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Mistakes and Failure

Once a mistake or failure is past you, move on. Focus on the next task at hand, and at giving it your absolute best. Consider what you might have learned for how you might improve and grow, so that your direction is looking forward not just looking back. Real life and real living comes with risks, challenges and momentary failures — but these are expected along the path to victory.

Life has taught me that my victory is assured — I just need to keep pressing forward instead of letting the past distract me. There is no victory in sitting still and looking back — we may do that on our dying day, and we should consider that a motivation to make today count. The victory is in refusing defeat in THIS moment, and pressing on.

Yesterday, I sat by myself at Ricky’s drive thru eating my hotdogs, deep in thought over the million choices and responsibilities that were running through my head. A young man approached me and asked if I could help him, and I checked my wallet almost mindlessly and saw that I had no money to give him. In fact, I began my reply to him without even coming out of my dazed condition — but I awoke from my daydreaming to see the opportunity to give him kindness and love. We went to the counter together and ordered him some food, exchanged names and I found out that he has a Muslim friend with a similar name as me. We laughed and shook hands and after a while went out own ways. I hope that I might get to talk with Floyd again sometime soon — his moment of need meeting with my ability to show him kindness was a special blessing that pulled me out of a lot of internal thinking to consider what I could actually DO at that moment to make a difference.

I share this because I can get stuck in a mindset that produces a lot of thinking, or even a lot of talking — but the DOING is what matters. Floyd and I were both facing challenges before our encounter, but he ACTED on asking for help, and I ACTED on what I could do. Together, we both helped each other in a wonderful way. He could have seen differences in my skin, clothes, etc. and assumed me an enemy (or I could have done the same), and we both would have missed out. We could have seen each other as opponents, trying to “get something” from each other — and we would have both missed it.

I wonder who I will get to play alongside in life’s tennis match today? I wonder how we will each get to enjoy points won (and points lost) as a part of that great victory we are living through. I wonder how many useless worries about challenges or failure will fall away to be replaced by a faith that victory is inevitable.

Psalms 37:23-40 NLT
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.
The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing.
Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever.
For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will die.
The godly will possess the land and will live there forever.
The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong.
They have made God’s law their own, so they will never slip from his path.
The wicked wait in ambush for the godly, looking for an excuse to kill them.
But the Lord will not let the wicked succeed or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.
Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.
I have seen wicked and ruthless people flourishing like a tree in its native soil.
But when I looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find them!
Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace. [38] But the rebellious will be destroyed; they have no future.
The Lord rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble.
The Lord helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him.

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Why are some people so excited about worship?

Imagine being so proud and foolish that we do not worship the Lord.

I realize that’s a bold statement that might offend someone. But please hear me out and consider what I have to say — even if it’s just to better understand what makes those crazy Jesus-freaks tick. Lol.

I’m not making that opening statement so we can turn our pointing fingers towards others out there in the world who do not worship the Lord (like we’re an accuser or a judge). No, this is a self-examination exercise not an opportunity for us to blame our judge others. So let’s imagine ourselves being so proud and so foolish that we do not worship the Lord.

Some of us don’t think that it’s proud or foolish to not worship the Lord because we can’t truly worship something we don’t even truly believe, right? And that’s about as far as many who don’t believe will go on the topic of worship if they have no interest in considering our underestimate the fascinating lives of “those people who are all about Jesus”.

Most of us “Christians” don’t have to “imagine” — we just have to remember a time when we have been proud and foolish enough that we did not worship the Lord. We don’t have to play make believe, because there is a real time we can point to.

I’m not asking whether or not we showed up at church to check off the box of our religious traditions and outward obligations (so that we would be seen by others a certain way). No, I’m talking about worshipping the Lord in spirit and in truth.

I’m not asking if we’ve listened to preaching and sung familiar songs for our own benefit or entertainment. No, I’m talking about a heart of actual worship that seeks and looks to the Lord in awe and wonder.

And if we are so proud and foolish that we can’t remember a time when our hearts were cold and dark and refused to truly worship the Lord — then how cold and dark must our proud and foolish hearts be right now? How far from the humble and contrite spirit that God seeks have we run?

Every single one of us has failed to (even refused) to truly worship the Lord — not just with our prayers but with our lives too. So it shouldn’t be that hard for us to imagine or remember.

