Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.”
– Psalm 18:31-33

What God did for David throughout his life, He does for all His children. He’ll do it for you! God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is the one and only solid rock. When we build our lives on Him, we stand on solid ground no matter how shaky the rest of the world around us is. Good times, bad times, highs, lows – God will give you strength to endure them all. His steadfast love and faithfulness will not fail or fade away.

If Jesus is your Lord, then the Spirit of God lives in you. You have been made righteous through Christ and now the Spirit gives you the power to resist temptation and live blamelessly in God’s eyes. This fallen, sin-wracked world will be unstable until Jesus returns. Don’t build your life on wealth that can disappear, status that can be lost, a job that can disappear, or relationships that can end in a number of ways.

Build your life on Jesus Christ! Draw near to God and find your strength in Him. Understand your identity in Him. Ground yourself in your life as a beloved child of God! Then you will have the steady feet of a deer even at the highest peak of a mountain. You will be able to endure and glorify God no matter how things are going in your day-to-day life. You will be a testimony of God’s mercy, grace, patience, love, and faithfulness. #FollowJesus

“Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.”
– Psalm 17:7

What a prayer! The psalmist asks God to “wondrously show” His very nature. God repeatedly declares that steadfast love is His essential nature. His steadfast love is rock solid and never affected by whim, mood, or what we’ve done for Him lately. God IS steadfast love. Rather than try to limit God by specifying how he’d prefer God’s love to be revealed, the psalmist simply prays for God to show it in whatever wondrous, astonishing, unimaginable way brings God the most glory. This is a prayer God loves to hear and answer!

The psalmist celebrates God as Savior – from our sins and from our enemies. God is our refuge from the perils of this world. As the psalmist says, God shelters us not by removing our enemies but by drawing us closer to Him, placing us at His right hand. That’s marvelous to think about! And even more marvelous to pray for. Why don’t you do both today?

Think about God’s steadfast love for you in the past or present. When has God wondrously shown His steadfast love to you? Rejoice in those times and give thanks. Then pray this same prayer. Ask God to wondrously show His steadfast love for you once again. Don’t tell Him how. Let Him be Who He is – supremely wise, knowledgeable, loving, and good. Rejoice in whatever He decides. Delight in the refuge of your Savior! #FollowJesus

“Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another.”
– Proverbs 27:17

This is a well-known proverb and most Christians will nod their head about its wisdom. But do you actually live it? Do you welcome and embrace the sharpening of others? We live in an age where most people are hyper-sensitive whenever anyone questions, critiques, or pushes back. We expect and are expected to simply affirm and celebrate whatever anyone says or does, no matter how short-sighted, foolish, selfish, or sinful. Christians can be among the most thin-skinned in this regard.

So, think carefully about these ancient words of wisdom. Do you truly believe them? Who is the iron in your life who is permitted to sharpen you? Who is permitted to ask you difficult and uncomfortable questions about your motives and way of thinking? Who can offer suggestions for improvement, critique you honestly, or call out your sin? What is your reaction when they do? Is it to lash out or to pause and reflect? Is it to thank them for their candor, attack them for it, or turn away from them altogether?

Who are you sharpening? Who are you close enough to and honest enough with that you’re investing in making them sharper, more obedient, and more faithful? It can be difficult to be the sharpener in our age of radical autonomy but pray about who God may be calling you to sharpen. #FollowJesus

“Pray without ceasing” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

How does anyone do that??? This surely can’t mean spending every moment of your life in totally focused prayer. After all, Scripture commands us to work, to worship, to fellowship with other believers, to make disciples, to love our families, and much more. Physically, we must sleep and eat sometimes. So this can’t be telling us to be on our knees in our prayer rooms 24×7. And yet, we are to pray without ceasing. How?

We can be in a prayerful posture as we work, worship, fellowship, etc. We can develop a deeper awareness of God’s constant presence and routinely talk to God as we go through our busy days. It may be helpful to think about prayer like this… Your devoted, focused times of prayer are like phone calls or video chats with your beloved Father in Heaven. The rest of the time, imagine yourself on an ongoing text chat with your Father. As things happen throughout the day or pop into your mind, you quickly text those thanksgivings and petitions to your Father. Your conversation with Him never truly ends, though you focus on people, work, or other activities throughout the day.

That’s certainly an imperfect illustration, but hopefully communicates the idea that prayer doesn’t have to be an on/off activity. It can be something that’s always on but can have more or less of your attention depending on the situation. What do you think? Feel free to share in the comments anything that helps you “pray with ceasing”? #FollowJesus

“Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

Life on this fallen earth can get pretty grim sometimes. Wars, famines, disasters. Poverty, injustice, oppression. Suffering, financial ruin, illness, injury, disability, and death. These ongoing and often tragic experiences are why Christians are told to remind and encourage each other about our future in Christ. So we won’t give in to despair and won’t give up, even when life is very, very difficult.

Jesus WILL come back to judge and renew creation. Those who have died in Christ WILL rise from their graves and meet Jesus in the air as He returns. Every believer who is alive when Jesus returns WILL also meet our returning King in the air. We WILL always be with our Lord. He will usher in perfect justice for all and the renewal of creation.

These middle chapters of our world and our lives can be hard to stay encouraged and Christ-like through. Remember how the story ends! In a renewed paradise. In the eternal presence of the Lord. In a world without tears, pain, sorrow, or grief. In a world lit by the glory of God—Father, Son, and Spirit. In a place of life, peace, joy, and satisfaction free of creation’s present curse. In the company of angels and all who have called on the name of Lord Jesus to save them throughout history.

That’s the future. It WILL happen. Stay encouraged and use the time between now and then well. Live humbly, confidently, and peacefully in the Lord. Grow in holiness. Delight in drawing ever nearer to God. Make disciples. Share your hope in Christ and serve Him well. #FollowJesus