Worry Worry Worry

Paul in Philippians 4:6-7 says, 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

For many people, it is easy to scoff at those first six words. “Don’t be anxious,” why didn’t I think of that, as you put your palm to your forehead? There are many times that our anxiety is brought upon us by the feelings of being out of control. It is in those very times that we need to keep reading the rest of the verse. When we feel that way we should turn to God in prayer and supplication (supplication can be seen as making our requests known).

I’ve been going to church for a long time, and if there is one area I’ve seen that is a struggle for numerous people it’s prayer. We feel weird talking out loud alone. We feel like prayers only work if we use extravagant language or talk like Shakespeare. We feel uncomfortable naming our struggles. When naming our struggles might be exactly what we need to do.

If you don’t take the time to name or understand your struggles, how will you ever cast those cares on God? God wants to be with you, and you will feel his presence more if you let him sit with you. No one is impressed when you bear a burden alone. In fact, they are usually multiplied by our fear and isolation.

Prayer will rarely solve our problems immediately and on the spot. However, prayer can give your heart a peace that surpasses all understanding. Christ is with you, he goes before you and is behind you. He is on your right and on your left.

What do you need to pray about today?

Love Them Too

Who in your life would you do anything to help? Who makes the list, where no mountain is too high or valley too low for you to make every effort to support or rescue them? Unless you are literally Superman then that list is understandable short. Very few of us have the capacity to be rescuing force for more than a handful of people.

As we consider our capacity to be with and around other people, what if we scaled back the question a lot. Who in your life do you have the ability to help in some small way? Who in your life do you have the ability to show kindness? The answer to those questions results in a much longer list. It costs nothing to say good morning.

Unfortunately, many of us have decided that we only really need the shorter of these two lists to make it in the world today. We know what Christians are supposed to do. We know what God would have us do. We know the call Christ has put on our lives. And in response we just say “nah.”

We forget the words of Luke 6:33-35 33 “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

We are not called to help those who help us. We are not called to just be a positive force in the world. We are called to love our enemies. And that’s way harder! As we look at the world, it is easy to see that love is lacking. You don’t have to change your whole life today, but you can make strides towards being more loving to the people around you. Even the people you consider enemies.

Expertise

If you’ve been on the internet at all in the last 10 years, then you know that we are surrounded by experts. Experts on everything. One person says eat these foods to live forever. While someone else says eating those same foods will LITERALLY kill you. If the team that lost the game had only done XYZ they would’ve won the game. From raising your kids, to medical advice, to a litany of life hacks it seems like far too many people are ready, willing, and able to tell you how to live your life.

Even in the church, a place where even if we have the same theology and trust in the same God, we can look at another body of believers and list off all the ways they are “doing it wrong” in our eyes. As something of an expert myself, I would like to join the rabble and offer my own authoritative solution.

What if we just let God be God? God’s been doing it longer and has more experience. What if we look to the way others do things (within orthodoxy of course) with hopeful expectation that we have the opportunity to learn something.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 puts it this way, 18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

When we crown ourselves the experts on absolutely everything, we are telling the world, “I have nothing left to learn.” There is a phenomenon called the “trained incapacity of experts” wherein highly skilled individuals in a specific field become unable to think creatively or adapt to new situations due to their deep-rooted training and expertise.

God is doing new things around us all the time, if we have the eyes to see them. God is the expert. God is the authority. What would happen if you settled into place as the student?

Got Hard Times

There’s a passage in James that gets quoted a lot at people who are going through hard times. James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Given the choice I think most of us would choose the lacking nothing part and skip the whole “learning to be steadfast” part. We want the glory; we just don’t want the work. We want the scars and the stories; we just don’t want it to hurt. Unfortunately, muscles don’t grow unless you work them, and this applies to physical, mental, or emotional muscles. There’s a good number of people who recently gave up on going to the gym because after a month they didn’t lose fifty pounds and have a perfectly defined six-pack.

When we face hard times, we will rarely look at our situation in the moment and say, “I’m so happy that I get to learn and grow from this important life lesson!” More often, we just hate it for a season as we weather the storm of life. It’s only when we make it through to the other side of our situation, and maybe a time of rest, that we can reflect and see how God used a hard time to make us stronger.

But this passage seems to be a strong encouragement to keep going, don’t give up. No matter what you’re facing there will be an opportunity for joy again in the future. The hard times are going to be difficult and challenging, but God wants to use them to help you grow and become more resilient. If we know that hard times can’t be avoided; we can use them to learn more about ourselves and grow. Otherwise, we will have experienced them for nothing.

