We have all heard stories or been invited to participate in things that just have sounded too good to be true. There is a lot of truth in the adage that “if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is (too good to be true).”

In 2015, a “chocolate diet” surfaced, promising that eating chocolate every day would lead to weight loss. Now that sounds like a diet worth looking into, right? Who wouldn’t like to eat chocolate every day and lose weight at the same time! It turned out to be an elaborate hoax concocted by a science journalist to see just how easy it would be to turn bad science and shoddy research into big headlines; hype-driven press coverage that fooled millions of people all around the world. [A clinical trial was actually done, using both a very small sample size and a large number of variables, thus, almost guaranteeing the false positive that chocolate does aid in weight loss.] 

We do need to be weary of those things that sound too good to be true. We hope for them to be true, but in reality, they are often claims made, or promises given, without any supporting evidence. They simply are often just not true.

On the contrary, promises made by God, while they might sometimes sound far-fetched or too good to be true, are always true. God is not only a promise maker, He is also a promise keeper. A story found in Genesis (chapters 12-21), the first book of the Bible, gives us a glimpse into God’s character. In this story, God called an ordinary man named Abram to leave behind everything comfortable and familiar to him. God promised to make Abram into a great nation. Sounds a little too good to be true, right? Abram took God at His word and at age 75 he set out to this new land God called him to.

Eleven years later, this “great nation” deal hadn’t happened yet so Abram took matters into his own hands and he had an illegitimate son out of wedlock. Fast forward another thirteen years, and God, true to His original promise, again told Abram that he would be the father of many nations. To show He was serious, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “father of many.”   

By now, Abraham probably began to have serious questions about whether this promise that sounded really good, made 24 years earlier, was in fact too good to be true. But, despite his likely doubts, he continued to trust God. And when Abraham was 100 years old, and 25 years after the initial promise, God, in keeping with His word, gave Abraham and his wife Sarah (herself about 90 years old) the promised Son, Isaac.

It is from the lineage of Isaac that Jesus would be born many years later (Matthew 1:1-17). The announcement of both their births seemed impossible to their mothers – to Sarah (Genesis 18:12) and to Mary (Luke 1:34). And both Sarah and Mary were told that nothing is impossible with God (Gen 18:14, Lk 1:37)

In Romans 4:18 we read this – “Abraham believed and hoped, even when there was no reason for hoping, and so became ‘the father of many nations.’ Just as the scripture says, ‘Your descendants will be as many as the stars’” (GNT).

So, today, you can trust that whatever it is God calls you to do, no matter how far-fetched it seems, that He always keeps His promise. And against all hope, you can take Him at His word.

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Hoover Dam is located on the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada, and is the second tallest dam in the United States, at a height of 726 feet. (The tallest dam is the Oroville Dam in California.) Hoover Dam impounds Lake Mead, which is the largest reservoir in the US, measured by water capacity, supplying water to Nevada, Arizona, and California. At its current level, the lake holds over three trillion gallons of water. Just imagine what would happen if the engineers that maintain Hoover Dam ignored a breach, no matter how small, in the dam. The results would be catastrophic.     

What was once little, if ignored, often becomes big. We so often neglect or ignore the “little” things, or we find ourselves in “little” sins, and over time if we do not make changes to those attitudes or actions, they become “big” things, and we wonder what happened. To be clear, God does not categorize sins as being big or little. To God, a sin is a sin. It is only us humans who often try to lessen the guilt by calling a particular sin or bad behavior “little.” You’ve heard the line, or maybe even said it yourself – “At least I didn’t do that!”

What I am referring to can be called “drift.” It is that slow migration from good into not so good, little by little, often without really noticing, until the pin-sized leak becomes a gaping hole. We drift in many areas of our lives, and we rarely, if ever, drift in a positive way. We naturally drift away from everything holy and everything wholesome. Think about your health, your relationships, your finances – without intentional and committed effort they tend to simply drift, a slow erosion, into something less than what they could be. And how about your relationship with God? That, too, drifts in a negative direction unless you purposely strive to become more like Him.

The Bible gives us the prescription to avoid drift. Here is what we read in Hebrews 3:12-13 – “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

The way to help avoid drift is found in being in community with others. It is found in “we” not in “me.” We need to be checking in with each other and checking on each other. Why? The drift starts in our heart. And nobody knows, unless somebody has access to you. The Greek word used here for encourage is not just rah, rah, rah; it means exhort, plead, urge, appeal to. And the word daily literally means day after day after day. It’s an ongoing thing. It’s a relational thing.

So, I ask you today, are you flying solo or are you in healthy and loving community with others? Do you have others who can see your pint-sized hole before it becomes so big that the results are catastrophic?

