Tag Archives: faith

Why You Feel God is Distant: Lessons from Daniel’s Prayer

There are times in life when we are crying out to the Lord and we feel like He doesn’t hear us. Sometimes the Lord “feels” distant because He is stretching and deepening our faith to trust Him. Sometimes there are supernatural things at work that we don’t see like in the book of Daniel. Consider Daniel 10:12:

12 Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.

In the context of Daniel 10 we see Daniel has been given visions from the Lord about hardship and difficulty that was coming for Israel. In response, we see Daniel turn to fasting and lamenting through prayer as he imagines how difficult this is going to be for him and his people.

But, while Daniel is praying the Lord speaks to Daniel through a vision of an angel and the angels says to Daniel, “Do not be afraid.” This isn’t a rebuke for Daniel about being afraid. This is an encouragement from the Lord so as to say, “Daniel, you don’t have to be afraid.” This is the Lord lifting Daniel’s eyes to look to Him and trust in Him.

In addition, the angel says to Daniel, “From the first day that you set your heart and humbled yourself before God, your words were heard?” Take that in for a second. When you read the rest of the passage on your own you will see Daniel has been praying for 21-days, so that in those 21-days of prayer Daniel must have had moments where he was thinking, “Lord, are you listening?” Lord, do you care? Lord, can you hear me? And in verse 12 the Lord reminds Daniel, “From the first day you started praying, I heard you.” Isn’t that good? Look at the next verse:

13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in my way for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.

I want to go slow here, because this might be new for some of us, but verse 13 is teaching us the reason for the delay is demonic activity. Do you see it in verse 13? The Lord heard Daniel’s prayers on the first day (vs. 12) but He was delayed because “the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in my way for 21-days.” That’s demons!

In verse 13, Gabriel the angel says, “Those demons were giving me some trouble until Michael, the arc angel, comes to help him.” Isn’t that wild to think about? There are a couple things to consider when we think about angels and demons.

First, the angelic / demonic realm can be very exciting for some of us today because of movies and television shows but we must remember that angels are simply messengers.

Angels are powerful. Angels are beautiful in appearance, but God’s Word actually teaches us that angels are in awe of humanity as the gospel works in humanity and through humanity, so let us not get too distracted by angels.

It is the same with the demonic. People will ask, “How do we know there isn’t a demon behind every rock?” There is! There is a spiritual realm all around us, so that everywhere we go there is spiritual activity at work.

In Christ, we don’t need to be afraid of demons, but we do need to be aware. In Christ, we can’t be possessed, but we can be oppressed / discouraged / distracted by demonic activity, so we don’t need to be afraid, but God’s Word is pulling back the curtain of the heavens so that we see there is spiritual activity at work in our marriages, parenting, church, thoughts, and world at every level at all times.

So the next time the Lord doesn’t answer our prayers the way that we want or as fast as we want it’s possible it’s because there is a spiritual war taking place in our lives, so that we can trust the possible delay isn’t because He didn’t hear or doesn’t care, because we know from Daniel 10 He hears every word of every prayer.

Essential Parenting Truths for Today’s Struggling Families

My wife and I have worked in pastoral ministry for over 20-years. My wife has worked in personal counseling as a Licensed Professional Counselor for 10 of those years. A common theme in parenting we have noticed is that the pressure of parenting is at an all time high.

All the studies today on children show that children are feeling more pressure to succeed, they carry more anxiety, they struggle to know how to respond to challenges in life and the overwhelming answer for our children from parenting resources today seems to be on the parents doing more to help their children navigate these challenges.

Parents are already being asked to do the normal expectations of parents: provide a roof over their head, consistent income, clothes to wear, and food to eat. And now the parent is being challenged to make sure their children are in the extra-curricular activities from the age of 5 if they want to be on the “team” in high school, provide tutoring for academics, expose their children to healthy eating options, ask probing and insightful questions to help children process emotions, launch a technical division in their home to be on guard against online predators, teach their children how to process their anxiety, so that children can launch into the world as well-rounded human beings. It’s impossible!

