Under the Radar

There is a story that on July 4, 1776, the king of England wrote in his diary, “Nothing of importance happened this day.” Whether that really happened or it was just a cool urban legend is debatable, but it is true that significant moments can often take place under the radar.

Take the year 1809. The world was in a tumultuous situation. Napoleon was sweeping through Austria and blood was flowing freely. Nobody cared about the babies being born. But there were some pretty significant births taking place. 

For example, William Gladstone was born that year. He would become one of England’s finest statesmen. That same year, Alfred Tennyson was born to an obscure minister and his wife. He would one day greatly impact the literary world. On the American continent, Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And not far away in Boston, Edgar Allan Poe began his eventful, albeit tragic, life. It was also in that same year that a physician named Darwin and his wife named their child Charles Robert. And that same year produced the cries of a newborn infant in a rugged log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. The baby’s name? Abraham Lincoln.

If there had been television or radio broadcasts or news feeds at that time, I’m certain we would have heard these words: “The destiny of the world is being shaped on an Austrian battlefield today.” But actually, history being shaped in the cradles of England and America. 

In the same way, on the day that Jesus was born, everyone thought the Roman Empire, taxation, and an unhinged leader named Herod were the stories that would shape the world. But, in a small stable in Bethlehem, a young Jewish woman and her blue-collar husband held the biggest news of all: the birth of the Savior, the One who would be called, “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). 

The “under the radar” birth of Jesus would shape and form human history like no one before or since. History itself is measured against His life, dividing the years into BC and AD. The glorious news for us is that God is at work in our lives under the radar as well. Even when it seems like nothing is going right and everything is going wrong, God is at work, and we can trust Him. We might not see it, and our family and friends might miss it too, but God is at work. Jesus would tell His followers, “My Father is always working and I join Him in that work.” That is such a sustaining promise in the moments when we feel like that king of England in 1776, when we feel like NOTHING is happening in our lives.

If you’re feeling like that in your life this Christmas after a year of craziness, here is a promise from Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” – Galatians 6:9

”At just the right time.” I love that. When will God send a harvest of blessing into our lives? At just the right time. 

So, we shouldn’t give up. And here’s the cool part of this thought: what God will do in your life at just the right time has probably already started, it’s just under the radar. God had a plan for Jesus to save the world, but it took thirty-three years for just the right time. For thirty-three years it looked like nothing big happened in a stable in Bethlehem and then the world changed. And God continues to work that way in our world. We’ve just been through the wildest year most of us can remember. Is it possible that God is ready to reveal something in the near future—at just the right time—that will change everything again? 

This week, as we celebrate a birth that seemed like no big deal at the time, be encouraged. God is still working under the radar in your life, and, at just the right time, He will bring a harvest of blessing into your life. Merry Christmas!

The Unlikely History of "O, Holy Night"

This Christmas season, we are talking about “rejoicing in a weary world.” That idea was inspired by the line from “O, Holy Night” that says, “A thrill the of hope, the weary world rejoices.” That line was used to describe the birth of Jesus. It was also inspired by 2020, which has made us all weary…

“O, Holy Night” has a really cool backstory that reminds me about how God often chooses the most unlikely people to accomplish His mission. Much like He used an obscure engaged couple from a small village called Nazareth, some blue-collar shepherds, and an empty stable in the birth of the Messiah, the writing of “O, Holy Night” is full of surprises.

The story began in France but eventually made its way around the world. This simple song, inspired by a request from a clergyman, would not only become one of the most beloved anthems of all time, but it would also mark a technological revolution that would forever change the way people were introduced to music.

In 1847, Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure was the commissionaire of wines in a small French town. He was more known for his poetry than his church attendance, so it probably shocked Placide when his parish priest asked him to write a poem for Christmas mass. Nevertheless, the poet was honored to share his talents with the church.

While he was traveling to France’s capital city, Cappeau thought about the priest’s request. Using the gospel of Luke as his guide, Cappeau imagined what it would have been like to witness the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Thoughts of being present on the blessed night inspired him. By the time he arrived in Paris, “Cantique de Noel” was completed.

Moved by his own work, Cappeau decided that his “Cantique de Noel” should not be just a poem but a song. Not musically inclined himself, the poet turned to one of his friends, Adolphe Charles Adams, for help. 

The son of a well-known classical musician, Adolphe had studied in the Paris conservatory. His talent and fame brought requests to write works for orchestras and ballets all over the world. But the lyrics that his friend Cappeau gave him surely was a challenge to the composer because he did not celebrate Christmas.

As a man of Jewish ancestry, the words of “Cantique de Noel” represented a day Adolphe didn’t celebrate and a man he did not view as the Son of God. Regardless, Adams quickly went to work, attempting to compose an original score to Cappeau’s beautiful words. Adams’ finished work pleased both the poet and the priest. The song was performed just three weeks later at a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. 

Initially, “Cantique de Noel” was wholeheartedly accepted by the church in France, and the song quickly found its way into various Catholic Christmas services. But when Cappeau walked away from the church and became a part of the socialist movement and church leaders discovered that Adolphe Adams was a Jew, the song—which had quickly grown to be one of the most beloved Christmas songs in France—was suddenly and uniformly denounced by the church. The heads of the French Catholic church of the time deemed “Cantique de Noel” as unfit for church services because of its lack of musical taste and “total absence of the spirit of religion.” Yet even as the church tried to bury the Christmas song, the French people continued to sing it, and a decade later an American writer brought it to a whole new audience halfway around the world.

This writer, John Sullivan Dwight, felt that this wonderful Christmas song needed to be introduced to America because he saw something in the song that moved him beyond the story of the birth of Christ. An ardent abolitionist, Dwight strongly identified with the lines of the third verse: “Truly he taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother; And in His name, all oppression shall cease.” The text supported Dwight’s own view of slavery in the South. Published in his magazine, Dwight’s English translation of “O, Holy Night” quickly found favor in America, especially in the North during the Civil War.

Adams had been dead for many years, and Cappeau and Dwight were both old men, when on Christmas Eve 1906, Reginald Fessenden—a 33-year-old university professor and former chief chemist for Thomas Edison—did something long thought impossible. Using a new type of generator, Fessenden spoke into a microphone and, for the first time in history, a man’s voice was broadcast over the airwaves: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed,” he began in a clear, strong voice, hoping he was reaching across the distances he supposed he would.

Shocked radio operators on ships and astonished wireless owners at newspapers sat stunned as their normal, coded impulses, heard over tiny speakers, were interrupted by a professor reading from the gospel of Luke. To the few who caught this broadcast, it must have seemed like a miracle, hearing a voice somehow transmitted to those far away. Some might have believed they were hearing the voice of an angel.

Fessenden was probably unaware of the sensation he was causing on ships and in offices; he couldn’t have known that men and women were rushing to their wireless units to catch this Christmas Eve miracle. After finishing his recitation of the birth of Christ, Fessenden picked up his violin and played “O, Holy Night,” the first song ever sent through the air via radio waves. When the carol ended, so did the broadcast—but not before music had found a new medium that would take it around the world.

Since that first rendition at a small Christmas mass in 1847, “O , Holy Night” has been sung millions of times in churches in every corner of the world. And since the moment a handful of people first heard it played over the radio, the carol has gone on to become one of the entertainment industry’s most recorded and played spiritual songs. This incredible work, requested by a forgotten parish priest, written by a poet who would later split from the church, given music by a Jewish composer, and brought to Americans to serve as much as a tool to spotlight the sinful nature of slavery as tell the story of the birth of a Savior, has become one of the most beautiful, inspired pieces of music ever created.

And to me, that’s part of the story of Christmas, something worth rejoicing about, that God works in incredible and unforeseen ways in your life and mine to make a difference in our world. I hope you enjoy the wonder of Christmas this December and make yourself available to God in the coming year.

Doing Math God's Way

I am probably the last person in the world that should attempt to teach a math lesson. Every math teacher I had in school and college would agree with that statement, and so would my kids who I tried to help with their math homework and would my former employers. My wife would definitely agree. Nevertheless, I’m going to take a shot at sharing a simple little mathematical formula that I believe is helpful in the moment we are living in:

 ADDITION + MULTIPLICATION > DIVISION + SUBTRACTION

 I don’t know how well that would hold up in an Algebra I class, but I do know that it holds up in life and in the way Christ-followers live their lives. I think it is doing math God’s way. Addition and multiplication are definitely greater than division and subtraction.

 Right now, division and subtraction are the mathematical principles of our culture. 

Left vs. Right.

Red vs. Blue.

Progressive vs. Conservative.

Mask vs. No Mask.

Stay Home vs. Stay Open.

Vaccine vs. It’s a Hoax.

 Division, or the “us versus them” mindset, dominates the airwaves (Are you Fox News or MSNBC?), our social media, and increasingly, our relationships. Division in our culture often leads to subtraction through cancel culture and the ending of relationships. People are walking away from family members, lifelong friends, and organizations because they hold a different view. Division and subtraction. 

 Sadly, the math of our culture is finding its way into Christ’s church and local church expressions. Rather than focus on what unites us—Christ and the need that each and every one of us has for Him—we follow the lead of culture and coat it in spirituality, believing that anyone serious about their faith must share our position. As author and pastor Mark Batterson, whose church is based in the most partisan place on the planet, Washington DC, recently stated in a podcast, “Some people are more evangelistic when it comes to their political ideology than their biblical theology.”  

 The reality is that when division takes place in the church, it always results in subtraction. Many will believe that “this church” or “the church” has no place for someone like me or someone who believes what I believe. Others will be “cancelled” and marginalized, as they are told, “Those views are not welcome here.” Division and subtraction are the math our Enemy likes to employ. But it’s not the math that Jesus teaches His followers. If you win the argument but lose relationships in the process, what have you gained?

 While our culture may pursue division and subtraction, our church, the church of Christ, is called to practice addition and multiplication. Jesus instructed His followers to practice addition when He told them, “Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full” (Luke 14:23). Jesus said His purpose in coming to live among us was to, “Seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus came to add people—like you and me—to His family, and He called all of His followers to do the same thing.

 The church is called to practice addition, and we do so by bringing people to Christ. That addition leads to multiplication. In the New Testament book of Acts, we read about the start and the history of the church, and we read that, “the Lord added daily to the number who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). As the church continued to grow, it multiplied. It spread from a church to becoming many churches; it went from a few leaders to many people being trained and used as leaders. Rather than just practicing addition in the church, they began to see exponential multiplication. If you are reading this and you are a Christian, you are one result of the addition and multiplication that began 2,000 years ago! The good news is that Christ intends for addition and multiplication to continue, and the church—which includes you and me—are to be a part of that process. But we can’t add and multiply if we allow division and subtraction to come into our hearts and minds. The gospel is for people on all sides of the political sphere, and if you want to reach people on both sides of the aisle, we need to live and love people as a non-partisan church.

 If you are a part of Journey Church and you have read this far, thanks! I want to say this to you as your pastor: I love and appreciate every one of you. I love you if your views agree with mine, and I love you if they don’t. I also believe that the truths of Scripture should be the foundation of our lives rather than the planks of any political party or agenda. In fact, if you only identify with every single plank of one party, are you thoughtfully and prayerfully looking at every single issue?

