bible study

SEND ME

The following is an excerpt from my new book, “Be a Man the World Needs: Volume One,” available now at: https://a.co/d/80U575e. Every day this week, you can read a new devotion from the first chapter.

1.5 SEND ME

READ: Nehemiah 2:1-20

“And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” Nehemiah 2:5 ESV

Every day, Nehemiah stood in the presence of the king. He was close, faithful, and always there to serve his king. But the plight of his people weighed on him. Nehemiah saw the world in need but did not merely see it. He decided to do something about it.

The land of his fathers was in chaos. The place of his people. There was a tremendous need, and it gripped his heart. The cupbearer was in a position to make such a big demand of a king. He was a servant. He was the king's property. But the king asked. Nehemiah’s faithfulness had created an opportunity for authenticity. When the moment came, Nehemiah didn’t balk. He acted.

Nehemiah took his awareness of the world’s need to one who could do something about it. And, more importantly, he had a willingness to participate in the solution. Nehemiah wasn’t trying to solve someone else’s problems by proxy or secondhand. He was willing to go.

What did Nehemiah know about building walls, leading people, or cross-country travel? Nothing. He was a cupbearer. Like many others before and so many after, Nehemiah’s willingness to faithfully attend to the need in front of him every day positioned him to do what was next.

Our world is bombarded by voices screaming about what they believe the world needs. It’s become so ubiquitous that it has become background noise. The world doesn’t need another voice pointing fingers at secondhand problems. The world needs men who are willing to say, “Send me.”

CHALLENGE: When you see a problem today, don’t just point it out to someone else. Become part of the solution.

GO TO SERVE

The following is an excerpt from my new book, “Be a Man the World Needs: Volume One,” available now at: https://a.co/d/80U575e. Every day this week, you can read a new devotion from the first chapter.

1.4 GO TO SERVE

READ: 1 Samuel 17:1-58

“And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:32  ESV

David’s father asked him to take his brothers' lunch. But what the world needed was more than someone delivering bread and cheese. Another confrontation waited. Another opportunity.

The story of David and Goliath is the pivotal story of David’s life. It propelled him into prominence. The spotlight found David forever after. But he did not go seeking it. David went to serve his father.

David shined when he served. His heart for working on behalf of those around him caused people to love him. Sometimes serving looked like hanging out with the sheep, sometimes it meant facing giants. But it was David’s time with the sheep that prepared him for the encounter with Goliath.

The world needs men who are willing to serve in obscurity with a selfless heart. The time with the sheep when no one is looking is a proving ground for the valley where everyone watches. David stepped into the conflict with faith. God had proven himself faithful. The arrogant giant proclaiming himself an enemy of God was another opportunity.

David served his father first. He served his family. He did what was asked and what was required. It created in him the kind of willing heart that made him capable of faithfully confronting the giant.

You are surrounded by giants. They are everywhere. But we must be willing to walk through seasons of preparation in order to experience moments of deliverance. Serving for the sake of serving is often thankless and seemingly overlooked. God sees. God knows. What you do is not forgotten. It is practice for the giants the world needs you to slay.

CHALLENGE: Today, you will encounter an opportunity to do something that seems thankless and insignificant. Do it with an eager heart.

STAY CALM

The following is an excerpt from my new book, “Be a Man the World Needs: Volume One,” available now at: https://a.co/d/80U575e. Every day this week, you can read a new devotion from the first chapter.

1.3 STAY CALM

READ: Exodus 14:1-31

“The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Exodus 14:14 NLT

Imagine escaping slavery after generations. Suddenly the people of Israel experienced incredible freedom! Only, it seemed short-lived. As they camped at the edge of the sea, the armies of their oppressors bore down on them.

The weight of the terror of it must have been horrible. There stood multitudes of men facing the reality of a situation they knew they were powerless to stop. Their wives, children, families and friends were depending on them.

