BBS & Associates

The Best Things of This World

“There are the good things of this world, the hard things of this world, and the best things of this world—God’s love, glory, holiness, beauty. The Bible’s teaching is that the road to the best things is not through the good things but usually through the hard things… There is no message more contrary to the way the world understands life or more subversive to its values.”

—Timothy Keller


My prayer this week: Dear Jesus, walk with me through the difficult days I’m facing, personally and in the world around me. Help me feel your love and experience your holiness even now. I trust that you’ll meet me in the hard things and that my victory will glorify you.

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/the-best-things-of-this-world/

Gaze Upon Jesus

“Be astonished at the gracious heart of Jesus Christ, proven in his atoning work in the past and his endless intercession in the present. Receive his unutterable love for sinners and sufferers. Stop resisting. Let him draw near to you. Gaze upon him.

As you do so, transformation will come in the back door …

Peel your eyes away from yourself—even your change or lack thereof—and ponder Christ. Open the vent of your heart. Receive his love and counsel from Scripture. See him in the preached word and sacrament at your local church. Look at him. Stare.”

—Dane Ortlund in “Deeper”

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/gaze-upon-jesus/

The Gospel is Not a Fairy Tale

“Jesus Christ has irreparably changed the world.
When preached purely, His Word exalts, frightens, shocks, and forces us to reassess our whole life. The gospel breaks our train of thought, shatters our comfortable piety, and cracks open our capsule truths. The flashing spirit of Jesus Christ breaks new paths everywhere. His sentences stand like quivering swords of flame because he did not come to bring peace, but a revolution. The gospel is not a children’s fairy tale, but rather a cutting-edge, rolling-thunder, convulsive earthquake in the world of the human spirit..."

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/the-gospel-is-not-a-fairy-tale/

Stake Everything

“A prayerful heart and an obedient heart will learn, very slowly and not without sorrow, to stake everything on God Himself.”

—Elisabeth Elliot

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/stake-everything

Those Who Stand Before Us

“In the Bible, it is not the rich who are generally celebrated, but the good; not the successful, but the virtuous; not the influential, but the strong in spirit; not those who stand ‘above’ us, but those who stand ‘before’ us.”

—Dallas Willard in “The Divine Conspiracy”

My prayer this week: Dear God, help me redefine my life according to your standards, not the world’s. Make my life count for more than social media “likes” and career accolades. Help me glorify your name alone, in the day to day, the here and now.

Strange


“Go to church once a week and nobody pays attention. Worship God seven days a week and you become strange.”

—A.W. Tozer


My prayer this week: Let worship take center stage in my life this week, Lord. May it occupy my mind, lift my spirits, and make me stand out in this world as solidly sold-out to you.

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/strange/

The Point of Your Life

“Love, for the God of the Bible, is not one activity among others. Love defines who he is most deeply. Ultimate reality is not cold, blank, endless space. Ultimate reality is an eternal fountain of endless, unquenchable love. … If you are a Christian, God made you so that he could love you. His embrace of you is the point of your life.”

—Dane Ortlund in “Deeper”


My prayer this week: Lord, I’m overwhelmed by the thought of your unquenchable love for me. May the beautiful fact that I am endlessly loved by God Almighty be the defining point of my life: motivating my actions, shaping my decisions, and elevating my thoughts. Thank you for loving me, seeing me, and loving me still.

Love That Changes the World

“Jesus said the world is going to recognize you as His by only one sign: the way you are with one another on the street every day. You are going to leave people feeling a little better or a little worse. You’re going to affirm them or deprive them, but there’ll be no neural exchange. If we as a Christian community took seriously that the sign of our love for Jesus is our love for one another, I am convinced it would change the world.”

—Brennan Manning in “The Furious Longing of God”

My prayer this week: Do my neighbors and friends, my family and coworkers, know that I belong to you, dear Lord? Do they see the difference you’ve made in my life? Do they feel your love and mercy through me? Help me wear your name well, God, and do it justice. Help me live you out loud, with reckless abandon, in a world that urgently needs you.

Happy Independence Day! Make sure to celebrate the freedom we have in America, and in Jesus Christ, today and to honor those who made it possible.

With grateful hearts on this Memorial Day, we remember and honor all the brave men and women who have laid down their lives for our nation and our freedom.

The Truth of Sin


“Sin … is ultimately self-destructive behavior. We do not break God’s laws; we break ourselves against them.”

—Pastor Mike Woodruff


My prayer this week: Where have I failed you, God? In what ways have I fallen short of your plan for me? Forgive me for selfishly squandering even a drop of the blood that Jesus spilled on my behalf. Wash me clean. Restore my heart. Renew my spirit. And set my feet firmly upon the rock-solid path of your faithfulness and love.

