For a long while now, we have been wanting to have a discussion at our church about anxiety.

This past Wednesday night we did. We titled it “Anxiety and Courage.” You can watch the entire talk here.

Psalm 94:17-19 has been a massive help to me in my own personal struggle.

“If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would have seen lived in the land of silence.

When I thought ‘my foot slips’, your steadfast love O Lord held me up.

When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”

The message had three points to it:

1. Many Cares (We care about many, many things.)
2. Mighty Courage (God gives strength. We need mighty courage to trust He will strengthen us in our struggle.)
3. Merciful Christ (There is a living God, a powerful Holy Spirit, and a resurrected, living Christ, and He will help you.)

God can help you deal with this struggle. God desires for us to depend on him. Often times he is making us depend on him. Sadly, you are doing so many things in your life without even thinking of God. No prayer. No faith. Just doing it in your own strength. Thinking that you can handle it … until you can’t. Then you have anxiety. And then what do you do? Well, you were never meant to be independent from God. The faithful Christian life is lived fully dependent on God’s grace and mercy – on the merciful Christ. I pray this post and that talk help you in this area.

Thanksgiving Day is a holiday to give some thanks!

It is not “Be Thankful” day. It is “Give Thanks” day.

There is a difference between being thankful and giving thanks.

Both are good! But, one is looking to let someone know that they are thankful.

One is thankful internally, and the other is thankful externally. It lets the other person know. It gives thanks to the other.

Each year about this time, I come back to the Luke 17 passage where Jesus heals the 10 lepers. There were 10 men suffering with leprosy. Ten men that cried out to Jesus for mercy. There were 10 men that Jesus miraculously healed as they went to show themselves to the priests.

There was only one of those 10 that “when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks.” (Luke 17:15)

I think it is reasonable to think that all ten were thankful. As they walked on their way and their skin was healed, I am sure they were happy and smiling, maybe even high-fiving each other that the painful, itchy, rashy, skin disease was gone. It is hard to imagine that they weren’t elated and thankful. But there is a difference between being thankful and giving thanks.

Only one of the ten turned back and went to give thanks to the one that had healed them. Only one let the healer know that he was thankful for the mercy and the healing. After they had cried out for mercy, only one went back to let the merciful one know he was thankful for the mercy shown to him.

Giving Thanks is special! Giving thanks is powerful.

This Thanksgiving week and holiday season, lets be thankful! But lets also give some thanks to who we can.

A thousand hours on the turf,
They say practice makes you perfect,
Means a thousand hours of car rides,
This dad will say it’s worth it!

Car rides are where the day unfolds,
20 minutes one-on-one,
Not sure of what the future holds,
One day the rides’ll be gone.

Some times it’s listening to music,
They controlling the aux cord
Sometimes it’s cheer or homework
And other times it’s about the Lord

Sometimes it’s friendship & life advice
Sometimes it’s really deep
And sometimes I drop her off,
Park the car, & then I pray and weep.

A thousand hours of car rides,
Of Giving your child a lift,
Yes, Traffic and in a hurry,
But parenting’s a gift.

Car rides are where the day unfolds,
Especially if you’re talking,
And one-on-one with your child
Sure does impact life’s walking.

Chances are you have heard someone say recently – “Make it make sense.”

There seems to be a lot in life that doesn’t make much sense. Life, at times, is hard to figure out. No doubt about it, life is hard. We regularly feel that we need help with understanding.

Well, I want to share a short, little prayer with you to help you progress in life.

“Lord, give me understanding.”

Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm in the Bible. It has 176 verses. In Psalm 119 we find this brief prayer “Give me understanding.”

In fact, remarkably, this expression is mentioned five different times in Psalm 119.

Psalm 119:34 “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.”

Psalm 119:73 “Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.”

Psalm 119:125 “I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies.”

Psalm 119:144 “Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.”

Psalm 119:169 “Let my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word.”

God is a good God and a Father in heaven to all who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. God longs to lead us and bless our lives. May we believe that He will give us understanding and that He will make our lives make sense.

May God give us understanding to know Him and His ways!

May this simple prayer become a blessing to you and your daily life as you begin looking to God for understanding. May we pray often “Lord, give me understanding.”

One of my most favorite passages in the entire Bible is John 10. Of the seven “I Am” statements in John’s Gospel, the “I am the good shepherd” statement is the most meaningful to me. Yesterday I preached this passage at FBC Fairdale, and you can watch/listen to the whole sermon here.

