm 78:4, “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.”

Our goal in life isn’t to make our name immortal, but to make our impact last. Our God-given purpose isn’t to create one unforgettable moment, but to help others create lasting change across generations. Our foundation is Christ. Our eternal influence is not from an invention or discovery, but from the ongoing impact of a concept that has changed the very fabric of the world.

Before Christ’s death on the cross, we had to continually offer sacrifices to atone for our sins—a never-ending process that didn’t guarantee our place in eternity. Christ fulfilled what repeated sacrifices could never complete, offering a final and sufficient path to reconciliation with God. Our Hanson Gregory moment isn’t as common as the donut; it’s a promise of everlasting peace.

Psalm 145:4, “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.”

Our Call to Action

Every day, we meet people in need of hope and salvation. Although our name might not echo through eternity, our actions will. We can choose to take on the challenge of reaching out to the lost or leave it to someone else, passing up the chance to make an impact. It’s our choice. We live with the consequences of our decisions. God’s will cannot be diverted or halted; it will go forward through other means if we refuse to participate. Ultimately, it is we who bear the burden.

We may speak about a place where there are no tears, no death, no fear, no night, but those are just the benefits of heaven. The beauty of heaven is seeing God. – Max Lucado

1 Peter 1:4, “To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”

March 31, 2026March 13, 2026

Part Two: Seize Opportunities

We often overlook how important it is to seize opportunities when they arise. Sometimes we assume that people who push through life’s hardships are underestimating their situation. It’s not that they are unaware of the difficulty; they refuse to let the difficulty define what they can achieve.

In psychology and behavioral science, researchers examine the value-action gap (or intention-action gap). Many people plan to do something meaningful—start a project, pursue an idea, help someone in need—but far fewer actually follow through. Why does this occur?

Hurdles to Achievement

Several barriers stand in the way.

Ambiguity happens when an idea isn’t fully developed to move forward. You might know your final goal, but haven’t figured out how to start yet. Uncertainty leads to hesitation.

Loss aversion is another challenge. When people fear losing what they already possess, they hold onto the familiar. The risk of moving forward seems larger than the chance of success.

Perfectionism sets another trap. The urge to understand everything before starting often leads to analysis paralysis. Instead of making progress imperfectly, we stay safely still.

A fourth obstacle is the absence of immediate reward. When results aren’t visible quickly, people start to doubt if their effort will make a difference.

Finally, the lack of accountability causes intentions to fade away quietly. When ideas stay private, no one expects results, making it easier to give up on them.

Overcoming these obstacles matters for two important reasons.

First, our lives serve as an example to others. Scripture teaches that if we are to influence others for Christ, we must live above reproach. Faithfulness in small things shows that we are trustworthy stewards of what God has entrusted to us.

Second, someone’s eternal life might depend on our obedience. Opportunities to act are often chances to serve God’s purpose in someone else’s life.

Endurance Under Pressure

The world will constantly push against God’s impulses in your life.

Newton’s First Law of Motion states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest. In many ways, human behavior follows the same principle. Comfort prefers stillness. Faith requires movement.

To fulfill what God has planned for us, we must overcome the inertia around us.

There will always be voices discouraging you. Some will question your judgment. Others will suggest you lack the resources, time, or ability to succeed. Some will even tell you that trying and failing would be worse than not trying at all.

But someone’s soul might rely on your action.

You are surrounded by people who need help. Most of what they need can’t be fixed with money or stuff. What they often need most is time, attention, and real care. Many aren’t looking for quick fixes; they want to be seen and heard. They need to know their lives matter.

The Hard Part

That’s the hardest part.

Entering someone else’s chaotic life demands patience and endurance. It is much easier to give someone something and walk away than it is to stay and walk with them through their struggle.

Listening without rushing to offer solutions takes discipline. True compassion requires being present. It involves sitting quietly while someone shares pain, confusion, or fear.

That type of investment requires time, emotional effort, and persistence.

But that is precisely how Christ loved others.

Jesus rarely hurried past those in need. He paused for the blind, the broken, the rejected, and the forgotten. He noticed individuals whom others overlooked, and He offered them something more valuable than quick answers—His presence.

Opportunities to help others often seem small at first. A simple conversation. A kind word. A willingness to listen when someone is hurting.

Yet these moments are rarely insignificant in God’s hands.

When we follow the impulses God puts in our hearts, we become vessels of His grace. What starts as a small act of obedience can spread outward in ways we might never fully understand.

