So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
Nehemiah 4:6

 The book of Nehemiah is a historical book in the Old Testament that shares the story of the return of Jewish exiles to Jerusalem and the restoration of the physical walls of the city. But there is also a spiritual restoration of the community that occurs in the book. As you read through this book, pay close attention to chapter three. There are a lot of hard-to-pronounce names, but notice that just about everyone has a hand in rebuilding the walls and gates. Some are able to do more than others. Some are unskilled but jump in and move stones anyway. But most of the people simply step outside their home and begin working with others to rebuild the wall. There was certainly opposition to all the work, but the people did not allow that to deter them, and day by day they could see the completion getting closer and closer. And when the wall was completed, the people rejoiced and worshipped, and they were blessed. The completion of the wall was a catalyst for spiritual renewal for the people.
 
I am not sure you realize it or not, but our building is coming along. The painting will be completed this week, thanks to many of you, and doors are going to be installed this week as well by some of our handymen. There is still a lot to do, such as trim, flooring, and finish work, that all of us can pitch in and help with. There is still much to do, but we are so close to having our own space to call home. But I am more excited about how the Lord will use this space to make Jesus Non-Ignorable in Severance and to the ends of the earth. But the lessons we learn from Nehemiah are that God uses His people to accomplish His goals for His glory and our good. Thousands of people helped to rebuild the wall in Nehemiah's time. That means that everyone did something. Some gave materials, others stacked rocks, others hung gates, others mortared stones, but they all contributed something.  
Church, I want to encourage you to relish in the fact that God allows us to be a part of His plan to build His Kingdom. It may be through painting a wall, hanging a door, laying carpet squares, cleaning up, or giving an extra $100 to the building fund. We are so incredibly close to a day when we can worship the Lord at the Building AND bless our community with this awesome resource that He has provided. Everyone can do something.
 
Over the next several weeks, we will have several opportunities for all of us to “have a mind to work.” We will be sharing opportunities where we can all pitch in. If you have questions, reach out to Omar, one of our deacons, or me, and let’s get this wall completed.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
Philippians 4:4

I turned 52 on the mountain a couple of weeks ago, chasing elk with a smoke pole as I have for the past several years. It was the best season I have had so far. It rained every day, and my boots' waterproofing decided to fail this year. We encountered a ton of deadfall we had to navigate and found ourselves in a place we aptly named the hell hole. I had two missed opportunities to shoot elk that were well within range, and they either winded us or just didn’t take the last step to clear the trees. Two mornings I forgot to pack my honey bun and V8 and was stuck with a bag of peanuts for mid-morning breakfast. Despite having wet feet all week, huddling under a tarp in the rain for hours, sore knees, aching back, wet powder, no honey bun, it was the best elk season ever.

I realized that we have no problem finding reasons to grumble and complain, and we really struggle with reasons to rejoice. We complain about the smallest of things such as enduring a little much-needed rain, the little aches and pains as we age that remind us we are alive, the traffic light that causes us to slow down when we are rushed, the leftovers we have for supper because we had more than we could eat the day before. We often complain and grumble because we didn’t get our way, and when we do so, we fail to see the good that comes from not getting our way. We are so eager to forfeit our opportunity to rejoice and eagerly exchange it for the ditch of grumbling in self-pity. Instead, we need to be reminded that we have an abundance of reasons to rejoice.

I rejoice that I had the opportunity to have wet boots, huddled under a tarp, exhausted after crawling over too much deadfall, honeybunless, in some of the prettiest country most people will never see, laughing with godly men. I rejoice in hearing the bugle of a bull in the timber. I rejoice in watching the aspen leaves change before my eyes. I rejoice in sore knees that still get me up the mountain. I rejoice and thank God for such opportunities because they are a blessing, and He has given me the ability and opportunity to experience them His way. But most of all, I rejoice in knowing my Savior, who is the reason to rejoice! What incredible gifts do we overlook when we default to grumbling rather than rejoicing? I encourage you to take some time and inventory the reasons you have to rejoice. I promise they will outnumber the reasons to complain.

PS. I would love to hear your reasons to rejoice. You can call, text, or email me. I would love to rejoice with you!

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6-7

I have been studying and soaking in the book of Colossians lately and wanted to share a few thoughts. Paul writes this letter to the Colossian church from prison in Rome. Although he is in chains and imprisoned for his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, he writes to encourage these believers. There is a major theme throughout this letter, and that theme is that if we are Christians, saved by grace through faith, then our lives should give evidence of our faith no matter our circumstances. Here are some key points to ponder.

