Think back to when you were a kid. Did you ever ask your parents for something you knew they would most likely say no to, but you asked anyway, just in case? It was really nothing more than wishful thinking on your part.  

Do you pray believing that God has the power to answer your prayers? Do you believe that He will answer them? Or do you pray the same way you asked your parents, you know, wishful thinking, just hoping God hears you?

The Bible tells us that God is big enough to quiet the storms and calm the seas. Psalm 107:29 says this – “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.” We also read this in Mark 4:39 – “He (Jesus) got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”

The Bible also tells us that same God, the God big enough to control the wind and the seas, also knows you by name – “The gatekeeper opens the gate for his sheep, and the sheep listen for his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out (John 10:3).” And even when you feel so small and insignificant, God sees you. Hagar, the unmarried pregnant maidservant, scared and alone in the desert, said this – “You are the God who sees me (Genesis 16:13).”

So, when you pray, pray like you mean it. Pray will an expectancy that God will hear you and respond. Does He always respond in the way we expect? Does He grant our every wish? The answer to both questions is no. Sometimes God comes in disguise and we miss him because we are looking for something different. Sometimes we tell God how we want Him to answer and when he answers in a completely different way, we totally miss it. Sometimes we expect God to come loudly but He comes as a gentle whisper. Sometimes God says to us “Yes,” other times, “Not yet,” and even this, “I have something better in mind.”

Be confident that God does always answer your prayer in some fashion or another. We find Jesus promising that those who ask, receive (Matthew 7:7-8). In these two verses I see Jesus assuring those who come in prayer, with persistence and sincerity, and without selfish motives (James 4:2-3), will, without exception, have their prayers answered. The evidence of the answer might not always immediately follow, but God does answer prayer, in the best way, every time. I do also believe the Bible is clear that unrepented sin can hinder God answering our prayers (one example is Psalm 66:18), so we need to continually confessing our sins, which opens God’s ears to hear us.

And lastly, the apostle Paul tells us that we are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I do not believe this means nonstop prayer, but rather, prayer that grows from a settled attitude of complete dependent on God. An uninterrupted communication pipeline.

Will you pray, do you pray, not as wishful thinking, but instead, with humility, boldness, and expectancy? Praying, with open arms and a clean heart, knowing that God will answer, is a beautiful thing!

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My goodness, enough already! We must do something to stop the murders of innocent people. The list of mass shootings just in the month of May is simply too long to list here. It is time to protest. And by protesting I do not necessarily just mean marching in the streets with signs. By protesting, I mean standing up and pushing back against the gun violence, and the ever-increasing loss of innocent lives, that so deeply stains our society.

Let me be clear. Protesting is different than rioting. Protesting is a peaceful statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something while rioting is a violent disturbance, often with intent to cause harm or damage. Peaceful protests are protected under the First Amendment whereas rioting and acts of violence are not.

Protesting is not bad. Protesting is the antithesis of apathy. Protesting is pushback against status quo. Sometimes protesting is peaceful, other times, as we’ve seen these last few days, it invokes violence. Protesting often changes the course of history. Think of Gandhi’s Salt March in 1930 which ultimately led to India’s independence two decades later. The Storming of the Bastille was a violent protest in 1789 that sparked the French Revolution, which is regarded by many historians as one of the most important events in human history. How about the occupation of Tiananmen Square in 1989, in which the Chinese people peacefully protested in favor of democratic reform. The image of a single man facing off against a line of government tanks is one that is forever burned into my memory.

The 1960s counterculture “Make Love, Not War” protest slogan was both pushback against the Vietnam War and instrumental in the launch of the Sexual Revolution. These young people rebelled against the war and traditional marriage, both of which to them represented capitalist culture they so opposed.

One cannot mention protests without thinking of Martin Luther, who posted his now famous Ninety-five Theses on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517, as a way to oppose what he saw as abusive indulgences by the Catholic Church, leading to a protest that launched the entire Protest(ant) Movement. How about the Montgomery Bus Boycott or the March on Washington, both instrumental in ending racial segregation.

