Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts. - Jeremiah 15:16

What if I told you there was a cure for some of the most common issues you are facing today? Depression? Anxiety? Anger? Most of us wouldn’t believe in such a wonder-working drug and indeed, no such drug exists. But, there is something that does exist that has been proven to help with those issues and many more, it’s called reading your Bible.

Now, I know that’s not as marketable as most drugs are, but it also doesn’t come with that long list of “side effects” mentioned at the end of every drug commercial. Bible reading is is one of the most neglected spiritual practices in Christianity and yet it is one of the most impactful for those that do it.

In fact, a report from The Center of Bible Engagement revealed that reading the Scriptures just four days a week found that:

1. Feeling lonely drops 30%
2. Anger issues drop 32%
3. Bitterness in relationships drops 40%
4. Alcoholism drops 57%
5. Sex outside of marriage drops 68%
6. Feeling spiritually stagnant drops 60%
7. Viewing pornography drops 61%
8. Sharing your faith jumps 200%
9. Discipling others jumps 230%

Here’s a link to the study, if you’d like to see more: Click Here

What is it about reading the Scriptures that help us so much? I think it has to do with who God is and how he has chosen to reveal himself to us. The Apostle John chooses to describe God in a very interesting way in his gospel. He describes Jesus as the Word of God. He obviously could have described him as the Tree of Life or the bright Morning Star, both of which would have been true, but he chose to describe him as the Word.

I think John did this to show us one of the primary attributes of God. We serve a God who speaks. It’s a part of his identity. This one fact sets him apart from idols who can neither speak nor hear. Our God does both! As Christians, we believe that God has spoken to us through his written word and when we read it, we are feasting on God himself. In other words, because God is called the Word and we are reading His words, through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, Scripture reading helps us become more like Him.

If we are honest though, if you’ve never read through the Bible, it can be very intimidating, so I wanted to offer you some practical suggestions. Many people will push you to read through the Bible in a year. I think those are great programs, but what I have found is that many people stop about a month or two in once they hit Leviticus.

My suggestion is to start in the New Testament. Read it through from beginning to end. It’s an easier read and not nearly as intimidating as trying to read through Leviticus a month into your journey. Now, I want to be clear, Leviticus and Numbers and the entire Torah is great to read and certainly God’s word, so I’m not saying neglect it forever, but to get you started, it may be helpful to come back to that as you have matured in your faith.

Another helpful suggestion made to me year’s ago was to just simply skip over the parts that are hard to understand and come back to them later. Sometimes it’s easy to get bogged down in parts that are highly symbolic or just plain hard to read and skipping that section for a time so as not to slow down your progress. If you are a completionist like me, that’s a hard pill to swallow, I want to finish the whole thing, but as I tried to read through the Scriptures the first few times I realized that there are many parts that were hard to understand and not easy to read. I skipped those and came back to them once I had a better understanding of the Bible as a whole. My encouragement to you is to do the same.

For those that are seasoned Christians, perhaps it’s time to shake up your Bible reading plan? There are multiple different plans out there. Look around and see what might interest you. In the Bible College, we are on a four year plan. We read through the entire New Testament and a quarter of the Old Testament every year. This “slowed down” version helps encourage the student to spend time ingesting what he is reading and applying it to his or her personal life.

Another great way to read through the bible is the chronological method. This method puts the narratives of Scripture in chronological order and that can be a new and refreshing way of reading the Scriptures if you have never tried it before. Here’s an example of that style of plan: Click Here

Which version of the Bible is the best one to buy? Whichever one you will read! Seriously though, most modern translations are great. My recommendations are ESV or NIV. I like the ESV for the more literal word-for-word translation model and I like the NIV for readability. If you are looking to study it, the ESV is the better choice, but if you are looking for the easiest to read, it's definitely the NIV.

I know there are many distractions that can stop you from reading, but taking the time to read your Bible, to get to know the Word of God is truly life changing and I don’t think you will regret it. Many people have gotten saved just by reading the Scriptures. God’s word is alive! There have been times in my own life where my daily bible reading was exactly what I needed for that day. So my encouragement (to take a line from Nike) to start the year is to “just do it!”

“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything.”
- Tim Keller

We live in a country that is dominated by corporations. So much so that churches have taken on this identity. Churches that are “successful” are run like corporations. Everything is perfect, right down to the pastor and his family.

If success is based on the number of people attending a church, then it would seem that the corporate model of running a church is the way to go, but I don’t think that is correct. In the past few years, more than a few mega-pastors (the most “successful” in this line of thinking) have fallen into various sins that have rocked the church and caused many to leave the church after feeling disillusioned.  

Perhaps numbers aren’t that important after all.

In our church, one of the core values is Names Over Numbers. We want to know you. If one of the big points of Jesus’ teachings, as well as those of his disciples later, was that you should love your neighbor, perhaps we need to adopt a different view of how churches are run and what success is, in America.

Success cannot be how many people are in your auditorium once a week; otherwise, Jesus was a failure. When the crowds got too large, he left town. In fact, during his earthly ministry, he mainly spent his time with a group of 12 guys and a few women. He changed the world with a very small group. Jesus may have been onto something.

This is not to say that Jesus’ method was without its problems; we are looking at you, Judas, but it’s safe to say that Jesus cared more about the people around him than trying to gain an audience. He most certainly didn’t do anything for the “likes”.

When we say Names Over Numbers, we mean that we know you. You are fully known. You cannot be fully loved unless you are fully known. I think true churches and loving pastors are those that know their people. They know their names. They know what’s going on in their lives. They know their issues, their strengths, their failures, and their hearts.

Finding a community like this is extremely difficult because it rests on two main ideas - first, the people in that community must be transparent. They cannot hide themselves from people within the community and those that are visiting the community. They must seek to have an “others-centered” mentality. The second main idea is that those in the community must be open. They must be welcoming, in other words. There must be a way for others to join that community.

In order to be fully known, you have to be willing to share who you are to others. In order to be fully loved, you have to be willing to surrender your fear of man and enter into deep relationships with others.

Names Over Numbers means that to us the most important thing is the people, not the number of those attending or the money they can give. We don’t make people sign “Tithing Agreements” or anything like that. We know that if you truly love God and love people, you will give because of the community you have found is worth giving into.

It is well past time to get rid of the “celebrity culture” that pervades the modern church. Most of the pastors and teachers that are being idolized are more interested in the number of people watching online than whether Jim is there or not. To be clear, I’m not against big churches. Churches that are being biblically faithful can be found in all sizes, but there is a commonality in all of them - they know you. If you are not known, you cannot be truly loved. Find a church where they can know you, and you will find a place where love abounds.

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
- John 13:35

“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:16-17

One of Satan’s most common attacks is against a person’s identity. He loves to make you question what God says about you. He wants you to doubt God. He wants you to question God’s love for you. He wants to cause division any way he can and he most often uses identity to do it.