Faith in Jesus is more than acknowledgement of Jesus; it is a life that longs to follow Him in joyful obedience. Paul says if we have received Christ Jesus the Lord, we are to walk in Him. The Greek word walk here refers to how we conduct our lives, as we roam about. Do our daily lives look different from the time we didn’t know Jesus?

We should grow our hope and significance in what Jesus has done and not be molested by worldly standards. Paul says we are to be rooted and built up in our faith in Jesus. It is easy to be consumed by the cares and implications that the world puts upon us, but we are to be “established in the faith”, meaning we can find our strength in Christ’s promise when hope seems to be fleeting.

We should remind ourselves of the truth when our faith is tested. Paul reminds us that we were taught the truth, but I believe we have a tendency to forget the truth or doubt the truth when trouble comes. The truth is we are sinners deserving punishment for our rebellion; however, we are so deeply loved by the Lord that He has covered and atoned for our sin so that we can have intimacy with Him. This means that He is our hope, our joy, and our strength.  Therefore, we can live this temporary life with all of its hills and valleys and know that we have eternal glory awaiting us.

We have more to be thankful for than to worry about. I love that Paul says we should abound in thanksgiving. Remember that Paul is in prison, yet he is thankful. To abound means that we should overflow in thanksgiving. When was the last time you took inventory of things to be thankful for? Do you consider your ability to get up every morning, to smell the coffee, hug your family, be a part of a church that loves Jesus, and to share the greatest news that changes eternity in spite of the temporary difficulties that come in this broken world?

I fear that we often underestimate the gift of our salvation and our responsibility to live as followers of Jesus. Jesus is not a genie; He is Lord, and it is so good for us to live our lives under His lordship.

Early on Friday mornings there’s a regular group of people that pour into Coffee House 29. The beauty of it is that while many of us don’t even know each other, we’re there for the same purpose: to study God‘s word in our own small groups. 

One senior gentleman faithfully walks weekly from the front counter to the back of the building and into the private room where he gathers for Bible study with several other men. With each swayed but swift step towards that back room, the smile on his mouth is partially hidden under a very bushy, full white mustache as he joyfully greets with people he passes.
—
Him: Good morning.
Barista and manager Peter: Good morning and how are you today?
Him: Blessed.
—
Him: Good morning.
The regular at the high table: Mornin’, how are ya?
Him: At peace with God.
—
Him: Good morning.
Me, sitting in my usual spot: Good morning! How are you?
Him: Saved.
—
His responses vary along those lines, but it’s similar each week: a reminder that he is grateful for what God has bestowed graciously upon him… salvation, peace with God, blessings, joy, each day’s breath, etc.

Our only part in our salvation story is our need to respond– to accept the gift of saving grace from the One Who extends it to us. He has accomplished all that was necessary for us to have a way to spend eternity in His presence. And as He opens our eyes, draws us to Himself, and invites us to the table to feast on His goodness (John 6:54; Revelation 19:7), we respond with surrendered acceptance of His offer… salvation, peace with God, blessings, joy. So my questions are: have you responded to God’s invitation to you? If you want to know what that means, I’m happy to talk with you about it (as are the elders and many others in leadership). And if you have accepted the gift of salvation, do your responses to people reflect it?

You know those stories that become part of your family lore? Well, I was reminded of one of our Woodrow lore stories a few Sundays ago during Josh’s sermon.

My family had returned to Mozambique after a year-long furlough, and my eldest brother was about to turn 4. During their time in the US, he had been introduced to hot dogs and, like most four-year-old boys, was a big fan. The problem was, Mozambique in the 1990s had not yet gotten on the “hot dog train,” understandably, as they were still trying to establish some of the basic essentials like flour and water. But try explaining that to a little boy who had just come back from the land of plenty. How devastated he was when he learned he’d have to go some years before eating hot dogs again.

Well, his birthday came around, and he was gifted some money all for his very own! My dad thought this would be a good time to teach him about tithing and giving to the Lord. He explained to my brother that God asks us to give back as a way of showing our trust and dependence on the Lord and our recognition that everything is God’s already. He also shared how God provides for His people and that we can never give God more than God gives to us. My brother was so moved by this lesson that he decided then and there to give every last penny to the Lord! Well, this was not what either of my parents expected, but not thinking of a way to change his mind without sounding hypocritical, they let him offer all his birthday money to the church.
 
Fast-forward to that afternoon, and there was a knock on their apartment door. A vendor had come up to showcase his goods. Imagine their surprise when, out of his bag, he produced a small can of hotdog sausages- the first my family had ever seen in all their years in Mozambique! Well, my eldest brother was delighted, not only to finally eat hot dogs, but also in realizing how the God of the universe chose to bless him with such an extraordinary and personal gift!

May we also live generously, delighting in every good and perfect gift from our Father!

