More Than Bread

Send me a Text Message!The Bible is clear, God is looking for people to empower, people whom He can use. no matter what kind of battles you find yourself in, no matter what kind of slippery slopes you find yourself walking upon on your life-journey, nobody, no situation, no circumstances, no past, can ultimately keep you from living the destiny that God has planned for you. But that will only happen, if I will commit my heart fully to Him. If we will commit our hearts fully to Him, we will stand in the battle and pray like it matters..So in this episode as we look again at Paul’s description of how to find victory in the battle, I want to give us 5 commitments we need to make in order to stand strong regardless of what comes our way. We'll use the specific parts of armor that Paul describes to understand the commitments. And the bottom line is that when we aim for these commitments, our prayer lives will really matter.

Send me a Text Message!In this episode we will look at Ephesians 6 and Luke 18. There is an insightful connection between Jesus' story of a desperate widow and Paul's challenge to prayer in our spiritual battle. This isn't just a teaching about prayer in general. It's spiritual battle prayer. Jesus is telling us, "This is a prayer you should pray. All the time. Don't give up praying for justice over our adversary. God give us justice over our adversary." We are in a battle against the enemy of our souls. He's brought so much destruction. And God says, "Cry out for justice over your adversary and I will quickly answer.Prayer is a battle, but we have Jesus on our side! 

Send me a Text Message!For the last while, every Monday, the episode I drop is my message from this last weekend. This weekend, we started a new series, on the book of Colossians entitled "More." The tagline is "There is more to life than I can see, and Jesus is more than enough." I have to be honest, I'm really looking forward to this series. "More" has been at the heart of my prayers for years. God we need more of you. It was a good day at Calvary today, as we talked about the unseen realities that we so often miss. I'm glad that you are joining us!

Send me a Text Message!Paul's challenge to Timothy about prayer is the same challenge, with different words, as his challenge to the church in Colossae. "Be devoted to prayer." Being devoted to prayer doesn't mean that prayer is the only thing that you ever do. Just like being devoted to a job, or a cause or a spouse doesn't mean that is the only thing you will ever do. But if I am devoted, there isn't much in my life that my devotion won't touch. Right? If I am devoted to my wife, it will cause me to give myself to her in many different ways. It will shape my decisions, shape my day. She will come to mind often. But it doesn't mean I am with her 24/7, that wouldn't be good for her! Being devoted to prayer doesn’t mean that all we do is pray, but it does mean our passion for prayer will shape our day, our decisions, and our relationships. There will be a practice of prayer that looks like devotion. That practice won't be the same for each of us and it won't be the same in every season of our life, but it will be noticeably different from not being devoted to prayer. Are you devoted to prayer?

Send me a Text Message!In this episode we are going to look at one of my favorite visions from the book of Revelation. It's a vision of the bowls of heaven being filled with our prayers and then emptied out before God. It's a vision that shows us how much prayer matters to God, as it describes a silence in heaven, the hush of heaven as our prayer are heard. Prayer matters. Prayer matters more than we think. Last week we had a week of 24/7 prayer. 300+ people prayed for about 1200 hours. In fact 80+ of our Myanmar family prayed for close to 500 hours! Kids fasted and prayed for us. You talk about the bowls of heaven being filled up.  During the week I had some opportunities to see God answer prayers in pretty incredible ways, so incredible that it makes me want to do it again soon. But even more shaping for me during that time was just this occasional sense that God was there. Listening. With a smile on his face or a tear in his eye. Those times gripped my heart. Prayer matters to God. It should probably matter more to us.

Send me a Text Message!I'm just going to close the Overflow series with some generosity stories, a few of my favorites. I hope that they inspire you to put God to the generosity test. See if he will actually make all grace abound to you so that you can abound in every good work. I really do think that He is eager to help us become living proof of a loving God! Enjoy some generosity stories!

Send me a Text Message!This is a hard one. Matthew 18:23-35 is a hard story, but it contains a liberating truth that our hearts need to hear. Jesus says it's our choice. When someone offends, hurts, or betrays us, will we build a prison of bitterness or live in God's overflow of grace?It's our choice...

