Category: Devotion

Blessing is not what we see from TV evangelists or self-help gurus disguised as pastors.  Blessing is much deeper than what we make it today.  We limit blessing to physical benefit, but it wasn’t always this way.

John Ortberg makes a great statement about blessing:

“Blessing in the ancient world was the highest form of well-being possible for human beings. The Greeks referred to the blissful existence of the gods as “blessed.” For Israel, blessing included not just gifts from God but especially life with God. Blessing would include all areas of Abram’s life: his family, his finances, his work, and his heart. That meant he wasn’t just to receive a blessing; he was to be a blessing. In fact, it is impossible to be blessed in the highest sense apart from becoming a blessing.” ~ John Ortberg

It’s only a modern idea that blessing is tied around our agenda and our benefit.  Blessing is much deeper than this.  This is greater than positivity or momentary circumstance.  Living life basing your blessing will only leave you with a schizophrenic mentality of blessing where sometimes you are blessed but others you are not.  With “blessing schizophrenia,” people believe God goes back and forth on how He thinks of them.  Sometimes they are blessed, but other times they are not.  It’s just not true.

The true foundation of being blessed is found in the presence of God and the favor of God over your life.  If blessing was considered by generations past as the highest form of living, maybe we lost the perspective of real blessing, where it came from, and what it implied as culture became more secular.

Blessing comes from a real relationship with God marked by obedience.  But please understand something:  God is not obligated to bless you because of your obedience.  He blesses you when He chooses to and blessing is a natural byproduct of His presence.  Your obedience merely draws you there.

At the end, how we see our life matters.  We live much more secular lives than we know.  I shared this with my congregation a few weeks ago as to how we have been secularized.  The word “goodbye” has changed over the centuries, but here is how it was originally spelled:

“godbwye”

It is a contracted word written in old English meaning, “God be with you.”  Over the years, “God” became “good” and “bwye” became bye.  We have lost the piety even in our farewells.

Maybe it’s time to recognize what we have lost.  Maybe rather than saying “hi” or “bye,” maybe we return to the idea of blessing each other and not just wishing them well, but rather wishing those we love God’s best… God’s blessing. 

In the New Testament, the Bible declares that we are a Kingdom of priests and maybe as priests, we should wish God’s best to all we love.  Maybe if blessing is the highest form of living, maybe we should live like we desire blessing from God over anything else.  With this, I end with a blessing for you, hoping you would bless me as well:

Numbers 6:24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

The weatherman finally got it right, and it snowed.  Not only did it snow, but it also sleeted, then snowed, then freezing rain, then back to snow.  ALL WEEK LONG.  Because of the early warning, we were able to prepare for a true Tennessee-style blizzard.  While we were getting ready for the storm, I couldn’t help myself from singing “Be Prepared” from the movie The Lion King.  Scar singing to his minions about his evil plans and selfish desires to rule and be king.  As I sing this song (in my head), we chopped wood, dug the generator out, filled it with gas, and loaded the chainsaw into the truck.  We were prepared and ready for the winter storm.

Not only did I have The Lion King song stuck in my head, but I also remembered the parable Jesus said about the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).  Five of the virgins were ready to meet the bridegroom. They came prepared with extra oil for their lamps. The other five were not ready. They left to buy more oil which caused them to miss the bridegroom.  When they tried to go to the wedding feast, the door was closed.  They knocked and asked to come in, but they were refused entry because he did not know them.  The five unprepared virgins missed their opportunity.

After receiving the warning for inclement weather, everyone rushed to the grocery store to buy eggs, milk, and bread. The mad rush to prepare for the upcoming storm created a panic emptying all the shelves in the store.  Why haven’t we taken the warnings from God this seriously? Some people procrastinated in stocking up their groceries for the storm. They had to drive in hazardous conditions to get the things they need. Just as these people waited, so do many others, waiting to do what God commands. Remember the five virgins who waited and arrived late?  Do you want Jesus to say “I never knew you”? We are not promised tomorrow.   Paul tells us to stay awake and be sober “…having put on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of hope and salvation” (1Thessalonians 5:6-8).

Like the five virgins who came prepared, we must keep our lamps full by living each day for the Lord.  We will not know the day or the hour of His return (Matthew 24:36).  Jesus tells us to stay dressed for action and keep our lamps burning, waiting for our master to come home (Luke 12:35-36).  We start preparing ourselves by reading the Bible. In doing this, we stay dressed, awake, and ready.  We continue to prepare by praying, asking for forgiveness, and showing love to one another. 