He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. John 1:39

In John chapter 1, we see a series of simple invitations. First, John the Baptist’s disciples meet Jesus, begin to follow Him, and He gives a simple invitation: “Come and see.” Then Andrew goes to his brother, Peter, and he brings him to Jesus. The next day Jesus finds Phillip and tells him, “Follow me.” Then Phillip goes to Nathaniel and simply invites him to “come and see.” These are all simple invitations for others to join in coming and spending time with Jesus.  I believe we underestimate the power of a simple invitation to others to simply come with us as we spend time with Jesus and His people.

I read some interesting statistics the other day. Lifeway research showed that less than 2% of people responded to a church invite through a mass invitation like a social media post or invitation card. Less than 10% responded to a pastoral invite. However, almost 80% of people who were invited by a friend, neighbor, or relative joined the person who gave them a personal invite.  

I think we overcomplicate things so often, especially when it comes to inviting others to meet Jesus. In John, these guys didn’t have it all figured out yet, but they did know that they had met the Messiah, and they wanted others to meet Him. All they did was invite others to come and see with them. A simple invitation that can change lives.

Here is the simple challenge for you. Who can you invite to come and meet with Jesus with you? It may be an invitation to come to your Bible study. It may be an invitation to dinner where you can have a gospel conversation.  Or it may be an invitation to come on a Sunday morning to join you and your family to worship King Jesus with others. Let’s not underestimate a simple invitation of “Come and see.” It very well could be the simple invitation that changes them for all eternity.

Two and a half decades ago, the greatest sermon illustration of a generation impressed upon me the weighty responsibility of not wasting my life. These life-altering seven and a half minutes have been used by God to challenge me toward hard and uncomfortable choices over and over again. I thank God for their impact.

An unfortunate (and unintended) side effect of Piper’s illustration in my heart, however, has been a discontentedness with things that feel everyday or mundane.
 
Sending another email. Cooking another meal. Attending another meeting. These are no doubt important because they are necessary, but they don’t always feel meaningful.

Recently, though, the Lord has given me an additional way to look at these things: Jesus says, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12 ESV). Paul says, “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:14 ESV) and “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 ESV) and “...count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4 ESV).

So…if you want to feel loved today, try showing love to someone else.
If you want to experience joy today, seek to increase someone else’s joy.
If you want to feel a part of something, make someone else feel a part.
If your heart’s burden is heavy, go serve somebody.
And, if you want to feel like your life is significant, try helping someone else see how their life matters.

These aren’t just cute “-isms” that belong on a cat poster.
In doing these, we fulfill the law of Christ.

This past week was such an incredible experience, and I'm so thankful for everything God allowed me to be part of! Although I wasn't sure what to expect and felt a little overwhelmed once we received our schedule, it was absolutely amazing!

Our team spent the week inviting people to church, doing free car washes, praying with those in the community, and partnering with local churches to share the Gospel. God gave us opportunities to have meaningful conversations with people from many different backgrounds, and it was such a blessing to see hearts that were open to hearing about Jesus!!

Not every conversation was easy, but each one reminded me that our responsibility isn't to win arguments—it's simply to faithfully share the hope we have in Jesus with grace and love!

This trip stretched me in so many ways, especially by helping me overcome my fear of talking to strangers. God reminded me that He doesn't call us to have all the right words—He simply asks us to be willing and faithful!

I don’t think there is ever a time when we can honestly say we are not busy. We get busy with parenting, work, hobbies, even church stuff, and it is our own doing. Sure, there are times when we are not as busy, but we often find ourselves just overwhelmed with things to do. But God did not create us to be busy all the time.

The Bible tells us over and over that we should take time to rest- not just to take a nap or lie on the couch eating Cheetos and neglect our responsibilities. What the rest the Bible speaks of is actually a form of worship. The Bible says we are to pause from the business of life to stop and ponder the goodness and all sufficiency of God to sustain us because we were not made to be all sufficient.

Yet pausing to rest is so often a difficult thing to do. But God is so good that He gives us great direction in His Word. There is a word that we find throughout the Psalms that we may not understand. That word is Selah. It is actually a musical term and is meant for the one singing to pause at the end of a profound verse or statement. It is not to just make the music sound better. It is meant to force us to stop and consider what God has spoken.  

What a life lesson we can learn from one little word. In the business of life, God has designed our worship to actually force us to just stop, set aside the craziness of life, and rest in the all-sufficient goodness of God.

Let’s all take God’s direction and Selah a little more throughout the day and week. I promise it will make the stress of the business of life much better when we stop and ponder God’s faithfulness. 

