Do we really understand the heart of a problem if we only treat one symptom and ignore what is at the root? I am thinking of something very specific this week in light of the tragic events in Rosenburg, Oregon. I think we are a society that is happy to continue picking fruit to destroy the evil tree instead of taking a chainsaw to its roots.

Fruit is an indicator…it’s a teller of the tale of the tree. If you are eating delicious apples from a tree you know you have a healthy apple tree; however, if you are eating shriveled, wormy apples from a tree you know you have a diseased apple tree. Now, you can pick all the fruit you want to in an attempt to get rid of the disease, but if you don’t get to the root of the problem then the problem will continue.

Jesus said,

“So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18)

This is how I see the approach of our governmental leadership to the martyrdom of our nine sisters and brothers. Those killed were Lucero Alcaraz Treven Taylor Anspach, Rebecka Ann Carnes, Quinn Glen Cooper, Kim Saltmarsh Dietz, Lucas Eibel, Jason Dale Johnson, Lawrence Levine, and Sarena Dawn Moore. The President has never acknowledged that these nine gave their lives because they were Christians. He didn’t even hint that the shooter asked the question, “Are you a Christian.” Imagine that, believers in Jesus Christ in the United States of America were targeted and murdered for their faith, and most of the media outlets and the President refused to give that any attention. Instead he decided to take this opportunity to talk passionately about gun control. In my opinion all he wants to do is pick some fruit instead of addressing the heart of the problem.

What is at the very core of this issue is sin. The shooter had a bad heart and that is where we have to start. He had a history of behavior that would lead us to believe he was mentally unstable. I would contend that anybody who murders nine people in one morning is certainly not mentally stable. What we should be addressing is not gun control but the treatment of people’s hearts. People (like this young man) who are hurting, outcast, marginalized, neglected, forgotten and abused need help. Jesus had a special mercy for those suffering the way this young man obviously suffered. I just don’t think he woke up Thursday and decided to be a mass murderer.

So many in our society suffer as this young man did. It is too late to help him. His story is written, but those currently living in desperation can still be helped. We must get to the heart of their problem and show them how God wants to rewrite their story with a beautiful chapter of redemption and hope. If we genuinely want to prevent, or at least curtail, public mass shootings then we will begin to bring the heart problems people have into clearer focus. We will spend more time and dollars on mental illness than stiffer gun laws.

Are we going to go on picking fruits or killing roots?

Grace & Peace,

Is it important to come to God like a child?

“…Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3; cf. Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17)

So, yes, it is not only important but also absolutely necessary to come to God like a child in order to have eternal life. This means we need to have a faith that is simple and uncomplicated. It is an uncluttered faith. It means that we don’t have it all figured out but we know we can take God at His word and trust His promise to adopt us into His family. But the lesson doesn’t end there. Jesus went on to say:

“Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (v. 4).

It seems that Jesus is at least implying how we should live in a complicated world. We not only get to God through a childlike faith, but we also continue throughout our lives following Him like a child. Daily life for a child is humble following. We need our Father to get us through another day. Pride strips trust. When we are following God like a child we are living in simple dependency on God’s Spirit. We are daily depending on Him. We are repeatedly asking God questions like, “What are you doing?” And we are telling Him that we want to follow Him like a child follows their parents in a busy, crowded mall on Black Friday. We are never losing sight of our heavenly Father. We are not wandering off because something shiny and noisy has caught our attention.

Let’s not lose that daily childlike trust in God. My desire is that we don’t become so “mature” in the sense that the awe and wonder of following God like a simple child wears off.

