Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22

It is easy to worry. Life gets hectic and stressful, problems arise, and we start to worry. Fear and doubt consume us and we let them run our lives. Let’s not go down that path any longer.

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1

Honestly we are not built to handle the weight of the world on our shoulders. We need to be more open to casting our burdens on Jesus and laying them down at his feet. This does not mean that we no longer give thought and attention to our troubles; but it does mean that we are no longer going at it alone. It does mean that we admit that we can not do it by our own strength, and it does mean that we are not going to be defeated and dictated by our circumstance.

Too often we hold worry so tight and close to ourselves…but it’s not healthy. We need to give God our trust. And the truth is, when has our worrying really ever solved any problem? Usually it keeps us stuck and paralyzes us from making a good decision. Worrying simply doesn’t do us any good.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6

Our own logic will fail us. It is easy to get caught up emotionally in a situation and make a poor decision, usually based on fear. Let’s not do that. Let’s trust, believe, and have faith that He will come through for us in his timing, and that we are be led down the correct path.

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 MSG

Is there anything you are worrying about that you need to let go of?

“Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action. Grace, you know, does not just have to do with forgiveness of sins alone.” Dallas Willard

Grace is quite an amazing thing. It is something that I still don’t fully understand. God’s grace is everything. It is simply enough.

No matter what you do or what you have done, God will never love you less than He does right in this moment…pretty cool thought.

His grace is enough.

I came across this quote the other day and I could not help but agree.

“The world can no longer be left to mere diplomats, politicians, and business leaders. They have done the best they could, no doubt. But this is an age for spiritual heroes- a time for men and women to be heroic in their faith and in spiritual character and power. The greatest danger to the Christian church today is that of pitching its message too low.” - Dallas Willard

I agree…I think that the greatest agent for change is through the church.

This is our time to rise up with the power of the gospel. With the living power of Christ within us, and change this world.

It’s time to dream the biggest.

pray the impossible.

and believe the incomprehensible.

Now is the time.

We live in a fast-paced, quick, impatient, microwave culture. Through our advancements in technology and such, we have become a people with extremely short attention spans and without an ability to focus.

We have lost our patience. We want thing now because anything else is just inconvenient. We are a culture of instant gratification. There are many problems with this. This type of mentality will spill over into our spiritual lives and when it does, it can wreak havoc.

We tend to want spiritual growth and transformation to happen overnight, but it doesn’t work like that. When building a relationship with Christ, there are no shortcuts, tricks, or cheats.

“You can’t microwave spiritual formation.” Pete Wilson

The way to transformation and a deep relationship with Jesus is to allow His presence, grace, and love to truly shape us. We can’t change ourselves. It needs to be more of Him and less of us. We can’t just change by trying harder, you need to train. A person who is out of shape, can’t just decide to run a 4 minute mile by trying harder…they will need to train and train in order to get in shape enough to attempt that time. I can’t just bench press 200 pounds cause I decide to try harder…I have to train in order to lift that weight.

The same goes in our spiritual lives. We can’t expect huge transformation and change just because we want it more, or try harder…we have to train.

We have to build our ‘spiritual muscles.’

Just as it will take an athlete years to train to becoming the best at something, it too will take time to becoming the man or woman God has called us to be. The Christian walk, our spiritual lives and transformations is not a sprint, it is a marathon. It take time and patience…and at the same time urgency.

“In America slow and urgent are not compatible, they cancel each other out. In the Kingdom, patience and urgent are yoked together. The consumer religious culture wants to get things done and they are looking for short cuts to the person God builds over a long time.” Bill Hull

Don’t settle in your relationship with Christ…it is a life-long journey and it deserves your best. Train, don’t just try.

Formulaic faith does not work!

At one point or another, we all fall into the trap of having a formulaic faith. As humans, we like formulas. We like knowing that A + B = C; we prefer to do things that have formulas…if I do this and this, I’ll get that. It’s especially easy for the long-time Christian to fall into this trap of thinking that they have God figured out.

But faith does not work like that.

Sometimes phrases like, You just need to believe more, or have more faith, bother me. I mean, what do those even really mean? A lot of times the answers to our questions and our problems are a lot more complicated than simply “believing” more.

God is God. He is omniscient, omnipotent, sovereign, creator of the Heavens and the earth. He will not be put into a box. And He certainly will not be distilled down to an easy, simple formula.