Send me a Text Message!This is the last message in our Life Refreshed, summer in the Psalms series. It was given for a weekend of celebration. But at it's heart it is an invitation to join the story of God, a God whose greatness goes beyond imagination and whose greatness is matched in abundance by His goodness. And how do we join the story of God? Well that's why you need to listen. :)

Send me a Text Message! Here is a principle I've repeated more than once in this series. "God's uncontainable blessings come from God's unmistakable presence." But let me add to that with this truth. "His presence comes in community." Now I'm not saying that He's never with you when you are alone. But there is a certainty and power to His presence when even just two or three gather with one heart focused on Jesus.  Why is that important for a discussion on generosity? Well first of all don't miss the practical truth flowing from that statement. Here it is. "We can't live in the overflow alone!"And living together requires a generosity of another kind. It requires a generosity of grace and forgiveness that begins with the overflowing grace and forgiveness of God. That's where we are headed in this episode.

Send me a Text Message!In this episode we are going to tell the generosity story of Mary. In the last few days of his life, she gave Jesus a gift that touched his heart. She had a love-burst. She had a moment of tender affection that gripped and expanded her heart so much that it seemed like it might burst. And she had a moment, an act of generosity that has not been forgotten for thousands of years.I don't know about you, but I want to be remembered as a generous person...a person who gave with his heart...not just his head...a person who was crazyin love with Jesus and willingly gave into his love-bursts. Have you ever had a love-burst? 

Send me a Text Message!In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a story. It's a story about helping or ignoring Jesus in need. Now at first glance I'm a little unnerved by this story. I don't like the idea of ignoring Jesus in need.  I'm pretty sure that if I saw Jesus, (and I knew it was him) I would help. I would help Jesus-in-need. Don't want to miss him. But what if the point of the story is less about who I've missed and more about my heart? The point of this generosity story isn't to lay out a set of rules and regulations, the point is my heart.  Do I have a generous heart? Am I motivated to get in the generosity game?And if you think about it, Jesus makes it pretty easy to get in the game. These are not unattainable goals. This is not super bowl giving; a cup of water for someone who is thirsty, a meal for someone who is hungry. This is simply baseline behavior for someone on the Jesus journey. Take a step. Do it for Jesus!

Send me a Text Message!Why do we long to be rich? And is there a better way? Those are the questions I'm tackling in this episode, still looking at Paul's words to his young friend, Timothy. But in the end, rather than going after more stuff, we need to trust a better Savior. We need to live entrusted rather than entitled and we have to grab life through generosity.Then we start stepping into the overflow!

Send me a Text Message!We have entered a week of 24/7 prayer at Calvary. Actually if you want to join us, you can sign up at www.calvarycwow.org/resources -- just look for the "Sign Up Here" button. If you sign up I'll send you a prayer guide!But we start the one-hour prayer guide with gratitude. I wrote this, "We begin where revival always begins — not with our striving, but with his goodness. Gratitude is humble preparation for a reviving work of God. In hard times, gratitude turns our eyes back to the God who has already been at work all around us. Before we ask God for a move of God in Central PA, let’s thank him for every move of God we have already seen."Psalm 67 is a great Psalm to focus our gratitude. It uses the word "bless" a lot! It's a good thing to be reminded that in so many ways, we have been blessed beyond belief.  So this episode will continue our Psalms series with a pause on gratitude. Next episode we will step back into generosity!

Send me a Text Message!In this episode, I just want to share with you a great story of generosity that might begin to shape our understanding and even future experience of "the good life." 1 I Timothy 6 contains some good, hard words that have helped me dig into the reality of God's good life. I hope they will do the same for you!

Send me a Text Message!It may seem a little bit weird, but I get a little bit emotional on this episode. I think in part it goes back to the idea that generosity is not about what God needs/wants from us, but about what He wants to give to us.  And there are some stories of that kind of shaping that just grab my heart.  In 2 Corinthians 9, you will hear Paul say this, "God loves a cheerful giver..." I think God loves cheerful givers so much that He's passionately creating them, if we'll let him.So my prayer for you, for me, for us is simply this, "God would you make us what you love."

Send me a Text Message!You've heard me say it more than once during this series, and you will probably hear me say it a few more times  before we are done. "God has an unlimited capacity to give, but we have a limited capacity to receive." So if we want to live in his overflow we have to learn to let go, open up and give away what He gives us. We need to make space for His generosity, for His overflow. And from those days all the way back in Zarephath, don't you suppose He's been trying to show us theway? The widow of Zarephath became an extraordinary giver. Now what is extraordinary generosity? I'd define it simply as something beyond your ordinary. It's different for each of us, your ordinary is not my ordinary. It's simply the call to take a step beyond your ordinary. And I have to be honest, I want to be an extraordinary giver. How about you?