Grace & Peace,

It’s another Monday morning and therefore the beginning of another week; it seems like last Monday was just yesterday. Time moves along so quickly…too quickly. Before we know it Christmas will be here and 2015 will be a memory. Just ask Denise Ford how many days until Christmas. And that means we will struggle with remembering to write 2016 instead of 2015. This frantic passing of time is not something new to our generation. King David was a busy man…

David was a king who was busy being constantly chased by his enemies. Reading his contributions to the Book of Psalms is like watching a Jason Bourne movie. It just seems like David never had time to rest and relax because he went from one fight to another; he went from the frying pan to the fire to the incinerator to the atomic bomb. It was a fast-paced, action-packed life on the run. He wrote,

“O LORD, make me know my end

            And what is the measure of my days;

Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,

            And my lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!” (Psalm 39:4-5)

Among many things he is saying, “Life is short!”

Why are we waiting to live our lives tomorrow when God fully intends us to live them today? God doesn’t want any of us to get to the end of our lives and feel remorse and regret. And it’s never too late to get moving and do today what God wants us to do. Paul told us to stop living in the past and press on toward what God has called us to in the future (Philippians 3:13-14). What does God want you to do today that will please Him and serve someone else?

Grace & Peace,

Did you feel that “blast” of cool weather last weekend? Refreshing wasn’t it? I know, I know, we are still lined up for some hot days that will remind us we live in the South, and that’s just fine with me. But the first hint of fall or winter or spring or summer is refreshing to me because it is a signal of change, and change reminds me of what God is up to in our lives on a daily basis.

Paul told the Corinthian believers “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). God is after the complete transformation of His children.  Meaning that when we become a part of God’s family we become something new. This change is not necessarily an overnight change but over time change. Change for the believer is inevitable and constant. We never arrive, we are never perfect, we are never what we should be, but we are becoming what He wants us to be.

This transformation takes place starting from the inside, the heart. Our heart is central to who we are, and it is so essential that if we are going to change into the likeness of Jesus Christ then God must have control of our heart. We cannot hold back, we have to be broken to who we are and surrender to God so He can make us into what He wants us to be. We must have a “surrendered brokenness,” otherwise we will never see the need for change; we will go on thinking we are just fine the way we are.

David understood this well. In his classic chapter on repentance he wrote,

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)

More than great sacrifice God desires a heart that is brought low to the point of honestly assessing its greatest need. The greatest need is a humble acceptance of our circumstances and a wholehearted, all in, trusting of God’s ways. When He has our hearts in this place then real, lifelong change can take place. And that change will be like a blast of refreshing cold air after a long, hot summer. It will be beautiful.

Grace & Peace,

School is back in session! Most of our students, teachers, administration and staff started classes last Monday, and that means only 175 more days until summer vacation. Some of you are wondering, “How am I ever going to make to the end?” At times it can be overwhelming, think about it…papers to write, papers to grade, parent meetings, quizzes, tests, field trips, game days, snow days, exit exams, flu season, cold season, Christmas break fever, early mornings, late nights, anxiety attacks, band practice, spirit week, prom, career fair, class pets, science fair, driver’s ed, and the list goes on and on and on and…

How do we get to the end? We get to the end one day at a time. Perseverance is king when we look at a school year that begins in mid-August and lasts until the end of May. Quitting is not an option for our kids. We pray them through the tough times, we rejoice with them through the good times, and we walk them through each day giving them the assurance that we’ll always be there for them.

But the great truth of perseverance is not just for our kids, it’s for all of us; we all need it in every area of life. Perseverance isn’t just good for school days, it’s good for friendship, it’s good for worship, it’s good for exercising, it’s good for marriage, it’s good for careers, it’s good for parenting, it’s good for paying our bills, it’s good for taking care of aging relatives, it’s good for praying, and it’s good for walking with Christ.

The Bible has a lot to say on the topic of perseverance.

“…Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1b-3)

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

“…The one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22b)

Imagine where we would be if Jesus quit. In what is God prompting us to persevere?

Grace & Peace,

How do you approach prayer? What attitude is evident when you pray? What are your motives when you pray? What desires, passions, sorrows, joys, and emotions are present when you pray? Prayer is talking to God who has already started the conversation with us. Prayer is an act of obedience toward a loving heavenly Father who spoke first.

