life

They Overcame

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“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives even in the face of death” (Revelation 12:11, TLV).

Tonight I attended something called What a God: A Night of Testimony & Thanksgiving at Brentwood Baptist Church. Basically, it was a night of worship interspersed with testimonies of people who experienced the healing of God in their lives and a time of prayer for those dealing with serious illnesses.

It was a beautiful reminder of the goodness of God. Time and time again, we saw how the Lord was faithful to do what He promised. Time after time, we saw how the miracles came because people were bold enough to ask in prayer. I don’t believe that God heals everyone every time on this side of heaven, but I do believe that we often don’t receive from the Lord because we do not ask.

There’s something powerful about someone’s testimony that points people to Jesus. You can argue points of doctrine and theology all day long, but it’s hard to dispute eyewitness accounts. Add that to some powerful songs of thanksgiving, and it was a good night.

I still say that the best antidote for worry is worship. The cure for anxiety is adoration. Once you take your eyes off of yourself and put them on Jesus, everything that seems so pressing and urgent falls back into place. Of course, I know that certain kinds of extreme anxiety have physical causes and it is no sin to take medication or have counseling at times.

Every time we gather for worship, we remember that we are singing not for a potential victory but from a promised victory. We declare that the battle is the Lord’s and He has already overcome. The enemy is already a defeated foe. We are already more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

I’m thankful to Travis Cottrell and all the worship team at Brentwood Baptist Church for putting on a night like this where God was the main attraction. It could very easily have been another concert with an audience of multitudes, but it was instead a worship night with an audience of one. And boy, did He show up.



One Final CAFO Takeaway (from September 20, 2024)

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I was able to attend the final session of the CAFO 2024 conference for which I was a volunteer. It was an incredible experience hearing from MaryBeth Chapman about the journey of adoption through grief and healing and beyond. Then I heard an amazing sermon that I’m still processing. I don’t remember the name of the preacher, but the message hit home.

Basically, Caesar issued a dirty decree that made all the inhabitants of the Roman world go back to their ancestral hometown to be registered (so that he could later raise their taxes significantly). It was a hardship for many, especially Joseph and Mary, who was with child at the time.

But God used that dirty decree to accomplish His own divine decree, born before the foundation of the world and prophesied 700 years before Caesar made his decree. Caesar was the instrument God used to accomplish the purpose of bringing Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem to fulfill the prophecy that the Messiah would arise from that little town.

I look back and see that me being out of a job enabled me to participate in this conference as a volunteer where I would normally have not been able. I could not have foreseen this back in February, but God already knew. God’s plan means there is a purpose for my pain and a special joy for me if I will step out in faith and join Him in the journey He has for me.

God is not surprised by my setbacks or my (occasional) stupidity. He’s factored those into His plan. In fact, Romans 8:28-30 says, “We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are chosen to be a part of His plan. God knew from the beginning who would put their trust in Him. So He chose them and made them to be like His Son. Christ was first and all those who belong to God are His brothers. He called to Himself also those He chose. Those He called, He made right with Himself. Then He shared His shining-greatness with those He made right with Himself” (Romans 8:28-30, NLV).

Ultimately, the goal is to be like Jesus and to know that He is coming back. We will see the grand purpose in God’s plan, knowing that behind every dirty decree is a divine decree of God directing us toward His perfect will for us.

I Believe

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“I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Creator, infinitely holy and loving, who has a plan for the world, a plan for my life, and some daily work for me to do. I believe in Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, as Example, Lord, and Savior. I believe in the Holy Spirit who is able to guide my life so that I may know God’s will; and I am prepared to allow him to guide and control my life. I believe in God’s law that I should love the Lord my God with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind, and with all my strength; and my neighbor as myself. I believe it is God’s will that the whole world should be without any barriers of race, color, class, or anything else that breaks the spirit of fellowship. To believe means to believe with the mind and heart, to accept, and to act accordingly on that basis” (Eric Liddell).

I still believe. Not in a humble brag way, but in the most honest way I know how to believe. I’ve heard about and read about so many people who called themselves Christians and were deeply impactful in my life but who no longer choose to be associated with Christianity. Or they’ve gone so far down the deconstruction rabbit hole that what they believe is no longer close to what the Bible teaches.