Send me a Text Message!You may not be aware of this, but in the Old Testament, the one true name of God (sometimes pronounced Jehovah and spelled YHWH), the one true name of God was too holy for people to speak out loud.  But even though they would not say the one true name of God, they did call him by other names. They usually gave God a name when they had an intense, very real encounter with God.  Or they would give him a name that described how He was at work in their lives.  For example, The All-Sufficient God, The God Who Heals, God Almighty, and The God Who Provides were some favorite names of God. I grew up on a farm in South Dakota, one of our favorite names for God was Lord of the Harvest. What is your name for God? Listen in as I share how that matters when it comes to generosity. 

Send me a Text Message!One way evangelicals, love to describe our faith is that we say "We have a "personal relationship with God. Do you have a personal relationship with God?"Those four words slip off our tongues with ease; personal relationship with God.  It's not about religion, we proclaim, it's about relationship, a personal relationship with God.  Becoming a Christian is all about having a personal relationship with God. To be honest I like the description.  We were made for community and we were made for God. Both of those come together in an amazing way in a "personal relationship with God."But have you ever stopped to consider how odd that phrase, that invitation  sounds to someone outside of faith?  So what do we mean when we talk about a personal relationship with God?  Well there are different levels of relationship right? But when we talk about a personal relationship with God, it's a relationship that is more and brings more than we can imagine. That's what Psalm 139 is all about!

Send me a Text Message!Generosity is not about what God wants from us, it's about what God wants for us. He wants to pour out uncontainable blessings upon us. And there is no greater blessing than His presence. When the presence of God is inescapable, the blessings of God are unrelenting. And it all starts by giving Him my heart!

Send me a Text Message!Just take a moment and imagine walking with Jesus out to the middle of nowhere, wherever you live. For me it's central PA, maybe climbing Mt. Nittany, walking to the middle of your town, or campus, or workplace and He begins to paint a picture. He begins to dream a dream with you of what could be, or maybe even of what will be. And then He says, I want you to join me. It's gonna cost you, but it'll be worth it. Will you join me? There is a dream on the heart of God to open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that it can't be contained in our lives. Malachi 3 is like God's painting this vision of what could be, walking beside us whispering, "Just imagine the dream on your heart coming true. I want you to join me." What would you do? Better yet, He is inviting you, so what will you do?

Send me a Text Message!Here's where it starts. Overflowing life starts with Jesus offer to anyone. He said, "Anyone who is thirsty can come." That's Jesus' offer, anyone. And don't miss who  is hearing his words. In John 7 the crowd is filled with doubters and deniers, rule following religious leaders who want to kill him. It’s filled with the confused and uncertain, the oppressed and discouraged, the fearfully hopeful, and even  unbelieving family members. And he says anyone, let anyone who is thirsty come.Anyone. Is there anyone who is left out of anyone?Anyone listening then or now. Anyone who is thirsty for something more. And willing to come to Christ. We come to Christ for Christ. He doesn't have what we need to satisfy our thirst.  He is who we need to satisfy our thirst. And when we believe in Him, we become life-giving stations for thirsty souls.

Send me a Text Message!So we are doing a macro series on four spiritual practices that put us in a life that is characterized by God's gracious hand being upon us. We've looked at the spiritual practice of scripture, the practice of sabbath keeping and this mini-series is on generosity. I'm calling it Overflow. Because in the Kingdom of God, that’s really what generosity is all about. Of course it involves sacrifice, but at it’s heart it’s about letting the love and life of Jesus overflow into the lives of those around us. In this episode and the next few, we will set the stage with some descriptions of the overflowing life. And it starts in John 7 with a moment in the life of Jesus where he promised that our lives can become so full that we can't help but be generous with the life inside of us. It's what we call "living in the overflow!"