Warned by God, Noah constructed an ark for the saving of his household (Hebrews 11:7), so must we be prepared.  The Bible helps us prepare for the warnings God has given to us.  The time will come when we will stand before Jesus.  What if that day was today? Would you be ready?  We should live our lives preparing for Jesus’s return. What a glorious day it will be when we hear Jesus say instead “… Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23) and welcomes us into His kingdom. Go prepare. What are you waiting for?

Being a new mom is one of the most rewarding and hardest things I have ever done in my life. While pregnant, I was so excited but incredibly nervous because having a child is a HUGE step in anyone’s life. We had prayed and prayed and prayed even more for this child, so we knew that God was in control of ALL of this. 

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. -Psalm 139:13-14

Every day I thank the Lord for blessing our lives with our baby. I couldn’t even imagine life without him now. However, right after having him, I went through postpartum depression and it still affects me somewhat. 

During that time, I was constantly praying to God. I felt so overwhelmed like I couldn’t do it, and because I didn’t know what the heck, I was doing I felt like I wasn’t a good mother. I felt like crying, breaking down, and dropping to my knees in exhaustion. But in those moments, I could feel the Lord calming me, telling me… Yes, you can do this, I got you, just breathe, I am here with you. 

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. – Joshua 1:9

He blessed me with a child. He chose me to be the mother of this wonderful child. Nobody said it would be easy. We will have our ups and downs and good days and bad days through learning to parent and raise a child. God is with us through it all. God is in our hearts; we should continually trust in Him because He is always there no matter what. Every time I look at my child’s face, I just smile knowing that God is so good. 

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song and he has become my salvation. – Isaiah 12:2

On February 5th, Grace Baldridge released an album called “Preacher’s Kid.”  It is hardly Christian at all, yet it topped the iTunes Christian Music Charts.  Some Christians were outraged, others shocked, but most were surprised.

There was a lyric in her song “Bethlehem” that broke my heart, to be honest:

“Oh the mission trips are scams they do more harm than good
We’ve got fame-hungry pastors making bank in Hollywood
and more confused than I’ve been”

It was at this moment that maybe I understood her:  I don’t believe this woman ever experienced the real Gospel.  Maybe she heard the words, but I’m not sure she ever saw the Gospel from those in her life. The reason why the Gospel is centered around belief is that as much as it is taught, it is more so demonstrated. 

She heard the Gospel, but the end result was confusion.  This was not my experience. The Gospel I received changed my life.  It pointed me in a new direction and gave me clarity.  Life didn’t get easier.  It got harder, but my direction and purpose were clearer than ever.

Maybe that’s the problem for those trying to understand.  Whether we know it or not, we’ve done a number on Christianity.  A famous quote by Richard Halverson goes as follows:

“In the beginning, the church was a fellowship of men and women centering on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome where it became an institution. Next, it moved to Europe, where it became a culture. And, finally, it moved to America where it became an enterprise.”

Some in and around the Christian music industry are shocked at what’s happening, but somehow, we have moved from sharing the Gospel to peddling the Gospel and the world has taken notice.  

Maybe what is missing is genuine authenticity.  Maybe rather than selling our books and songs and messages, maybe it’s time for a generation of believers to share the truth.  Maybe the gimmicks that we thought would get people to the church building aren’t working anymore.  Maybe they should have never worked but rather than demonstrating Christianity, we manufactured it.  

Church, I beg you.  The Gospel should be freely given.  It is high time that our lives change so drastically because of the presence of God that our methods look different and our hearts look transformed.  They may not like the message, but at least make sure it looks like the message changed us.  Maybe when Jesus cast out the money changers in the temple, He was thinking of us.  I pray the enterprise of Christianity falls.  With that temptation out of the way, maybe we can really start living for Jesus again.

Our children’s rooms are usually a wreck.

In fact, if FEMA were called, I’m quite sure it would be declared a major disaster area.

They do try to clean them, but of course, it’s never to the level of clean I prefer. I’ve told them they would feel better about themselves if they were more organized and took the time to keep their rooms tidy. To them, it’s just another crazy mom-ism used to “trick” them into keeping their rooms clean.

Recently, I started noticing a change in my daughter. One day she decided to deep clean her room (likely because she was tired of listening to me fuss about it). Once she finished cleaning, and after my thorough white-glove inspection, I was so impressed with the difference. I praised her for the great job she did. I was truly proud of her, but in the back of my mind and based on the past, I reluctantly expected this would be short-lived.

I was wrong. 