The tragedy isn’t that opportunities are scarce.

The tragedy is how frequently we hesitate when they show up.

God puts people in our path every day. Some need encouragement. Others need wisdom. Some …..need someone who cares.

Opportunities pass fast. Once they move on, they might never come back the same way.

So when God prompts you to act—speak the word, make the call, offer help, or give your time.

Seize the opportunity.

Someone might be waiting for the courage God has given you.

Romans 10:14, “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?”

March 24, 2026March 13, 2026

A Life Well-Lived

A Life Well Lived In my three-quarters of a century, I have noticed three signs of a life well-lived. The first is a strong sense of identity, the second is the resolve to keep moving forward even when the road ahead is unclear, and the third is finishing faithfully. I will cover the three in a three part post. This is part one.

Before we talk about these two qualities, however, we need to clarify what we mean by success.

SUCCESS

Francis Chan once wrote:

“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” — Francis Chan, Crazy Love

That statement immediately exposes the real problem. Success is not only about achieving goals; it is about achieving the right goals.

The dictionary defines success as “the achieving of the results wanted or hoped for.” But that definition raises an important question: wanted by whom, and hoped for according to what standard?

Our culture judges success by visible things — titles, income, recognition, and influence. These markers are simple to count and compare. But they are not reliable signs of a life well lived. Many people achieve them and still feel an uneasy restlessness. Applause quickly fades when it is disconnected from purpose.

True success is more subtle and lasting. It arises from alignment — the confidence that your life is heading in the direction God intended when He created you.

Success is not about becoming impressive; it is about becoming faithful.

Throughout Scripture, God never rewards people for having the most. He rewards them for being faithful with what was entrusted to them. That distinction changes how we evaluate our lives.

Identity and Purpose

Jim Collins famously wrote:

“Good is the enemy of great.” — Jim Collins, Good to Great

In business, greatness often comes from disciplined focus. In life, greatness comes from disciplined alignment with the One who created you.

A person who lives well eventually understands a simple truth: before you discover what you are called to do, you must understand who you were created to be.

The Bible consistently reminds us that humans are not accidents. We are intentionally created by God, formed for purposes beyond our personal ambitions.

Psalm 139:14,“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Isaiah describes the relationship this way:

Isaiah 64:8, “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

Paul reinforces the same idea in Ephesians:

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Even the prophet Jeremiah was reminded that God’s purposes precede our awareness of them:

Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

Uniqueness

No two people are created the same, and no two lives are meant to follow the same path. When we measure ourselves against others to determine who we should become, we abandon the uniqueness of God’s design. You cannot become someone else, and they cannot become you.

Discovering God’s purpose for your life rarely happens in a dramatic moment. More often, it unfolds gradually through obedience in small things. As faithfulness accumulates, clarity grows.

When purpose and identity align with God’s design, something shifts. Life becomes focused. Energy previously used for comparison or doubt is now directed toward faithful action.

Jesus illustrated this in the parable of the talents. The servants were given different amounts, but the reward was not based on how much they received. The servant with two talents received the same praise as the servant with five. The difference was not the size of their resources but how faithfully they managed what they had.

The Lesson is Simple and Profound.

God does not judge our lives by comparing them with others. Instead, He evaluates them based on our faithfulness to what He has entrusted to us.

Until your life begins to align with God’s purpose, you may achieve many things that the world considers success. However, those accomplishments will never fully satisfy you. Titles, possessions, and recognition can’t replace the quiet confidence that comes from knowing you are living the life you were meant to live.

True success isn’t about being admired.

It is found in hearing the words every faithful servant longs to hear.

“Well done, good and faithful servant.”

February 10, 2026January 21, 2026

Fear Buries Purpose not by Force, but by Permission.

Fear buries purpose not by force, but by permission. Giving in to the fear of failure hides your ability to reach your potential. Fear is the loud giant roaring in your mind, while faith is that whisper that pushes you forward. Too many times, we listen to the roaring giant because we can’t hear the whisper. We become less than God meant us to be, a shell of who we could have become.

Rationalization of Fear

2 Timothy 1:7, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Fear is not from God. If fear is driving your decisions, something other than God is shaping your future.

The sad part is that we accept outcomes as destiny. We justify results based on effort, not potential. Fear doesn’t just scare us; it rewrites our beliefs. It convinces us that safety equals wisdom, that smallness equals humility, and that resignation equals maturity. We start calling retreat “discernment” and paralysis “patience.” That’s how fear survives—by disguising itself as reason.