And yes, there are many that might say that there is no Lord, or that if the Lord does exist that He isn’t worthy of their praise or worship. But even they can hear that still, quiet voice convicting them of this lie. Even they can see the love and blessing in the lives of those who truly worship the Lord and can be jealous that it is lacking in their own.

And even those of us who at one time were in deep awe and humility before God but who have now put ourselves and the distractions and temptations of this world ahead of our truly worshipping God — we can see those who are truly in awe of God and who are so eager to worship Him with their every breath and living moment. And we are either frustrated by these people — or jealous of them — or worse of all, complacent about their abundance of worship compared to our own deficient or barren state.

We all have room in our lives for repentance when it comes to truly worshipping the Lord — when it comes to abiding in Him and walking with Him throughout our day — when it comes to dying to ourselves and being His Kingdom representatives doing His will on earth as it is in heaven.

We all have room in our lives to put our opportunity to worship Him NOW well above and beyond some promise of a “some day going to heaven after I die”. If we refuse to worship Him now, what does that tell us about how much we truly appreciate a Heaven where He is worshiped with never ending praise? If we act as if worship is burdensome, or unnecessary, or not a priority to us now — being surrounded by radical Jesus-freaks who can’t stop worshipping the Lord with their whole being (with all of their hearts, minds, spirits and bodies) for all of eternity — would that be heaven to us or some kind of hell?

How many of us have been proud and foolish enough that we think that Heaven should be about us being the ones receiving praise and honor and reward there? How many of us act as if we should be on the throne of our own worship? Lord help us!

As you can see, I’m not selling the snake oil of some prosperity gospel — or asking you to send your money and build up a cult of followers around me so that you don’t have to fear death. No, I’ve found a friend in Jesus and a heavenly Father who is worthy of worship. I’ve seen past the veil of what man has turned into ugly religion for his own purposes, and I’ve found the one true God — and it isn’t me. I’ve found that His way is not just good, but is best. And I’ve found that He is worthy.

I love how Psalm 95 says “Come let us worship the Lord”, and that should be our prayer. That the Lord would overcome and replace our stony hardened hearts with a heart of worship so that we can know the abundance of a life on fire and eager to worship the Lord! Let’s enter into His rest today! Let’s worship Him in spirit and truth because His promises are true, let’s bow down our bodies before Him because He is the creator of everything who has breathed life into us, and let’s kneal our hearts remembering what He has done for us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Amen.

‭Psalm‬ ‭95:6‭-‬11‬ ‭ESV‬
[6] Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! [7] For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, [8] do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, [9] when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. [10] For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” [11] Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”

https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.95.6.ESV

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But I want to touch the hot stove top!!!

Last night we got to hear my daughter play in her band concert and enjoy her talents and her commitment to making music and the arts part of her life. We will get to hear her chorus concert next week. This weekend she will have friends over for her birthday party. We are getting to celebrate moments like this, and we get to be involved in the day to day commitment and challenges that allow for these celebrations. Teenage girl relationships are not always easy to navigate, and committing to practice is not always the most fun choice available to her in a given moment — but they are a part of the process.

I want my daughter to work hard, do well and succeed — but these are not the reasons that I love her. I cannot imagine disowning her (or my love for her ever ending) because of something shameful or foolish she might do in life. It isn’t her strength that I love, and I don’t hate the things about her that will improve over time with growth. She doesn’t have to earn my love — it is constant.

And as a father who loves his daughter and wants the best for her, love isn’t just letting her have her own way — it is helping her learn, teaching her discipline, correcting her, and sharing the values of wisdom and faith.

It seems that it is easy for us to be confused about God’s love for His children. We might hear things about “fearing God”, about “His wrath”, about “His law”, about “hell” — and be reminded of abusive people who want people to fear them, who are full of wrath and vengeance, and who enjoy hurting and torturing others — and we cannot see any good in serving, sorting, praising or worshipping such people. If we do not know God as a loving Father and do not trust that He is merciful, we might miss out on His love.

Since she was very young, we have taught my daughter that there are expectations that we should all have in our household when it comes to respectful behavior towards each other. We’ve also shared with her that we are helping her to grow into a healthy, responsible, caring, self-sufficient, and productive adult and that some of this long term growth may be contrary to her own wants, desires, passions, opinions, and feelings at any given moment. So having wise advisors that you can trust, who can provide outside perspective and not just be an echo chamber amplifying our own desires and demands of the moment — this is valuable.