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Have you ever looked over toward your neighbor’s house and wished you had that perfectly manicured lawn with the beautifully landscaped flower beds? You wonder why the grass is always seemingly greener on the other side of the fence. You look at that luxury automobile parked in someone else’s driveway and perhaps feel a little jealous or “green with envy.” Maybe you find yourself envious of someone else’s talents, beauty, or place in society. Or maybe you feel a tinge of animosity toward a coworker who seems to always get the good promotions. A friend’s child gets all the awards at school and your kid never gets recognized. You think to yourself, “just once can’t their kid get in trouble!”

If we are all honest, we can say we do at times feel envious or jealous of someone else. The Bible calls this kind of attitude sinful. You probably have heard of the Fruit of the Spirit; a list of nine virtues (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) that the Holy Spirit produces in the life of a believer. Developing these virtues is always a work in progress. But did you also know that right before the “fruit” list is also a list of what the Bible calls acts of the flesh; things like immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and yes, jealousy. Read Galatians 5:13-26 to see these two lists.

Did you also know that God calls Himself a jealous God? In the second of the Ten Commandments God says this, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for, I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God (Exodus 20:4-5 and Deuteronomy 5:8-9. Also see Deut 6:15.).” Wait a minute; didn’t you just say that jealousy is a sin?

Let’s look at jealousy in two ways. It is important to understand how this word “jealous” is used. Its use in the passage I just referenced from Exodus to describe God’s jealousy is different from the way in which it is used to describe sinful behavior in Galatians. God is not jealous or envious because someone has something He needs or wants (like your neighbor’s lawn, their well-behaved kids, that promotion, etc.), but rather, God is jealous when we give to someone or something what rightfully belongs to Him – we are to worship God and God alone. The first commandment (Ex 20:3, Deut 5:7) is “You shall have no Gods before me.” Jesus says the same thing – in Luke 4:8 He says this, “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”

Jealousy is a sin when we desire (envious of) something that is not ours. On the flip side, worship, praise and honor belong to God and God alone, so God is rightly jealous when we give our worship to people or things (idols.) Only God is truly worthy of our praise. In Psalm 145:3 we read these words, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”

So, today, I ask you this – who or what are you jealous of and who or what are you worshipping that is making God jealous? God wants all your praise and He is worthy of all your praise! Let go of those earthly idols and turn your heart and mind to God and worship Him and Him alone!

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Have you ever wondered why some birds seem to soar effortlessly while others seem to work hard just to stay aloft? There are a number of birds that can soar. Here are a few: eagles, seagulls, pelicans, falcons, vultures, ospreys, hawks, and even the small woodswallow. What makes these soaring birds fly so effortlessly?

Let’s look at the eagle; a bird of prey that often represents beauty and grace, power and courage. Eagles are lighter than they appear, having hollow bones. In addition, the wings of eagles are larger in comparison to their body weight than that of most other birds, allowing them to use a “soaring” type of flight in addition to the “flapping” type other birds use. Eagles soar by spreading their long rectangular wings, allowing the rising warm air current (called thermals) to keep them from tumbling to the ground, similar to how an airplane flies. Not only does soaring allow eagles to reach great heights, soaring also uses less energy than does flapping, thus eagles can fly long periods of time without rest.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Those words come from Isaiah 40:28-31 and they are some of my favorite words in all of the Bible. Boiled down, those verses say to you that if you depend upon Jesus completely when you are weak, an amazing thing happens … you get renewed strength.

Let’s be honest, life does at times wear us down (we grow tired and weary) and at times we stumble and fall. But if we depend upon Jesus by putting our trust and hope completely in Him, then we will not only get renewed strength to tackle whatever life throws at us, we will also soar to new heights. And just like the eagle, we can fly higher and longer without growing weary. As the passage tells us, by putting our hope in Jesus in all situations, we will “soar” rather than strenuously “flapping” our wings and using up so much energy. The apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12 (vv.9-10) that God’s power is made perfect in weakness and by tapping into Jesus, even when we are weak, we are strong, we are enabled to bear it all.

Jesus says this – “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

So, maybe today, you find yourself worn out and weary, and you simply cannot flap your wings one more time. Maybe you feel weak and vulnerable. Or maybe you are facing some situation that just seems too big to handle on your own. If that is you, then I encourage you right now to ask Jesus for an exchange. You give Him your weariness, your weakness, your tiredness, or your fearfulness and in return He promises to give you renewed hope, renewed strength, and a renewed breath of warm air that will lift your wings! You can soar like eagles!