Psalm 56:3, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”

Potential is Stewardship

But potential is not a suggestion. It is stewardship.

Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”

What we often call destiny is simply the sum of our surrendered decisions. We accept outcomes as if they were set in stone, when in reality, many were negotiated away out of fear, not through rebellion, but through caution, hesitation, and waiting until we felt ready, qualified, or safe.

If you listen to your fears, you will die never knowing what a great person you might have been. ~ Robert H. Schuller

Joshua 1:9, “Be strong and courageous… Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Fear Does Not Make Us Evil

Fear does not make us evil. It makes us incomplete.

And the tragedy isn’t failure. Failure refines, teaches, and humbles.
The real tragedy is never trying because we convince ourselves that silence is obedience.

Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you… I will strengthen you, I will help you.”

Faith is not loud. It seldom competes with fear in volume. It speaks through invitations: ‘Step forward.’ ‘Trust Me.’ ‘You were made for more.”

The question is not if fear will roar, because it always will.
The real question is whether we will base our lives on noise or on truth.

We are not victims of fate; we are stewards of a calling. Fear isn’t just a limit on the present—it shortens the impact of the echo that is your life.

Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?”

January 27, 2026January 21, 2026

The Parable of the Talents: Six Great Truths

The parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 gives us six great truths.

The First Great Truth: Different Talents, Same Divine Intent

In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus shares a story that speaks directly to our modern desire for fairness and our obsession with comparing ourselves to others. In the Parable of the Talents, the master distributes wealth—vast wealth—but not equally. One servant gets five talents, another two, and another just one. Scripture explains why: “He gave to each according to his ability.” There’s no apology, no explanation, no defense of fairness. The master doesn’t victimize the man with one talent or guilt the man with five because of his wealth. He entrusts each person with what suits him, then observes what each will choose to do.

This is the first great truth of the parable: God does not distribute opportunities equally, but He distributes them purposefully. Every servant received exactly what was aligned with his design. And that truth extends into your life as well. You are not an afterthought of heaven, or an accidental oversight in God’s distribution of gifts. You were shaped with intention, precision, and purpose. Your strengths and weaknesses, your joys and sorrows, your passions and wounds are part of the divine design God has crafted for your calling.

The Second Great Truth: Resources Do Not Define Your Destiny

The second truth of the parable is perhaps the most freeing: your starting point doesn’t matter spiritually, eternally, or cosmically. What matters is how you choose to use what God has entrusted to you now. The servants with five talents and two talents doubled their resources, and although their results weren’t identical, their reward was. Both heard the exact words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” They were not praised for equal outcomes but for equal faithfulness.

Success is not about having much, but about doing a lot. They worked, invested, created, and built. The size of the gift was never the measure—faithful stewardship was. God does not compare your life to anyone else’s; He looks at whether you are obedient with the gifts, resources, and opportunities He placed in your hands.

The Third Great Truth: When Fear Buries Purpose

The servant with one talent did not fail because he had less. He failed because he refused to act. Fear drove him to bury what he had—to protect it, hide it, and ultimately waste it. He justified his fear, but fear never yields results. Fear keeps what God intended to increase. In the end, the master did not accept fear as a valid excuse for unfaithfulness.

This truth runs deep in our world today. We live in a culture that tells us our identity is shaped by what we lack—our disadvantages, hardships, or inequities. But Scripture teaches the opposite: you are not defined by your lack; your Creator defines you. God does not judge you based on what others have received. He judges you based on what you do with what you have received.

The Fourth Great Truth: You are Perfectly and Uniquely Designed for Your Assignment

Every part of your story—your personality, skills, experiences, resources, relationships, education, upbringing, trauma, victories, and even your scars—is part of the sacred toolkit God created specifically for your calling. Nothing is accidental, or wasted, or missing that God intended for you to have. You are perfectly designed—not generically, but uniquely—for the purpose He has set before you.

Adam Allred of Doughboy Nation states this clearly: “God doesn’t measure you against anyone else. He measures what you did with what He put in your hand.” That captures the core message of the Parable of the Talents. God never questions, “Why didn’t you have more?” Instead, He asks, “What did you do with what I gave you?” Your life represents your set of talents: your mission, your responsibility, your opportunity.