Send me a Text Message!Psalm 121 is one of the first of a small group (14) of psalms called the "Psalms of Ascent." They were songs for pilgrims on a journey to the holy place, the presence of God. It's a re-do. I first recorded it about 3 years ago during my top 40 Psalms series. But it's a great Psalm to bridge our series on practicing the sabbath and our upcoming series on generosity.Psalm 121 begins with a question and an answer that should direct and motivate both practices.  The question is "Where does my help come from?" And the answer is, "My help comes from the Lord." Who can I trust for help? My help comes from the Lord. Where do I go when I need help? My help comes from the Lord. In this episode we will hang out for a bit with this question and answer.  Where does my help come from? The Lord. My help comes from the Lord!

Send me a Text Message!One more moment to press pause and think about this one day a week that is meant to be a taste of heaven on earth. And I’m going to go at it in a little bit different way. I want to share a story of a moment in the life of Jesus. It doesn’t mention the sabbath at all, but it really reinforces why the sabbath is important. The story is of a man we only know as "the rich young ruler." It's a story of the one thing we may lack, that is required for a life that truly thrives.

Send me a Text Message!The good life does not start with activity. It starts with rest. We don't rest from our work, we rest into our work. The order is significant. We've turned the concept of the Sabbath into a day off, a much needed rest from our busyness, but the Sabbath was not meant to be a passive resting; it was always an active turning from work to God. Basically, God has said, "Once a week I'm going to carve out a day for you. I'm going to remove it from the curse; call it holy so that Satan can't mess with it and I'm going to fill it with blessings. Primarily the blessing of me. And I'm good, so good; you won't regret this day. It'll be like the old days, back in the garden, aday to remind you that I actually want to spend time with you."See Sabbath is one day a week to taste-test heaven!

Send me a Text Message!We are strivers. Rather than finding our identity in who we are, we find it in what  we do. At one time work was just a way that we got our family ahead, but now it's the way in which we find our value, determine our worth. We're a society that determines value by achievement. This is even shaping the way we parent. Our kids have to go to the best schools, be trained by the best people and be involvedin all the best activities so they can become the best achievers. Because what really matters is what we do, not who we are. And yet all of our doing does not seem to fill the holes in our souls. In spite of all our doing...something is lacking in our being. Even when I win this rat race, I wake up in the morning to find that I'mstill a rat. But the writer of Hebrews says, there is still hope. But somehow we have to stop striving, so we can gain the gift!

Send me a Text Message!Over the course of these episodes and even more the course of the years, I have had multiple people ask me, so what should I do on the Sabbath? How is it  different from any other day? What's the purpose? At some point the thought came to me, "The Sabbath was meant to be a little taste of heaven. The Sabbath is one day a week meant to give us a little taste of heaven on earth.  I'll be honest, the first time those words came out of my mouth, I thought "Oh... that's good. Way to go Dan. I've never read that, never heard anyone say that. Good job." Of course, I wasn't even close to the first with that thought. I found that the Jewish midrash written  over 1000 yrs ago, contained the same idea. So what would it look like to bring an element of heaven into your Sabbath? What if that was God's intent all along...a taste test of heaven?

Send me a Text Message!What if I only had one day, one day to live, one day to give, or just one day to do whatever my heart desired to do? What would you do with one day to do whatever you wanted to do?The average lifespan in the United States is 29,200 days (give or take). My mother-in-law recently celebrated her 32,872nd day. My mom and dad are both over 30,000 days old. In a few weeks, I will celebrate my 23,376th day! In Psalm 84, David says that one day in God's presence is worth a 1000 anywhere else. One day in God's presence is better than 1000 of my best days anywhere else. Which causes me to pause and ask, "Would I give my life for 23+ days in God's presence? Or let me make it more immediate and practical. Would I give God an hour of my day today, if I thought it was that good?Psalm 84 is an encouraging and convicting Psalm that causes me to ask the question, "What would I do if I only had one day?"

Send me a Text Message!What would you think if I told you that I believe "play" is in the very heart of Father God. I love how the prophet Isaiah describes this play-full God in Isaiah 29:13-14:"The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder." Did you catch that? God is bummed because people's hearts are all bricked up and their worship is filled with dry rules.  There's no joy, no fun. So what does God decide to do? "Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder..."I'm gonna blow their minds, knock their socks off, I'm gonna bring a smile to their faces, if it's the last thing I do. Let me ask you... when is the last time you let God astound you?