Oh yeah, those parents are also trying to launch a successful career, build a healthy marriage, take care of their physical health, and be responsible for all the hiccups in life like flat tires, a leaking roof, and paying bills. It’s a lot!

During the pandemic my wife and I wanted to do something productive with our time, so we went through foster-training so that we could foster a child. Our biological children were in their teens, needing less of our time, so we took this as a growth opportunity for our family.

Our intent was never to adopt the child but play a small part in reunification for the family. When the social workers talked about the base level factors for reunification they said, “We are looking for 3 things in every home; roof, access to food and water, and a place to sleep.” My wife and I thought to ourselves, “We are trying way too hard as parents!”

Don’t get me wrong. I know roof, food, and bed are base level expectations for parenting but in my experience children are incredibly resilient. And the best parenting experience isn’t going to be able to create a childhood for our children that enables them to avoid every traumatic experience in life. Did you catch that?

The best parenting on the best day isn’t going to be able to avoid every difficult challenge for our children, therefore, it seems like we could put less pressure on parents and instead encourage parents with some basic principles. Here are a few that we have applied to our family. (If the average parent is trying to improve their parenting through books, podcasts, blogs, and personal reflection they are a great parent!)

Dad and mom put their hope in the Lord. It’s easy to get excited when our children start to read. We think to ourselves, “Our child might be the smartest child to ever walk the earth.” Then our children display some quality of athleticism, attraction and the excitement for our children grows and grows but one thing is sure for all parents: our children will encounter hardship in life. It might be emotional hardship, physical hardship or mental hardship. It might come early, or it might start to show signs during their early twenties. When a parent puts their hope in their children then that parent is putting their hope in shifting sand that no child is going to be able to sustain. Rejoice in your children! But, let us all put our hope in the Lord because it won’t be long until the limitations of our children will be exposed in their humanity and in that moment we will be looking for / needing something more secure than our children.
Dad and mom are committed to one another in marriage. This isn’t a magical guarantee, but if the average child gets to see a male and female experience in the home, they are gaining an incredible opportunity that will serve them the rest of their life. Can single-parents do a great job of raising children? For sure! But if you are married, or plan to get married, the best gift you can give to your child is a dad and mom committed to one another in marriage. Here’s a great resource to help strengthen your marriage!
Dad and mom are committed to furthering the family. Again, it isn’t a magical guarantee, but if the average child gets to see mom and dad working to sustain, persevere, improve, and strengthen their family unit, then they are gaining an incredible opportunity that will serve them the rest of their life. The fact that you have read this much of this article is evidence that you are committed to furthering your family! Rejoice!
Dad and mom are in a growing relationship with God through faith in Jesus. The concept of a person committing their life to Jesus implies this person has humbled themselves to admit they don’t have all the answers in life. This trait alone can do more for that child than any other belief system because the parent isn’t modeling an example of someone who has it all figured out but instead the parent is modeling an example of someone who admits they need help from Jesus. That’s the gospel!
Dad and mom have a grounded belief that God is sovereign in all things. I bet you are thinking, “I thought this was about parenting?” It is! When dad and mom are centered on some foundational areas of life, you can miss a lot of other areas of life but this one is a big one, because life is going to happen. Jobs are going to be lost. People are going to get sick. Problems are going to come up. But, when dad and mom are convinced that God is sovereign over all areas of life, even the painful parts of life, it is going to dramatically shape how dad and mom respond to those hard times and approach parenting. Here’s a great resource to help us trust the Lord in those hard seasons.
Dad and mom have a clear vision, purpose and goals for their family. Every business has stated vision and goals for why they exist as a company. Every family is a little company and the more parents can articulate why decisions are being made in the family the better it will be for their children to know the meaning behind the decisions that are being made as a family. Here’s a great resource to help with personal planning.
Dad and mom keep the main things the main things with parenting. This list is the main thing. Everything else is peripheral. Pick a school for them to attend. Encourage them in their hobbies and interests. Make sure they have a roof over their head, some clothes to wear, access to food and everything else is a flip of the coin. I can’t stress this enough. The best attempt at parenting can still create huge deficits in parenting. The parent who wants to make sure their child is encouraged in all areas of life might have a child that feels like their parents smothered them. The parent who is involved in the life of their children might have a child that felt restricted. The parent who is generous with their child might have a child that takes advantage of their generosity. The parent who is “hands-off” in discipline might have a child that needs “hands-on.” None of our children come with instructions and none of them are able to tell us what they need to help them become a fully functioning adult. It doesn’t mean all the accessories don’t matter. It just means there are too many moving parts to put too much weight into any accessory we bring into their life. Here’s a simple guide but it’s just a guide:
- 0-2: CARE (We are letting them know they are loved and cared for in life.)
- 3-5: CONSTRUCT (We want to provide a structure for children to thrive.)
- 6-11: COUNSEL (Help draw out their thoughts, emotions, and experiences.)
- 12-18: CONTEND (Fight for them to apply what you have learned as you prepare them to launch.)
Dad and mom trust that their children are His children, their story is His story. Every parent is building a story for their children from the moment they are conceived. Dad and mom are imagining graduations, parties, friends, events, weddings, romance, bike rides, vacations and some dads and moms are aware of those longings and some dads and moms aren’t aware but it is a guarantee that 100% of those longings won’t be realized. Some of that reality will happen early in life and some of that reality might happen slowly throughout the life of the child, but at the end of the day every parent has to let go of “their story” for their children and trust in God’s story for their children. It’s great to pray, plan and prepare but the parent must hold all those plans with an open hand and trust that the Lord will write a story that is better than what we had planned.
Dad and mom are thankful for every second dad and mom get with their children. Some people never get to experience parenthood. Parenthood isn’t a promise for every person. Some parents only get to experience parenthood for seconds. And some parents will get 60+ years of parenthood but the best response any parent can have is gratitude for every second.
Dad and mom must layer themselves in humility. Dad and mom are invited to faithfully build into their children but let us not think too highly of ourselves. Our children are not 50% dad and 50% mom. Our children are a collection of 400 different people in their genetic system with influences that are greater than our parenting skills. Throughout the history of Israel we see Israel received instruction from the Lord, miracles, intimacy, etc. and yet Israel turned from the Lord over and over, therefore, how much more should we not be surprised if our children will turn from our parenting at some point in life or on some level. In Judges 5 we see a practical example of some tribes of Israel who respond to God’s invitation to spiritually wake up and follow Him, and there are some tribes of Israel who stay spiritually asleep and ignore Him, therefore, how much more are we as parents to assume the same could happen with our children.