In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve. Adam was created in the image of God, meaning he was a reflection of who God is. This is important because when Satan starts his attack on the first couple, he gets them to question what God said.

“Did God really say…” Satan starts his attack with. But notice he moves into identity. He starts with a false assumption that is really an attack on identity. He tells Eve if you eat the fruit you will be like God. That is a lie! They were already like God! They were created in his image. He was subtle in this attack.

When Jesus arrives on the scene, he is baptized by John and we get this beautiful identity statement, “this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus, before he had done any ministry, was affirmed in his identity. God said he was pleased with him, not because of what he had done, but because of who He was!

With this public affirmation of His identity, Jesus is then directed by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Satan of course starts with his tried and true identity attacks. The very first words he speaks to Jesus is, “if you are really the Son of God…” then turn these stones into bread. Satan is trying to get Jesus to question his identity!

Perhaps he thinks, well this worked with the first Adam, it will work again. He indeed must believe this because he doubles down and starts with the same statement in his second temptation. Jesus doesn’t fall for it.

This was seen by Satan so he changes his tactic on the third temptation, but to no avail. Jesus was secure in who he was and what God had given him, so the temptations were quickly overcome.

These passages are good learning lessons for us as well. We all struggle with identity. Am I loved? Am I good enough? Does God really think of my has his child? Deep down we are all struggling with deep issues of identity and Satan consistently attacks us in this area. This is his wheelhouse!

I think the key to overcoming this type of attack is fairly simply, but often forgotten. Jesus was secure in his identity because of what God had spoken over Him. We can be secure in our identity when we remember the words that God has spoken over us!

We are his children. We are loved by him. We are safe and secure in His loving arms. He not only likes us but he adores us. He sings over us! God’s love for us never ends! It’s a fount that never runs dry!

When we feel attacked in our identity, we need only to remember the words that God has spoken over us. We need to recall the Scriptures. Pull out your Bible and read what God has said over you! Stand firm, resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Prayer - Father, thank you for loving me. Thank you for speaking words of affirmation over me. Thank you for calling me your son. Thank you for saving me. You are an amazing father and I love you. Amen. 

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.”
Luke 2:1-4

For most people their lineage isn’t that important. Most of us don’t know who our ancestors are past our great-grandparents and some do not even know that far up the line. For the messiah, it most certainly mattered.

Everyone knew the promise made to David, that a descendant of his would reign forever, so it everyone expected the Messiah to be born as a descendant of Israel’s great king. Luke confirms this for us, as does Matthew by giving us a listing of their family tree.

Now, you may be asking, why is this important. Why is it important that Jesus came from David? There are several reasons, but I think the most important is that it shows that God keeps his promises.

All throughout the Old Testament, God is busy making promises. While some of them are fulfilled in the lives of those to whom He promised something, others are not fulfilled for many years. The promise to David wasn’t fulfilled for a few hundred years, but it shows us that God is faithful.

David had to look forward with faith and trust God to bring about his promises. Nothing that David did could help this come about. David would be long dead by the time his promises were fulfilled. The only thing David could do was believe.

Whenever God makes us a promise our job is to simply believe. It’s to put our trust in Him. To have faith. This is sometimes one of the most difficult things to do. I think of the parents who have a wayward child, God is saying “have faith.” To those who have lost a loved one, God is saying, “Trust in me.” No matter what you are going through, faith is the thing that you need to hold onto. Always believe, always trust, God is good.

The Apostle Peter encourages us that God is not slack when it comes to his promises. He doesn’t do things on our time, but He will always be faithful to His word. If He makes a promise, you can trust that He will bring it to completion.

The hard part is always in this in-between time. We wait. We watch. We are looking for God to move, but think about how many generations come and go between David and Joseph. All of those generations were thinking the same thing, maybe God will keep his promises in our generation. Maybe we shall see the coming of the Lord.

We are in that same position, awaiting the second coming of our savior. We look to the east, wondering perhaps today will be the day that God will roll back the sky and call us home to be with Him forever. We know that He is faithful. We know that He is true. We just don’t know His timing and His timing is perfect.

No matter what you are looking for or waiting on this season, just remember that God is faithful. He will do what He promised. He will bring it to pass. Keep the faith. Don’t give up. He is good and He is faithful.

Prayer - Father, you know its difficult to be in the waiting. We are looking to you to keep your promises. Lord, we remind you of the promises you have made and we ask for you to bring them about in your timing. We trust you. Thank you Lord for being faithful, even when we are not. In Jesus name, amen. 

“And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Luke 1:46-55

I heard a song many years ago, a sarcastic tune that says, “Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble, when you are perfect in every way.” And for most people, I think this song has a lot of truth in it.

The way we look at ourselves matters. The way we see ourselves, whether we are self-aware or not matters. When we look at ourselves, can we judge ourselves clearly? Pride is an invisible enemy and it destroys our ability to accurately judge ourselves.

What amazes me about Mary, the mother of Jesus, is her ability to describe herself as humble in her song. She has a self-awareness that few possess. Typically, if we are bragging about being humble, we are likely the opposite.

Mary in her song though sees that God has saw her in her humility. Now, how could she say that? How could she be this self-aware? I think the philosophical answer might be along the lines of she knew herself, therefore she knew she was humble. I would say that is hogwash.

Here’s what I think Mary actually knew here, she knew God. She knew who He was and when he moved in her life in a mighty way, she realized who she was in this story. Think about it, God has always moved among the humble. The Bible is littered with stories about God using the lowly, the humble, the poor, the overlooked to do great and mighty things.

Mary was just another vessel God was going to use to bring about His purposes on the earth. Mary realized that when God came to her and announced his plans, she was just another Moses, Gideon, David, Ruth, Esther, Hosea, etc. She was chosen not because she had offered God anything, but because she had nothing to offer and she knew it.

I think her knowing the character of God gave her confidence to sing this song. She wasn’t being prideful at all, she was declaring for all to hear, that God gives grace to the humble and she was a recipient of that grace.

This leads me to ask the question, how well do you know Him? Do you know Him at all? If God moved in your life, would you be able to recognize it? Would you know it was Him because you have studied His ways?

The author of Hebrews said that people have entertained angels without knowing it, I would assert that I believe people have had encounters with God and didn’t know it as well. I believe that so many people are ignorant of His ways that when He moves in their lives, they take credit for it!

I’d like to encourage you to learn the Lord’s ways. Learn how He moves in our lives and the lives of others. Study Him. God is moving in your life, look for it. Humble yourself and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. There is no greater time to learn about Him than today.

Prayer - Father, help me to humble myself and see where you are moving in my life. Help me to eliminate the pride in my life so that I might see you clearly. Amen. 

“In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
Luke 1:39-42

Christmas is about the spreading of Good News. The Angel visits Mary and shares good news with her. Mary, in turn, visits Elizabeth to share good news with her. Elizabeth also has good news of her own.