In that moment what the world needed wasn’t for the men of Israel to pick up swords they didn’t have and charge into the fray against the Egyptians. What the world needed was for the men of Israel to calm their fears. They had to choose trust in God over the reality of what they saw before them.

Sometimes your world will need you to step into danger. There will be moments to be bold, decisive, and aggressive. There will also be moments when you must simply trust God. Always be ready to act. Also, be ready to trust. Stay calm.

The headlines are full of men who lose their cool. You’re not going to be one of them. When trouble comes, you know you were made for it. You’re ready to embrace it. You’re calm because you know God himself will fight for you.

CHALLENGE: It’s going to happen. Something is going to surprise you today. It may push all the right buttons. When it comes, don’t lose your cool. Don’t panic. Stay calm. Even if it’s for just 30 seconds at a time.

EMBRACE IT

The following is an excerpt from my new book, “Be a Man the World Needs: Volume One,” available now at: https://a.co/d/80U575e. Every day this week, you can read a new devotion from the first chapter.

1.2 EMBRACE IT

READ: Genesis 37:18-36

“But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” Genesis 45:7 NIV

Joseph had every reason to play the victim card. He was a real victim. His own brothers had sold him out, literally. 

Even in Egyptian slavery, Joseph experienced betrayal, hardship, and loss. But Joseph would not be deterred. Joseph saw the potential on the other side of every difficulty.

Joseph embraced hardship and experienced God's incredible goodness. Ultimately, Joseph’s willingness to embrace the moment provided the opportunity to make a profound difference.

When disaster struck, Joseph didn’t celebrate the misfortune of his captors. He didn’t stomp on the hopes of those who had betrayed, enslaved, and imprisoned him. Joseph once again embraced the need in front of him. Joseph looked for a way to help the world around him. Not only did it save a nation, it saved his family. Joseph didn’t look for a way to get back at them, he sought the chance to give himself to an incredible need.

You can spend your life looking for retribution or looking for contribution. A man the world needs will bear the scars of hurt and betrayal. No one gets out of this world alive. But you were made for it. Don’t go looking for it, but when hardship comes, don’t let it rob you of the opportunity to be a man the world needs. Your friends, family, and neighbors are depending on you.

CHALLENGE: Every day is met with some kind of hardship. Don’t ignore it today. Look for the opportunity hiding there. How can you be the man the world needs in this situation?

MADE FOR IT

The following is an excerpt from my new book, “Be a Man the World Needs: Volume One,” available now at: https://a.co/d/80U575e. Every day this week, you can read a new devotion from the first chapter.

1.1 MADE FOR IT

READ: Genesis 1:1-31

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 ESV

God had worked a masterpiece. A world teeming with life and untapped potential. Every syllable of God’s creative work set the stage. The blank canvas of possibility was ready.

The world was amazing. It was good. It was new and raw and wild. And it was in need. All that was made was waiting. But for what? The world was lacking one thing. God’s amazing creation needed a man. So God made Adam and Eve and called it good. And God gave man stewardship over His creation. God trusted the first man with His creation.

God still trusts men with His creation. You are a man God trusts with His creation. You are a man God trusts with His world.

The first mandate from heaven was to be fruitful and multiply. Because the Garden of Eden wasn’t a well-manicured masterpiece of landscaping. It was a landscape of potential, opportunity, and hope.

God still places men where hope is needed. You have everything you need to be a man the world needs. You were created for it.

CHALLENGE: Today, when you encounter a need in your everyday world. Meet it. You may be the only one who can.

Be a Man the World Needs: Introduction

The following is an excerpt from my new book “Be a Man the World Needs.” Available now on Amazon.
Order here: https://a.co/d/80U575e

Climb the Mountain

We were cutting a trail somewhere around 4,000 feet of elevation. Even at that height the air was thick with humidity as a tropical storm smothered the jungle like bush adorning the mountainside. The red clay stuck to our boots. Our gear grew heavier with every cascading drop. It was an adventure. Thankfully, we were on our way down the mountain.