Send me a Text Message!We are going to talk about the spiritual practice of play. U knew this was coming, but still you’re tempted to ask, "Did he say play or pray?" Play? Why would we talk about play on the sabbath? Play is not really a spiritual practice is it? Good question! That a Christian should be a great worker, a blessing to every boss is easily defensible. That a follower of Jesus should be willing to sacrifice, even suffer for their faith. I've said that, more than once. That a Christian should be known for their love. Of course...almost goes without saying. How about no one in the world should be known for their playfulness like followers of Christ? How does that sit with you? In this episode I'll start to make the case that the Kingdom of God is for kids who love to play and there's no better time to play, than on God's stop-day!

Send me a Text Message!God made "stop-day" (the sabbath) a rule, because  He loves delight. He loves to delight us. I think I could even say, He loves to have fun.  Sabbath is God saying, hey what I have made for you is so cool, I'm gonna insist that you enjoy it."  Remember how we described sabbath in the last episode?  Basically God has said, "Once a week I will carve out a day for you. I'm going to remove it from the curse; call it holy so that Satan can't mess with it and I'm going to fill it with blessings. Primarily the blessing of me. And I am so good, you don't want to miss this day. It'll be like the old days, back in the garden."So practically speaking how do we do it? How do I have a "be-with-God" day?

Send me a Text Message!When it comes to keeping the sabbath, basically God has said, "Once a week I'm gonna to carve out a day for you. I'm gonna remove it from the curse; call it holy so that Satan can't mess with it and I'm going to fill it with blessings. Primarily the blessing of me. And I'm good. I'm so good. You won't regret this day. It'll be like the old days, back in the garden. It's gonna be a day where I can remind you that I love you and I actually want to spend time with you. You are my delight."What if that was what the Sabbath was all about? And if that’s what it’s all about…would you really want to miss it? Wouldn't it be your best day of the week?

Send me a Text Message!Far too often, I come to God to get something from God. But what the gifts of the giver, keep me from embracing the greatest gift? See there is nothing greater than Christ. Christ is the treasure of Christianity. Listen, I don't know why you go to church, why you listen to this podcast, but if it's not ultimately because you want more of Christ, then chances are good that you're going to miss everything. Listen to me, there is a hunger and a thirst deep inside of you that nothing will touch, nothing will satisfy, except Christ...So here's the question I end with in this episode, "Are you willing to stop feeding at banquet tables where the main course is not Christ.  If it's necessary will you let go of the good to go after God? Are you thirsty for the gift of God?"  

Send me a Text Message!The sabbath is a way of saying, "God it's not just a matter of time, if I had all the  time in the world, I still wouldn't be able to finish. I need help. I'm limited." I think one reason we don't sabbath well is because we haven't accepted our limitations. We need to develop a theology of limitations.The sabbath call in Psalm 46 is "Be still and know that I am God." Usually when we think of the word stillness, we think of quiet. Stillness is a lack of noise and sometimes we desperately need times of solitude and silence. But God is notsaying, "Be quiet and know that I am God."  The Hebrew word means stop or simply cease. Cease striving. Hands up. Give up. Let Him be God!

Send me a Text Message!We are starting the second mini-series of spiritual practices that bring God's gracious hand upon us. For the next 8-10 episodes we're going talk about keeping the Sabbath. The Sabbath is God's stop-day. And let's be honest, it's so hard. And if you ask why is it so hard to slow down? Isn't the most common answer, well 24/7 living and 24/7 work is what it takes to get ahead. I mean there is so much todo. It's like, "God, if you want to take a day off, that's your business, but you can see that I just don't have time to stop."But here's my question, the sabbath question. What if getting ahead is the wrong race?  What if getting ahead is really falling behind and we have to stop in order to catch up with the life that really matters? What if getting ahead is the wrong race?

Send me a Text Message!Remain. Mostly what I want to talk about, in this last episode of the series, is that word "remain." In Biblical Greek, it’s the word meno.  It means to take a stand against difficult circumstances. But it was also used to refer to relationships, close personal relationships.  So maybe the sense of the word meno in John 15 is "to stick close even when it's difficult."Stick close to me and I will stick close to you. Regardless of how hard life is, let my words stick close. Stick close to my love. If you stick close, you will live a life that thrives, so stick close. See, if want to breakthrough to a life that thrives, we need to remain!