Jesus declares “I am the good shepherd.” He actually says it twice (10:11, 10:14).

The people of God had/have a bad history of having unfaithful shepherds (leaders). The Old Testament is full of messages from God against those untrustworthy shepherds. But we also have God promising that He will come and be a good and faithful shepherd to his people. That is fulfilled in Jesus Christ! He is the good shepherd of God’s people, the sheep.

From the John 10 passage, here are 4 Characteristics of the Good Shepherd:

1. HE CARES FOR THE SHEEP
   Jesus cares for his people. He contrasts his care with the lack of care that is shown by the “hired-hand” shepherds. They leave. They flee. They don’t really care for the sheep. Jesus is committed to his people forever.
2. HE KNOWS THE SHEEP
   Jesus knows each and everyone of his people. Here he says that he knows them and they know him. He knows them by name. He calls them by name. His sheep recognize his voice and follow him. There is a real and close and personal relationship between Jesus and His people.
3. HE IS IN CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER
   This is a fascinating aspect of the passage. While the majority of the chapter is the shepherd/sheep metaphor, there are several mentions of Jesus and His Father. Verses 15, 17, and 19 all mention Christ and His relationship with the Father. This is incredibly helpful. The listener/reader, as well as the believer, is to understand the Shepherd/Sheep analogy in light of a personal relationship with God the Father which is only possible and available due to the obedience and sacrifice of the Son, Jesus Christ. The Good Shepherd is the Lord and Savior, and He brings us in to a loving relationship with God.
4. HE DIED FOR THE SHEEP
   In a rather emphatic and redundant way, Jesus says 5 times that the shepherd dies for the sheep. In verses 11, 15, 17, and twice in 18, he says the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. It is remarkable! It is especially remarkable when you consider that very rarely does an actual shepherd have to give his life for his flock of sheep. But Jesus is not teaching us about agriculture here. He is teaching us about life. People can know God, and people can be lead by God. Jesus is the Shepherd and the Savior.

When it comes time for you to deal with your sins and seek forgiveness (hopefully now and today, do not delay), you need a savior.

When it comes time for you to die (hopefully not today, but it could be any day), you need a savior.

When it comes time for you to live, I mean truly live, you need a shepherd – a leader.

Jesus Christ is both – the Shepherd Savior! Trust Him today!

While I wish I could be with him today, I wanted to re-post some of the things I have written about him in the past. What an honor it is to be his son!

I hope you will please take the time to read each of these.

• I originally wrote this in 2012. My dad is my hero.
• I originally wrote this in 2010. I wanna be like my dad.
• I originally wrote this in 2011. I love my dad. (Snowman pic).

Over these summer weeks, I have been spending some time thinking about God being a shield. After initial reflection, it really is remarkable to think that God can be shielding you.

A shield is a defensive weapon. It is a piece of the soldier’s armor. It is used to block/guard/protect anything that is coming at you. God is a shield.

In the Bible, the word “shield” is used over 70 times. That is quite a bit!

Proverbs 2:7 says “he is a shield to those who walk in integrity.” Here in this book of wisdom we are taught that God protects those who are walking in His ways.

Psalm 3:3 declares “but you, O Lord, are a shield about me.” Here we see the writer of the Psalm crying out to God in hope declaring that God is His shield. The Psalmist finds strength in knowing that God protects him.

In Genesis 15:1, we have God telling Abram that He is his shield. Amazing! “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield.” For all the benefit to being taught that God is a shield, and for all the benefit we find from declaring to God that He is our shield, there is an extra level of blessing and confidence from hearing God say to His child the comfort that He is a shield to them. Just absolutely remarkable!

Genesis 15:1 is the very first time in the whole Bible that we find the word “shield.”

Again, “shield” is found over 70 times in the entire Bible. Do you know how many of those are in the New Testament?

Only one!

Only one time in the whole 27 books of the New Testament is the word “shield” used. This is fascinating to both the child of God and the student of the Word of God. It reminds us that there is Old Testament language that does not necessarily carry over to the New Testament. “Shield” is one of those examples. The believer loves the OT passages that speak of God being a shield. While that truth is certainly still true in the NT, now, and always, we just do not see that language used in the NT much.

The only instance of “shield” in the New Testament comes from Ephesians 6:16 and it says “In all circumstances take up the SHIELD OF FAITH, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.”