I think too often we approach prayer casually, conveniently, cavalierly, selfishly or only as an emergency when we can’t figure things out on our own. We don’t treat our conversations with God as a beautiful time of fellowshipping with and talking to our intimate Father who is in heaven. Prayer should never be an add on or a tag to the end of something (dinner, our day, a close call, etc.). Prayer should be part of the warp and woof of our daily lives.

Let’s look at Jesus as an example of how to approach prayer…

“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

He got up, He got away and He got down to business. Jesus didn’t want the noise, the pressing needs or the clamoring crowds of the day to steal His time of talking with the Father. He was very intentional about prayer, and His followers should do the same.

Take time to meditate on what Mark observed about Jesus and ask the Lord to challenge your prayer life. The way we approach prayer says a whole lot about how serious we believe God can handle things in our lives. It reveals our trust in God.

Grace & Peace,

Often the church has wanted to dictate the terms of getting the gospel out, and the world is saying, “That’s not going to fly.” I think the church has tried to get the gospel out by getting people in the church building without ever building relationships. For some reason we believe that just because we’ve built beautiful buildings and have well landscaped campuses that people will flock to us and want Jesus. Some people will come because of location or the building is easy to navigate or the bathrooms are clean or the nursery is safe or the chairs are comfortable or whatever… However, if that is our strategy for getting the gospel out then we are doomed to die a slow but certain death. I just don’t see that practice in the Bible.

The key to getting the gospel out is intentional missional living. Simply put that means that we are going to live our lives as missionaries wherever we are. It may sound odd to say that we are missionaries because we often think of missionaries as people who move far away from home, eat bugs and monkey heads, and live in mud huts, but that is not the case. Being a missionary locally means that we are going to look at every person God puts across our path as someone who needs Jesus. This means that we are going to want to build relationships with all kinds of people so we can eventually tell them about Jesus.

Let me remind you that getting the gospel out is a matter of loving, listening, speaking and living missionally. Loving people is what gets us out into their world. Listening to a person’s story is important for us to understand what they believe about Jesus. Speaking is looking for God to open a door to have a gospel conversation to tell them about Jesus. And living the gospel out is showing people who Jesus is through our lives. This all takes times and we must be patient and willing. Saving people is not up to us, that’s God’s job and He’s really good at it; sharing the gospel with people is our job – how good are we at it?

“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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

Grace & Peace,

According to 1 Corinthians 13 love is irreplaceable (vv. 1-3), love is essential (vv. 4-7), love is durable (vv. 8-12), and love is the priority (v. 13). These are at least some of the lessons we learn from Paul’s wise words about love. And by the way, this is not the “like” kind of love or the “romantic” kind of love or the “bro” or “sista” kind of love – no, this love is the never-ending, not throwing in the towel, no exit strategy, divine type of love. You know, the love that will not let me go! I want us to think about the essential nature of this love from verses 4-7. Love is…

Wow! Ouch!! And, AMEN! These are the expressions of love for which we long, and they are our “love target.” When we tell someone we love them this is what we should mean. Too often we see love last only as long as the good times roll, and sometimes those good times roll for only months or a few short years. Think about how these principles of love would revolutionize marriages, families and friendships if we put them into practice. How about our church? Yes, sometimes people don’t get along in the church. For one reason or another we may even find ourselves worshipping with a so-called “enemy.” They are on the other side of the building or they are in another Sunday school group, and we’re just fine with that. We avoid them at all costs. But honestly, is that love? Can we look through the list above and sincerely conclude that we are showing them love?

Jesus said,

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

We are not always going to see eye-to-eye, we are not always going to agree, we are not always going to get along, and we are going to have differences of opinion. But that is okay, and should never be a reason to stop loving one another. Look at the list above and ask yourself, “How am I expressing this type of love to the people who surround me?”