This is one of the best seasons of the year to share the Good News with people. When you look at studies, they say this time of the year yields the greatest amount of stress, anxiety and depression. Indeed when some people look at the holidays, they are not filled with joy, but they are saddened.

Perhaps they have lost a loved one this year. Or perhaps it reminds them of years gone by that will never come again. Whatever the case, lots of people really struggle this time of year. That means there is a lot of opportunity for Christians to bring love and joy to people who desperately need it.

When Elizabeth got into the presence of Jesus, she was filled with the Holy Spirit. This caused her to cry out praises to God and pronounce a blessing on someone else. When we get into the presence of Jesus today, we too can be filled with the Holy Spirit. The infilling of the Holy Spirit does something that is incredibly important that we don’t want to miss.

The Holy Spirit in us produces something. The Bible calls it fruit in Galatians 5. It’s the necessary reaction to having the Holy Spirit inside of you. For those that are battling depression and anxiety, being filled with the Holy Spirit is the answer.

The Apostle Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is things like love, joy and peace. The world needs more of that, especially at Christmas. What better time of year than Christmas to have more love, joy and peace in the world? But this all starts with us being heralds of Good News.

Without people who are willing to share the Good News, the world will continue to be a place that is not very hospitable to those who are suffering. Without heralds shouting from the mountaintops what Jesus has done, we will continue to see the pain and anxieties of people boiling over this time of year.

Christmas is the perfect time of year to share the gospel with your friends and neighbors. If you are uneasy about sharing, pray for boldness. Ask God to give you boldness and courage to share with your friends and neighbors. Ask God to remove any obstacles keeping them from receiving the Good News with joy. Ask Him to fill you with love, joy and peace during this time to share with those around you. After all, you can’t share what you don’t have.

If you are feeling uneasy about what exactly to share, remember this - God has given you a testimony. He has done great things in your life. Share those things. Tell others what God has done for you and invite them to come to Him. Invite them to repent and put their trust in Jesus. Remember, its not your job to convert them, it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to do that. It is your job to be obedient and share. If you are faithful to do your part, God will be faithful to do His, though you may never see the fruit of it, just be faithful.

Prayer - Father, help us to be more bold this holiday season to share your Good News with our friends and family. Lord, even if they are reject you and us, we want to be obedient, so help us to do what you have asked us to do. Lord, please give us all peace and joy this holiday season, even in the midst of our suffering. Help us to rejoice and be glad for all that you have done for us. We love you and give you praise. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

"And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”
Luke 1:38

A lot of ink has been spilt trying to decide why Mary was chosen to be the mother of our Lord over and above every other woman to be born in the course of history. This question has haunted scholars as they try to determine what made her so special. I will tell you my opinion and its rather simple - she wasn’t special, she was open.

I think one of the most powerful lines ever uttered is found in this passage - “let it be to me according to your word.” I think this is why Mary was chosen. I think this is the same line that God wants all of us to speak. This one sentence is the heartbeat of what God wants for all of us, pure openness to Him and His Holy Spirit.

Why do I think this is so important? A couple of reasons. The first one is that it shows our willingness to surrender to Him. One of the common themes in the Scriptures is this battle we fight against God. We try to fight against what He wants to do in our lives because we know how much it will cost us. Now, this isn’t a war or battle that we can win, but we try to fight it nonetheless.  

Mary didn’t against God in this passage, she surrendered to Him immediately. He was asking a lot of her, but she didn’t flinch. She laid down her dreams, her life, her own ambitions for what God wanted to do in and through her. Mary said, let it be to me. She was giving God permission to do as he wanted.

The second reason I think this line is so important is that she attached her surrender to God’s word. She didn’t just surrender willy-nilly to the Lord. She surrendered to His Word to her. It was a specific word, aimed at Mary and involving the rest of her life. It was a promise of joy and heartache.

This word the angel shared with her was a word from God and those types of words can bring about miracles and power and change in our lives. When God speaks, things change. The question is whether we will tie our obedience to His Word or not. When God speaks, we need to obey. Our obedience should be to His Word to us. We should not only hear it, but we should obey it fully.

That’s what Mary did. Now, Mary wasn’t being passive in saying it like this, she was engaged in what God was doing. It wasn’t like she was saying, “I guess so.” She was giving God full permission to do his work in her. She was completely open and ready for what God was going to do in her life. That's why I believe this is one of the most powerful statements in all of Scripture, "let it be to me according to your word."

This is a display of ultimate trust. Mary surrendered her life into the hands of the one who created her. She put her trust fully in Him. This should be all of our attitudes. We should desire God to move in our lives and we should be open when He does. Our heart attitude should echo Mary’s powerful statement. Lord, let it be unto me according to your word.

Prayer - Father, we desire for you to move in our lives and to work in our hearts. Help our posture towards you to be one of receptivity and openness. Lord, we want you to work in our hearts and in our lives. We surrender to you. Help us Lord to follow you. In Jesus name we pray, amen. 

“And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”
Luke 1:35

I have this terrible habit of self-reliance. I tend to think if that if I want something done right, I have to do it myself. This is simply not the case. I do some things well, but for many things, there are others that do it much better.

This isn’t just confined to my daily life either. I tend to have this unconscious idea ruling my spiritual life as well. I find myself trying to do spiritual things apart from God. It’s a terrible idea, but somewhere deep inside of me, I think I can do it and God has to constantly remind me that I can’t. I cannot do anything of value apart from Him.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, questions the Angel who is bringing her good news. She is wondering how she will bear a child when she is a virgin. This is a logical question and the angel answers it, but also answers an unspoken question.

The angel lets Mary know that The Holy Spirit will come upon her and that is how she will come to bear a child. Then the angel says something else that is interesting, he says that the power of God will overshadow you and therefore the child will be called holy.

In other words, for something to be called holy, it needs the Holy Spirit to produce it. Men and women do not create holy things, only God can produce holy things. He can do it on his own, or He can do it in conjunction with man, but it always involves God. He must be involved.

This is a principle found throughout Scripture. Man, apart from God, is not holy. Man overshadowed by God can be holy. Our holiness must be imputed to us from Him. The Scripture uses the word “overshadow” in this passage which means to completely envelop. This is similar to baptism language, which is immersed. The idea is the we are completely covered by God.

Mary was completely covered by the Holy Spirit and this produced a child that would be called holy, the Son of God. Some want to worship Mary because of her part in this, but that would not be wise. Mary’s part was simply being open to what God wanted to do in her life. Our worship should be centered on God and God alone.

The power of the Holy Spirit is what truly produces something worthwhile in this passage. God’s Spirit and power are at work in the life of Mary and it produces something she could have never produced on her own. It’s only by the Holy Spirit that Mary produces this child. Holiness begets holiness.

Often we become prideful and think that we can produce great things apart from God. We think when good things happen in our own lives, it’s the work of our own hands. This couldn’t be further from the truth. All that we have, all that we produce, comes directly from the hand of God. The Holy Spirit produces the good things in our lives.

