Last week, the pastors and deacons of The Rock Church got away together. We went to Eden to spend some uninterrupted time together. For three days, we ate, sang, laughed, and prayed. We shared what the Lord was doing in our lives. There was even time for some brothers to golf and hike together. (It may not surprise you that I stayed back at the house to spend the afternoon with a cat who lived nearby.)
My next-door neighbor (Mr.Grant) is an 89-year-old firecracker. He loves Jesus and has endless opinions (as you can imagine an 89-year-old man would have). Recently, his wife of 70 years passed away. I can’t imagine his grief.
Our family prays for him and loves him dearly; we offer to help him in any way we can. Unfortunately for us, he is one of them old boys who “doesn’t need any help from no one.” So, it can be difficult. Recently, however, I saw my children serve him in some beautiful ways.
The other day, I received some great encouragement from a dear friend of mine. It wasn’t much more than a simple text message. However, with just a few sentences, it was enough to totally change the mood I was in that morning. It reminded me about the sermon I recently preached from Hebrews. We read this verse, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” — Hebrews 10:24-25
As a husband and father, as a pastor and friend, I need encouragement! Giving and getting encouragement is important for all of us. When it is absent in the lives of the brothers and sisters we do life with, it’s not long before we can absolutely feel unloved, unnoticed and forgotten. I was feeling quite discouraged that morning; but, at just the right time, my faithful friend sent that text message unannounced. It radically changed my outlook on the day. It didn’t take much, but it changed much.
I am absolutely blown away by the responses from the first blog I sent out a few weeks ago. I have received so many encouraging emails, texts and phone calls from friends and loved ones about how helpful my thoughts were. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I’ve also received many inquiries about the other thoughts (I’d mentioned I’d written down). Since I gave you part one, I thought I’d give you part two. (Hey, who knows, maybe I’ll write a book one day?)
On October 23, 2020, as I was sitting in the passenger seat of my father’s car, my dad went into cardiac arrest behind the wheel. This Saturday will mark one year since his passing.
This last year has been a whirlwind for me. In my mind and in my heart, every day has felt like I’m locked up inside of a room with a vacuum running amuck; it refuses to turn off. (That is my best attempt to try and explain what we call “grief”.)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17
As a Christian, you and I are no longer who we used to be. Because of Jesus Christ, all of our past sins and failures do not determine who we are. As a result, we’re no longer bound to any kind of pressures from our culture/society about who we NEED to be. As sons and daughters of Jesus, our identity is not determined by what others think or say about us. It is not determined by what we think of ourselves. In other words, our identity has been determined by God Himself. Unfortunately, there are times we can get so lost in our thoughts and expectations from the world, we can FORGET who we are! We need to be reminded of Truth in order to change the way we think of ourselves.
As Christians, we are commanded to prepare our minds for action, as a soldier prepares for battle. In light of this, here are a few simple, daily practices to help you be mentally “battle ready” for whatever arrows may fly your way.
Read God’s Word Daily.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” — Psalm 119:105
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.” — Psalm 121:1-3
I woke up today feeling pretty
exhausted. Not physically (I slept great) but spiritually. My anxious mind has
been filled with worry and angst. I keep thinking about all that’s going on in
the world; it feels like my thoughts have run a marathon before my feet even
touch the ground. Maybe you’ve had days like this recently as well? We can
easily wonder where does our help come from?
Over the last two months of self-distancing
and home quarantine, we’ve never had more time on our hands. My family and I
have certainly enjoyed this extra time together. Aside from the fact that I
have watched more princess and super hero movies than most people have seen in
a lifetime, I’d say things are going okay. As I ponder this extra time that has
fallen into many of our laps, I think it’s worth asking ourselves, “Has this season allowed me to
spend more time with God and His Word?”
We
are officially one week into 2020, so I’m going to go ahead and ask
you, “How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions so far?” By the
time you read this, I’m sure I will have bailed on at least one of mine!
But, that’s ok. There is one resolution, however, that I am not planning to let go of so easily; I want
to invite you to add it to your list of goals as well.
This year, my resolution is to totally depend on the Lord to help me live out the Fruits of the Spirit in my life. Let me explain why I have chosen this as a New Year’s resolution.