 The reason we started Journey Church eight years ago was to help people take their next step toward Christ, to move forward in their spiritual journey. We base our vision on addition and multiplication by adding people to the Kingdom of God and our church, and by multiplying through church planting, missions, and discipleship. We want to do God’s math. If we allow division and subtraction into our culture, we will stop pursuing Christ’s purpose for His church, and will actually be working against it. I don’t want that to happen, and I am sure you don’t either. I really believe that addition and multiplication are greater than division and subtraction. To that end, I want to ask you for a couple of favors:

•  Before you post or retweet your latest “mic-drop” meme, stat, or quote, ask yourself, “Why am I posting this? What am I trying to accomplish? Will this post add and multiply or will it divide and subtract?”

• Reflect on that thought from Mark Batterson, “Am I more passionate and evangelistic about my political ideology or my biblical theology?” 

• Determine to love those whose beliefs and perspectives about politics, candidates, election results, COVID, or other hot-button topics differ from yours. Jesus told His followers that it wasn’t a big deal for them to love their friends (people who agree with us)—that’s easy. His challenge to them was to love (bless) their enemies (people who didn’t agree with them).

• Decide that you will practice God’s math (addition and multiplication) rather than our cultural math of division and subtraction. Let that decision influence every conversation, every post, every tweet, and how you treat the people around you.

Finally, please remember that truth is often found in the tension. When you talk with someone rather than yell at them, you will find greater perspective, and you will preserve relationships.

Church, let’s do God’s math together.

A Less Than Ideal Christmas

Have you ever had a less than ideal Christmas? 

I have.

It happened during my junior year of college. We were a week away from our final exams and looking forward to an almost month-long Christmas break. I was working my way through school as a security guard, and I was trying to figure out how I was going to miss those weeks of work and still be able to come up with enough money to pay for my second semester of college. A few days before Christmas, my boss came to me and asked me if I had any interest in sticking around over the Christmas break to work. He said I would get paid double-time and that it would be pretty easy work. I wanted to go home to see my family for Christmas, and hang out with my friends, but I really needed the cash, so I decided to stay. It really wasn’t too bad for most of the time I was there. Most of the students and faculty were gone, and things were pretty quiet. It was just kind of lonely and desolate.

I remember getting done with my shift on Christmas day. Because the cafeteria was closed, I went back to my dorm room and popped a package of Ramen noodles in the microwave and watched old Christmas movies on TV. I took a bit of a break to go call my parents from the payphone at the end of our hall and wish them a “Merry Christmas.”  Then I came back and just sat there. It was weird. I was used to being with family and friends, exchanging gifts, sharing the Christmas story, and all the other things that we typically think of when we think about the Christmas holiday.

Maybe you’ve had an experience like that: a time when you spent your Christmas away from all your family and friends. Maybe you spent Christmas in a hospital ward or overseas on a military post. Maybe you had a time when there weren’t any gifts to give or receive because finances were a huge barrier. Maybe there’s been a time when you felt estranged from your family and friends, and instead of a Norman Rockwell type family setting at Christmas, it felt more like you were standing next to cousin Eddie in National Lampoon’s Christmas vacation. In other words, a less than ideal Christmas.

Our culture does an incredible job of portraying the ideal Christmas. All the cards, movies, songs, displays at the mall, and advertisements portray a Christmas that’s so amazing. It’s like the holiday song Andy Williams crooned decades ago, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” But our lives often look more real than ideal. And in the same way, the story of Jesus’ birth, The Christmas Story, is real, not ideal, and that’s what makes it so hopeful.

Take for instance, Mary, the mother of Jesus. She had to convince her fiancé, Joseph, the village carpenter, that she had not been unfaithful to him, but that what happened to her was supernatural, that God Himself was the father of the baby she had within her. She had to convince her family that when she went to stay with her cousin Elizabeth and then came home visibly pregnant, she had done nothing wrong. She had to convince the religious leaders of the Jews in her village that she had not become pregnant outside of marriage, which would have made her a candidate for being stoned to death according to their law.

The situation also had to seem less than ideal to Joseph. Here was a guy doing the right thing, getting married to this young woman from his village, and now she’s pregnant. And everyone’s talking about it. And they’re talking about what a sucker he is to believe her story, and staying with her, when he could dump her at least, and have her put to death at most. But he didn’t do it; because God spoke to his heart. Although he knew the truth, it couldn’t have been easy.

Then there was the census. For some reason, the Roman leaders decided right about the time that Mary was due to give birth would be a great time to round everybody up and count them so they could tax them. So, Mary and Joseph had to make a ninety-mile journey, either walking or on the back of a donkey. Now, I’m not much of an equestrian—I’ve only ridden a horse once in my life—but while I was doing it, the thought never crossed my mind, “Hey you know who would really love this? My wife. And you know when she would probably think it was the coolest? When she was nine months pregnant!” But that’s exactly what Mary experienced. Whether she walked or rode an animal, it couldn’t have been a great moment for them; and definitely was less than ideal.

 The ideal setting for Jesus’ birth was a bed, in a nice clean environment, with a midwife available, and the support of family and friends just outside the room. But that is not how Jesus came into this world. The Bible tells us He was born in a stable, in a place where animals stayed. Mary gave birth to her Child right there on a pile of hay in the middle of a stable, and that became the birthplace of the Savior of the world. Definitely not ideal.

Jesus’ birth doesn’t sound as much like Silent Night as it does the birth of Samuel Katz, Lillian Braverman, or Dorothy Melnick. They are three of the over 350 children born on Ellis Island as their parents emigrated from countries in the “old world” to be a part of the “new world” in America. In the middle of chaos, as thousands of people, speaking hundreds of languages and dialects, stood for hours and sometimes days, waiting for the opportunity of coming to America, children were born. And those children became a bridge between the old and the new for their parents. In the squalor of makeshift birthing wards, just feet away from people dying of various ailments and arriving after weeks spent at sea coming to America, they were the promise of a new beginning for their families.

Not too long after His birth, because of threats to His life, Jesus and His parents left Israel and fled to Egypt as refugees. They stayed there because there was an infanticide taking place in Bethlehem, as Herod tried to eliminate any competition to his throne. Jesus began his life as a refugee, as someone who had to leave His home and go to another place for His safety. As we encounter the refugee crisis that is going on in our world today, it should give us pause to think about the fact that Jesus began His life that way as well.

That isn’t how I would have written the Christmas story. I’m an idealist—I would have planned it out differently. If I wanted everyone to know Who Jesus is and put their faith in Him, I would have given Him a royal birth to elite parents in a significant period of history. My story would be ideal. Jesus’ birth was real.

All these things remind me of something hugely important that I sometimes forget: Jesus didn’t come here in an ideal setting; He came into our real world. It reminds me that He understands the reality of my world. The Bible says that Jesus, “was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Isaiah 53:3, NIV). The Scriptures also tell us that Jesus is, “one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15, NIV). Jesus understands my hurting because He has known pain. He relates to my struggles, because He experienced temptation. Christ didn’t come to live in some ideal setting, but He came to live in the reality of the world that I’m currently a part of.

Christmas also reminds me that following God and trusting Him may cause me to be misunderstood, just like Mary and Joseph had to feel misunderstood as they did what God asked them to do. I’ve never had a dream when an angel told me that I should do something, but I’ve definitely had times in my life when I felt that God asked me to take a step of faith. And there have been times when I took a step of faith and the people around me didn’t understand it. It didn’t make sense. It went against the grain of culture or expectation. But it if it wasn’t for Mary and Joseph’s willingness to be obedient in the real, we never could’ve experienced the life that Christ offers to all of us.

Another thing that Christ’s birth and the Christmas story reminds me of is that life doesn’t always look the way I expect it to. I’m sure when Mary thought about her life as she grew up and being married someday, she didn’t picture herself standing at the altar pregnant and under suspicion. I’m sure Joseph didn’t expect that for his future wife, either. I’m sure it never occurred to Mary that the best place to give birth to her first child was in an animal stable, alone, in a place miles and miles from her home and family and friends.

The story of Christmas, the story of Jesus’ birth, gives us hope and reminds us that in less than ideal situations, when things don’t turn out how we believed they would, God is still with us. In this less than ideal situation, Jesus was born as Immanuel, “God with us,” and that’s a visible and tangible reminder of God’s faithfulness to be with us in every circumstance and situation. It’s a messier story than we often portray. There is a lot more uncertainty and risk than we sing about. But it’s a real story. And it’s a story that doesn’t just offer joy and hope during the holiday season; it’s a story that we can cling to when life gets real, all year long.

The Scarcity Problem

Remember when we first learned about the potential lock-downs due to COVID-19? People rushed to grocery stores and started hoarding supplies in a way that would make anyone in a zombie apocalypse movie jealous. The internet erupted with memes and stories of people with cartfuls of toilet paper! Even in our small midwest towns, the aisles were bare (hopefully none of us had to resort to using old t-shirts for toilet paper, but you do you).

Obviously, we were all scared. We haven’t faced a pandemic before, so there was (and still is) a lot of uncertainty about how to prepare. But I think that our actions during that time showed a deeper problem in our society and in ourselves: the scarcity mindset.

What Is a Scarcity Mindset

To put it simply, the scarcity mindset stems from a belief that there isn’t enough to go around. It’s a belief that says there are only so many resources available, so I have to grab all of them or I won’t have enough. It’s a belief that if someone else has something, I can’t have it, so I have to get it first.

Having a scarcity mindset isn’t always bad. When you have a deadline, that feeling of scarcity helps you ignore all other distractions in order to get your work done. It’s a survival instinct that our brain uses to keep us alive. Stress works in the same way; when you’re in a stressful situation, your brain tells your body to put everything on high alert, which is why blood pressure rises and heart rates increase. Your brain is telling your body to get ready to move out of that situation in order to keep you safe. The problem is that we allow stress and scarcity to control us rather than seeing them as the warning signs that they are.

When we allow a scarcity mindset to become our only mindset, we give it the power to affect our thinking and feelings. Scarcity orients the mind automatically and powerfully to unfulfilled needs, which causes heightened feelings of jealousy and inadequacy. Everything becomes a competition. Remember the toilet paper example from earlier? Because people felt like toilet paper was a scarce resource, a competition arose to get more toilet paper than someone else. It was the belief that I have to have more than that person, or I won’t have enough for me and my family. 

We see the scarcity mindset play out in relationships and the workplace all the time. We have a hard time celebrating with people when they get engaged or get a promotion because we live in a mindset that says there’s only so much success to go around. If someone else is successful, that takes away the opportunities I have to be successful.

If we’re not careful, social media can fuel a scarcity mindset too. Have you ever seen a post on Instagram of a perfect mom with a perfect body doing perfect things with her perfect kids? And you instantly felt jealousy or a feeling of inadequacy and had a strong desire to point out her flaws? That may be because you’re living with a scarcity mindset and in order to make yourself feel better, you have to put her down. It’s the belief that because her life is going great, there’s less opportunity for my life to be great.

When we feel insecure or jealous, our ability to be generous reduces. We simply can’t be generous when we feel insecure. It’s easy to see how that makes sense when it comes to our material resources -- when I feel insecure financially, it’s way more difficult for me to be generous with my money -- but it’s true for our immaterial resources too. When we feel insecure about the blessings we have, when we believe there’s only so many blessings to go around, we have a hard time with other people being blessed.

Moving From Scarcity to Gratitude

Clearly, we have a problem with scarcity, but how do we get out of that? How do we move from the idea that there’s only so much to go around to one that celebrates and is confident that we will have everything we need?