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder
and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:16-18

I love the book of James because James is a no-nonsense kind of guy. He tends to tell us like it is, and I often need that straightforward truth that doesn’t pull punches. But often with truth like this, we tend to think someone else really needs this truth. That may be so; however, we need to consider that this truth is first meant for us.

In chapter 3, James cuts to the core of all of man’s problems. He defines them as jealousy and selfish ambition. We would not readily admit that we are selfish and jealous, but the truth is, when we examine our lives daily, we really are. We often harbor harsh, resentful attitudes toward others who don’t adhere to our agendas and ways of doing things. James says this only leads to disorder and every vile practice.
 
James then offers a change of perspective. He says wisdom from above is just the opposite. What James is saying is that when Jesus conquers our hearts, our outlook on our lives and relationships changes. We no longer seek to be the most important person in the room. That self-centered wisdom that is consumed with personal ambition is not from God. Instead, we seek purity, meaning moral integrity. We seek to be peaceable, meaning we promote peace.

We strive to be gentle; we are willing to go to great lengths of difficulty to promote peace without an attitude of revenge. We are open to reason. This means we are teachable and willing to admit we may be wrong. We are full of mercy. This means we are willing to forgive and show concern for others. He then says we are to be impartial and sincere. This means we are committed to one another in genuine relationships, desiring the best for one another.

If I could sum all of this up in one encouragement, I would say that if we desire to have God-honoring,  fruitful, growing relationships, we need to have the mindset that we are not the most important person in the relationship. Oh, how sweet and wonderful our marriages and friendships would be if we were to strive for such. James calls this sowing seeds of peace that produce a harvest of righteousness.

When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (Matthew 7)

Imagine a filthy man running, diseased and unclean, into a crowd. Imagine the crowd drawing back in horror. Imagine Jesus watching the sick man crouched in the dust, quivering and begging for wholeness.

What’s a rabbi to do? This man just broke the Law. Christ ought to rebuke him and perhaps permit ritual death by stoning. What did Christ see in this sick man? I think He saw true gospel understanding in the leper’s simple words.

Lord. Translation: “You are greater than I. You are who You say You are.”

If you will. Translation: “If it seems good to You. If this is right in Your eyes.” The leper confesses his inability to save himself. He acknowledges Christ’s authority. He yields.

You can make me clean. Translation: the leper understood that only Jesus could save him. The Mosaic law certainly hadn’t. His only hope was the dusty carpenter who stood before him, Emmanuel and Redeemer.

Lord, if You will, You can make me clean. Isn’t that the gospel, friends? Acknowledge your sin, yield to Christ’s authority, and accept His gift of atoning love that makes us clean before God.

And the God of the universe stretched out his hand and touched him.

“I will,” said Jesus. “Be clean.”

Immediately, the leper was clean.

The leper’s statement is a regular refrain when I struggle with sin and condemnation. It’s hope and a reminder—the gospel makes us whole and clean before God. The gospel is enough.

Rest your heart in that truth, friend. It’s a good place to be.

"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"
Romans 10:15b

Every Sunday, the elders of Calvary Severance are ever mindful and clearly share the gospel from the pulpit. We do this for a few reasons. The first is so that unbelievers may hear it and the Lord might prick their hearts, and they believe in the saving grace of Jesus. There are two reasons we share the gospel that is meant for believers. We need to be reminded of the magnitude of our sin, but also the overwhelming mercy and grace of God that enables us to live lives of faith. But there is another reason you may not have thought about. That is to make believers ever familiar with sharing the gospel themselves.  

We are to be optimistically evangelical, and we do this by sharing the truth of who Jesus is. The following is a good explanation of the gospel and could be a good reference for the next opportunity you get to make Jesus non-ignorable.

The gospel is the good news of what God has done to save sinners for His glory.
God is the holy, righteous, and sovereign Creator who has authority over all people. He made us to know Him, to love Him, to worship Him, and to obey Him. Yet every one of us has rebelled against Him by sinning in thought, word, and deed. Because God is perfectly just, we stand guilty before Him and deserve His righteous judgment.

In His great mercy, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, to live the perfectly righteous life we could never live. Jesus willingly died on the cross, bearing the punishment for the sins of His people, and on the third day He rose from the dead, conquering sin and death. His finished work is completely sufficient to save all who trust in Him.

God now commands all people everywhere to repent and believe the gospel. Repentance is turning from sin and submitting to Christ as Lord. Faith is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness and righteousness, not in our own works or efforts.

Salvation is entirely by God's grace. Those whom God saves are forgiven, declared righteous through Christ, adopted into God's family, and given new hearts that increasingly desire to love and obey Him. All of this is for the glory of God alone.

Now go be optimistically evangelical!

