Autumn is such a lovely time of the year. Picture yourself walking on a dirt path through the woods. As you enjoy the colorful fall foliage and the squirrels scurrying through the fallen leaves, you inadvertently wander off the path and soon find yourself in the middle of the woods with no path in sight. Suddenly the foliage seems dense, letting no outside light in, and the squirrels, they are nowhere in sight either. What is that rustling of leaves you hear off in the distance? You try to retrace your steps, but soon convince yourself that you have passed the same dead tree stump twice. You seem to just be going in circles.

Have you ever felt trapped with no way out? Your finances are a disaster, bankruptcy seems right around the corner. You have an addiction and life just keeps spiraling deeper and deeper into a dark hole. Or it could be your marriage has hit a rough patch; an off-the-rails child; a serious, maybe even life threatening, illness; a dead-end job; loneliness; or any number of things that make you feel like there is no way out.  

In the Bible, in Exodus 14, there is a story about one of those moments. The Israelites were set free after 400 years in slavery. As they marched to their freedom, beginning to no longer feel trapped, suddenly that path to freedom seemed to disappear. On both sides were tall mountains, in front of them was a body of water, and behind them, an angry army in hot pursuit. This was certainly one of those moments when it would have been easy to take matters into their own hands. But, instead, the Israelites chose to trust God, even when they saw no path ahead of them.

The story goes on to tell us that God parted the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to walk across dry ground, safely reaching the other shore, just before the waters flooded back into the basin, flooding the army, killing them all. Years later, the Israelites looked back upon that event and sang the words found in Psalm 77:19 – “Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters – a pathway no one knew was there” (NLT).

In Isaiah 43 we find God telling the Jewish people that He will be with them, delivering them out of danger – “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (43:2).

Later, in that same chapter, we read this – “’I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.’ Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick” (43:15-17).

So, even when you see no way out, and all you see are trees and overgrown brush in every direction, trust God and have faith that He will make a pathway, maybe one that up until it was revealed was unseen. I will end with this – “For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you” (Isaiah 41:13).

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The culture in which we live continues to be a steady stream of negative, tending to suck the life right out of us. Maybe it is not the culture that has you feeling dry. It could be that you have experienced something of immeasurable hardship. You feel alone. Isolated. Trapped inside walls that seem to reach to the sky. Wondering if anybody, even God, knows, or cares, that you are in there. Any glimmer of hope is like the sun as it rises in the morning, hidden behind the spectacular colors of the autumn leaves. Its beauty lessened in the mist, often hard to see.

Does your soul feel dry? If you are like me, when I find myself parched, it is sometimes hard for me to experience the closeness of God. Are you having a hard time feeling the presence of God? Has it been weeks, months, maybe even years, since you experienced God’s sweet intimacy?

Psalm 13 is a short six verse lament in which the psalmist (David) feels forgotten.

v.1 – How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

2 – How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 – Look on me and answer, LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,

4 – and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 – But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 – I will sing the LORD’s praise, for he has been good to me.

The first two verses reveal what David sees as the problem. Do you see the depth of David’s despair? Four times in these two verses he cries out “How long?” Maybe right now you find yourself crying out, “How long God must this go on!”

In v.3, David petitions God. Look what he says – “look on me and answer” and “give light to my eyes.” Can you hear the urgency in David’s voice? Maybe you have that same urgency today.

V.4 has David praying for victory. If losing wasn’t bad enough, the sting of hearing the victor boast after the victory was almost too much to bear. One of the hallmarks of David’s psalms is his awareness of both God and the enemy.

We see in v.5, despite his agony, David declares God’s mercy. Even if he can rejoice in nothing else, here we see David rejoicing in God’s salvation, just possibly in that moment the only solid ground David is standing on.  What are you rejoicing in today?

David began this psalm by pleading and in v.6 we see a huge transition. David’s pleading changes to praise! In the midst of David crying out to God, David’s eyes were enlightened, and he moved from a place of woe is me to a place of praise, from a place of despair to a place of declaration!

So, today, amid whatever it is that you are facing (and we all are facing something!), will you allow yourself to sing Yahweh’s praise because He has been good to you? Your situation might not change, but your perspective will change. You will begin to move from despair to declaration. Maybe not immediately, but keep singing Yahweh’s praises, and eventually you will experience the presence of the One who can change you.