What compelled a group of men to walk a mountain path through the jungle in the middle of the rain during hurricane season?

Men like adventure, but that wasn’t the real reason. We also like being invited to try difficult things. We like to test ourselves. Neither of those were the goal of our mountaintop trek.

So why did we go? Why were we climbing that particular mountain in that specific spot on that given day in June? Why? Because there was something on top of the mountain worth doing.

We didn’t go to see the sights even though we did see some remarkable things. The foliage of banana, plantain, and coffee trees dancing amidst a storm is pretty amazing. Below we glimpsed some of the geography and topography of the roads we had been traveling the previous days. They were laid out like lines on a map. It was a sight to behold. The sliver of blue breaking beyond the tropical front miles away peered like a promise of change through the sky. It was all incredible. It was all secondary. We had climbed the mountain to do something.

At the top of the mountain was a woman and her children. I couldn’t name any of them. I had never seen them before. I will never see them again except in the single solitary picture I took of their smiling faces after the work was done. The work is why we climbed the mountain.

What work?

My friends and I had climbed the mountain to make the lives of the lone family on the ridge of the mountain better. We had gone to do something very simple. We were building them a new cooking stove.

In a place where most houses are held together by mud and sticks, practically all the cooking happens around what most of us would describe as a camp fire. The physical implications on the health of the women and girls who tend these fires is disastrous over time. So we climbed a mountain to improve the quality of life for a woman and her family.

Why? Because that's what men were made for.

The World’s Need

There are two really dangerous ideas trying to claw their way to prominence in this world. They are the kind of ideas which always seem to resound across pop culture and the socially conscious. Both are dangerous nonsense.

The first is the notion we don’t really need men anymore. Except we all know that is nonsense.

The second dangerous idea is worse. It says that there aren’t any real men out there anymore. To put it bluntly—this is a lie puked straight from the pit of hell. There are millions of men out there. Men the world desperately needs. And there are millions of boys waiting for their turn at bat.

What the world doesn’t need is another clown beyond a keyboard putting down the real men who bust their butts everyday. They do it to keep our world from falling apart. To keep your world from falling apart. Real men don’t need the naysayers to twist the proverbial knife while he plays video games, eats his mom’s groceries, and enjoys free rent. What the world doesn’t need is more shaming of the elite echelon of actual men who show up everyday to make sure you have water to drink, roads to drive on, and groceries that show up at your local market.

What this world needs is men. Real men. A lot of them. I’m crazy enough to believe they are out there. They don’t need your permission. They don’t want your applause. They only want to do what they were put here to do.

This world needs men who live on purpose, for a purpose. Men who mean what they say, say what they mean, and aren’t afraid to call out the chumps who try to stay somewhere in the middle. The middle is where masculinity goes to die. You either man up or you bow down. You either step up or you stop altogether. I’ve met hundreds of men who are laying down their lives every day to get it right.

The Mission

The original mandate for men has not changed. God spoke to Adam in the Garden and said “be fruitful and multiply”. Not because the Garden was a paradise of manicured orchards waiting to be plucked, but because it was a frontier of opportunity.

Adam was to work. He was to strive. He was designed by God to build, grow, and give. It is the essence of the heart of every man. That’s what this book is fundamentally about. Getting back to the modus operandi of what it means to be a man.

You are the man the world needs. You are. Believe it. You may not be living like it yet, but you’ll get there. You have to. No one else can get there for you. It is 100% on you. There are no shortcuts. The easy road is a dead end. But life is hard. So pick your hard. Or it will run you over. Ready or not, here it comes.

You were designed to make things better. Your strength is sorely needed in this world. And that’s putting it lightly. God put something inside you. Allow it to mature into the divinely inspired masculinity available to you. Until you do, there will be something absent in your world.