One of the prayers that has developed as my kids have aged is, “God, please let them see You at work… let them see some fruit from their labor.” The reason I pray this is for their encouragement and for His glory. And I praise God that He has been gracious to allow them to see some results of their impact through overseas missions trips, Spring Break missions, college ministry leadership, church planting team, and at their jobs. I was recently convicted, though, that I haven’t been praying that prayer for myself.

But before even asking Him, God, in His kindness and generosity, recently allowed me to see Him at work as He unveiled eyes and called four people to Himself! Four people in one week’s time acknowledged their sin, their need for a Savior, and surrendered to the lordship of Jesus! That’s a huge deal! Only God can do that! And I didn’t ask Him to show me, but He did. He knows what an encouragement and celebration it is to see such fruit! He is at work!
 
And then I was reminded by my husband to look and see how God is also at work in steady smaller ways: faithful believers with Bibles in hand attending Life Group, Bible studies, and church; unchurched people showing up at our worship service; kids at camp who were most excited about the worship times; unity within our church leadership who have weighty decisions to make; people experiencing the joy of serving and giving. God is at work in so many ways! And He is gracious to allow us a front row seat to see what He is doing… praise God!

Consider asking Him to show you how He is at work around you… and rejoice with Him at what HE is doing!

Summer is in full swing. It gets dark at 9 pm and the sun is up at 5:30 am. Vacations are planned and executed. Schedules are different. You let the kids stay up a little later. You might eat more ice cream, and dinner may look a little different. It’s summer! It is supposed to be different.
 
While the changed, relaxed pace of summer sets in, I wanted to challenge you all to do something else a little different. Stop spending that extra time scrolling social media or binge-watching that new crime documentary. I challenge you to read a book that would encourage your soul and quite possibly encourage your family.
 
I remember my dad reading Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn to my sisters and me at the dinner table one summer. I also read The Screwtape Letters to our kids at dinner one summer, and surprisingly they loved it. So if you are inclined to take advantage of the summer to read something good for your soul, here are some suggestions from your elders.
 
The Screwtape Letters- C.S. Lewis
Desiring God- John Piper
The Meaning of Marriage- Tim Keller
Humility: The Joy of Self-Forgetfulness- Gavin Ortlund
Rejoice and Tremble- Michael Reeves

For a more challenging read, check out:
A Body of Divinity- Thomas Watson
Mere Christianity- C.S. Lewis
Essentials for Reformed Systematic Theology- Joel R. Beeke, Paul M. Smalley (Amy and I are reading through this one.)
 
Also check out the books at the resource table each Sunday. They are free and do no good if they are not taken. Now go and enjoy the summer! 

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 2 Corinthians 4:17

My sister loves to tell the story about me throwing a fit on our kitchen floor when I was a little kid. My dad would be cooking supper, but apparently I was so hungry and starving that I needed a snack just to survive. When my dad would deny me this because it would ruin my supper, I would crumple into the floor in agony and complain of impending death if I did not obtain a cookie.

I don’t quite remember it that way; however, I do believe this sometimes describes how we interact with the Lord. I have been pondering 2 Cor. 4:17 quite a bit as we are walking through 2 Corinthians, and what I love so much is this concept of eternal weight of glory. What does that really mean? Well, to fully understand that, we need to look at what Paul says before that.
 
Paul has been emphasizing grace and mercy from the Lord that has not only sustained him but sustains every believer, and that trials and troubles do come. He encourages us not to be overwhelmed by such things because they are light and momentary afflictions. The word light means something easy to bear and really not that heavy. Momentary means that they do not last. Your troubles have an expiration date.

I know it sometimes does not feel like our troubles are light and momentary, but Paul then reminds us of the goodness of God that is our inheritance. He calls it this Eternal Weight of Glory. The word weight does not mean heavy and hard to bear. It means there is this overwhelming nature and complete satisfaction and sufficiency we have never known. And it is brought about by the perfect nature, love, and unhindered union with Christ that we will experience in eternity.
 
How often do we act as I did as a kid when difficulty comes because of our fallen world? We want to crumple to the floor and demand that our immediate desire be met, and if not, our world is over. It is often because we are looking at the wrong thing. The unhealthy cookie of life is not what sustains us. It is the eternal weight of glory of God that is the complete meal that sustains us. So when hardships come, let us ponder and try to comprehend the eternal weight of God’s glory that is ours to come, and not settle for the floor of this world demanding a snack.

