Welcome to the Life Spring Network, helping churches become holistic, transformational disciple-making communities.

Recent Devotionals

Boundaries – Proactivity

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For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. Galatians 5:15-17 (NLT)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. Matthew 5:38-39 (NIV)

Proactive people are known by what they love; reactive people are known by what they hate. Reaction may be the first step to establishing and maintaining my boundaries, as I react against the bad. But I don’t want to stay in reactive mode, because that leads to continual conflict. Instead, I want to be favorably disposed toward every one I encounter. As I live in freedom rather than being controlled by the law, I can bring the truth in a way that is graceful and leading to restoration.

Boundaries – Evaluation

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No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. Hebrews 12:11 (NLT)

Maintaining our boundaries can hurt others, but that is not the same as harming them. So being able to evaluate the consequences of our response to a situation is vital. Confronting those who would violate our boundaries can be painful (to us or to them), not unlike parental discipline, but as long as it doesn’t cause harm, good can come from it. In that way, we can bless others by maintaining our boundaries.