You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

“For you fashioned my inmost being,
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you because I am awesomely made,
wonderfully; your works are wonders —
I know this very well.
My bones were not hidden from you
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes could see me as an embryo,
but in your book all my days were already written;
my days had been shaped
before any of them existed.
God, how I prize your thoughts!
How many of them there are!
If I count them, there are more than grains of sand;
if I finish the count, I am still with you” (Psalm 139: 13-18, CJB).

These days, I’ve noticed a bit of the Pharisee lurking in me, especially when it comes to social media. Whenever I see a post with questionable theology, I have a strong desire to go in, fingers blazing to give the correct doctrine. I wish it was because I want to fight for the truth, but more honestly, it’s because I want to be right and win the argument.

But I’ve noticed that very rarely has anyone ever changed their mind through an argument over social media. Most likely, the other person will double down on their side or point or whatever. Usually, whoever it is will see my post as an attack and me as the enemy. That does no one any good.

I’ve learned the best solution is to pray for the other person and for me. Typically, I pray that both of us will come to God’s truth on the matter, not mine or the other person’s. As much as it pains me to admit it, I could very well be wrong. In fact, I’ve been wrong a lot more times than I’ve been right.

The absolute best strategy when I see something that I don’t like or that bugs me: keep scrolling. It’s not my job to fix everyone else in the world and to gate-keep every biblical doctrine ever established. That’s God’s job, and He’s not looking for extra volunteers in that department.

Maybe if I spent more time working on me and seeking out how I can bless others and make a difference in their lives, I wouldn’t have as much time to cast a critical eye on social media. Just a thought.

Today, I had a job interview. I was nervous and excited, but mostly excited. In my mind, I was already planning the celebration for finally being employed after a year out of a job. But alas, it didn’t go as planned.

Actually, it went exactly the way God planned. Just not how I in my own vivid imaginations planned. It ended up being a call center job that I was being considered for and even the thought of being on the phone all day in a customer service setting freaks me right out.

I’m not saying it’s a bad job. Some people are wired for that sort of work. They come alive in that kind of high energy, high pressure environment. Just not me.So here I am, feeling a bit disappointed. I also feel a bit like I’m back to square one. But when I’m honest, I remember that God’s right there with me. His perfect plan is still in place. He still knows the plans He has for me and He still works all things together for good for me.

As the praise song goes, “even when I can’t see it, You’re working. Even when I can’t feel it, You’re working.”

That’s true whether I can see it or feel it or not. God doesn’t require for my faith to be perfect before He acts on my behalf. All He asks for is faith the size of a tiny mustard seed. I can even say, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief” and He will still hear me and heal me.

In the meantime, I continue to pray and do my part, trusting that God has been doing His part all along. I know that my hope in an unchanging God will not disappoint me now or ever.

Because sometimes you just need to laugh a little.

“Oh Lord, we often question ourselves to know whether we have real faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, and we will now pray asking you to search us, and try us and see that we are really trusting in him; and if we are, Lord increase our faith. But if we have merely a faith in name, rid us from the counterfeit, and give us yet the real, precious gold, which wisdom alone can furnish.

Oh, for a humble and sincere faith in our divine Lord. Lord, if it is necessary to break our hearts in order that we may have it, then let them be broken. If we have to unlearn a thousand things to learn the sweet secret of faith in him, let us become fools that we may be wise, only bring us surely and really to stand upon the Rock of Ages—so to stand there as never to fall, but to be kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation.”

The Bible talks about faith that is tested by fire like gold (1 Peter 1:7). I’ve posted this before, but I love the idea that a gold refiner knows that the gold is pure when he can see his reflection in it. That’s how it will be for us — one day God will see His reflection in us and so will other people. And every bit of the fiery trial will have been worth it for that moment.

Lord, do whatever it takes for your reflection to be seen in your people — in me.

I love my church’s worship team. I love how they glorify God through incredible musicianship and singing. I love how they bring so much energy to the service and elevate the name of Jesus. But at the end of the day, if it’s about them and their talents leading the way, then it hasn’t been true worship.

