His Presence

When the battle is long and Moses grows weary, Aaron and Hur hold up his hands, and Joshua's army is victorious. We all have battles we are fighting, but we don't have to fight them alone. Who are the Aarons and Hurs in your life? Exodus 18

Are you worn out? Are you tempted to despair? Do you wonder if it's too late for you or for that relationship or that calling you believed God had placed on your life? The truth of Resurrection Sunday is that it is never too late for our God. If he can create life from dry bones and dirt, he can redeem what you have lost too. Scriptures referenced in this episode: John 24:1-8 Ezekiel 37:7-14 John 11 Also mentioned: The Bible in a Year Podcast with Father Mike Schmitz https://bibleinayear.fireside.fm/ SheReadsTruth Bible study https://shereadstruth.com/#

On Silent Saturday, after seeing the Lord die, many disciples simply went back to their old lives. As we look forward to Resurrection Sunday, may we be faithful enough to wait and watch and hope.

We can be tempted to judge the Jewish leaders who somehow missed the Messiah they'd spent centuries looking forward to. But we can often find ourselves just as blinded by fear. As Holy Week begins and we look forward to resurrection, let's spend a few minutes considering what might be keeping us in the dark.

In John 17, the Lord Jesus prays, in the hours before his death, that those who believe in him will be unified in the same way he is unified with the Father and the Spirit. May this be a reminder and an encouragement to take up that work in the church today.

In Exodus 33, the Lord tells Moses he will give the people the promised land, sending them with an angelic escort but will not go himself. They are a stubborn and rebellious people, and he'd destroy them before they arrived, he says. Moses is faithful and courageous enough to refuse. He essentially says: "If you're not going with us, we'll just stay here in the desert." I pray for a relationship with God that continually prioritizes his presence over any milk and honey, even when it comes directly from his hand. No blessing is worth traveling without him.

For years, I've been frustrated by the story of Job and the fact that God doesn't seem to give any explanation for the suffering Job endures. Listen in for a few thoughts on a new realization from a recent reading of an old story. Job 42:1-6

The Spirit of God lives and breathes, giving life to our mortal bodies. His Presence lives in us, and connecting to our breath is connecting to him. In this episode, I invite you to breathe deeply with me, to create a little space in a world that is simply too full.

“The Lord has promised good to me His word my hope secures He will my shield and portion be As long as life endures” As this new year begins, I'm praying that the Lord will give me a heart that honestly says to him, “You are enough for me.” And if your heart struggles to settle in him, I pray you're encouraged to keep believing, keep praying, and keep watching for our endlessly faithful God. Scriptures referenced in this episode: Psalm 23 Mark 9

It is by believing that we receive Light, Life and salvation through his Love. Let's spend a few moments resting in the presence of the one in whom we believe. Scriptures referenced in this episode: John 8:12 John 6:35 John 3:16 John 1:1-34

May this advent season be our opportunity to reflect on his first arrival and rehearse for eternity. Scriptures referenced in this episode: John 3:16 I John 4:8 Romans 8:32

Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, and in a season that is more dark than light, more day than night, we look forward to that redeemed city whose light is the Lamb himself. Scriptures referenced in this episode: John 8:12 John 9:4-5 Revelation 21 I Thessalonians 5:5

In John's gospel, Jesus Christ declares that he is the Bread of Life, and he came that we may have life to the full. Scriptures referenced in this episode: John 6:35 John 10:10 Exodus 16

We rarely celebrate well. Maybe it's because we're afraid of being seen as arrogant. Maybe we're afraid of looking foolish. But giving God the glory for every blessing means celebrating our own weakness. And that is true worship.

The common thread the Holy Spirit seems to be weaving throughout this class is the idea that true worship requires humility and trust in the Lord. And I don't believe the subject of grief and lament is any different. I fear that our desire to shut down negative emotions rather than let them change us is tangled up in our worship of our own comfort and a lack of trust that God will not leave us in the pit forever. Lament is true worship when we acknowledge that we cannot soothe pain in our own and we join God in his sorrow over a broken, fallen world.

Rest is true worship because it requires trust that there will still be time and energy left to accomplish what needs to get done. It asks that we believe God really has given us everything and will continue to do so. It means we have to realize that we can do nothing on our own. We rest to recharge but also to remember. It's hard to remember who God is, what he's done, and what we are really here for if we're too overwhelmed by our own to-do list. We have to create space on purpose. Rest has to be intentional. And it's very hard to do.

From the life of King David, we learn that we cannot get by on the sacrifices of others and we cannot offer to God anything that costs us nothing.

Often, our appropriate responses to God are both acts of worship to our Creator AND ways that we become like him. Jesus Christ showed us the perfect examples of humility, praise, and thanksgiving. We sacrifice because the Father sacrificed his own Son, and the Son sacrificed his life, for us. We rest because God rested. We lament because Christ wept over the darkness and brokenness of a world that is not as it should be. We celebrate because our God is joyful. And we are faithful to God and to each other because he has shown us that faithfulness is love.

