More and more I am humbled to serve alongside my beautiful wife, Carrie, and my precious kids and a few close friends, to simply look out for the needs of those we encounter, to build one another up in the Gospel of Christ.  It’s a steadiness of love we can encounter together in these groupings of believers considering Jesus’ call, a call to self-sacrifice that yields the deepest joys that can ever be discovered in this life and for the next.  We have rewards to be enjoyed even here and even now if we would simply submit to the process of becoming a disciple of the One Who gave His life to make our lives truly count for His glory and the good of a dying world!

A social gospel devoid of The Gospel is a false gospel indeed.  No matter how kind we appear, if we are not glorifying God by affirming the reason we are serving with true hope in our eyes, we are taking the glory we can’t retain and it becomes rotten in our stomachs.

Give back to God the credit for your sacrificial love being seemingly without boundaries and illogically generous, dear passionate follower of Jesus!  Allow your care for others to become more relentless than before and your intentionality more precise and Spirit-guided.

Broadcasting opinions is of nearly no value but highlighting what God in His Word highlights will never grow old to the genuine and engaged follower of Jesus.

As I continue to pray with my wife and do life a simpler and more intentional way, God continues to open very specific relationship doors, and my joy bucket overflows.  It’s deeply fulfilling to genuinely engage with just those God obviously guides into our path in any given day and to truly not be concerned with the thoughts or emotions of larger bodies of people. Being off of Facebook again now for a while and planning to stay off of it through this year is refreshing for instance.  A neighbor of mine, Dave, who doesn’t have a house but does have his tent pitched under a neighbor’s porch, he has become a nearly daily companion in one way or another.  We have tinkered with my old van and shared a couple of meals together.  Another friend has been on this blog before, Del, and he has become a regular friend as well, sharing favorite books and coming by my office for times of fellowship.  John also drops by my office for a conversation periodically and a little encouragement.  He is my window washer and has like Dave joined me for worship service on Sundays.  Ricky and Sam I haven’t seen in quite a while, nor Mark, but truly these are the names of folks I feel closest to Jesus when I am around.  Matthew 25 teaches us something about extra intimate encounters with Jesus where eyes of flesh just can’t allow us any closer.  We think we know who is valuable in our towns but then we learn that our priorities are all off so much of the time.

In God’s friendship,

– Torrey