At some point in your life, you have probably had the health of your heart tested to help doctors detect potential cardiac problems. Electrocardiography is the process that records the heart’s electrical pattern of depolarizing and repolarizing during each heartbeat by placing electrodes on the patient’s limbs and chest. The record of this pattern is called an EKG or ECG (electrocardiogram) and it shows the series of waves that relate to the electrical impulses which occur during each beat of the heart.

Just over one year ago, I had one such “point in my life” moment requiring several EKGs which uncovered a heart irregularity, but also helped answer a previously unanswered question. If you would like to read that story, click here.    

Life is often that way. In the course of a single day, we can see our emotions bounce all over the place. If we hooked our daily “emotion meter” up to an EKG machine, it would very likely show a similar wave pattern as the pattern of our heartbeat; a never-ending series up highs and lows, peaks and valleys. We tend to be “high” when times are good and “low” when things are not so good. This pattern can leave us exhausted, worn down, and stretched to the point of breaking.  

While we tend to change minute by minute, God, in His three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes. You’ve probably heard the saying that the only constant is change. While that is true of us and all the things around us, the opposite is true of God – He is consistent; always good, always loving, always all-powerful.

Scripture is full of verses that tell us of God’s unchanging and unchangeable nature. Here are just a few: In Malachi 3:6, the Lord says this of himself – “I the LORD do not change.” We read these words in James 1:17 – “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” And Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

So, no matter what your EKG printout looks like, no matter how uncertain your life is, or how changing the world can be, you can always trust in God’s never-changing and never-ending love and faithfulness.

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Are any warning lights flashing on your dashboard? I am referring not to your vehicle’s dashboard, but rather, to the lights that inform you when you need servicing. It could be physical. Emotional. Relational. Financial. Spiritual. Whatever it is, there are usually warning signs that are often ignored. Usually when we ignore the flashing lights, what could have simply been a tune-up ends up requiring a major overhaul.  

While the Meat Loaf song claims that there is “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” that is not always the case. The lights flashing on the dashboard usually indicate something is amiss.  

Even if the odometer does not reflect high mileage does your body have more rust than paint? Is your engine making a weird noise? Do your tires have very little tread left Do your brakes squeak? Do you need to use your high beams because the road ahead has low visibility? Basically, what I am asking — are you tired, your body feeling frail, your soul feeling empty, your nerves on edge, your future uncertain?

If today you are in need of strength and endurance, guidance and direction, peace and calm, click your heels three times and repeatedly say: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you” (Psalm 56:3).

Note — it is perfectly okay to replace “afraid” in the above verse with whatever your specific need(s) is.

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It is that time of year again. We have already turned our clocks ahead. The first day of spring was earlier this week. Patio furniture is being cleaned and carried outside. Opening Day for Major League Baseball is a week away. Grills and smokers are being fired up. But it is that time of year for something else as well. It is that time of year when we seem to be obsessed with one thing!

Today much of the country will be focused on one thing and one thing only – the first round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, affectionately known as March Madness. This year’s madness features 67 games at 14 venues over the course of three weeks. The Women’s March Madness is also now a widely anticipated and watched event, with its first round tipping off tomorrow. Both the men and women had four play-in games earlier this week to fill out their respective 68 team tournaments.  

The brackets were announced on Sunday and since then sports talk programs have broken down the tournament with the so-called experts ad nauseam. Advertisers are using March Madness themed ads to get us to buy their products and services. The tournament even has its own jargon and terminology – The Big Dance, Cinderella, Selection Sunday, Bracketology, First Four, Bracket Buster, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and the four teams that just missed out on making the tournament are called the First Four Out.  

As a nation, we are obsessed with this tournament. Millions of people are pouring every ounce of energy into researching the teams and trying to pick the winners and the upsets. Even people who do not regularly follow college basketball fill out a bracket.

However, sadly, when it comes to our commitment to following Jesus, that pursuit sometimes pales in comparison to the energy and effort we put forth in trying to fill out our brackets. Pursuing Jesus is not a casual, go through the motions, kind of thing. The Bible makes it clear that pursuing Jesus is an all-in activity.

The Bible is full of references to earnestly seeking God. We find these words as the opening verse in Psalm 63, “You God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole body longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” In 1 Chronicles 16:11 we read these words, “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.” And later, in that same book we are told, “Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God” (22:19).  

Psalm 119 begins, “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart” (vv.1-2). And v.10, “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments.”

Not only are we called to earnestly seek after God, but Scripture also tells us that if we do so, we will find Him. The number of verses that give us that promise is lengthy, here are just two. Proverbs 8:17 tells us this, “I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.” And in Deuteronomy 4:29 we find these words, “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and all your soul.”

