More Than Bread

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?

Send me a Text Message!Nehemiah starts with a leader who is willing to own the brokenness, not only his brokenness, but even his people's brokenness. This gives him a burden of repentance that leads him to prayer. Listen, we desperately need people who will own the brokenness of our communities in such a way that it give us a burden of repentance. We need to bear the burden of repentance for the church that's been running from the heart of Christ for so long.  We need to confess and mourn our sin. And when we do, repentance is so life-giving, when we mourn and fast and weep and confess, when we do that we're chasing God. We're chasing God for us and others. This is true repentance, chasing God. Repentance at it's very heart is the heart that says, "I will stop running from you God, instead I'm going to chase you...with all my heart." I want to be a God-chaser.If we have an urgent desire that Nehemiah 13, not be our last chapter, we need God-chasers more than we need church-goers.

Send me a Text Message!Nehemiah 13 is one of my all-time worst chapters in the Bible. I knew it was  coming. It's not like I haven't studied or preached through Nehemiah before. Maybe deep down inside I was hoping God would change the ending before we got here. But here we are. It's not so much what chapter 13 contains that makes it my all-time worst chapter in the Bible. There are worse moments in scripture. But Nehemiah 13 is filled with the failure of God's people to love and follow God. Scripture gives us a deep dose of the reality of sin and failure in God's people. It's all over the Old Testament and it doesn't stop in the New Testament. Failure upon failure. Sin upon sin. God pursues us and we run. But to be honest, it's not the sin and failure that makes Nehemiah 13, my all-time worst chapter in the Bible. Listen to this episode to see what it is that makes it my least favorite chapter.

Send me a Text Message!This Psalm is not part of our series, but it's a great description of a life refreshed. This last weekend was CWOW weekend, which is a Sunday that we practice being the church rather than going to church. But this Psalm came to mind...Psalm 133 is focused in unity, relationships. A few years ago, the surgeon general of the United States said that the greatest epidemic we are facing right now is an epidemic of loneliness. John Cacioppo, director for Social Neuroscience at the University of Chicago, is the world's leading expert on loneliness. In his landmark book, on loneliness, he describes how profoundly the epidemic of loneliness is affecting the basic functions of human physiology. He writes: "When we drew blood from our older adults  and analyzed their white cells, we found that loneliness somehow penetrated the deep recesses of the cell to alter the way genes were being expressed." In other words, when you are lonely, your whole body is lonely. Psalm 133 is a reminder of God's treasuring of community. We are created with a connection requirement! Let unity refresh your life!

Send me a Text Message!Nehemiah 12 is about a celebration and dedication. That word dedication means to set apart, to consecrate, to totally give over.  As the people were dedicating the  walls of Jerusalem, they were basically saying, "God everything inside of these walls belongs to you.  You are the builder of this city.  You are God of this city.  Not just the temple, the whole city.  The marketplace, the gates, the homes, the people, everything belongs to you." Dedication is more than a ceremony, it's a commitment.But here's the deal when we commit our lives to God, our lives will make a difference in our world. We'll leave a mark. If I could choose the goal of my life, I want to leave a mark with my heart!

Send me a Text Message!Two things are taking place in Nehemiah 12, celebration and dedication. In this episode we'll focus on celebration. We celebrate what is important to us. What we celebrate tells the story of our passion.  So what do you celebrate? You know what I was thinking about this week? I was thinking that every celebration contains a story.  We celebrate stories, God-stories, places where God showed up in or through us.    Nehemiah chapter 12 is about a celebration.  The people gather together to  celebrate and dedicate.  They are celebrating the places where God showed up in Jerusalem, where God showed up to rebuild their broken places... The wall's been built, the gates are hung...people have come to live in the city...and so they celebrate...because their city matters to them. Don't miss this, celebration goes deeper than having a party. It's all about gratitude. Living forward in faith finds it's fulfillment in looking back with gratitude.Gratitude is a discipline we all need to practice!

Send me a Text Message!In Nehemiah 11, the walls are rebuilt, the people are getting rebuilt, but the city is empty and God has  redemptive purpose for this city, in fact for every city. And He has a redemptive purpose for your life. So here's what I believe. I believe that God determines the times and the exact places where we should live. If you live here, you are not a guest.  Where you live is your city and God has a redemptive plan for your city and He has a redemptive part for you to play in that plan.  I believe that you are strategic to God's plan in the strategic region where you live. nd I don't want us to miss what He wants to do. So the question simply is this, "Will I love and serve my city? Will I love my neighbors all the way to Jesus? We are called to do good where we live!