Life comes with enough unexpected consequences for poor decisions — so when she was young, we tried to explain why certain decisions/choices were bad and set up known punishments/ consequences we could enforce to help her learn to avoid things that could be a very real danger later in life. Simple “rules” helped before she was old enough to be reasoned with. Then explanations, expectations and consequences when she could be taught precepts and concepts. And at some point it seems we might transition into more of a supportive advisor role.

My point in this is that we’ve had the concept of a belt, and she has understood very clearly from a young age what actions would result in the belt being used — and that was enough. We have never wanted to use it, and we have never had to use it on her — but she knew that we were WILLING to use it IF she demanded by her actions that we correct her in that way now — so that she wouldn’t establish patterns in her behavior that could be very dangerous to her as an adult.

This is how I see God as my good Father in Heaven. This is how I can have a reverent fear and awe of Him and of His mercy — because I know it is not that He demands that I arbitrarily do it “his way” just to satisfy his demands — no! He loves me and wants the best for me. He wants to protect me from things that are dangerous to me and that will steal from me. There is wisdom behind why he teaches me these things even when I might not feel like hearing them — because they are good for me! He even knows that at times when I’m feeling defiant, that I’m not going to want to hear Him, and that I’m going to sometimes try to ignore Him and do it my own way.

He doesn’t only love me when I’m “obedient” — in fact, it isn’t about being obedient to some arbitrary list of rules. A spoiled toddler might throw a tantrum about mommy and daddy saying “No” when they try to touch the hot stove top. But are so many of us spiritually still raging toddlers (who refuse to understand and trust that God’s guidance is wise and good and for our own benefit)?

It is see inspiring to realize how the favor of God is revealed when we listen to and follow His wisdom. He has created and architected everything — so trusting and following wisdom from Him is better than relying on our own strength. If one man has a detailed map of safe instructions for a long and dangerous journey, and another has a fun, fast car with loud music, the scent of drugs floating out of the windows and no plan or sense of direction — which of these will a wise person choose and which one is for the fool?

Lord, help us to appreciate and be in awe of the wisdom and guidance that you offer us. Help us to wait and trust when we cannot see it, help us to know your mercy and your love. When we have put ourselves in danger, please correction us not in anger but with what must be done to set us back on the path. Help us to learn wisdom and give up our foolishness. Help us to give up on striving for our own desires or even striving to prove our own worth and to rest in our Father’s love. Amen.

‭Psalms‬ ‭147:10‭-‬11‬ ‭AMP‬
[10] He does not delight in the strength (military power) of the horse, Nor does He take pleasure in the legs (strength) of a man. [11] The Lord favors those who fear and worship Him [with awe-inspired reverence and obedience], Those who wait for His mercy and lovingkindness.

https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.147.10.AMP

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Waiting isn’t even about what is “missing”…

My truck was stolen on Friday, and we’re working with the police and insurance to see what can be done. But something like this isn’t resolved overnight. We could only focus on the challenges of this situation and grumbling — and miss seeing multiple friends offering us their spare vehicles to temporarily help us out, miss seeing people sharing the video of the theft online to help find the truck, miss precious time with my parents helping us search for a wise and responsible replacement, and miss an opportunity to trust God, wait patiently, and praise Him in the storm.

Sometimes things are completely out of our control and there is nothing we can do to “fix it” in the moment. Sometimes no matter how much we “want it right now”, that isn’t the way life goes.

For my daughter and I, visiting amusement parks and riding roller coasters is a good analogy for life. Most times the best rides have a wait involved. They are thrilling and exciting once our turn comes, but the wait is part of the process. And through the years we have come up with various ways to keep ourselves occupied that doesn’t include grumbling about the wait. 

It is the same with life. Grumbling about having to wait doesn’t change the situation for the better, it just makes it worse. In life we can’t always look at a the situation and estimate when our wait might end. In life there are usually no guarantees that our waiting will eventually result in our getting what we are waiting for. But how we wait can influence our whole life.

If we are spoiled children who always demand our own way “right now”, the disappointments of real life will eventually wear us down. But if we are wise and value patience, we have a great opportunity for a different life, for a different perspective, and for a different journey.

