Never Alone

 A few years ago the band Barlowgirl released a song called “Never Alone”. It dealt with the idea that sometimes we do not feel God’s presence but we can know that we are never alone.  Over the years I have noticed that simple truth is so reassuring.  I know that God is guiding my path yet it seems often that He works so subtly that I do not always notice. 

The Psalmist wrote that God’s love endures forever:

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

(Psalm 136:1-3 ESV)

That is such a comforting promise. That no matter what God’s love endures. No matter what we do God still loves us. He endures with us forever. That is why we are never alone. Isn’t that a wonderful idea. Let us praise the Lord who is with us always. Even if we do not feel his presence we know that he is there guiding us and molding us to be what he wants. 

Give Thanks

This is the time of the year that we focus on giving thanks. There are several reasons and things that one has to be thankful.  For most of us that list includes God, family, friends, food, possessions, etc.  I realized as I was preparing to speak on the subject of thanksgiving that I always seem to start with people.  This relational thanks seems to be rooted in what I see when I read Paul’s letters. He tells the people that when he prays for them, he gives thanks for them for their faith in Christ, their love for others, and their sharing the gospel (Eph 1:15, Col 1:3-5).  I cannot help but notice the more I pray for people, the more I feel thankful for the fact that they are saved and loving others. I see that we are connected. I also find that as I continue to pray for my friends, those who I am close with, the bonds seems to grow stronger. We share in joy, in sorrow, in good and bad. It is all about the relationship rooted strongly in our faith in Christ. I also find that I am thankful for those who do not know Christ because that allows purpose in my life. That purpose to be a light and to share the gospel.  

I ask you to join me in giving thanks for the relationships in our lives. I ask that you pray for those in your life in your church. Pray for those around you who don’t know Christ that you may be a light in their world.  Most of all, give thanks to the God who gave all for us. 

Be Still

Last night, I was able to go out hunting for the first time. It was a beautiful evening, cold, crisp, and clear. While I did not see any deer, I was able to spend the time with my pastor discussing not only nature but also church issues. Sitting out there surrounded by all that nature it gave me lots of time to think and reflect. This is perhaps one of the reasons I love hiking and fishing so much. It is a time for me to get away from the world and spend time surrounded by God’s creation.


I find that the time I can spend being alone, away from my computer, television, and other distractions the more I can focus on praising God. This time of the year it seems really easy to focus on God. In a couple of weeks we celebrate Thanksgiving then throughout December we focus on Christmas. But what about the rest of the year? How do we take time to praise him?


Psalm 46:10 tells us to “Be still and know that I am God.” That simple task is such an important one. So often that we allow ourselves to be wrapped up in the events and day to day distractions that we often stop to pause to be still. I know for myself, when I sat there last night, watching the sunset, seeing the colors in the sky. I knew that there was a God, who created all things. In that time, I spent in awe as I was still and knew that God was God.


I would urge everyone to take time to be still. Find a way to see God in world. He is consistently showing himself to us. Let us marvel at his awesomeness as we take time to “Be still.”

Bible reading

Recently I had the “privilege” to be able to sit down and take a four hour written exam. I spent several hours preparing for it, sweating over it, trying to recall and relearn a wide variety of subjects, some of which I have not really examined since discussing them in a class. Through this I realized that I like so many others have really picked certain parts of Scripture and really focused on them. Now not all people pick the same part. I am fond Old Testament history because it is full of stories and people that we can relate to. We can read about their lives and we see connections within ourselves. I find that to be wonderful. It also shows me how God has worked through out the ages. For some, I know they prefer gospels, they want the words of Jesus and they dedicate their lives to researching those books. In my fellowship, several people focus only on Paul and only study and teach his letters. This habit of limiting ourselves to one area over another is a weakness. If I only look at the Old Testament, how do I find what God wants me to do today? I am certain that if you thing about it, you find that you also have favorite sections or topics that you study over and over. But when we do that are we letting Scripture really influence our life? We are told that, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and the training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). That is how Scripture is supposed to be in our lives. It is supposed to equip us by teaching, correcting and training us. But also it is supposed to be “All Scripture” that means the entire Bible is useful. A favorite line of mine is, Scripture was not written to all of us, but was for all of to use. I ask if you have not been taking time to read the Bible daily, start now. Read a chapter of each testament a day. Allow yourself to be in the Word everyday and watch how your time with the Lord grows.

Bold and Courageous

Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord. That is seems to be one of the primary functions of worship. We praise the Lord for who he is, Creator, Savior, and Provider. We praise the Lord for what he has done, creation, atonement, redemption.  We praise the Lord the for all the wonders that he has done. Psalm 150 is all about praise:

Praise the LORD!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens!

Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound;

praise him with lute and harp!

Praise him with tambourine and dance;

praise him with strings and pipe!

Praise him with sounding cymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD!

(Psalm 150 ESV)

Sometimes I know that is it not always easy to praise the Lord. There are situations when we just do not feel like praising. We hurt, we are upset, we are questioning why God, why? But I encourage you to praise the Lord. Often times, when we change our own attitudes from anger to praise, it becomes easier to see all that God has done and is doing. So please join in and praise the Lord.