Grace & Peace,

We are a church that is seeking to glorify God through gathering, growing, giving and going. Let’s not lose sight of why God formed this body almost 100 years ago. If we lose our vision then we lose our way, and inevitably we will get in the way of what God is trying to accomplish through us. If we lose our way then we no longer have a God-driven purpose for existence. We honor God best when we do what pleases Him, not us!

This Sunday morning we will gather to take the Lord’s Supper. These worship services are special because we make the death of Jesus our focus. Remembering His sacrifice for our sins helps to put life into perspective. Our marriages, families, friendships, jobs, and fun all have a deeper purpose when laid against the backdrop of the crucifixion. Our gathering this week will help make better sense of our every day life.

We grow into Christlikeness through God’s Word, small community and circumstances. One of the reasons I love our Sunday school groups is because it provides the best outlet for this to take place. God’s Word is being taught, a sense of camaraderie is felt because they provide a smaller platform, and we’re able to be more intimate and open about our daily struggles with each other. One of my desires and prayers is to see more of these groups added. If you don’t have a group, come Sunday morning at around 9:15 for coffee and we’ll show you how you can get plugged into one of these groups.

I love to see people give, and so many of you do this beautifully. People are constantly giving of their time to help others see Christ. Even the seemingly smallest gesture of service is huge. And you know what? Your name doesn’t even have to be in a committee booklet to give! Here’s a question I want all of us to answer: “How am I giving through serving others?”

If we don’t go and make disciples I don’t think we can expect to grow. Everyone lives a busy life and God’s intention is to use that busyness to build bridges that reach into other people’s lives. God has strategically and sovereignly placed us where we are to get the gospel out. The gospel must move out of the church building and into our family gatherings, neighborhoods, playgrounds, schools, grocery stores and work places. Everywhere we go should be seen as a mission field, and we are the missionaries God is sending to share His good news of great joy.

Grace & Peace,

We are a church that exists to honor God; we are here to glorify Him. God has sovereignly, graciously and strategically put us where we are at this time in history to spread His fame. Since we know and believe that, just how do we go about glorifying God? Well, I believe there are four avenues through which we can bring glory to God. The first we looked at last Sunday morning (1-18-15): GATHER. We gather to worship God and everyone (no exceptions) needs worship!

The next avenue through which we spread the fame of God is GROW. Growing is essential to the Christian experience. We cannot call ourselves followers of Jesus without growing and we can’t grow without getting into God’s Book, the Bible. We believe this growth comes as a result of personal study and corporate study. I believe we need both. We need to dig into the Bible every day on our own to hear God’s voice and let Him set the direction for our lives. We need this discipline. It’s like drinking a refreshing drink of water on a hot day after a really hard run – it is something that we need! But we also need each other to grow. The early church made a strong commitment to this…

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…” (Acts 2:42)

I can, and should, spend quality time in God’s Word each day; however, the one problem with that is there is neither accountability nor camaraderie. We need each other to help us grow, keep us thinking the right thoughts, sharpen one another’s iron, encourage us to stay in the game, and hold each other’s feet to the fire. The avenue through which we’ve decided this is best expressed at Calvary is Sunday school. Our classes are broken into smaller groups that are age specific.

These smaller groups of Bible study provide us with a sense of community. This is where actual relationships take place; this is where we share life with one another; this is where life-long friendships are formed. Truth is taught, honest questions are asked, tough issues are addressed, love is expressed and intimacy is experienced in these times together.

If you’re not involved in one of these groups, then let me encourage and challenge you to find one that fits you. Come and grow with us.

Grace & Peace,

I don’t want anyone to come to the end of their life and realize that they’ve thrown it all away. What I mean by this is that I want our lives to count for something that will last for eternity.

“Be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.” (Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV)

This verse is packed with so much great truth. It’s comforting to know that we actually have a shot at doing something that God wants us to do. Instead of living selfishly God does have a plan for each of us that will put us on a path that is meaningful.