The answer? Gratitude.

We hear the word gratitude thrown around all the time, especially during the Thanksgiving season, but what does it mean exactly? Gratitude is the expression of appreciation for what one has. It’s that spontaneous feeling that comes up when you’re surrounded by loved ones, and you think, “You know, life is pretty great right now.”

But we don’t have to wait for that feeling to happen. An attitude of gratitude (hahaha, I’m a poet and didn’t even know it) can be cultivated. Like most things in life, gratitude can be strengthened by practice, by making a conscious effort to count our blessings. There are benefits to practicing gratitude as well — it’s not just something that makes you feel good. Practicing gratitude shifts our attention from negative things to positive ones; it trains our brains to look for the good in a situation rather than the bad. This leads to more positive emotions and can help reduce stress.

Now, I will say that making a conscious effort to count our blessings is much easier said than done, but aren’t most things in life that are worth having? Here are some steps to help you start cultivating a spirit of gratitude.

1. Know where your blessings come from.

With a scarcity mindset, we’re tempted to think of God’s blessings as pie (sticking with a Thanksgiving theme here). If someone else takes a piece, there’s less for me! But that’s not how blessings work. We worship a God who is all powerful and has unlimited resources. When we trust God as the source of all things, we swim in an eternal current of blessings with enough to go around. It’s not a pie we pass around, hoping there’s enough left over for us.

James 1:17 tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from God. Whether it’s in our own lives or in the lives of those around us, the good things that are happening are gifts from God. We can celebrate with others and express gratitude because we know those blessings are from God, and God’s blessings never run out. 

In Philippians, we’re promised that God will supply all of our needs. When we trust that God is who He says He is and that He will provide for us, we can express gratitude in whatever circumstances we face. When we know our blessings come from God, we can fight against the stress and fear in our lives. When those warning signs I talked about earlier start going off in our minds, we can remind ourselves that God will take care of us.

2. Make a habit of identifying what your blessings are.

Doing a quick Google search of “practicing gratitude” will give you many ideas about how to practice gratitude, but my favorite is creating a gratitude journal. This has been extremely impactful in my own life, as it gives me the ability to look back on all the ways God has blessed me, especially when I’m prone to forget those things. 

It does take work and dedication though; you have to make it a habit and a priority. Each night, I take about 10 minutes before bed to write down things I’m grateful for. They don’t even have to be huge things -- sometimes the best blessings are the smallest things. I usually find myself writing down small blessings, like my dog’s derpy faces that always make me laugh or a hug I got from a friend.

Again, this practice is helpful for turning off those warning signs our brains give out. When we start feeling panicked about not having enough or being enough, we can look back at all the ways God has blessed us, and know that we’re going to be okay, even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment.

3. Include others.

In Scripture, God tells us we were blessed to be a blessing. One of the best ways to bless and encourage others is by including them in your gratitude practice. Let people know you appreciate them -- write them a letter or send a card expressing your gratitude. It can even be as simple as saying, “Thank you!” to the pizza delivery guy! Be intentional about letting others know they are appreciated.

4. Include thankfulness in your prayers.

We are commanded in the Bible to thank God for all He has done, but too often, our prayers are more like “to-do lists” for God than thanking Him. We have the tendency to come to God with a list of requests, rather than worshiping Him for what He has done. Try starting your prayer off with something you can thank God for, even if it’s something simple!

If you’re in a good place right now, and you think you do a pretty good job of being thankful, that’s great! But it’s important to practice these things even if you don’t think you need them. There will eventually come a time when the negativity is too much, and you’ll want to have these habits in place to help during that time. Sports teams practice drills they may never need in a real game so that they have them at the ready just in case. Practicing gratitude is the same for our spiritual and mental health.

I know that 2020 has been a trying year for a lot of us. Everyday we are bombarded with the negative things happening in the world around us. But there is always something we can be thankful for. As someone who struggles with chronic depression, cultivating a spirit of gratitude has been a tremendous support and balm for my mental health. It’s helped me train my mind to look for the positive things in my life rather than be bombarded by the negatives.

A lot of times, we try to make things a bigger deal than what they actually are. Practicing gratitude doesn’t have to be some profound act that takes a lot of time. The easiest way to start is by taking small, simple steps. Here’s a sweet video to get you started:

A Work In Progress

If you ever want to feel a little better about the list of home-repair or home-improvement projects you never seem to get done, just think about La Sagrada Familia. 

La Sagrada Familia is a cathedral in Barcelona, Spain and is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world – despite the fact that it is unfinished. The cornerstone for the cathedral was laid in 1882, and under the guidance of architect Antoni Gaudi, construction moved forward, starting in 1883. Gaundi died in 1926, but the cathedral is still under construction today. In fact, the celebration of completion is scheduled for 2026 on the centennial of Gaudi’s death. If they make that deadline (can something that lasts this long really be called a “deadline?”) the cathedral will have been under construction for 144 years!

During his lifetime, people would often ask Gaudi, “When will the basilica be completed?” or, “Will it ever be completed?” His favorite response was, “My client is not in a hurry.” Gaudi believed he was building something for God and that He wasn’t in a hurry.

See, I told you your to-do-list wouldn’t seem so bad.

In his letter to the Christians in Philippi, the Apostle Paul tells us that as a Creator or re-Creator, God isn’t in a hurry either. In Philippians 1:6, Paul writes:

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Thit verse is one  I have heard quoted a lot in the church. There have even been worship songs inspired by that verse. The thought of what God starts in us, He will complete, is an encouraging one. I have read that verse, quoted that verse, and taught about that verse many times. But when I read it a couple of weeks ago, I understood it in a way I never had before. I have always been focused on the “what God starts He will finish” part. But that’s not how Paul’s statement ends. While Paul does say that God will finish what He starts, he then continues to explain how long it will take — a lifetime. My lifetime.

When I became a Christian as a junior in high school, God started a good work in me, and He is continuing His work in me. Here’s what I realized the other day: the work won’t be done in my lifetime. God’s work, His life-transforming process, won’t end until Christ’s return or my death. As much as I want to think that I have become who God calls me to be, or as much as I feel like a mess, God is working. He is completing His work in me. When I was a kid, I remember seeing people with bumper stickers on their cars that said, “Be patient with me, God’s not finished yet.” I thought that was a cheesy cop-out at the time, but now I get it. He isn’t finished with His good work in me yet, and won’t be in this lifetime.

That’s a sobering, scary, exciting thought, but here’s what really hit me about that verse: not only will God be completing His work in me until the very end of my life, He’s doing the same thing in you. We’re all a lifelong work in progress (hopefully we can all stick around as long as La Sagrada Familia). The reason that verse hit so hard was because I know that I am still a work in progress, but I often forget that you are too. So I get impatient with people. I think they should know better. I wonder how they could be a Christian for so long and still think or act a certain way. I even want to give up on people who I think should have it more together than they do. 

But here’s the deal: the One Who continues to do a good work in me is still at work in those people, too. And that work is going to last for a lifetime. If God’s not giving up on them and is still continuing the work in their lives, I can stick with them, too. And I can show them grace and mercy and forgiveness and long-suffering and all the things the Bible tells us to extend to each other, just like God does.

One of my coaches growing up had a saying he would us when he was pushing us in practice or a game: “Pressure busts pipes.” This crazy 2020 has put a lot of pressure on us emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and even physically. Relationships have become strained. Tempers have gotten shorter and more explosive. Sides have been drawn and social media circles have tightened. All of these outcomes may have caused you to write some people off, or at the very least considered it. But here’s the hope: God’s still working. In you. In me. In “them.” Remembering that can help us stop for a beat, take a breath, and say a prayer when someone doesn’t live up to our expectations. 

I hope that the La Sagrada Familia gets done in 2026, and I hope people will be able to enjoy its beauty for centuries. And I hope you will experience God’s good work in your life this year, next year, and in the years and decades to come. I also hope that when you see the incompleteness and work-in-progress parts of other people, you can also see the beauty in what God is building. The One who started a good work in you, me, and them is faithful and will complete that good work, even if it takes a lifetime.

There's No Why in Worry

“Worry is interest paid on something you might never own.” 

Someone really smart said that once (I’ve heard it attributed to many people), and the sentiment is true. All of us have spent far too much time worrying about something that never came to pass. I’ve done it a million times. I’ve been stressed about hard conversations that I was sure were going to blow up and destroy relationships, only to have those conversations go way better than I ever imagined they would. I have worried about how I was going to pay for a major car repair only to have it end up needing a cheap part. While there have been times when something I worried about did go wrong, it was never as bad as I had feared, and my worrying didn’t change it anyway. I know all of this, but I still find myself anxious or stressed about one thing or another.

What about you? Do you ever “pay interest” on problems you don’t end up owning?

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is addressing an enormous crowd of people who were following Him (we know it was many people because Luke tells us: “the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other.”) While He is teaching them, He tells them not to worry. Here’s what He said:

Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?” (Luke 12:22-26)

There you have it. Just don’t worry.

I wonder how the people in the crowd responded to Jesus’ teaching? Were they encouraged because Jesus said don’t worry, and because they believed He was the Messiah, they took Him at His word? Or were they discouraged, thinking, “I wish it were that easy, Jesus”? After all, when you are going through something difficult or you are worried about something, having someone tell you not to worry doesn’t always help. In fact, it can make things worse: “Don’t tell me not to worry! It’s not your problem, it’s MY problem!” 

Whenever someone encourages us not to worry about something, there is one thing that makes all the difference. It’s the “why.” Why shouldn’t I worry? For instance, if you are having a hard time coming up with the money to pay for a new refrigerator because your old one died, and someone says, “Don’t worry about it,” that doesn’t help much. However, if that person says, “Don’t worry, I’d like to buy you the new fridge you need,” or “Don’t worry, I have an extra fridge that’s in great shape and you can have it,” that changes everything. They have given you a legitimate reason not to worry. It’s the why that makes all the difference. It’s not just empty encouragement, it is a reason to hope. It’s a reason to stop worrying and start believing. We worry when there is no “why,” when there’s no reason to hope. That’s why there is no “why” in worry.

So, what was the “why” that Jesus gave to His followers when He told them not to worry? It’s found in Luke 6:29-31:

“And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.”

“Don’t be concerned, don’t worry,” Jesus said. Why? Because God already knows what you need, and He will give you everything you need. You and I don’t have to worry about even the most basic of things because God is aware of what we need and will make sure we have it right when we need it. 

So, what are you worried about right now? COVID-19? Election results? The economy? Social and racial unrest? Your kids? Your marriage? Your job? Your money (or lack thereof)? Your future? Your past? 

“Don’t worry,” Jesus says, “Your Father knows exactly what you need and He will give it to you.” That’s our why. 

You might be thinking, “That sounds great, but it’s easier said than done.” Let me share something that has helped me to trust God more and worry less:

Reflection.

When I take the time to look back on my past, I can see God’s fingerprints all over it, especially during the times I was stressed and going through difficult times. When I look back, I see how God brought me through those times and gave me just what I needed. And He did it again and again and again. God’s faithfulness in my past fills me with faith for my present and my future. He has been my why in the past and He is my why today. So when you feel the temptation to worry or start to feel stressed out, take a few minutes and reflect. Remember how God has been there for you in the past. Give Him thanks for being your why and honestly tell Him about your current situation, entrusting it to Him. Then let it go and stop stressing. There is no why in worry, and you don’t have to worry when you have a why.

