It has been a prayer of mine that God would help me to love better and deeper than I’ve loved before. And He has answered that prayer, but not in the way I had expected. I had anticipated being shown new ways to love, learning more about the people around me so I could serve them better, and for God to give me wisdom in knowing how to become closer with the people that God has placed in my life. However, instead of God predominately showing me “new heights” of how to love people, He has shown me how insufficient and conditional my love for others truly is. I can be so blind to my own selfishness, so much so that even the kind and thoughtful acts I do can have tainted motives. I have so many idols that I constantly worship without even realizing it. When I look at my life and mirror it with the love of Jesus, I don’t even come close. Jesus loves unconditionally, eternally, and perfectly. The more I look at the character of Jesus, the more my sin is fully displayed.

​​While that can be discouraging and disheartening, there is also great encouragement and joy in knowing that truth. Despite my sinfulness and inadequacy to love people as I should, God is committed to chipping slowly away at me until I look like His Son. If there is one thing that team has taught me, it’s this: God is so much greater than I am in every conceivable way, and yet He is faithful to use a broken vessel like me for the good of other people and His glory. So, I let Him chip away at me through heartaches, trials, and mistakes, knowing that the image God is turning me into is far greater than anything I could possibly dream or think of. Praise God for the work He does in the life of His people!

When we arrived at the church, we discovered our cargo trailer was stolen. At first, I thought it was a cruel joke someone was trying to play on the team. We soon discovered this was our new reality. Initially, my reaction was, “God, why would you allow this to happen? You know our ministry and how vital that trailer is to us.”
 
But throughout that week, despite the frustrations of our new reality, God was working in each of our hearts to show us how He can provide beyond our abilities to do so. I remember praying with Liam Coffey that week and he said “God, we know you’re good to us, even though it doesn’t always feel that way.” I think that prayer summed up how most of us were feeling that week.

He said, “You’re serving your Savior. What greater joy is there than that?”. I have replayed those words over and over in my head. I had never thought of traveling as a privilege, but rather just my life. God really used my friend to help me see traveling differently. Serving my Savior isn’t something I have to do (even though my parents ask me to do it), but rather it’s something I get to do. 

Jesus is worth it. 
He’s worth obeying, even when it’s hard.
He’s worth trusting even when I don’t understand.
He’s worth serving even when it’s uncomfortable.
Jesus is worth it.
​​

​The influence of team members as well as the literal closeness to them is both a blessing and a conflict generator. Though we are obliged to resolve the issues, it really is a grace of the Lord to reveal the true desires of the heart; and very often the Lord uses the team in speaking truth to correct my own sinful desires and actions. In my first year I never really could understand nor fully appreciate what God was (and still is) teaching me, through these times but these few examples give testament that God's providence is for our good and for His glory.
 
​There are only a few short weeks left in my time with Coffey Ministries and current plans have brought me to Detroit, MI for the coming years. In whatever God provides in the future, it will be good and with that I will be content. 
 
Come near restless heart; find peace without fear
Your God has not failed and He's brought you hear
Each undone endeavor and turn on the way
Is perfectly place in the pathway he lays
​- Britany Kauflin

         Wait what? Why is sanctification on that list? What could these three have in common? Thanks for asking :) I think we'd agree that the first two are inevitable. For most every human, those two words impact our daily lives. Take my taxes for example (please, someone, anyone take em!) Like it or not, we all gotta pay taxes (let's be honest, the person who likes taxes doesn't exist). However, Jesus instructed his followers to pay their taxes, even to the oppressive Roman government.
            On a more serious note, let's examine death. Whether it's someone in the news or someone you love, hollowed hopes or dashed dreams, the ever-present, all-encompassing presence of death infiltrates every moment of this temporal life. Sin contaminates, destroys and reminds us all that death respects no one.
         So far, I think we (you the reader, I the writer) agree on death and taxes. But that doesn't answer your first question, how does sanctification fit in with the undesirable yet inescapable duo?
           Answer: For believers, sanctification is inescapable. What is sanctification? Simply put, it is the transforming work of the Holy Spirit within believers to shape them into the image of Jesus Christ. God is continually growing me and continually growing you, if you are a believer. So, maybe I should rephrase the title? For Believers, Death. Taxes. Sanctification. Regardless of the title wording, this truth should greatly encourage you in at least two ways.
           First, God is deeply interested in transforming you and completing that transformation. He refuses to leave you and me as we are but changes us into something far more glorious. What a comforting truth, that He constantly controls circumstances to change my character to be more Christlike. I can always have hope and confidence through every situation in my life because God the Creator, Sustainer, Shepherd, Rock, Fortress, King (the list goes on) orchestrates every "obstacle" in my life as an opportunity for this sanctification. Because my God loves me, I have hope he won't abandon me but will continue the good work he began in me until I see Him!