Send me a Text Message!I closed the last episode of this series, with the words, "Our hearts follow our treasures. If we aren't surrendering our treasures to God, then we're robbing God of our hearts." Do you understand God doesn't need our money. He wants our hearts. And if we chase God with all our hearts, He promises to open up the floodgates of heaven and pour out an uncontainable blessing. If we pursue God with all our hearts, here is the promise, God says, "I will open the floodgates of heaven and pour out uncontainable blessings."Ask yourself the question, "Is my life overflowing with God's blessings?" 

Send me a Text Message!This message was given on Father's Day as part of our summer Psalms series. And here is the heart of the message. Before we ever talk about the kind of fathers we need to be, we need to talk about the Father we long for. I really believe that in every heart, there is a father we long for. I know we come with mixed emotions on Father’s Day. But before we talk about the kind of fathers we want to be, weshould talk about the kind of Father we have. He's described in Psalm 103. We long for a Father, for a Father God who loves us unconditionally, unrelentingly, with His whole heart. See before I can be a good father, I need to have a good Father. And in the journey of become a good father, I need to understand where the journey starts.  It's not about trying harder, it's about looking higher.He is the father our hearts long for...

Send me a Text Message!Malachi was a contemporary of Nehemiah and we are going to detour to some of Malachi's words in this episode. As the people make their commitment to return to God, Malachi's words seem so appropriate. Malachi tells God's people how to return to God, why they are missing God. Malachi spoke to a generation of  Israelites who, like many of us today, were chasing everything other than God. Some of us keep wondering why we never run into God, but we can't run into God while we are chasing other stuff. There are really only two directions inlife, either chasing God or running from God. So how do we return? It could involve many things...but let's not miss the map God gave in Malachi's day. If you want to return, stop robbing God. We would probably expect God to say, "If you want to return to me, Pray more. Dive into the Bible." Both are incredibly important! But what does God say? "Stop robbing me." Are you robbing God?

Send me a Text Message!I believe that a sin-soaked heart is life's greatest problem. It keeps us from life and leads us to addiction. It ravages marriages, breaks families, and hardens hearts.  It drains joy and reaps discouragement. It causes us to care about so much that matters so little. A sin-soaked heart is life's greatest problem. But even more importantly, or at least more personally, my sin-soaked heart is my greatest problem. But my greatest hope is that we are relentlessly pursued by a lavishly gracious, greatly merciful, fiercely loyal, patiently loving God. He is in pursuit of you. He's already pursued you all the way to the cross. If He went that far, He won't stop. Sometimes chasing God is as simple as stop running, and turn around. Give Him your ears. Give Him your heart. Become one of His love stories.

Send me a Text Message!Let's be honest, we don't like the concept of sin. Sin involves moral absolutes and judgement. Sin has consequences. We prefer the word mistake. A mistake is an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning. I'm not bad. I just didn't have all the information. I wasn't thinking clearly. Didn't know any better. I tried, but I'm not perfect. At worst I was careless, it's an oops, my bad, get over it. I'm sorry you were hurt, get over it.Oops, didn't mean to hurt you. Oops, I didn't know any better. Oops I got angry, but you made me. Oops didn't mean to say that... out loud. Be honest, would you rather be a sinner or an oopster? But here's the deal. What if we're not oopsters, we're sinners. If that's the case then, I desperately need the compassionate heart of a merciful, grace giving God!Are you an oopster?

Send me a Text Message!You wouldn't necessarily expect to find it oozing out of the Old Testament, but Nehemiah 9 gives us a fresh look at the heart of God. Listen, there has never been a moment in your life where God's love for you has dipped below the red-line. It never fails. Unfailing love. There is no one else in your life who will not fail you. But his love never fails.  You are relentlessly loved with an indiscriminate affection. That's the story he's writing. That's His voice you hear whispering, "Child come home."  His heart is for you. And when we know his heart.. Our only response is to return. This is the essence of repentance. This is why we look deeply at our sin. It's not to lash our hearts with shame and guilt. It's not to motivate us to work harder. It's because this is what returning looks like. So, is it time to return?

Send me a Text Message!One of the ways that my stream of Christianity likes to describe our faith is with the words, "A personal relationship with God." It's not about religion, it's about relationship, a personal relationship with God. But what in the world does it mean to have a personal relationship with God? In Psalm 46:10, it starts with these words, "Be still and know that I am God."Usually when we think of the stillness, we think of quiet; a lack of distractions and in our world today, the noise is part of our problem. I'm not saying we don't need quiet. But when God says in Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." it's a far deeper call than just "be quiet." The Hebrew word means stop striving. Literally let your arms hang down and your hands go slack. Stop fighting. Relax. Quit trying to measure up. Give up. Hands up. Let it go. And watch me be God.  That's at the heart of this message in answer to the question, "Do you know God?"