Why do I still believe? I think it’s because I have no other choice. I love it when Jesus asks His followers if they’re about to leave Him after He said some hard truths that drove away many followers. Peter basically said, “Where else are we gonna go? Only You have the words of eternal life.”

That’s how I feel. What other religion or belief system gives me hope? Who else died for my sins and gives me a fresh slate every morning when I’ve failed miserably the night before?

It’s not so much that I have such a strong faith in God but more of a mustard-sized faith in a very strong God. It’s not me having a stranglehold on God but that He’s holding on to me and won’t ever let go. That’s my hope. If I could have lost my salvation, I would have lost it a long time ago. Thankfully, I hold the promise that God in Jesus won’t lose a single one of those who come to Him in faith. He will finish what He started in me.

I honestly don’t know why people walk away from faith. I don’t know that I would have done any differently if I were in their shoes and walking their roads. I know that I can pray for them to rediscover faith (or even discover real faith for the first time). I know that there’s no better place than in the center of God’s will and no better hope than the one that Jesus offers.

Completely Other

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“‘I don’t think the way you think.
The way you work isn’t the way I work.’
God’s Decree.’For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
they’ll complete the assignment I gave them” (Isaiah 55:8-11, The Message).

I don’t know about you, but I’m thankful for a God I can’t figure out. I’m grateful that His ways are higher than mine, because anything I could completely comprehend wouldn’t be worth worshipping. As far as the heavens are above the earth, so much higher are God’s thoughts than mine.

I also think that a lot of deconstruction of faith happens when we judge God by our standards rather than the other way around. We make ourselves the standard by which God must abide. God would never [fill in the blank] because I would never [fill in the blank]. But that puts us above God and essentially makes us gods.

The older I get, the more I’m sure the less I know. I’m less inclined to think I have all the answers than I was when I was younger. I am also more aware of my deep need for a God who isn’t just Me 2.0, upgraded to be faster and stronger and smarter. I need someone who is completely other, someone who could condescend to my level and do for me what I could never do for myself. And that, my friends, is the gospel.

Thank You, God, that You are bigger than entire galaxies and universes, yet You are mindful of me. You who are beyond space and time became like me so that I could one day become like You. You entered into human history to redeem it and to redeem me and everybody else who calls on You in faith. Amen.

I Wish You Knew

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One of my favorite artists, Keith Green, has a song entitled “Song to My Parent (I Only Want to See You There),” and I think that expresses my sentiments over so many people I know. If there’s anything I’ve learned from 53 years of being alive and over 45 of those as a child of God, is that having Jesus is so much better than not having Him. My worst days with Jesus are better than my best days without Him.

It’s not about avoiding going to hell, although hell is real. After all, God won’t force anyone to be with Him and He will respect the choices that we have made, even if we choose to be separated from Him. The best part isn’t not being in hell but looking forward to an eternity in heaven with the abundance of joy in this life as well.

There are so many stories and testimonies of people who were hopelessly lost and hopelessly addicted, but Jesus found them and now they are brand new creations. They aren’t improved versions of their old selves. They are something completely new that only God could have dreamed of and made into reality.

It’s amazing when God opens your eyes and you really see everything for the first time. Everything makes more sense. Sure, suffering and pain still exist, but now they have meaning. We still lose people we love, but now we grieve as those who have hope. I’m finally starting to get what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains” (Acts 26:29, NLT).

I’m closing with the song Keith Green wrote for his parents with the hopes of seeing them in heaven one day. He may be gone, but his legacy of music and testimony lives on:

“I need to say these things ’cause I love you so
And I’m sorry you get angry when I say that you just don’t know
That there’s a heaven waiting for you and me
I know it seems every time we talk
I’m only trying to just make you see

But it’s only that I care
I really only want just to see you there

Please try and overlook my, my human side
I know I’m such a bad example, and you know I’m so full of pride
But Jesus isn’t like that, no, He’s perfect all the way
I guess that’s why we need Him
‘Cause by ourselves, there’s just no way

And it’s only that I care
I really, really only just want to see you there
To see you there

Close the doors
They’re just not coming
We sent the invitations out a long, long, long, long time ago
We’re still gonna have a wedding feast
Big enough to beat them all
The greatest people in the world just wouldn’t come
So now we’ll just have to invite the small

And it’s only that I care
I really, really only want just to see you there

Isn’t that Jesus?
Isn’t it Joseph and Mary’s Son?
Well, didn’t He grow up right here?
He played with our children
What? He must be kidding
Thinks He’s a prophet
Well, prophets don’t grow up from little boys
Do they?
From little boys
Do they?”