My daughter and I enjoy the rides themselves, but that time in line together, trip after trip is where the memories are made together. And the time that we spend together with others while waiting — and with our God while waiting — builds memories, strengthens our bond in the relationship, and teaches us to trust each other. Choosing patience and relationship in those moments of waiting also helps us focus on our blessings, on what we can do in those moments, and to treasure the opportunity of the moment instead of wasting it by focusing on an “illusion of lack” instead of seeing the “reality of abundance”.

One of the enemy’s favorite traps is to trick people into focusing on their perceived “lack” — something where they are so laser focused on their own “unmet expectations” that they can’t see all of the blessings and opportunity that surround them. Imagine Eve with her eyes on the one deadly fruit that was in the middle of an orchard full of life giving fruit. Imagine the prodigal son who set his eyes on “greener pastures” out there in the world rather than appreciating the blessings he had right there at home. There are so many stories and scales that are written, but I’m sure we also know times where we have personally focused on “perceived lack” instead of looking around at so much abundance.

Lord, help us to bear that fruit of your spirit that is patience. Let the world see us walking in that peace that passes all understanding so that they know that you are there with us in those moments. Help us to find our rest in you and to know how abundantly blessed we are — especially when we don’t think that we are getting “our way”. Help us to understand and trust you in The Way that is best. Amen.

‭Psalms‬ ‭130:5‬ ‭AMP‬
[5] I wait [patiently] for the Lord, my soul [expectantly] waits, And in His word do I hope.

https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.130.5.AMP

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Is following Jesus “boring” or abundantly blessed?

Do we think that following Jesus is boring — or abundantly blessed?

Whether we’re talking about ancient or modern times, many of us might think that a life lived “undefiled in the way” is “boring at best”. I remember when I only saw the contrast of the temptations and pleasures of the world, the desires of my own heart, and my own feelings and opinions — where they conflicted with the wise instruction and guidance of God Word — and to a child’s foolish mind, it seemed restrictive instead of freeing. In fact, this lie of “lack” or “restriction” that the enemy is using to steal from us is that “if there isn’t any defilement in it, then it can’t be any fun”.

The reality of a whole life’s experience proves time after time that someone who walks in God’s word “knows the true blessedness of living and enjoying an undefiled life”. Surveys and polling data constantly demonstrate that those who live lives in general conformity to God’s standards — are happier, enjoy life more, and are more content. However, the illusion (and confusion) remains for many that a defiled life is more “fun.”

Hopefully, we all know that “sin is pleasurable for a season” — just like getting a high interest loan from a loan shark is fun while you’re out blowing the money on frivolous fun — but that the bill will come due, and that it will cost more than it was worth. A life full of this type of foolishness with no wisdom is disastrous and wasted, not fun or abundant or blessed.

So we need someone to teach foolish children what is wise versus what is foolish, what is healthy versus what is poison, what is best versus what is less — what is holy versus what is sin. In fact, many of us might be uncomfortable with “religious words” like “holy” and “sin” while we are fine with words like “wise, healthy, best” or “foolish, poison, less” until we have a good teacher that we trust. We need a teacher who is pure in His teachings and in His life example, who isn’t just another “used car salesman” or “send in your money wolf in a preacher costume”. We need to be taught by God and not just by a man.

And then it does little good to be taught by God and to know all of the wisdom, to know what is healthy, to see what is best — of we do not believe it and put it into action in our lives! We can’t just ponder The Way, we must practice it!

Do we treasure wisdom and The Way? Or do we trample it under our feet?

Do we love and search through the scriptures looking for wisdom to grab hold of and see come to life in us?

Do we cling firmly to the Word and the Cross as we had down this narrow path of The Way that is the blessed and abundant life — of do we waste it following the crowd down the broad way that leads to destruction?

We can look around and see the testimony of lives around us that are filled with foolishness versus wisdom. We can look at the proof in history of the lives before us. What evidence and proof will we leave for the children around us?

Lord, help us. Heal our unbelief. Correct our foolishness in mercy and love. Guide us in wisdom and protect us from evil. Amen.

‭Psalms‬ ‭119:1‭-‬2‬ ‭AMP‬
[1] How blessed and favored by God are those whose way is blameless [those with personal integrity, the upright, the guileless], Who walk in the law [and who are guided by the precepts and revealed will] of the Lord. [2] Blessed and favored by God are those who keep His testimonies, And who [consistently] seek Him and long for Him with all their heart.

https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.119.1.AMP

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Consistent not Common

The Lord is good. His mercy endures forever. His faithfulness endures throughout every generation.
Psalms 100:5 GW

Yesterday, we learned about our being persistent in our prayer.