God Doesn't Have a Plan B

“Isn’t there anyone else?”

That’s the question Samuel, the High Priest of Israel, asked a guy named Jesse. God had sent Samuel to Jesse’s house to anoint one of Jesse’s sons the next king of Israel (the story is in 1 Samuel 16 in the Old Testament). Once Samuel told Jesse the purpose of the visit, he had lined up all of his sons and waited for God to show him which one was the chosen one. A couple of them looked like obvious fits; they had that “king” look to them. But each time God said, “No.” Finally, Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more sons, and Jesse did. His youngest son, who was out in the fields watching sheep. Apparently, because he was the youngest and deemed the least important, his dad hadn’t even invited him to the Mr. Israel King pageant. 

Eventually, they sent for this last son, and when he showed up God told Samuel, “That’s the guy!” That’s the story of how David became the second king of Israel. This is the same David who defeated a giant named Goliath (1 Samuel 17) and led Israel to levels of prosperity and security it had never experienced. And he didn’t even get an invitation to the party in the first place! But what’s so important to remember about David’s story is not that he was the last one invited to the party, but that he was God’s first choice to lead Israel. David was not God’s Plan B.

David wasn’t the only person in the Bible to find his way from obscurity into God’s spotlight. Moses had been hiding out in the desert for forty years, keeping his mouth shut to hide his poor speaking ability when God called him. Sarah lived in shame as a barren woman unable to give her husband an heir for ninety years before God gave her a son that would fulfill God’s promise to Abraham. Joseph’s own family sold him into slavery, and he ended up sitting in an Egyptian dungeon for years before God made him the second most powerful man in the world. Mary was a poor teenage girl in a village everyone made fun of when God chose her to become the mother of the Messiah. While these people may not have been the most obvious choice to their family and friends, God chose them specifically for His purposes. They weren’t Plan B.

If you have ever been in a second chair, low-key, or behind-the-scenes role, you may have felt like Plan B. Maybe you were the understudy for the lead in the school play, or you came off the bench for your high school basketball team. You were only going to get in the game or onto the stage if someone else faltered or couldn’t handle their role. They were Plan A, and you were Plan B. When we aren’t in the spotlight or the first one picked, it is easy to feel overlooked and underappreciated. But know this—just because you may have come off the second chair doesn’t mean you aren’t God’s first choice.

On Sunday we talked about Deborah, who filled a unique role in the history of Israel (her story is in the Old Testament book of Judges in chapters 4 & 5). Deborah lived in a really dark period of history for Israel. Because they kept rejecting God and chasing after the idols and practices of their neighboring countries, God lifted His hand of protection off of them and they spent decades being invaded, kicked around, and occupied by a variety of armies and invading hordes. When things would get bad enough, Israel would repent of their idol worship and cry out to God, and He would take pity on them and raise up a “judge” who would drive out the invaders and things would get better. Then Israel would start rejecting God, and it would happen all over again.

All the judges that God raised up in that period of history were men, except one, Deborah. Judges 4 tells us that Deborah was a wife, a prophetess, a poet, and a judge for Israel. She sat under a tree people called, “The Palm of Deborah,” and everyone would come to her for wisdom and leadership. Eventually, God spoke to Deborah and told her how to set Israel free. So, she teamed up with a guy named Barak and God gave Israel victory and made them a free people once again.

When I have heard people talk about Deborah’s story, often they argue that because the men in Israel had not stepped up, God used Deborah instead. Because of the strong patriarchal nature of their culture, they assume that a man should have been “the man.” But I don’t think that’s why God used Deborah (and another woman named Jael that you would not want to go camping with) to deliver Israel. Deborah wasn’t God’s Plan B. God didn’t use Deborah to rub all the guy’s noses in it. God used Deborah because He wanted to set Israel free, and the best person to lead that charge was a woman named Deborah. She wasn’t Plan B, she was God’s chosen agent for change.

Unsung heroes may not get the headlines or stand in the spotlight, but they are not God’s Plan B. There may be times when you and I feel like we are serving in anonymity, times when we wonder if what we are doing is really making a difference, situations where we feel like we’re stepping up because no one else is willing to. In those moments, please know that you are God’s Plan A for that moment. What might be unseen or overlooked by others is capturing the attention of Heaven! So keep serving. Keep giving. Keep loving people and giving them a second chance. What you are doing might go big or go viral, but even if only a few people ever realize or acknowledge your contribution, know that you will one day hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” You are God’s Plan A for helping to change the world.

There's More Than One Way to be a Great One

Canadian Wayne Gretzky is considered to be the best hockey player ever to lace up a pair of skates in the NHL. How good was Gretzky? Well, when they needed to come up with a nickname for him, this is what they decided on: “The Great One.” How did he get that nickname? A reporter from a small town in Canada gave it to him—when he was only ten years old. Over a twenty-year career, Gretzky played for four different teams, and when he retired held every meaningful record in his sport, most of which he holds to this day.

Whether or not you are interested in hockey, there is something cool about Gretzky’s career. When he retired, he had scored 894 goals, the most of all time, which was 93 more than the second most prolific goal scorer. But Gretzky also held the record for the most assists with 1,963, which is SEVEN HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN more than the next highest player. Gretzky knew how to score. He knew how to come up with the big goal and win games for his team. But he also knew how to help his teammates to score. He didn’t just use his skills to stay in the spotlight, but to put the other guys on his team in the spotlight too. There’s a lot of value in that. In fact, in hockey, a player not only receives a point in his or her stats for every goal they score but also for every assist.

Growing up, we all daydream about being the player to shoot the championship-winning basket, not about making the pass to that player. We imagine standing in the concert spotlight, rocking the crowd, not being the roadie who set up the spotlight. We want to write the New York Times bestseller, not proofread it. Who wants to be the sidekick when you could be the superhero? 

In our current teaching series at Journey, Unsung, we are looking at some unsung heroes in the Bible and discovering ways to apply what we learn from them in our own lives. These aren’t the people who you colored pictures of in Sunday School. No one has made a movie or even a Veggie Tales video about them. In some cases, their story is summed up in a chapter or two, or maybe just a few verses. But they are ordinary people that God used to do extraordinary things. Often those things involved giving their best so someone else could succeed. They got the assist while someone else scored the winning point.

In Colossians 4, the Apostle Paul lists ten less-familiar names from the early church. Paul’s “shout-out” to these saints reminds us of the vast majority of Christians who quietly play important roles in the kingdom of God. Even though these mentions are brief, they contain lifelong lessons for us today. Let’s look at some of these “assist leaders” in the New Testament church:

Tychicus will give you a full report about how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper who serves with me in the Lord’s work. I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. (verse 7-8)

Tychicus had a job to do. He was to deliver news about Paul, as well as Paul’s letter, to the people in Colosse. The result would be the encouragement of the Christians’ hearts. 

I am also sending Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, one of your own people. He and Tychicus will tell you everything that’s happening here. (verse 9)

Onesimus was a runaway slave. His name meant “useful,” but he had proven “useless” to his master, Philemon. Yet Paul commended him as a faithful and dearly loved brother, adding “he is one of you.”

Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greetings, and so does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin. As you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way. (verse 10)

Aristarchus was one of Paul’s companions in ministry, and here he is shown as a companion in suffering. We need people like Aristarchus, who stay focused on the kingdom regardless of the consequences, who rejoice with us in times of joy and mourn with us in times of trial.

Mark caused one of the early church’s major splits. Paul and Barnabas disagreed over Mark’s desire to join them on a missionary journey. This passage shows that Mark was already restored to Paul. Mark fell, but he got back up. In fact, it’s likely that he wrote one of the four Gospels! The lesson here? Keep getting up.

Jesus (the one we call Justus) also sends his greetings. These are the only Jewish believers among my co-workers; they are working with me here for the Kingdom of God. And what a comfort they have been! (verse 11)

Justus willingly set aside his identity twice in order to spread the gospel. First, though his name was Jesus, he went by Justus, probably to avoid confusion with the Jesus he was proclaiming. Secondly, he left his own people, the Jews, in order to spread the gospel among those in Rome.

Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of God. (verse 12)

Epaphras was a prayer warrior. Burdened by the spiritual immaturity he saw in others, he went before the throne of grace and “contended” for God’s people in prayer.

Luke, the beloved doctor, sends his greetings, and so does Demas. (verse 14)

Luke used his occupation as a doctor for God’s glory. Luke didn’t use his own gifts merely for his own gain. He gave those gifts to God. We learn from Luke that our vocations are not separate from our spiritual life.

Paul’s letter to Timothy informs us that Demas fell in love with the world and turned away from God. Something other than God captured his affections. Demas’ example serves as a warning to us. Watch out so that you do not turn back!

Please give my greetings to our brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church that meets in her house. (verse 15)

Nympha opened up her home and let the church meet there. She gave of her resources for the sake of the gospel. You may think you have nothing to give. But Christ can take the most ordinary thing and shape it into a tool for the advancement of His kingdom.

And say to Archippus, “Be sure to carry out the ministry the Lord gave you.” (verse 17)

Archippus is an example of how Christians are to challenge one another, sometimes in private, sometimes in public. We need the exhortation of brothers and sisters in Christ so that we can grow in holiness and faith.

These are just a few of the Bible’s unsung heroes—“unsung” because they were primarily focused on making sure that Paul and others could fulfill their mission and that the Gospel went forward. In the same way, the church today, our church, Journey Church, is a collective of people, many of us unsung, that can do the same thing.

Sacrificial Giving

 “I shovel out the money, and God shovels it back—but God has a bigger shovel.” – R. G. LeTourneau

R. G. LeTourneau, a Christian industrialist, dedicated his life to “being a businessman for God.” He was very successful, designing and developing his own line of earth-moving equipment. LeTourneau was the creator of nearly 300 inventions with hundreds of patents in his lifetime. 

As he succeeded financially, he increased his giving to the point where he was giving 90% of his income back to the church. Some of you may think, “I could give 90% too if I was a multi-millionaire.” Maybe so, but LeTourneau didn’t start out wealthy. We have to be faithful in the small things before God gives us more. 

Maybe for some, you have thought, “What if I give this gift and I do not have enough?” This thought of insufficiency or lacking is always on our minds. But this thought of, “What if I don’t have enough for what I need?” normally boils down to, “What if I don’t have enough for what I want?”. 

During our Campfire series here at Journey Church, we had a churchwide challenge. We had taught on the parable of the servants and their talents found in the book of Matthew, and we gave out $10, $20, and $50-dollar envelopes and challenged everyone to put that money to work. What our church brought back in was almost four times as much as we gave out. In our life, it is the same way. We may not be someone that is a multi-millionaire, but we can still put what God has given us to work. 

At Journey, we just finished our missions conference, a time we set aside to focus on missions and how God uses our church to help fulfill His mandate to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). As we talk about these things, there is a need for the church. 

Pastor Darrick talked about the idea of paying it forward and how Christianity is all about paying it forward. We at Journey Church want to pay it forward like the church in Antioch. We want to send out people and finances to the world so that people can come to know God. We are blessed to be a blessing. 

We can’t give what we don’t have. We can only give what we do have. Remember, it is not the amount we give that matters, but it is with what heart we give that makes all the difference. The Bible lays this out clearly, as Mark writes in chapter 12:

“41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you; this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

When we give sacrificially, we give until it hurts. We do not give just out of our abundance, but we give with sacrifice. As we look at our own lives, we see many times where we give when we have much, but our giving changes when we have little. I want to challenge anyone reading this to look for opportunities to increase your giving and see what God does. Our giving is the only time God tells us to test Him (Malachi 3:10).

