Have you ever tried to walk stride for stride with someone else? It is quite difficult. You might be able to do it for a few strides, but pretty soon, because your walk and rhythm is unique to you, and theirs to them, you soon find yourself doing left foot when they are right foot. When I played defensive back in football, my best chance to make a play on the ball was to run down the field stride for stride with the opposing player I was covering. When two people are on the same page, it is often said, “they walk in stride with one another.” My wife and I do not agree on all things, in fact we have a number of differing thoughts and opinions, but one of our great strengths is that we are in stride with each other, despite our uniqueness, despite our differences.

For those of us who call ourselves Jesus-followers, we are charged with walking in stride with God. The apostle John, when writing to the early church about truth and love, penned these words in his second epistle (epistle simply means letter), “I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as you were commanded by the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady – not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning – that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it” (2 John 1:4-6). Scholars and theologians are split on whether “dear lady” refers a specific woman or the Christian community metaphorically.

Enoch, who did not die as we know death, but rather was taken away by God, walked with God. Here is what we read in Genesis 5.23-24, “Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” Walking with God is our way to find true life. It is not merely keeping a set of laws, checking off the boxes.  

Learning to walk with God, with the goal of getting in stride with Him, is hard work. It doesn’t happen by accident. It takes a lifetime of communing with God. I will define communing with God like this – glorious fellowship that fulfills the purpose of our mere existence, which is to glorify God (Isaiah 43:7). One of the early church doctrinal documents, known as the Westminster Shorter Catechism, completed in 1647, asks the question, “What is the chief end of man?” It then answers that question with this, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

Walking with God is a life of devotion and dedication to Him. It is a life of saying no to ourselves and yes to God. Walking with God also involves regularly striving to get back in stride with God. Sometimes being out of stride with God is because of our own missteps, while other times, it is because God’s walk and rhythm differs from ours.

Outside of God, our walk is one that is selfish, pursuing our own self interests. Walking with God begins with acknowledging your sinful nature and inviting Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. Walking in stride with God works to change our passions and our purposes. Walking stride for stride with God is a lifetime endeavor, one born out of love and obedience.

Are you walking stride for stride with God today? If not, what better time than right now to ask God for a new step – one that helps you keep pace with Him, changing you and the world around you in the process. At the end of my game of life, I would love nothing more than to hear God say, “He ran down the field stride for stride with Me!” How about you?

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If you could keep a log of what occupies your thoughts, what would be on that log? Are you thinking about the things that burden you, the hurts and hang ups, the bumps and bruises, maybe the turbulent world we will in? You might spend an exorbitant amount of time thinking about your health, your family, your wealth, your career, your future. And while it is good to think about, even to ponder, the things of this world, especially the things you can control, it is also detrimental to your health, your soul, your relationships, to focus on, even fret about, those things.

Focusing on the fickleness and brokenness of life on earth eventually brings doubt, despair, and hopelessness. If you have not experienced that reality yet, the fact of life is that at some point you will. Life will track you down and it will let you down, guaranteed. Occupying your heart and mind on those things also goes against what scripture teaches. In Colossians 3:1-2 we read – “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

What those verses do not say is to ignore, to neglect, life on earth. We are called to think about, and live out, being the best spouse, parent, sibling, son or daughter, employee, boss, friend, neighbor, and citizen that we can possibly be. We are to think about those things, just not become preoccupied with them. We are to view everything against the backdrop of eternity and no longer live as if this world is all that matters.

Those two verses give us the “what” while vv.3-4 give us the “why” – “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” That should give you great hope. The phrase “for you died” refers to the reality that through the blood of Jesus, the Christ-follower is dead to sin (Ephesians 1:7).

Dead to sin does not mean sinless but, rather, that the power (dominion) of sin over you is broken. In contrast to Adam and Even trying to hide from God after they sinned in the Garden (Genesis 3:8), being “hidden with Christ in God” points to safety and being in God’s constant care, while “when Christ appears” makes clear the fact that those who have put their trust in Jesus will forever be with Him, in this life and the life to come. It says that the pain and fickleness of today will be replaced by the joy of eternity spent with Jesus.

So, when your world begins to crumble, when life spins out of control, when parts begin to fly off and your engine sputters, if you strive to set your heart and mind on things above (rather than on earthly things), the sky that once looked stormy, gray and gloomy, will begin to look cloudless and blue with a gentle breeze; a sky perfect for flying kites.

In a 2017 TEDx talk, Nic O’Neill, who at the time was president of the American Kitefliers Association, called kites “freedom on a string” for the transformative power they bring to the kite flier. Striving to set your heart and mind on things above will allow God’s transforming power to begin to seep into every crack and crevice of your soul, turning doubt to confidence, despair to joy, hopelessness to hopefulness, bondage to freedom, freedom on a string.

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It is Friday night, and it has been a long and tiring week. You are looking forward to kicking off the weekend by going out for dinner with friends, enjoying good conversation, a few laughs, eating a deliciously prepared meal, and sharing a bottle of wine or tasting the newest craft beers.