And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Mark 2:4-5

I love the story of some friends who go to the extreme to get their paralytic friend to Jesus in Mark 2. The summary of the story is that Jesus was teaching in a home, and there was this huge crowd. So much so that there was standing room only. There were these guys who had a paralytic friend whose only hope for healing was Jesus. However, because of the crowd, they could not get even close to Him. They were not deterred. Picture this: they hauled their friend to the roof, then began digging a hole in someone’s roof big enough to get this guy through and lowered him down at the feet of Jesus. When Jesus sees this, he tells the man that because of his friend’s faith, his sins are forgiven. The rest of the story is great because Jesus also heals the man physically but makes the point that this man’s greatest need was the forgiveness of his sins by Jesus. And it was his friend's faith that brought him to faith.

What amazes me most about this is the lengths that these friends went to just to get this guy to Jesus. They knew that their friend’s only hope was to bring him to Jesus. They hauled this guy to the home, and seeing the crowd and blocked door, they could have given up. They could have looked at the task of hauling him to the roof and given up. They could have considered the damage they would do to the home by digging a hole in the roof and given up. But they didn’t. They dug a hole in the roof, disrupted the meeting, all to bring this guy to Jesus.

These friends did not have a passive faith but an active faith that led them to physically do something. They didn’t merely believe Jesus could help; they acted on that belief.
What if we had a more active than passive faith? What if we as believers were this committed to bringing our friends and neighbors to Jesus? What if we were as persistent as these guys and did not give up even when inconvenienced? Bringing people to Jesus is often not as dramatic as what we read about in Mark 2. Often it is getting to know our neighbors and being open about our faith in Jesus with friends and neighbors. It means being consistent in pointing others to the hope of the gospel even when there seem to be obstacles. After all, Jesus is our only hope, and true faith always moves people toward Jesus. 

For those of you who know me, you all know I love to fish. I mean, really love to fish! I loved bass fishing so much that at a point in my life it was much more than just a hobby or something I enjoyed to do, but rather an idol. It was a passion I couldn’t help but want to do daily. In the bible, Jesus called out to Simon and Andrew and asked them to put their nets down and to follow him to become fishers of men. This was their daily job, a way of life, and their income. This was not something they just did on the side or as a hobby. Just as they, or we, go out to catch fish with a passion, we as believers should approach each day with a passion for how we can share the gospel message of Christ. This message should be so important we can’t help but share with our family, friends, co-workers, and others around us in life. We as believers should strive in our lives to study and know God's word and message to be able to be fishers of men and women around us daily. We should want to do this with a passion and desire. Are we ready to go fishing today?

One of my favorite moments in toddler parenting is picking my son up from nursery. A couple of weeks ago, while at the Calvary family conference, I dropped my son (JT) off at the nursery while Jaime and I attended the main session. He was tearful and didn’t want me to put him down as I said goodbye, but that didn’t last long as he quickly got distracted by all the new toys and babysitters.

After the session, I went upstairs to get my son. I peered in at the door, watching him toddling around, a little truck in each hand. Something made him look up, and his eyes locked on mine. Immediately, he flung the toys to the ground and, with the biggest smile, came running to me, arms outstretched: “Mama!”
 
The joy and love in his face were unmistakable. The temporary pleasures that kept him distracted from my absence no longer held any value once he saw me and remembered who he belonged to.

It made me realize how easily I let myself get distracted by lesser pleasures when I take my eyes off of my Father. David fought this tendency by making sure to reflect on the Lord day and night. In Psalms 17:15 he says “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with Your likeness.” When I study the Father's face, how quickly He puts my life into perspective! How quickly I remember who I belong to. I’ll end with a quote I heard in college that has stuck with me for years: “Fix your eyes on Jesus. It’s ok to stare.”

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:19-20

Conflict is a reality because we live in a world broken by sin. Disagreements, misunderstandings, and arguments happen between people. It may be a stranger who took your parking spot, a coworker who always eats the last donut, or those you live with; conflict does arise. The challenge with conflict is that when it arises, our flesh has one of two responses: win the argument or just ignore it. Neither is always the best option, so here are some pointers for dealing with conflict.

Be generous with grace. Here is what I mean by that. Try giving the other person the benefit of the doubt: they may not have intentionally meant to offend you, or maybe they made a poor choice and regretted that choice. Be quick to forgive.
 
Be quick to listen. James says that we should be quick to listen and slow to speak. God gave us two ears and only one mouth, and we can assume that He wants us to listen more than we talk. But that is not how we usually respond. We don’t want to listen, we just want to be heard. When we take the time to listen, we often find that the conflict was not as bad as we thought. Listening also leads to resolution. Failing to listen leads to more conflict.

Slow to speak does not mean silence. James tells us that we are to be slow to speak, not speak at all. Sometimes we would rather ignore the problem and hope it goes away. This is not good either. It is never good to continually sweep conflict under the rug. Eventually, someone will trip over the rug.
 