In instructing his disciples not to worry about physical necessities, Jesus says this in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” This implies a life in full submission to the rule and reign of God, an uncompromising trust in his providence. It is to pursue the first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer (6:9-10). I always encourage you to always read the verses I mention in context. The just referenced “seek first” verse comes near the end of a longer passage (6:19-34).

So, are you pursuing God with the same one-thing obsession and passion as you have when completing your bracket? If you seek after God with an all-in attitude, you will find Him. And that is “nothing but net” every time!  

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Can you think of a time in your life when you knew what to do but you just didn’t do it? You had all the right information but you failed to use that information. Or maybe you started well but over time it became easier to fall back into old habits, and the end result was less than desirable. Think of New Year’s resolutions. Many people make them, they even begin on that journey, but truthfully, few really ever get where they had hoped to go because the ongoing commitment is lacking.

The same is often said of dieting and exercise – we often begin with good intentions only to slip back into old ways, and soon you find ourselves once again overweight and out of shape. Restoring a broken relationship. A daily Bible reading plan. Learning a new language or how to play an instrument. Those too sometimes fizzle out over time.    

The Christian life is often that same way. We begin our faith journey in the Spirit (Romans 8:9), but so often as the months and years go by we try to accomplish by the flesh (on our own) what we once relied on the Spirit for. Maturity does not come by self-effort.

It is true that to become more like Jesus – spiritual maturity – we need to turn from our own ways, doing things differently than in the past (Ephesians 4:20-24). But the power to do that does not come from within us. Rather, it comes by the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. It can only come from God’s Spirit living in us and through us (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 2:13). It takes a day after day after day commitment.

To the early Christian community in the province of Galatia (in modern day Turkey) who were beginning to rely on themselves rather than God, the apostle Paul asked the following question. The same question can be asked of Christ-followers today.  

“Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!” (Galatians 3:2-4, MSG).

Just as plants need proper soil conditions along with the right balance of sunlight, shade, and water to grow and bloom, we need proper soul conditions, which is more of the Holy Spirit and less of us, to grow and bloom and become all that God intends us to be.

So, today being the first day of spring, the time when many of us begin thinking about what we will plant in our gardens and flower beds, are you content to only grow a little doing it your way, by your own efforts, or do you desire to blossom into all that God wants you to become by allowing the Spirit to grow you?

I recently wrote a blog post titled, “Spring is Coming,” in which I encourage all of us to ask God for new life, new growth. Click here to read that post.

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A number of years ago a friend and I were in his small boat on the Isle of Wight Bay at Ocean City, Maryland, when the boat’s engine sputtered and quit working just as a storm rolled across the waters. There we were, stranded on the water as the rain and wind began to make things quite interesting. Can I just say, a pretty terrifying moment, and it was a very comforting sight to see the Coast Guard coming to rescue us before we became fish bait.

In the Bible there is a story told in three of the four Gospels (the word gospel is the translation of the Greek noun euangelion which means “good news”) that is not unlike my story just told.

After a long and exciting day in which Jesus miraculously fed a very large crowd of people with five barley loaves and two small fish, He needed to get away to be alone to pray. He told to the disciples, who had just witnessed and participated in the mass feeding, to get into their boat and go to the other side of the lake, presumably to rest and pray as well. While crossing the lake they got caught in a bad storm, one that caused waves to crash onto their boat.

In the darkness they saw what looked like a ghost walking on the water toward them. They were gripped with fear until this “ghost” spoke and told them that it was he, Jesus, who was coming toward them. In Matthew’s version of this story, Peter asks Jesus to confirm His identity and is then invited to get out of the boat and walk on the water toward Jesus.

Somehow, he musters up courage and steps out of the boat, takes a few steps on the water, then sees the wind and becomes afraid and begins to sink. Jesus reaches His hand to rescue Peter, questions him on his lack of faith, then they both get back into the boat. As soon as they did, the winds died down. Each of the stories gets a little divergent at this point – In Matthew, they “worshipped him;” in Mark, they were “completely amazed;” and John’s version, we will look at that below.

To read each of these stories: Matthew 14:22-36, Mark 6:45-56, and John 6:16-24.  

I believe that there are so many nuggets in this story, but I want us to look at just a few. First, even when we are being obedient to Jesus, we encounter hardships. The disciples obeyed Jesus by crossing the lake and they still encountered a storm. Second, Peter did what is humanly impossible, walking on water, when he kept his eyes on Jesus. Once he looked away, he began to sink. And lastly, I want to look at how this story ends in John’s version. In John 6:20-21 we read these words, “But he said to them, ‘It is I; don’t be afraid.’ Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.” Do you see that? When the disciples recognized Jesus’ voice and willingly surrendered to Him, their fear went away, and the boat reached its destination.