The Fifth Great Truth: Faithfulness, Not Fairness, Is Heaven’s Standard

At the end of the parable, the master rewards the faithful servants with the same invitation into his joy. They did not achieve equal results, but they demonstrated equal faithfulness, and that is the currency of God’s kingdom. Then, in a moment that challenges our modern ideas of fairness, the master takes the unused talent from the unfaithful servant and gives it to the one who already had ten. If the story were about fairness, that moment would seem unjust. But the parable is not about fairness—it’s about stewardship. God amplifies what is used and diminishes what is wasted.

The Final Great Truth: Your Starting Line is not Your Finish Line

This parable conveys a profound truth: your life is the talent God has entrusted to you. You did not choose your starting point; your family, circumstances, advantages, or limitations, but you are fully responsible for how you respond. The world may emphasize inequality, but God emphasizes intentional creation. Privilege is the domain of the world, but God focuses on purpose. The world may compare results, but God measures faithfulness.

One day, each of us will stand before God, and His question will not be, “How much did you have?” but “How faithful were you with what I placed in your hands?” The powerful truth—the truth that sets us free—is that the same “Well done” is available to everyone, regardless of whether they started with five talents, two, or one. You were created with a divine purpose. You were placed in this specific moment in history for a reason. And you already have everything you need to fulfill the purpose God designed for you.

Your starting line is not your finish line, your limitations are not your identity, and your past is not your verdict. You were made for multiplication, designed for impact, and given a purpose. So take what God has placed in your hands and use it with courage. Use it with faith. Keep using it until the day you hear the words that echo beyond time itself: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Jeremiah 32:19, “Great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.”

January 20, 2026January 15, 2026

A God Created Out of Hunger

The God who is, not the God we make Is your God created out of hunger? There is a quiet danger in faith that doesn’t present itself as rebellion. It feels reasonable. Even reverent. It begins when we try to understand God using only the raw materials of our own experience.

Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”

The Origin of Hunger

We are finite creatures, bound by time, limitation, and need. Hunger is one of our earliest teachers. We learn the world first through absence—what we lack, what we want, what we fear losing. And because hunger is our native language, we are tempted to use it as our primary reference point for God.

But when we do that, something subtle happens.

We start shaping God in our own image — not intentionally, not rebelliously, but instinctively, carving Him from the wood of our own longing. We imagine a God who thinks as we do, reacts as we would, and values what we value. That god becomes understandable, predictable, and — most dangerously — familiar.

Habakkuk 2:18 19, “What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it.”

Made in His Image

Scripture says we are made in God’s image. Our temptation is to distort that truth and shape God in our own image.

Genesis 1:27, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

The issue isn’t that such a god is entirely false. The issue is that he is small. A God born from our desires will always be limited by them. He can’t correct us because he is created from our assumptions. A god created by us can’t confront us because he shares our blind spots. He can’t surprise us because he never exceeds us.

This is why idolatry in Scripture is often described in terms of simple materials—wood, stone, metal —not because the materials themselves matter, but because they are easy to handle. A god we can shape is a god we can coexist with. A god we can live with rarely changes us.

The True God

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The true God resists this simplification. God refuses to fit neatly into our boxes. He answers Moses with “I AM,” not with an explanation. God responds to Job not with reasons but with vastness. He enters the world in Christ in a way no one expects and still cannot be contained.

And yet, even knowing this, I feel the pull.

I want a God I can predict. A God who agrees with my conclusions. A God who confirms my instincts and sanctifies my preferences. I am tempted—daily—to trade awe for familiarity, mystery for manageability.

But a God small enough to be comfortable is too small to be worshiped.

Psalm 139:14, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Perhaps the most authentic stance is not certainty, but reverence. Not mastery, but surrender. To allow God to stay God—even when that means acknowledging how little I truly understand.

If I ever find that God fits perfectly within my grasp, it might be time to question whether I have been carving again.

Instead of becoming who we want Him to become, Jesus is who we need Him to be — a gracious God who calls us to repent of our sins and trust in His sacrifice on our behalf.

December 30, 2025December 28, 2025

Happy New Year from the God of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

The God of the past, present and future Happy New Year from the God of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. As we step into the new year, we naturally reflect on the past and make plans for the future. Often, the past has too much influence on shaping what lies ahead. The closer we get to Christ, the more we see our future as being shaped by the sins of our past.

Security for Yesterday

Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

One of the biggest challenges for Christ followers raised in modern culture is understanding God’s forgiveness. We are naturally inclined toward a quid pro quo view of transactions. Surely God must demand payment for His gift. I can’t possibly repay Him fully, but I feel I should at least try to repay Him partially.