I will end with these words from the hymn “Approach, My Soul, the Mercy Seat” (written by John Newton). Allow God to speak to you in these words – “Poor tempest-tossed soul, be still, my promised grace receive; ’tis Jesus speaks; I must, I will, I can, I do believe.”

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This past weekend my wife attended a birthday party for a friend. Each attendee was asked to bring a dish to share. My wife put together a lovely and delicious broccoli salad. She cut up broccoli and put it into a bowl. She then added diced red peppers, pieces of apple, and pecans. These ingredients were then covered with a slaw dressing.

Once mixed and tossed, no part of the salad’s ingredients was left untouched by the slaw dressing. The broccoli, peppers, apples, or pecans did not lose their own identity, but none were free of the slaw dressing either. The salad was fully coated with dressing.

When we become a follower of Jesus, He wants to have all of us. Jesus wants to be in, to touch, every part of our life. He wants to give us wisdom as we decide on a career or which college to attend. He wants to give us peace as we sit in the doctor’s office looking at the tumor in our lung. He wants to help us walk away from water cooler chatter that has turned to gossip and slander. Jesus wants us to seek Him with financial decisions. He wants control over our sex life. Yes, even that. To live life in such a fully coated way, Jesus needs to be in us, and with us, not just on Sundays (or whenever you attend worship service), but also Monday through Saturday. Jesus wants to be in everything we think, do, and say.

Psalm 139 is a wonderful place to see this intensely intimate relationship we have with Jesus. The psalm begins with these words, “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” (vv. 1-6).

Continuing, we find this question in v.7, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” We then get the answer in vv.8-10, “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand with guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

When answering a question on what is the greatest commandment, Jesus, quoting from the Shema (see Deuteronomy 6), which is the centerpiece of morning and evening Jewish prayer services, answered this way – “And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, ‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’” (Mark 12:28-30).

We have a God who desires every part of us, who wants access to every nook and cranny of our whole being – heart, soul, mind, strength.

So, I ask you today, are you only allowing Jesus to touch certain places and keeping Him out of others, or inviting Him to be the dressing on your salad, fully coating you, touching every aspect of your life?

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Intimacy is hard to come by these days. In the run run run culture in which we live, it is hard to give our full attention or affection to anyone or anything, and in the process, we end up feeling alone and isolated. Not to mention, exhausted, worn out and weary. And in a “what have you done for me lately?” world, intimacy (commodity; useful, valuable) is often replaced by consumption; use and then discard. Isn’t it also true that we have closets filled with costumes and masks, allowing us to dress up rather than be who we really are.     

There is a longing in our heart for intimacy. Intimacy is defined as a “close familiarity or friendship; closeness.” It is unconditional acceptance; being cared for, known, understood, and loved for who we are. It is not having to wear a mask and pretend we are someone we are not. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, he puts our need for love and belonging just above our basic (physiological, safety) needs. Maslow argued that our need for love and belonging must be satisfied before we can fulfill our higher need for esteem (respect, accomplishment) and self-actualization (achieving one’s full potential). We often try to fill our love and belonging void with those other needs, only finding we still have an emptiness.

Not only do we long for intimacy with others, we have a God who also longs for intimacy with us. I believe that our starting place for true intimacy is with God. If we cannot find intimacy with a perfect God, it sure is hard to find real intimacy with imperfect people. In our intimacy with God, we begin to find freedom; freedom to be and become our genuine selves, which in turn helps us find the kind of intimacy in other relationships that we so long to have.

Intimacy with God means we are never alone. Jesus had such an intimacy with God that it allowed him be at peace, to feel loved, to be confident, no matter the circumstances. God desires to be intimate with us; for us to put him first in our lives and to trust him with our lives. In the context of Yahweh being Israel’s gracious redeemer, here is what Yahweh says – “But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord. “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God—there never has been, and there never will be” (Isaiah 43:10).

We are told in Scripture that if we earnestly seek after God, we will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29) and that if we draw close to God, he draws close to us. In James 4:8 we read this, “Come close to God and he will come close to you.”  

In our longing for intimacy, we first find it in and with God! Are you seeking God’s presence today?