If you don’t live up to what God wants for you, your family will never know what it’s like to have a real man in their life. Your daughters will date deadbeats damned to repeat the pattern. Your sons will age into weak boys with beards and bank accounts. And your wife will be lonely—living in a mission half fulfilled.

Believe this. There is an enemy that hates you. He hates everything you are. What are you?

You are the original blueprint for what God wanted in this world. You are a man. You weren’t a backup plan. You were the plan.

Yes, we are men the world needs. We all have the potential to be. But we also have the potential to miss the mark big time. Adam did. So do we. But we don’t have to live in it.

Your enemy would have you believe you aren’t good enough for what God wants in your life. Your enemy is on a mission too. His aim is to steal the blueprint for what God wants to build through your life. He wants to kill the dream God put inside the heart of every man. The bottom line is that your enemy wants to destroy you and everything you stand for. If you take a look at our world, it’s hard to say the enemy isn’t winning. The enemy won’t win. He can’t win.

What the world needs right now are men who will step into their place in the fight. Men who will dare to give what it takes, grow into their strength, and build a better world around them. I think you’re a man like that. Get ready for the fight of your life.

The Need

There’s a tremendous difference between what I need and what I want. Most days I want a sixteen ounce steak, loaded mashed potatoes, and a gallon of Dr. Pepper. I learned long ago that eating like that regularly doesn’t produce a version of myself I like very much. And, giving in to what I want doesn’t shape me into the kind of man the people around me need. What I really need is not what I think I want much of the time.

What I actually want is for the people I love the most to know they can rely on me for the long haul. My life goal is faithfulness. That is my dream. To breathe my last breath at a ripe old age knowing I was faithful to my wife, my children, my family and friends–and the people who depend on me.

This is not a book about what you want. This was written to be a book about what the world needs. The truth is–what the world needs is you! Our world needs men like you to stand up, step up, and man up. We have a role to play. One that is uniquely ours. No one else will do it because no one else can. It belongs to you.

Ironically, whether you’ve admitted it yet or not, what you actually need is to embrace how much the world needs you. When you do you will step into your place in the big picture. You’ll find the spot where your purpose and your God-given passion sync up. It’s the one-two-combination that knocks the enemy on his butt. Nothing rattles hell more than a son of God walking in his God-given purpose.

You’re not a punk. And you’re not a sissy. You are a champion of the kingdom of God. His beloved son. Your life carries inherent dignity, value, and purpose on a scale you may have never attempted to consider. Consider it.

The words in these pages aren’t meant to be another feckless shot at tearing down men. We are sick of the mud-slinging in our world. We’re all tired of the emotional eunuchs parading their image of imposed masculinity on our world. I’m not here to pile it on. I wrote this book because I believe it’s time to rally the charge. The only way to stem the tide of limp-hearted cowards telling you what kind of man you’re supposed to be is for you to live it so loud they can’t help but shy away.

We can’t get there by tip-toeing through the issues. We’re going to take them head on. What’s going to follow is a set of twelve principles. This is designed so you can tackle one per week, per month, or whatever rhythm works. Each entry is short on purpose. I went small on the word count because I’m hoping it will give you the space to go big on reflection. Take the time to think them through. Get around a fire with some dudes and talk them out. At the least, create a text group and challenge one another.

You’re a smart guy. So, what you’ll notice pretty fast is that some of the maxims presented in this book seem at odds with each other while others seem repetitive. That’s not by accident. Some of them will cause tension. That’s by design. Step into the tension. Embrace difficulty. The easy path is a dead end. Your people need life. When you walk the hard road you’re not being reckless—you’re being engaged. You’re being honest. You’re taking the world as it actually is and you’re taking it head on. You’re being a man the world needs. Bravo.

How To Become Wise

We all need more wisdom in our life. I have a firm belief that wisdom is something God wants for us. Why? Because of just how much it will help us. So I wrote a 31 day guide for how to become more wise. Check out the introductory section below.

Welcome to the Trailhead.