Snow Away

I have decided that I don’t like snow. Or at the very least, I believe snow should be a choice, or a destination that you move towards. It should not happen to me. Yes, it can be beautiful, and I recognize the serene quality of looking out over a landscape covered in freshly fallen flakes. Unfortunately, I also recognize the hassle it causes and the way it causes too many people to forget how to drive.

Even though there are things about it I don’t like, I am also open to seeing the lessons we can learn from snow. It gives the world outside your window a strange uniformity. You can feel a sense of purification as everything looks crisp, and clean, and white. It will eventually get driven over, piled up, and turn that weird dirty snow color, but for a moment, everything feels pure.

It is those moments of purity in our lives that we have such a hard time remembering. God made the world and everything in it, and as believers we can lean into that as we learn how to trust God more. Our God is the God of all creation; of water, earth and sky.

Psalm 104:24-25 tells us
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Here is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great. —

And John Calvin, sixteenth-century theologian, wrote, “The creation is quite like a spacious and splendid house, provided and filled with the most exquisite and the most abundant furnishings. Everything in it tells us of God.” God made the world for us to live. God made the world for us to learn.

How have you seen God in the world around you this week?

Need Somebody

We’ve reached the point in January where we transition from looking back at the year that was and start looking forward at the year that will be. We recognize that all those resolutions we set during the fireworks might have been a little too lofty. We start to look at what we want to do with our feet back on the ground. We can set real goals and start to affect real change. Looking at your life and recognizing the things that are going well and the things you want to improve is important. We should all have goals that we are working towards. Even if sometimes that goal is to do less.

I ran across a quote recently that said, “a goal without a plan is just a wish.” And we hate to hear this. We can’t just think really hard about it and win the lottery, but that seems to be the “plan” we often choose. We give up after counting a fraction of the cost to get from where we are to where we want to be.

To reach some of those goals, I want to encourage you to do the hardest thing in the world: Ask for help. Even the most personal goals can be supported and sustained by asking for encouragement from other people. If you know how easily you would help someone close to you, you know how quickly you would be there to answer THEIR call. I hope you also know that there are people who would do the same for you.

1 John 3:16-18 says, 16 By this we know love, that he [Jesus] laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees their brother or sister in need, yet closes their heart against them, how does God's love abide in them? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

You are not a burden. Your goals are important. People want to join you in the journey of self-improvement. Set a goal and make a plan to reach it together. You can get by with a little help from your friends.

Nu Thang

A week ago, we kicked off a new year. Coming off the joy and celebration of a holiday season starting with Thanksgiving, we have a month of celebrations, decorations, and special little treats. We can end December with so much optimism for what is to come. We can reach January first thinking 2025 is going to be my year! And then January starts to January. Lights come down. Trees come down. All those things you “pushed off to the new year” come back and hit you all at once.

It’s easy to get discouraged. Your celebratory-self made some pretty lofty goals on New Year’s Eve. And a week in, it’s easy to think, “we gave it a good try but 2025 isn’t the one. We’ll see how things go in 2026.” But one thing God has shown us, and told us repeatedly, is that until the day we stop breathing we have another opportunity to start fresh.

Whether it’s a New Year’s resolution or just a habit you want to change, you have the chance to start fresh right now. Even when it feels like three-steps forward and two-steps back, don’t give up on moving forward. God will always provide a way for us to find the path again. Nothing can separate us from that love. The only way we lose is by giving up.

Isaiah 43:16-19
16 Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
17 who brings forth chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
18 “Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.

What new things are you allowing God to do in your life? Are you looking for God to make rivers in the desert?

Immutability

Can you believe it is the year of our Lord 2025? Where has the century gone? The older you get the faster time seems to fly. You go to bed one night in High School, and wake up with a spouse, a kid, and a mortgage. You have a grown-up job and grown-up bills. And we can get hit with waves of nostalgia, waves of wanting to go back to the way things were.

Unfortunately, science hasn’t made that machine just yet. We must move forward one way or the other. Thankfully as we start a new year and set new goals, we can go forward knowing that Jesus is with us. He doesn’t change like the years. Hebrews 13:8-9 says, “8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be led away by strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by [ritual] foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.”

In theological circles call this is called the immutability of Jesus, that is, the unchanging nature of Jesus. This makes our faith reliable because the Jesus we read about in the scripture is the same one we have access to today. Jesus doesn’t follow any fads. Jesus doesn’t change with the times. Jesus is Jesus; yesterday, today, and forever.

