“Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1

My wife and I were able to catch the new film “Cyrano” staring Peter Dinklage a few nights ago. In this classic remake of the 1897 original version of this story, Cyrano loves a woman from a far because he fears she will not love him in return due to his physical appearance. Cyrano instead befriends her, and, when she confesses her love for another man to him, Cyrano proceeds to help that young man win her heart by feeding the young man just the right poetic words to write and say to her. I won’t give away the ending but as you can imagine,

The Truth Eventually Comes Out

Today, in our own lives, all too often we rely on “Cyrano’s” every day. Media and celebrities tell us what to eat or not eat, what to wear or not wear, what to drive, in general how we should live our lives. In our faith life it’s easy to let the Clergy live out our faith for us, telling us just what to say to God and just how to say it. Yet, the disciples in Luke 11 asked Jesus a very interesting question. They asked, “Lord, teach us to pray”. In other words, they were asking God directly, how should we speak to You? Jesus proceeded to give them perfect roadmap in Luke 11 with the Lord’s Prayer, which you can read, and pray, yourself. You don’t need a surrogate, you just need Jesus. Talk to Him.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Time is a relentless task master. It marches on whether we like it or not. Seconds turn to minutes then to hours and to days, weeks, months and years. All too soon a lifetime is behind us. Time measures our journey. As a child, today’s bible verse is one of the earliest that I can remember committing to memory. Perhaps my mother, or grandmother, knew the curve balls that life serves up. Indeed, through the years these words from Solomon have been measured against a myriad of trials and tribulations in my life and I have to admit that I’ve been blessed to have these words tatooed on my mind through it all. Choosing to not lean on my own understanding, but to

Trust In The Lord Makes All The Difference

And yet there is a step that goes beyond trust. That big, bold, important step is to go beyond trust to acknowledging God as your “everything” – your Provider, your Healer, your Savior, your King, your Friend. It’s one thing to say God, I trust you, and quite another to say out loud, God, I trust you with everything, because you are my everything, and then to prove that trust by letting go of fears and worries. God knows just what you need, and when you need it. His timing is perfect. Trust Him.

“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah for the second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh” Jonah 3:1

In the Old Testament of the Bible, Jonah is caught up in the midst of a storm and is cast overboard into the sea. There, a great creature swallows him whole. If you’ve spent anytime wandering the myriad of nature television channels it’s not hard to imagine a man being swallowed by a whale. Yet, what’s so fascinating is the story of Jonah is a mirror of our own lives. God gives Jonah a command, “Go to Nineveh”. Pretty simple, right? So, what does Jonah do? He doesn’t walk, he doesn’t skip, he runs in the opposite direction. Sound familiar? That’s when God takes the opportunity to give Jonah a not-so-subtle reminder of who’s in charge. After three days in the belly of a whale, a hard-headed Jonah finally gets the message. The whale then spits him out on a beach and Jonah does what God wanted him to do in the first place, he heads straight for Nineveh. As my wife is so fond of saying, “we all end up where God want’s us. The question is, how do we want to arrive,

On A Cruise Ship, Or, In The Belly Of A Whale”

You may be saying, “God has not woken me up in the middle of the night and given me a ‘command’ to do anything”. Actually, He has. Jesus tells us in Luke 6:45, “Why do you call me ‘Lord,’ and yet do not do what I say?” The Bible is filled with incredible guidance from God to give us the abundant life He wants for us. The choice is ours. We can travel through life on a cruise ship, or in the belly of a whale.

“And the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.” Exodus 14:22

Recently my wife and I settled in to watch all 3 hours and 40 minutes of Cecil B. Demille’s epic film, “The Ten Commandments”. 1956 era special effects of the Red Sea parting are still impressive to this day as we watched the Israelites walk down the embankment between two massive walls of water. Yet in the midst of that incredible miracle I’ve often be struck by the realization that every one of those men, women, and children were living somewhere between fear and terror. Here they were, praying for decade upon decade for their slavery to end, and finally God reaches down to save them. In doing so they are now forced to walk between two towering walls of water or face the sword of the Egyptians who are bearing down on them from behind. They must have thought, what kind of miracle is this?

What In The World Are You Up To, God?