In our giving, what we give to missions matters. You may be in the season where you have little, but take some time today to pray and ask God what He wants you to give, whether it is a $20 per month or $1,000 one-time gift. You may be in the season of life where you have an abundance. I want to challenge you to give out of your abundance and then give more. Watch what God will do with your finances. Remember what R.G. LeTourneau said, “I shovel out the money, and God shovels it back—but God has a bigger shovel.” We can never out-give God. 

What we give this next year will impact the world and in that impact, lives will be changed. Change the world because the World-Changer lives within you. Thank you for your faith-filled giving to missions.

The Gospel's Butterfly Effect

“Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?”

Edward Lorenz, a mild-mannered meteorology professor from MIT posed that question during the 139th meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science-nearly fifty years ago. Lorenz’s question became known as the “Butterfly Effect” and has been embraced by popular culture (I first learned about it from Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park). This idea also became the basis for a branch of mathematics known as chaos theory.

While the butterfly effect has been debated (and no, no one has been able to blame a hurricane on a hummingbird), minor events can often lead to larger outcomes. It’s like the poem or proverb that has been passed along for centuries:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

At Journey, we are in the middle of our missions conference, a time we set aside to focus on missions and how God uses our church to help fulfill His mandate to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). As we talk about these things, there is an obvious “butterfly effect” that takes place. The Apostle Paul writes about it in his letter to the Roman church:

For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how  can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they  believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? (Romans 10:13-15)

Paul writes about a chain of events that has to take place in order for people to put their faith in Christ-whether that’s in our own neighborhood or the other side of the world. It looks like this:

• People have to believe in Jesus to experience His saving power.

• They have to hear about Him in order to believe in Him.

• Someone has to tell them in order for them to hear.

• Someone has to go and tell.

• The one who goes and tells has to be sent.

You can call it the butterfly effect of missions if you want, but it is clear that there are crucial steps in people hearing the Gospel message of Christ—and we have a part to play in that process.

When it comes to missions—taking the whole message of Christ to the whole world—our role is three-fold. We can pray, we can give, and we can go. When we pray for our missionaries and for nations and people groups around the world, our prayers can go where we never will. When you and I are praying for South Africa, Kosovo, Thailand, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Liberia, Mexico, and other nations where we have mission partners, those prayers have an effect, even if we never set foot in those countries. When we give to missions, we enable missionaries and mission works to go into communities all over the planet and tell people about the God who loves them. Your missions giving makes that possible. Together we are funding the mission to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission. And sometimes we have the privilege of going and serving, either right in our own community with the Des Moines Dream Center or for a short-term mission trip in a foreign country and culture. Our prayers, our giving, and our going matter!

If we take Paul’s words in Romans 10 and “rewind” them, we get a clear picture of the importance of our missions giving and support. It goes something like this: If we don’t give, missionaries can’t be sent, and mission projects don’t happen. If the missionaries don’t go, they can’t tell anyone about the Gospel. If they don’t tell anyone about the Gospel, people will be born, live, and die without ever hearing about Jesus. If they don’t hear, they can’t believe in Christ. If they don’t believe, they can’t call on Jesus for salvation.

This version of the butterfly effect has eternal ramifications.

What we give to missions matters. Whether it is a $20 monthly commitment or $1,000 goal on your mission faith promise card, it matters. Your mission giving is the fuel that allows missionaries to be out in the field serving. It’s what allows a ministry like the Dream Center to function and serve our city. It’s what helps fund the starting of new churches in Kosovo. It is what feeds a child through Blessman Ministries in South Africa. One hundred percent of what is given to missions through Journey Church goes directly to our mission partners.

When you give to missions, people are sent to every corner of our planet to serve people and share the Gospel. When they share, people in those countries hear. When they hear, many of them believe. When they believe, their lives are transformed eternally. So, thank you for your faith-filled and faithful giving to missions. It might feel like a butterfly wing flap, but it is having hurricane-like impact all over the world.

NOTE: If you would like to receive a missions faith promise card from Journey Church, please request one from info@journeydsm.org.

Reach Out While Others Are Holding On

When Damien de Veuster arrived in Hawaii in 1864, he found an island-community beset by infections. Over the years, travelers and seamen had introduced diseases like influenza and syphilis. Yet none were as bad as Hansen’s Disease, more commonly known as leprosy. 

In 1866, to curb the spread of the disease, Hawaiian authorities consigned lepers to an isolated community on the island of Molokai. On three sides, the colony, called Kalaupapa, bordered the Pacific Ocean, and the fourth side featured massive, 1,600-foot cliffs. Once the lepers were out of sight and no longer a threat to the general population, the government turned a blind eye to their basic needs. Shipments of food and supplies slowed down, and the government removed most of its personnel. The result was a highly dysfunctional community marked by poverty, alcoholism, violence, and promiscuity. 

In time, Damien came to see the neglected colony as the answer to his boyhood longings for adventurous missionary work. He asked the local bishop for permission to go to Molokai, and the bishop introduced Damien to the 816 community members as “one who will be a father to you and who loves you so much that he does not hesitate to become one of you, to live and die with you”. This introduction didn’t surprise Damien, who had no illusions about what his mission would entail. He knew working in the disease-ridden colony virtually guaranteed that he would become infected, too. Yet he never wavered in his commitment. 

Damien’s superiors had given him strict advice: “Do not touch them. Do not allow them to touch you. Do not eat with them.” But Damien transcended his fear of contagion and entered into solidarity with the Molokai lepers. He committed to visit every leper on the island and to inquire of their needs. He brought the sacraments to bedridden lepers. He washed their bodies and bandaged their wounds. He tidied their rooms and did all he could to make them as comfortable as possible. 

What surprised the lepers most was that Damien touched them. Other missionaries and doctors shrank from the lepers. In fact, one local doctor only changed bandages with his cane. But Damien not only touched the lepers, he also embraced them and dined with them; he put his thumb on their forehead to anoint them, and he placed the Eucharist on their tongues. These actions spoke volumes to the dejected lepers. They showed that Damien didn’t want to serve them from afar; he wanted to become one of them. 

Eventually, Damien contracted leprosy and succumbed to the very disease of the people he had willingly to served. But Damien’s sacrifice and example influenced thousands of people for eternity.

Damien’s story is a powerful example of the impact that Christians and the church have had throughout history as they stepped into challenging situations and trying moments. It is in those dark times that the light of the church shines brightest. As we learned from the message shared by Pastor Cody on September 27th, we are called to be the “salt of the earth and the light of the world.” 

2020 has been a tumultuous time for our community, nation, and world. COVID-19, civil unrest, political division, economic peril, and even wildfire and rare weather events have combined to make this a year to remember (although most of us would probably like to forget it). And these circumstances have had an impact. According to the US Census Bureau, in May of this year, one-third of American adults reported increased levels of anxiety or depression in their lives. It is not an easy time, and if you have been struggling, you are not alone. Yet, we know that the church is made for this moment. We are here to bring help and hope. We are here to remind each other, and those in our community, that we have a hope and a future. 

So how do we do that? We have to practice a little “show and tell.” Our message of hope has to be seen and heard. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus tells us, “Let your light shine before people so they will see your good works and give glory to Your Father in heaven.” If we want to point people to Jesus (our source of hope) during these tumultuous times, our actions are the best method we have. When we serve our community as a church or when you help a neighbor or co-worker on your own, they receive hope and a door opens for us to point to Christ as the ultimate source of hope and a future. 

We also have to be ready to speak up as we shine on. Peter was one of Jesus’ closest disciples and was the first primary leader of the church. In a letter he wrote, which became the book of First Peter in our New Testament, Peter writes, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15). When everyone at work is griping about all the negative things that are going on, we can be a voice of hope. When others want to give up, we can press on. And when they see that hope in us and wonder where it comes from, it gives us the opportunity to share with them (so we better be prepared to do it).

Throughout history, when the times have been the most difficult, the church has stepped up. And we are the church right here, right now. We were made for this moment. We can lean in when everyone else is backing away, and we can be the light of the world. God has placed us in this exact moment in history to make a difference. Let’s make the most of our moment.

Powerfully Personal

In 1995 a female solo artist from Anchorage, Kentucky came out of nowhere and into the spotlight with a song that asked, “What if God was one of us?” In the song, Joan Osborne imagines God as just another face in the crowd, trying to make it through life like the rest of us. In the chorus she sings:

“What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin’ to make his way home?”

The song became a huge hit, climbing up to the number four spot on the Billboard charts and garnering Osborne seven Grammy nominations. People seemed to really connect with the idea of God being just like the rest of us, just trying to catch the bus home at the end of another long day. While there is something warm and fuzzy about this idea, it doesn’t match up to the way God describes Himself in the Bible. For many people, both Christians and non-Christians, the idea and identity of God has shrunk over the years. We tend to think of God as a little bit bigger, little bit smarter, little bit better version of us. We haven’t rejected God as much as we have reduced Him.

As a pastor, I have to admit to having a role in this. Every Christmas we talk about Jesus as Immanuel, meaning, “God with us,” and we emphasize Jesus’ humanity: how He was born as a baby and grew up as a carpenter’s son, going through the same things we go through. We talk about Him as being a “personal God,” a God who wants to know us personally. These things are in the Bible and they are true, but they can contribute to the idea that God’s essentially a lot like us, just a little better.

This is a huge contrast to how God is portrayed in the songs and sermons of church history. Those messages focused heavily on the greatness, the power, and the holiness of God. If our current culture has reduced God to someone like us, the historic church leaned in the opposite direction. They magnified Him as a great, all-knowing, all-powerful God, but also as a totally impersonal deity. So who’s right? Is God one of us, or is He watching us from a distance (another hit song) with His finger hovering over the lightning bolt button?

I believe the answer is not an either/or, but a both/and. The Bible describes God as all-powerful, all-present, all-knowing, and eternal, but He is also described as a loving Father, a friend that sticks closer than a brother, a Savior, and a gentle shepherd Who takes great care of His flock. The Bible describes a powerfully personal God.

In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah describes a powerfully personal God in chapter forty. He writes:

Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?...He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand…To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?...God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them…Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. (Isaiah 40:12-26)

Isaiah describes a God so powerful He holds the oceans in His hand and created and named every start in the skies (fun fact: there are 3 septillion of those, which is a 3 with 24 zeroes behind it). Isaiah is reminding his audience, and us, about how great and powerful God is. Nothing is comparable to God, and nothing is impossible for Him. That’s what makes the next thought Isaiah writes so amazing. After listing God’s credentials, Isaiah pens this encouragement:

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

Did you catch it? Isaiah describes God as someone who is without equal, then he tells us that He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. It’s one thing to believe that God is without equal, it’s another to believe that He is all that, AND He cares about you and wants to lift you up and give you the strength you need. 

Imagine bumping into Jeff Bezos, the guy who owns Amazon and is the wealthiest person in the world. As you stood there racking your brain, trying to come up with something interesting to say to the world’s first trillionaire, he speaks first. He asks your name, wants to know about your family and how things are going. Then he reaches into his pocket, hands you a card with his personal cell number, and says, “Call me if you ever need anything.” What thoughts would bounce around in your head? I’d be trying to figure out how long I needed to wait before I called him up and asked for that favor. 