         ​Second, God is deeply interested in every believer! Is this repetitively redundant? Maybe. But, I believe it's worth the risk of redundancy to extrapolate this important principle. You can, or might I boldly say, you must hope and believe that God will not leave other believers where they are but, will steadily sculpt and shape our spiritual siblings through this sanctification. Therefore, I shouldn't pigeonhole my brothers and sisters, refusing to believe that they can change. Because of the gospel, I CAN'T hold this mindset. To do so grossly distorts the reality of God's persistent, transforming grace. Because my God loves all his children, I can, I must believe he won't abandon any of my brothers and sisters in his quest for their Christlikeness.
​         Traveling with the Coffeys shaped my view of the Christian life in intangible yet unforgettable ways. My hope in the gospel, as well as my knowledge of the transforming power of the gospel - this sanctification, impacts every day of my walk with God. I hope and pray that these thoughts help to realign your hope with the good news that God the Father is changing lives into His Son's image through His Holy Spirit one day, one obstacle, one interruption, one truth at a time. May God bless you and keep you as you love Him and love others.

What kinds of questions have you been googling over the last few weeks? "How many people are infected in my area?" "How will this affect the economy?" "How will this affect our government and elections?" "How will this affect my family?" In all of these questions, there is one that affects us more directly, one we have to answer every day. "What am I actually going to do today?"

For me (Riley), the answer to that question has involved a few things. 1) I'm adding a room to my in-laws basement while we quarantine with them. 2) I'm doing a deep-dive study into the book of Romans. 3) I'm playing a ton of Settlers of Catan. God has used each of those things to expose my sin and push me toward His Son. Let me tell you how He did it. ​

​I was in the basement by myself framing a wall with my thoughts wandering from topic to topic when I began to think about one of our games of Catan from the night before. Specifically, I was thinking about one game in particular when I became frustrated with my opponents and my frustration over someone blocking my "Longest Road" exposed just how very much unlike Jesus I am in my heart. As my thoughts continued to wander, I began to think that I should probably apologize to the people I had sinned against. After all, my relationship with them was worth far more than the two points my road would have given me. 
But my sinful heart does not naturally humble itself and admit to being wrong. So as my thoughts continued to wander, I began to convince myself that what I did really did not merit an apology. After all, doesn't everyone get frustrated in Catan? It was just a heated competition, that was all. Then a verse came to my mind from my time in Romans over the last couple of weeks. 
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
There are a ton of blessings that we have because we are in Christ. Here are some that we commonly think of from a few chapters earlier. We're justified. We have peace with God. We have access to God's grace. We have a joyful hope for the future. Those are probably the first blessings that come to my mind when I think about all that I have in Christ. But  that afternoon in the basement, I was thinking about this one: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." 
As I debated in my mind about whether or not I should apologize, I came to the sudden realization that this was not simply, "should I apologize for an everyday offense." This was actually a battle between my flesh and the Spirit. God has given me the precious gift of His Spirit, and one of the reasons He gave me His Spirit is so that He could lead me toward greater Christlikeness . Without His Spirit, I would be a total slave to my flesh. Simply the fact that there was a battle in my heart was evidence of God's grace in my life. How could I choose to walk in the flesh and choose my sin with God's gracious gift of the Spirit working in real time in my heart? 
At the core, I knew my offense wasn't just ordinary, everyday competitiveness. I knew I had chosen to put another believer down because they had the audacity to make a good move against me. In the middle of this, God was working through His Spirit to convict me of sin and to conform me into the image of His Son. 
So believers, be encouraged! God is at work in your hearts - even in quarantine. He used a simple game, some down time with a hammer and nails, and His Word to teach me how wonderful His gracious gifts to me are and just how much I need them. 
How is God's grace at work in your heart during your time on quarantine?