All throughout history, protesting has often brought positive and lasting change. Jesus too was a protestor. His life and the entirety of his ministry was a peaceful protest against injustice, inequality, and freedom from bondage all the while creating a movement based upon faith, hope, and love. At times, He protested quietly while other times it was provocative and disruptive. Jesus started His public ministry by spending forty days and nights in the wilderness rejecting and pushing back (protesting) worldly power and Satan’s temptations. And then Jesus spent His entire earthly life protesting against inequality, hypocrisy, corruption, segregation, hatred, entitlement, and injustice. He was an advocate for the weary, the outcast, the exploited, the poor, the homeless, the alien, bringing dignity and love to all of humanity.

I believe right now, those of us who want change, are called to be protestors. I believe we are to be like Jesus, defending the gospel for the sake of humanity, all of whom are created in (as) the image of God. We cannot singularly address every wrong in this world, but each of us can protest against something. Jesus did not simply sit back and feel bad about the world around Him, He took action, He peacefully pushed back against those wrongs, He loved his enemies, He put the needs of others above His own, He protested. And He calls us to do the same!

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Do you feel anxious today? Does it feel as if there is a gorilla sitting on your chest making it hard to breathe? Do you feel like you are being choked? Are there situations or circumstances in your life that are causing you to lie awake at night? Does whatever is burdening you lurk in the back of your mind all day long and no matter you do or say it has a grip on you? No matter how big or small your worries are, you do not have to live with panic and anxiety.

The English word anxious comes from the Latin word anxius which means troubled or distressed. The Latin word anxius actually is derived from another Latin word – angere – which means “to choke, squeeze, strangle, or to press tight.”

Today I simply want to say that in those moments when you feel as if life is pressing tight in on you, and you feel as if there is no relief in sight, you can rest assured that God is nearby, ready to exchange your anxiety for His peace.

If you are looking for a verse in scripture to draw upon in those moments when you feel anxious, try memorizing Psalm 94:19 – “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul (ESV).” The NIV puts it this way – When anxiety was great within me, your consolation (comfort) brought joy to my soul.”

You might be asking, why would God want me to dump my messes in His lap? The answer is quite simple; He loves you and cares for you. Don’t take my word for it, let’s turn to the Bible. 1 Peter 5:7 cuts right to the chase, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”    

Turning to Jesus helps you get that gorilla off your chest that is making it hard to breathe. Turning to Jesus helps to remove that squeezed feeling you have when anxiety takes over your daily life (Matthew 11:28-30). And regardless of whether God calms the storm around you or calms you in the midst of the storm, He offers you a peace that passes all human understanding (Philippians 4:4-7).

So, right now, kick the gorilla to the curb, ask Jesus for an exchange, and then allow His peace to ooze all over you like warm chocolate sauce on ice cream!

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Think back to your school days. This is about the time in the school year where kids get their yearbooks. I do not know what kids do today, but when I was in school, we signed each other’s yearbooks. Often what we wrote ended with something about being best friends forever. Today often abbreviated BFF. I am certain that I wrote friends for life in a number of my classmate’s yearbooks, all with good intentions. Then we all went off to college or whatever we did after high school, and for many, we lost touch. I might still see them at class reunions or occasionally bump into them, but it certainly is not the BFF relationship we dreamed of.  

On the flip side, my wife and I have a group of college friends who are legitimate BFFs. Four decades later and we are still dear friends. We all live miles apart, in some cases in different states, but we have real and genuine friendships. We do life together and share life together. We are there for one another, in the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is a beautiful thing.

I am quite sure there have been times over the years that I let my BFFs down, not been there for them, for any number of reasons. I have not been there for my wife and kids at times as well. I let those people near and dear to me down. And vice versa. That is just reality. You and I, however, have one relationship that will never let us down.  We have a God who promises to always be with us each and every day.

All throughout Scripture, we see a God who walks with, beside, in front of, behind, next to, those who desire His presence (Proverbs 8:17). He promises to be with us, no matter where we are. He promises to be go with us, wherever we go. Let’s look at a few pivotal moments in Jacob’s life.

In Jacob’s Dream at Bethel — “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Genesis 28-15).

A few verses earlier, we find that God descended down the ladder that reached heaven to “be with” Jacob (28:10-13) And fourteen years later (after the dream), Jacob returned to the Promised Land and says, “God has been with me wherever I have gone” (Genesis 35.3).

And near the end of his life, as Jacob took his family to Egypt, and as he wondered how Egypt fit into God’s plans, here is what we read – “And God spoke to Israel (Jacob) in the visions of the night and said, ‘Jacob, Jacob.’ ‘I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes’” (Genesis 46:2-4).