I stood there just staring ahead with a big decision to make. I’m sure the importance of my pending choice was etched upon my face like a warrior choosing his weapon. This decision would set the course of my life for the foreseeable future. The weighty decision pressed down on me. I could feel my kids gathered behind me anticipating the outcome of this life-changing decision. Finally, it was time. “I’ll take three cups of chocolate with sprinkles and hot fudge please.” Whew, that was a close one.

Obviously, my choice of ice cream on an afternoon outing with my kids doesn’t carry the weight of the kingdom. But you and I make weighty decisions all the time. Sometimes they are overt decisions like whether to switch jobs, move to a new home, or make some other life altering change. Other decisions are subtle. They are the habits we carve out one choice at a time; in the way we spend our moments, consume our entertainment, or talk with friends.

Nothing we do is wasted. All of it matters—it shapes who we are. Do you know what no one has ever said to me? “Wow, I hope I am not a wise person.” I’ve never received a text that read, “I just made a really huge decision and I hope it was the wrong one.” That has never happened. 

On the flip side, it seems like someone reaches out to me every day needing help with a decision. They are facing a choice. They come in search of a friendly voice. Someone willing and able to offer counsel. Someone who will point them down the trail.

Once upon a time I was really afraid of letting people down. Now, many years later, I know letting people down kind of comes with breathing. We disappoint each other all the time. That’s not me being cynical. That’s called honesty. 

Do you know what would really let my friends down when they look for help? If I offer empty platitudes rather than earned Wisdom. So that’s precisely what I try to serve up; Wisdom.

Let me be really clear about something that won’t surprise you. It’s something my Mom, my wife, and a great many others learned a long time ago. I frequently falter where Wisdom is concerned. I don’t have Wisdom penned up in my backyard where I go to collect some whenever I have a need. That would be wonderful; But weird. Wisdom doesn’t work that way. There aren’t any tricks. There are no shortcuts to Wisdom. 

There isn’t a Wisdom Genie you can carry around in your pocket. You can’t throw a coin into the Wisdom Well. You can’t attain Wisdom wishing upon a star. No pots of Wisdom are waiting at the end of the rainbow. No Wisdom is to be had if you manage to chase down a unicorn.

Wisdom isn’t a miracle. Wisdom is earned. Wisdom is harvested one hard turn of the soil at a time. You acquire wisdom across a lifetime of trial and error. Good luck. I laughed when I wrote that because it sounds so fatalistic. Wisdom isn’t quite that hard to get. It’s not magic, but it’s not the secret prize waiting at the end of the Hunger Games either. 

There is a path to Wisdom. Sometimes it’s a clear next step on a well-trodden trail. Sometimes it’s a bushwhack through the jungle. Either way it is worth it because Wisdom is amazing. It calls to us from across human history. We can find it in poetry. We can sit at the feet of our elders and learn many lessons. Wisdom is incredible.

It’s no small wonder that God put Wisdom on the hearts of the many men who wrote what would come to be known as the Bible. In fact, right in the heart of the book many people call the “Word of God” is what is also fondly referred to as the “Wisdom Literature”. That’s no accident.

Wisdom will guard your heart from many things. But it will guard your head, your home, your wallet, and your well-being too.

Sometimes when I talk to people about Wisdom they get this look in their eyes like it’s too hard a thing to chase down. As if the pursuit of Wisdom is some grandiose quest God dangles in front of us like a carrot on a stick. Look, when it comes to God there are no carrots and there are no sticks. There’s just a really great Dad who loves his kids and wants what’s best for them.

Wisdom is not something God wants from you. Wisdom is something God wants FOR you.

In the heart of the Wisdom Literature is a small book that captures the culture of an ancient people led by wise kings. That’s not something to be balked at. This small book of thirty one short chapters holds the collective Wisdom of a kingdom that has long fascinated the world. And for good reason.

