“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul…” (1 Peter 2:11  NKJV).

If you’ve ever traveled abroad, you know how strange a person can feel in a foreign land.  On one trip to Europe I asked for ice in my Coke, and from the waiter’s expression, you would have thought I had insulted his mother.  In response he brought me ONE piece of ice for my drink!  I spent the rest of the meal feeling alone and uncomfortable.  I was a stranger.

Peter calls Christians “sojourners and pilgrims.”  We are like visitors in this world who simply do not belong.  It isn’t our accent or our clothing.  We aren’t different because of our mannerisms or the tone of our skin.  We are unique because of WHOSE we are.  We are sons and daughters of the King of Glory, and nothing should be able to conceal the dignity and character of our noble family.

Therefore, if we are truly living for Jesus, we will always feel a little out of place in this world.  But there is good news.  As we often sing, “This world is NOT my home, I’m just passing through.”  Our lives on earth are nothing more that a business trip; we are here to do a job (evangelize the world), and then GO HOME!

Kerry

“For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart” (Eccl 5:20)

A person’s life is like a chain of time.  Some chains are long and some are far too short, but every life is composed of individual links that connect with one another.  These individual “links” are moments.  They are interwoven into the whole, but are special and unique in themselves.

Sometimes we are too focused on the “chain” to step back and see the beauty contained within the “links.”  Life is not just about careers, diplomas, weddings, promotions, and retirement dates.  Such goals are indeed important and necessary for a fulfilling and successful life.  But, as most successful people could tell you, accomplishing goals is often overrated when it comes to satisfaction.  There is always some higher mountain to climb or some nobler goal to achieve.  In fact, the accomplishment of one “life goal” sometimes leaves a person less satisfied, as he craves even more accomplishment in a cycle of ambition that is decidedly unfulfilling.

What we need is to give more attention to the moments.  As we talk with our children in the car or hold our wife’s hand in church, we are truly living out the beauty of life.  It is in these seemingly routine moments that we experience what it really means to live, and where we can find that elusive joys that is permanent and not dependent upon life’s circumstances.

Kerry

“My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready” (John 7:6)

Being “ready” can be difficult at times to accomplish.  Lenora and I raised two teenage girls, and one of the most frequently asked questions in our house was, “Are you finally ready?”  The pressure to be ready causes forgetfulness, stress, and more than a few arguments.  For them, getting ready was hard!  My son was another story.  He often had short hair than only needed a one minute comb-through.  Any clothing combination (even if it didn’t match) was ok with him.  In essence, he was always ready, even at a moment’s notice, to walk out the door.

Jesus tells us here in John 7 that our time is ALWAYS ready.  Likewise, Peter tells us that we must always be ready to give an answer.  Both of these statements speak to preparedness.  We are described as pilgrims and strangers in this world, waiting for the day we will get to go to our true home.  But do we really embrace that?  Do we cherish our home on high more than this foreign place?

How often are we are like a businessman on a trip who redecorates his hotel room!  This IS NOT OUR HOME.  We need to be READY at every moment, with HOME in our hearts and minds.

Kerry

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul…”  (Deuteronomy 10:12)

Do you ever wonder why God puts up with us?  Through the years people have made a habit of disappointing Him.  In truth, failure is our great art.  It is truly the only thing in which we excel.  It doesn’t matter if we are talking about the unfaithful Israelites and their thousand-year flirtation with idolatry, or our own individual struggles with sin- our species is constantly breaking God’s heart.

So why does He endure our disloyalty?  Because He loves us?  There can be no doubt.  But what else?  Deuteronomy 10 seems to indicate a different answer.  Not only does He love us, but He yearns for us to love Him in return.  He wants us to reject the world of our own free-will and choose Him!

This changes things somewhat.  Not only does God love me (which could be simply out of a sense of obligation).  He longs for me to love Him!  He wants to hear the words from my lips.  He has pursued us.  We are the objects of His desire and our affection is the fondest wish of His divine heart.  All I can say when I begin to absorb that is… WOW.

Kerry

“I sought the Lord and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm34:4)

I have a loved one who is terrified of elevators.  The fear is so all consuming that she avoids them at all cost, even if it means climbing ten flights of stairs.  I am excessively afraid of sharks, to the point that I stay on the sand while my family enjoys the ocean surf.  Both of our fears are silly, and we know it.  In fact, we often tell ourselves how crazy our phobias are in an attempt to conquer them.  But all of the statistics, reasoning, and pep talks result in the same thing- we are still afraid!

Human beings exist in a world of fears.  Everyone is terrified of something.  Fear causes us to buy insurance, lock our doors, put on our life-jackets, and fasten our seat belts.  Fear controls us.  It becomes our master.  Yet, we are told that, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER…” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV).  According to the Bible, our Father is the antidote for fear!

How then do I apply this divine medicine?  I can certainly study and pray, but will simply having the knowledge be enough?  No, I have to take a leap of faith and FACE MY FEARS!  Therefore, next time I’m on the beach, I will strive to remember God’s promise, strap on my fins and goggles, and dive in.  He can indeed help me face my fears, even if my knees are shaking the whole time!

