I was preaching a sermon, and I had an outline in the printed bulletin. On this occasion, the outline ended with a sentence with two blanks. It said, “The road to hell is paved with …

My sermon was about how actions show what we truly believe. I used a quote from a message I heard from Edwin Louis Cole: “We judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions.”

I explained that we intend to become Church members, serve with our gifts, give to the Lord’s mission, and do all kinds of good things. But sadly, we often do nothing, yet we feel like good, godly Christians because of our wonderful intentions.

Sadly, that is not what it means to be a believer. We are called to follow through on those intentions with actions. Otherwise, our faith is merely good thoughts and inspiring conversation. If we truly want to follow Jesus, it will show in our actions.

When I finished preaching, a lady in the congregation came up and asked, “What are the two blanks?” I assumed everyone knew the expression I wanted them to complete, but apparently, they didn’t. I stated, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

After all these years, that road is still there, worn smooth by many people who attend Church and do nothing more.

It means you have made up your mind about something and you are determined to follow through. You are not easily distracted, discouraged, or deterred from doing what you know is right.

We live in a world where people change their minds based on how they feel, what others think, or what seems easiest at the moment. But some things are too important to leave up to our feelings.

Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the king’s food (Daniel 1:8). Before he knew how everything would turn out, he had already decided where he stood. His circumstances didn’t determine his convictions. His convictions shaped how he responded to them.

We could resolve to be a person of integrity when dishonesty would be easier. Resolve to love people when they are difficult to love. Resolve to spend time with God even when life gets busy. Resolve to do what is right even when doing what is right comes at a cost.

Being resolute doesn’t mean you are stubborn or unwilling to listen. It means you have settled some things in your heart because they are grounded in something more reliable than your changing emotions.

Some decisions need to be made before the moment of decision arrives.

Decide now what you believe, what matters most, and what kind of person you want to become. Then, when the pressure comes, you won’t have to figure out what you believe. You’ll simply have to live it out.

Be resolute.

I am willing to try anything to reach and develop people for Jesus.

This has led me to do dozens of lousy events and activities. I have hosted a coffee house night with exactly two families attending. There were miserable youth lock-ins that exhausted me. A few times, I wanted to host a small group, but no one signed up. I have preached sermons and taught classes that gained an audience, but I failed to deliver engaging material. You name it, and I have tried it, or I am willing to give it a shot.

Why do I keep doing all these things?

Because occasionally one of them works. One time, the event attracted new people and led them to Jesus. One time an activity connected with people and led them to take their next step of faith. Sometimes God does his amazing work through something I planned.

One good idea always comes after dozens of bad ideas.

Just because what you tried for Jesus in the past didn’t work, that should not stop you from trying again. Redirect, rethink, and try again. Your next attempt to make an impact may work. Maybe you are only one bad idea away from the thing that changes someone’s life for eternity.

If your Christian faith is leading you to read your Bible and learn more about Jesus, that is a positive step. If it leads you to read books, listen to podcasts, and dig deeper into the Bible’s meaning, that is a positive step.

But the moment that journey makes you feel pride in all you know, you’ve taken a misstep. If it fills you with a sense of superiority that you have a “deep” faith, perhaps deeper than other believers, that is a misstep.

When your faith is truly growing, you will not be filled with pride and arrogance, but humility and selflessness.

Paul told the Christians in the city of Philippi to “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Php 2:3-4)

Genuine faith does not make you better than others; it makes you more like Jesus.

This one-word descriptor is more significant than we give it credit for.

I asked someone how they were feeling, and they said, “Very sad today.”

They could have used words like inconsolable, devastated, miserable, or distraught. Instead, they chose a simple word that genuinely reflected their emotions. They weren’t trying to impress me with their vocabulary. They were trying to express that things were not okay.

That interaction has made me listen more closely when someone uses the word “very.”

Sometimes, that one word is a quiet attempt to get your attention without shouting.

Life is hard, but pay special attention to those who feel it has become very difficult.

A preacher whose opinion I respect said he takes his sermon, puts it into ChatGPT, and asks it to “review his sermon and make suggestions to improve it.”

It sounded like a good idea. So when my sermon was almost complete, I tried it to see if I could make any small improvements. Honestly, I was not prepared for what happened next. It produced a list of 10 suggestions to improve my message. And it may be my imagination, but each one felt progressively more hostile.

First, it suggested wording changes; then it began to critique the overall development of my sermon. By the fifth suggestion, it told me the middle part of my message was “redundant and potentially boring.” The final suggestion left me questioning my abilities as a preacher.

I waded through each possible change and made a few of the helpful ones.

The next week I tried it again. I have repeated this process for the past month. I research and write my sermon. Then, when I feel I have done my own work, I ask AI to help me improve it like a trusted teacher.

Here is one thing this whole process is teaching me. I am learning how to receive constructive criticism. Over the years, everyone I have asked has always had positive things to say about my work. But using technology without emotional strings has been a game changer. I still don’t think it is right in every assessment, but it does give me an unbiased critique.

You might think you have thick skin when it comes to evaluating your work, but until a computer tears it apart, you can never be sure. AI is teaching me how to handle constructive suggestions without destroying a friendship.

One of my life goals is to be a blessing to other people. I want to pour into them and make their life better in every way. I want to offer help and hope to each person I encounter.

I want people to be happy when they see me come and sad to see me go.

And not the other way around.

That might sound so easy to accomplish, but I am finding it difficult to achieve.

What is one thing you could do this week that future generations will thank you for?

Maybe you need to start saving some money.

Maybe you need to purchase that land.

Maybe you need to plant a tree.

Maybe?

I am sure you need to tell someone about Jesus and the hope he offers. Share how your life has changed and how it has made you a better spouse, parent, friend, and community member. Show them you care and are willing to walk with them through whatever transformation they need.

I am deeply indebted to the people who poured into my father’s life, because their work shaped me, and that impacted the people I now lead in my Church.

The people in my Church may not know my dad or the people who influenced him, but their impact reverberates in my life and echoes out into the future. Never underestimate the value of impacting a life, both now and into the future.

The only limit to your spiritual growth as a Christian … is you.

There is always more to learn, do, and become. Our knowledge of the Bible can keep expanding, and we need to apply every part and allow it to transform us.

One great question to ask each week is: How can I grow this week as a follower of Jesus? An even better question to ask at the end of the week is: How did my life change this week to become more like Jesus?

Thousands of positive answers fit these questions, and the only limiting factor is how much effort you put into them.

It is very likely that the person you think slighted you was not thinking about you at all.

It is possible that the person you think is ignoring you might just be busy.

It is conceivable that the person you believe doesn’t like you might be distracted by other things.

It is difficult not to take things personally when you are dealing with other people. But the truth is most often that the person you think is plotting against you is not thinking about you at all. They are merely busy and distracted by the events of their own life.

Show grace to others the way you want to receive it.