This verse also teaches us that this path is not automatic. We have to “try to understand.” We have a choice to make. Finding what God wants us to do is going to take some effort. The Christian life is not like getting to the top of a hill and then coasting all the way to heaven. The life God has called us to live is filled with intention. It must become our aim to live careful lives, not careless lives. We are going to need to put into place some good habits to replace some not so good habits.

Three good habits I shared with you on Sunday morning:

Here is some help with number 3…

“Lord, I have heard the news about you; I am amazed at what you have done. Lord, do great things once again in our time; make those things happen again in our own days.” (Habakkuk 3:2 New Century Version)

Spend time every day with this verse. Write it on a 3”x5” card and carry it everywhere you go. Put the verse in your phone and set a reminder that will have it pop up every day at a specific time. Pray that verse, begging God to do today what He has done in the past; make it a prayer for you personally, your family, the church, and the world. Let’s make our lives count!

Grace & Peace,

We are all scrapping for a place in line; we would prefer to be in first place, but second will do in a pinch. Nobody really wants to give up their place in line; I don’t see too many people deferring to others. We have lost our sense of putting others first and are settling for putting others in their place.

I saw a snapshot of this played out at the airport. Some of the airlines are now doing what I would call organized random boarding. This means that it is organized because each passenger is given a letter and a number, but it is random because no seats are assigned. So, when boarding begins you are supposed to get in a line according to the group (A, B or C) and number. Then when you get on the plane you find a seat that suits you. Sounds good doesn’t it? Yes it does, except when people “jump” the line. For example, if you have B30 you don’t line up with the A group, at least you’re not supposed to. But you know what? Yes, people go on ahead and scramble for a better “place” so they don’t get stuck on the back of the plane in seats that don’t recline.

With that off my chest let me just say that this is not the way God intended for His children to live. Many of our problems of anxiety, frustration, envy and pride could be solved if we just simply follow the teaching of Paul:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3 ESV)

Put others before self. Think of others before thinking of self. Make sure someone else’s needs are met before ours. I think you get the picture. And just think about it: we all got on the plane and made it to Spartanburg; it didn’t really matter who got out of the airplane first.

Grace & Peace,

Trust is a pretty fragile thing. If we trust in the wrong doctor we will suffer physically. If we trust in the wrong automobile maker we may end up on the side of the road. If we trust in the wrong builder the roof might leak. But, what if we trust in the wrong person, idea, thing, or program for eternal life? Or how about misplacing our trust after we’ve been saved? You know, we believe in Jesus to give us eternal life, but we don’t trust Him for everyday living.

It’s amazing how I have to fight this trust battle all the time. Does that sound like you? God has rescued us through Jesus’ death and we are secure; we know we’re going to heaven one day. But when the stock market plunges 400 points we panic and question whether we’ll ever be able to pay the bills – financial ruin. Or, when someone abandons us we freak out because we just don’t know how we’re going to make it through another day without him or her in our lives. Or, we mess up big time and beat ourselves up thinking God can’t make anything beautiful out of all the ugliness we’ve created. Think about what God said to Judah who was quickly drifting away from Him:

“…Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD” (Jeremiah 17:5 ESV).

He goes on to describe him in verse 6 like a puny shrub in an unoccupied, salty wasteland. Those who trust in man and manmade inventions for security will not thrive. In fact, God states very clearly that they “shall not see any good.” Ouch, right?

But, then God tells them,

“Blessed is the man who trust in the LORD…” (Jeremiah 17:7 ESV).

In this case He doesn’t describe them as a puny shrub but as a vibrant, leafy, green, fruit bearing tree that is flourishing even in a drought because it is by a body of water that will nourish its roots. This is a beautiful picture of a believer’s life whose trust is continually in the Lord and not in self or things or other people or whatever.

I’m not saying this is a life of guaranteed ease and rainbows and unicorns. That’s just delusional thinking. What I’m saying is that when we keep our eyes on God He will not disappoint even when things go dark and scary. He is the One who sustains us in the crashes of life when everything is upside down, or when others aren’t playing by the rules and seem to be having a blast and we’re not. Remember, looks can be deceiving. The life of continual trust in God is the life God chooses to bless and causes to flourish.