Kerry

“Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:3, NIV).

Isn’t it strange how opposite the Christian life often is from what we expect it to be?  We die to live.  We humble ourselves to be exalted.  We are to love those who hate us.  In almost every aspect of life, Christ has called us to be a counter-culture to the world we live in.

It is never easy.  We have been patterned from the day we were born to think, act, and feel like the world around us.  The natural thing for us is to respond to challenges as the world does.  To live as “opposites,” as Christ would have us do, takes daily commitment and a constant refocusing of our hearts.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge in this regard is having a spiritual perspective on sorrow and suffering.  The Lord has instructed us to view pain and difficulty as steps toward maturity (James 1:2-4), and persecution for Christ’s sake as an honor (Matthew 5:9-12).  We are called to have a different perspective on our troubles, because, as Solomon tells us, those problems can actually serve to strengthen our hearts.

Sorrow and pain will never feel right, just like we will never feel like loving our enemies.  The challenge is to rely on God’s wisdom and trust in His divine care, regardless of how we feel in the moment.

Kerry

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  Psalms 119:105 (NKJV)

We have all stumbled around in the middle of the night, our hands waving back and forth before us, trying to find the bathroom or kitchen.  The result is often a sore toe due to an unyielding couch or door frame.  What is amazing is that we walk those halls of our homes every day, and we know every step, yet we still can’t find our way in the dark.  We feel uncomfortable, even vulnerable, and we second guess ourselves about things we already know to be true.  That’s what darkness does – it shrouds mankind in uncertainty and doubt, and leaves us stumbling through life.

This is why Christ’s words in John 8:12 are so very significant.  When He says, “I am the light of the world,” Jesus is promising that His truth will illuminate the darkness and provide us with confidence as we walk life’s road.  As light cuts through the darkness and bathes the world with illuminating hope, so our Lord has cut through the cloud of sin an shown us a path we can walk in absolute certainty.

Yet light is used in two other ways in scripture.  The Psalmist calls God’s Word “light,” and Jesus, in Matthew 5:14, said that WE are the light of the world.  Therefore we see that Christ can only show blinded men the way through the darkness if we choose to shine for Him and point people to His illuminating Word.

Kerry

“O God, You Know my Foolishness; And my sins are not hidden from You”

(Psalm 69:5)

Who is it that knows you the very best?  Typically, we have narrowing circles of relationship that become tighter and more exclusive with those who know us better than anyone else.  Yet even those who are closest to us don’t know every thought, fear, or feeling.  In many ways, it is not truly possible to “know” someone in the fullest sense of the word.

What if someone did?  What if there was a person who saw ever image that flashes through your mind and heard every word you think but never utter?  Would we be comfortable with it?  I doubt it.  We would feel vulnerable and exposed, and our natural distrust of others would cause paranoia and anxiety.

Yet, there is such an individual.  He knows our every foolish thought and shameful attitude, and He loves us in spite of it all.  Is it any wonder then that humility is the only way in which we should ever approach God?  He loves us in our brokenness, so we approach Him with contrite and grateful hearts.  What an encouragement to know that there is one who TRULY and FOREVER loves us, so that, with Him, We never have to pretend to be anything we are not!

Kerry

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

Every summer my family would travel back to western Kentucky to see our relatives.  My aunt and uncle lived on a large farm off the main highway which was only accessible from a long gravel drive shrouded by giant oaks and waving fields of corn.  The trees blotted out the sun and always gave me an eerie sensation.  I can still remember my anticipation as we would turn onto that dark, shadowed drive.  It made me nervous, but I knew that all the joys of fishing ponds, go-carts, and a summer of youthful bliss awaited me at the end of the short, winding road.

This world can be foreboding, and filled with every sort of heartache and danger.  Just like that shadowy drive, the psalmist (Psalm 23) refers to life as traveling through the “valley of the shadow of death.”  But we have nothing to fear, because the Lord is right there with us every step of the way.  He has promised us that we have a great reward awaiting us, if we will simply finish the journey.

Anticipation is what causes us to brave the winding road of life with its turns and shadows.  As we look forward to the good things that await us at the end of the road, it causes us to take our eyes off of the dangers and focus on the goal.  This is why John can close his Revelation with these words, “Amen. Come Lord Jesus!”

Kerry

“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: ‘Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?’” (2 Samuel 7:18,  NIV).

In our moments of honest reflection, we all realize that we are completely undeserving of the good things in our lives.  Our children, or mates, our jobs, and our churches are all gifts from God that we have done nothing to deserve. 

Do you ever sit back and just “count your blessings?”  Whenever I do so, the song always proves true; I always am “…amazed at what He’s done.”  Through every heartache and every temptation, He has continued to bless my life and see me through.  I make mistakes and stumble, but He picks me up and continues to guide me.  O’ how good God is!

This type of reflection can be very humbling.  Just like David, when we look around and are amazed at all God has done for us, we question, “Who am I, that God would love me so?”  The answer is simple yet profound.  Although we are frail and undeserving, God continues to bless us for the same reason we continue to help our own children: because we are HIS!  It has never been about WHO we are, but rather WHOSE we are.

Kerry