Since Jesus DOESN’T change it means you CAN. As we head into a new year it’s a great time to assess how things are going for you. What areas need improvement? What areas need shoring up? And don’t forget to recognize the areas where you might be crushing it and keep up the hard work. Jesus came into the world to seek and save the lost. Jesus came into the world for the benefit of all humanity.

We can celebrate the New Year while also remembering that every day is a new opportunity to return to the God who never changes.

Luke 2

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

The Magnificat

In Luke 1 Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Both were expecting children who would go on to make big strides in the faith. When Elizabeth hears Mary, we’re told the baby in her womb leapt for joy, and she says, “blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

And Mary responds with a song of praise we call The Magnificat, (Luke 1:47-55)

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Throughout this song of praise, there are multiple allusions to the Old Testament, and it celebrates God’s goodness, faithfulness, and sovereignty. It calls us to recognize the pointlessness of trusting in our own power, the pointlessness of trusting in political power, and the futility of earthly wealth.

God has done great things. We can rejoice in the work that has been done in the past, the work that is happening now, and the work we have yet to see. We know of all the work that only God can do.

The calling out of earthly futility has actually caused the Magnificat to be banned in a few countries because it was seen as too revolutionary. As we barrel into Christmas let us keep Mary’s revolutionary hope alive.

Thanks I Guess

What’s the weirdest Christmas present you’ve ever received. Maybe you got a weird sweater that you would choose freezing over wearing. Maybe you got a perfume/cologne that made people say, “why does it smells like my grandpa in here?” when you wore it that one time. Whatever your weird present may have been (if you’re mature) you’re thankful for the sentiment with which it was given. Someone thought enough about you that they took a stab at picking something you would like.

When Jesus was born, he was visited by the wise men. They came from far away and followed a star to find Jesus. They brought with them three gifts. Gold, whose usefulness is obvious. No new parent would turn down the gift of gold because kids are expensive. Frankincense also had value but was also a symbol of purity and cleanliness since one of its uses was as a disinfectant—beautiful, valuable, and symbolic. And finally, myrrh.

Myrrh had some value and a few other uses, but it had its strongest ties to its use in burial customs. I don’t think any parent of a young child would be particularly happy with the uncle who shows up with a gift that says, “glad you were born, here’s something you’ll need because you’re going to die.” Happy birthday, here’s your headstone.

It was nothing so simplistic, however it was a good reminder for us of why Jesus entered the world in the first place. He knew the plan, he knew where he would end up, and he knew why he would do it. The cross could not happen without the crib. Jesus took on full humanity to live among people.

At Christmas we celebrate the actions described in John 1:14,16-18, “14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.”

Jesus came to earth and received some gifts that would be considered pretty weird to give a baby. However, we can look back now and see that they were perfectly suited for the gift he would give to all of us.

Letting It Go

I had a friend who was hosting his family for Christmas, and it was a packed house. So packed that the best place for their 4–5-year-old son to sleep would be in a sleeping bag on the floor at the foot of Mom and Dad’s bed. Thankfully, he was at the age where anything presented as an adventure felt like something cool to do. Other than the normal stress of a very full house, things were going pretty well.

On the third or fourth night my friend is lying on the floor putting his son to bed, and trying to keep the experience of the floor fun says, “you got a real sweet setup down here. Are you having fun?” His son responds, “Yes! I like my sleeping bag. Teddy Bear can sit right here. And over there is where I can wipe my boogers.” As he happily points to the horror show on the bottom of the bed. It’s amazing what a kid can do after a couple nights of digging for gold.

Under the stress of accommodating houseguests, holiday plans, and now another mess to clean up this was not what he needed before bed. But in what he’s described as “God’s intervening wisdom” he decided to let this one pass. He just said, “that’s pretty gross, bud. Let’s not do that anymore,” and everyone went to sleep.

This time of year, you’re going to be around people you might only see a few times a year; people are going to run out of things to talk about, so they delve into opinions; and we all know that one person who is always looking for a fight. Don’t give in. Paul says, that is not what you learned from Jesus!

It’s okay to not engage, it’s okay to not take the bait, it’s okay to let minor things go uncorrected. Paul ends Ephesians 4 by saying, “31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

We can be kind because it’s Christmas.