Bonus: What happens when our children turn from the Lord? When a child shows a lack of interest in the Lord the parent’s natural assumption is, “What did we do wrong?” Biblically we know it is the Lord who draws hearts. It is the Lord who opens eyes. It is the Lord who calls us to faith in Jesus but because a parent loves their child so much they will think to themselves, “If I would have / haven’t (fill in the blank) then maybe the child would have more interest in the Lord?” Maybe there are things for us to learn about our parenting choices? But we can’t dwell in this area too deeply or too frequently. Could a parent have done more? Sure! But ultimately it is the Lord who has to write that story of His grace in their life and as a parent, like our children, we are invited to put our trust in Him.

Praying for the Presidential Election

The presidential election is a pivotal event that shapes the future of a nation. As earthly citizens, we have a responsibility to participate in the election. For those who are followers of Jesus, prayer is an essential part of the election process, offering a way to seek guidance, express concerns, and pray for the well-being of the country. But how do we pray thoughtfully and effectively during a presidential election? Here are key ways to approach prayer during this significant time.

1 Timothy 2:1-3, “First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.”

1. Pray for Wisdom

The first step in praying for an election is to seek wisdom—not just for yourself, but for all voters and leaders. It’s easy to get swept up in the emotions, partisanship, and media blitz of campaigns, but prayer can help center your mind and heart. Ask God for clarity in understanding the issues, candidates, and their platforms.

2. Pray for the Candidates

Whether you support a specific candidate or not, praying for all presidential candidates is a way to show humility and compassion toward others. Remember, candidates face intense scrutiny, pressure, and temptation. They need strength, moral stability, and guidance in their decision-making. Especially pray for the candidates to know Jesus and follow Him!