Trust in an Unchanging God

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“Blessed be your name ever-living God. Our neighbors die; friend after friend departs; few of us have not lost someone dear to us; but you abide the same and there is no end to your years. We come to you. You are as strong to deliver today as you were in our fathers’ time; as true to your promise and as mighty to perform your covenant as when you spoke to Abraham at Mamre (Genesis 18) or worked mightily in the field of Zoan for the children of Israel (Psalm 78:12, 43). You God, are forever strong and mighty. Never can your arm know paralysis, nor can your brow decay. We look up to you with joyful confidence, knowing that you are an inexhaustible fountain of every good thing, and believing that you will supply our need out of the riches of your fullness of glory by Christ Jesus.
Amen” (Charles Spurgeon).

That’s our only hope, folks. Everything else we lean on and depend on will collapse. Every other avenue will lead to a dead end, but God is faithful. Jesus ever lives to intercede for those who belong to Him and God the Father knows how to give good gifts to those who ask. We are secure in the everlasting arms, no matter what.

Remind yourself of that every day, every hour, every minute. Breathe in God’s mercy and breathe out God’s grace because He is as close as your next breath. If all you have are sighs and groans, God knows what they mean. If your only prayer that you can speak in the dead of night is simply to whisper the name Jesus, He will hear and He will come.

My prayer more than ever is for everyone reading these words to know the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding and human wisdom, to find the rest that He promises those who come to Him in faith, and to live in the abundant life that comes to anyone who believes on the name of Jesus. Truly, as I keep hearing lately, He’s where the joy is.

Learning Something New Every Day

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I’ve been listening to The Bible Podcast by Tara-Leigh Cobble on Audible lately. It’s really supposed to supplement a daily reading Bible plan, but since I’ve been reading the Bible on a different plan, I’m basically listening to the segments straight through. It’s been like getting a crash course on the entire Bible in five-minute segments.

One thing I learned blew my mind a bit. It was after Jesus rose from the grave and met the disciples while they were fishing unsuccessfully. He told them to cast the net on the other side, and when they did they caught 153 fish, nearly breaking their net.

Apparently, there are 153 different kinds of fish in the Sea of Galilee, so they caught one of every kind. That harkened back to Jesus telling these disciples that soon they would be fishing for people instead of fish. This was a visual way of telling them that the gospel they preached was to be for everyone.

That means that in heaven there will be people from every single people group, language, skin color, ethnicity, country, and race. When Jesus returns, there will be no more unreached people groups left. Every one will have heard the good news. That means that this mission Jesus gave to us, His church, will not fail.

That should give us greater joy and hope. We can share the good news knowing that it’s never in vain. While not everyone will believe our message every time, we can know that what we preach and teach never returns void. We can labor with the confidence that God is at work mightily through what we do in the strength and power of His Holy Spirit in us.

I love the scene in Revelation when the heavenly throne room is crowded with people from every tongue, tribe, and race. I don’t know if we’ll each be singing in our heart languages and understand each other or if we’ll have a new heavenly vocabulary that we all share. But I do know the song will be the same and the God we sing to will be the same and the eternal praise that comes from joyful lips and hearts will be the same.

“I looked again. I heard a company of Angels around the Throne, the Animals, and the Elders—ten thousand times ten thousand their number, thousand after thousand after thousand in full song:

The slain Lamb is worthy!
Take the power, the wealth, the wisdom, the strength!
Take the honor, the glory, the blessing!

Then I heard every creature in Heaven and earth, in underworld and sea, join in, all voices in all places, singing:

To the One on the Throne! To the Lamb!
The blessing, the honor, the glory, the strength,
For age after age after age.

