My Thoughts and Reflections

As we draw near to the end of the Easter season we also draw near to the end of a season filled with joyful praise and worship. It is a season full of joy-filled praise and worship because we’re intentionally celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without Christ’s death and his resurrection, we wouldn’t have the forgiveness of our sins that we have or live with the hope of resurrection that comes to us through him. So what comes next? After Easter comes the season of Pentecost, marking the beginning of the church when the disciples of Jesus Christ received the Holy Spirit and began spreading the good news of the gospel throughout the world. During Pentecost, we see a shift in our focus. We turn from a focused celebration of the resurrection to a focus on joining the first disciples in Christ's mission to spread the news about Jesus to those who have not yet heard and accepted the gospel. We focus on working with the Holy Spirit to grow the kingdo...

“ A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.” - Matthew 12:35 (NLT) One of the many issues that we face while living in this world full of sin and death, is that we are constantly bombarded by evil. Evil words and actions are constantly in our faces as a result of local, national, and world events. It is very difficult to shield our eyes, ears, and hearts from the constant state of evil that our world is in. This is a problem at home, school, work, or wherever you find yourself today. As followers of Jesus Christ, we desire to be good people, as this verse says, who produce good fruit, but that is difficult when we are being filled with so much evil from our world. How do we combat this? By filling our hearts with the treasure that we find in scripture. When we go through our day without opening our Bibles to receive that holy food from God, we are allowing the evil of...

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed." James 5:16a (NASB) As followers of Jesus Christ, we know that we need to confess our sins to God, which provides us with assurance of forgiveness since he has promised us that would do that (1 John 1:9). When I confess my sins to God, it often seems like it is too easy for me since I know that God already knows my offenses and he has promised to forgive me when I confess to him.  Confessing to God may seem easy, but it is taking confession to a whole new level when I involve a fellow brother or sister in Christ into the mix.  James encourages us to confess our sins to each other and to pray for each other so that we can be healed. When I confess my sins to my chosen brother in Christ, it makes the sin in my life that much more real. I am forced to share the burdens of my sin with someone else and allow someone else to see the dark parts of my life. When I confess ...

"Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before him." Job 13:15 (NASB) During times of great trial, especially when it doesn't seem like I am at fault for what has transpired, I seek to make myself free of all blame for whatever situation I may be finding myself in. It is natural for me, and I'm sure for pretty much everyone else out there, to want to be blameless when things are not going very well for me. I cannot claim what Job is claiming here in this passage. I cannot argue before God that my ways are blameless before him. However, what Job is doing in this passage is something we should all feel encouraged to do. In spite of his awful circumstances, Job makes the radical claim, "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before him" (13:15). Why is this such a radical statement to make? It is a radical statement to make because Job has lost everything in the world that ...

"Sing for joy to God our strength! I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt." Psalm 81:1a, 10a (NIV1984) During Lent we look forward to the coming of Easter Sunday, the day that we are filled with overwhelming joy and celebration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. This is our great reason to sing for joy to God. This is why we are called to sing for joy in so many different ways. However, Jesus' resurrection from the dead is not our only reason for singing praise to God! In our passage today (Psalm 81), the psalmist not only tells us that it is a decree for Israel and an ordinance of God that the people sing for joy to God, but he also lists out many reasons for the people of Israel to praise God. God moved the burdens of the people and set their hands free from the work of slavery in Egypt. He set them free from Egypt and provided for all of their needs. He heard their calls of distress and answered them when they were wandering in the ...

"It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith." Romans 4:13 (NIV1984) I know I am not alone in having times throughout my life when my faith in Jesus Christ and the truthfulness of his word has wavered. In those times of doubting and struggling to maintain my faith, I would ask myself questions like, "Am I really doing all that I can to be saved?" and "How can I really be sure that my faith in Jesus Christ alone is enough?" During those times, it's scriptures like today's passage (Rom. 4:6-13) that encourage me and bring my flickering flame of faith back to a roaring fire! One of Paul's favorite examples of faith and righteousness, that he uses multiple times in his letters, is Abraham. He tells us that God counted Abraham as righteous because of his faith in him, not because of anything that he accomplished on his ...