I have seen that sometimes we tend to take certain principles in Scripture or trends in the church and create formulas to follow and live by…but this is dangerous. Just as it is dangerous to build your theology off of one single verse, the same goes for creating formulas. You are setting yourself up for disappointment when God doesn’t come through for you the way you though He should.

Do miracles occur on the other side of obedience? Yes. But if we are obedient, are we guaranteed a miracle? No we aren’t.

Does prayer work? Does it heal the sick and mend emotional wounds and scares? Yes. But when you pray, you are not guaranteed to be healed or mended.

With a formulaic faith, you can begin to shape your faith based off of the benefits you could receive…this is another fine line to walk.

• Maybe you tithe just to receive God’s increase.
• Maybe you worship only when you feel the tingles.
• Maybe you seek God only for what you think He will give you.

But none of those things are enough to build a solid foundation.

We need to worship God for who He is, simply because He is God, and not for what we thing He should give us. We should tithe because the money is His to begin with. We should pray to build our relationship and create dialog with Him, and not use Him as some cosmic vending machine.

Avoid having a formulaic faith. Are spiritual rhythms and disciplines important? Absolutely. But don’t confuse those with creating formulas for your faith. Focus on worship God for who He is, seek His face and not just His hand.

Because at the end of the day, His grace is simply enough.

“Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’” 2 Cor 12:9

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 [emphasis mine]

Recently, I’ve been in a season of life where I have to choose joy. It is easy to forget that joy is a choice. Since joy is not based on circumstance, it becomes our choice whether or not we are going to have it. The verse above says to give thank in all circumstances. It doesn’t say for all circumstances but in. So even in tough, unexpected, and bad circumstances, we can choose to give thanks or choose joy.

Times have been somewhat bittersweet for me lately and it would be very easy for me to become overwhelmed by my circumstances and let them dictate my outlook. But that is not what I’m choosing to do.

I’m choosing joy.

Being recently engaged after over a year of long-distance dating and will be long-distance for the entire engagement. Being away from your fiancée and planning a wedding together while being 1200 miles apart is not easy. Most days it is so easy to become overwhelmed by all of that, but I’m choosing joy. I focusing on that fact that in less than 3 months, I will be married. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Also, the job that I have requires lots of my time and energy and has crazy hours. Therefore, I have less and less time to actually talk and communicate with family and fiancée and that is not easy. For example, the other day I worked a 12 hour day that started at 4:30pm…Then had to be back at work at 9am!

But I’ll choose joy.

The truth is, I’m blessed to have a job in a tough economy. I’m blessed to be have a nice place to live in and drive a reliable car. I’m blessed to be in great health and not worry about where my next meal will come from.

Crises tend to turn our focus inward and our thinking becomes more selfish…in those moments it is always good to take a step back and add in a little perspective and realize just how blessed we are. Perspective can straighten us out and help us realize the need and importance of choosing joy.

 ”The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.” Psalm 28:7

Whatever you are going through right now, remember you can choose joy and find the good in every situation.

Are there situations in which you need to choose joy?

Silence it seems is rare today. There is almost always a constant noise happening around us. We have grown so accustom to this, that usually any type of “quiet” in our lives seems to be awkward.

We have forgotten how important it is to be quiet and to practice silence. Part of practicing silence is to grow in our ability to focus, shut out the distractions, and hear God’s voice. If God’s speaks in a “still, soft” voice, then we better be extra quiet so we can hear him.

But why is it so hard to have silence these days? Why can’t we drive in the car without music on, or be in a house without a TV on? We have started to equate silence and quiet with being unproductive, and that’s simply not true. But really, I think when we get down to it, silence scares us. Thoughts and feelings that are deep in our being begin to surface when there is silence. This quote from Dallas Willard brilliantly shares some insight on this topic:

Silence goes beyond solitude, and without it solitude has little effect…But silence is frightening because it strips us as nothing else does, throwing us upon the stark realities of our life. It reminds us of death, which will cut us off from this world and leave only us and God. And in that quiet, what if there turns out to be very little to “just us and God”?

I know personally, I need to do a better job at this. I went to school for music, currently I work in the music industry, and I’m on the worship (music) team at my church. My life is saturated with music. Most plazas and sidewalks in Nashville have speakers built-into them which play music. It seems it’s harder and harder to find times and places to have some quiet…but we need to find those times and places.