Have you ever found yourself facing a decision only to wonder, “what is the wise thing here?” Most of us have. Still, plenty of decisions are made with little regard for Wisdom. In fact I often sit and scratch my head wondering at whether or not we have decided to ditch Wisdom altogether!

The stories of the Bible show us that ancient people did the same thing. They routinely walked away from Wisdom. They made other choices. And their path suffered for it.

Wisdom carries weight, and it opens opportunities. The effects of wise living shape the world before you in so many ways; Even as the effect it has on your personal well-being shapes you for your own good and the betterment of others.

It would be a shame to leave Wisdom on the table. Instead, what if we leaned in when another shot at Wisdom showed up? What if we treated Wisdom like an old friend? What if we could sit at the feet of Wisdom and catch something wonderful? We can.

While becoming wise is not an overnight event or a one-off magic moment, it is a process that you can both invite yourself into and initiate. God made it possible one statement at a time all through the Proverbs.

What is a proverb? It’s a short saying packed with significance. And the Book of Proverbs is a collection of them unlike anything else in human history.

Over the next thirty one days I hope you will lean in to see what Wisdom has to say. Remember that it’s not asking anything of you. Rather it wants something amazing for you. A life of wisdom is better than you can begin to imagine. 

Wisdom leads us toward God. It brings about a unique sense of how to live. It provides order for how to follow and direction for where to go next. Wisdom cuts off the effect of chaos and invites us into a life that bears the remarkable stamp of someone in pursuit of God’s best life for them.

This short book is not exhaustive. You won’t look up at the end and say, “I’ve arrived at Wisdom.” But hopefully you’ll look up after these next steps together and realize you’re off to a great start.

Everyday together is meant to cultivate another step forward. I’ve written short segments I hope will encourage your heart, your head, and your hands as you set off to see what Wisdom has for you.

I hope you won’t just read it. Information offers us almost nothing until we do something with it. So each daily entry comes with a challenge. Sometimes the step I’m asking you to take is one you’ll do internally. Wisdom has to have a place to reside. You’ll work that in prayer and patience as you reflect on the thought of the day. There are also moments when I challenge you to get out into your world and do something. Both are vital.

As you put it all together you will feel yourself moving. It will seem a small thing if this is all new to you. Don’t be discouraged. Just keep going. If you miss a day don’t beat yourself up. Just don’t miss two.

If you really want to squeeze the trail for everything on offer, gather in the company of some good friends and take the journey together. There are questions at the end of each week to guide a group discussion. I can’t wait to sit around a campfire someday and find out what you’ve learned.

Thanks for checking this introduction to “The Wisdom Trail Guide: 31 Steps to A Life of Wisdom”. If you want to take your next steps toward a life of Wisdom order your copy today.

Living Water

  Man, there are few things more difficult than being thirsty for a prolonged period of time. Probably many of us have never really had to face true thirst. Especially dangerous life threatening thirst.  When I think I'm thirsty my first craving is for a Dr. Pepper or good old southern sweet tea. When I was a kid working in the hay field or watermelon patch with my dad there was nothing more satisfying than a tall cold glass of water.

Have you ever found yourself thirsty inside? That's thirst on an entirely different level. It's life threatening all the same. At the core of our soul. 

Maybe you didn't articulate it that way—but the acknowledgement for something more was present like an inexplicable craving or yearning. 

Do you believe in Jesus? He told us he was that kind of satisfaction. 

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’" ‭‭(John‬ ‭7:37-38‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

He made it really simple too. If you're thirsty go to him. How? Believe.

He is living water. (Check out the fourth chapter in John's Gospel for some more on that). 

He also said, that when we believe in him that same kind of living giving spirit would flow through us. We're not just receptacles. We're channels. 

Jesus himself saves, quenches, and supplies us with life inside—and desires that we might share it with all. 

That should impact is in the day to day stuff. Make us love bigger and better. Help us to speak with a kindness that is uplifting, work hard, and give selflessly. Basically, we should be refreshing to anyone and everyone we're around. 