3. Pray for Unity

Elections, especially presidential ones, can be divisive. Families, friends, and churches sometimes find themselves at odds over political issues. As a follower of Jesus, we want to pray for unity. More than the next president, our country needs godly men and women who know Jesus and are following Him! Jesus is the only One who can bring true and lasting unity.

4. Pray for the Leaders Already in Office

While much attention is on the new candidates, it’s important not to forget the leaders who are currently serving and those who will continue to lead regardless of the election outcome.

5. Pray for Fairness in the Electoral Process

The integrity of the electoral process is critical for democracy. Unfortunately, there are concerns about fairness, fraud, or disenfranchisement. Prayer for justice, transparency, and fairness is vital in ensuring a smooth and just election.

6. Pray for Personal Peace and Trust in God

Amidst the tension, it’s easy to feel anxious or overwhelmed about the future of the country. Prayer can help you find personal peace, trusting that God is sovereign and in control, no matter what happens in the election.

7. Pray with an Open Heart

One of the most important aspects of prayer is humility. When praying for the election, be open to the possibility that God’s will may differ from your own preferences or expectations. Ask God to reveal His wisdom, and be ready to follow where He leads.

Conclusion: A Call for Prayerful Action!

As the presidential election approaches, prayer can play a central role in calming fears, promoting unity, and seeking God’s guidance. It reminds us that, while we have the privilege and duty to participate in democracy, the ultimate authority rests with God.

By praying for wisdom, justice, unity, and the well-being of all involved, we take a step toward creating a more peaceful, fair, and compassionate society—one where love and justice guide the way, regardless of political differences. As you pray, remember that your voice is not just heard in the voting booth, but also in the quiet moments of reflection with God.

Living Out Our Faith in Jesus with Others

Sometimes we hear people say phrases like, “It’s just me and Jesus.” Or we might hear people say, “I don’t like going to church, I just do my own thing.” It makes sense. People are messy. Sometimes I refer to people as “porcupines.” If you get close enough to people we are going to eventually “stick” one another.

But by avoiding people and avoiding the risk of getting “stuck” we are also missing out on some great moments; depth of life, depth with the Lord. One of the ways we can nurture our relationship with others is to get others involved in our relationship with Jesus.

When we read Scripture we don’t see many examples of “Jesus and me” as people grow in the Lord. We see a lot of life-on-life with a variety of different people as people grow in the Lord. In the first century, that pace of life might have been more natural but what does that look like today?

Here are six examples:

Prayer walks: Gather a few friends to go on a walk in prayer. This can be done as a group. This can be done on individual walks. This can be through praying out loud or this could be done in silence. At the end of the walk, the group can share what they heard from the Lord during the walk.
Scheduled moments of silence: Similar as above. Gather a few friends. Pick a place and time. Share with one another afterwards.
Reading Scripture: Similar as above. Gather a few friends. Read a passage. Discuss afterwards as a group.
Serving others: Starting to see a pattern? Pick a spot. Gather a few friends. Serve other people. Discuss afterwards as a group.
Fasting: Yep, you got it! Gather a few friends. Pick a time and type of fast. Pick a place to eat afterwards to break the fast and discuss.
Evangelism: When’s the last time you shared the gospel? What if you got a few friends to meet at the park or a pub and prayerfully asked the Lord to help you meet someone new so that you could simply let them know you are followers of Jesus? Who knows where the conversation might go! Oh yeah, you’re definitely going to want to discuss afterwards.

We do these types of things when we play on a team or meet as a group to read a book. Why not apply those same patterns with our faith in Jesus? If you find it difficult to grow in your faith in Jesus by yourself, then invite others to grow with you.

If you aren’t sure where to start, you can always make a post on Realm as a starter to see if anyone is interested.

Friends or Family?

Recently I was talking with someone and they said, “My friends are my family.” Doesn’t that sound nice? On the surface it makes sense. Our friends are the people we see more frequently. Our friends are probably the people we are more likely to ask for help. Our friends don’t have a history of awkward experiences from the high’s and low’s of life, so it makes sense why we would drift toward friends as family.