Anger is not a catalyst for resolution. This should be obvious, right? But how often do we address conflict in anger? James tells us to be slow to anger. He means that we should be aware of how anger, when we don’t control it, can just make things worse. Rarely should conflict be addressed in anger. Take the time to get it under control before responding out of it.

Rules of engagement. To resolve conflict, especially with those closest to us, there needs to be some understanding. Here is what I suggest. There needs to be permission to say what needs to be said (not always what you want to say) and an understanding that you will be heard. Don’t keep a scorecard of past wrongs. Don’t fight to win, fight to reconcile.

If the prophet Jonah and I ever got coffee, we’d have a lovely heart-to-heart over all the reasons why obeying the Lord is so hard. I’m a stubborn creature. The Lord says, “follow me,” and I often jog the other way.

I saw a picture of my hard-heartedness this weekend as my husband resurrected the garden.

We have eleven chickens. Each year after dumping and tilling compost into the garden, Ben unleashes them into the garden to munch on last year’s seeds and break up dirt clods. This year, most chickens went willingly. Our kids scooped them up and launched them, flapping into the garden.
 
Four chickens did not accept the will of their masters. My son lured them with corn, my daughters sang to them, and my husband whistled. No success. The strategies turned aggressive. There was squawking, darting, bumping of heads, and creative entrapments with broom handles. Someone probably tripped into the water bucket.

Eventually, dusty and triumphant, Ben and the kids emerged from the chicken coop with four defeated chickens in their arms.
 
A little obedience earlier on, and those rebellious hens would have enjoyed more time chasing juicy bugs and wallowing in the dust.

Foolish chickens aside, our obedience to Jesus is not some inconsiderate dose of authoritative heavy-handedness. Obedience has a purpose.

Without Jesus’ obedience to his Father, there would be no salvation.

Obedience produces kingdom growth and closeness with Jesus. Without obedience, churches aren’t planted. Missionaries don’t go. The gospel isn’t shared on a jobsite or with other parents in the bleachers. Without obedience, we live with aching holes that the gospel and Christian fellowship would otherwise fill.

Don’t be a stubborn Jonah chicken. Follow the Good Shepherd in daily, granular obedience. It’s what we were made to do. It’s where we’re truly happiest.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 4:2

The great reformer Martin Luther once said, “I have so much to do that I will spend the first three hours in prayer.” Luther reportedly said this when asked about his busy schedule of preaching, shepherding, and translating the Bible. Three hours in prayer seems impossible, especially when there is so much to do. However, there is some great theology here. It shows a great dependency upon the Lord in the midst of our busy schedules.
 
I don’t know anyone who would say that their time in prayer with the Lord is great. We all could use a boost in our prayer life. Luther was right to make prayer a priority, especially with a busy schedule. Proverbs 16:9 says, The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. We can make plans for our busy day, but it is God who is sovereign over the day, and we need to seek His plan for our day first, rather than leaving Him out of it.

Here are a few ways to make prayer a more “regular” thing. Just do it, and I am not talking about putting on your Nikes. It means beginning with the discipline of making it a priority. Maybe it is five minutes early in the morning to pray over your day, your family, your friends, your church, and your pastors. Those five minutes will grow when we make it a regular priority.
 
Look for opportunities throughout the day to pray. Maybe you are driving to work or a meeting, and instead of listening to George Strait, spend some time talking with the Lord. Or maybe someone shares a struggle with you at work, and you think, I should pray for them. Do it right then and do it with them. I have never had anyone turn me down for this. It may seem weird at first, but why shouldn’t it be the norm?

Consider what prayer really is. Prayer is the direct communication with the creator and sustainer of all things, and He loves for us to talk with Him. He desires for us to come to Him with our joys and our struggles because it shows a dependency upon His goodness. He loves to answer our prayers according to His will when we offer them up to Him. Why would we not desire to pray?

May we be a people who express our dependency upon the Lord through prayer.

Life often brings changes and challenges that can feel overwhelming or even threatening. But in every situation, we have a choice: will we view it as a threat, or can we see it as an opportunity? What if even the hardest moments are invitations to grow, trust, and deepen our faith?

Recently, I faced significant challenges in my work life. The threat of losing a job forced me to pause and reflect on where I was placing my trust—was it in my own control or in God’s provision? What felt like a threat became an opportunity to realign my priorities and trust Him more fully.

Additionally, I was responsible for leading a team also facing this uncertainty. The instinct is to focus on ourselves in uncertainty, but it became an opportunity to lead with love, faith, and grace, demonstrating to others that our security isn’t found in a job but in God’s unchanging promises.

You’ve probably faced similar situations. Maybe rejection, failure, or change has left you feeling anxious or defeated. But even these moments can carry hidden opportunities. A missed promotion could push you to develop new skills or explore a different path. A broken relationship could lead to healing and personal growth. Health struggles, though difficult, might deepen your reliance on God and allow you to be a source of hope for others.