She kept it clean. Not only that, but her attitude changed, and she felt so much better.

The more I thought about her messy room, the more it reminded me of how we hold onto the mess in our own lives. We become so busy or lazy or just not care at all.  We will find any excuse in the world to not deep clean our own lives. We continue to let the mess pile up to the point that we become overwhelmed. 

I’ve lived in my mess for so many years it felt impossible to become clean again. Fed up and at the end of my rope, I had to try something new. 

Psalm 55:22 tells us to cast our burdens to the Lord and he will sustain us.

1 Peter 5:6-7 said if we humble ourselves and cast our anxieties on Him, He will lift us up.

What wonderful news!  He is there with us in our mess if we call on Him, and this is the first step to a REAL deep clean.

However, when I slack at reading my Bible or praying, the mess starts to pile up. Sometimes the pile is so overwhelming, I just want to give up.  I must become clean each day by turning to Jesus. 

Because of the grace of God, we do not have to face this mess alone.  He is always there to help. His love never ceases, and His mercies are limitless (Lamentations 3:22). 

Just as my daughter initially deep cleaned her room, she continues to maintain it. She had to make this a habit.  Before, she would get fed up, dwell in her mess, and start feeling like a complete failure again.  Instead, let’s ask God every day to create in us a clean heart (Psalm 51:10). Scripture tells us we must be born again and be made new (John3:3) (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is only possible because of the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 

I encourage you not to dwell in your mess any longer. Let’s not stay in the bondage of our sin. Trust in the Lord that He has made a new way for us. He leads us through the harsh wilderness and brings us out of desolation (Isaiah 43:19-19).

He has redeemed us, renewed us, and made us a new creation.

Let’s go clean our rooms.  You will realize that you feel better being in a relationship with Christ. You will feel clean.

Have you ever seen someone’s biography on their social media profile that lists out their attributes point by point?

In most cases, this short list is trying to convey that person’s identity.

For example, mine might say, “Christ Follower. Husband. Father. Software Developer.”

And now that I’ve shown you what I believe my identity is, it can be incredibly easy to pretend that I have an amazing relationship with Jesus, that I have the world’s most perfect family, that I’m a super dad, and that I wrote the standard for creating amazing software.

But of course, nothing is ever as it seems on the outside.

As the rapper Andy Mineo says, and I paraphrase, “We throw up pictures of the party, but not the one throwing up at the end.”

Basically, we display our best selves to the world but leave out all of the ugly struggles.

And honestly, it’s a struggle to not be consumed by what the world says I should be when the world is always watching and waiting for me to fail.

More recently, I’ve seen friends and family members become consumed by their identity through their ethnicity, race, gender, or political party.

There is a war between whose identity is acceptable by the world.

But it’s not supposed to be this way.

As Christians, we are called to place our identity in Jesus Christ.

Genesis 1:27 tells us that we are made in the image of God.

Then why is it so difficult to let go of our worldly identity?

The truth is we all want to be known, seen, heard, and valued.

The world tells us that if we conform to their standards, then we will find all the happiness we need.

By creating our own identity using the world’s standards, we feel like we are important. We feel like we belong and have value.

John 15:19 tells us that the world will only love us if we conform to their ways.

Romans 12:2 warns us to not be conformed by the world.

1 Peter 1:16 calls us to be holy, which literally means to be set apart from what the world is telling us to do or be.

Here is the issue: our human nature.

There is a part of us that understands we need to place our identity in Jesus Christ, but the other part of us craves love and acceptance by the world.

The Bible is clear that we are to be in the world, but not of the world. And when we become consumed by our worldly identity, we are headed in the wrong direction.

So, the question for you is this: what direction are you heading in?

There has been a lot of buzz lately around someone being the first to do something.

If you haven’t been living under a rock, we’ve recently inaugurated our first woman Vice President, first woman Secretary of Treasury, and first black Secretary of Defense.

More personally, though, when my daughter was born two years ago, she was my first child and the first grandbaby for my in-laws. It was a joyous occasion. And we will never forget that she was the first.

As I reflect on “firsts,” I am reminded of how Jesus was the first (and only) to do many things.

Jesus was the first to live a sinless life.

Jesus was the first to die for our sins.

Jesus was the first to satisfy the wrath of God.

Jesus was the first true messiah.

Jesus was the first and the last. Period.

And at the end of the day, all of our worldly achievements pale in comparison.

When this world has passed away, what we’ve gained won’t matter at all.

Colossians 3:1-4 calls Christians to focus on heaven and not on the things of this world.