God could have certainly kept the army bay. He could have softened Pharaoh’s heart, so much so that the army never even pursued them. Yet, what they couldn’t see with human eyes was the experience that God wanted them to walk through. After all of these miracles, they would surely know that God, is God. How often in life do we pray, and pray again, all while grumbling and complaining when God guides our lives in unexpected ways. “What kind of rescue is this?” we ask. The answer is that we are told to walk by faith and not by sight. The Israelites could not “see” the entirety of the miracle while they were in the middle of living through. So too, you cannot see the miracle that God has in store for you, and is leading you through at this very moment!    

Jesus said, “Why are you so fearful, o you of little faith” Matthew 8:26

I love the image of Jesus sleeping in the boat in Matthew 8. A great tempest has risen on the sea and the disciples, ravaged by fear, find Jesus peacefully asleep. Now the Bible says that this was no ordinary storm. The tempest was so large that the waves were literally coming over the bow. Matthew 8:24 says that “the boat was covered with the waves”! That’s some kind of storm and yet Jesus is peacefully sleeping though it. Even after the disciples frantically wake him, His first words are, “Why are you fearful, o you of little faith.” Now notice something important. When Jesus says this the waves are still coming over the bow. Their physical circumstances have not yet changed! I find it interesting that in the middle of the storm is when Jesus says,

“Don’t Be Afraid”

Jesus did not create a circumstance of peace before He asked them not to fear. The waves were still coming over the bow and it appears that the circumstances have not changed at all – but that’s where you’d be wrong. The circumstances have changed because Jesus is there. All the disciples had to do was trust Him! I’ve never been in a storm at sea with waves literally coming over the bow. I have been in plenty of emotional storms, stress filled storms, relationships storms, and financial storms where the waves were clearly coming over the bow. So have you. In the middle of your storm Jesus is saying to you, “Don’t be afraid.” Simply turn to Him.

Jesus said, “Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:10

In one of my top five all time favorite films, “Field of Dreams”, Kevin Costner famously plows under his Iowa corn field in order to build a baseball field. This was after a mysterious voice prompted him to do so by simply saying, “If you build it, ‘he’ will come”. Once built, a series of long departed baseball greats mysteriously start walking out of the adjacent cornfield to play baseball. The film is an amazing blend of dreaming the improbable and believing for the impossible. In the end, it turns out that the “he” the voice was talking about was Kevin’s long departed father, returning to have one last catch with his son.

Amazing Things Happen When We Believe For The Impossible

Today your field of dreams is all around you. Each day you have an opportunity to love your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even show some love to those who rub you the wrong way. Build a life filled with love for others and you will be amazed at the life you build.

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

A friend recently lost a loved one, and I remember them saying that they were just not ready for the loss. Are we ever? Another friend endured a bitter divorce and they are finding it hard to trust. Still another is dealing with a strained relationship with a child and have a feeling of helplessness. Life can be a series of heartbreaks, broken promises and shattered dreams. That’s why when I’m feeling the strain of life I find myself putting on a beautiful song called “Unredeemed” by Selah. Just read a few of the lyrics and I’ll think you’ll get the point.

“Life breaks and falls apart. But we know these are places, where grace is, soon to be so amazing. It may be unfulfilled, it may be unrestored, but when anything that’s shattered is laid before the Lord. Just watch and see. It will not be, unredeemed

When we approach Jesus, He has an amazing way of wrapping his arms around us. Hope in birthed in His embrace. Paul tells us in Hebrews that we can approach His throne with confidence that mercy and grace are there waiting for us in abundance. Find the courage today to live and to love again, safely resting in your Savior’s arms.

“God said to Gideon, “You have too many men.” Judges 7:2

One of my favorite film series, “The Hunger Games”, has an oft repeated line throughout the film. If you’ve seen it, you already know the line that says, “May the odds be ever in your favor.” Such a statement begs the question, do you ever feel like the odds are stacked against you? In life, or in love, in your job, or whatever your life circumstance, do you feel like you’re fighting an uphill or unfair battle? To varying degrees we all feel this way from time to time. Now, let me share with you the story of Gideon in the Bible’s book of Judges. Gideon has an army, 32,000 strong, ready to go up against the mighty army of Midian. Surprisingly, God tells Gideon you have to many men, it’s time to downsize. Over the following few verses God whittles Gideon’s army to a scant 300 men before He finally says, “that’s all you need”. What God was really saying to Gideon was,

I Am All You Need

You see, with God you can take on the world. Numbers, be it in people or in a bank account, are no match for God. Romans 8:31 says it best. “If God be for us, who can be against us.” The truth is, with God, the odds are not only in your favor, they are stacked to the sky on your side.