I do think that singing hymns and praise songs are a part of worship. I do think there’s something about declaring the worth of God in song that gets us closer to the heart of God and makes us more aware of His presence. But if it’s been just about us singing songs about God, then it hasn’t been true worship.

True worship doesn’t start at 9:00 AM on Sunday morning and end at 10:15. True worship doesn’t exist solely in 4/4 (or sometimes 3/4 time). True worship begins when we open our eyes in the morning and declare the worth of God. How we talk to and treat our family as we get ready for church, how we navigate traffic as we drive to church, how we treat the servers where we eat after church are all a part of worship.

We can’t sing to Jesus for 30 minutes on Sunday and live for ourselves the rest of the time and call it worship. Granted, we all fall short of God’s glory every single day, but when we confess our brokenness and declare our dependence on Jesus, that’s worship. When we present ourselves — our very bodies — to God for the purpose of being transformed instead of allowing ourselves to be conformed to the world, that’s worship. When our world as we know it is falling apart and every visible sign of God’s comfort and presence is gone, yet we still declare with Job, “Though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him,” (Job 13:15, NIV), that’s worship that is acceptable and pleasing in the sight of God.

I confess that I didn’t like taking naps as a kid. I’ll admit that sometimes when I was forced to take a nap, I would fake like I was sleeping until I could get up and go play. When I saw the meme about how I wish I cold have rollover minutes for all the naps I missed, I felt it deeply in my bones. I wish I could have those naps back.

But now I love naps. There’s nothing better on a cold and rainy afternoon than a good nap. Especially if the fan is blowing and the pillow is cold and the sheets are warm. There was a point when I had to set my alarm for a nap or else I’d sleep for three hours and wake up not knowing what year it was. Now, I can bank on sleeping for 45 minutes to an hour, regardless of how sleepy I feel.

Naps are good because sometimes the human body needs rest. I mentioned previously reading a book recently called The Rest of God about really taking a Sabbath rest. I think that we’ve escaped so far from the legalism of Sabbath that sometimes we miss the point altogether. It’s about restoration and refreshment, not ritual.

I’m still learning what that means. I’m not the best at it yet, but I believe God honors us when we honor Him by keeping what He commands, including honoring the Sabbath. If you have ways that you use to make the Sabbath restful, I’d like to know so that maybe I can add them to my own life. You can leave me a comment below or you can text me at 615-556-5850.

“The atmosphere around you my friend…
Who has your ear?

How are your conversations?

Who says I’ll pray and really does?

Who tells you the truth,

even when they know it will be tough or you won’t hear it?
Who encourages you to merge from small territory?

Who tells you to pray when a knee jerk react is imminent?

Who can be trusted?

Who points you to Jesus?

That circle is of utmost importance, my friend—

Just as the air you breathe.
No small thing” (Kathy Troccoli).

After my last small group broke up, I didn’t think I’d ever find another one like it. To be accurate, we didn’t break up, some of the people in the group decided to start seeing other groups. We just sorta stopped meeting. Plus, our fearless group leader was blessed to become a campus pastor at our Woodbine location. So no complaints at all there.

Still, I missed being in a community of believers. So three weeks ago I broke down and signed up to be in a new small group. It was billed as a Co-ed Intergenerational group. I wasn’t sure if that meant they were of all ages or that they all just really liked Star Trek a lot. It didn’t matter. I was in and I was committed.

I haven’t regretted it one bit. I felt welcomed and at home from day one. I found a place I belonged. I had found my people. So many of the group are walking through some dark valleys, but we lift each up in prayer and encouragement. Sometimes, when you’re struggling, the best words you can hear are “you’re not alone” and “me too.”

I can’t wait to see where God takes us. I may even start bringing my jokes to the group, although I don’t want to scare the newbies off with my lame dad jokes. At least not yet.

God’s command is for us to be present and engaged in a local body of believers called a local church. But I really do believe God wants us to go deeper into community groups, Bible reading groups, and/or mentor relationships. After all Jesus had His followers, but He also had His 12 disciples and His 3 (Peter, James and John).

We are truly better together and there’s an empowering of the Holy Spirit that happens when believers meet to celebrate Jesus that doesn’t happen to us individually.