Isaiah reminds us we have that kind of access. That the God who holds oceans in His hands and knows the name of three septillion stars (another fun fact: a septillion is a trillion trillions; let that sink in.), is also interested in what’s going on in your life and mine, that He will give us strength when we’re weak and power when we feel powerless. In a year like 2020, that’s worth way more than Jeff Bezos’ cell number. 

God’s not like one of us. He’s not a slob on a bus or a little bit better version of us. He’s the creator and sustainer of this universe and your life. But He does want to be your source of strength and sustenance. He’s powerfully personal.

Keep Going to Keep Growing

In the early 80s, the VCR, leg warmers, and spandex combined to give America a fresh way to get in shape—the aerobics videotape. In the privacy of your own living room, you could stretch, tone, and ‘slenderize’ by following the dance exercises on your TV. One guru of the aerobics movement was Joan Fonda, and her favorite workout encouragement was, “No pain, no gain!” Housewives everywhere were inspired and rejoiced. But that idea didn’t start with her…

No pain, no gain is a phrase that’s often used in endeavors like athletics, military training, or physical labor. But you have probably learned that it ends up applying in a lot of your life experiences. Like when you were halfway through your undergrad program and didn’t know if you’d make it to graduation. As a newlywed, when your marriage hit a rough patch and you wondered if it would last. Or maybe when you started a business or tried a new profession, and it imploded, and you wondered what you would do next. If you gave up in the middle of those experiences, you probably ended up going through them again later. But if you stuck it out, if you learned and grew from those experiences, you found out that the pain did indeed lead to gain.

If you could caption a passage in the Bible with the heading, “No Pain, No Gain,” it would probably be the first few verses of the book of James in the New Testament. James was one of the key leaders of the early Christian church and had the unique distinction of being the half-brother of Jesus (same mom, different dads). James wrote a letter to Jewish Christians who were scattered all over the world. They were scattered because they were being persecuted for their faith. So they understood pain, suffering, and difficulty. Here’s how James encouraged them:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” (James 1:2)

What?! James says that when you face trials you should consider that pure joy? Why would he say that? James gives his reasoning in the verses that follow:

“… because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:3-4)

Way before Jane Fonda blurted it out while using a ThighMaster, James encouraged these persecuted Christians to have joy in difficulty because he knew that when their faith was being tested, it was developing perseverance. And, James says, when you persevere, you become mature and complete. In other words, “Keep going to keep growing.”

That all sounds well and good, but the challenge for me and for you is to not hit the eject button, or throw in the towel, or walk away. Trials and difficulty (aka 2020) are not fun, easy, or joyful in themselves. The joy comes from the understanding that God is up to something bigger in our lives and that through these tough seasons of life He is helping us to grow into who He created us to be. Here’s what I have learned in fifty-one years of living, and I bet you know it, too: the toughest times in my life are the times I grow the most. They are the times I realize I don’t have what it takes and I turn to God for the strength, wisdom, and endurance I don’t have. It’s when I am open to listening. To my friends, my mentors, my family, and to the voice of the Holy Spirit. That’s why James tells us to find joy in our trials. Because it is in those trials that God grows us the most. 

Jane Fonda said, “No pain, no gain.” James writes, “Know pain, know gain.”

Something that has helped me, and I hope will help you, is remembering that difficult seasons of life are just that. Seasons. They are not forever, they are not the “new normal.” They are moments—sometimes days, weeks, or even months of difficulty, but they are not my destination.

In 1940, Europe was engulfed in World War II, and for many people in England, pain was at an all-time high and hope was at an all-time low. Winston Churchill had recently become the Prime Minister, and he was trying to rally his nation as the Germans carried out the Blitz (German for lightning), bombing London and other English cities day after day for almost two months straight. It was during that time that Churchill was credited with saying, “If you’re going through hell, keep on going.” He would inspire his people to never give up and to fight on, believing victory was possible. At that point, life was hell, but Winston wouldn’t let them stop or stay there. 

Thousands of years earlier, God gave that same exhortation to Israel through the prophet Isaiah. Here’s what God said to Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.” (Isaiah 43:1-2)

The key word in those verses is, “through.” When you pass through the waters, and the flooded rivers, keep going, I will take care of you. When you go through the fire, you’re going to make it, I will help you. We all go through difficult times, but the important part is to go through. Not to stop. Not to quit. Not to stop in the valley of despair and build a condo there. Keep going through, believing that God has something greater for you on the other side.

Maybe you feel like you are going through the flood and the fire right now. COVID-19. Job loss. Health issues. Anxiety. Racial and social unrest. Midwestern hurricanes. Murder Hornets. Wildfires in the west, hurricanes in the gulf. The partisan division in politics making it look like we have two nations sharing one country. And those are just the headlines this week. It can seem difficult. Walking away or giving up might seem easier. But count it all joy. Because God is working. He is creating something new in your life. You can trust Him, and you can persevere. And when you do, you will come out on the other side mature and complete. As you know pain, you will also know gain. Keep going through—God’s goodness is waiting for you on the other side.

PS: If you are in the middle of a difficult season of your life, we would love to pray for you. Send us an email (info@journeydsm.org) and let us know how we can walk through this season with you in prayer.

Finding Purpose in COVID-19

I think it’s safe to say that COVID-19 has drastically affected our “normal.” Most of us are probably working from home (or not working at all), and due to social distancing measures, the only other people we’ve been in contact with, at least physically, are our family members.

Technology is great, and I am so thankful that I can still communicate with my friends and coworkers through Zoom, texting, Facebook, etc. Can you imagine what it would be like if we were still relying on the Pony Express?

Our Need for Human Connection

Humans are hard-wired for connection and belonging, so it’s not that surprising that we would find creative ways to stay in touch with people. At our most foundational level, we need to be connected with other people. God created us to be that way. Looking back at the beginning of our world, God started mankind with a single person, Adam. Even though Adam had everything he could want, God created another person so he wouldn’t be lonely. From the beginning of time, God designed us to need other people. Just because we’re in a pandemic, doesn’t mean that need goes away.

We long for human connection, so if you’re feeling exhausted or disconnected from others, know that’s totally normal. There’s nothing wrong with you! Even with the technology we have, we’re still separated physically from the people we care about. That takes a toll on our emotional, mental, and spiritual health.

Our God-Given Purpose

But maybe you’ve also lost a sense of purpose. Again, this is feeling is normal. God created us to need other people, but He also created us with a purpose. Those two longings go hand in hand because our God-given purpose is to share His love with others.

Many of us pursue this purpose through interaction with people, which is exactly what God intended. Long before Jesus, long before the birth of the church, God’s people were told to spread His love and joy with the rest of the world. Every miracle God bestowed on Israel was to show them His love and compassion for them, but also so that all the world would see His glory, so that the world would know God’s love and saving power.

We’re supposed to be messengers of God’s love and goodness. Not only does God command it throughout the Old Testament, but it was the last instruction Jesus left for His disciples. What a joyous responsibility we have! We get the privilege of sharing God’s love with those around us!

I’m reminded of a legend from Ancient Greece. During a Persian invasion, the Greek city of Marathon was under attack. The Athenians rushed to fight the Persians, but they were outnumbered and their weapons paled in comparison to Persia. They fought bravely anyway, their strategic fighting eventually causing the Persians to flee, but they feared the Persians would attack their home city of Athens. They sent a messenger named Pheidippides to run ahead of them to Athens and tell them of their victory over Persia, hoping the news of their victory would encourage the Athenians to hold the line until the army could make the march back. Pheidippides ran the 25-mile distance from Marathon to Athens to deliver the good news. When he reached Athens, Pheidippides cried out, “Nikomen, we win!” The legend says that Pheidippides had used so much excursion to reach Athens with the glorious news, that he collapsed dead right after shouting their victory over Persia.

This is the type of excitement we should have in our journey to tell others about God. Our desire to tell others the good news of Jesus should overcome all our exhaustion, our hesitancies, our fears and worries. If we are truly joyously overcome by God’s victory, we should be racing with everything we have to share that victory with others, to tell them to hold on, God has won.

So, how do we do that in our lock-down society?

1. Reach Out. Ask God to reveal to you someone who might need encouragement. Who do you know that might feel lonely today? What can you do to let them know they are loved and valued? Don’t worry about what to say or trying to fit Jesus into the conversation - just let them know you care about them. Trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest.

2. Offer To Help. Be willing to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Is there someone you know who is sick or is scared to venture out right now? Offer to pick up their groceries or run errands for them. Do you know someone who has lost their job or had their hours reduced? Give them a gift card (bonus points, because this can also our local businesses!) Even if simple acts of kindness don’t seem like much, God won’t let anything done in His name be without a purpose.

3. Promote Peace. There’s a lot of contradictory information out there that encourages disunity. Be aware of what you’re sharing and how you’re presenting yourself on social media. We don’t have to agree with everyone about everything, but as Christians, we are told to promote peace and unity as much as we possibly can. People should be able to look at the followers of Christ as the model of godly peace, people unworried about the outcome because we know God is in control. May we be a place of stability and refuge during this uncertain time.

4. Pray. At Journey we believe in the power of prayer. Ultimately, the decisions of others are not up to us, but God does delight in answering our prayers and giving us good gifts. All we can do is take care of our own hearts and behaviors, and pray that the Holy Spirit will help others do the same. God promises that our prayers are always heard. 

Keep the faith everyone! Don’t lose sight of your purpose, even if it feels different during our new normal. Our purpose is still the same: Tell others the good news and show them the love of God. 

We miss you, and we eagerly await when we can connect with you all in person again!

Do We Need Community?

Making time for more things is hard. Is being active in the faith community worth it?

I am an introvert to the highest extreme. I find a lot of peace in being alone. Most of my interests are things I prefer to do solo: reading, writing, listening to music.

But as much as I love my alone time, I have to remember that being around other people is vital to my growth. Without other people in my life pushing me, I have a tendency to start thinking that I can do everything on my own. Spoiler Alert: I can’t.

WE WERE CREATED FOR COMMUNITY

A friend once shared with me that she was convinced God didn’t create us to be alone. “Think about it,” she said. “When God created Adam, everything was perfect. God walked with him and provided everything he needed. But God knew he needed another person like him.” And Eve was created.

Before sin entered the world, God showed us that we needed community. Everything was perfect! Adam had a perfect relationship with God, but God still gave him another human being to do life with. The belonging Adam felt wasn’t met by animals or nature; it was fulfilled by giving him another person.

Ever since that time, humans have craved belonging to a community. Historically, it was dangerous to go at life alone. Ancient cultures thrived on supporting one another. Their time was spent gathered together discussing current events and sharing stories.

That doesn’t happen in our modern society. Instead of coming together, we all do our own things. Even if we sit down for a meal together, how often are we looking at our phones instead of those around us? How often do I go home and bury myself in a book rather than ask a friend out for coffee?

Our lives may be very different now, but our core needs are still the same. We still want to belong.

WHY IS COMMUNITY IMPORTANT?

It’s one thing to know we were created for community; it’s another to understand exactly how vital it is.

The author of Ecclesiastes writes, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.”

Since we have so many modern conveniences (heat, electricity, UberEats), it’s easy for us to dismiss needing others to help us. The American Dream thrives on doing things independently. It’s a source of pride and accomplishment for me to know I did everything myself. But as the author of Ecclesiastes warns, someone who falls alone is in real trouble.