God desires to have a relationship with you. He created you for that reason. When we couldn’t bridge the gap between us, He took on the task of reconciliation.

Ephesians 1:7, “In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

That is not to say that we might experience the natural by-product of our sin while here on earth. However, that is not Him punishing us for our actions; it is we who face the natural consequences of that sin. God, through Christ’s resurrection, has bridged the great distance between our past and His future.

Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

We have to accept that forgiveness. It feels unnatural for us as humans to believe it’s fair to receive such a gift without strings attached.

Through Christ, the line of communication between God and man is always open unless broken by man himself. We are, as it were, always in the presence of our Father in Heaven. Through His Holy Spirit, God is with us always and everywhere. – John Andreas Widtsoe

Security for Today

Matthew 28:20, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The starting point is today, this very moment. God is the God of moments. Every time you feel that you might be backsliding, remember God is the God of moments. Reset, and start again. Ask for strength and forgiveness to live this moment for Him. If we live each moment, the future will take care of itself.

Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

We shouldn’t pray for a lighter load to carry but a stronger back to endure! Then the world will see that God is with us, empowering us to live in a way that reflects his love and power. –Brother Yun

The small choices you make today influence the options available for the major decisions you’ll encounter later. Almost every future event in your life can be linked to the small choices you’ve made in the past.

Security for Tomorrow

Joshua 1:9, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

You were made for great things. God has woven into every part of you to fulfill His purpose in your life. Your role is to obey His will in achieving that purpose.

As you approach 2026, your goal should be to seek and pursue God’s will in your life. It’s easy to assume that God desires what you want, but that is only true if your priority is serving Him. God’s measure of success isn’t based on worldly achievements or wealth, but instead on peace, obedience, faithfulness, and being aligned with Him. These qualities are eternal.

If your plan is His plan, then success is assured.

Deuteronomy 31:8, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

December 16, 2025December 2, 2025

Paul, A Role Model for Living

Your past does not control your future I see Paul as a role model for living. Not just because he’s passionate about sharing the gospel, but in how he lived his everyday life. It’s easy for me to depend on my past as a guide for my future. This way of thinking assumes there’s a fixed trait or unchanging characteristic in who I was that determines who I can become. It’s the old nature-versus-nurture debate. But look at Paul as an example.

Paul’s Past

Paul’s life began as an avid supporter of the Jewish religion and traditions. He was about as anti-Christ as any man in his day. He didn’t just passively ignore the teachings of Christ, but he actively persecuted His followers.

Acts 9:1-2, “Meanwhile, Saul was still issuing murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he could take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”

His attitude toward Christ was so divisive that after his conversion to Christianity, he was feared by Christians and hated by Jews.

Acts 21:10-11: “After we had been there for several days, a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea. When he came to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it, and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'”

I may have ignored Christ in my earlier years, but I did not actively harm Christians for their beliefs. If Paul could overcome his beginnings, why can’t I? In God’s economy, it is not where you start, but where you end up. Salvation through Christ’s resurrection erases the past and opens the future.

Paul’s Sin Nature

Paul faced the same temptations we do. The Bible isn’t specific about which sins haunted Paul, only that they did.

Romans 7:15-20, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

Paul wasn’t a superhero immune to the world around him. He was human, and therefore, he faced temptation. Paul believed in Christ to the point of imprisonment and torture, yet he still struggled with sin. If Paul, who was entirely devoted to Christ, struggled, why do I expect otherwise?

Paul’s Legacy

Over 2,00 years later, Paul’s words still resonate around the world. In 2025, approximately 2.64 billion Christians live worldwide, making up about one-third of the global population. Christianity remains the largest religion globally. (Lifeway Research)

Despite his treacherous beginnings and rebellious worldly nature, he made an impact that changed the world. God not only did not hold these against him but also used them to strengthen his testimony.

Now Us

Our past isn’t held against us. The blood of Christ has covered our sins. God doesn’t want us to dwell on who we were but to celebrate who we have become. We will keep fighting against the temptations of the world. God’s greatest disciple did so throughout his life, and so will we.

The obstacle we must avoid is allowing who we were to prevent us from becoming who we can be. We can be so obsessed with the past that we’re unable to build a better future. God died for our freedom from the past’s control.

God has forgiven you, and it is time for you to forgive yourself.

Ephesians 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”