theology

Hymn Night 2026

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The main campus of my church hosted a hymn night. It was better than advertised and even better than I thought it would be going in. Of course, they sang all the classic hymns that I loved growing up and a few newer ones (including a couple that I wasn’t familiar with before tonight).

The highlight was when they brought out Bill Gaither to talk about one of the songs his wife had written back in the day. I have to say he’s very spry for a 90-year old. I hope I’m doing half as well as he is when I get to be that age (unless Jesus comes back, then it won’t matter).

Throw in the Gaither Vocal Band and Larry Gatlin for a couple of songs, and calling it a great night would be something of an understatement. But the best part of the night for me was still those old hymns that still speak even though the writers have long since graduated to heaven.

One song that struck me forcibly with the power of the lyrics was called “I Then Shall Live.” It felt like an old hymn, but apparently isn’t since Gloria Gaither co-wrote the lyrics:

“I then shall live as one who’s been forgiven.
I’ll walk with joy to know my debts are paid.
I know my name is clear before my Father; 
I am His child and I am not afraid.
So, greatly pardoned, I’ll forgive my brother;
The law of love I gladly will obey.

I then shall live as one who’s learned compassion.
I’ve been so loved, that I’ll risk loving too.
I know how fear builds walls instead of bridges;
I’ll dare to see another’s point of view.
And when relationships demand commitment,
Then I’ll be there to care and follow through.

Your Kingdom come around and through and in me;
Your power and glory, let them shine through me.
Your Hallowed Name, O may I bear with honor,
And may Your living Kingdom come in me.
The Bread of Life, O may I share with honor,
And may You feed a hungry world through me.

Amen, Amen, Amen” (David Phelps / Dp / Gloria L Gaither)

Watch Your Thoughts

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“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” (Frank Outlaw)

The problem with a lot of modern Christianity, particularly the American variety, is that most people think that you automatically drift toward holiness aside from any intentionality or effort. True, you don’t work for your salvation, but the Bible commands us to work out our salvation. Holiness takes discipline and effort; that’s why there are so many professing Christians and so few disciples.

I’m guilty for thinking that I will become holier the longer I’m saved simply because I’m saved. I think a lot of us are. We forget that for every godly saint, there are 10 older believers who are just as immature in their faith as they were on day one of their salvation. A lot of people who call themselves believers know very little about what they believe and even less about the Bible.

But we (me included) are called to a higher standard. If we truly live out what we believe and strive for biblical holiness, three things will happen: 1) People will call us extreme and radical, even those inside the Church who are comfortable in their lukewarmness. 2) Many will hate us as they hated Jesus for speaking the trust and not compromising with sin. 3) Some will be drawn to the real holiness they see instead of the pretend piety they see most of the time that actually puts people off from the faith.

Lord, help us to love You more than we love anything else in the world. Help us to follow You instead of following the world’s idea of faith. Remind us how Your disciples rejoiced when they were counted worthy of suffering for Your name because that means that people are paying attention. Help us to be lights to a dark world and salt to a decaying culture. Amen.

What We Become

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“What we become is more important than where we’re from” (seen on a church sign).

People can get so caught up in their past and become a prisoner to it. So many lives are defined by regret and bitterness. So many can’t move forward because they’re still stuck in the same place where they received their wounds that won’t heal. So many have been the victim for so long that they don’t know how to be anything else.

But God is telling a different story.

As I’ve mentioned before, God can take the worst moment of your life that you swore you’d never tell anyone about and make it the opening line of your testimony (with much love and thanks to Uncle Mikey for that one). With God, your past with all its mistakes and carnage now serves a purpose instead of serving shame.

At one point, the Bible gives a long laundry list of sins and says that the people who based their identity on these sins won’t inherit the Kingdom of God. Then comes one of the best lines in the Bible: AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU.

In other words, that’s who you were but not who you are now. That’s no longer what defines you or gives your life meaning. For those in Christ, you are no longer an alcoholic or an adulterer or a homosexual or a thief or any of those things. You are now a son of God or a daughter of God.

Now who you are becoming is more important than where you’re from. God in Jesus is making you into His image, taking away your heart of stone and giving you a heart of flesh. He’s taking away your sinful desires and giving you a passion for pleasing Christ in all you do. He’s making you into the person He created you to be and you are finally becoming your truest self rather than a carbon copy of everyone else or a slave to your addictions and desires.

So remember that. What we become is more important than where we’re from. The story ain’t over, folks. It’s about to get really good.

Saturday Randomness

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It’s been a little while since I did a random post of random thoughts and such. I couldn’t think of anything better, so here we are with a little stream of consciousness.

I’m dog sitting currently for my sister and her family. Well, technically I’m dog sitting, rabbit sitting, fish sitting, and chinchilla sitting. So basically I’m pet sitting. But I like all the critters, so it’s all good.

