Hard days

The whole story

February 15, 2015 by fabsharford 2 Comments

Today’s sermon at my church struck a nerve. Following Jesus will cost you something. It is a Cross-bearing, death-to-self path toward joy. there is no way to get through the Christian life without pain and sacrifice.

And you and I have got to do a better job of talking about the hard parts; we have to tell more stories about self-death, because we are leading people astray with our version of Christianity where gaining Jesus threatens nothing else in your life.

I have someone who is precious to me beyond words. Even though we live thousands of miles apart we have spent hours these past months wrestling through our faith together.

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Filed Under: God's promises, Hard days

Protecting gods from God

February 5, 2015 by fabsharford 1 Comment

And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” (1 Samuel 5:7 ESV)

The men of Ashdod saw how things were. They saw that their lame god kept getting knocked over by the real God. And so, seeing the weakness of their own god in the face of the God of Israel, they did the only logical thing: sent the presence of God away so that they could live in their delusion, feeling safe with a piece of rock.

Can we pay too much attention to God’s Word

January 23, 2015 by fabsharford 2 Comments

I told you that I spent some time alone in Scotland recently. What I didn’t tell you was about the night I laid in bed in the middle of nowhere while 110-120 mph winds tore at the cabin so ferociously that I was prompted to lean over and grab my phone to ask google:”Do cabin roofs blow off in 120 mph winds”- which is when I learned that I had lost power and with it any connection I had to the outside world. No cell phone. No internet. No electricity. No water. Just Fabs and God and some sheep on a hill (if they survived the storm).

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Filed Under: Fighting apathy, God's promises, Hard days

3 lies about suffering

December 16, 2014 by fabsharford 6 Comments

I don’t know what it is about dates.

As human creatures we are hard wired to acknowledge anniversaries and build memorials. We can’t let the date just change to the next day without remember the last time we passed by this way. What was it like then?

It’s the magic of the Timehop App, and the genius of journals and the heart behind the command to build piles of stones in the wilderness: that we would mark and remember and consider.

A few weeks ago, I woke up on a 5th. It was the 12th time that number had popped up on my calendar since last December. It has been a year of 5th’s since one of the hardest days of my life.

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Filed Under: Hard days

Three years ago

November 30, 2014 by fabsharford 3 Comments

Three years ago today I wrote these words:

I have friends who are like family to me and they’re moving to the other side of the world for the sake of the Gospel. They don’t just say they believe in Jesus and His mission. They have sold their house and all their possessions and, with their 5 month old baby in tow, they’re running full speed to a pretty dangerous place.

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Filed Under: Fighting apathy, Hard days