The ministries that last are the ones that follow the pattern Jesus set for himself in Mark 1.

When it comes to “winning” someone to Christ, the pressure’s off.

How can we live in such a way that our own healing accelerates the healing of others?

Pearls are formed by irritation, gold is refined by fire, and diamonds are made valuable only by intense pressure. In the Bible there’s a word for this kind of suffering…Thlipsis (θλῖψις).

How does God respond to us while we are still figuring out our true identity in him? 

Our identity is not found in what we produce but in what the Lord has spoken over us.

I realized that I was not just the sum of my parts and the gifts I carried—or the faults and failures. And I felt God pull my eyes in a different direction—away from me and toward him.

Surely addiction would never be a part of my story. Yet, it has been. Not the easy-to-identify type of addiction, though. One far more masked. An addiction in church clothes.

Comparison teaches us to measure our worth by earthly standards rather than embracing the identity we already possess in Christ. Ultimately, comparison reveals a deep insecurity, a belief that what God has provided isn't quite enough. 

There is something profound when, like Mary in this passage or Hagar in Genesis 16, God speaks your name and interacts with you.

How can we more fully embrace our identity as children?

Few truths are more life-changing than knowing who you are and whose you are. We see the power of knowing your identity demonstrated in the ministry of Jesus, and the same secure foundation is available to each of us.