And in discussing our persistence in prayer, we talked about how all good gifts come from God — and how His good gifts are in contrast to the things of this world that are perishing.

We learned that persistence in prayer is about receiving. Consistency is about abiding, keeping, staying. God demonstrates consistency for us in His goodness, mercy and faithfulness to us.

Another way to look at it is that persistence is striving for what we realized we wanted but did not yet have — and consistency is how we demonstrate that we still want it now that we have it. A child might be persistent about asking for a new “thing” but tire of it quickly and move onto something else. But if that enjoyment remains and they consistently use it and enjoy it year after year, it proves itself to be more valuable to them. In fact, the value may not be as conscious to them as they may still be chasing “new things”, but it’s consistent, abiding presence in their life every day demonstrates clearly to others its value.

I might ask myself, “What am I persistently seeking, and what do I carry consistently with me each day that others can see is most valuable to me?”

I have only been awake for an hour this morning, but there have already been thousands of blessings that I’ve encountered this morning:

  • I woke up healthy.
  • The sun rose.
  • The birds sang.
  • My wife woke up healthy.
  • My daughter woke up healthy.
  • Our dogs woke healthy.
  • The power, water and utilities were all on.
  • The hvac had kept the house confidante through the night.
  • Our house is still providing shelter.
  • Our toilets worked.
  • My body successfully relieved itself of yesterday’s waste to make room for today’s nutrients.
  • I have a good job that I enjoy and that challenges me.
  • Technology allowed me to restart a server (planned outside hours restart) early this morning from the confort of my bed in minutes.
  • I am loved by Almighty God the Father whose mercy provided me a way back into His arms through Jesus Christ the Son, and who provides me each day His abiding presence the the Holy Spirit.
  • My Bible App allowed me to consider, contemplate and study The Word this morning.
  • The WordPress App and connectivity across the globe allows me to share the gospel across every nation, tribe and tongue.

I got up this morning, and so many blessings were present like they are almost every morning. It might be easy to overlook them because they are “consistent” in my life, but my familiarity with these blessings doesn’t make them any less valuable or important. Even just one of these blessings not being present this morning would have impacted my day significantly.

My point is that it may take me stepping back and considering the consistency of God’s goodness that this morning’s verse mentions.

It not only reminds me of who He is, but it sets my heart and mind up in a healthy alignment in order to make contact with the day.

Yes, today will have its challenges, it’s trials, it’s temptations, and it’s struggle — but how much deeper and wider and full is the mercy and love and faithfulness of our God in blessing us every day? Amen.

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His Presence

Scripture: “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” Psalm 139:7

This morning, as I read my morning devotional, I wondered and contemplated God’s presence in my life and my own presence and influence in the lives around me.

I am changing jobs and we just officially notified the rest of my team yesterday of my resignation in a wonderfully complimentary email from my supervisor. And I’ll get to attend a celebration dinner next week where six of us will be recognized for work “above and beyond” on a recent project. And many coworkers have reached out to me personally with thanks and well wishes. Each one of these is special and valuable to me because of the relationship that it represents. We have been in each other’s presence daily, serving each other — and even loving each other and building community together.

God goes with me everywhere that I travel. He has been with me at this job, and He will be with me at the next. I am not always aware of His presence and His influence, because many times I get “busy”, many times I get “distracted”, many times I get “tempted”, and many times I honestly just get “complacent”.

And I can get this way about the people around me as well. Sometimes I can “isolate”, instead of “going out and making disciples of the nations”. Sometimes I can get tired of doing heavy lifting and complain that I need help, rather than “bearing my cross daily for the glory of God”. Sometimes I can grumble about what others are or aren’t doing or what things need to change, rather than “being the example and leading the way”.

Honestly, it is only by the power of Christ in me that I don’t consistently get this wrong and make a complete wreck of things. And the goal isn’t just to say, “Yes, I see that I’ve fallen short in this way — thank you Jesus for forgiveness.” Undoubtedly, that is the most important thing to believe and receive when it comes to my own salvation.

But what about others?

What about those around me who need that same salvation?

What about others who are in need of hope and encouragement?

What about their seeing and knowing Good and loving Him and being blessed by His presence?