Service

Why is it so hard to serve other people? We can show love, or we can be selfish. We don’t even need to go out of our way to do it. Simply smiling at someone or doing one small act of kindness can turn their day around. Normally the problem starts when we are more worried about getting extra than we are about someone else getting enough.

However, we have the power to flip this dynamic on its head. When your focus moves to be about other people, you get to see their gratitude. When you see how grateful they are for the small thing you’ve done, you grow in appreciation for the things you have. We can’t get lost in deciding who deserves to be helped. God has called you to go out there and serve the whole world. Even the people you might not like. Even the people who might not treat you well.

We are called to follow the example of service that Jesus gave to us. In Mark 10:43-45 Jesus says, “it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

We can love people even if they don’t like us. Twentieth-century priest and spiritual writer Henri Nouwen said, “That is our vocation: to convert the enemy into a guest and to create the free and fearless space where brotherhood and sisterhood can be formed and fully experienced.” When we put our own wants and desires aside to serve someone else, we show them the love of God.

Who can you serve today, tomorrow, next week?

Study

How much did you study in school? Across any class the answer to this question will vary widely. For some people school is easy so they don’t study much. For some people school is hard so they need to study a lot. And for some, school is boring so though they should study more they don’t study that much. What if I told you that you are actually studying all day every day? It may not be useful knowledge, but your head is full of facts and processes taking you through the day.

Shows, sports, fashion, food, directions to your favorite places, and on and on. It may not feel like studying since this is knowledge you came by naturally, but you still had to learn it. You still need to go through the tutorial. When it comes to the Bible, you can only learn so much from going to church. Church can usually be measured in minutes per week, even if you are dedicated, but being a Christian is a lifelong process of trying to learn more.

I want you to grow in your faith so much that I won’t even tell you what part of the Bible to read as long as you read it! In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we learn, “16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

We can learn more about God, more about the church, and more about ourselves. Obviously, the best place to start in your learning and study is in the Bible. Sure, there are a lot of other resources that will help you with explanations, but we should start with the Bible before looking to things or people just talking ABOUT the Bible. If you’re just starting out read the book of John; he’ll tell you all about Jesus. There’s a table of contents in the front of every Bible that can help you find it.

Fasting

What’s the longest you’ve gone without eating? Maybe a couple meals because you got too busy. Maybe a few days because you got sick, and the thought of eating was disgusting. How did it feel to go that long? Eventually, the hunger pangs become too much to bear, and we need to get something in our stomachs.

When we fast, we intentionally put ourselves in a state of need and desire. A state we don’t often feel this time of year. We deny ourselves immediate relief because we need a reminder of our ultimate relief. When we feel the rumble of need, we should ask ourselves, “do I want God as much as I want the thing I am fasting from?” We can learn a lot about ourselves when we go without. God is our ultimate portion, and we when deprive ourselves of other things we can learn to appreciate all the God has given us.

The book of Ezra tells the story of the people returning to Jerusalem. The journey was not always safe. Ezras 8:21-23 tells us, “21 Then I proclaimed a fast there…that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, … ‘The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.’ 23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.”

God is enough for us. God leads us down the good path, if we only have a mind to follow. One important note about fasting. Fasting generally refers to avoiding food, but you can fast from anything you use regularly. Fast from coffee, fast from your phone, fast from screens in general, fast from music, the list could go on forever. If you are someone who doesn’t have the best relationship with food, then fasting from it might not be the best option. But there are still plenty of ways to learn from intentional fasting.

Write That Down

How do you process when big things happen? Do you let your feelings out? Do you stuff them down deep? Do you do your best to ignore them? Do you yell at your friends and family for no apparent reason? What if there was another option? Journaling is the act of writing out your thoughts, ideas, and emotions. As you seek to put them down on the page you are forced to slow down to think at the same pace that you write.

Journaling is a circular way of finding answers and slowing down enough that you can hear from God. This isn’t like school where you must meet a page requirement or use a bunch of sources. Or, even correct; punctuation.

Journaling is writing between you and yourself, or you and God. These words can be kept private, you don’t need to show them to anyone else. However, as you write you create a personal history for yourself. You can see where you once were, you can see how far you’ve come, and you can see the patterns in your life that might need to be addressed.

Psalm 105:5-7 reminds us,
5 Remember the wonders God has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
6 you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,
his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.

The shortest pencil can remember longer than the best brain. When we write it down, we can recall it more accurately. This is when it happened, this is how I felt, this is what happened next. When you journal, you can write about your hopes, you can write about your dreams, you can even write about your fears, you can write out your prayers to God. It doesn’t need to be long it just needs to be honest.

