Estevan Church of Christ

09/06/2026

We will never be content until this happens.

We will never be content until this happens.

08/25/2026

Consider This: Show Up and Shut Up

Granted, that is not the nicest article title ever, but it is excellent advice for helping a friend who is going through a difficult time.

Often, our first instinct is to stay away. We do not want to get involved. We want to avoid the mess. We convince ourselves that our friend has enough going on and we would only be in the way.

None of that is true!

Avoiding your friend only isolates them and makes them feel even more alone. What they need is your presence. Period! You do not need to have answers or give advice. That is where the shut-up part comes in.

When things go wrong, we ask “Why did this happen?” We want to solve the puzzle. “Cause and effect” makes sense to us. Sometimes there is a direct cause that needs to be addressed, but often the issues are much more complicated than that. More to the point, placing blame does not help. Even if I caused my own trouble, pointing out how I failed does not fix anything, nor does it release you from your responsibility to be helpful. Focusing on blame is counterproductive!

In the Book of Job, after he loses everything, we are told three of his friends “… set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go sympathize with him and comfort him… They sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:11-13). That was a great response!

Then they ruined it!

They tried to convince Job he was at fault. They reasoned that God must be punishing him. They tried to force him to confess sins he did not commit. They hassled him for 33 chapters of the book! In doing so, they ruined all the good they intended to do. Job finally observed, “You are miserable comforters, all of you!” (Job 16:2).

People do not need to be scolded. They do not need to be told where they failed. They already know!

What they need is for those who love them to show up. They need someone with whom to share their burden.

Show up and shut up is always a good place to start!

08/23/2026

You do not need to be more grateful. You need more of this.

You do not need to be more grateful. You need more of this.

08/16/2026

There are no easy answers, but this may help. Forget these two common beliefs!

There are no easy answers, but this may help. Forget these two com...

08/05/2026

Consider This: Not Finished Yet

Sometimes, the smallest phrase carries a big impact.

For example, in both Ephesians 2 and 1 Peter 2, God says we are like “living stones” put together to form a temple in which He lives. People should see God living in us. That is a common and often taught idea. However, there is one small phrase that is used in each of those passages that we often overlook.

Both passages state that we “Are being built” (Ephesians 2:22 and 1 Peter 2:5). That little phrase teaches two important truths about the church in general and about us specifically.

First, notice that “Are being built” is passive. Who is doing the work? Not us! We are being worked on. God is building his church (Matthew 16:18). He is the one who is knocking the rough edges off of us and building us into a spiritual temple.

Much of the teaching I hear these days says, “You need to stop this and start doing that!” Certainly, there is a place for this as the Bible says we cannot be who we once were. However, if I am going to experience heart-level, real change, it is not going to be because I tried harder or did better. If I could save myself, I would! I do not need more effort. I need help! I need to be reshaped and rebuilt by God through the word, prayer and the Holy Spirit.

Second, “Are being built” reminds us that the building of your soul and character is an ongoing process. Whether you have been a believer for 5 years or 95 years, you are still under construction. No one is in a position to feel superior to others, because no one has arrived at the end. The concept of grace will get a lot more airtime when we remember that we still need it too.

As Sara likes to say, “Do not judge a craft until it is done”.

That is good advice for both projects and people.

The hopeful message is that you are not finished yet.

08/02/2026

God's ways are not our ways.... and that is a good thing!

God’s ways are not our ways…. And that is a good thing!

07/28/2026

Consider This: Focus on Faithfulness

If you were choosing people to work with during New Testament times, and the two picks were Peter and Stephen, you would choose Stephen every time.

We first meet Stephen in Acts 6 when the leaders needed some men to serve the people. He was an obvious choice as he was “A man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (verse 5). Stephen is strong, wise, spiritual and dependable.

On the other hand, Peter’s life was marked by a series of ups and downs. He was chosen by Jesus (Luke 5) and was the first to understand that Jesus was God’s Son (Matthew 16:16). He walked on the water, but then got scared and sank like a rock (Matthew 14). Peter was ready to fight to the death when Jesus was arrested (John 18:19), but a few hours later, he denied knowing Jesus at all (all four gospels record this low point).

Interestingly, these two men preached two of the first recorded sermons and received completely different reactions. When Peter finished his lesson, his hearers were cut to the heart and asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Peter told them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (verse 38). More than three thousand people responded. A few days later, five thousand more were baptized.

Stephen’s lesson was almost identical to Peter’s. However, his hearers became violently angry. They dragged Stephen outside of the city and stoned him to death (Acts 7:54-60).

On the surface, this seems unfair. Steady Stephen dies, while unstable Peter is successful. However, God used both of them. The word spread because of their faithfulness. In fact, though he did not get to see it in this life, Stephen’s death caused the Christians to leave Jerusalem, spreading the truth across the known world as they went.

We like to measure results and focus on what we believe will be successful. However, we have no idea how God might use our circumstances, or what good we are doing when we are doing it.

The results are none of our business!

Do the right thing and let God handle the rest.

We are called to be faithful. God will figure out the successful part.

07/26/2026

When we understand how God sees his people, it gives us hope and invites others in.

When we understand how God sees his people, it gives us hope and in...

07/21/2026

Consider This: Before They Are Gone

Quick, name the most famous painting in the world.

If you said “The Mona Lisa,” you agree with everyone who was at church this past Sunday, the art insurers who declared it the most famous and valuable painting of all time, as well as the Guinness Book of World Records.

But it was not always that way.

Painted by Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1506, the Mona Lisa has been on display at the Louvre in Paris since 1797. While the art world always appreciated the painting, one act gave it the iconic status and worldwide fame that it enjoys today. In 1911, it was stolen.

The theft generated unprecedented publicity as every newspaper in the world carried stories about the painting, possible suspects, offers of rewards, speculation regarding who took it and where it was hidden. The painting was recovered in 1914 after it was discovered that a man named Vincenzo Peruggia had taken it believing that the Italian masterpiece belonged in Italy.

However, the recovery of the painting did not stop the public’s fascination with it. In 1915, an opera was composed about it. Reproductions sprang up for sale in markets all around the world. The theft was the subject of two motion pictures, and the legendary Nat King Cole even recorded a song about the painting in the 1950s. As I said, the painting has always been appreciated, but it did not become famous until it was lost.

As the old saying goes, “You don’t know what you’ve got until it is gone”. I think that is one of the most tragic truths in life. If you are not careful, you will miss all the good things. You will not see or value them until it is too late. That really scares me, because so many of our blessings have time limits on them. You must enjoy them while they are there.

In almost every prayer I pray, publicly or privately, I ask God to “Give us open eyes to see our blessings every day”. This is not just a ritual. It is a real concern.

Each day contains something for which to be thankful.

Are you making a point of seeing your blessings?

“This is the day which the Lord has made; Let’s rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

07/19/2026

We all want to see and celebrate results.... But in Spiritual things, results are really none of your business.

We all want to see and celebrate results.... But in Spiritual thin...