Grace & Peace,

Wow, what a blast of cool weather – I love it! I really, really, really enjoy the changing of the seasons, and this season of the year is a particular blessing to me. The cooler weather reminds me of my northern roots, it signals the ending of yard work, it stirs up all kinds of good memories, it marks harvest time...corn, combines, hunting, and the gospel. What does this have to do with the gospel? Read the words of Paul,

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:6)

We wait for the harvest of souls; it is God who harvests the souls; He is the “Lord of the harvest”, but we are laborers in the harvest.

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’” (Matthew 9:36-38)

Yes, God has a part for us in the reaping of those who come to Him for salvation. We don’t just sit idle, twiddling our thumbs waiting for people to “drop into Jesus.” We are part of God’s great harvest plan. We are His hands, feet and mouthpieces.

This means that we don’t force someone to come to Christ; we shouldn’t be manipulating or tricking people into professing to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. Doing that would amount to picking a crop too early and spoiling the fruit – it’s no fruit at all. We wait praying, living, listening, and speaking. We pray for God’s grace and their repentance and belief. We live consistent with the gospel we believe. We listen to their stories, sensitive to pick out how we can share the truth of the rescuing gospel. We speak the story of Jesus who is the real Hero of redemption.

I don’t see a problem with the harvest – it is still abundant; the problem I see is us – we just aren’t laboring in God’s harvest. The first step is that which Jesus asked His disciples to take: earnest prayer to God for laborers. The word for prayer is a unique word, which means prayer that cries out from a sense of need, thus “earnest prayer.”

Do you see the great harvest of souls? Do you see that few are laboring with God to bring that harvest in? I do and so therefore I am compelled to serious, heartfelt, earnest prayer to God for more workers! I hope you see the need as well.

Grace & Peace,

Sometimes waking up to another day is difficult. We have problems leftover from the day before (and maybe you don’t even like leftovers in the frig), and we know we will have to face them and deal with them. Add to that we don’t know what a new day is going to bring. What crisis will we have to face personally? What tragedy will we have to help someone we love get through? What unexpected phone call, email, or text will we get that puts another heaping of trouble on our already full plate? Yeah, sometimes we don’t think it’s worth the effort to even get out of bed.

However, I think that is a wrong way for us to be thinking about each new day that God gives us. God will certainly allow us to face each new day like the gloomy Eeyore character in Winnie the Pooh, but the Bible is pretty clear how we should look at each new day:

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’” (Lamentations 3:22-24)

Mornings are God’s reminders that we get a new start with a fresh set of invigorating God-sent mercies! I know that I need this reminder every now and then because I get into a habit of being pessimistic about a new day; those are days when I am cynical and looking for the next “bad” thing to happen. But just think what would happen if everyone reading this decided to wake up every morning thanking God for the mercies He guarantees for the day. Take this challenge: write out Lamentations 3:22-24, put it in a place where it will be the first thing you see and therefore think about each morning, do this for 40 days, and then start talking about how God changed your days by thinking of His never-ending supply of mercy for each day.

Grace & Peace,

Everywhere I look I see problems with no solutions. I see problems in the world, in our nation, in our town, in our church…and I don’t see the goodness of God. I feel the weight of the world and I get tired because it seems that it’s up to me to carry that weight and solve these problems. I sense that at any time I will collapse under the weight and what will be left is nothing but the carnage of someone who has given up. Living like this makes it difficult to function normally – whatever normal is.

Why do I feel this way? I feel this way because I choose to feel this way, and this choice is about what is BIG in my life and what is small. When I see problems and people as BIG then I’ve made the choice that God is small. When I fear what people can do more than I sense what God can do then I’ve made the choice that people are greater than God. And that’s a sinful choice.