Matthew 6:20 tells us to invest in our heavenly reward and not our earthly possessions where “moth and rust destroy.”

James 4:14 delivers a sobering message by reminding us that our life is “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

Achievement is not a bad thing. But the Bible is clear that we should not put our emphasis on earthly things.

My challenge for you is to take inventory of your life and identify areas that you have made more important than your relationship with Jesus.

Before graduating high school, the youth pastor warned us that it would become easier to abandon the church and God altogether.

At the time, I dismissed the notion. But in the back of my mind, I knew it was a very real threat.

As I entered college life, I quickly realized something was different.

I had more freedom.

That’s when I heard one of the most dangerous phrases:

“You don’t need to go to church to have church.”

And I bought into it.

The facts were in front of me. I could pray, read my Bible, and watch sermons online from home.

It could finally say “no” to going to church altogether.

But as many people learned in 2020, it is incredibly dangerous to live life in isolation. It can be easy to eat junk, forget basic hygiene, and avoid people altogether. And slowly by surely, a relationship with God can go out the window.

That’s exactly what happened to me.

What I had missed was that the church was there to fulfill a basic need: community.

I needed people who would challenge me in my faith and surround me with love, wisdom, friendship.

Here’s what the Bible says about the importance of church:

• Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us that we should, “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.“
• Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.“
• 1 Corinthians 12:12-22 affirms, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 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. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.“
• James 5:16 commands us to, “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.“
• Proverbs 27:17 informs us that, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.“

I believe there will always be times during our faith journey where we question the need for church. But the Bible is very clear that we are not to do life alone. We need a community of Christians who can love, guide, and challenge us. Community is never perfect, but it is absolutely worth the investment.

Often known as the Great Commission the final orders that Jesus gives to His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 say, “ 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” These final instructions are not just for those original 12 disciples but contain instructions to all those that follow Christ and a promise that is made to those who follow Christ.

What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ? In Luke 9:23-34, Jesus says, “23 …., “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” Literally to come after Christ is to become His disciple and follow His instructions and examples. Paul writes in Romans 10, “14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?[c] And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” To be a disciple we must deny our selfish desires and we must proclaim the good news of Christ to all we are able.

We are not alone. This is Jesus’ promise in the “Great Commission,” that He is always with us even until the end. We go forth to share the love of Jesus with the power of the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us. We don’t just stop with being a disciple and sharing the love of Jesus, we also make disciples of others. This doesn’t mean a quick prayer somewhere and then we send the person off to let God do His work. We are the hands and feet of God and He uses us to accomplish His will in all things. As disciples, we create disciples of others by building relationships and continuing to share what we have learned and what God has revealed to us.  I love the outlook of Kings Castle ministries in El Salvador. They send teams out every week to ministers to 10’s of thousands of kids every year in partnership with the local churches. Then the following year they resend teams right back to that same area again. The local church keeps contact and works to grow the harvest during the year and every year teams are sent back again to help plant more seeds. 

Jesus said in Matthew 9, “37 … “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” He has called you and saved you, now what will you do for Him? This is our purpose while we are here on earth, “to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 1) This is something we should want to shout from the rooftops to all that will hear!

As those who profess to be followers of Christ how do we live our lives? What do we show to those around us? Are we truly reflecting the love and grace that Christ has shown us or are we proclaiming Christ with our mouth while our actions speak to the contrary?

Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians, “17 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) To be in Christ we must die to our flesh and we must become a new creation in Christ. When Nicodemus came to Jesus by night this concept was puzzling. He asked Jesus in John 3:4, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” 

This is how we are to be a new creation. It is not a 2nd earthly birth of the flesh but a birth of the Spirit, as God’s spirit comes to walk and live with us. It is important to understand what it says in Titus 3:5, “5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,” There is nothing we can do in and of ourselves to become this new creation. It is only accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit. What does it look like to be a new creation?

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 7:17, “7 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.” If we are a new creation in Christ, then people will be able to see the fruit of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. This doesn’t mean we won’t have times that we stumble or that we fall flat and fail miserably but even Proverbs says in Proverbs 24:16, “16 for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.” I can guarantee you that we will all fall and fail at some point but as someone that is a new creation in Christ and that is covered with the righteousness of Christ we don’t stay on the ground in the muddy pit of failure but we rise up and we continue pushing forward to demonstrate the fruits of the spirit given to us in Galatians 5:22-23, “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” 

Let us be known by the fruits of God’s Spirit at work and evident in our lives.