Forever Present

You were called by God to do the things God called you to do. You don’t always get to call it. And sometimes that is hard. And sometimes that is lonely. But I have found that Jesus is always there – wherever you are, even when you feel withdrawn and like you are nowhere at all. He is there.

And that is the thread… Jesus is the thread that weaves throughout our experiences, seasons and moments, that feel so painful, and joyful, and fragmented and robust. He is always there.

Whether you were called to be in your family, or you were called to a certain vocation, called to be the strong and silent, the loud and pioneering, or you were called to turn pain into compassion… the calling can feel lonely at times. But Jesus is always. Jesus is everywhere. Jesus is. He is with you, wherever you find yourself, plant yourself or end up by accident.

Look for Him. He is always there – wherever you are right now… in your lowest moment, your highest moment, in the darkness or in the light. Look for Him. He is omnipresent: present everywhere.

I feel a little low this week, but that is okay, because I know He is here. And His presence turns the low to high and the dark to light. Just knowing He is there makes anywhere okay.

Finding Our Way Home

The Lord is always calling us back, reminding us of His great love for us. He is a just God, and He is a good God. He knows there must be atonement for sin, that our sin debt must be paid. Yet, He cannot handle, He cannot fathom, living apart from us. He grieves deeply when we walk away from Him, even when we wander. As our Creator, He knows we are created, even wired, to be in relationship with Him.

We as parents become desperate when our young child wanders away. They are looking for freedom, yet we know what lurks around the corner, and so we desperately desire to help them, to protect them, because we love them.

God feels this way about us: He loves us, wants to help us and protect us, because He sees the pitfalls and the pain that lies around the corner. He sees if our ways are leading to death, and He so desperately wants to intervene to stop us from sabotaging ourselves.

Yet, in His love for us, He has given us free will. He does not want to control us. He wants to love us and be in relationship with us. Yet, we have a choice: To walk hand-in-hand with Him or to set off on our own.

So, He calls out to us again and again. He speaks to us in a still, small voice, guiding us. He speaks to us through nature – His creation, through music, through others. He speaks to us so clearly and directly in His Word, the Bible. He ever desires to be in relationship with us, now and forever.

I’m reading the Bible, in the book of Hosea, about God’s people, the people of Israel, walking away from Him. After guiding, leading, protecting, providing for and loving them, they have walked away from God and chosen their own projects over Him – lifeless, silver idols. You see a desperate Father who sees His children are headed for death – the just consequences of their choices, but He cannot bare it, though they have turned their backs on a relationship with Him. Yet, He does not give up on them, and He never gives up on us.

Eternal death was their consequence for sin, and so this loving Father determines to conquer even death for them. He says, “I want to free them from the power of the grave. I want to reclaim them from death” (Hosea 13:14).

Instead of death, what they deserved – what we deserve for our sins, He says, “I will cure them of their unfaithfulness. I will love them freely… I will no longer be angry with them. I will be like the dew to the people of Israel. They will blossom like flowers” (Hosea 14:5).

As a just God, He knows their sin must be rectified, yet His loves leads over anger, and He brings a cure: The cure is love. And so, He sends love into the world to rectify wrong. Love conquers. Mercy triumphs over judgement.

God sent Jesus to conquer death, to take on the consequences of our sins in our place, so we could be made right with God and spend eternity with Him. And Jesus, God in the flesh, the light of the world, the very person called “Love,” in His love, laid down His life by death on a cross to restore our brokenness, to make us right with God.

This is love.

This is God.

This is Easter.

Love has a name. His name is JESUS.

Jesus is calling you. Your Father wants to spend eternity with you. He changed it all, conquered it all, with you in mind. In His love, Jesus, the one who IS Love, died for you, rose for you and lives for you today. Will you live for Him, with Him, for eternity? Not one thing separates you from this opportunity.