There are certain things we can not do on our own. We can’t silence loneliness in isolation. We can’t serve others when we’re alone. We can’t listen and we can’t be heard when we’re not having conversations.

But I would say that the most dangerous part of isolation is that sin grows best in the dark.

Last Sunday, Pastor Darrick shared the impact compromise has on our souls (you can listen to the message here). He warned that sin doesn’t destroy your life in one go; it’s the accumulation of seemingly little compromises. Isolation allows us to make those compromises without many consequences. Sometimes we’re not even aware we are compromising, because the only voice we’re listening to is our own.

“If God didn’t want me to leave my spouse, why do I connect so well with my coworker?”

“I vibe so well with this guy/girl. Surely, God’s cool with us being together.”

“We’re so wrapped up in bills. God understands why we can’t tithe right now.”

Those thoughts all sound completely legit. When things happen so perfectly, when the situations line up just right with what we want, it makes sense to assume God must want it to happen, right?

That’s not usually the case, though. And that’s why it’s so important to be surrounded by people who love us enough to point out our compromises. We need people who can tenderly expose our selfish desires and separate them from God’s purpose for us.

I’m currently studying the life of King David. Throughout his life, God continually brought people to David to help him stay focused on God. There’s one story where David was taken advantage of by a corrupt businessman, Nabal (you can read the whole account in 1 Samuel 25). David and his soldiers had protected this guy’s men and sheep, but when David asked for some supplies in exchange, Nabal claimed he didn’t know David and he was probably just a runway trying to get a quick buck. First of all, everyone knew David. Secondly, this was a customary transaction. Shepherding wasn’t entirely peaceful due to dangerous animals and robbers who found both sheep and shepherds an easy target. It was common to exchange protective services for gifts and supplies.

Nabal’s accusations humiliated David. David was the Lord’s anointed! He had sacrificed again and again for the lives of the Israelites. To treat David like Nabal did was a huge slap in the face. David was so angry, he rounded up his soldiers to kill Nabal and all his men. And he would have, had Nabal’s wife Abigail not stepped in.

Abigail ran to David and apologized for her husband’s behavior. Her husband was corrupt and foolish, and she admitted that David had every right to take vengeance. But she cautioned him: did he really want to ascend to the throne knowing the bloodshed he caused out of his anger, or did he want to reign in peace, knowing that he trusted God to fulfill His promises? Did he want to compromise and do things his way, or would he be willing to trust God’s way?

Thanks to Abigail’s counsel, David turned away from punishing Nabal and allowed God to handle it. About 10 days later, God struck down Nabal, and David’s conscience was kept clean.

Like David, there are times when our feelings are justified. We’ve been hurt or mistreated, and we tell ourselves we have the right to take action. It’s in those moments we need counsel from people like Abigail, people who can point out the temptation to compromise and get us back on the right track. Feelings are valid. There is nothing wrong with feeling hurt or being angry about how you’ve been treated, but dwelling on those feelings too long can cause us to take matters into our own hands rather than trusting in God’s promises.

We need one another to point out our blind spots, the weaknesses we don’t always see. Sometimes we’re so caught up in our own definition of justice and understanding of what life should be like that we forget God’s ways are different than ours. Listening to other people’s counsel helps us see things from a different point of view, often one that’s a little more objective and less emotionally driven.

NEXT STEPS

So, how do we find people who can be the “Abigails” in our lives? I would strongly encourage you to join one of Journey’s community groups (you can find more information here). Now, I know this probably sounds like some marketing gimmick, but it’s not. The importance of community is something I believe with every fiber of my being. I’ll admit that I don’t always do it well, but spending time with people who try so hard to grow spiritually has challenged my own growth more than I can explain.

From what I’ve learned and studied, none of God’s commands can be followed in isolation. We have to be in community with other people if we truly want to live out the lives He has called us to.

Under the Hood: January Message Series

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR SOUL?

If you have spent any time on social media, you have probably noticed the recent emphasis on self-care. But as Christians, we should be putting more focus on our spiritual welfare by investing in “soul-care.”

Have you ever had the joyful experience of sitting on the side of the road in your formerly functioning car which is now a giant paperweight? It might be because of a flat tire, a dead battery, or a lack of fuel (aka – you ran out of gas). Whatever the reason, it’s not usually on anyone’s Top Ten list of things to do on a Friday night.

Or a Saturday night.

That is EXACTLY where I was a few weeks ago on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. But I wasn’t just on the side of the road, my car was NEXT LEVEL on the side of the road – ON FIRE! My transmission had given out and when it did, sparks flew and the fire began. Fortunately, there were some helpful people who stopped to give me a hand and the local fire department was there in minutes.

A few minutes before the pyrotechnics, my car had been parked and looked completely normal. But something wasn’t right under the hood.

Fixing What’s “Under the Hood”

In the same way, there have been times in my life when everything looked fine on the outside and the people around me, even my own family, would have assumed that I was doing great. But under the hood, in the core of my being, in my soul, I was struggling. I felt empty. Hollow. I was going through the motions but felt like I didn’t really have anything left to give. I was running on empty.

Maybe you’ve been there? Most of us have. Maybe you sucked it up, put on a good face, and just kept going. Or maybe you checked out, whether that meant sitting on the couch binging on junk food and Hulu or emptying a couple of bottles of wine. That might have helped for a night or a week, but the feeling tends to come back around. Those things might dull the pain or distract you from struggle, but they don’t fill the emptiness.

Where does that feeling come from? Is it all in your head, or does it go deeper than that? During the 20th century, each generation that came along experienced 3 times the level of depression than the generation that preceded it. Now in 2020, people who struggle with stress, anxiety, and mental health issues are at all-time highs – despite being medicated like never before. So, what’s going on? Have people changed that much physically and mentally – or is it something else?

I believe the problem is more than just mental. (Full disclosure: I have several friends who work in the mental health field and extended family members who have diagnosed mental health issues). I believe it’s a brokenness in our souls. But because the secular culture struggles with the concept of humans having a soul, we tend to file it all under “mental health.” But there are many people who have clear minds, good health, and everything going for them, but still feel the struggle of emptiness. 

Having It All But Losing Our Souls

When it comes to our souls, Jesus asked a great question of His followers in Matthew 16:26, when He asks, “What benefit is it to you to gain the whole world, but lose your own soul? What can someone give in exchange for their soul?”

When we read that, we tend to assume that Jesus is talking in heaven/hell, eternal terms, that Jesus is telling us that we can live it up in this world but lose our souls for eternity. And that’s true. But what if Jesus isn’t just talking about eternity. What if He is talking about right here right now. What if He’s asking, “What if you get everything you ever thought you wanted, but lose yourself in the process?” What if you have it all, but lose your soul to get it?

We see examples of this all the time in our culture. The Hollywood actress who has ten million followers on social media, but blows through relationship after marriage after relationship. The superstar athlete who signs a record-breaking contract for millions of dollars only to end up in rehab. The music star who has fame, fortune, and a bunch of platinum albums – then takes his life. People who got everything they ever wanted, or at least everything we think someone should want, but lost themselves in the process.

It might be hard for you to relate to having millions of dollars or thousands of fans, but you don’t really have to look that far. There are probably plenty of examples all around you. The “perfect couple” that splits up out of the blue. Your coworker that makes it to the top of the ladder in your company, only to realize that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall. Or the super popular person at your high school who started cutting herself alone in her room to deal with the loneliness she feels every night. What good does it do for you to get everything this world offers, but lose your soul in the process?

What Is The “Soul”?

What is your soul anyway? My simple definition is that your soul is that part of you that is meant to connect to God and other people. It’s the part of you that makes you different than any other living creature. In Genesis 2, in the Old Testament of the Bible, we read that when God created humanity, He “breathed the breath of life” in Adam as He created Adam, “in His [God’s] image.” That word for breath is also often interpreted as, “soul.” In short, there’s a part of you, at the core of your being, that is designed to connect with God and be filled by Him. When your soul is empty or broken, you have lost it.

In January 2020, I am going to be teaching a series called, “Under the Hood,” which is all about our soul. We’ll be talking about having a drained soul, an overwhelmed soul, a compromised soul, and a maintained, healthy soul. I’d love for you to join us at Journey at 10 AM for our Sunday morning services for some soul care, as we look under the hood of our lives.

The Spirit of Worship

Do you look forward to the time of music and worship at church on Sunday mornings? Maybe your answer varies depending on how your morning or week went. Maybe you purposely show up late, so you don’t have to participate. I mean let’s be honest, clapping hands, swaying bodies, and raised arms can be a little creepy.

Or maybe worship is the highlight of your week.

Regardless, it can be incredibly difficult to enjoy or partake in worship whether it’s on Sunday morning or any other day of the week. Many times, our hearts are overflowing with anxiety about today, tomorrow, or life. Our minds are flooded with unanswered questions and uncertainty. Worship is challenging, or even unappealing, because it requires a certain level of peace and acceptance in the areas where we feel out of control.

The story of life began with God at the center (Genesis 1:1), which means finding peace involves letting go of the faux control we often impose on ourselves; and instead putting God at the center of every area of your life.  With God at the center, we free our hearts and minds to hear how He is speaking to us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit desires to permeate the areas we attempt to fill on our own. When we allow this, it liberates us from the anxiety and uncertainty that holds us back from engaging in meaningful worship.

Often when explaining the Holy Spirit to children, we describe Him as our ‘helper’.  After we give our hearts to Jesus, he washes them clean and puts the Holy Spirit inside us. Then when we need help, we can stop to listen for what He is saying in our hearts. But God’s desire is that we grow to see the Holy Spirit as so much more than a helper! The Holy Spirit is our comforter, our counselor, the one who convicts, the one who encourages, and the most tangible member of the trinity. It’s a wonder why we don’t actively desire more of Him. The Holy Spirit is not a force, or a “feeling”, but rather a person who desires to be active in our daily lives.

When we let go of all that’s weighing down our spirit, worship suddenly becomes a time where we can connect to God in a unique way. Worship through music or singing seems to open a direct connection between our hearts and God, through the Holy Spirit. Something incredible happens when we allow ourselves to take part in a musical experience, especially in a congregational setting. The atmosphere of the room changes. There might be a sensation in your body, comparable to mild electricity. You could even physically feel something in your chest or heart. Not something bad; it’s glorious! Like a fire! This is the Holy Spirit filling you with the presence of God; reminding you that Jesus is alive in your heart.  The priests of the Old Testament described similar situations where they “could not remain standing to minister…for the glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the house of God” (2 Chr. 5:14, APM).

The idea of having intimate access to God through personal worship did not exist in the Old Testament.  Instead, corporate worship was restricted to certain people, places and times. The presence of God could only be found in the temple, near the tabernacle.  However, Jesus replaces these Old Testament arrangements. He promised to, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:20, ESV). In other words, inviting Jesus into our heart means our body is now the temple; the place where God meets us, demonstrates his presence, and deals with our sin (John 4:21–24).

In Romans 12:1 Paul writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” This means New Testament worship isn’t confined to sacred times and places like church on Sunday. Instead, worship should saturate our whole lives. Our faith unites us with Christ, and the Holy Spirit dwells within us, signifying that the temple of God is us individually and collectively. As a result, corporate worship in the New Testament includes everything from reading and preaching Scripture to singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs together. It includes praying, celebrating baptism and communion, and encouraging each other to love and do good deeds.

