Magnolia Grace Beauty

His Church, Not Ours | Part 1

Who Owns the Church?

I think sometimes we forget whose Church this really is.

Matthew 16:18 says, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

The Church does not belong to me, to you, to a pastor, or to a denomination. The Church belongs to Jesus Christ. That truth should bring tremendous peace because Jesus did not tell His disciples that they would build His Church. He told them that He would build it Himself.

That distinction is important because we live in a time when it can feel as though biblical truth is constantly under attack. Culture changes. Values shift. Convictions are challenged. It is easy to look around and wonder what the future holds.

Jesus already answered that question.

He said, “I will build my church.”

That statement was not a suggestion, a possibility, or a hope. It was a promise from the Son of God.

Then Jesus added another promise when He said that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Gates are defensive structures. They are designed to keep something out, not to move forward and attack. Jesus was describing a Church that advances with the Gospel while the forces of darkness fail to stop what God is accomplishing.

That does not mean opposition will disappear. Scripture makes it clear that believers will face trials, persecution, and resistance. There will be moments when evil appears to be gaining ground and moments when the culture seems to move farther away from God.

Even so, appearances do not change God’s promises.
*Continued in comments……

We traveled to a popular vacation destination  and stayed at a beautiful, well-known resort. Everything looked exactly like the pictures until I stepped into the water and realized it was not what it appeared to be, because you can say the water is blue all you want, but when you are standing in it and it is brown, the label does not change what is actually true.

And that is how a lot of things feel right now.

Things get described a certain way, repeated often enough, and presented in a way that sounds convincing, but at some point you have to stop and ask yourself if what you are seeing lines up with what you are being told, because truth is not determined by how something is labeled or how many people agree with it.

Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,” which is a reminder that calling something by a different name does not change its nature, and it does not make it right.

God’s truth does not shift based on opinion, and it does not bend to match what is popular, which means we have to be willing to recognize when something does not line up, even if everyone else seems comfortable going along with it.

At some point, you have to trust what is clear in front of you and measure it against what God has already said, because calling something blue does not make it blue when you are standing there seeing something completely different.

20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
-Isaiah 5:20

Journal Prompt
Where in my life do I need to stop accepting what I am being told and start measuring it against what is actually true?

© 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘴 | 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦

📸: the brown water 😂

You can reach a point where you start to wonder if continuing to try even makes a difference.

You invite, you share, you have the conversations, and after a while it can feel like nothing is changing. It is tempting to step back and assume it is not getting through, or to decide it may no longer be your place to keep asking.

I understand that feeling, because it can wear you down if you let it.

But what we cannot see is what God is doing behind the scenes.

Just because you do not see immediate change does not mean nothing is happening. Seeds take time to grow, and hearts often take even longer. God works in ways that are not always visible in the moment, but that does not make His work any less real.

Your role is not to force the outcome.

Your role is to be faithful.

That means continuing to love, continuing to show up, and continuing to point people back to Him through both your words and your actions.

Matthew 5:16 reminds us, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” That light is not meant to be turned on and off based on someone’s response. It is meant to remain steady.

You never know when something you said will come back to someone at the exact moment they need it. You never know when an invitation will finally be accepted. You never know when a heart will soften after a long season of resistance.

God is still writing their story.

And He is still writing yours.

His timing is not rushed, and it is never late.

So do not give up on someone just because you cannot yet see what God is doing.

Keep sharing.

Keep loving.

Keep pointing them to truth.

Because what feels repetitive to you may be the very thing God uses to reach them.

16 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯.
-Matthew 5:16

Journal Prompt
Who in my life do I feel tempted to give up on, and how can I remain faithful in showing them God’s love without trying to control the outcome?

© 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘴 | 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦

📸: Some days are just a no makeup or hair day but I’m always up for sunshine and sunroofs. ☀️🕶️

Be so grounded in who God created you to be that you are not confined by the limits someone else tries to place on you, because people will always have opinions, expectations, and ideas about who you should be and how you should live, but those opinions were never meant to define you.

Galatians 1:10 says, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ,” which makes it clear that living for Him will not always align with what others expect, and it was never supposed to.

Being comfortable in your own skin is not about self-confidence alone, but about an identity rooted in Him, which allows you to think differently, move differently, and live without needing approval from people who did not create you, because when you truly understand who you belong to, you stop shrinking to fit into spaces that were never meant to hold you.

10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
-Galatians 1:10

Journal Prompt
Where am I allowing someone else’s expectations to shape how I show up, and what would it look like to live fully in who God says I am?

© 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘴 | 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦

📸: I still can’t believe this beautiful flower came from a bulb off Amazon.

𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨…
“𝙊𝙠𝙖𝙮 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙪𝙨… 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣? 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤? 𝙊𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙫𝙚? 𝙊𝙧 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙜𝙤 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙠𝙮𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙥?”

𝙒𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚.
𝙒𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙮 𝙂𝙤𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙥, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩… 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚.

𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.

𝙃𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩.
𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩.
𝙃𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚’𝙨 𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙧.
𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙢. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨.
𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 “𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢” 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙨 𝙃𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛. 𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨.

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩, 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙟𝙤𝙗 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙡. 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙟𝙤𝙗 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥.

𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙚.
𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡.
𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮.
𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚.

Continued in comments ⬇️

He chose the cross… for me, for you, for all of us.

The weight of our sin. The depth of His love.
Not the end… but the greatest beginning.

Today we remember the sacrifice.
Sunday, we celebrate the victory.

It is finished. ✝️

Somewhere along the way, we started hearing the phrase that pastors should “stay out of politics,” and it sounds reasonable until you actually hold it up against Scripture.

Because the truth is, the Bible never tells spiritual leaders to stay silent when truth is at stake.

It tells them to teach God’s truth wherever it applies, and that does not stop at the church doors.

It tells them to call sin what God calls sin, even when it is uncomfortable.

It shows us over and over again that God’s people spoke to rulers, confronted systems, and stood firm when righteousness was on the line.

That was never about political power.

That was about obedience.

There is a difference between endorsing a party and refusing to surrender truth, and that line matters more now than ever. When truth becomes negotiable to keep peace, it is no longer truth.

I think this is where confusion sets in.

We want faith to stay personal and quiet because it feels safer that way, but Jesus was never silent about what mattered. He spoke with clarity, conviction, and purpose, even when it cost Him something.

That does not mean everything becomes an argument.

That does not mean we speak without wisdom.

But it does mean we cannot pick and choose where truth applies based on what is comfortable.

Scripture reminds us in Acts 5:29 that “We must obey God rather than men.” That is not a political statement, it is a posture of the heart.

As believers, we are called to be wise, discerning, and grounded, but we are not called to be silent when God has already spoken.

Truth does not need to be loud to be clear.

It just needs to be faithful.

29 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥: “𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴!
-Acts 5:29

Journal Prompt
Where might I be tempted to stay silent in order to stay comfortable, and what would it look like to stand in truth with both wisdom and grace?

© 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘴 | 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦

📸: I remember standing in this lobby waiting on the elevator to go see my dentist as a child. Now, it’s been restored to a hotel that I get to bring my own children to.