Prayer - Father, thank you for producing good and holy things in our lives. We recognize that its not by our will or by our might that these things have come to be, but only by your power that we have anything. Lord, thank you for loving us in a way that has produced amazing fruit in our lives. Amen.

“But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Luke 1:30-34

Mary was given the greatest news that’s ever been told and what's even better is, she was invited to be apart of it! God sent an angel to her to let her know of the coming messiah and the part she was to play in it.

There is just one problem. Mary has her eyes on the wrong thing. When told that she will give birth to a son and he will be the Son of God and that he will rule forever, she seems to forget who she is talking to, because she asks, how can this be?

In other words, she’s looking at her own limitations. She is a virgin, how can she give birth to a child? She’s got her eyes on herself. She’s focusing on what she can contribute to the situation, whereas God is not looking for her to contribute, He’s looking for her openness.

For a moment she has forgotten that the God of the Universe, who brought all things into being, can do anything he wants. If he can create a man from the dust of the ground, he can certainly create life inside of her womb.

Too often when God comes to us, we start looking inward for what we can contribute or a way that we can help Him, when the only thing He is asking from us is to trust Him to do it! He comes to Moses and Moses gives him his limitations. I’m slow of speech, he says. He came to Mary and she says this sounds impossible because of her limitations, she's not married and she's a virgin.

God is not looking for our excuses, He is looking for our “yes.” What excuses are you giving God right now when it comes to your life? I’ve given Him every excuse in the book. I’m too young, I’m too old, I’m not smart enough, I’m not very likable.

Every excuse I present, I’m expressing my own limitations. The funny part is that I think God chooses us for some tasks precisely because of our limitations. He chooses us because He knows we can’t do it on our own and if He does it, He will get all of the glory for it.

When God comes to us like this, our job is not to look inward, but to look upward. Look to Him! He is the one who is going to do this miraculous thing. Only God could create life in Mary’s womb. Only God could put a king on the throne of David who will rule forever. Only God!

This is the gospel in the nutshell. We couldn’t save ourselves, so God came to us. He came as a baby through a virgin and died on a wooden cross for our sins. He did what we couldn’t do. He wasn’t limited by our limitations and He never will be, so be open to what God wants to do in your life! After all, He’s the one that is going to do it!

Prayer - Father, thank you for redirected our gaze outward. Our eyes are fixed on you this holiday season. Whatever you want to do in us and through us, we submit ourselves to you. You are faithful and you alone can overcome any of our limitations! Praise God! Amen. 

“And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Luke 1:30-33

A popular saying today is “faith over fear.” God wants us to overcome our fears and embrace the truth found through faith in Jesus. During this advent season, we see that just like Mary, we must face our fears if we are to see God move in our lives. Mary is approached by an angel with good news, but the angel senses something in Mary, he senses her fear, so his message to her starts with “do not be afraid…”

Often when God is going to do something new in us or through us, it causes fear to rise up in us. It causes us to experience anxiety about what may or may not happen. In our heads, thoughts start to run out of control. In our previous devotional, we saw that Mary was “greatly troubled” at the angels message (v.29).

Whenever God wants to do something new with his people, the first thing we have to overcome is fear. Fear seeks to rise up in our hearts and paralyze us. It’s a common tactic with the enemy to try and scare us into doing nothing. If he can create enough fear in us, we will stop in our tracks and sometimes run the other direction. The prophet Jonah tried this. He let fear drive him away from God and he ended up in the belly of a whale.

The angel here is trying to reassure Mary. There is no reason for fear, for you have found favor with God. Now, the opposite is also true in this case. If you do not have favor with God, you have plenty of reasons to fear, but this is not the message to Mary. She had found favor with God, so there is no reason to fear.

When God is doing something new in you or through you, its because he is showing you favor. I believe he does nothing in you without showing you grace first. He knows your heart, he knows that you are not perfect and in order to move in your life, He is going to have to show you favor first.

Mary was shown favor before she was impregnated with Jesus. She was favored before she had done anything for God. Keep that in your mind. Too often, we think we achieve the Lord’s favor by doing something for Him, but what we actually see in the Scriptures is that God shows us favor first, then we do mighty works for Him. We serve Him from a place of favor.

In order to serve Him though, we first have to overcome the fear. Perhaps Mary, as a young girl from a small town, with little money, was not worth anything to God. Perhaps she felt shame for this. She likely had many of the same thoughts and feelings about our lives and our past as we do, so the fear that she was dealing with here may have been the fear of rejection.

Mary may have felt like if she ever came face to face with God, she would be rejected. The angel assures her this is not the case. You haven’t been rejected, you are favored! What a powerful thought! God isn’t rejecting us, he is embracing us. We do not need to fear being rejected by Him, He is coming to us and for us.

This is the message of Christmas. God came down from his throne on high, not to reject us, but to rescue us. He came to save us. Do not be afraid of Him, He is showing you his favor, his grace. Embrace Him as you would a baby boy.

Prayer - Father, as we enter this season of advent, help us to put away our fears of rejection. Help us to embrace you fully with no fear about our relationship. Lord, we know you love us and that you sent your son to us, to save us. Thank you for the gift of Jesus. Amen. 

“The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.”
Revelation 9:20

Does God want a relationship with me? This is a burning question in our hearts. I believe that there is a burning desire inside of us to be in relationship or in community, but specifically we yearn to be in relationship with God.

We are all lonely and we are seeking some sort of companionship. Many people seek to fill this hole with other relationships. I’ve seen men and women go from boyfriend to boyfriend or girlfriend to girlfriend searching for someone to fill that hole of loneliness, but it never gets filled. Some try to fill this hole with their job or career. They spend all of their time devoted to a company only to find out in the end, their work was in vain.

In the book of Revelation, we see that plagues wipe out a third of mankind and yet, those that are left will not turn to God. This really gives us a view into our hearts. Even in the face of death and destruction, we are searching for something to fill that hole other than God.

In our passage above, it says people will not turn from worshipping demons and idols. Atheists and other non-spiritual people would not agree that they are worshipping demons or idols. They think they are not worshipping anything, but that is where the lie is found. It is a lie to believe that just because you are not worshipping the one true God that you are not worshipping anything.

You were created for worship. You were created with this hole in your heart that demands that you worship. The question is who or what will you worship? Will you worship something you have created? Will you worship a demon who promises you wealth and satisfaction or will you worship the God who created you?

Many people choose to worship idols that have no real power. They are not living at all. They cannot see, hear or walk, the Apostle John says. Yet, people choose to worship these idols of over God. Why do they do this? Because that hole inside of them exists and it demands attention. It demands that you worship something. You were created for worship.

Why does this hole exist in the first place? God created this hole in us, this holy desire or longing for true relationship, but we are meant to find the answer to it only in Him. When we search for the cure to it in other places, we are only left wanting.