I had to get a tire patched earlier today. I don’t know why, but I seem to be really good lately at picking up nails in my tires. It’s probably my new spiritual gift. I don’t even have to try. They just automatically gravitate toward my vehicle and latch on.

Also, I’m looking for some speakers to go with my sorta new turntable. The old one is probably DOA, so I’m trying to make the not quite so new one work. If you or someone you know has any idea of a good place to find some for a relatively good price, I’m all eyes and ears.

Also, I’m thankful. The older I get, the more thankful I am. I realize that most of those things I used to take for granted are really the best things in life. Faith, family, friends, food (kidding but not kidding), and so many other things. I’ve learned to quit worrying about what’s missing and start appreciating all that I already have, which is more than enough.

So far, I think I’ve nailed the random part. This one is all over the place, but hopefully in a good way. Plus, I am super tired and in need of a good night’s rest, so hopefully tomorrow will be back to your normally scheduled blog posts and maybe slightly less random.

Thank you for reading. You rock.

Drown Out the Noise

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“…new week coming and yeah, do I hear you. It’s all coming at you & you can hear this voice that says you can’ t do it & it’s all a bit impossible, just too hard.

And there’s this in the quiet: To silence the other voices in your head all day, You need God’s Word in your heart at the beginning of your day.

His Word that holds you close & whispers:

“I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love & more love! I will strengthen you. I will take you by the hand & guide you.

I’ll never let you down, never walk off & leave you. I am with you, ready to help.

Live fearless — Who or what can get past Me to get to you? I promise, every detail in your life of love for Me, will be worked into something good”

(Jeremiah 31:3MSG, 1Pet2:9, Eph3:14, Jn16:12, Heb.13:5,Ro8:28)

Hear that? God’s got this — *and you.*

*Never* let the noise of the world around you,

drown out *God’s Word* about you — His voice about you & this week is all that matters!

#PreachingGospeltoMyself“

I read recently that we consume the same amount of information in 30 minutes that our grandparents took in over the course of a month. That’s crazy. No wonder we’re overwhelmed. We’re literally living in the middle of a TMI epidemic. At some point, it’s too much information for one brain to process successfully.

Maybe that’s why it’s good to turn off the noise. Shut off the laptop. Turn off the phone. Pick up the Bible. Or sit in silence and make space for God to speak to you. Give your mind a chance to recover the same way you give your muscles a day to recover after an intense workout.

Ultimately, the way to peace is not doom-scrolling for hour. It’s not even taking in good information through social media. It’s learning to shut everything off and be comfortable in the quiet and stillness. After all, God didn’t speak to Elijah in the whirlwind or in the storm or in any of the noisy events but in a small still voice that Elijah would have missed had he been preoccupied with his own thoughts or distracted by noise.

Lord, we yearn for You. We know the best way to find You is to sit quiet and still so that we can learn to hear from You instead of being overwhelmed by the 9,999 other voices that clamor for our attention all day. Give us peace as we give You time to speak to us and over us. Amen.

Getting God Right

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“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like” (A W Tozer).

A lot of people today seem to have reimagined God into their own likeness. The old joke says that God created man in His own image, and man has been trying to repay the compliment ever since. We want a god like us because that’s a kind of god we can manipulate and control. That’s the kind of god who will never push us or challenge us or make us uncomfortable or ever ask anything of us.

If you get Jesus wrong, you get God wrong. If you get God wrong, you basically get everything else wrong. This doesn’t fall under the category of “you do you,” meaning whatever you believe about God is fine. The Bible has given us the one true God and anytime we try to deviate from that, we mess up big time.

Every part of our worldview and our worship springs from how we view God. Is He a benign old grandfather who will tolerate anything and everything? Or is He a moral busybody looking to crack down on the least little offense and throw some lightening bolts at sinners?

Brennan Manning said it best: “I want neither a terrorist spirituality that keeps me in a perpetual state of fright about being in right relationship with my heavenly Father nor a sappy spirituality that portrays God as such a benign teddy bear that there is no aberrant behavior or desire of mine that he will not condone. I want a relationship with the Abba of Jesus, who is infinitely compassionate with my brokenness and at the same time an awesome, incomprehensible, and unwieldy Mystery.”

Lord, help us to know You more and more. Forgive us for when we try to make You more like us instead of trying to be more like You. We confess that so often we would rather choose comfort and complacency than stepping out in faith to follow where You lead, no matter how costly the road. Help us to see that knowing You and following You is worth whatever the cost and is infinitely better than anything we might lose. Amen.

Smell Those Roses

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“Taking time to smell the roses leaves enduring impressions of a dear glory that, if sufficiently reengaged, can change the quality of our entire life. The rose in a very special way—and more generally the flower, even in its most humble forms—is a fragile but irrepressible witness on earth to a ‘larger’ world where good is somehow safe” (Dallas Willard).