Once we realize that every good thing we have is a GIFT from God that we should simply posture ourselves to receive, we will be compelled to give thanks. Too often, the thing standing in the way of our worship is our reliance on ourselves. There's no call to give thanks for things we think we have earned on our own. If we think we can handle it, we don't need to give thanks to God. We have to realize our own need in order to truly worship.

The goal of this series is to explore what worship really looks like in the everyday, ordinary parts of our lives, trusting that God will meet us there. We've been looking at the life of David, seeing him Praise the Lord and submit to Him in Humility. This is a story of a time when David didn't get it right, at least not the first time. It was his humility and praise of God as the Almighty, that led him to recognize his own sin and confess it. In Psalm 51, he brings his sin to the Lord, claims responsibility, and then asks God to transform his heart. He understands that the Holy Spirit brings internal change, not him. And he asks God to create in him a clean heart so that he can worship. Scriptures referenced in this episode: 2 Samuel 11-12 Psalm 51 Exodus 34

Is there something you need to let go? Something you're overburdened with because you believe it's all up to you? Are you tempted to be angry and resentful when others do things without calling on your expertise? Do you refuse to let others help you because you need the credit? As we continue in this series on the Heart of Worship, King David shows us that when we are willing not to be the hero of our story and to praise God for his faithfulness, trusting that he is the one who will work all things together for the good of those who love him (Rom. 8:28), we will see blessings multiply exponentially. Scriptures referenced in this episode: I Chronicles 17:1-10 I Chronicles 28:1-7, 11-19 I Chronicles 29:1-9 I Chronicles 17:10-14 Acts 2:29-36

The goal of this series is to explore what worship really looks like in the everyday, ordinary parts of our lives, trusting that God will meet us there. This week's focus is on the practice of Praise, the acknowledgment and recognition of who God is and what He does. It all begins with paying attention. Scriptures referenced in this episode: Psalm 145 Exodus 34:5-8

In this series we will reposture our hearts and minds toward worship. When we truly encounter the presence of God, worship is the only conceivable response. But how can we make that connection? How do we cultivate hearts of worship? We will explore examples from the life of King David as we answer those questions and seek the heart of God in our every day lives. Scriptures referenced in this episode: I Samuel 13: 7b-14. I Samuel 16: 1-13. I Samuel 17: 32-37, 45-46. Psalm 23. John 10:14-15

The wilderness has long been a place where the Lord calls his people to commune with him. Will we miss out on this intimacy because the desert is dry and our feet are tired? Or will we trust that the manna will be there tomorrow and lean in to a communion with Him?

His Presence is the only promise we're guaranteed, but praise God, it's the only promise we really need.

In a Kingdom of Scarcity, it can feel like we have to make sure we get and keep stuff, accolades, relationships, everything. But in The Land of Leftovers, our Great God provides plenty for all of us to rest in the freedom of celebration instead of competition.

Do you feel alone? Have you exhausted all your options and wonder if the only thing left for you is a life of just “getting by”? Do you wonder if anyone actually sees you? In Mark 5, a woman whose name is not recorded in scripture has suffered with a constant flow of blood for twelve years. She is cut off from her entire community, but she has the audacity to believe that Jesus can change things for her. And His Presence brings a reward for her faith beyond anything she could have imagined.

Do you feel forgotten by God? Do you worry that your questions and frustrations mean that maybe you don't really believe him? Are you struggling to discern a balance between rest and responsibility? In John 11, Martha was certain that Jesus was the Messiah and that he loved her and her brother, Lazarus, but she was also frustrated that he hadn't come. Even in her questioning, her ultimate longing was His Presence, and at just the right time, he showed up for her.

What are you weary of waiting for? Does it feel like you're running out of time or maybe have missed your chance? Anna's story from Luke 2 shows us what it looks like to be faithful to a faithful God even when hope is hard.

In this series, I'll tell stories adapted from biblical narratives that will provide a fresh perspective of the Presence of our Savior. In Acts chapter 9, Ananias fears for his life until Jesus sends him directly to the man who pledged to kill him. His Presence defies logic, and we can embrace the mystery and lean into his promises.

In this series, I'll tell stories adapted from biblical narratives that will provide a fresh perspective of the Presence of our Savior. Mary Magdalene has lost her Savior, lost her hope, but Jesus provides her, and us, with a new beginning.

As we reflect on Advent and all of 2020, we ask ourselves, “how do we finish this season and this year well?” In this last episode of the Advent series, we'll talk about Christ's promise to be with us always and the truths that we can carry into an unknown new year.

This is the week we've all been waiting for! Christ Jesus is born! On this episode, we'll talk about what that changes and how we can, like Mary, treasure these truths in our hearts.

On this third Sunday of Advent, we begin a week of preparation for the coming of our Lord. As you check lists and create menus and make plans, I'll share a few ways we can also prepare our hearts to receive the gift of Jesus.

Do you feel stuck in the middle, longing for your happy ending? God's promise of peace can be experienced right here, right now, giving us the hope for the ending we desire. Immanuel means he is always with us.

On the first Sunday of Advent 2020, we remember the story of Passover as God rescued his people from Egypt and look forward to the coming of Christ as the eternal Passover lamb

In 2020, we have lost the joy of anticipation. Advent reminds us that our Savior has already come and that he promises to return. This series is an invitation to hope again.