The Four Animals called out, “Oh, Yes!” The Elders fell to their knees and worshiped” (Revelation 5:11-14, The Message).

Act Yourself Into a New Way of Feeling

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“Feelings are great liars. If Christians worshipped only when they felt like it, there would be precious little worship. We think that if we don’t feel something there can be no authenticity in doing it. But the wisdom of God says something different: that we can act ourselves into a new way of feeling much quicker than we can feel ourselves into a new way of acting. Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God that is expressed in an act of worship” (Eugene H. Peterson).

To act when you don’t feel it isn’t authentic. Often, it’s obedience. I do what’s right because I know it’s right and not because I feel it’s right. If I waited every time until I felt like worshipping or reading my Bible or tithing, I would do all those things a lot less.

Feelings are fickle. So often they are unreliable guides to base decisions and actions upon. I may not feel like it because I’m tired or hungry or not feeling well. Sometimes, feelings are based off of false or incomplete information. When I find out a key missing ingredient, my feelings change.

Faith is not a feeling. Love is not a feeling. Both are acts of the will. You are stating that I believe in something enough to put my full weight into it whether I feel like it or not. I love by acting in such a way that seeks the betterment of the other whether I feel it or not. Often when I commit to faith, the feeling follows. When I act in loving ways, then I feel loving.

Above all, worship is an act. It’s a declaration that God is worthy. Even when I don’t feel it, He’s still worthy. Even when I feel He’s absent or silent, He’s still worthy because my feelings may trick me or lie to me but God never will.

Happy Birth-Month to Me!

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I figured when you get to a certain age, you need to celebrate being alive. Somehow, I don’t think that one day is enough to appreciate the miracle of life, so I decided to take the whole month of February. I know, it’s a short month, even on leap years. But life is hard enough without allowing yourself some room for frivolity and fun.

My actual birthday is on February 28, as I was ever so close to being a leap year baby. If I’d been born only 11 hours later, I’d be celebrating on February 29 and only be 1/4 of my current age. I wish.

But age is nothing to be ashamed of, especially when you know far too many people who didn’t get to grow old. I see my life more and more as a gift, even when I’m starting to get those senior discounts without having to show any actual ID. That hurts a bit, I confess.

But God has been good to me for 53 years. I have way more blessings than I can count (and way more than I deserve if I’m being honest). I know that I’m a sinner saved by grace, and everything else that I get from God is the proverbial icing on the cake.

By the way, I wear size 8 1/2 Lucchese boots and I like my cabins size medium. JK. I figured out a long time ago that people matter more than stuff and memories last way longer than any possessions. Besides, I won’t be taking any of my stuff with me when I shuffle off this mortal coil. I mean have you ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul? Think about it.

Anyway, I’d like to make it to 100, but I’m thankful for whatever I get. If Jesus comes back before then, I’m definitely not going to complain. That will be the best day ever.

More Amy Carmichael Wisdom

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“Let us end on a very simple note: Let us listen to simple words; our Lord speak simply: ‘Trust Me, My child,’ He says. ‘Trust Me with a humbler heart and a fuller abandon to My will than ever thou didst before. Trust Me to pour My love through thee, as minute succeeds minute. And if thou shouldst be conscious of anything hindering that flow, do not hurt My love by going away from Me in discouragement, for nothing can hurt so much as that. Draw all the closer to Me; come, flee unto Me to hide thee, even from thyself. Tell Me about the trouble. Trust Me to turn My hand upon thee and thoroughly to remove the boulder that has choked they river-bed, and take away all the sand that has silted up the channel. I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. I will perfect that which concerneth thee. Fear thou not, O child of My love; fear not.’

And now…to gather all in one page:

Beloved, let us love.

Lord, what is love?

‘Love is that which inspired My life, and led Me to My Cross, and held Me on My Cross. Love is that which will make it thy joy to lay down thy life for thy brethren.’

Lord, evermore give me this love.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after love, for they shall be filled” (Amy Carmichael).

All I can say after that is that you need to go right away and find as many Amy Carmichael books as you can, as well as any biographies (especially the one by Elisabeth Elliot). Or better yet, read good books by missionaries who have invested lifetimes in the field for the Lord. Those are just about always worth it.