If you want to receive this gift, the removal of your sins and eternity with God in heaven, as well as His love, protection and guidance in this world, whisper (or shout) this prayer…

God, I admit I have sinned. I need you. I surrender my life to you. I can’t do this on my own. I cannot live this life as you desire. I pray that you would help me. Jesus, I acknowledge that you are Lord, that you are way – the only way to the Father. I receive you as the Savior of my life. Save me. I invite you into my heart and into my life. Please forgive me for my sins. Heal me. Please help me. I want to walk with you, God. Please show me how. Please heal me and guide me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Shifting Sand

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

Proverbs 19:21

What are you building your life on? What is your foundation? What are you revolving your dreams around? Where do you put your focus? Is it worth it? Is it worth a life? Is it worth your life – your time, your energy, and your fixation? The decisions we make, usually with time limitations, are based on where our focus lies.

It feels easier, clearer, and more pragmatic to make decisions based on what we see, what we can touch, what is right before us. Yet those “real,” tangible things are most breakable, most perishable, and fragile.

Grasp your glass of water or that vase on your table. Holding it brings a sense of confidence. Our skin tells our nerves to tell our brains this is real, and we feel a strange sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. Yet our skin itself, our bodies, they too, though seen, felt and tangible, are also breakable, vulnerable and one day will perish. Those things seen, that are physical, that our eyes can gaze upon, are actually most fragile, and should be trusted least.

But, ah, how tricky it is to trust and to have faith in those things we cannot touch… Yet, most solid, most reliable and trustworthy are those things our hearts and our spirits know that our skin cannot perceive: The power of God at work in our lives, the sacred bond in marriage, or with your child… These are the most reliable foundations for our lives.

Though our skin, brains and nerves trick us into believing the here-and-now, the things most obviously perceived, are most reliable, our souls, our very spirits, know the truth… that our focus, our lives, our dreams, our hearts are safest in the hands of God. And yet, His ways often feel unknown to us. The most trustworthy of marching orders, though often given just one at a time, are found in relationship and conversation with Him.

Though we seek to control the course of our lives, such as physically gripping and following a map, all things will perish but what God orders, what He commands, what He calls into being. Like a man’s footsteps wash away with the tide, so do our plans, made apart from God. Yet, no one can stop what God has planned, and why would we want to do anything outside of His will?

Trust Him today. Though you feel out of control, just putting one foot out in front of the other, we are truly safest when we make God our foundation, when we put our trust in Him and focus our lives around Him. I am reminding myself to trust today, to take one step at a time in faith, following His lead. Though I feel scared, I know there is no safer place to be than beyond myself and in His great big will for my, for our, lives.

An Inflow of Power

“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” – God

2 Corinthians 12:9a

If you feel wounded, broken, even disqualified, gripped by fear, or shamed by failure, know that your weakness in this moment actually puts you in the most powerful position you have ever been in. How can this be?

Unlike people, God is not repelled by our weaknesses. He does not identify our area of weakness, label it a red flag, and then walk away. He is attracted to our weakness. When He sees we are weak, vulnerable, or hurting, He draws near to us. When we lean into the Lord in our brokenness, He comes in to those tender places, bringing healing and restoration.

When we invite the Lord into our situation, He takes the reigns of our broken life and cleans things up as they ought to be. And there is no more powerful, healthy, and whole position to be in than to have the power of God motoring our steps, our thoughts, and our plans. After all, He created us and planned every day for us. He certainly knows where and how to apply His power in our lives to strengthen and heal us in the most effective, God-honoring way possible. That is what we need most.

And when we sense HIS power at work in us, we are stunned by His overwhelming goodness and fulfilled. He fills in the emptiness, those gaps, with healthy things – hope, peace, joy, and good desires. Why would we want it any other way?

So, let us not hide from Him in our weakness, but welcome Him in so He might do what only He can do, and replace weakness and emptiness with the fullness of His power, radiance and love, that pours out in us, through us and out onto others.