It doesn’t have to be some big, huge, religious display — listen to them, be there for them, lift the heavy work gratefully to show them the way, encourage them that they can do even more than they see you doing now, reach out to those who you may have lost touch with that might be isolated, seek out those who are in need and could benefit from your presence in their lives. I’m saying these things to myself right now — but also to you my friends. We will have an impact today because of our presence — and our exit from the lives of others will also have an impact because of our presence.

There are two questions:

1) Will our presence be a blessing and our departure be a loss, or the opposite — and why is that?

2) Will our presence clearly demonstrate our faith and the presence of God’s Holy Spirit at work within us and cause others to give God glory, or the opposite — and why is that?

If our life is not generating the type of fruit that we would like it to, maybe we need to truly repent, truly surrender our lives to the Lord, truly trust Him, truly enter into His presence, and be healed, restored, and renewed. This isn’t some once upon a time thing, but is an ongoing, active relationship with the Almighty Living God, made possible by the Blood of the Lamb.

Do we need to enter into His presence today?

Yes we do.

Amen.

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Hear & Obey

The life that pleases God is not a set of religious duties; it is to hear His voice and obey His word.

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

A friend from a church where we used to attend shared a 40 Days of Lent devotional with me via the YouVersion Bible app: 40 Daily Devotionals for Lent

Today’s devotional included this wonderful quote from Richard Foster that was such an encouraging, “Yes!” moment for me.

Yesterday, I had the day off of work, and Mia, my daughter, was out of school as well. So we spent the day together– playing with the puppies at our house — meeting Mandee, my wife, for Mia’ first ever lunch at Ike’s Korner Grill — visiting Milliken to feed the ducks, geese, and lone pigeon — going to Frankie’s Fun Park to play video games and drink Icees — and even grabbing a Caramel Coconut Cookie milkshake at Bruster’s. The rain kept us from enjoying what we thought would be Mia’s first time in the batting cages and from a trip to Carowinds that evening — but we changed directions and headed home to play Mario Party instead.

As my gas light came on, Mia said “There’s a Sphinx station right up here” and I immediately asked “How did you know that?” Because we were in a different town and in an area where I know that she has never been before. I knew that there was a Sphinx station ahead because 15 years ago I used to work in that area. But there was no way that she could have known that herself.

The situation offered the opportunity for me to tell her how I feel like the Holy Spirit whispers things to me that help me so many times in my life that might make people think that I’m wise, or insightful, or thoughtful, or talented — but I think that it is primarily that I’m willing to hear and obey. It is an odd thing to try and explain without sounding a bit crazy — so I just shared it with her and accepted that whether it helped her now or later in life, it is important for me to share with her regularly the differences between religious duties/traditions/dogma versus an active abiding in the Holy Spirit of God.

The same thing happened recently when we had our 1 year old Maltipoo puppy at the vet office after she was very sick, not eating, not drinking water, not urinating, and eventually throwing up blood. I had recently changed the thermostat in my wife’s vehicle. As careful as we had been to insure the dogs couldn’t get to any of the antifreeze, my immediate fear was that she had somehow gotten to some of it. As I lay hands on the little pup and prayed for healing — and then as I pray aloud and sobbing with my wife that God not let my foolishness be the reason for my little girl’s broken heart (if anything we’re to happen to her dog because of my actions) — I let peace wash over me. We took the pup to the vet and as we sat waiting for the blood test results, my wife said, “Maybe it’s pancreatitus?” And when the vet returned later and said Pancreatitus (not antifreeze poisoning) — I asked my wife how she knew that and she didn’t know.

Side Note: Even though the vet was wanting to hospitalize Olive for pancreatitus, we took her home and nursed her back to health, and she is now 100% recovered. Thank you Jesus!

I’m not going to make out like we’re perfect and holy and “more in tune with God” and that’s why we’re blessed. But I’m also not going to ignore the fact that even though we are imperfect — that there truly is something about the Blood of the Lamb washing us clean and allowing us the opportunity to hear and obey that brings us blessing that is beyond what I believe we would accomplish in our own.

“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” 

Psalm 119:15

Lord, thank you for calling us by name. Thank you for speaking wisdom and truth to us. Please heal our hearts, open our ears to hear you, and open our eyes to see clearly that obedience truly is for our best. Help us to hear and obey. Thank you for the opportunity to sing your praise and give you the glory for every good gift. Amen.