Send me a Text Message!In John 15 there is a serious call to love God's Words, to make them an always-there part of our hearts. Jesus uses the word, "remain." Remain in me. Let my words remain in you. Remain in my life. Remain. What we will find in this episode is that there is a connection that goes beyond metaphor into the land of mystical, a connection between Jesus, who is called "The Word" and the Word which we call our Bible. It's almost like God speaks and every time God opens his mouth, Jesus comes out. Here's the point, "I can't love Jesus, if I don't love the Word!

Send me a Text Message!Well this isn't the message I preached last Sunday on the Psalms, but it is the Psalm I would have preached on if I wasn't on vacation. :)  Psalm 77 is a powerful Psalm on gratitude in the midst of hard times. Few spiritual practices are as easy to understand, and require so little "practice" as gratitude, but honestly it is so powerful, so helpful, so refreshing. Maybe this Psalm will spur us on to gratitude!

Send me a Text Message!What did Jesus say to Martha when she came complaining about Mary? "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled over so many things, but only one thing is needed, one thing is necessary." Or perhaps in Martha's only one thing was lacking. With all her worry and hurry she was still lacking something. In essence Jesus was saying, "Mary has chosen what you need. What good would it do to take away from Mary, what you need?" I wonder how many of us are missing what we need because we are hurry to get something we think we lack.Only one thing is needed. Jesus doesn't say only one thing is possible.  He doesn't say, "If you ever do anything other than this one thing, then you are wasting your time." He is simply telling us in midst of our mindlessness, distractions, hurry and worry, that there is one thing that is necessary. We must listen to His Words.So here is my question, how many of us are choosing the wrong one thing?

Send me a Text Message!Sometimes we are tempted to think that words are just words. Right? We live in a world with a lot of words. Sometimes it feels like word overload. But is there really such a thing as "just words?" Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Remember that schoolyard ditty? We said it to try to convince ourselves that words couldn't hurt us, but we knew it was just a lie. Words can hurt. Words can bring life. Words can reshape a day, a year, even a life. And those are just our words. Think about the potential power of God-Words. God's words created the heavens and the earth. God's words bring healing. The words of Jesus were words of life. When it comes to God, there's no such thing as "just words."

Send me a Text Message!In a number of his books, C.S. Lewis compares the Christian life to a dance with God.  He calls it the Great Dance, and says, "Each one of us has to enter that pattern, and take our place in the dance.  There is no other way to the happiness for which we were made." See when it comes to the life of faith, there is a great difference between dancing by the book and hearing the music.Living by the book is all about behaviors and rules and regulations, taking the right steps.  But entering into the great dance is all about relationship, romance and joy. You know what?  It's hard to dance, if you can't hear the music.  Can you hear the music?

Send me a Text Message!In this episode I'm going to ask the question, "Why don't I hunger for God's Words?" Maybe it's because we aren't sure we really believe in the Bible. When someone says that to me, I'm thinking really? Which part do you not believe?  Is it the poetry in the Psalms, or the wisdom of Proverbs? Maybe it was the way Jesus interacted with people?  Or maybe you don't believe that stealing and lying is bad?And I'm not saying that there aren't parts of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, that aren't hard.  But some of us use that as self-imposed Word-famine excuse. It's Just too hard! But let's be honest, sometimes what's hard about the Bible is what we do understand, not what we don't understand. Right? So in this episode, I'll ask you ponder that question, "Why don't I hunger for God's Words?

Send me a Text Message!For those of you who are newer to "More Than Bread" for sometime now I often take a break from the "5 episodes a week" life and simply upload my sermon from the last Sunday (or something similar) on Mondays. Lately at Calvary we've been going through the Psalms with the theme of finding "A Life Refreshed."This episode takes a look at Psalm 42 and 43. It's a Psalm of Lament, with a recurring theme of hope. No matter how hard the days or how dark the night, hope is fuel for our hearts. And here is the truth, "The best is yet to come, and He is worth the wait!" 

Send me a Text Message!Do I have an urgent hunger for God's Words? First can I define my terms? Here's the deal, if it's not important, it can't be urgent. The dictionary defines urgency as "something of importance requiring swift action. Urgency is an earnest and  persistent response to a pressing situation." In other words, urgency is a subset of what's important. If it's not important, it can't be urgent. Now any number of issues in our world today could cause a sense of urgency. But here is what I think, while many things could seem urgent, what actually becomes consistently urgent is whatever we think will brings us life and is missing.In other words, urgency is defined by hunger. Urgency happens when we lack something which we think will bring us life. So ask yourself, "Do I have an urgent hunger for God's Words?