So does God want a relationship with you? Absolutely. He longs to be in a relationship with his creation. He loves the people that he has created and he wants to fill that longing found deep inside their soul. So today, if you hear his voice calling to you, turn to Him and repent. Put your trust in him and forsake the demons and idols you have been worshiping.

Prayer - Father, I turn to you. I know I have a proclivity to worship other things. I repent and return to you. I want you to fill that longing in my soul for relationship. I want you to be the center of my life. Thank you for saving me and bringing me into right relationship with you. Amen. 

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.”
Luke 1:26-29

Many of us struggle with God’s goodness. In fact, its very common for people to attribute their own father’s shortcomings to God. We look at our father and think, since God is described as a father, he must be like our dad. And while God uses the term father to describe himself, this is only a metaphor for who He is. He isn’t just like your dad as far as his flaws, but he is like a father to us in how he loves us.

I know personally I have struggled to truly receive the love of the Father. When I think about my own sinfulness, I tend to think God is not as good as He is described in the Bible. Mary must have been somewhat like me. When an angel visits her with good news, she is troubled.

The angel says to her, you are favored and the Lord is with you. These are the same things he says to each of us, by the way. We are favored or shown grace by God and He is with us. He doesn’t leave us or forsake us. Mary hears this and it troubles her, so she tries to discern what type of greeting this was.

Now think about this, you have an angel appearing to you (most of us could stop right there and just be in awe that an angel would appear to us) and you are troubled. Mary was receiving good news, but it clearly upset her. Have you ever been troubled by the good things in your life? Perhaps something good has happened to you and your first thought was something along the lines of, I doubt this will last or something bad is coming, good things like this never last for me!

You may be able to relate to Mary. She hears this good news and she is not just troubled, but it says she was “greatly troubled.” This wasn’t just something that caused her anxiety, it was really bothering her. She hears that God favors her and he is with her and she simply cannot believe it. She cannot accept that God would love her in that way.

This really is the story of Christmas. It really is hard to believe that God would love us in this way. When we think about how God inserted himself into history to save us, its hard to accept. It troubles us. If we are honest, we are greatly troubled by it. Who are we to receive His grace? Who are we that he would descend from his throne to be with us?

Grace is very troubling indeed. We don’t deserve it. We cannot earn it. Yet, God gives it away. He gives us that which we don’t deserve and Christmas is the perfect picture of God’s grace. It troubled Mary and it troubles us, but the end result is the God is good to us. It may trouble us, but his goodness overcomes our own lack of understanding.

Prayer - Father, thank you for sending your Son to us and giving us that which we do not deserve. Our hearts may be troubled at thinking about your goodness, but Lord help us to receive it in spite of that. Help us to be like Mary who said, “let it be unto me according to your word.” Amen. 

As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in rebellion.”
Hebrews 3:15

One of the biggest arguments among entire denominations of Christians is whether God still speaks today. Does He communicate with us personally or does He only communicate with us through his written word?

The God of the Bible most certainly speaks through his written word. No true Christian disagrees with that statement. Where they do disagree is on whether he still speaks in other ways. I believe one of the biggest lies of the enemy today is that God no longer speaks to us. And while, I think it’s an especially wicked lie today, I do not believe this is a new lie.

Satan has been lying to people for years and making them feel like God has abandoned them. He wants them to think they are alone and that God does not speak anymore. But one of the biggest differences between God and idols in the scripture has to do with - seeing, hearing and speaking.

The idols that people worship cannot see you. They do not know you are there. They also cannot hear you. You may cry out to them, but they cannot answer. They also cannot speak. You may wait and listen, but they cannot speak to your heart and encourage you.

The God of the Bible is not like the idols that people worship. He can see you. He knows you deeply and intimately. He knows the number of the hairs on your head. He hears you. When you cry out to Him, He answers. He hasn’t left you and He will not forsake you. He also speaks.

God is always speaking, the problem is most of us a not listening. With the distractions of this world, it’s no wonder we cannot hear Him. Between social media, television, sports, work, drugs and alcohol, it’s no wonder our senses are deadened to his voice. These are things that may not be bad in and of themselves, but they work to “harden” our hearts.

The author of Hebrews, quoting the Old Testament, tells us not to harden our own hearts. The connection here is that if we harden our hearts, we will not hear the voice of God. God is trying to speak to us, but because of our hard hearts, we cannot hear him speak.

In fact, the author is telling us that when He speaks, if we do not listen, that is us hardening our hearts to Him. We have a tendency to hear His voice and ignore Him or to completely disobey Him. Perhaps, you have heard the Lord speak to you in the past and you decided to ignore Him. Maybe He was telling you to stop doing something you ought not to do and you decided you wanted to continue in that sin. Today, your heart may be hardened because of that disobedience.

If that’s you, you may be asking, how can I get my heart soft again? First off, you need to repent before Him and cry out to Him. Ask Him to give you a soft heart again. Ask Him to speak to you again. He is good and gracious and full of mercy. He will speak to you again, but this time when He does, do not turn again to your rebellion. Listen! Listen to Him! Obey His voice. Do not turn away.

If you hear His voice today, your heart will soften. It will be even more open the next time He speaks to you. God’s voice is heard best by those with soft hearts.

Prayer - Father, soften our hearts today. Help us to obey you when you speak. We want to be sensitive to what you say. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and soften our hearts to be obedient to you. Lord, we love you and worship you. Thank you for speaking to us today. Amen. 

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt;”
Jude 20-22

In his short letter, Jude packs a lot of powerful ideas. One of the most powerful, is the idea of praying in the Holy Spirit. Now for someone who grew up in a Cessationist Baptist background, I read this and my “Spidey-sense” starts tingling.

What does Jude mean by this? Well for starters, I think we have to say that he means something other than normal prayer. He could have just encouraged us to pray and no one would have argued, but he asks us to pray “in the Holy Spirit”.

I believe he is encouraging the readers of his letter to actually pray in tongues or in their heavenly prayer language. What makes me say that? Two reasons, its biblical and there is an encouragement to do it.

I believe Jude felt the need to encourage us in this practice because it edifies (builds up) the person doing it. Building yourself up and praying in the Spirit are linked in other places as well, but namely in Paul’s famous defense of praying in tongues in 1st Corinthians 14.

“The one who speaks in tongues builds up himself…” Paul says in 1 Cor. 14:4 and then he continues a little later in verse 14, “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays…”

Paul here connects praying in the Spirit with building yourself up. These two ideas for Paul were connected ideas. He contrasts this idea in his passage with the gift of prophecy by saying that prophecy is better in a church meeting because it builds up the entire body.

As I think on this, one of the biggest hindrances for me personally is that praying in tongues sounds a bit crazy. It sounds like someone praying in jibber jabber. But, I am reminded that God wants us to walk in faith. He wants us to exercise our faith and that includes even in prayer.