Prayer

Lord, I am weak. I often feel vulnerable, afraid, and alone. Please come in and fill my emptiness with your power. Have your way in every area of my life. I ask you to fill the gaps, the holes, and heal the hurt. Please strengthen me by your glorious might. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Gift of Pardon

“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

Mercy, def. compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm

In our anger and fear, we jump to conclusions, point our finger, and judge. Yet, consider this: Our anger, striving, jealousy, and desire for revenge, can cause us to see things through a tainted lens, distorting the truth. At any time, because of our sinful nature, we may actually be the one in the wrong – and only us. In our fear of being slighted, we may become the oppressor in need of mercy.

Though we say we should not trust others, even other brothers and sisters in Christ, the truth is, we should never fully trust ourselves. We are sinful, emotional, and reactive, and in need of God’s mercy all the time… “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Therefore, it is so very important that we, “speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:12-13). And, oh, how we are in need of mercy every, single day!

Along the way, sometimes in embarrassing ways, I have learned how wrong I can be and how much mercy I require from the Lord and those around me. I have learned the importance of seeking counsel and a Godly sounding board to better process and understand a situation. I have learned the danger of processing on my own, in my limited, sinful view, by seeing the harm it can cause to relationships. I have come to see how easy it is to feel right and justified in anger. My, what a strange phenomenon that is to me! Our anger and adrenaline cloud our view and suddenly make us feel like a genius. Meanwhile relationships are damaged.

Through my experiences of judging others and myself through a skewed lens, the Lord has taught me ways to judge others more rightly: I have learned to judge a person by their fruits, not by my emotions. And I have come to see that this takes time, experience, and observation, not simply raw emotion. I am still learning to catch myself in this. I must remind myself to put this into practice when I begin to feel myself quickly judging a person or situation.

“Judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement” (James 2:13) So, I will sow mercy because mercy is granted to those who sow it. And I need mercy at any given time, even in moments when I don’t yet realize I need mercy or how important mercy is to me in that situation.

Let us sow mercy bountifully, recognizing we may be wrong at any given time, and we may not learn that until later, when we come down from our emotional high or have had time to reflect. Take into account how many times in the past you were wrong when you were so confident about being right in that moment. Think about the number of times God showed you mercy and bailed you out from the dire consequences your behavior deserved. Consider what Jesus did to redeem you from the pit of despair and the pit of hell because of His mercy for you, for us.

The mercy Jesus has shown us in the here and now and for eternity is so vast, so great. The mercy, compassion, and love He has poured out on us is a gift, nothing we deserve. And, if you can’t in your emotion remember all that has been given to you when you did not deserve it, at least consider walking in love and showing mercy as a gift to the person on the edge of the cliff.

“Be devoted to one another with brotherly affection, give preference to one another in honor” (Romans 12:10).

Let’s give each other the benefit of the doubt and lavish mercy freely, knowing we need that mercy just as much. And let us remember that it was mercy and love that led Jesus to the cross to forgive our debt of sin, sickness, pride, anger, and shame. His love and mercy showed us preference over His perfect, sinless life here on earth.

Mercy and love led Jesus to the cross. May mercy and love guide us through our day. May mercy and love lead in our interactions, in our relationships, and in our decisions. We must lean into the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts, our minds and our emotions to do so. His love and mercy are available for us and through us when we submit our lives and surrender our attitudes to Him.

On His Throne

Turning on the TV or powering up your device might be enough to turn your stomach these days. The culture stirring around us feels negative, even corrupt, and this contentious environment can lead us to grow disappointed, even insecure. As I have processed my own responses to these tumultuous times, I have come to identify the root of my fear. Perhaps you can relate:

When the corrupt seemingly prosper, we can believe that God allows evil to slide. And when we do that, we grow insecure, believing that sovereignty is actually with fickle, fallible humans – not God.

Have you felt yourself growing unsettled, insecure, and on edge? I want to encourage you, encourage us, not to withdrawal and hide away. Though identifying trustworthy people feels insurmountable, we were created to connect, and we need each other now more than ever. Here is why we can do so with confidence:

God will take care of it – all of it. He will not allow evil to slide. He is still on His throne. He is a just ruler. He will not allow the good to dwindle or the corrupt to prosper. Just trust, wait and watch. He is the good, just, sovereign God He has always been – better and more just than our minds can fathom.