At the restaurant, your server brings the menu. Oh my goodness, so many choices. And tonight’s specials, that all sound very tempting too. So, what floats your boat tonight? For some it might be a juicy steak and creamy horseradish sauce topped with grilled asparagus. For others it is a big thick bacon burger with tangy barbeque sauce and blue cheese crumbles. How about a rack of hickory smoked baby back ribs? A neighbor recently told you that the blackened salmon with a lime butter glaze is the best in town. Or if you are a vegetarian, you might go for the pasta with broccoli, red peppers and mushrooms, sautéed in olive oil and garlic.  

The phrase float your boat took on a life of its own in the 1980s when boat lovers, who up to that point mostly outfitted boats simply for safety, began adding features to make their boats more ascetically pleasing, often adding weight, compromising buoyancy. Adding more stuff to your boat was fine so long as the boat would still float. So, today, in our modern vernacular, do whatever floats your boat is a way of saying, “As long as it doesn’t sink you, do what you want.”   

Regardless of what your food of choice is, one thing is for sure, within a few hours you will be hungry once again. That truth becomes evident when after dinner everyone migrates to your house to sit outside by the fire pit. Snacks and beverages are aplenty. You wonder, how can we even be hungry after that huge meal? The food we eat, while it is enjoyable, and while it provides nourishment to our bodies, just never completely satisfies us. We need to eat again to stay nourished and healthy.

Scripture invites us to taste the never-ending goodness of God. In Psalm 34:8 we read this, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”  

You might be familiar with that passage of scripture, but let’s drill down on some key words. The Hebrew word “taste” in v.8 is Ta’am, which means to (figuratively) perceive or evaluate, by reason, discretion or judgment. In this context, “good” (towb) is an adjective, defining God (Yahweh) as kind, merciful, gracious. And “blessed” (ˈesher) simply means happy, while “refuge” (chacah) can be understood as means to trust in, to have hope in.

To keep this verse in context we must also look at verses 9-10, which answers “what” and “why” questions. Psalm 34:9, giving us “what” we are to do, begins like this – “Fear the Lord, you his holy people.” The fear referenced here is a healthy fear, not a fear that comes from being terrified. It is a fear that comes out of respect and reverence of God, and not wanting to offend Him. And the reminder of verse 9 and all of verse 10 now answers the “why” question – “For those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”

What does all this mean? Just as you only know your favorite meal is delicious by actually eating it, tasting its goodness, these three verses say to us that we should give God a chance, try Him out, and put all our trust in Him. And, in return, God promises to be merciful, kind, and gracious. He promises to be good. He promises to provide for all our needs. The wise, the godly, are encouraged to seek the Lord, and take refuge in Him. Why, you ask? Because when we seek God and his kingdom above all else, He provides for all our needs, needs that align with his plans and purposes (see Matthew 6:33).

So, what is your favorite meal? Today, taste and see that the Lord is good! And go back for seconds. You will be glad you did!

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On November 6, 1869, the first intercollegiate football game was played between the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) Tigers and Rutgers Queensmen, won by Rutgers 6-4. The teams played again a week later, this time with Princeton winning 8-0. The two games were played with rules very different from today’s game and were also played under home field rules that differed from each other.

The origins of what we in America call football can be traced back to the Middle Ages when opposing teams would kick around the cranium of a dead person. Mercifully, by the 1400s, skulls had been replaced by inflated swine bladders. Thus, the nickname for a football – pigskin.

Walter Camp is commonly referred to as the Father of American Football. He first played halfback at Yale University from 1876-1882, then went on to coach at both Yale and Stanford while becoming an innovator of the game, creating, among other things, the 11-man team, line of scrimmage (taken from the scrummage in rugby) and the system of downs. His Yale coached teams went 67-2 during his five years in New Haven, Connecticut.

Football continues to evolve and change. Every year rules and safety committees, from rec leagues all the way to the pros, are continually improving the product on the field as well as making the game safer. Not only does the game itself to evolve, but as players get bigger, faster, and stronger, the pads and protective gear continue to improve as well.   

We too need to look at our own lives and evaluate what is and is not working. We need to look for ways to continually improve ourselves. We should always be a work in progress, seeking to become a better version of ourselves. The ability to do that comes from the Holy Spirit. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are called to become like Jesus. In 1 Peter 2:21 we read – “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

When you said “yes” to Jesus, you also said “yes” to the Holy Spirit. He lives in you, desiring to guide your every step and thought – “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Corinthians 3:16) The problem is that we leak and we need to continually be re-filled with the Spirit’s presence.

So, today, ask God to put His finger on those areas in your life that need to be remanufactured and retooled, what needs to made better, changed, or scrapped altogether. Ask Him to guide you and help you turn from a life focused on the desires of your flesh to more fully walking by the Spirit. (Read Galatians 5.) Ask Him to re-fill your leaky cup with His Spirit. In Ephesians 3:19, the apostle Paul prays that the faithful in Jesus Christ will be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

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Life is full of road closures and detours, leading us to new and unknown journeys. Those new roads often lead to new adventures. Ones missed had we stayed on the road well-traveled.

