Elevate Your Day with Andi and Brian Hale

Rescue Not Religion

Rescue, Not Religion
Why did Jesus come to the world? Was it to create a religion? Or something else?
The answer lies in Luke 4. Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth, and when he went to the synagogue service, he was given the scroll of Isaiah to read aloud to the congregation. He read:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,because he has anointed meto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisonersand recovery of sight for the blind,to set the oppressed free,to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:17-19) 
Luke seems to have given a summary of everything that Isaiah said in the first three verses of chapter 61. Isaiah also included healing of broken hearts; comfort for those who mourn and grieve; and turning ashes into beauty, mourning into joy, and despair into praise. These are not categories of people in need of forgiveness but places of need in every one of our lives and stories.
What came after the reading was the most dramatic moment of all. Jesus gave the scroll back to the attendant. When everyone’s eyes were fixed on him, he started his sermon: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (verse 21).
It’s the ultimate “mic-drop moment,” isn’t it? Jesus said, “Make no mistake about it. This is talking about me. This is what I came to do.” Yeah, it starts with forgiveness, but it is so much bigger than that.
Jesus did not come to create a religion. He came to heal, redeem, restore, repair our brokenness, set our captive hearts free, and lead us to the life to the fullest that he came to bring us. So, ask yourself, “Is that the Jesus that I have experienced in my life?”
Remember, there is a difference between living forgiven and living free. Are you living free? Most Christians I know are not.
Something has to change.
Living free. Spend some time picturing what that could mean for you.

Where Do I Go for Help?

Where Do I Go for Help?
We sometimes face issues around our health, marriage, finances, relationships, work, and life in general that cause us to feel heavy. They often leave us broken, hurting, wounded, messed up, confused, doubting, hopeless, and uncertain. Where do we go with our stuff?
Church? Really, how helpful has that been? Have you, like me, ever felt like your life, story, and/or current circumstances were just a little too messy for the church? It is not uncommon.
There’s a story in Mark that sheds some light on the question of where we should go with our messes.
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. (Mark 1:40-42)
The Bible says Jesus was indignant. But Jesus was not angry with this man. He wasn’t saying, “Don’t get that stuff near me.” Jesus got angry when people were isolated, hopeless, left out, or led to believe that they were beyond his grace, mercy, forgiveness, and healing.
Back then, if you had leprosy, you were supposed to live away from the healthy and to cry out, “Unclean!” But there was nothing in the leper’s life Jesus was unwilling to touch. There was nothing he had done or that had been done to him that made Jesus uncomfortable with him.
Unfortunately, that is often the difference between Jesus and the church. All too often the church ignores or backs away from those with deep needs or obvious flaws.
Please hear me. I think that the church can be great. When it lines up with what Jesus intended for it to be, it can be the hope of the world. But church is not the destination. It was never intended to be.
Ultimately, all of us need what this man needed: to get to Jesus.
In your prayer time today, bring to Jesus the burdens that you have been carrying on your own.

The Enemy's Foothold

The Enemy's Footholds in Your Life
In our attempts to move toward the future that God wants for us, we have to recognize how our enemy, the devil, is holding us back. In Genesis 3:1-7, he is a deceptive yet convincing snake sowing doubt about God’s goodness. In 1 Peter 5:8, he is a roaring lion seeking to devour us. In John 10:10, he is a thief seeking to kill and destroy us.
God wants us to understand who we are up against and how every single day of our lives this enemy comes after our hearts. It is what Paul described in Ephesians 4:26-27: “‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
The Greek word for foothold is topos. It means a base for further advance, a place to come back to and operate from later.
In creating footholds, the enemy takes the things we’ve done and uses them against us. But he even more covertly, secretly, insidiously, and subtly uses the things that have been done to us, said to us, and said about us to establish footholds in our lives too.
So, what messages have you received? Perhaps one or more of these? You will never really matter, never be good enough, smart enough, strong enough, beautiful enough, handsome enough, successful, worth the time of day, desired or pursued, amount to anything.
Where has the enemy established footholds in your life? Your ability to experience the freedom that is available to you depends on your ability to answer that question.
Identify harmful messages you’ve told yourself as well as harmful messages from others that you’ve internalized. Ask God to rewrite those areas of your life with his truth.

A God Fearing Life

A God-Fearing Life
That's the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty. — Ecclesiastes 12:13
What is the purpose of life? Solomon gives us the answer in Ecclesiastes 12:13: "Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty." It's a powerful (albeit succinct) conclusion to a book filled with questions about meaning and fulfillment.
To fear God doesn't mean living in terror or dread. Rather, it means living in awe of His greatness. It is acknowledging His authority and aligning your life to His will. Obeying His commands flows naturally from that reverence as you come to realize that His ways are good, right, and life-giving.
Paul echoes this sentiment in 1 Corinthians 10:31, wherein he calls upon believers to live every part of their lives — even the ordinary moments — for God's glory. As Jesus explains in Matthew 6:33, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." When you prioritize God and His Kingdom, everything else falls into its proper place.
A life lived in awe of God is a life filled with meaning, purpose, and eternal joy.

Empty Materialism

Empty Materialism
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! — Ecclesiastes 5:10
How much is enough? Solomon observed in Ecclesiastes 5:10 that those who love money will never be satisfied. The pursuit of wealth and material gain often leaves us feeling empty. Why? Because money and possessions can never fill the void in our hearts that only God is meant to occupy.
From Solomon's day to now, this truth hasn't changed.
In a world that constantly pushes us to earn more, buy more, and achieve more, we're tempted to believe that happiness lies just beyond the next purchase or promotion. But Hebrews 13:5 offers a different perspective: "Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have." Why? Because our ultimate security doesn't come from money — it comes from God, who promises, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you."
Jesus takes this even further in Matthew 6:19-21, where He urges His followers not to store up treasures on earth but in heaven. Earthly possessions are temporary and vulnerable to decay and theft. But when we invest in God's Kingdom — through generosity, service, and love — our treasure becomes eternal.
Will you trust God to provide, or will you place your hope in the fleeting security of material things? Kingdom-centered living means valuing eternal rewards over temporary wealth. Moreover, it is trusting that God's presence is worth more than anything money can buy.
True contentment isn't found in possessions. It is found in God's unfailing presence and provision.