One of my favorite characteristics of Jesus is His straightforwardness. Contrary to the meek-and-mild portrayals of Jesus I grew up with in Sunday School, the Bible has Him being uncomfortably up front about the Gospel and the cost of following Him. In John 14:15 Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments."

As we’re studying through Ephesians chapter 3, we’ve discovered the process that God used to make Paul into such an effective minister of the Gospel. The amazing thing is, it's the same process that God uses to make every single one of us ministers!

I grew up dreaming of being like Mike. When I was a teenager, I would lower my basketball hoop and spend hours recreating his signature dunks. Well, as accurately as my 12" vertical would allow me. For those wondering, this was the best one. MJ recently hit the big 5-0 and in an interview with ESPN magazine, gave us this quote: "I would give up everything now to go back and play the game of basketball." That quote is not heart-warming, it's absolutely heart-breaking. It's tragic.

One of the distinct differences between our faith and all others is grace. We live in a cause and effect universe, from the biological level all the way up to our human relationships. For every action, there is a reaction. If you want to have friends, try being a friend. Some religions and philosophies refer to this dynamic in the universe as "karma".