So, today, I hope the takeaway for us is… The disciples could have questioned Jesus as to why He allowed the storm in the first place or allowed Peter to sink. But instead, in my opinion, they recognized that without the storm there would have been no walking on water, no faith to be tested, no faith to be trusted. A faith not tested is a faith not trusted!

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I weigh over 200 lbs.

I have minimal survival skills.

I tend to wander away.

I cannot find my way home when I get lost.

I cannot get up when I fall down.

I need a shepherd.

I am a sheep.

You and I, we are no different than sheep.

A shepherd will do anything and everything needed to guide and protect his or her flock.

The Bible often compares people to sheep.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way…” (Isaiah 53:6a).

“Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100.3).

“And Jesus went throughout the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. (And) when he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:35-36).

Harassed and helpless – let’s be honest, that describes us. When left to our own devices, devoid of Jesus, we are aimless and lost.

Just as any good shepherd, Jesus puts the wellbeing of his flock above all else.

Shepherds know their sheep in a very personal way. Jesus wants to knows his sheep, you and me, in a very personal way.

“I am the good shepherd…” (John 10:11).

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

Psalm 23 is more than a “funeral” psalm. It is a beautiful narration of David’s intimate understanding that he is a sheep and his shepherd is all he needs. David knew the role of a shepherd; he was one.

I ask you to read Psalm 23. I will break it down into three sections. Three things any good shepherd does for his or her flock. 

The Lord is my Providing Shepherd (vv.1-3), Protecting Shepherd (4-5), Preserving Shepherd (6).

Allow me to offer my thoughts on what I see as important takeaways in each of the six verses.

“The LORD is my shepherd” (v.1): The emphasis is on the words “my shepherd,” evoking an image of a personal shepherd, someone with whom we are intimate with. Jesus is that kind of intimate friend to you if you allow Him to be. In fact, he loves you so much that He died for you.

“Lie down in green pastures” (v.2): Shepherds lead their sheep from lush green pasture to lush green pasture. The sheep can rest and enjoy nourishment before the next long journey. Jesus leads you to those same places.

“Beside still waters” (v.2): Sheep are afraid of moving water. The shepherd knows this and leads his flock to those crystal clear bodies of water that are calming and refreshing. Jesus does the same for you.

“Paths of righteousness” (v.3): Literally, the straight path. Since sheep easily wander, and are easy prey for wolves, their shepherd knows the simplest and safest path from point A to point B is a straight line. Jesus knows you and I also tend to wander, have little or no survival skills, and are easy prey for Satan. 

“For his name’s sake” (v.3): Think back to the burning bush. When Moses asked who he should say is sending him, God answered – “Tell them, I AM is sending you.” I AM, Yahweh, we tend to say Jehovah today. I AM is God’s personal name, literally means “I am the existing one.” God promised Moses to be up close and personal, He makes that same promise to you right now. For his name’s sake, He keeps His promises.

“Valley of the shadow of the valley of death” (v.4): Shepherds led their flock through often deep and dark valleys and wadis (dry river basin) to get from Point A to Point B. The shepherd knows this darkness freaks out the sheep so likely he or she talked to the flock that entire journey through that dark valley. “My sheep hear my voice … and they follow me.” Do you need to hear your Good Shepherd’s voice right now? Listen for it!

“For you are with me” (v.4): Shepherds never leave their flocks unattended! What did Yahweh tell Moses at the burning bush when Moses wanted to know if he was going alone? YHWH said: “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12) What did Yahweh tell Joshua as he stood shaking in his boots: “Just as with Moses, I will be with you, I will never leave you or forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). Then Yahweh said: “be strong and courageous” (v.6). How did Jesus end his Great Commission? – “And behold, I will be with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Jesus makes that same promise to you!

“Rod and staff” (v.4): Shepherds use a rod to fend off wolves, and the staff to gently, sometimes forcefully, guide the flock. Both are for the comfort and protection of the sheep. Jesus also uses His rod and staff to protect and guide you.

V.5 – Talks of being the invited guest at YHWH’s banquet table. Guests were treated like royalty by the host in that day. So much so that expensive perfume was rubbed on the guest’s head as a way to say “You are special!” Jesus has a place at His table for you. He sees you as special, showering His love on you.

V.6 – Because the shepherd is always with the flock, the sheep knows goodness and mercy, both in the green pastures and dark valleys! And it implies, rather clearly, this goodness and mercy is both now and forever.

So, right now, will you embrace the profound intimacy offered by your Shepherd here in Psalm 23? Doing so changes everything!!!!

Picture yourself as a sheep, walking foot in hand with Jesus. Now that must be a funny picture; a four-legged hoofed animal with one of your feet in His hand, trying to walk, more like an awkward hopping. You and Jesus walking side by side, when a wolf suddenly rushes toward you with its sharp teeth ready to devour you. You can look that big bad wolf in the eye and say- “Not so fast buddy, I’m with Him!”