Send me a Text Message!In the last episode, I encouraged us to ask God for more. But here's the reality, too often we are satisfied to settle for something less than all God has for us. Why are we satisfied to settle for less? Are we satisfied to settle for less purity in our hearts? Are we satisfied to settle for less people following Jesus? Are we satisfied with the state of our relationships. Are we satisfied with the degree to which we know God and experience his presence in our lives? Or do we want more? In this episode, we'll ponder a couple of reasons why we settle for less and I will encourage you, "Don't be satisfied with less, because there is more!"

Send me a Text Message!Someone asked me years ago, "What do you picture when you keep talking about and praying for an awakening, for a revival. The question surprised me, not that it was asked but because I didn't have a quick answer. But as I've thought about it, while it is as varied as the creative work of God. If I could give it just one word, it would be the word, MORE. I just want more. More Jesus. More of His Spirit. More glory. More neighbors being loved. More holiness. More power in prayer. More people coming more alive to the glory of God and the love of Jesus. More joy. More presence.God cannot be manipulated, but He can be asked. So would you join me and ask God for more?

Send me a Text Message!This episode is all about joy. You will hear me say that I think we have seriously underestimated two things. We have seriously underestimated our need for joy and we have seriously underestimated God's capacity for joy. Listen, God has no desire to wake us up to our sin, our failure; He has no desire to wake us up to our dark thoughts or our undone good; He has no desire to wake us up to our shame and then just leave us there. God wants to awaken us to the fullness of joy that comes in His presence. Every true awakening leads to an awakening to joy. And as Nehemiah told them, "The joy of the Lord is our strength!" 

Send me a Text Message!Listen, I understand for some of us, parts of the Bible are hard to believe. You wonder if it's true. Some of it's even harder to understand and we run into all sorts of different interpretations of all the rules and the theology. Rules and theology which some people fight about so much, you wonder if they are even on the same team. I understand. God doesn't tweet or txt. He doesn't do facebook posts. He's old school. He  expounds and mystifies. Sometimes on purpose, I think, He's less than clear.  He shares stories that create questions and some of them are hard to read and some of them are hard to answer. He's not afraid of poetry or doubt or deep dark emotions. But I'm telling you that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. And life comes from knowing God and when we know God we love His Word. So, open the Book with an open heart and see what He might do!

Send me a Text Message!Is there any Psalm more loved than the one that starts with these words, "The Lord is my shepherd and I will lack nothing." But here's the deal...I can't say those words without embracing these words, "And I'm a sheep." Now of course you are more than a sheep. You are a child of God filled with the Spirit of God. You are God's beautiful masterpiece, created and called to make a difference in the world. But you are, I am also a sheep. That's where we started in episode #2 of "A Life Refreshed" our look at the Psalms.And at the heart of the message are some thoughts on how we get from here (drained, discouraged, perhaps even a bit lost) to there, a life refreshed!

Send me a Text Message!Even if you are not sure you believe it, would you suspend your skepticism and consider the possibility that nothing's more important than hearing God's voice, letting His Words saturate our souls and if there is nothing more important than hearing his voice; no book is more important than His book, the Bible, the Word.  I know some of us need to be convinced, but honestly some of us just need to be convicted. Because while we wholeheartedly agree about the Bible's value; we open it halfheartedly. So in this episode we will ponder the questions, "Am I devoted to God's Words? Are we a people of the book?

Send me a Text Message!How many of us understand that it isn't easy being the first one to start something big? It isn't easy to be the first one to go to a new place. It isn't easy to be the first one to explore new strategies or climb to new heights or go on new journeys. It isn't easy to be the first one to pray for or live for or sacrifice for an awakening? In the history of our country we've often called those 1st-Ones, pioneers. They're the ones who left their homes with a spirit of faith; aiming toward an unknown  destination. Some of the very best chapters of our story have come when we lived with a pioneering spirit.Nehemiah 7 is a call to honor those who came before us, but it also asks us, "Do you have a pioneering spirit?"

Send me a Text Message!Nehemiah 7 contains a long, (kind of boring) list of names. But in this episode I just want to make it clear that no list of names is boring to God. Long ago, before all of the grand and awesome creation was even a gleam in Father God's eye, Paul says that God loved us and chose us. He created you in his image. He fashioned your heart with His heart as a model. At the beginning, the warrior-poet David wrote, as He formed you in your mother's womb, He dreamed dreams about your life and He looked forward to all your days. His plan for you has always been for good. Why? Because you are God's precious treasure. If you don't believe me, just listen in. 