Send me a Text Message!Listen, there are voices in this world, voices that some of you have listened to all your life. Some of them were bad voices, mean, always critical, made you feel like you had nothing to offer the world. You can't be fixed, never succeed and can't be forgiven. Some of you on the other hand, you've had some great voices speaking into your life through the years; words of affirmation and courage, words of love and wisdom. Whether the voices of the people in your life, have been good or  bad.  Whether you have chosen to listen or not.  There is one voice above all others that we need to hear.It's God's voice. Listen for God's voice deep in your heart. Nobody cheers for you like him. He delights in you. He's paying attention, shaping you, holding you, ever faithful and forgiving.

Send me a Text Message!In Exodus 33, God tells Moses He is saying "yes" to Moses' prayer. Why? "Because you have found favor with me and you are my friend." Every time I read those  words, it brings tears to my eyes. In part because I'm reminded how often I seek his favor over his friendship. In part because of the memories that flood my mind. Times when I've gone on long drives, just because I wanted uninterrupted time with God.  Times when I've opened the Bible and it's like having coffee with Jesus.  And I find myself praying, "God, whether you breakthrough out there or not, would you please breakthrough in my heart. In the last chapters of my life I just want to be known as a friend of God. What if nothing matters more than this? Are you a friend of God?

Send me a Text Message!What if I told you that there is a potential breakthrough available to you that would give you a 100 fold return on your life? I know "life" is a broad all encompassing word, but that's really what we are looking for -- the kind of life that goes broad and deep -- and far and wide. The kind of life that impacts every arena of my life, my relationships, my vocation, my causes and passions; my mental health andphysical health and relational health. Do you need a breakthrough to more life?In the next four series, we will talk about four spiritual practices that I think will put us in a place where God's gracious hand is upon us. The first is saturation in scripture. We need more than bread! What will bring the greatest return for my life? In Mark 4:1-20, Jesus is suggesting it's listening to, learning from and leaning into God's words!

Send me a Text Message!Psalm 51 is all about sin. Well not just sin. It's all about sin and the overflowing, relentlessly overwhelming love of God.  Here's the deal, no one sins out of duty. We sin when we believe that God cannot satisfy my heart. There was a time in David's life where God was the all-satisfying pursuit of his heart. This writer of psalms. This warrior-poet-King with a huge appetite for life. This passionate worshipper of God.  There was a time in his life where he had lost everything that we would consider necessary for the good life. He was living in caves on the run from a King who wanted to kill him. Lost his family. Lost his home. Lost his freedom. But when you read the Psalms, you realize that when David had nothing, he realized God was his everything. God was his life. But then when he experienced success, he went from "God is my life" to "my life is good." Here's the deal, the point of Psalm 51 is not just that we would say no to sin. The point of Psalm 51 is that we gain the life that comes from saying yes to God!

Send me a Text Message!As we close this study of Nehemiah, I want to circle back to the simple, stubborn conviction that has been underneath everything: "If we’re not dead, He’s not done." Your story is unfinished. Our story, in our churches and neighborhoods, is unfinished. God uses holy discontent to get our attention and at this moment, He is inviting us into a season of returning, marked by repentance, prayer, fasting, and the Word. He places his gracious hand on people who own the rubble and chase him. And he writes his greatest stories in generous hearts that love people more than stuff and live like front-yard missionaries. That’s what I’m praying for us.If you're listening to this podcast, you're not dead yet. And if you're not dead, God's not done!

Send me a Text Message!As we continue our review of Nehemiah, you'll hear me say, "Surrendering once is not enough. Repentance is a daily discipline." In other words, if you aren't finding time to shut down the busy and turn off the noise so that you can hear the still small voice of the Spirit of God, you're gonna drift back to the normal of sin. If you aren't joining with others in prayer; if you're not letting someone speak truth intoyour life; if our Bible is as closed as our ears...we'll drift back to Nehemiah 13. Don't drift. Don't go back to normal. Surrender forward. You have to ask yourself, "Am I going to do what I've always done, or is it time for a change?" And I'm not talking about minor tweaks. I'm talking about changes thatgo deep and disrupt the normal flow of life; changes that go deeper than sin management. I believe that if I want something different than I've ever had, I may need to do something different than I've ever done! Is it time for a change?