During the last couple of days I’ve read through Nehemiah; this was a very opportune devotional time for me. Nehemiah faced some huge problems: exiled to a foreign country, his hometown, Jerusalem, was in shambles, God had put an impossible mission in his heart that he refused to share with anybody, all kinds of opposition to the mission, and a seemingly unachievable building project. How was he going to convince the king of a foreign power to let him go do what God wanted him to do? How was he going to pay for it? How was he going to overcome the opposition? How was he going to rally the Israelites to resurrect an old dream? He had questions, lots of questions.

Over and over again I see Nehemiah refocusing on the greatness and majesty of God. At one point when the surrounding powers were upset and resisting the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem, Nehemiah stood up and reminded his rag-tag team of non-union construction workers:

“Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” (Nehemiah 4:14)

Remember the Lord! Oh, how often I forget in the middle of feeling overwhelmed that God is greater than everything! In the midst of people dying, overseas terrorist coming closer to home, earthquakes, floods and wildfires taking place everyday in America, people complaining, time running short, more appointments than can fit on my calendar, emergencies, and supper getting colder, I’m trying to remember that God is a majestically great God.

Maybe I’ll just stay in Nehemiah for a while!

Grace & Peace,

Do we have a sense of the direction God is steering our lives? Or, do we just believe things are randomly happing to us that are out of His control? I know we believe that God has a master plan for us individually and corporately, but often our actions say otherwise. You may be scratching your head and saying, “Ok, Scott…what do you mean by that?”

What I’m saying is that we believe one thing but we do the opposite; our actions betray our belief. We say that we believe that God is in charge but then we manipulate, bully, strategize, worry, or whatever to get our way. We act like a stubborn, self-centered two year old throwing a hissy fit because we didn’t get the yellow popsicle!

This has taken me 36 years of following Jesus to understand, and I must confess that I still don’t get it all the time. I believe that this struggle between trusting God and getting my own way is a problem of pride. Arrogance always insists on getting its own way; it is the stubbornness that thinks, “If this doesn’t go my way then what will other people think about me?” Who cares? Really? And pride, well that’s the sin of making me the center of the universe…and a small universe it is when we are at the center of it all.

Scripturally pride is a destroyer:

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18; cf. 18:12; 16:5)

God will not tolerate pride because, at first glance, it violates the principle of love – the greatest commandment.

“…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27; cf. Matthew 22:37; Mark 10:30-31)

The order of these words is important: first love God, then love others, then self comes last, yes always last. Pride reverses the order; we love ourselves first; we become the priority. It’s all about me and what I want and how I look in other people’s eyes. When this happens destruction is right around the corner.

So the next time God gives you a popsicle, just take the blue one and rejoice with thanksgiving that you got anything at all!

Grace & Peace,

The first day of summer has come and gone! What does that mean? Vacations to the beach and mountains; family trips to visit family; the smell of hotdogs burning on the grill; the sound of cannon balls in the pool; trips to WalMart to get more sunscreen; and long summer nights cooling off on the deck. Summer is great and we love it for many reasons. One of the reasons I love it so much is that it is a change of pace, and I like changes every once in a while.

Summertime also brings a different pace at church. People pop in more often. We have more activities and trips planned. Kids are out of school so this is the ideal time for camps, Bible schools, and mission trips. It just seems that it is a very busy time of year for us at Calvary. So, we’re changing the rhythm up a little; the ebb and flow of everyday life is just a little different.

With these seasonal changes we need to be guarded in our diligence about our walk with God. It would become easy for us with trips, vacations, barbeques, and parties to put God on the backburner and tell Him, “I’ll get back to you later when life slows down a little.” Resolve today, at the beginning of summer, that you won’t be that Christian. Be faithful to God everyday. Maybe you change up your routine with God, but God is still a major part of your routine. Maybe you approach your daily time with God differently, but God is still part of your day.

David hotly pursued God.

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)

This is the sort of passion we need for God. It speaks of being utterly and only satisfied in God. Nothing and no one can satisfy us like God can. Is that our desire this summer? I hope it is!

Grace & Peace,