God’s Word teaches us when we come to faith in Christ we become family in the best possible sense. Our friends are often people who look like us, think like us, laugh when we laugh, cry when we cry, so many times we are attracted to friendship with other people because they are mirroring our interests and our qualities.

But the church is made up of people who are different from us. It’s what makes the local church beautiful. The church is made up of men and women, young and old, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, and not always but sometimes we will also find different ethnicities and different cultures. What a gift we have in the local church!

Check out how Luke describes this family-like support in the newly established church in Jerusalem:

All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. – Acts 2:44-46

Remember, “all the believers” in this context consisted of more than 3000 people. They weren’t all living in one house or sharing a single bank account. But they clearly did their best to remove the barriers that divided them into individual household units. They were generous with their money, their possessions, their space, and their time. And they were in and out of each other’s homes and lives.

Can you imagine what that would look like today? Being involved in our friend’s lives is probably something that happens naturally. We probably work in similar fields as our friends. We probably have similar interests as our friends. But God’s Word calls us to invest in our church family who have different interests and different backgrounds, so that we might be strengthened in our faith in Him. Here are some simple ways this could take place:

Look to meet 2-3 people on a Sunday morning.
Write down their name to help you remember.
Ask someone about their weekend.
Prayerfully consider how you might encourage someone in a meaningful way.
Pray for someone on Sunday morning.
Ask someone out to share a meal.
Invite someone to your group.
Exchange contact information with someone.
Meet someone new during the “meet and greet.”

Living like this is counter-cultural, so the first step is probably going to be getting out of our own way. After all, many of us might not even relate to our biological family or friends this way. At times, it will feel hard, inconvenient, and uncomfortable. You’ll open yourself up to rejection, you’ll get hurt, you’ll need to ask for forgiveness. All of these are signs that you’re doing it right. And, through the transition, you’ll also find life, love, security, and freedom to be your authentic self.

What Does It Mean To Be A Godly Man?

A question I am often asked by other men is, “What does it mean to be a godly man?” Is it just about reading and knowing the Bible? Is it just about character? Is it just about being able to provide godly counsel? Here is a quick outline:

Fully convinced God exists. You are convinced the God of Scripture created humanity in His own image (Genesis 1.) A part of being made in His image is that we reflect His glory, therefore, a person couldn’t possibly become a godly man without being fully convinced in God.
Sin is destructive. In Genesis 3 we see sin enter into the story of humanity so that everything and everyone we see today is fractured in sin. Do you believe this? Are you convinced of this truth at the global and personal level? You must!
Complete hope in life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus has come to take our sin at the cross. Jesus has come to conquer death through the resurrection. Are you captivated by this truth? Are you in awe of this truth? (1 Corinthians 15)
Love for God’s Word. Do you love the Bible? Do you love reading the Bible? Do you love talking about the Bible? How could we become godly men if we don’t love God’s Word? (2 Timothy 2)
Obeying God’s Word through faith in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. This is key! God’s Word isn’t about following rules. Godliness isn’t trying really hard to look like God. Godliness is walking by faith in Christ every day until we are face to face with Jesus. (Romans 1)
Convinced of stewardship. None of this world is ours. It all belongs to God, therefore, in Christ, we are all managers or stewards of resources, talents, and gifts from the Lord. The sooner a man sees himself as a steward instead of an owner, the sooner he will grow in godliness. (1 Peter 4)
Taking responsibility. We are going to fail as men. Failure is going to happen spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally; therefore, when those moments come into our life we would do well to stop making excuses and embrace responsibility. (Proverbs 28:13)
Repentance. Repentance means to acknowledge our sin and turn from our sin as we trust in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. God’s Word teaches us it is the kindness of the Lord that leads to repentance. Repenting of sin daily is a mark of a godly man. (1 John 1:9)
Teachability. Are you able to learn from others? Are you so convinced of your wisdom that it is hard to consider others might have something better? Are you curious about life? Are you curious about others? Is there humility about you so that you are convinced that God’s glory shapes how you see yourself in Him? (1 Peter 5:5)
Servant-Leadership. Do you enjoy putting others before yourself? Do you enjoy dying to your flesh? Do you enjoy perseverance? These are all marks of godliness. Waiting to be asked. Waiting for the applause of men. Waiting for someone else to take responsibility. These are marks of spiritual immaturity. (Matthew 20:26)
Live Courageously. Take risks by faith in Jesus. Put yourself in a place that is spiritually uncomfortable. If the Lord brings an opportunity, take it! Open the Bible. Pray out loud. Volunteer to help. Give money away. Initiate that conversation with that person that you have been thinking about. Godly men walk by faith in the Lord instead of themselves. (Joshua 1:9)
Biblical view towards money. Money isn’t evil. Money is a gift to be used for His glory, therefore, learn to steward money. Learn to give money away. Learn to bless others. Learn to make as much money as you can but know that a large salary is going to take their pound of flesh. Rarely will a man get a large salary and freedom.
Friends with other men. Lone rangers are going to have a hard time building godly lives and godly character. There’s no way any one man could see all his blind-spots. He needs other men to help him grow. He needs friends that will have honest conversations with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Perseverance. Life is hard. Following Jesus is hard. Living faithfully is hard. You’re going to want to quit. You’re going to want to give up. Godly men stay faithful. Godly men keep trusting the Lord. (James 1:12)