Two years ago, today, we found ourselves on one of those new roads. I suffered a stroke. Due to the promptness of getting to the hospital, I was able to receive a drug that dissolved the blood clots and restored blood flow to my brain, lessening the damage done. Had my wife not been home at the time, I would have been there all day by myself. We can only speculate what might have happened.

My brain struggles to process all the activity around it. Sensory overload is my new normal. Full-time employment at a fast-paced law firm is no longer. These days I am fortunate to work part-time at a concrete contractor, where the owners and my coworkers are committed to keeping me from melting down. What once was an ability to multitask now sometimes finds it hard to simply “single-task.” Afternoon quiet time at home is a daily thing. Ear plugs and noise canceling headphones are often my best friends. Driving is limited to back and forth to work. Other than that, I am a passenger. I must say, my driver is stunningly beautiful.

In this new normal, most things take more time and more effort. And this new normal has also forced me re-evaluate what is and is not important, what is and is not healthy, what is and is not needed, what is and is not beneficial, and tweak my life, change up my daily rhythm, helping me to become a better and healthier version of me. More quiet time and abstract painting as art therapy are just two of the ways I find beneficial to settle the chaos in my brain.

In a writing I did last month on the need for helpers in life, I gave kudos to caregivers. They are often underappreciated. I want to again publicly thank my wife for her constant caregiving, always done so naturally, so gracefully, so selflessly, and with so much love. If you would like to read that post, click here.

For years I have taught, preached, and tried to live out the reality that “a faith not tested is a faith not trusted.” That reality has become ever so real and personal, as we walk out my (our) life changed by, but not defined by, the effects of a stroke. I did not this choose this path but am choosing to walk out this path trusting God. To be transparent and completely honest, I admit, some days it is a real struggle, both with getting through certain situations and holding on to faith, especially when my brain just does not want to cooperate. Sometimes woe is me creeps in.

While I have made tremendous strides in my recovery, I will likely continue to have some level of neurological deficits and cognitive challenges for the remainder of my life. Every day I need to celebrate every new step, no matter how small. Every day I need to ask God for His sustaining peace and protection over me, asking Him to walk with me. One of my go-to verses is found in Isaiah 26:3 – “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” And, similarly, in Psalm 112:7 I hold to these words – “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.”

As you go about your day today, rejoice in the joys, celebrate the victories, and pick yourself up from the things that knock you down! Let the sun be rising not setting.

And, regardless of whether or not you have experienced a life-altering event, what changes might you need to make in your own life to put yourself on a path to becoming a better version of you? New roads often lead to new adventures. What are you waiting for?

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Do you ever feel like you have been kicked to the curb? Maybe you have some impediment (physical, mental, emotional, etc.) that holds you down. It could be the feeling that you are on the outside looking in or that nobody sees or hears you. While the world so often lacks the personal touch we deeply long for, today we will look at a story which only appears in the Gospel of Mark. This story speaks so clearly of how Jesus meets us specifically at the point of our need.

Mark chapter 7 begins with Jesus having a dispute with the scribes and Pharisees (the moral police of that time) over clean and unclean in vv.1-23. The text then narrates Jesus healing two Gentiles, first the curing of a Canaanite woman’s daughter (24-30) and then the restoration of a deaf and mute man (31-37), which is my focus today.  

In v.32 we see that some people brought to Jesus a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. Here is what we read – And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into the man’s ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” that is “Be opened.” And the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

The word describing the man’s speech impediment is only used once in the New Testament, right here in v.32, and in my opinion, Mark is clearly referencing the glorious benefits of Messiah’s rule and reign, as found in Isaiah 35:5-6 – “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”

There is so much in these verses, too much for today, but I want to share four key elements that you can cling to. First, we see the personal touch of Jesus. We know that Jesus can deal with the masses (for example, feeding 5,000) but in today’s text we see Jesus simply dealing one on one with this man. Second, we see the humanity and heart of Jesus. He reached out to touch this man and also sighed, as a compassionate response to the man’s condition. Third, we see that Jesus knew that His power source came from God. We read “he looked up to heaven.” And lastly, we see Jesus is more than a man of words, He is also a man of action.

That phrase “be opened” is representative of entirety of Jesus’ ministry – he enables the disabled, he sets free those who are in bondage, he mends the broken, he restores the sick, he welcomes the outcasts. Those of you who have been shoved out of the way, those of you who have been forgotten, those of you who are on the fringe of life – this is the Jesus who steps into your life and meets you at your very point of need. He did not touch the man’s leg or put His hand on the man’s arm, instead He touched the man’s deaf ear and mute tongue. He also touches you right where you have a need, as if to say, “I understand.”

After the crowd witnessed what Jesus had done – And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak’” (v.37). As the people see this miracle, they recognize that when God does something in our lives, it isn’t just partial, it isn’t just okay, but instead, on the contrary, He brings it to completion, and it is always excellent work. It is always very good. If you are familiar at all with the Creation Story in Genesis, then you know that as God created, He stepped back and said it was good. This is the God that does all things well.

Right now, some of you are in bondage, some of you are in despair, others of you simply feel like you are on the fringe, or you have some impediment, some blockage, that is keeping you from becoming all you can be. Jesus, in and through his great love for you, meets you at that point of need and says to you, “Ephphatha.”

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