Write that down.

Gratitude

Someone gives something to a little kid, and then the parent says, “What do you say?” They’re trying to teach their child to say thank you—to show gratitude. Unfortunately, saying thank you often becomes being polite rather than being truly grateful. Living a life of gratitude for what you have requires intentional effort. It’s far too easy to think everything you have is just a given. Of course there’s going to be running water. Of course I’m going to sleep safely in my bed tonight. Of course I’m going to be surrounded by people who love me.

While most of these might be true for you, they aren’t true for everyone. There are people in this world who dream of living a life as blessed as yours. There are people who pray every day that there will be water available tomorrow. Gratitude is all about perspective. It is looking at your life and realizing many things that you think are normal are actually a huge blessing.

It is an exceedingly difficult lesson to live out, but it is important to remember where our hope comes from. Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 says, “15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing,18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

If you never slow down to appreciate all that you have—whether it was given to you, or you earned it yourself—you can get lost in the endless pursuit of more. When we are grateful, we look to God and say, “you are enough for me, and everything else is a blessing.” We know that there are people in this world who go without their basic needs, and that adds perspective to the life we live now. Last year’s phone works just as well as next year’s phone, when we are grateful for having a phone at all.

Worship

How do you show your love for other people? You spend time with them. You talk to them. You listen to them. You recognize all the good things that they have brought into your life. This is not different than how we can treat God. A lot of times we think worship is only the singing we do when we are at church. But worship is so much more.

We worship God with our whole heart, mind, and spirit. This means we bow down before our king. We don’t do this because we are conquered. We do this because we are thankful. God has shown so much love to us that we just want to give some of that back to him in worship. God loved us so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven. We get to join in the loop of adoration: God loves us, and we love God.

Hear these words of Psalm 95,
1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

Worship is all about love. When we feel lost and desperate we can reach out and worship God because God is always with us. Through Jesus we receive salvation and connection. In worship we can pour out our whole heart to God. All our hopes and dreams. Our fears and insecurities. All our thanks and adoration. Worship is something that starts in your heart and doesn’t require anyone else around. Worshipping in private can be better and more freeing than worshipping with a large group.

Move it

Have you ever had a day when you literally did nothing? Maybe you walked to the bathroom or the kitchen, but for the most part you sat still in front of various screens? If it’s relaxing by choice, then by all means the occasional nothing day is okay. However, if this is a regularly occurring lifestyle, it might be time to examine what you’re doing.

God gave you a body, and from where science is today, you’ve only got the one. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6, our body is a temple for our spirit. He says, “19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” This chapter is mostly referring to the sexual immorality of the Corinthians, but I believe the message still stands for us today and can be applied more broadly.

As you treat temples with respect, you should treat your own body with respect. God does not care about how fit you look or how fast you can run. God wants you to be able to use the gift of your life. Don’t waste the gift of your youth (if you can still read this and move by choice, you’re still young). We can learn about God by getting up and moving around. Go for a walk. Play a game. Dance while no one is watching.

It is for freedom that Christ set us free. We are not called to be bogged down by shame. Moving a little bit today helps you move a little more tomorrow. We should rejoice when we get out there and can see one another. But that can never happen if we hide ourselves away. Use your gifts, it is through God’s compassion that we are able to live. Let us use what we have for the glory of God. It can all start with a walk around the block.

Confession

Have you ever messed up big time? It’s easy, the answer is yes. We all have. Making mistakes is just a part of life that will eventually find you. However, the choice comes in what you do next. Our gut reaction is to hide the problem and deny it for as long as possible. We think, “if no one knows what happens, I won’t have to face the consequence of my actions.”

When that stuff is out there, we can live in the fear that it’s only a matter of time before we get found out. We spend time worrying about getting caught. We feel the weight of lying to our friends and loved ones. God has not called you to bear the burden of guilt. God has called you to set yourself free through the act of confession.

In 1 John 1:7-9 we are reminded, “7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Confession requires us to live in community with God and other believers. We need people who will walk through the hard times with us in love. While we may need to face some real-world consequences for our actions, we can’t start the healing process until we have been open about our actions.

It is good judgment to be honest with those closest to us, even when we make mistakes. The other side of giving confession is receiving it. There will be times when people come to you to seek forgiveness, they will confess some wrong they’ve done. When we hear this confession, we should hope to lead them towards healing and (if safe and possible) reconciliation.