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Falling Asleep

Question: What if I fall asleep while praying?

First things first, we need to make sure that we are getting adequate sleep. Our body is the temple of the Lord, so proper upkeep and maintenance of that temple is important. I sometimes overlook that part of the equation because it doesn’t sound all “spiritual” and “wise” to talk about (and it is an area where I need to improve personally) — but it really and truly matters. So please get adequate and healthy amounts of sleep, exercise, water, and food.

Many times when that happens to me, it was peace washing over me that I needed desperately.

But occasionally it can be my body fighting against my spirit having close, intimate time with the Lord concerning issues that really need to be dealt with. In those cases, I find that physically getting on my knees in the floor and leaving my head down towards the floor offers a position where I can sustain it for longer periods of prayer, humility, deep contemplation, and repentance without falling asleep.

In my experience, it really depends on what I need in order for my heart and my thoughts to be closer to His heart and His thoughts.

If I’m falling asleep because I’m not making time to be with God — and I’m just occasionally saying a prayer because I know I should in the morning or evening — I could probably benefit from being more intentional about my intimacy with God. I might need to grow in my attitude towards Him and my hunger for His Word. Once we’ve believed and received the Holy Spirit as promised in the Word of God — these types of groanings to God in periods of dedicated prayer (like we see Christ and the disciples model for us) can be powerful and offer growth, breakthrough, deliverance, healing, and renewal.

If I’m in a hard season where life has me worn, and it is work for me to lift a hallelujah because as I sing my praises, and my hope is that I truly believe these words that I’m singing, and I’m wondering where God is in all of this — that is a wonderful season where I can come to Him with my troubles, lay in His arms with faith like a child, say “I need you Father” and let Him wrap His loving arms around us and comfort us with peace and sleep.

He knows exactly what I need even better than I do. He is also a Good Father who loves me and welcomes me with open arms — I don’t have to make grand gestures or complete certain practices in order to speak with Him. But sometimes I need something practical to wash my hands and prepare my heart to sit with Him again.

Whatever it is that we need in order to draw close to Him, I pray it is granted by God, received by us gratefully, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to impact us and this life. Amen.

Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the Lord. Many people say, “Who will show us better times?” Let your face smile on us, Lord. You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.
Psalms 4:5‭-‬8 NLT

Some great verses to guide your study on intimate conversation with the Lord (aka prayer): https://www.openbible.info/topics/prayer

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Hero

I heard someone recently say that one of the hardest lessons that we have to learn is that we are not the hero of everyone else’s story. It reminds me to not think myself too important or valuable in the lives of others, and to appreciate those that do enjoy me being a character within the book of their lives.

As I read Psalm 22 this morning, I am tempted to internalize this Word of God and try to make it about myself. I read the first few verses and think about how challenging this season of life has been in many ways:

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.
Psalms 22:1‭-‬2 NLT

I even find myself playing the victim in my own mind as I read and contemplate the Word of God, considering what has been hard or troubling or difficult. It’s almost like I think of “heroes” like David in the Bible and I want to interject myself into the story — making it a first person movie about the hero that I could be rather than a revelation to me of my God who loves me.

And when my perspective is self-centered, when I let myself become the hero or the villain of my life — it truly does feel like He doesn’t answer — not because He is far away, but because I am turned away from Him. He is the hero, and we are truly the ones in need of rescue. “He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

As we continue reading Psalm 22, it should become evident that this story is not about us. There are lines in this Psalm that we can associate with and contemplate and understand — but some verses go far beyond our common experienced. Not many of us can see all of our own bones or have had our hands and feet pierced and our clothes gambled for. We also begin to realize that this is not just another Psalm by David telling of a dark time in his own life where he had to rely upon God yet again to see him through. No, this is clearly a Psalm inspired and written long before Jesus’s birth to tell of the Messiah to come, and for us to look back at in awe and wonder.

It is good that there is much to the Word of God that I can understand and comprehend through shared experiences and commonalities — because even though God is Almighty and His ways are higher than ours, He reaches down from heaven in beautiful ways to be close and not far — that is the very point of the Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, Lord, come be the hero of our story — and help us to not be the villain of anyone else’s story today. Help us to love and serve each other and bring YOU honor and glory. Amen.

Associated Reading:

  • Psalm 22
  • James 4