Steve to Earth - Encouraging you the way I like to be encouraged.

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It’s good to be back

"Steve to Earth" MugI’ve been away for a while. It’s good to be back. Thank you for your encouragement, patience and prayers while I was away.

I’d like to be able to say that I came back just for you … that writing blessings is a pure and unselfish gift … that these words flow out of a deep and abundant inner strength … and that if you leave here encouraged, that’s all that matters. But that wouldn’t be true.

My soul requires a continual inflow and outflow of spiritual nourishment. Writing what I’m learning helps me process and better understand what I read daily in God’s Word. It encourages me to express my faith to our Father and to you with honesty and clarity. It makes me slow down and live. It makes me be still and know … that He is God, and that gives me great peace.

I do pray that what you find here will strengthen your heart … fortify your faith … lighten your load. I know it gets heavy sometimes … and that’s why I’m also back for me. I’ve been living real life for the past three years while this site rested quietly. Real life can be beautiful and brutal … stimulating and stressful … exhilarating and exhausting. The life you live is probably very similar to the life I live … crazy busy, rewarding, frustrating, fast. It reminds us who we are. It reminds us Whose we are.

Jesus … I’ve never had a friend like Him … and I’ve got some stellar friends. But He is everything I’ve ever wanted in a friend, and He is everything I want to be. Trying to become like Him is the most rewarding and challenging thing I’ve ever done. He’s the best friend I’ve ever had, and my goal is to become the best friend He has ever had. I’ve got a long way to go in that pursuit, and I am very grateful that He gives us a lifetime for that journey.

So there it is. I’m back for you … and for me … and for Jesus. And if it is His will, somewhere in the blessings and the prayers, the comments and the exchange of knowledge, the Bible study and the quiet, still listening … spiritual formation will occur. Together, we will draw closer to Jesus and be formed more perfectly in His image. Together, we will become friends to Him just like He is a friend to us. And to me, that makes coming back a great joy. Thank you for joining me.

May you become the best friend Jesus has ever had.

~s

May even your “downs” be “ups” in Him

May Jesus be your Best Friend when you don’t want a best friend. May He be your gentle, quiet companion when you want nothing but to retreat into your dark and lonely cave.

May He attend to your every need when you don’t have the energy or desire to attend to your own. May His grace abound when you need it most.

May He be willing … waiting … watching … for you … to come back home when your heart chooses to wander. May His kindness lead you to repentance … just as it was designed to do.

May the depth and the strength of your faith in Him make this blessing an unnecessary … meaningless … exercise of unneeded words.

May even your “downs” be “ups” in Him.

~s

Why I Choose Jesus

Forgiveness and friendship.

It’s just that simple. To be forgiven by Him and to have a close friendship with Him are my two greatest needs.

The world is filled with great religions and great prophets, but only one prophet and only one faith offer forgiveness for my sins. That prophet is Jesus … that faith is Christianity.

On my best days, I’m a sinful man. I can’t imagine having to carry the weight of that sin around with me every day, but thanks to Jesus, I don’t have to! He overcame my sin before I ever had a chance to commit it. He overcame death long before I breathed my first breath. He offered me a gift I couldn’t refuse.

I was baptized for the forgiveness of my sins and to receive the gift of His Holy Spirit. His grace reaches even me, and I’m blown away by that fact over and over again.

I have many wonderful human friends who bless my life in incredible ways, but I need something more. I need an unshakable friendship … an intimate relationship … with the Perfect Friend … with the God who knows how to successfully navigate the highs and the lows of this crazy life with grace … dignity … and honor, and I’ve found Him. I’ve never met anyone like Jesus.

I begin each day with two goals … to honor Him with every decision I make and to treat everyone I come in contact with the same way that He treats me.

If others approve of me along the way, that’s a nice bonus. If others disapprove of me, I consider the source and make adjustments if the disapproval is justified. But the power to affect how I feel about myself is reserved for the only person who ever lived a sinless life and then offered Himself as a sacrifice on a cross so that I could be forgiven … Jesus. As long as He is pleased with me, that’s all that matters. He’s simply the Best Friend I have.

He loves me. He forgives me. He knows me inside out, and He chooses to be friends with me anyway … despite me. That’s why I choose Jesus.

~s

 

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