I do take time occasionally to smell roses and other kinds of flowers, but I think in this case the idea is to slow down and savor your life. Don’t be in such a hurry that you wind up at the end of your life and have no memories of precious time spent with the people you love. After all, the only place you get to in a hurry is the grave.

This culture glorifies busyness. We abhor boredom or down time. We need to fill every single moment of the day with some kind of activity, and we think we can sleep when we’re dead. Unfortunately, you’ll end up dead a lot faster that way. Plus, so much of what we remember isn’t all those things we planned, but what happened when we were waiting or when our plans got intteruppted or changed. So much of when God speaks to us isn’t in the middle of our hectic schedule but in those margins when we’re finally able to be silent and still.

The old saying goes that you will never have time unless you make time for what’s important to you. You can let your life be dictated by the tyranny of the urgent, or you can prioritize what matters most to you and decide to put those things first in your life. Then you’re finally living and not merely existing anymore.

Lord, help us to focus on living well instead of merely living a long time. Give us eyes to see where You’re working around us and give us ears to hear what You’re saying to us. Slow us down so that we don’t miss what You want to do in us and through us. Amen.

The Gracious Wounds of God

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“Sometimes the most gracious, merciful thing God could ever do is wound you. To wound you, (and in that wound bind you to Himself) is far more gracious than to bless you with everything you want and have you not know Him” (Matt Chandler).

I found out recently that my pastor who is battling cancer is in stage 4. I also learned that a surgery last month to remove the cancer was unsuccessful. At that point, a lot of people would either give into fear or throw in the proverbial towel altogether. But not my pastor.

He has maintained an incredible and submissive attitude throughout the entire ordeal. I’m not saying he never is afraid or gives into moments of doubt, but he is trusting God, no matter what the outcome. He reminded us that the way to fight spiritual battles is through praise.

It’s easy for me to lose perspective sometimes when I’m in a struggle and forget that others are dealing with way worse than I am. The secret is not comparison with others or dwelling solely on the problem but keeping our eyes on God. As I’ve heard it recently, the antidote to anxiety is the adoration of God.

My pastor referenced a passage where King Jeoshaphat is facing a combined army that is invading Israel and the odds are not good. Instead of panicking, he turns to God in prayer. The last line of his prayer is one of my favorite verses in the Bible: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Sometimes, God has to wound us to get us to look up. Sometimes, He allows trials and suffering to get our attention. Sometimes, we face hardships and trials to purify our faith and get us to turn our eyes on Jesus. I’d rather be wounded and find the comfort of closeness with God than get everything I’ve ever wanted and not know God. That would be tragic.

Lord, get our attention. Help us see that there’s nothing else that we could ever desire that is better than You. You are the only one able to hold us together when we feel like we’re falling apart. You’re the only one who can heal our woundedness and brokenness. We don’t know what to do so much of the time, so we once again turn our eyes on You, the author and finisher of our faith. Amen.

Not My Will

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“Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt. Send me where Thou wilt. Work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever. Amen” (Betty Scott Stam).

This is another good prayer to pray. I mean, I have nothing against prayers about God blessing us and giving us the desires of our hearts, but the prayer that God will always honor is one that says, “God, Your will be done.”

I’ve learned over the years that I’m not the best at choosing what’s good for me. Sometimes, I feel what’s best instead of thinking it. Sometimes, I want something because I see that someone else has it. My motives are a mixed bag at best.

But when I leave the choice with God, I can rest assured that God will always choose the best. He will pick what brings Him the most glory, which in turn is what is always for my greatest good.

If God gives me something other than what I asked for, He is still good. If God doesn’t give me what I ask for, He is still good. If God gave me nothing else from this point on, He would still be good. No matter what, through feast or famine, through garden or desert, He is still good.

Lord, have Your way in me. I lay down every one of my desires at Your feet to do with as You will. Whether or not You ever give me any of them or not, You are and will always be good. Amen.

A New Take on Isaiah 40

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“Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,
or, whine, Israel, saying,
“God has lost track of me.
He doesn’t care what happens to me”?
Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?
God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.
He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
they walk and don’t lag behind” (Isaiah 40:27-31, The Message)

Again, I don’t always love The Message. Sometimes it gets a little loose with the paraphrase. But sometimes, it really gets the nuances of the text in a way that traditional translations don’t.

If you’ve read the same verses in the same way, it can almost lose its meaning. It’s like with a familiar song. Your brain goes into autopilot and you’re singing the words without really thinking about them or what they mean. Sometimes, you need to read a familiar passage in an unfamiliar rendering to see it with new eyes, like when an old hymn gets a new arrangement and suddenly the lyrics stand out in a way they didn’t before.

If you trust in God, He will be your strength. He will be the fuel to get you where you’re going. He isn’t like anybody else because we’re hit or miss on most days. Some days, we’re trustworthy. Some days, not so much. But God is the same every day. He’s always good, always gracious, always ready to help. always strong to save, and always a safe place to land.