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Have you ever believed in someone even after everyone else gave up on them? They’ve blown it more times than anyone can count, but you care about that person enough to not give up on them. Maybe it is you that someone believed in, even when others did not. In fact, you didn’t even believe in yourself.

My college football coach was an average master of the game, in fact, on game day, the coaches and players did not want him calling any plays. But Coach Carp was a master tactician. He knew what pieces to put where in order to get the maximum out of every person in the program, from the team’s manager to the All-American superstar. He believed in all of us, even as we doubted ourselves. Over a 32-year coaching career, his teams won over 70 percent of their games, and Coach is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Until his death in 2009, when I needed encouragement, when I needed guidance, I knew who to call.    

When I applied to become a student in Vineyard’s ministry training school, I was very unsure of myself, and truthfully, wasn’t even sure why I had applied in the first place. I had never seen myself as wanting to be a pastor, let alone have anything that God was looking for. How I got to that place in my life is a story all to itself. As I was interviewing with the school’s director and bumbling my way through telling him my life’s journey, at some point he stopped me, and said these very words – “Dave, there is something in you that I just love and even though you don’t, I believe in you.” The trajectory of my life changed in that very moment.

The Bible is full of stories of God believing in, and using, people who had probably given up on themselves. Moses wandered for 40 years in the wilderness while tending sheep before God called him to lead the people out of captivity. Rahab was a prostitute, yet God used her to help the Israelites capture the city of Jericho. How about King David, the adulterer and murderer; Abraham, the perpetual liar; and Peter, who tripped over his own feet time and time again. God never gives up on His people. In fact, He loves to use His people, as broken and damaged as we are, to do His work.

But my question today is not does God believe in you, rather, I ask – Do you continue to believe in God, even when things don’t go your way? Sure, it is easy to trust God when the sun is shining, when your storehouse is full, but what happens when everything in your life runs dry, when everything seems to be in ruins, when your flower wilts?

In the first thirteen verses of Psalm 31, it is clear, David, the writer of this psalm, faces unending troubles. He had probably given up making lemonade as life threw him one lemon after another. He also probably wondered where God was. Yet, in v.14 we read – “But, I trust in you, O LORD, I say, You are my God.”

In a vision of Israel’s soon to be devastated economy, the prophet Habakkuk realizes that his aid, especially in times of trouble, comes not from temporal things, but instead, from Yahweh alone. And as a result of Habakkuk’s faith, God strengthens him not only to endure the hardship, but also to leap joyfully. That same strength is available to you and me today. Here is what we read – “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

So, today, regardless of how wilted your flower seems to be, can you unequivocally say to God… But, in you, I trust!

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Think about the meaningful friendships you have. Maybe right now you think of your spouse, college roommate, neighbor, teammate, that lifelong friend, or maybe someone else. Now ask yourself; did that relationship happen by accident or did it take work? The phrases “I know him like a brother” or “I know her inside and out” imply that you have spent countless hours cultivating and building the relationship, and today because of that hard work (and yes, real relationships are hard work) you have a real intimacy with that person.

Think of you and that person sitting down over a cup of coffee and having an intimate one to one conversation; talking about more than just today’s weather or last night’s sports scores. You laugh together, you cry together, you lean on each other, you encourage one another, you simply share life together.   

You can have that same kind of intimacy with God. In Isaiah 1:18 we read these words from God inviting the prophet Isaiah to a one to one conversation, “Come now, and let us reason together.” (Some translations use different language, so your Bible might read differently.)

Do you regularly talk to God? Do you take time to listen to Him? Is Jesus your always present friend or do you only run to Him when there are no other options? The main way we can have a conversation with God is though prayer. The Bible tells us that we need be aware that God is always with us and we can have a conversation with Him at any time. In one of the shortest verses in the Bible, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we read this short and to the point message, “Pray continually.” In addition to those “as needed” prayers, you should also set aside some time each day to pray for your needs, the needs of others, as well as seeking God’s wisdom and direction for not just the life-changing events you sometimes face but also for your daily routine, those day-to-day things.

The more time you spend with Him, talking and listening, the more intimate your relationship with Him becomes. And the more time you spend with God, you not only learn more about God, but you also learn more about yourself. And despite what you might have been told, there is no magic formula or training required for prayer, or even the need for those big theologically sounding words. Prayer is nothing more than having a conversation with God using every day language. Just you and God, one to one. In the process of spending time with God, we encourage you to open yourself up to the possibility that God really does have something to say to you! Nobody knows you better than God, nobody loves you more than God, and nobody desires to see you live life to the fullest more than God.

So, take time today to have coffee with God.

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