As Joshua was about to take over for Moses, God commissions him with these words – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

Jesus is called Immanuel, which simply means “God with us.” (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23)

And Jesus, in commissioning his disciples, ends with this – “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20b).

He (Jesus) also makes this promise to his disciples about the Holy Spirit – “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).

The Triune God makes that same promise to you and me today … He will be with us. And He will be your best friend … forever. Will you embrace that truth right now?

I love God’s always and forever presence. It has changed my life! Will you allow Him to change yours too?

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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 in their yard. It makes you “green with envy.” You look at other people’s social media posts and perhaps feel a little jealous of their “perfect life.” Boy do they ever seem to have it all together. In their posts all you see are well behaved smiling kids, beautiful Caribbean vacation pictures, romantic dinners at five-star restaurants, but in your “picture book” of life all you see are stinky diapers, dirty dishes in the sink, piles of unpaid bills, leaky plumbing, and bags under your eyes. Don’t be fooled by the “perfect lives” you see on social media. I can assure you; those lives are not perfect.

If we are all honest, we do at times feel envious or jealous of someone else. The Bible calls this kind of attitude both harmful and sinful. We find this in Proverbs 14:30, “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.” In the apostle Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, he gives us two lists. The first is a list of works of the flesh that can be overcome by walking in unison with the Holy Spirit, while the second is a list of fruit that the Spirit produces in the life of a believer. Included in the sinful acts of the flesh is jealousy. To read this extended passage, Galatians 5:13-26.  

To find more about the Sprit-produced fruit, click here to read one of my previous posts.

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). 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 (Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 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 envious of? Who or what are worshipping that is making God jealous? God wants all your praise and He is worthy of all your praise! Let go of those things that make you green with envy. Instead, turn your heart and mind to God and worship Him and Him alone! So what if their grass is greener.

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We are a society of collectors. Are you someone who collects stuff? Antiques. Artwork. Quilts. Stamps. Coins. Post cards. Wine. Cars. My mother collected pelicans. Pelicans of all shapes, sizes, colors. At the time of her death, she had over 1000 in her collection, all cataloged by date and place of purchase. As a kid, I collected baseball cards. I still have that collection. It has been boxed up for years. I should go through it sometime and see whose rookie card I might have that is worth a few bucks. I once had a rather large ballcap collection. Caps lined one wall of our basement while others filled box after box. The majority of those caps were never worn. They just took up space and collected dust. That collection is long gone. As often as we have moved helps to eliminate the needless stuff. These days I just have ballcaps that I actually wear.

My wife and I now live on a golf course and we, or more precisely, I, collect golf balls. Golf balls that land in the pond. Golf balls that find their way into our yard. And golf balls that we find as we walk. I put them in a basket on the back patio and when the basket gets full, I dump them into a larger container in the basement. Why, you ask? Simply because I can. My wife and I do not even golf.  

If you collect anything, you probably periodically add to that collection. You add to it in order to someday complete the set. Maybe you add to it in order to add value. Or, is it possible that, like our golf balls, you just collect for the sake of collecting? Whatever you collect and whatever the reason you collect, over time that collection gets larger. You and I, we add to our collections.

If you are a Jesus-follower, one of the instructions we find in the Bible is that we are to add to our faith. It is by grace that we are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8-10). Our faith is to be progressive not stagnant. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we are to continually grow, a growth that makes us look more and more like Jesus with each and every step. We are to add things to our faith that help us do that. We are to have a “faith collection.”

In 2 Peter, we are given eight virtues in this collection, beginning with faith and ending with love. This seven verse section begins like this – “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:3-4).

The next three verses give us the things we are to add to our faith. Here is what we read – “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love” (vv.5-7).

The final two verses of this section tell us that the knowledge of God is the beginning and the goal of the Christian life, and if we possess an ever-increasing measure of these eight virtues, adding one of top of another, we will have spiritual vitality, keeping us from being ineffective and unproductive (like the false teachers found in 2 Peter ch. 2). Click here to read those two verses.

Add to implies a starting point. If you already have a faith in Jesus, add to it. If you have not yet turned your life over to Jesus, do so today, surrender your heart and life to Him, give Him rule and reign over your life, and begin adding to your “collection.”

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