The L ORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."  So Abram left, as the L ORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Genesis 12:1-4a (NIV1984) If you haven't yet heard, or the over-the-top celebrations of Mardi Gras didn't tip you off, we are now in the season of Lent!  Lent, the season when we are encouraged to give up something in order to turn our focus towards God and the ultimate sacrifice that he made by sending his son Jesus Christ into the world as a human being in order to die for the forgiveness of our sins and for the hope of having eternal life with him. In this passage, Abram (a.k.a. Abraham) is called to sacrifice everyt...

"Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor." Proverbs 29:23 (NIV) Pride is the root of all sins and when we allow pride to swell in our lives, it prevents us from following Christ! This is why pride brings a person low.  The apostle James tells us that when we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, he will lift us up. Our verse from Proverbs today tells us that when we make ourselves lowly in spirit, we will gain honor. We gain that honor and are lifted up when we drop our pride and follow Jesus wholeheartedly. Jesus did not ask the disciples to temporarily drop their nets to follow him. He didn't require them to only follow him halfheartedly. He asked them to follow him completely, to follow him 100%, to follow him with everything they had! So, have you dropped your pride today in order to follow Jesus Christ wholeheartedly and completely, or have you held onto your pride? Have you submitted yourself to Jesus today so that nothi...

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:1-5 (NIV1984) Happy Halloween! Happy Reformation Day! Happy All Hallows Eve! Today is the day of the year that many choose to celebrate evil, death, devils, witches, and many other abhorrent things and ideas while others celebrate the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenburg. Today is also the eve of the day that the church celebrates the lives of all...

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. - 1 John 4:11-12 When I read these verses this morning, I was struck by the words, “No one has ever seen God” and “God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”  Even though no one has seen God, God lives in us!  This means that anyone can see God when God’s love is shown through us!  People can see God when we love one another like God has loved us.  That love can only happen when God is living in us. As followers of Jesus Christ, it is our goal to emulate the one who we follow.  God loved us by sending his Son into the world as the sacrifice for our sins and the gateway for us into a redeemed relationship with God.  Jesus showed us what true love looks like throughout his life and ministry and especially through his death on the cross.  With that examp...

The L ORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one L ORD , and his name the only name. Zechariah 14:9 (NIV) We live in a world with many competing powers, authorities, rulers, and names. This is all a result of sin having a hold on every part of humanity. When I sit down and think about how we live in a state, a country, and a world where the authorities generally do not honor or respect our God, it brings some uneasy tension to my life. However, because of the hope that Jesus Christ provides as a result of his death and resurrection, we now have a firm and solid promise that someday we will get the privilege of experiencing a world where there is only one king over the whole world and that this king will be the L ORD . How exciting is that?!?  As followers of Jesus Christ, we certainly do suffer for him in our own country, but our brothers and sisters in other countries suffer much greater peril for the name of Jesus Christ than we do here i...

Lord of Heaven and Earth!   Your love for the world caused you to send your one and only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world so that he could die for our sins.  Thank you that he not only died, but that he also rose again to life.   Thank you that you provided over five hundred witnesses to your resurrection so that on account of all of the evidence we find in the Bible, we can come to believe that Jesus is the Christ and that he is the Son of God.   Lord, bless us this week with boldness as we proclaim, "Christ is Risen!" to our coworkers, family, friends, fellow students, and to all other people that we meet this week.  Give us boldness as we bring the good news of the gospel to all those who have not hear and accepted it yet.  Give us the words to say when it is time to say them.   We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Savior.  Amen!

Draw your strength from the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:1 (CEB) No matter where I am in life, one thing remains the same in how I conduct my life.  That one thing is the necessity for me to continually draw my daily strength from the grace that is in Christ Jesus. When I rely on myself, I let myself down. Sure, I have some bright moments, but inevitably, I will meet temptation, fail to resist it, and fall flat on my face. Paul's admonition to Timothy in this letter is so important for all of Christ's followers.  If we draw our strength from the grace that is in Jesus, then our passion for Christ will far outweigh the fleshly passions and temptations that confront us throughout the day.  If our passion for Christ increases, it increases as we continually and daily draw on the grace that Christ has made so readily available to us, then we will not have to worry about those temptations when we meet them.   If you failed to start your day...