When we pray in our prayer language, we are praying in faith. It takes faith to pray to God and not know what we are saying. We are trusting that the Holy Spirit in us knows what to pray and we are submitting ourselves to his prayers. All of us would agree that the Holy Spirit certainly knows better than we do what to pray.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27

One of the main postures of prayer, I believe, is weakness. We must come to God humbly and weakly, knowing that we have no power to answer our own prayers. We cannot do what we are asking God to do. When we come into prayer this way, I believe it honors God. We are declaring our utter dependence on Him!

Paul says that the Spirit helps us in this. He sees our weakness in prayer and comes alongside of us to pray for us and through us. Sometimes this comes out as groaning, but other times it will be our prayer language. Either way, the result is the same, the Spirit which knows the mind of Christ, intercedes for us according to God’s will for our lives.

This is a big deal. We should know that if God is praying for us, great things will happen. His will is going to be accomplished through us and in us as the Spirit prays. I think this is why Jude encourages us to pray in the Holy Spirit. It’s a practical way for us to honor the request in the Lord’s Prayer - “your will be done on Earth…”

Prayer - Father, increase my faith to pray in the Spirit more often. I want your will to be done in me and through me. Give me the courage and faith to pray with you. Help me to submit my will to yours. We love you Lord. Amen. 

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
2nd Timothy 1:6-7

Whenever Christmas approaches, my kids get really excited. The mailers come in and the kids immediately grab them and start making their “wish lists.” They spend hours staring at the different toys and combing through the magazine looking at items they want to receive as a gift. Excitement fills their heart as they daydream about receiving the one thing they want the most. 

On Christmas morning, the kids open these gifts and the joy in the house has reached its highest level of the season. There is wrapping paper everywhere and the kids are running around the house playing with the gifts they just received. 

If you were to fast forward a few weeks though, a sad thing happens. The gifts they longed for, the gifts they were so excited to receive, now lay buried under a pile of clothes in their room or lost at the bottom of their closet somewhere. It’s sad to think a gift that was so precious to them just a few weeks earlier, now sits neglected. But, occasionally, that gift will find its way back into the hands of one of them and that excitement will swell up inside of them again. It’s an interesting cycle to watch. 

When I was an early Christian, I read Paul’s encouragement in 1st Corinthians 14 that we should desire the spiritual gifts. It created a similar excitement in me. I wanted to receive everything God had for me. I prayed diligently that God would give me these gifts. I spent hours studying these gifts and trying to discern which gifts God would give me.  

He answered those prayers. He gave me several spiritual gifts and I used them for his glory. It was a wonderful time. I remember the joy I felt praying over people and watching God move in a spectacular way. It was like Christmas. 

Sadly though, over the years, I treated my gifts the same way the kids treated theirs. I neglected them. They sat unused, gathering dust. Occasionally one of them would pop into my life and I would be reinvigorated with joy because of it, but on the whole, I was neglecting the gift that God had given me, the one I had prayed so diligently for. 

I can only imagine that Timothy went through the same thing. God had given him some gifts as well and due to the pressures of life, he had started to neglect his gift. Paul writes to him to encourage him. He wants Timothy to dig through the closet of his soul and find the gift that God had put into his life and he wants him to fan it into a flame. 

We go camping quite a bit and when the campfire dies in the night as we sleep, it doesn’t die all the way. If you use your fire stick, you can poke around in the ashes and you will find embers that are still burning. They aren’t producing much heat and there is very little smoke coming from them, but there is still a little fire in them. If you can get some oxygen to them, by blowing on them or fanning them, you can get your fire started again. 

This is what God wants each and every one of us to do. Examine the embers in your heart. What gifts has He given you? In what ways has He given you unique tools to do His will that you have let die off due to the pressures of life? Find those things, and fan them into a flame again. Find the gift He has given to you and dust it off and start to use it again. Pray diligently again for Him to spark a fire in your heart. Stop neglecting the very precious gift that He gave you! He wants you to catch fire again. He wants you to burn for Him! The gift He has given you is meant to be a blessing to you and to others. Do not let it get buried by the stress and anxieties of life or stamped out by fear. God has a plan for you and He wants you to use the gifts He has given you to bless others. 

Prayer - Father, help me to fan into flame the gift you have given me. I know that you gave me this gift for my own benefit and to bless others. Help me to use that gift for your glory. Fill me with the fire of the Holy Spirit to go out and do your work. In Jesus name, amen.

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:1-3

In these last days, I believe there is a call from the Spirit of God to his church to find unity. Paul’s plea to the church in Ephesus was that they “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Over the past 2000 years, we have failed to maintain that unity. The church is fragmented and divided. Many denominations are divided even within themselves. The Southern Baptist Convention is constantly infighting and the Methodist churches are no better.

Both of these denominations say they are fighting for truth and that there can be no unity apart from truth. And while I agree that the truth is important, there needs to be a distinction made there - not all truth is the same. Some truths are well within the bonds of unity.

I say often that there are open-handed issues and closed-handed issues. The closed handed issues are the important truths. We must hold on to these things with all that is within us. If you don’t believe in these close-handed doctrines, you simply aren’t a Christian. This would include things like the virgin birth, the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection three days later and Trinitarian doctrine. These are all critical beliefs.

But what I’ve found is that most churches aren’t arguing on these types of issues, they are splitting and dividing over the open-handed issues. People will leave a church over everything from the carpet color to speaking in tongues. And not only will they leave the church, but they will declare that the people who still attend there are not even Christians because of their disagreement.

This is a far cry from where the Apostle Paul stood. He saw disagreements in the church and he pleaded with them to find unity. Even in the church in Corinth, as messed up as it was, Paul declares, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:13).

The only exception to this unity that I can think of was found in the church in Galatia where people were undermining the gospel by trying to add circumcision as a requirement to being saved. Even then Paul wanted them to have unity around the truth of the gospel, not around the false teaching.

Today, I believe the Spirit is calling for unity in the church. This does not mean we will suddenly get rid of denominations or that we will see the end of arguments involving baptisms or predestination, but it can mean that we will be more willing to work together as a body, recognizing that each church is a part of the body of Christ and He loves them.

As we approach these last days, I think we will see more and more unity within the church and those that are false churches will quickly fall away. Jesus is coming back for a bride without spot or wrinkle, but that doesn’t mean her theology will be perfect, but it does mean she will be unified around the truth and living in peace together.

Prayer - Father, unify your church. Lord, help us to overcome our differences and find unity in your Son. We love you and give you praise, in Jesus name, amen. 

My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.
For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Proverbs 4:20–23

Can words heal people?
 
You bet they can.
 
When speaking of healing and our desire to become healthy and whole people, we need to look at the importance of our words. The Bible says that our words are filled with power - the power of life and death is found in the power of the tongue.

In the above passage from Proverbs, Solomon says that his words can bring healing to their flesh and life to those that find them. This is a powerful statement. The right words spoken to a person could bring them immense healing. That's an amazing thought!

