Real Life by Peggi Tustan

Welcome to Real Life . Got friends? “Friendship is born of that moment when one person says to another, ‘What? You, too? I thought I was the only one.’” –C.S. Lewis We are meant to live in community. God created us to need one another. You and I are not meant to travel this journey of life alone. Relationships are integral to a healthy existence. In his earthly ministry, Jesus surrounded himself with twelve disciples. They walked, lived, and served together for three full years. Of the twelve, Peter, James, and John became his closest friends. Jesus both needed and modeled healthy relationships. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends , for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15 NIV emphasis mine) In recent decades, our culture has shifted in some pretty dramatic ways. It has become more difficult to build and maintain healthy relationships. “Our ability to connect e...

Welcome to Real Life . Whose plan are we following? “I'm sorry, did I roll my eyes out loud?” –Anonymous We are living in an era of anger and hostility. Someone aptly described it as the “age of outrage.” People are easily offended, and quick to cancel —punish, shame, humiliate, or terminate—those who offend. Outrage, of course, is not unique to our times. In the days of the early church, Saul of Tarsus was fueled by righteous indignation. He knew the Scriptures. He had studied the Law and the Prophets under Gamaliel, the most highly respected rabbi of the first century. Saul felt a personal responsibility to guard the Jewish faith and traditions from heresy. He considered the disciples of Jesus Christ to be dangerous and offensive. For he believed they were deceiving Jews with their message of grace, forgiveness, and salvation through faith in Christ rather than in meticulous obedience to the Law. He set out to cancel the Christians. Thus, Saul began zealously persecuting the ear...