Many recognize right away that this is the passage on the armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18 is one of the most instructive passages to believers on how to live by faith in the world. Many Christians have these verses memorized.

Here the New Testament teaches what the Old Testament teaches – that God is a protecting God to His children. He is a shield to them. But it says it in a fortifying way. The Christian has a “shield of faith.” In other words, believing God is what protects us!

The evil one attacks. He has schemes. Life is hard. We wrestle with opposition. We are called to be strong and to stand firm. We need protection. We need a shield, and we have one – God. We are to believe Him!

No matter what, if one will believe Christ, they will be protected by God the shield! What a comfort!

A Peaceful Proactive Summer

Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial kickoff to summer. After we got through with the scary storms, we now have some beautiful weather. This is ideal weather to enjoy the beginning of Summer.

There are various ways to approach the hot and sunny summer months of June and July. Some people like to do less, enjoy the down time, and embrace the slower pace. Some people like to fill up the calendar with fun and adventurous activities that they only have time for during the summer. However you approach the summer, we all know that longer days, heat and humidity await us. 

So how will you spend it? Psalm 90 reminds us “Lord, teach us to number our days” And so even in the summer vacation months we want to “serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100) and “make the best use of the time.” (Ephesians 5)

I do not want to tell you what to do this summer, but I do want to tell you lovingly to have a peaceful proactive summer. 

Here are 3 encouragements for you and your household as you advance into June and July:

1. NO DISTRACTIONS – FOCUS
   Be proactive in determining now what you want the summer to be like. Of course, we are open and flexible and spontaneous, but there are some parts of our faith that require us being proactive. The summer can be such a time of strengthening and inspiration if we allow it.
   With the extra time, there is ample opportunity to read the Word and to spend time in prayer. Distractions will try to keep you from that. Focus-in now on how you want to grow in your faith this summer.
2. NO DIVISIONS – UNITE
   Divisions are all around us. Things that cause divisions are all around us. Weaknesses in ourselves that cause divisions will be visible this summer. We need to be proactive to be peacemakers and those who strive for unity. Distance and isolation are sneaky in creating divide amongst believers. We must be focused on staying connected and doing our part. May we walk by faith to being a key piece to us being a united church.
3. NO DISCOURAGEMENTS – ENCOURAGE
   Of course, it is wishful thinking that the long summer would not have any discouragements. Bad days and moments are bound to come. But the hope here is that we would be proactive to minimize discouragements in the faith and in the church. One way to do this is to build people up. We all need encouragement. We all love being encouraged. Life-giving interaction with a fellow brother or sister in the faith is truly so good! May we counter discouragement with encouragement.

I am hoping and aiming for me and my family to have a peaceful proactive summer. We have a calendar filled with events, but we also have lots of slow and easy days. 

We are looking to Jesus and aiming for no distractions, no divisions, and no discouragements. And we are believing that we need to focus, unite, and encourage! 

May God give us all a peaceful proactive summer!

I love a good pep talk.

I’m always up for a confidence-building, head-lifting, mood-shifting, perspective-changing motivational speech. 

Who doesn’t like an emotional and passionate Inspiring message! I particularly like it when it is fiery. Several come to mind right now from sports history or from classic movies! Michael Jordan’s halftime message in Space Jam. Tim Tebow’s postgame speech in 2008 after a loss to Ole Miss. Currently, I really like this one about being the shark of the ocean.

But for as much as I like to hear those messages, I have learned that they don’t often change me. I mean sometimes I am inspired, but often times I just like it and stay mostly unchanged. 

I am learning that it takes something more substantial to really impact me. I have learned that God’s Word is the very thing to move me. I have found that nothing makes such a difference in my mindset and motivation than God’s truth. 

It’s not about what I can do. It’s about what God has done. It’s about what God is doing. When I hear and when I am reminded what God is doing not only does it settle me and level me, but it strengthens me! Moreso than anytime I’ve ever been told by myself or by somebody else what I can do.

So I go through seasons of latching on to certain Biblical phrases and passages that  are helpful for me. 

Currently these 2 passages of Scripture have been very helpful to me:

Psalm 94:17-19

“If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would have soon lived in the land of silence. 

When I thought ‘my foot slips’, your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”

2 Corinthians 12:9

“And he said to me “my grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

There is hardly a day that goes by that I do not recite those 4 verses to myself. They work on me and in me. 

God uses His words to speak life in to my life. 

That is a good pep talk!