The fact you have taken the time to read this article is a sign of the Holy Spirit at work in your life. Praise God! You want to grow and mature in Christ. Praise God! God’s Word calls us to be rooted and established in our faith in Jesus. Start today!

A godly man can change the direction of friendship, change the direction of his family, change the direction of generations to come, therefore, don’t wait but seek the Lord. Start growing in Him today!

How Do You Build a Successful Life?

How many times have you been driving down a bumpy road and thought your car was about to fall apart? Sometimes the car hits one of those bumps and you feel the frame of the car slam into the wheels and you are convinced your car is about to fall apart! In those moments you need good shocks that can absorb the bumps of the road.

In the same way, life can be like those bumpy roads. It can be a call from a doctor, an argument with your spouse, a meeting with your supervisor, a late night of waiting for that teenager to send in an update about where they are; life can get really bumpy.

How are we supposed to enjoy life if there are so many bumps in the road? Are we supposed to move out into the middle of nowhere? Wait! There’s tons of bumps in the road in the middle of nowhere 🙂

Sometimes a person can become so fatigued by the challenges of life they try to reduce the amount of possibilities. We cut off friends. We break off relationships. We build a fortress of solitude around ourselves and still challenges in life will break in and create some bumps. What do we do?

The universities don’t teach how to absorb those challenges. Our careers might give us some coping skills but even our careers won’t help us when it feels like the world is being pulled out from under our feet. Copy and paste these somewhere to help you remember:

1. Do you believe God Is Sovereign? The word “Sovereign” means “Control.” Do you believe God is in control of all things? Do you believe God is with you always? What was Joseph believing when he was being betrayed by His brothers? What did Jacob believe when he was working for a wicked uncle? What was David believing when he was hiding in a cave after being anointed to be king? What did Paul cling to when he was in prison, shipwrecked, beaten, bitten by snakes and left to die? What did Jesus hold on to when the Father’s will was for Him to be spit upon, beaten and put on a cross? It is the follower of Jesus who goes through the ups and downs of life but you keep trusting your Heavenly Father because He is in control. (Romans 8)

2. Is your ultimate hope growing in God’s glory? The Apostle Paul wrote, “The sufferings of this world are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed.” James teaches us to consider the sufferings of our day to be joy in light of God’s glory. Do you glory in His glory? Do you believe if the Lord only brought you hardship and pain in this life, He is still worthy to be praised? Do you believe the words of Habakkuk, “Thou there be not fruit on the vine, nor food in the stall, I will exalt you!” Do you believe what this world has to offer is not the best this life has to offer? When you turn your trust to His glory it will carry through any pain this world has to offer.