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Many of you probably took swimming lessons as a child. I think back to my childhood and remember getting badges when I passed certain swimming levels. I went from Tadpole to Polliwog to Guppy and finally to Minnow. I learned basic water safety, how to hold my breath under water, how to tread water, kick my legs, float on my back, and swim basic strokes. The last two summers our oldest granddaughter has taken swimming lessons. Her lessons are very different than the lessons I remember taking, but in both cases we learned valuable water safety skills.

One of our previous homes had a backyard swimming pool. On numerous occasions I tried to walk across the pool on top of the water, but the result was always the same. After one or two steps, I found myself under the water and in need of using the techniques I learned in those swimming lessons.

Is it even possible to walk on the water? Today I want to look at a story in which what seems humanly impossible to us is possible when we obey Jesus. This story is found in Matthew 14:22-33.

Jesus and His disciples had just feed more than 5,000 people with a few loaves of bread and some small fish. After that miracle Jesus dismissed the crowd, sent His disciples to the other side of the lake, and He found a quiet place to pray. While crossing the lake the disciples encountered a storm and all night, they fought strong winds and rough seas, and by the wee hours of the morning they were only part way across the lake. In the darkness Jesus decided to join the disciples and He walked out to them on the lake. When the disciples saw Him, they got scared, thinking it was a ghost. Jesus tells the disciples to not be afraid.

We now pick up the story in verse 28. Peter calls out and says, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus responds and tells Peter to “Come” and Peter musters up courage, gets out of the boat, and starts toward Jesus, walking on the water. But when he saw the wind, he got scared and began to sink, and he cried out, “Lord, save me.” What Jesus did next goes against what usually happens. Usually when we fail, we hear something like, “I told you so!” We often get lectured before we get rescued. But what did Jesus do? First, he reached out to rescue Peter, and then He instructs him. The text says, “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.” After grabbing Peter, then Jesus said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 

What is Jesus asking you to do? Does it seem as impossible as walking on water? If you want to walk on water, you need to begin by getting your feet wet. Simply trust that the Lord is near. He will not let you sink. The One who calls you also reaches out to grab you.

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The world is full of people who believe in something … until there is push back. So often, as quickly as we stand up for something (or someone), we sit down even quicker when standing up causes us to stand out. It takes real courage to stand up for the things and the people we believe in.

On this day, fifty four years ago, October 16, 1968, two African-American sprinters from the United States made a very public, and very controversial statement, on the medal stand during the Mexico City Summer Olympics. Tommie Smith and John Carlos had just finished first and third in the 200 meter dash. During the playing of the “Star Spangled Banner” they raised their black-gloved fists in protest of the issues of racism and injustice in the United States and all around the world.

Both men were booed and forced out of the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee and two days later, the U.S. Olympic Committee suspended Smith and Carlos for their power black salute. This stands as one of the iconic moments in the history of the Black Power Movement.

Whether you support or oppose what these two young men did, you must admit, it took great courage to do what they did. Many times, those of us who are followers of Jesus are forced to take a stand that goes against the flow, to swim alone.

Years ago, while attending a weeklong convention in Atlanta, one evening, the group I was with decided to go to a strip club. In that moment I had two choices to make: I could go with the crowd, compromising my beliefs for the sake of popularity, or I could stand alone and not go. In that moment I chose to stand alone. Instead, I went to a college basketball game. I am sure I lost a few “points” with my co-workers and business associates, but on the other hand, and to me most important, my faith was tested and I passed that test. That decision also allowed me to look my wife in the eyes and know that I did not violate her trust in me. Sadly, I cannot always say that I have passed every test. I am still, and always will be, a work in progress.

It takes real courage to stand up for Jesus in a broken and dark world that has turned its back on Him. Scripture is filled with “stand firm” and “be courageous” verses. In 1 Corinthians 16:13 we see these words – “Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong.“ Here, in dramatic fashion, he encourages us to be courageous in a world full of hungry wolves. In another letter written by Paul, 2 Thessalonians, we read this in 2:15 – “So, then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we have passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”

We don’t get this courage or steadfastness by our own strength. We get it from the Holy Spirit. Sure, we can do or not do, say or not say, certain things, but our real strength comes by the power of the Spirit. Here is what we read – “But the LORD is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).  

So today, I ask – Are you seeking God’s power and His Spirit to help you stand firm, to be courageous, to stand tall, in the face of adversity, resistance, pain, suffering, rejection, disappointment, even when you might be the only one standing?

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