Send me a Text Message!This episode is going to hit on a few of my favorite themes, calling, travailing prayer, revival, finishing well, and God's desire to do a new thing. You know I have found over and over again, that it’s difficult, to finish well, if we aren't willing to lean into new things. And it's almost impossible to lean into new things, without being done with the old things. So my question is, "Are we done with the old things?" As a church are we done with the old things? I long to see the church shine bright like a city on a hill. I long for us to be known as the hands and heart of Christ. I still believe that the church that Jesus is building is the hope of the world. I want to be part of that church and I'm praying for that church to be done with old things. Do you know what the Bible calls being done with old things? It's called repentance. That's where we will end this episode, with a call to repentance. 

Send me a Text Message!As I have been doing, on More Than Bread for awhile now, when I preach on Sunday at Calvary, Monday's episode is that message. So we are just starting a teaching series at Calvary called, "A Life Refreshed." It's a look at the Psalms with the theme of...you got it, a life refreshed. If you are feeling drained, damaged, or a little bit of hope-less, you may find this one encouraging. The next episode we will be back to Nehemiah! 

Send me a Text Message!Don't worry, we're still in Nehemiah. We'll be in Nehemiah all the way to the end of Nehemiah. But I'm changing the series title, because the first half of Nehemiah is more about rebuilding broken places while the second half is more about rebuilding broken people.  I'm calling the series Awaken Revival, because those are two words that signify a move of God that rebuilds people. When it comes to rebuilding broken people, the job is never done! But what we find is that when Awakening comes, God gracious hand is not just for broken places, it's for broken people!

Send me a Text Message!In this episode we will ponder what it takes to finish well. That's one of the themes that I take with me from the first half of Nehemiah into the second half. John Ortberg writes, "The capacity to finish well is what the New Testament writers called endurance or perseverance....any truly meaningful human accomplishment  will require perseverance. Bobby Clinton defined finishing well as coming to the end of my life being more in love with Jesus than I was in the beginning; having a sense of the unique contribution that God has desired to work through me, and not flaming out through moral sin.None of that happens without perseverance. Finishing well requires a series of breakthroughs that only come with hopeful expectancy. What is the next step you need to take on the journey of finishing well? 

Send me a Text Message!So the wall was completed in 52 days. Pretty amazing, it so obviously involved the hand of God. No way they could do that, without the hand of God on them. So here’s my question, again, "What work are we working, that requires the hand of God?" What work are we working that if it is accomplished, will cause everyone to say, "There must be a God. Because they couldn't do that on their own. I want to be part of a move of God that makes it impossible to stay seated when the opportunity comes to give God a standing ovation. 

Send me a Text Message!They did it. They did what seemed impossible. They worked at a work that would only work if God showed up and God showed up. They finished the wall in 52 days. In this episode I'm going to share one of my favorite stories. It's about a man named Dee Duke and the big boat that his father pushed. And it causes me to ask the question, "What's your big boat?"Where are you doing a work that just won't work if God doesn't show up?

Send me a Text Message! One thing that has impacted me in the last two chapters of Nehemiah is the reality that we do not know the whole story. In our arrogance or ignorance, sometimes we act like we know the whole story. But we don't, at best we see a chapter or two.  When you brush shoulders with people in the grocery story, jog past someone on the street, glance at the person stopped beside you at the light, just realize at best you are just seeing the cover of the book,  a page or two. You don't know the whole story.  Even when it's your story. You don't even know the whole story of your story. Sure you know more about your book than anyone else's but you don't know the whole story of your life. Because you aren't the author, God is!

Send me a Text Message!Nothing is beyond God. No problem is greater than His power. No sin goes deeper than His grace. No heart is so damaged, neglected or hard that He cannot breathe into it, new life. But it requires His gracious hand. Nehemiah's description of the story of his success was simple. "The gracious hand of God was upon me." We need his hand upon us, but here's the deal. "His gracious hand is on gracious people." That's what I see in Nehemiah chapter 5. You know some of us think that the word "if" is missing from God's vocabulary. But God uses "if" all the time. They are called conditional promises. And here is one of those conditional promises, (Proverbs 21:13) "If you close your ears to the cry of the poor, I will not answer when you call out." God's gracious hand is on gracious people!  

Send me a Text Message!The next chapter of the story God is writing in you and through you is primarily about building people, rebuilding marriage and families, and neighborhoods . It's all about rebuilding hearts. When it comes to church, facilities are tools. Programs and ministries are tools and it's good to have tools. But ultimately we have to ask the question, "How are we doing at building people, building Jesus-apprentices who live and love and lead like Jesus?"We are God's greatest building project. Make no mistake we're still under construction, but people are God's great treasure!