Your life does not depend on the frailty of men. God is still in charge. Have confidence: He has the world and your situation in His hands. You have not slipped from His grasp. “The arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear” (Isaiah 59:1).

You can give the Lord your disappointment, your fear, your insecurity, and all of your burdens. He will shoulder them all and sustain you so you can live free and walk in peace.

The Bible says, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay; the bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you” (Psalm 55:22-23).

As for you, the righteous, you do not need to worry. He hears you, and He will not allow you to be shaken. He will sustain you. Therefore, you can carry on in peace and live your life.

As told to the exiles in Jeremiah 29:5-7, I encourage us to do today: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

The enemy uses intimidation tactics to keep us from prospering. Corruption comes from him, and he is working to rob us of blessing in our lives — the blessing of confidence, peace, and connection, with others and with God. We cannot allow him to intimidate us into a hole. Instead, we can rise up and move forward into our future with hope and with confidence, knowing the Lord is more powerful, in control, and is fighting the battle for us!

You have a choice.

To say these are challenging times feels like an understatement. This has been quite a month, and most feel its gravity, especially compounded with these past 10 months. Today I have something on my heart to share with you that seems best said. You can hear this in my video. More important, though, are the Bible verses I mention within this video.

Only the Lord can help us through these difficult times, and He is able! His track record is solid. We can trust Him. These are foundational truths from the Bible for us to stand on, giving us solid ground on which to place our feet:

1) The One who is in you – God – is greater than the evil in the world, and He has overcome them!

Verse: 1 John 4:4-6

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.”

2) Be at peace. Take heart. Jesus has overcome the world.

Verse: John 16:33 

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – Jesus

3) Because the Lord is with you and in you, you are free!

Verse: 2 Corinthians 3:17

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

4) Focus on the Lord. He is sovereign, and He is on His throne above any man or woman.

Verse: Psalm 119:45-47

“I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, for I delight in your commands because I love them.”

5) God always provides a way of escape out of temptation and trouble!

Verse: 1 Corinthians 10:13

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

Remember: Though the enemy would like you to believe that your back is against the wall, you always have choices!

Starting Fresh

We all want 2021 to look different. As we prepare to enter 2021, seeking to start afresh, it is important we recognize the power we possess through our own self-management. We are not entirely powerless to that which is happening around us.

Though many things are happening to us, which are out of our control, some are, unknowingly, happening in response to our behaviors, reactions, body language or withdrawal. We have formed defense mechanisms to cope with the shock of 2020. And what we project both influences the way we are perceived and the way we are received by those around us.

As we move into a fresh, new year, with a desire for things to change, a desire to turn over a new leaf, we… you… too must personally discard the things of 2020. You must shed the dead skin – the person you became to defend yourself, or in some cases, to offend others, in response to 2020.

To get your old, healthier self back, or to realize your 2021 self, you will have to relinquish 2020 weapons that illicit 2020 responses as people respond in similar ways to similar behaviors. And, if you notice that numerous people are treating you in a similar fashion, one that you do not like, you may want to take time for self-reflection, as you have power to change what you project and how you are received.

Self-Reflection

• What are you projecting?
• What weapons did you take up in 2020?
• How can you now release them to experience more peace in 2021?

This year will be different, and it starts with each of us. Though some external factors and extenuating circumstances may remain – at least for awhile, we can change our perspective. We can change how we respond or react to people and situations. We can take a moment to pause and breath – some time to sit back and weigh the situation with a right scale. And, as a result of these personal changes, we can experience more peace and healthier relationships in the new year.

I pray for more peace and blessing for you in 2021.

No Cowards

Though I have always loved the Bible, if I’m honest, I was a little afraid to read the book of Revelation. I mean, things get really real in there. It tells us what is next. It also delivers some pretty stern warnings. Would it feel too heavy, too eternal for my finite mind? Would I understand it, know what to make of it? Would I take it out of context? Would my questions exceed others’ willingness to go there? Would I become fixated on what I read?