To get the whole picture here though, let's first look at the destructive power of our words. Through the power of our words, we can tear other people down, we can paralyze them in fear, we can degrade, belittle and bully. We can cause death by the power of our tongue.

If you don't believe me, just look at our political landscape today. Both sides are guilty of "mudslinging" which is a fancy way they are talking dirty about their opponent. This year, The Democrat Party has emboldened would-be assassins with their rhetoric, which is shameful. And virtually no one knows what a candidate actually stands for, only what they stand against.

This is a big picture example, but we are guilty of the same malice with our speech. We talk bad about neighbors, family and friends. We speak things out loud that shouldn't be said in secret. We put words to emotions in harmful ways, while ignoring the proper way to deal with things. Our words can truly be destructive.

But...

It doesn't have to be that way.

If its true our words are destructive, how much more true is it that our words are healing? We have the power, with our words, to build up, to better, to bless, to encourage. We can shape the future into a beautiful place just by changing the way we talk.

When you take the time to build someone up, you are bringing life to them. You are bringing health and wholeness to them. This isn't just in theory, it's been shown scientifically. There is a great power in our tongues, the question is will we use it wisely?

Prayer - Father, help us to see the power that you've given us. Help us to use our tongues to build others up, to encourage them, to bring life to them. Help us to put away the slanderous talk, the hurtful speech and the violent rhetoric. Father, heal our nation, families and friends through the words that you give us. We love you. Amen.

“Oh that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.”
Malachi 1:10

Recently I heard someone describe sacrifices as “the way we draw near to God.” In the Old Testament, they would sacrifice an animal on the altar in order to draw close to God. In the New Testament, we are instructed to offer a sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15).

In this passage in Malachi, the priests are offering defiled sacrifices to God. These burnt offerings were called, “useless fires”. They were not acceptable to God. Useless sacrifices are beneficial to no one. God will not accept them and the person making the offering has now killed off a valuable animal.

They were called “useless fires” because these were sacrifices that God was not asking the people to make. He was looking for them to repent of their sins. The Israelites at this time were divorcing their wives, even though they had made a marriage covenant with them and God.

The Israelites were trying to offer sacrifices to cover their sin, when what they needed to do was repent. They needed to return to their wife and honor her. Yet, they continued in their sin and offered crippled animals as sacrifices. In other words, they were trying to get away with their sin and not repent.

God tells them their burnt offerings were useless. One of the main takeaways from this passage is that we need to be careful to worship God in the ways that he wants, not in the ways that we want. Too often we try to worship him our way. We want to sing to him the way we see fit. We won’t dance before Him, even though we are told to in Psalms.

“Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!”
Psalm 150:4

We also offer sacrifices that He didn’t ask for. We are a lot like the Pharisees, we want to clean the outside of the cup, but we neglect the inside of it. We like to look clean to others, while our hearts are full of poison.

God wants us to offer the right sacrifices. It’s not about doing your religious duty. What we should be doing is asking God, what are the sacrifices that you desire? What sacrifices are you looking for from me? He tells David that a broken and contrite heart is what he desires (Psalm 51:10).

Prayer - Father, I humble myself before you. You are an amazing God. Lord, I am sorry for when I have offered a sacrifice that you didn’t ask for. I’m sorry for when I just went through the motions or offered you something less than what you deserve. Please forgive me. Help me to offer you a broken and contrite heart, filled with praise for its maker. Amen.

"Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts."
Zechariah 1:3

Everything God does is based in relationship. He desires relationship with you. He seeks it out. When you look at the theme for the Bible, it's a book built upon relationship - God's relationship with man.

In the Old Testament, Israel constantly strayed from God. They turned their back on Him and ran from Him. They consistently pursued foreign gods and built for themselves idols. Throughout the Bible, God sends prophets to call them back to relationship with Him.

We are not much different than the Israelites. We create our own idols and chase after other gods. The gods of our culture are lust, envy and pride. We are a self-centered people with a jealous bent in our heart for wanting things that are not ours.

The message to us is the same message that God gave the Israelites, return to me. In other words, as Jesus would say, repent. Turn around and come back to me. This is the message of the gospel. Jesus died for our sins to restore relationship. You only need to return to Him and God is waiting for you with open arms like the Father of the Prodigal Son.

What keeps us from returning to Him? Many times its a false sense of who He really is. We tend to think that if we return to God we are getting punished. He's going to pull out his belt and we are in serious trouble. We look at God like He is crouching behind the bush ready to jump on us once we turn toward Him. This is not the case at all.

In our verse today, we see that if we return to God, he returns to us. He is waiting on us to turn towards Him and he comes running down the road with arms outstretched. He doesn't make us jump through a bunch of hoops. All we have to do is return to Him.

So where is your heart today? Have you wandered from Him? Have you taken your own path and walked far away from Him? No matter where you are, He is there. He is ready to receive you into his open arms, all you need to do is return to Him.

Prayer - Father, thank you for being a good father who loves us and cares for us. Lord, we turn our hearts back toward you today. We love you and thank you for being so loving and gracious toward us. Thank you God. Amen.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 7:38

When Jesus met with the Samaritan woman at the well, one of the promises he made to her is that he could give her living water and that should would never thirst again. He made this promise at a well, where she would daily have to draw water from in order to survive in this hot climate.

What exactly is living water? Living water is simply defined as water that is moving, not stagnant. In this area, we get a beautiful picture of what living water actually is in the comparison of two seas - the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.

The Jordan River flows into both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. It's the same river that feeds both seas, but while the Sea of Galilee is full of life, the Dead Sea is like its name suggests...dead. Because no water flows out of the dead sea, it produces a hostile environment for any type of marine life.

The problem is the salt content. The salty water flows into the Dead Sea and because there is no outlet, it just accumulates and accumulates. The high salt content kills everything inside of the sea. Animals and plants just can't survive in it.

This is a great picture of what happens with us. When we become Christian, the Holy Spirit is given to us. The Holy Spirit can be described as a river. It's flowing. The Holy Spirit is meant to flow into you and out of you (to others). When we use our giftings, when we lay hands and pray for someone, when we share an encouraging Scripture with a friend, the Holy Spirit flows out of us and impacts those around us.

Too often, as Christians, we try to hoard up the things God has given to us. Rather than using our gifts, they sit dormant in our lives. Rather than going to church and blessing others, we go to church and simply consume the teaching from the pulpit. Some churches even cater to people in this way, and rather than producing life in people, they stunt people's growth. The entertainment driven churches are popular, but if you dig beneath the surface, you will find a lot of people who are lost and hurting.

We are not designed to receive good teaching, listen to good podcasts and watch inspirational videos without turning around and blessing others with what we have learned. Do this long enough and we become like the Dead Sea, with no life in us.

Living water is meant to keep moving. It's mean to flow from one person to the next. When we become stagnant, it only produces death in us. Our spiritual life is one that is meant to be shared with others. So here's my challenge, go out and find someone to bless today!