Send me a Text Message!There is work to be done and sometimes a battle (spiritual) to be fought. What should we do? Rush to the battle and God will fight for you. Listen if God is theauthor of my story, then trouble is not the story of my life. And here is the truth that goes beyond my story. God is not only the author of your story, He's the hero!I have heard it said that we should pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on us. But I find that when I'm working like it depends on me, I rarely pray like it depends on God. Perhaps we also need to figure out what it looks like to work, like it depends on God? 

Send me a Text Message!In Nehemiah 4,  the people are half-way home, the wall is half-way rebuilt. But how many of us know that half-way home is sometimes the hardest place to be. Because half-way home, means we still have just as far to go as we've already gone. And if we aren't careful, we can begin to lose heart.Sometimes if we don't want to lose heart, we need to forget the rubble and remember God. I mean nobody wants to lose heart. We want to be renewed. We want to be strong, filled with hope. We know our stories have hard chapters, but we don't wan to lose heart. This episode will begin to talk about how we go through the hard times without losing heart!Don't lose heart!

Send me a Text Message!So if you didn't listen to my message from this weekend at Calvary, even if you usually take Monday off because it's not part of the normal episode, let me encourage you to listen. If you did listen, maybe this is a good one to hear twice. Not just for you, I'm going to listen to this one again. And I'll be praying,"Lord would you do it again!"

Send me a Text Message!There are two groups who didn't share in the story God was writing through the leadership of Nehemiah. The Nobles of Tekoa wouldn't put their shoulders to the work and the rulers of the region didn't want to give up control. The political leaders wanted power and the Nobles of Tekoa wanted comfort. Comfort and Control. I see this time and time again. Far too often, the church for which Jesus died, opts for comfort and control. The comfort of religious freedom has become more important to us than surrendering to spiritual faithfulness.  We don't need religious freedom to be spiritually faithful.The complete surrender of our lives is not radical Christianity, it's the base-line minimum.  When I look at Nehemiah 2 & 3, when I read the unfinished story that God is writing, it becomes painfully clear, that while God loves to use the broken and those in the margins of life, if we will not abandon comfort and surrender control, we'll miss His story.Which is a shame, because you are invited...into His story!

Send me a Text Message!Your story isn’t finished. You need a team. But if you’re not dead, God’s not done. He has a team for you and a team with you. And listen to me, make no mistake, there will be times when the life you want more than anything will be outside of your hands. Your story will not be written without some twists and turns and even a few seemingly dead-end moments. Our journey will not be finished without walking through the rubble of brokenness. In fact, you will face times so difficult, that you can't do it alone. But if you're not dead then He's not done and if he's not done, your story has a team. And God is writing a good, good, really good story! He's inviting you to be part of that story.

Send me a Text Message!When God gives us a mission, the call to sacrifice is not far behind. Feeling bad will not save the day. It requires action, sacrifice, even risk. A good idea isn't good enough, it requires good work. Has anyone ever asked you the question, "If youknew you couldn't fail, what would you try to accomplish for God?" Perhaps a better question is, "What do you care about so deeply, that even if you are bound to fail, you would still have to try?"Here's the deal. If you take on a mission like that...you can't do it alone!

Send me a Text Message!Your story is unfinished AND...your story has a team. You are not alone. It may feel that way, but it's not true. Your story has a team. Sometimes we know the people on the team and sometimes we don't. Some of them are people you never met, maybe even long gone, an author, a Biblical mentor, an inspiring example from history. Some of them were on your team for a moment, some joined your team before you were born, and some teammates haven't even been born yet, but yourstory has a team. Some you work with hand in hand, some were family and some became family. They encourage you or pray for you or speak hard truths straight to your heart. They might be people who care about your cause. You work together, play together, pray together and grow together. You seek God together.  In fact this week, begin to make a list that answers the question, "Who is on my team?"

Send me a Text Message!The unmet longings of your heart are not a flaw, they are a gps for your soul. If you let them, they will keep redirecting  your heart to God. But this is what amazes me, "you have captivated God's heart." And before Lynn and I talk about the longings of your heart, I just wanted that thought to be in your mind, God loves being with you. And with that thought in mind, let me give you this prayer of longing. David writes this prayer in Psalm 63:1-8. David writes, he prays..."God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you...I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I cling to you."This episode is the Mother's Day message from Lynn and I this last weekend! Hope you enjoy!