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Be Owned and Blessed, Not Burned Out

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Owned—in the Best Way Possible

You’ve probably heard some good old-fashioned trash talk in sports: “I own you!” It’s meant to intimidate, to send the message that the other person has no chance unless you allow it. Being “owned” in that context is humiliating—it implies domination and defeat.

But being “owned” by God? That’s something entirely different—and deeply freeing.

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” That price was the life of God’s Son, given as a ransom to free us from the bondage of sin. Through Jesus, we’ve been rescued from darkness and brought into a Kingdom of light, life, and righteousness.

But here’s the key: living in that freedom means embracing this new identity. You are no longer your own—you belong to Him.

God’s Treasured Possession

Three times in the book of Deuteronomy, God refers to His people as His “treasured possession.” In today’s world, being called a possession might sound negative—li...

What’s Our Common Purpose?

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What’s Our Common Purpose?

The Westminster Catechism says our purpose is:
🛐 “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

John Piper tweaks it:
🔥 “To glorify God by enjoying Him forever.”

Great answers! But let’s make it even more practical.

Love God. Love People.

I believe God calls us to experience and love Him—and to experience and love others.
That’s the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40).

But here’s the thing…
🛑 We can’t love God while ignoring people.
🛑 We can’t love people while neglecting God.

Why? Because God’s heart is always for people, and He is the source of ALL love.

Love = Fulfilling God’s Purpose

Paul puts it plainly:

💡 “Whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8)
💡 “Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:10)

Loving others isn’t a side mission—it’s the whole thing!

What Does God’s Love Look Like?

✅ It treats people how we’d like to be treated.
✅ Or even better—how God wants to treat them.
✅ It ...

How To Be Lifted

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As people get older, they are prone to “soften” in more ways than one. Most importantly, people’s hearts tend to get softer – and they become humbler as the decades start ticking away. Much of our culture looks at this softening process with suspicion, wondering if it’s the fruit of humility or lack of backbone and/or drive. Even if it is humility, the public square often doesn’t honor the character of humility. Yet, God’s economy is quite different.

Both James (the brother of Jesus) and Peter (one of His closest followers) wrote, “God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble.” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5) God opposes those who exhibit pride – because they are opposing Him. When people act in a prideful way, they are not seeking God – and Scripture declares they are also not making room for Him in their thoughts. (Psalm 10:4) If not seeking God, and not including Him in our thoughts are marks of pride –– many of us are often practically living in a prideful way.

Why is pride suc...

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Be Owned and Blessed, Not Burned Out

God’s Treasured Possession

What’s Our Common Purpose?

How To Be Lifted

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