So, how can you shift your perspective? What threats in your life could actually be opportunities? Opportunities to grow in faith, to demonstrate the love of Jesus, or to trust in God’s refining process. Malachi 3:3 reminds us that God is like a refiner of silver, purifying us through life’s challenges so that we may bring offerings of righteousness. Take heart in knowing that God is in control of our refinement 3He (God) will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.

Over the next couple of days, I have the opportunity to volunteer at the SEND Network Church Planter’s Assessment, the same assessment that Gracie and I went through about 2 years ago (see photo). Over the next couple of days, 18 couples will be casting their vision and sharing their call to plant churches across the West! It is the largest assessment that the SEND Network has done in Denver to date.

As I spent the day yesterday setting up the space, I was reminded of all the nerves and excitement that occurred when I went through the assessment myself, and I think the biggest thing I learned from the experience was that there was, and still is, a desperate need for people to hear and experience the gospel, and that we (all those in Christ) have been charged to share this truth with others!

So my encouragement this week is two-fold: first, join me in praying for these 18 couples going through assessment as they seek to embark on the tough journey of church planting and replanting, and second, seek out opportunities to share your faith with others. It can be in line at the coffee shop, during a lunch break, or even on an evening walk with the family. It is always a joy to share what God is doing in your life!

And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? - Luke 24:38

We just observed Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, and what an amazing time of remembrance and worship of what Jesus has accomplished for us. It is now Tuesday, and the normality of life seems to creep back in. We wrestle with the kids to get them to school. We attempt to sustain ourselves through the morning with mediocre coffee. The work issues that were there last week are still there this week. Supper still has to be made, laundry is still there, and bills are still in the mailbox. It is easy to slip back into the mundane routine of everyday life and allow the glory of the resurrection to simply fade.

In Luke 24, the Resurrected Jesus Jesus appears to His disciples, and the text says that He stood among them and said, “Peace to you!” They were frightened, but Jesus then asked them why they were troubled and why they allowed doubt in their heart. Certainly, doubt of Jesus’ transforming power had crept into their hearts and minds, but I love the picture that we see here. Jesus spends time with them in the normal routine of the day. He eats with them and shows them His hands and feet, and is just present with them. Jesus comes to them and encourages them with incredible kindness to affirm in their hearts not to be discouraged. They were never the same after.
 
Christian, it is easy for us to be discouraged in the mundane walk of life, and I believe it is because we are often oblivious to the ways God is with us in the day-to-day. The kindness of the Lord is evident everywhere; we just need to open our eyes to see it and allow that to war against any discouragement that may come. The kindness of God may be in an encouraging word from a friend, or in that time of prayer on the drive to work, the blessing of a hug from a loved one, or even the blessing of that pile of laundry from the kids God has given you to raise.

Here is the point of all of this. Jesus is still Risen today, on Tuesday! He will still be risen tomorrow, and the next, and the day after! And because He is Risen, He is interceding on our behalf to the Father, and we are just as much children of God in the normality of today as we were Sunday morning. I pray that you are encouraged today to live with joy in the power of the resurrection because He is Still Risen! He is Still Risen Indeed!

I’ve felt a little uneasy lately. There isn’t a singular cause, per se... just a lot of little things. Take the weather. With the unseasonably warm temps lasting the past many months, I can find myself thinking, “We really are all going to die from global warming. The glaciers are going to melt and kill us all." Or add the high winds that leave us frazzled for days on end. My fears of a blazing wildfire wiping out all of Windsor start to spiral! Or take the war in Iran...perhaps we will get nuked! On top of chasing those troubling thoughts from my mind, we have personal circumstances that cause unrest. We are in the process of moving. Something about packing up all our worldly possessions (i.e., way too much stuff), relocating to an unfamiliar home, and the hassle of it all can leave me way too focused on things that are temporary.

Charles Spurgeon once advised, "Hold everything earthly with a loose hand, but grasp eternal things with a death-like grip". What a perspective-changing reminder! In our women’s Revelation study, we have been considering the eternality of God. How very comforting to remember “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty! Who was, who is, and who is to come!” (Revelation 4:8). Our sovereign God may allow tragedy. But our hope is in what lies beyond here and now! We will worship Him FOREVER...the struggles of this world will fade away when we behold Him in all His Glory!. So I can calm my uneasiness and my “what-ifs” with truth. When all is said and done, those of us who have trusted Christ for our salvation will be redeemed from this earthly body, lifted from this earthly world to worship the Almighty endlessly! Hallelujah! Let the wind blow!