Find the worship that grants your heart a connection to God and it will trigger your heart to sing.  When the Spirit causes a heart to sing, profound worship happens. Transformation happens inside us as we’re filled with the Holy Spirit and commit everything we are to worship, praise, and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father.

Relationship Restart

LOVE IS HARD.

And so are dating, marriage, and relationships. And for as big a deal as relationships are in our lives, we don’t get a lot of instruction on how to get them right. You probably got more instruction on how to drive a car or do your job than you ever got on how to get a relationship right. So, you learned by observation; and depending on the examples you studied, that could be really helpful, or really horrible.

Another challenging thing about relationships is that you typically don’t get a “do-over” with people. Most of us would love to have the chance to hit the re-start button on our relationships. You may have had a relationship end in a messy breakup or divorce, and you thought, “If I could go back to the beginning and start over, I would have done things differently.” Or maybe you’ve been married for a while, and things are good, but you still think, “If we would have done _______ early on, our marriage would be so much better.” You want a restart.

This month at Journey, we are talking about how we can get a “Relationship Restart.” Interestingly, the Bible has a ton of things to say about love and relationships. In fact, most of the letters and writings we have that make up the Christian Bible are written to communities of people. The Bible spends a lot of time talking not just about our relationship with God, but our relationships with the people around us. Jesus Himself said that people would know that we were really His legitimate disciples by observing the way we treat each other (John 13:35).

In order for us to re-start our relationships, we have to change our assumptions of what relationships are all about. Each week during this series, we are tackling one of the assumptions our culture has about relationships and re-starting with a new assumption. Here are the assumptions we’re addressing:

1. “My relationship should make me happy.” That makes sense, right? No one goes out looking for someone who will make them unhappy (“Swipe right for sadness…”). But is happiness supposed to be our highest pursuit? Happiness tends to be a moving target that puts our needs and wants at the center. But love often requires us to give more than we get. Love requires us to do things we don’t necessarily want to do – things that don’t make us happy. But we do them because we love the one we do them for. The Apostle Paul wrote it this way, “Submit yourselves to one another.” In other words, put them first. Put love before happiness (and be willing to go first).

2. “If there’s a ‘right’ person, there must be a ‘wrong’ person’, and I think that’s who I’m stuck with.” We love the idea of meeting “the one.” In the movies, it happens at an unexpected time or place, but all of the sudden, there they are, and the magic just happens. And happily ever after begins. But our real-life relationships don’t always look like that. There are struggles, and the struggles are real. We can be tempted to think that our unhappiness is connected to that person and that if we move on from that person, our problems will go away. But we tend to carry our problems with us, and keep ending up with the “wrong” person, while we look for the right one. But what if the struggle is a gift? What if it causes us to grow and to help bring out the best in them?

3. Sometimes it seems like our culture says, “You’re half a person if you’re not half of a couple.” There’s this idea that everyone should be married or in a relationship, and if you’re not right now, you should really be trying to get into one. Why? Because that other person can “complete you.” They can fill in the empty spaces in your life and that thing you are missing will be complete. But two incomplete people don’t necessarily make a whole. Often it just ends up being a couple of incomplete people in a relationship. We shouldn’t love someone for what they can give to us. We should love them so we can give to them. We should love FROM fulfillment, not FOR fulfillment.

4. Marriage has kind of gotten a bad wrap lately. People often quote the percentages on marriages that end in divorce or share their story of growing up in a home with parents who co-existed rather than loved each other. Many in our society view marriage as a social construct, just a piece of paper. “It’s love that matters,” they say, “you don’t need to get married for that.” That perspective keeps things real simple and really easy – and really convenient. When the relationship works for you, you stay. When it doesn’t, you walk away. But the Bible doesn’t describe marriage that way. In the Bible, marriage is seen as a covenant, something sacred (which means, “set apart”) that two people commit themselves to. And, as pastor and author Andy Stanley says, “Exclusivity paves the way to intimacy.” In other words, there is a depth of love and relationship that you only experience when you commit yourself to someone else. Remarkable transformations follow unselfish decisions.

Hey, like I said at the beginning of this post – love and relationships are hard. But we don’t have to navigate them alone. And we have access to some incredible and practical wisdom about how we can experience the best relationships possible. Or, maybe, how we can hit the re-start button on our current relationships or marriages and experience something new.

I would love to have you join us on Sundays during February 2019 to get some real-life ideas for restarting your relationships. If you’ve missed any of the parts to this series, you can listen to the podcast here.

God bless,

Pastor Darrick Young

A Less Than Ideal Christmas

The story of Christmas is a story we can cling to when life gets real,
all year long.

Have you ever had a less-than-ideal Christmas? I have. It happened during my junior year of college when I was working my way through school as a security guard. I was a week away from final exams and a month-long Christmas break, trying to figure out how I would miss those four weeks of work and still come up with enough money to pay for my second semester of college, when my boss came up to me. He asked me if I had any interest in sticking around over the Christmas break to work. I would get paid double time, and the work would be pretty easy. I wanted to go home to see my family for Christmas and hang out with my friends, but I really needed the cash so I decided to stay. It really wasn’t too bad most of the time I was there. Most students and faculty were gone and things were pretty quiet. It was just kind of lonely and desolate.

I remember getting done with my shift on Christmas day. Because the cafeteria was closed, I went back to my dorm room, popped a package of Ramen noodles in the microwave, and watched old Christmas movies on TV. I took a little break to go call my parents from the payphone at the end of our hall and wish them a Merry Christmas, and then I came back and just sat there. It was weird. I was used to being with family and friends, exchanging gifts, sharing the Christmas story, and all of the other things we typically think of when we think about the Christmas holiday.

Maybe you’ve had a similar experience, a time when you spent your Christmas away from your family and friends. Maybe you spent Christmas in a hospital ward or overseas on a military post. Maybe you had a Christmas when there weren’t any gifts to be given or received because finances were a huge obstacle. Maybe there was a time when you felt estranged from your family and friends, and instead of experiencing a Norman Rockwell type family Christmas, it felt more like you were standing next to cousin Eddie in National Lampoon‘s Christmas Vacation – a less-than-ideal Christmas.

Our culture does an incredible job of portraying the ideal Christmas. All the cards, movies, songs, displays at the mall, and advertisements portray a Christmas that’s magical. It’s like the holiday song Andy Williams crooned decades ago; it’s the most wonderful time of the year. But our lives often look more real than ideal. In the same way, the story of Jesus’ birth, THE Christmas story, is real – not ideal. And that’s what makes it so hopeful.

The story of Christmas, the story of Jesus’ birth, gives us hope. It reminds us that in less-than-ideal situations when things don’t turn out the way we believed they would, God is still with us.

Take for instance Mary, the mother of Jesus. She had to convince her fiancé, Joseph, the village carpenter, that she had not been unfaithful to him, but that what happened to her was supernatural, that God Himself was the father of the baby she held in her womb. She had to convince her family that when she went to stay with her cousin Elizabeth and then came home visibly pregnant, she had done nothing wrong. She had to convince the Jewish religious leaders in her village that she had not become pregnant outside of marriage (and therefore was not a candidate for being stoned to death according to their law).

The situation also had to seem less than ideal to Joseph. Here was a guy doing the right thing, marrying a young woman from his village, and now she was pregnant. And everyone’s talking about it. And they’re talking about what a sucker he is to believe her story and to stay with her when he could dump her or even have her put to death. He didn’t have her stoned because God spoke to his heart. Although he knew the truth, it couldn’t have been easy.

Then there was the census. For some reason, the Roman leaders decided that right about the time that Mary was due to give birth would be a great time to round everybody up and count them so that they could tax them. Mary and Joseph had to make a ninety-mile journey either walking or at best on the back of a donkey. 

I’m not much of an equestrian; I’ve ridden a horse only once in my life. But while I was sitting on its back the thought never crossed my mind, “Hey, you know who would really love this? My wife. And you know when she would probably think it was the coolest? When she was nine months pregnant!” But that’s exactly what Mary experienced unless she walked the whole way. In either case it couldn’t have been a great journey for her and Joseph. The whole event was less than ideal.

The ideal setting for Jesus’ birth would have been a bed in a nice, clean environment with a midwife available and the support of family and friends just outside the room. But that is not the way Jesus came into this world. The Bible tells us that He was born in a stable, in a place where animals were sheltered. A stable became the birthplace of the Savior of the world. Definitely not ideal.

Jesus’ birth doesn’t sound as much like the setting for Silent Night as it does the birth of Samuel Katz, Lillian Braverman, and Dorothy Melnick. They are three of more than 350 children who were born on Ellis Island as their parents emigrated from countries in the “old world” to be part of the new world in America. In the midst of chaos, as thousands of people speaking hundreds of languages and dialects stood for hours and days waiting for the opportunity of entering the country, children were born. Those children became a bridge for their parents between the old and the new. In the squalor of makeshift birthing wards just feet away from people dying from various ailments and the hardship of weeks spent at sea coming to America, these babies were the promise of a new beginning for their families.

Jesus too began life as a refugee. Not too long after His birth, because of threats to His life, Jesus and His parents left Israel and fled to Egypt as refugees. They stayed there because an infanticide was taking place in Bethlehem as Herod tried to eliminate any competition to his throne. As we encounter the refugee crisis in our world today, it should give us pause to think about the fact that Jesus began His life that way as well.

I’m an idealist. That isn’t how I would have written the Christmas story. If I wanted everyone to know who Jesus is and put their faith in Him, I would have given Him a royal birth to elite parents in a significant period of history. My story would be ideal; Jesus’ birth was real.

All these things remind me of something that’s important: Jesus didn’t arrive here on earth in an ideal setting. He came into our real world. He understands the reality of my world. The Bible says that Jesus “was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Isaiah 53:3). The Scriptures also tell us that Jesus “has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus understands my hurting because He has known real pain. He relates to my struggles because He has experienced real temptation. Christ didn’t come to live in some ideal setting; He came to live in the reality of the world of which I am currently a part.

Additionally Christmas reminds me that following God and trusting Him may cause me to be misunderstood just as Mary and Joseph must have felt misunderstood when they did what God asked them to do. I’ve never had a dream when an angel told me that I should do something, but I’ve definitely had times in my life when I felt God asked me to take a step of faith. And there have been times when I took a step of faith and the people around me didn’t understand it. It didn’t make sense. It went against the grain of culture or expectation. But if it weren’t for Mary and Joseph’s willingness to be obedient in that real situation, we never could have experienced the life that Christ offers to all of us.

The Christmas story also reminds me that life doesn’t always look the way I expect. I’m sure when Mary was a young girl and dreamed about being married someday, she didn’t picture herself standing at the altar pregnant, under suspicion. I’m sure Joseph didn’t anticipate that scenario for his future bride. I’m sure it never occurred to Mary that the best place to give birth to her first child was in an animal stable miles and miles from her home and family and friends.

The story of Christmas, the story of Jesus’ birth, gives us hope. It reminds us that in less-than-ideal situations when things don’t turn out the way we believed they would, God is still with us. In this less-than-ideal situation, Jesus was born as Immanuel, “God with us,” a visible and tangible reminder of God‘s faithfulness to be with us in every circumstance. It’s a messier story than we often portray. There is a lot more uncertainty and risk than we sing about. But it’s a real story. And it’s a story that doesn’t just offer joy and hope during the holiday season. It’s a story we can cling to when life gets real, all year long.