If we want to hear from God more, then we need to put effort into cultivating an atmosphere in which God can speak, or more importantly, in which we can listen. The truth is, God is talking to us a lot more than we think, we just aren’t listening for it.

Here’s to practicing more silence in my life.

“I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing: To live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet. That’s the only quiet, secure place
in a noisy world, The perfect getaway, far from the buzz of traffic.” Psalm 27:4-5 (MSG)

How can you practice more silence in your life?

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.. Matthew 6:33

Above all else we are to seek the kingdom of God. Other translations say seek first… not second, not third, not after you figure out how to pay your bills, not after your doctor’s appointment, and not after you find the solutions to your problems…but first!

Seeking God, diving into Scripture, and confessing His promises over us should be our go-to response. Matthew Henry adds, “The great duty required: it is the sum and substance of our whole duty: ”Seek first the kingdom of God, mind religion as your great and principle concern.’’ Our duty is to seek; to desire, pursue, and aim at these things…”

But unfortunately, adversity usually has one of two effects on us: it will cause us to draw closer to God, or it will push us away.

Trials and adversity will come in this life(John 16:33), but it is our response, outlook, and faith, based on the adversity that matters. The truth is, God is moved only by our faith, not our needs.

We may need money to pay bills, we may need to find that job, or we may need answers to our questions; but this doesn’t change the fact that our faith is what moves the mountains not our needs. Our faith is what moves God, not our wants.

Let your care for your souls…take the place of all other cares: and let all the concerns of this life be made subordinate to those of the life to come: we must seek the things of Christ more than our own things…”Seek these things first; first in thy days: let the morning of thy youth be dedicated to God. Wisdom must be sought early…let waking thoughts be of God. Matthew Henry’s Commentary

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1 NKLV) or  ”Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (NLT) or in other words, speaking the things that are not as though they were.

Faith and hope go together. The object of our hope and faith go to the same thing. Matthew Henry adds:

It is a firm persuasion and expectation that God will perform all that he has promised to us in Christ; and this persuasion is so strong that it gives the soul a kind of possession and present fruition of those things…so that believers in the exercise of faith are filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Whatever you may be going through, above all else, above all the noise, above all the distractions, above all your circumstances, seek first the Kingdom of God. Seek His Word daily, know His promises. Do not let life’s adversity cause you to fall away from God. Allow it to cause you to grow in your faith. Use it as an opportunity to grow closer to God, and above all else seek Him first.

We are starting a new series at Crosspoint called, Shaped. I am so excited for this series.

Every Christian is at a different place spiritually; and every person learns, grows and responds differently too. In a Church, however, what is taught to us is that there is this cookie-cutter way to get to know God. Everybody has to be in the same place and the same time. And if we are not at the same place, then we feel pressure to fake it and at least act like somebody we are not. We pretend we are “good”on the outside when, on the inside, we are hurting. But it’s not how things should be done.

“Souls don’t develop in cookie-cutter fashion and churches were never intended to become factories that cranked out people who were at the same place at the same time.” Pete Wilson

This is what the series is about. Discovering our unique life with God.

This series feels big. I feel like we are on the verge of something really big with this series and I am so happy to be around for this. You don’t want to miss this series. You can listen or watch HERE.

As Christians we are not normal.

We are unique, and that is something to be proud about. We have the wonderful privilege of being able to connect others people with Christ. We get to reflect God’s glory.

“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

Since we are constantly in this world, it is difficult to not let yourself be defined by the masses. It’s hard to find the bigger meaning in our work, when we feel like we are no different than the next person. But you are!

What you do matters!

It doesn’t matter what type of job you have or if you even have a job. You will always have a calling and job to do in the Kingdom of God. No matter what we bear witness to Christ and His name. Steven Furtick says, “No act of service is insignificant when done for the most significant purpose in the universe: proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. When you see yourself as a connector to the current of the power of Christ, everything you do takes on meaning.” {Sun Stand Still}

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

You are not an accident. You are not a failure. You are important. You are unique. You are not normal.

Remember that wherever you are, or whatever you are doing, it matters. You have a job: to reflect the glory of God, and point others in the direction of the cross.

When you do you feel most unique?