Prayer - Father, you have blessed me in order to be a blessing to others. Help me to use my gifts today to bless those around me. Amen.

"I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes. Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment."
Psalm 6:6-10

In today's world, people tend to avoid crying. We don't want people to see our tears. Even in funerals, we tend to downplay our right to be sad or to express grief. We look at it as a sign of weakness. But this is not how David looked at it. He didn't hide his tears, he sang about them. He let the world know that He was sad.

I heard someone say years ago that the reason God put our tear ducts on our face was so that we couldn't hide our tears. He could have hid them elsewhere, but He didn't. He wants us to express our tears and sadness so that others can see it. When others see our tears, the often comfort us. If that is true with other people, imagine how much more God will comfort us in our sadness.

It was through this act of expressing his grief to God that God answers Him. By the end of the psalm, David is full of faith. He is proclaiming the victory of God. He He knows that God is going to deliver him. He's proclaiming the faithfulness of God.

If you find yourself in the same place as David, just know this, it's ok to cry. It's ok to weep. God gave us our tears for a reason and the Bible says that God himself collects our tears and stores them in a bottle (Psalm 56:8). There will be a day where we will not cry anymore, but in this life, there is power in our tears, so do not try to hide them. Give them to God and you will see that He is faithful.

Prayer - Father, today we give you all of our hurts and pains from today and years past. We know that you collect our tears and we give them freely to you and ask that you comfort us in our afflictions. Thank you for loving us and filling our hearts with peace. In Jesus name, amen. 

"Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love. For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?"
Psalm 6:4-5

Often we find ourselves in the same place as David, we are surrounded by our troubles. What are the things that are troubling you today? Where have you found anxiety in your heart?

David spent years in hiding, fearing for his life. He understood something that we all struggle with. He understood that the only way out of his situation was for God to move. That colored the way that he looked at things. Even with that said, at the beginning of this Psalm, David cries out for God's mercy and grace and asks, 'how long' will he have to wait for God to deliver him?

He knows that God is a deliverer. He has heard the stories of how He delivered the children of Israel from Pharoah. He heard the stories of how He saved the people from death in the wilderness. David knows God is able, so he gives two reasons as to why He should deliver him in this place:

1. Steadfast Love - David knows that God is a God of steadfast love, meaning God's love never fails and never fades. It is constant. It endures. There is no trouble or trial in which God cannot show his people His love. So David asks for God to deliver Him because it proves that He steadfastly loves David. 
2. His Praise - David knows that God loves to receive the praise of being called a deliverer. It's part of His identity as God. He is a deliverer. David knows that if he dies in the midst of this trouble, he will not be able to stand in God's house and proclaim Him to be a deliverer. 

What can we learn from this? I think the most important thing we can learn is that God can be moved to action by professing his nature. God moves when we remember who He is. God loves for people to profess his attributes. We see that throughout the Psalms.

So if you need healing today, in your prayers, call to rememberance that we are healed by His stripes. If you are worried about money, call to remembrance that God is a God who provides for all of our needs. If you are brokenhearted, remember that God draws near to the brokenhearted!

Prayer - Father, we remember who you are. We know that you are a good Father and desire good for your children. Thank you for rescuing me today. We love you. Amen.

"O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?"
Psalm 6:1-3

For some people, they have trouble seeing that God, as seen in the person of Jesus, could be wrathful. They see a disconnect between the Old Testament and the New. In truth, its the same God in the Old as it is in the New. He doesn't change.

What does this mean? It means that God is still just and he still gets filled with anger and he has a cup of wrath that will be poured out on all evil-doers. But, He is also a God whose long-suffering mercies endure forever. He is a forgiving God. We see that clearly in Jesus.

Why does God store up his wrath? Because He is just. When we sin against Him, we are sinning against a God that demands justice. There is only one way to turn away his wrath. What is it? It's through repentance.

Repentance can only come from humble hearts. We come to the Lord humbly like the Psalmist does here and say Lord, I and languishing. I need you to heal me. And God, who is faithful, will heal us and save us from our sins.

If we do not seek his forgiveness and love, we are stuck in our sins and still under His wrath. Seeking God's grace is the only answer for our predicament.

The Psalmist in our passage today is not trying to avoid any discipline. He knows he has done wrong. He's not seeking to get off without any discipline, he's asking for God to lessen the severity of that discipline. We know from Hebrews that God will discipline the ones he loves. In order to receive the love of God, we must also desire his discipline.

Prayer - Father, we ask that you would see us through the lens of grace. Give us mercy, Lord. We want you to discipline us. Teach us your ways, but not from a place of wrath, but from a place of love and grace. We repent and put our trust in you. Help us Lord to follow you today. Amen.

“Our God comes; he does not keep silence;
before him is a devouring fire, 
around him a mighty tempest.”
Psalm 50:3

Does God still speak today? Or is this some sort of New Age idea that has infiltrated the church? Many bible teachers in the west teach that God does not speak directly to people any longer, but only speaks to us now through the written word of God. 

God most certainly speaks to us through his written word, the Bible, but he also speaks to us personally. This shouldn’t be a surprise, but here in the US, we have allowed a very naturalistic worldview to infiltrate the church and our thinking. A lot of bible teachers have allowed this to infiltrate what they believe and teach. 

The Bible on the whole is a book about God speaking to his people. That is His primary mode of communication. He speaks. This is in contrast to the wooden idols that were worshipped throughout the land during that time. Those idols couldn’t speak, but our God can. That was one of the big differences between the God we worship and the gods they worshipped. 

Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands. 
They have mouths, but do not speak; 
eyes, but do not see. 
They have ears, but do not hear; 
noses, but do not smell. 
They have hands, but do not feel; 
feet, but do not walk; 
and they do not make a sound in their throat. 
Those who make them become like them; 
so do all who trust in them.
Psalm 115:4–8

The Psalmist here compares our God who hears us, speaks to us and walks with us to the idols made of silver or gold. Our God is different because He still speaks. We don’t worship a God who is powerless and aloof. We worship a God who is actively involved in the world today. He is alive and moving in our midst. God most certainly is speaking today.

The next logical question may be, if He is speaking, why have I not heard Him? That’s a great question. There could be a number of reasons why. Here are a few:

1. Sin - If you are in sin, that could be keeping you from hearing God speak. Sometimes He chooses to speak to those who are practicing sin, but many times our sins block us from hearing Him clearly. 
2. Busyness - Many of us are too busy to hear from God. We refuse to take time to listen. We are busy from the time we wake until we go back to sleep. If we don’t make time for Him, it’s possible we may not hear from Him. 
3. Noise - We live in a world of distractions and noise. The Bible describes the voice of the Lord as a voice of “thin silence” (1 Kings 19). That means you have to be quiet in order to hear his voice. 
4. Pride - God most certainly opposes the proud and give grace to the humble. If we are prideful, we will likely not hear his voice. He speaks to the humble because they are in a posture to receive from Him.