3. Are you celebrating God’s goodness in your life today? Right now! You woke up this morning. You just took a breath. You have people in your life. You have talents and gifts. You have challenges to persevere! And most of all, through faith in Jesus, He calls you His for eternity! You might not make it to tomorrow. You might not make it home today! Therefore, rejoice in the Lord today! Write down His blessings in your life. Recount them every day. Tell Him of all His goodness. Hug the people around you. Write a note of encouragement. Send that text. Laugh with those people. Enjoy the work of your hands. Why worry about tomorrow? Instead, enjoy more today!

4. Are you putting yourself in a place to be captivated by His presence? The glory of the Lord is around you at all times. He hears our prayers. He intercedes on our behalf. He speaks encouragement into our soul. He is our helper. He is our comforter. In every storm of life, He is there, He is working and He is good.

Wind and waves come in life but there is only one who rebukes the wind and the waves. He was there with Moses. He was there with Joseph. He was with David. He was next to Esther in those moments when she uttered those timeless words, “For such a time as this.” But you need shocks to make it in this life.

Spiritual Fitness: 2024

New year, new you! It seems like every place we look, someone or something is trying to help us prepare for the new year. Why is that? It’s not like 2023 was inherently evil and 2024 is going to provide a new outlook on life.

But a new year does provide an opportunity for reflection. The season is slowing down. Weather is cooler. Nights come earlier. It’s like all of creation is getting tucked in for bed and in the same way there are some benefits for reflecting on the care of our mind, body and soul.

Our church family provides a resource called Yearly Rhythms, which you can get for free on a Sunday morning at our resource table or you can order your own on Amazon. There are tons of resources for us to learn how to care for our bodies. This particular writing will focus on how we care for our soul.

Last summer our family was returning from our trip to South Padre Island. It’s the nicest beach in Texas, so we try to go every year. On our return home we realized we were short on gas and my wife said, “We can get gas at this exit.” But the gas station was on the other side of the highway and I didn’t want to waste ALL that time going to the other side of the highway, so I said, “We will just wait for the next exit.”

Little did I know, the next exit for gas was 40 miles away! Unfortunately we noticed this about 10 miles into our journey and my wife said, “We better turn around and go back to that gas station.” But I have this unusual gift where I find it almost impossible to turn around for anything, so I said to my family, “I bet we can make it!”

Everyone in the car sighed in disbelief. At this point I could tell my wife was irritated but I thought the worst case is that I will have to walk to the gas station, so I confidently told everyone, “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

10 miles later into the trip, half-way there, we saw the Border CheckPoint so we all said to ourselves, “Great, we can get gas from them.” Unfortunately, the Border Patrol is familiar with these types of questions and they quickly said, “No, we don’t have gas but here’s a list of companies that will bring you gas.”

At this point the fuel gauge is beyond E. It’s not on the E. It’s fully on the other side of the E. I begin to admit defeat. I tell my family we will stop driving, leave enough gas for the AC to stay on and I will call a company to bring us gas.

But to my surprise, when we called the company to bring gas, which is a $50 fee just to transport the gas, the person asked, “What kind of car?” We told him and he said those little cars can go forever! We asked in disbelief, “Are you sure?” The gauge is beyond the E. He said, “Just keep driving. You will make it!”

Sure enough, we made it to the gas station. Of course, I turned to my family and said, “See, what were yall worried about?” Nobody thought it was funny.

I share this story because sometimes we can treat our spiritual soul like I treated our gas tank on that day. Every day, throughout the day, we have opportunities to feed our spiritual soul but many times we say to ourselves, “I will be fine! Just keep going.” This is what leads me to a few encouragements:

If we have never trust in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we need to start there. It is our faith in Jesus that gives us a spiritual tank to fill up!
Next, Jesus calls us to fill up our spiritual tanks every day, throughout the day. Jesus calls it being a disciple. Jesus has this conversation with Peter when Jesus goes to wash their feet. At first Peter protests, “You could never wash my feet” because Peter thought this would be too humiliating. But Jesus’ response is, “Peter, you have already been made clean. You just need to be washed.” Filling up our spiritual soul is like a good washing!
Time in Scripture. It can be a verse a day. It can be a passage or a chapter. It can be a quick reading or a deep study but the key is to ask ourselves these three questions:
- What does the Scripture teach me about God’s character?
- What does the Scripture teach me about humanities character?
- How does Jesus bring us rescue?
Prayer. In the same way, prayers can be long, short, silent, written; it doesn’t matter. On January 21, 2024 our church family taught through the Lord’s prayer and made these observations to include in our prayers:
- Adoration
- Submission
- Trust
- Confession
- Protection.
Gospel. Our time in God’s Word and prayer should lead us to a place of repentance. Repentance means to turn from sin and turn to Jesus. Repentance softens our heart for God. Repentance reminds us of the glory of God. Repentance shouldn’t fill us with shame and sorrow but joy and hope.
Rest. The bible calls it Sabbath but our faith in Jesus gives us an eternal Sabbath, so that our rest can take place in many shapes and sizes besides one day of the week. But we should still look to incorporate times in our week when we remind ourselves, “God is my provider and protector!”
Giving. Giving financially is a way to remind our soul that we are not the provider and protector. Our country provides opportunities for comfort and prosperity, so that it is easy to feel like we are the ones providing and protecting, therefore, giving is a tangible act of worship, so as to say, “This dollar is not my savior!” You can give in a lot of different ways but if you Partner with North Village Church then you can see how to give HERE.
Serving. God’s Word calls us to look not only after our own interests but also the interests of others, therefore, where in your week are you serving someone else that doesn’t benefit your own interests? I have found that I enter into those moments kicking and screaming. I tell myself, “I don’t have time, I don’t have energy” and yet every time afterwards I think to myself, “I am so glad I did that!”
Sunday Worship. Are you connected to a church family? A church family provides a spiritual covering of protection. I can’t imagine going throughout the day or week all alone. We all need to be committed to a church family.
Fellowship. Our culture is increasingly moving toward an isolated culture. We can pick what we want to eat, what we want to watch, what we want to listen to and curl up in our bed and never have to be around other people. At first glance, it sounds awesome but over time I have found that we will become bored and depressed when we are just focusing on our interests. We need the flavor of other people!

I have found when I am incorporating these spiritual disciplines into my life it leads me to a spiritual tank that is full. It doesn’t mean I won’t have any problems in life. I still have all kinds of problems but it does mean I can weather those problems more securely. My roots in Christ are deeper. My foundation is more solid. My support is more deep. My emotional maturity is more grounded. My thoughts are more clear.

It doesn’t mean layers of anxiety, fear, and discouragement never come my way but it means I can spot them sooner and the truth of God’s Word shapes how I respond to them when I see them coming.

Who Am I to Speak into Someone’s Life?

How many times do we think to ourselves, “I should probably give direction based on God’s Word about what this person should do with their life?” There are probably some of us who can’t help ourselves, some of us who think those things internally but never say anything, and there are also some of us who think, “Why would someone listen to what we have to say?”

Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.”

But God’s Word actually invites us to speak into the lives of other people and below are just a few responses we might give to that invitation:

Nobody would care what we have to say.
I am not qualified to speak into someone’s life.
I need to get my life in order before I talk to someone else.
I’ve made too many mistakes.

As a result, we tend to see people in our life put themselves in a harmful place and we never say anything. Even worse, we wait till that horrible thing happens in their life and then we say under our breath, “I saw that coming a mile away!” But let’s look at Exodus 3:

10 Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”

12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”

Moses has all the typical excuses that we give today. Who am I? What will I say? Why should they listen? If we looked at the next chapter we would see, “What if they don’t listen? I am not good at this? You should send someone else.”

What is God’s response to all those objections? Look at Exodus 3:

14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.

16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.

We tend to give excuses by focusing on ourselves, our resources, our abilities, our wisdom, our gifts but God’s response is to look at His calling, His power, His resources, His wisdom and invites us to trust in Him.

This doesn’t mean we need to walk up to strangers and tell them what to do but God has called us to speak into the lives of others who are in Christ. We are called by God to prayerfully consider, “Who needs to be encouraged, who needs to be challenged, who needs to be acknowledged, who needs to be served, who needs to be prayed for” and we get this opportunity every time we come together on Sunday morning for worship.