You Are With Me

We are all aware of the horrible tragedy that has taken place in Haiti. Story after story and picture after picture break our hearts as we all pray and try to help in whatever way we can. We see and hear so many stories of broken families, missing parents, suffering children, confusion and frustration, and the suffering of so many. Stories of so many people who feel so alone, of an entire country suffering in loneliness. And you just know that out of all that pain and loneliness, there are prayers going up that sound something like, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken us? Why? Why us? Why this?" Because that is the prayer of lonely people.

This world is full of loneliness. Its all around us. All of us have known it. For some, loneliness is their closest friend.

Even King David knew and understood loneliness. When the prophet Samuel came to the household of Jesse to appoint the new king, Jesse lined up all his sons but one. When Samuel chose none of them, he asked if there were any more sons, causing Jesse to admit that there was one more; the runt. David was overlooked by his father. He was left out of a family meeting. He was lonely.

As David served under Saul, he experienced more loneliness. Saul wanted to kill him. Saul despised him. Saul pursued him. And because of that, David lived a life on the run, living in the wilderness and sleeping in caves and eating who knows what. Loneliness.

And David wrote in Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why have Your forsaken me?" It was the cry of his heart. His prayer. And evidently, God met David in his loneliness. In the very next chapter, Psalm 23, David writes, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me." YOU ARE WITH ME!!! That's the promise of God!

He is with us. He meets us in our loneliness. He knows us and sees us and desires us. And He proved this to us. Even Jesus, the Son of God, knew loneliness. Jesus became lonely for the lonely; us. He was lonely in the desert, He was lonely in the garden, and you know He was lonely as He hung on that cross and cried out, "My God, my God, why have Your forsaken me?"

That's our God. That's His love. And God meets us when we're lonely; meets us where we're lonely. He meets us in the mess.

And so in this horrible mess in Haiti, something is happening. The more I have watched the news stories, the more and more I am hearing about churches and pastors and ministries in Haiti. I've seen them interview pastors in Haiti on national TV. And out of this tremendous tragedy and loneliness, the Name of God is rising up. Rising out of the mess. KEEP PRAYING!

So remember this promise, this prayer: You are with me. In my loneliness, You are with me. In the mess, You are with me. And may Your Name rise up!

Follow the Leader

"By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." - Exodus 13:21-22

May we not get ahead of God. May we only follow and keep Him right in front of us.

Get out of the bathroom!

Kelly called me this morning and said that Silas had locked himself in the bathroom. I could hear him in the background and the singing and laughing assured me he was having a good time in there. But a 2 year-old locked in a bathroom with a tub and access to faucets and a medicine cabinet and lots of toilet paper is cause of concern. Thankfully, while I was on the phone with Kelly, she made entry and rescued the little guy!

The thing is, Silas had no idea he needed to be rescued. To him, everything seemed great. He didn't realize he was locked up, confined, and in need of deliverance.

We've been called to freedom, but far too often, we live locked up. Locked up in sin; locked up in legalism; locked up in the ways of this world. And many times, we don't even realize it.

Paul writes in Galatians 5:1 - "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

We've been set free! We've been delivered!! So lets not 'lock ourselves in the bathroom' anymore, but instead stand firm on His promises!

Kelly's Birthay!!

Today is my wife's birthday!!! Happy Birthday to my best friend!!

Solitude

Solitude: Jesus did it. And Jesus taught us.

Matthew 14:23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone…Mark 6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Luke 4:42 At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. Luke 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. After His baptism, Jesus spent forty days in solitude preparing for His public ministry (Matthew 4:1–11). After His cousin John the Baptist had his head cut off, Jesus spent time alone to mourn (Matthew 14:12–13). Jesus used solitude for intense prayer (Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16). He used solitude to rest after a hard day of work (Mark 6:31). He used solitude to see His Father’s will before choosing His twelve disciples (Luke 6:12). Knowing He was going to be crucified soon, Jesus went to the garden alone. (Mark 26:36–46).

God meets us in our loneliness. God meets us in our solitude.

My grandfather had a favorite hymn, and I'll never forget our family singing this hymn together around his bed after He passed away and entered the presence of God. The words were:

"I come to the garden alone,
 while the dew is still on the roses.
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
the Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me,
and He talks with me,
and He tells me I am His own;
and the joy we share as we tarry there,
none other has ever known.

I`d stay in the garden with Himm
though the night around me be falling,
but He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

A New Blog

A lot has happened in the last few years for Kelly and myself. And we feel so blessed! We have two precious little boys, Silas and Isaac, who are gifts from God! We serve in a ministry for which we are extremely thankful. We are surrounded by family, both natural and church family, and we are overwhelmed by it! In a good way!

Kelly and I are not the most technical or computer savvy people. But we just wanted to create this little space to share what God is doing and what He is teaching us in our lives. And I'm sure we'll share a lot about our little boys on here!

So our goal is to update this as often as possible! God is teaching us so many lessons and we feel so small by the way He loves us. That's what we want; for God to increase and for us to decrease.

Until later, have a great day!