Well, it turns out, it is very, very good to be fixated on the Bible, if we are obsessed about anything. And more recently, at the encouragement of the pastors I work with, I have begun diving into Revelation. Whereas, before, I had barely dipped my toe in the water.

So far, what I have learned is, it is really, really important we go there… that we dive in, that we strive to understand, that we continue pondering and chewing on it, and continue asking our questions. After all, don’t we want to know what comes next after this life? Don’t we want to know what Jesus says to His bride – the church? We need to know. And it turns out that we gain great confidence in knowing.

Yesterday I read, and reread, and reread Revelation 21. So many things struck me in it — the beauty of the New Jerusalem, when Jesus comes back and inhabits the earth with us; that there will be no need for a tabernacle because God will be here with us, as our ruler; that the light there radiates from Jesus, the Lamb; and we will have no need for night or closed gates.

In all of the beauty and splendor of this chapter, a single word really stood out to me, one that is causing me to wrestle. The word is, “cowardly.”

In Revelation 21: 5-8, God, “He who was seated on the throne,” says,

“’I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’

“He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.”

Stunningly beautiful! He then continues and says,

“‘But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

What? The cowardly were lumped in with murderers, the sexually immoral, liars and idolaters? It kind of startled me in this day and age that serves up anxiety for every course. As someone who has silently, privately, struggled with anxiety and struggled with taking a bold stance on some seriously hot topics, it really got me thinking…

We must rectify our fears, like we do our sins, before our Father, for the cowardly, like murderers, will not inherit all things from God. They will not receive from the fountain of the water of life or walk streets of gold. Instead, the cowardly – those who lack courage, the spineless – shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.

Fear is not just a typical symptom of living here. Fear – that which creates cowards, shrinking in the background – is actually our foe. This foe cannot just wound us with a bad day, loneliness or sweaty palms. It cannot just bribe or blackmail us. Fear, the foe that works to attack us daily, carries with it eternal ramification. Fear, which comes from the devil himself, strives to knock us into the lake of fire for eternity.

Fear isn’t just a passive, silent irritant in each of our lives. There is nothing innocent or personal about it. It is our enemy, and it must be fought.

Fear distracts our focus from God. It impacts how we see the world and others. It taints what we think, how we feel, what we say, and how we interact with those around us. Not only is fear an attack that must be managed, it is a distraction – a wall, that keeps us from the good and the Kingdom work we are called by God to do.

I will no longer just manage fear, nor will I make agreements with it. I am removing it and laying it at the altar, the feet of Jesus, and claiming freedom for 2021. Jesus died for my freedom, and I am picking up the forgiveness and healing He gives.

As we prepare for 2021, I want to invite you to join me and others in laying our burdens at the feet of Jesus. This year will be different. This year will be one of freedom in Jesus’ name.

In God’s Will

What is God’s will for your life? “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

I don’t plan to be miserable. I won’t allow it, in fact. I have been labeled gullible, under-researched or uneducated by the hope I carry. I am aware, researched and educated. (I’ve been doing this media and politics thing professionally for years.) I simply will not allow this world to rob my joy, my hope, or my gratitude. I will not throw my pearls to the swine. The trash situations of this world will not steal the peace Jesus fought for me to have.                       

I will seek joy. I will seek the Lord in prayer – more than any person or source. I will continue to thank Him, filled with wonder and gratitude for what He has done in my life. This culture will not keep me from giving God the praise He deserves. Joy, prayer, gratitude, hope, wonder, love – always.

I am kept safe in my Father’s arms even as the world quakes, shakes and shutters. My inexplicable hope, peace and confidence comes from Him. I am in Him. I am marked as His. I never did nor do I now belong to the world.

Therefore, we will enjoy Christmas as before… Our children are only this age once. I am only 40 once. This is life. This is my life that God gave me, and I intend on living it as a form of worship to the creator for giving it to me. Live. Joy and peace are available to us in His presence.