How's that working out for you?

Thanks for reading! We're always interested in hearing from you in the comments. ~ Nate

Easy & Light

  

I was thinking about this passage today during my time alone with God.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)

A yoke is still a yoke. A yoke is used for something. It has purpose. It's for accomplishing an end. Jesus never said it would for real be easy. It is necessary. It's work. Doing stuff takes stuff. The yoke was made for doing stuff. 

We read Matt 11:30 and think that means it should be a walk in the park but then we forget that all of his disciples were martyred. Even John had multiple attempts made on his life. The kind of easy Jesus was speaking of was altogether different than the connotation of the word we drag up in our comfortable 21st century minds.

Paul talked about being a slave to Christ. It's hard sometimes. And ministry life can be really hard at times—but it beats the hell (literally) out of the alternative.

To live is Christ, to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21) 

Paul said that too. 

A burden is still a burden. There's a big difference in the burden that Jesus brings and the one sin brings. Jesus brings a burden of peace, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, love, understanding, consideration, and justice—all wrapped in grace. Sin brings a burden of brokenness, wretchedness, insecurity, deception, blindness, stubbornness, and fear—all wrapped in death.

The burden Jesus brings is a burden. But it's light.

It is easy to carry in respect to the death that is the alternative. The yoke is light but it is a yoke. It is quite simply a great relief to your soul in regards to the death that is available should you choose to shackle yourself to a yoke of your own making.

Jesus is better. Believe it. 

The 3rd Lament: God's Great Faithfulness

When I think of Lamentations it's not usually a go-to source for encouraging scripture. But Lamentations 3:19-24 paints an incredible word picture of the beauty of God's love for us. I want to visit this wonderful passage over the next few days in hopes that it will encourage you as much as it has encouraged me. IMG_9237

... there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: GOD ’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I’m sticking with GOD (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left. (‭Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭19-24‬ MSG Emphasis Added)

How great is the faithfulness of God? Have you ever considered that question? I mean, after all, what is faithfulness? It is the condition of being full of faith. An ongoing permeation of belief in something.

God has great faithfulness. God permeates faith.

After all it is by him that we believe in him. It is by his words that we have faith. It his because of his great limitless love that we are adopted in.

God's faithfulness is not measured by moments, actions, or attempts. It is not defined by works, not even those wondrous things by which we come to him. God's great faithfulness is measured only by him. That is to say, God is inseparable from his great faithfulness.

He will always believe. He will always be the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of the unseen. (See Hebrews 11:1) Or as one translation puts it, he is our confidence.

God's great faithfulness is as reliable as he is. Always. He has great faith. Both in himself, and in his love for you. Yes, God's great faithfulness means something for you. It means God always believes in the you that you could be. Because the blueprint for your potential rests in the grace of God alone.

God's great faithfulness is pointed right at you.

The 3rd Lament: New Every Morning

When I think of Lamentations it's not usually a go-to source for encouraging scripture. But Lamentations 3:19-24 paints an incredible word picture of the beauty of God's love for us. I want to visit this wonderful passage over the next few days in hopes that it will encourage you as much as it has encouraged me. IMG_9237

... there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: GOD ’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I’m sticking with GOD (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left. (‭Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭19-24‬ MSG Emphasis Added)

Every morning. That's how often the prophet Jeremiah realized that God's mercy rolls back around. God's willingness to extend his love and kindness is in step with the dawn; and its always dawn somewhere.

Every morning the mercy of God is hand crafted. The creator of the periodic table preempts every element of grace you find yourself needing with the passing of each day. It's custom. For you. For everyone. For every situation.

In the face of such terribly compassionate love and mercy, how can anyone think themselves unworthy of God's affection. Forgiven much. Love much. (See Luke 7:36-50) That is the opportunity. That is the reality.

