Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.”
– Proverbs 14:4

If you want to do things that matter, it will probably get messy! Get used to that. Embrace it! A farmer obsessed with having a perfectly clean barn will only achieve that by getting rid of the animals required to succeed at farming. With fruitfulness and productivity comes a certain inevitable amount of messiness. It’s OK to like tidy but fruitfulness needs to take priority.

The same is true in life and the service of God. If we wish to be productive and fruitful for God, it will come with a certain messiness in our churches and our lives. If we’re going to reach those hurting, broken, and far from God with the good news of Jesus Christ, it will require energy, compassion, and a willingness to patiently endure ups and downs, successes and setbacks, joys and hurts, thrills and disappointments, and lots and lots of changes. To lovingly meet the needs of those God puts in your path requires a willingness to sacrifice your comfort, preferences, and expectations for their sake.

Jesus has promised us that we’re surrounded by harvest fields prepared by God – people open to the Gospel and ready to embrace God’s grace and love. If you’re a Christian, then you’re one of the workers God has designated to go out, whether to your neighborhood or to the nations. Either way, going out will get messy. That’s the nature of getting close enough to people to really impact them for Jesus. Prepare yourself – messy is the price of fruitfulness. Don’t worry about a clean stable, get involved in God’s abundant harvest despite the mess! #FollowJesus

“I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” – 2 Samuel 6:22

In the eyes of his wife, King David had made a complete fool of himself! David didn’t care and was ready to double-down on looking like a fool! As the Ark of God was being carried to Jerusalem, David danced in front of it in a manner his wife found embarrassing. She told him he hadn’t behaved like a proper king should. His answer was that he was celebrating God and would keep celebrating Him no matter how embarrassing it became. He knew that those who truly loved God would admire his authenticity.

How about you? Are you so full of joy about the Lord that you don’t mind looking like a fool, even to those closest to you? Are you willing to embarrass yourself because you love Jesus so much? Would you dance without dignity because you’re so excited about being near to God?

Many Christians love Jesus but are reluctant to fully display their love because they want the approval of people around them. That happens in the workplace, school, home, and even in churches! We can be reluctant to express just how much joy we have in God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We can be afraid of people judging us for being too “weird”. Don’t be.

Follow David’s example – be weird for Jesus! Don’t let anything hold you back from authentically demonstrating how much you love Him for what He’s done for you and how excited you are about that. If the love of God is leading you to be expressive, be expressive. Don’t be fake but don’t restrain yourself just to be approved by others. Act like a fool in people’s eyes if that’s what God’s love is leading you to do! #FollowJesus

“And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.” – 2 Samuel 2:4

Waiting is hard! Especially when we’re absolutely certain about what God wants us to do. God’s people must often wait for things to come together as we expect. Sometimes we must wait for years. David certainly did! As a boy, David was anointed by Samuel to become the next king of Israel. David started doing great things for God but still had to spend years running and hiding from the current king of Israel. Once King Saul died, David was anointed king over his portion of Israel – the house of Judah. It would be another difficult 7 years before David was crowned king over all Israel.

We often begin to doubt God’s calling if we’re forced to wait a few weeks or months. David waited, in difficult and dangerous circumstances for YEARS. That didn’t mean God had forgotten him or was ignoring him. It didn’t mean David had misunderstood his calling. It simply meant that God was preparing him, strengthening his faith, refining his character, building his leadership, and filling out his experiences. God’s timing is always perfect and there was purpose in all that waiting.

Likewise, if what you understand to be God’s will for your life is taking more time than you’d like – which it usually does – don’t despair! Use your season of waiting to draw nearer to God, to build your faith, and to refine your character. Be busy for the Lord and learn from what’s valuable in the various experiences you have while waiting. Be patient. Be prayerful. Keep being patient. God hasn’t forgotten or ignored you – it’s just a matter of waiting for His perfect timing. Stay holy, keep growing, #FollowJesus

“And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” – 1 Samuel 30:6

David and his men were in about the lowest place imaginable. They’d lived in exile amongst their Philistine enemies for years. Suddenly, while they were elsewhere, raiders came and burned their homes to the ground, kidnapping all their wives and children. His men had every reason to question David’s leadership and take out their anger, sorrow, and frustration on him. David recognized his danger, even as he wept for his own kidnapped family. David had no more tricks up his sleeve and knew he was “out of gas” as a leader.

However, David didn’t give up. He also didn’t try to figure the situation out himself. He turned to the Lord for guidance. Rather than guess what his next steps should be, David stopped to ask God’s direction. God told him the next steps to take and when David did as God said, his men followed. The story ends well, with a great victory that restored their families, property, and confidence in David. This was David’s final test of faith, obedience, and leadership before the death of King Saul and the rise of David to the throne of Judah (and eventually all of Israel). From the lowest of lows, David’s reliance on God in deep distress led him up, up, up for many years until sin brought him back down again.

What’s the lesson for us? One day, you may find yourself at a low point, doubting and disappointed with yourself or surrounded by people who’ve lost faith in you after a failure. If you’re a follower of Jesus, remember that even when you’re in profound distress, God’s strength and direction are available to you. God still has a will and a plan for you with good works prepared for you to do. However, you must be willing to stop and be still, for as long as it takes, to seek and hear from the Lord. Seek His direction for your life rather than your own (or someone else’s). Don’t give up! Remember that, just as David’s low point was also a key turning point in his life, there may be a time where your lowest low is preparing you to rise and thrive in the Lord. #FollowJesus

“Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him.” – John 19:1

There is enormous suffering packed into this short sentence! Roman flogging used a whip tipped with bits of sharpened metal or bone. Flogging could often be fatal in itself because of the pain and blood loss. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, submitted to that terrible whipping which shredded His skin and poured out His blood. The One Who has always held the universe together was stripped and flogged on the orders of a cowardly Roman bureaucrat who couldn’t care less.

It’s terrible to contemplate – the creation flogging its Creator! Inflicting pain for the sake of pain upon our loving Good Shepherd. Jesus permitted this to happen. He didn’t stop it, shorten it, or avoid it though He could have with a single thought. Jesus submitted to this as He submitted to every element of His betrayal, humiliation, suffering, and death. Jesus suffered to take our sins upon Himself. He suffered to take the suffering we deserve upon Himself.

As you contemplate the torn and bleeding back of Jesus, remember that He endured that for you. His love for God and for you led Him there to be whipped. Your sins made it happen. In a very real sense, each of us “took Jesus and flogged him” and He permitted and endured it because He loves us. #FollowJesus