Blog | Greater Formation

What Are You Missing Right Now?

Have you paused lately to notice what’s happening around you?

It’s easy to get so wrapped up in our own lives—the next task, the next goal, the next “important” thing—that we overlook the bigger picture. We become so focused on our own activities that we forget: life is bigger than us.

There’s a whole world, even a whole universe, moving around you right now. And more importantly, God is already at work in that world.

The Kingdom Doesn’t Start With You

Here’s a vital truth: the Kingdom of God doesn't begin with you. It doesn’t depend on your plans, your efforts, or your creativity. The Kingdom is the result of God’s will in action, a manifestation of His purposes unfolding all around us.

It’s been said that God most appreciates what He initiates. That means our role is less about trying to force something to happen, and more about learning to recognize and respond to what God is already doing.

Shift From Striving to Respondin

...

The Danger of Assumptions and Presumptions

We’ve all heard the saying: “Don’t make assumptions.” And for good reason. When we assume, we act as though we fully understand a situation—without actually taking the time to investigate or discern the truth. Assumptions are conclusions drawn without sufficient evidence, and they’re often wrong.

Wrong assumptions fuel prejudice, racism, and harmful stereotypes. They fracture marriages, disrupt neighborhoods, and create tension in workplaces. When we think we know something we haven’t taken the time to understand, we often alienate others and make poor decisions.

Even Jesus experienced rejection based on false assumptions. Many believed He was a threat simply because He didn’t meet their expectations of how the Messiah should act. They didn’t pause to truly understand His mission—or His heart.

But if assumptions are dangerous, presumptions can be even more damaging.

To presume means to take something for granted. It implies an even greater level of certainty—often without any more ...

Are you seeing the Kingdom of God around you?

Sometimes, my wife can’t believe how blind I can be – especially when I’m searching for something in the refrigerator. There are many moments when I miss things that are right in front of me – clothes that need to go upstairs, trash that needs to be taken out, dishes that need washing. It’s rarely intentional, I promise.

But there’s a different kind of blindness that Jesus talked about – one that goes beyond missing something on a shelf. In Luke 17:20-21, He said, “The coming of the Kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the Kingdom of God is in your midst.”

Jesus was pointing out that God’s Kingdom isn’t always obvious. It’s not something you can just see on the surface. It’s something that requires attention, discernment, and spiritual insight. It often works quietly beneath the surface, in ways that are easy to miss if we’re not paying attention.

Take, for example, the moment when Jesus was watching peopl...

You May Have More Authority Than You Realize

Does it ever seem to you like nothing much is really happening in your neck of the Kingdom of God?

How long has it been since you have seen significant transformation in the lives or health of people you personally know?

Does it feel like you are just going through the motions of faith – which quite possibly is not faith at all?

Jesus lived an expression of faith that made a difference. He seemed to engage heaven and earth - the spiritual and relational, to great affect and effect. Paul referred to Jesus as the second Adam because He walked in the purposes of God’s created order.

God formed people in His own image, and intended them to rely upon His wisdom and direction, and to represent His will, in His authority, on the earth. (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-20) Jesus understood this and lived accordingly, saying,

“By Myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and My judgment is just, for I seek not to please Myself but Him who sent Me.” (John 5:30)

He had an intimate relat...

How Jesus Lived and Invites Us To Live

What Are You Missing Right Now?

The Kingdom Doesn’t Start With You

Shift From Striving to Respondin

The Danger of Assumptions and Presumptions

Are you seeing the Kingdom of God around you?

You May Have More Authority Than You Realize

Two Step