Custom grace. A love tailored for all humanity. That fits every individual. It's not a bandaid for your burdens. His is a lifeline for your soul. A legendary leg up.

Maybe that's exactly what you are needing right now? Failure has gotten old. The same tired patterns of behavior may have left you feeling a little more than broken. Well, the sun is always sweetest at dawn. Move out from the darkness of our own designs and embrace the caring nature of the Father.

Every day is a new day. A new dawn. A new chance to walk the path God has for you.

The 3rd Lament: Loyal Love

When I think of Lamentations it's not usually a go-to source for encouraging scripture. But Lamentations 3:19-24 paints an incredible word picture of the beauty of God's love for us. I want to visit this wonderful passage over the next few days in hopes that it will encourage you as much as it has encouraged me. IMG_9237

... there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: GOD ’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I’m sticking with GOD (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left. (‭Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭19-24‬ MSG Emphasis Added)

Jeremiah went through a pretty horrible time. He is often called The Weeping Prophet. And his writings portray much of the anguish he must have experienced.

Like Jeremiah we ourselves face difficult things from time to time. The thing that gives me incredible hope in the love of God is the great opportunity we have in those hard moments. In difficulty we find a fight or flight scenario. We can run. Forget. Abandon. Or we can step up (or be lifted up) to be seized by the kind of certainty that can only come through a faith that has been tested and tried. Faith isn't easy. I would submit to you that anyone saying total faith in God is easy has probably never had to live where the rubber meets the road.

This kind of fighting faith was Jeremiah's every waking moment. Instead of throwing in the towel he went round for round. He stood toe to toe with all of the craziness happening around him. Stuff like death threats, starvation, imprisonment, and assassins. He never quit. He didn't give up on God. Why? Why did he keep his grip on hope?

Because Jeremiah remembered the inexhaustible love of God.

Jeremiah knew that God's love is loyal. Even when we quit God will never leave us or forsake us. (Read Dueteronomy 31:6)

Jeremiah knew that God's love has an endless source, namely God himself. This Loyal Love is rooted in the very nature of the one who wields it. There is always more for those who go looking to find it.

Jeremiah knew that God's love is merciful. The love of God is full of undeserved grace. That unending, unmerited, supply of affection comes to those who certainly do not deserve it. Yet it comes. God's love is the merciful product of the God of mercy.

Jeremiah knew that God's love couldn't have dried up. It may have felt that way, looked that way, or seemed that way—but the prophet knew. Deep down in the Well of Living Water is an unquenchable source. The love that does not run dry is the love that defies all apparent circumstances.

Jeremiah knew this. I believe it kept him going through the most difficult times. You can be sure that God's loyal and merciful love is in full supply for you. Today. Wherever you are. Whatever you've done. No matter your circumstance. Ask him for some and watch the floodgates open.

The 3rd Lament: Hold On To Hope

img_9237-0.jpg

When I think of Lamentations it's not usually a go-to source for encouraging scripture. But Lamentations 3:19-24 paints an incredible word picture of the beauty of God's love for us. I want to visit this wonderful passage over the next few days in hopes that it will encourage you as much as it has encouraged me. IMG_9237

... there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope... (‭Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭19‬ MSG)

Remember this, there is one constant, God loves you. It helped Jeremiah, the Old Testament prophet credited for penning the Book of Laments. He went through some really crazy stuff. But he held on to hope.

We go through some crazy stuff too sometimes. To others it might not seem so bad, but for the person experiencing the turmoil it's never a fun to place to be. The wildness of the ride this life throws our way can catch us off guard. It can blast the wind from our lungs, the strength from our hearts, and the opportunity from our fingertips—but it can not change the way God feels about us.

Even our own reckless personal choices can cause tremendous pain and heartache, but they don't affect the way God feels about us. He loves us deeply. And for those of us who choose to recognize that love for what it is, and abide in it, it is our constant.

When life gets shaky we can hold onto Him. We can hold on to hope.