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:35,37 (NRSV) Over the course of my life, I have felt and experienced some of what Paul is mentioning in this verse: hardship, distress, persecution, and peril, but I have not yet, thanks be to God, experienced famine, nakedness, or the sword.  However, when I have experienced the others, I have had in those moments the natural thoughts of "Where is God in all of this?" and "If God is so powerful and so loving, why am I going through this?" It is during those times when Paul's words here in Romans bring about the greatest comfort.  There is NOTHING and NO ONE that can separate us from the love of Christ.  Wow!  Even when Stephanie's and my checkbook was down to $16 in our first year of marriage and we had no clue where or ho...

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. Psalm 86:5 (NRSV) If you are ever finding that you are in need of encouragement, begin with this verse in the Psalms!  It is so easy to get down on ourselves and to view life negatively.  Just when we are seeing success, "life" throws us the proverbial curve-ball and we are left to pick up the pieces or figure out how to live life with that new set of circumstances.   This verse tells reminds us of who God is.   The Lord, our God, is good!   How often do we blame God for the bad things that happen in our life?  We look up to heaven and shake our fists at God the moment we get a bill in the mail that is much higher than we were expecting or when someone dings our door in the parking lot and leaves without leaving a note.  God is not a God who takes delight in our suffering or in causing harm to us.  God is good and that is something...

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. Galatians 5:16-17 (NIV) "Walk by the Spirit!"  What other command can we live by that guarantees that we will be doing exactly what God desires of us in life?  I cannot think of one!   If we walk by the Spirit, Paul tells us that we will not gratify the desires of our flesh.  These desires are the desires that stem from the sinful nature that we were born with and are constantly at battle with and they are completely opposite of what the Spirit desires for our lives.  So we're left with a big choice to make in our daily lives.   Will you choose to walk by the Spirit and obey God's will for your life or will you conduct your life according to your own sinful desire...

"He has told you, human one, what is good and what the  Lord  requires from you: to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk  humbly  with your God." Micah 6:8 (CEB) As followers of Jesus Christ, we believe that we receive salvation by grace through faith apart from works.  However, we do good works as a result of our faith.  It is out of our gratitude to God for the great and amazing things that he has done for us that we do good works in the world. In this passage, the prophet Micah is telling the people of Israel how God is calling us to live as a response to his goodness towards his people.  We should not get hung up on the word "require" because we know that as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, this is what we want to do whether or not is is required. Out of a response to God's goodness towards us, we are called to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with our God.  We are called to seek out justice in th...

"You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." Matthew 5:13 (NIV) How often I skip over this verse when I'm spending time reading Jesus' words during his "Sermon on the Mount" in Matthew.  I often gravitate towards the verses that follow it telling me that we are the light of the world and that we should allow our light to shine before others so that they can see my good deeds in order to glorify God.  However, how often do I think of myself as the salt of the earth? When I do think about this, I am reminded about how I have been chosen by God to be who I am and where I am.  I can choose to be who God wants me to be and do what he wants me to do, or I can choose against that and become worthless!  I do not want to become like tasteless salt that is only worthy of being trampled on.   I want to be...

"I always put the LORD in front of me; I will not stumble because he is on my right side."  Psalms 16:8 (CEB) This verse is a recognition of the truth of God's guidance in our lives. A similar verse is one of my childhood favorites, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (KJV). As long as we put God first in our lives, we cannot fail and we will not stumble and fall because he will be right there at our side to keep us on the "straight and narrow." How good is it to know that it is impossible to fail in life when we place God at the front of our lives? I believe that this is great news that cannot be repeated enough!  This truth applies to all aspects of life, especially parenting. As parents, it is our responsibility to model this truth to our children and to teach them to do the same in their own lives. It is important to not be deceived into thinking that this is a promise for an easy life, for easy parenting, or for a...

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty"  Psalm 91:1 (NIV) In this world full of evil, sin, violence, sickness, and death, have you ever felt unsafe, unprotected, and unloved?  It is very easy to feel lost and vulnerable in a world that is full of the consequences of our original sin in the Garden of Eden when humanity first decided to walk away from God and become gods to themselves.  This world of sin is a result of each and everyone of our own sins and the sins of those who came before us.  Yet, there is hope. In this Psalm, we are comforted with a promise that whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  Whoever runs to God seeking protection will ultimately find it.  Each person will find rest and safety.   Originally in the Old Testament, they would have took this to mean finding shelter and safety in the Lord's tabernacle or in the te...