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/the-truth-of-sin/

The Sabbath


“Sabbath is the time set aside to do nothing so that we can receive everything, to set aside our anxious attempts to make ourselves useful, to set aside our tense restlessness, to set aside our media-satiated boredom. Sabbath is the time to receive silence and let it deepen into gratitude, to receive quiet into which forgotten faces and voices unobtrusively make themselves present, to receive the days of the just completed week and absorb the wonder and miracle still reverberating from each one, to receive our Lord’s amazing grace. ”

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/the-sabbath/

A Narrow Way


“To be called to a life of extraordinary quality, to live up to it, and yet to be unconscious of it is indeed a narrow way. To confess and testify to the truth as it is in Jesus, and at the same time to love the enemies of that truth, his enemies and ours, and to love them with the infinite love of Jesus Christ, is indeed a narrow way. To believe the promise of Jesus that his followers shall possess the earth, and at the same time to face our enemies unarmed and defenceless, preferring to incur injustice rather than to do wrong ourselves, is indeed a narrow way. ”

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/a-narrow-way/

Out of the Grave


“We must never think too little of the call to share His gospel with those around us; for we have been given the inestimable privilege of being the means by which Jesus calls dead people to come out of their spiritual grave and discover eternal life with Him.”

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/out-of-the-grave/

A Living House


“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to?...”

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/a-living-house/

“He is not here, but is risen!” (Luke 24:6). He is risen indeed! BBS & Associates wishes you a blessed Easter filled with the hope and joy of Christ’s resurrection ... and all that it means for you.

“He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Join us in remembering the humble sacrifice of Christ on the cross, which made a way for us all to experience the joy of resurrection and new life in Him.

Christ’s Servanthood



“Jesus is the servant king. He is the man with all the power, and yet He carries it in this humble, kind, servant approach and one who relates to, connects with, stands for, and protects those who are marginalized.”

—Judah Smith in his sermon “The Most Important �Sentences in Human History [Part 3]”

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/christs-servanthood/

Pain and God’s Presence

“I am not a theologian or a scholar, but I am very aware of the fact that pain is necessary to all of us. In my own life, I think I can honestly say that out of the deepest pain has come the strongest conviction of the presence of God and the love of God.”

—Elisabeth Elliot

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/pain-and-gods-presence/

God’s Real Presence

“But God is present in reality no matter what unreality our practices and our ponderings imply. He is forever trying to establish communication; forever aware of the wrong directions we are taking and wishing to warn us; forever offering solutions for the problems that baffle us; forever standing at the door of our loneliness, eager to bring us such comradeship as the most intelligent living mortal could not supply; forever clinging to our indifference in the hope that someday our needs, or at least our tragedies, will waken us to respond to his advances. "

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/gods-real-presence/

Spiritual Roots

“Unless a life is rooted in the Word, a life is slowly dying. Unless the focus is more on roots than blooms, there is no way to thrive. What is hidden underneath the surface of things is what determines whether you go under or not. ‘Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness’ (Colossians 2:7) …

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/spiritual-roots/

Welcome to 2024 … Happy New Year! “There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” —C. S. Lewis

A New Year Prayer

“God of mercy, help us today to grow in your likeness, that we who sinned in Adam may rise again in Christ.
Let your word be a lamp to guide us, that we may live the truth and grow always in your love..."

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/a-new-year-prayer/

Merry Christmas! Wishing you and your loved ones every blessing as you celebrate the birth of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Worshiping the Newborn King

“Men of wealth, influence, and intellect: what did they do when they saw Jesus? ‘They … fell down and worshiped him’ (Matthew 2:11 NKJV).
Worship. It’s a gift that extends to the giver as well. Through worship, we come to see God more clearly. God invites us, through worship, to see his face so he can change ours. ‘We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 3:18). …
In worship, we simply stand before God with a prepared and willing heart and let God do his work. And he does.”

—Max Lucado in
“Just Like Jesus”
via “One Incredible Savior”

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/worshiping-the-newborn-king/

A Gift to Christ

“Suppose you could give a gift to Christ, what would it be? How could you possibly select a gift for the One who not only has everything, but who made everything?
The wise men did. They can be an example to us. In addition to the gold, frankincense, and myrrh, they gave the Savior some gifts we can give him today: their hope, their time, and their worship.”

—Max Lucado in
“Just Like Jesus”
via “One Incredible Savior”

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/a-gift-to-christ/

You have to stoop

“A small cathedral outside Bethlehem marks the supposed birthplace of Jesus. Behind a high altar in the church is a cave, a little cavern lit by silver lamps.
You can enter the main edifice and admire the ancient church. You can also enter the quiet cave where a star embedded in the floor recognizes the birth of the King. There is one stipulation, however. You have to stoop. The door is so low you can’t go in standing up.
The same is true of the Christ. You can see the world standing tall, but to witness the Savior, you have to get down on your knees.”

—Max Lucado in
“The Applause of Heaven”
via “One Incredible Savior”

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/you-have-to-stoop/

More of God

“I pray more often, but I also do it more longingly. And what’s really amazing is that when you know you’ve got to have more of God — because there’s really no alternative — to our surprise, there is more of God to be gotten.”

—Tim Keller

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/more-of-god/

The Antidote to Envy

“Imagine being able to say, ‘There is nothing on earth that I desire besides God [Psalm 73:25-26].’ What a statement!
If I never get another raise, if I never buy a home, if I never take another vacation, if I never eat at my favorite restaurants, if nothing in my life ever changes, God is enough for me. He is my portion, and he is enough.
The antidote to envy is contentment in the God who is worth more than the world.”

—John Rinehart

To read the rest of this week's "The In It Minute", click here: https://www.servantheart.com/the-antidote-to-envy/

From our hearts to yours: May your home be filled with joy and gratitude this Thanksgiving!