As someone who has moved multiple times in life, true friends are hard to find. Whether it was moving from New Jersey to Delaware in Elementary School or from Delaware to Ohio in college, when you do finally relocate, you will find out who your real friends truly are. When none of them reach out to you after your departure, your friendship was more of an acquaintance than anything else. Perhaps, this is the inspiration behind Hawk Nelson’s song Friend Like That.
The man of many friends [a friend of all the world] will prove himself a bad friend, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, Proverbs 18:24.
King Solomon wrote about what a true friend meant to him in the passage above. Through the years, Christian artists have reflected upon this topic with songs by Geoff Moore, Michael W. Smith, and Steven Curtis Chapman. When a friend does stick closer than a brother, this kind of relationship becomes a spiritual treasure. As a new year begins, may the Holy Spirit inspire you to find a friend like that in 2023.
At some point in my life, I was told that attitude is everything. I don’t recall where I was or who was talking, but attitude is a reflection of your mindset. When I’m in a bad mood, I tend to be sarcastic, magnifying the negative spirit within me. While it may feel good to be pessimistic from time to time, this never improved how I felt in my soul. One of the themes I heard in church on New Year’s Day was to develop a first-class attitude in 2023.
Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, [i]with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ). 13 [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while [j]effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and[k]delight. 14 Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [[l]against God] and [m]questioning and doubting [among yourselves], Philippians 2:12-14.
In a letter to the Church at Philippi, Paul urges this congregation to adopt and emulate the attitude of Christ Jesus, Philippians 2:5. Two chapters later, Paul reminds these believers that when you feel like you can’t do something, lean on the strength of Jesus, Philippians 4:13. Paul goes into specific details in 2 Corinthians 12:7-12 where he learned that the weaker you are, the strongest Jesus can become in your life. Following this advice will point you toward developing a first-class attitude.
That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world, 16 Holding out [to it] and offering [to all men] the Word of Life, so that in the day of Christ I may have something of which exultantly to rejoice and glory in that I did not run my race in vain or spend my labor to no purpose, Philippians 2:15-16.
The passage above highlights what a first-class Christian attitude looks like. When you place Paul’s words side by side with the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be taken care of by God, Matthew 6:33-34. Despite the hardships, struggles, and tribulations that you may have to endure, you will be blessed at God’s perfect time, Ecclesiastes 3:11-12. If success is the process of arriving, may the power of the Holy Spirit transform your current attitude into a first class one by the end of 2023.
My last year that I was a single man, I lived with an attitude I have nothing else to lose. In 1993, I spent the first six months of this year living in six different states. I began the New Year in Delaware before spending 7 weeks at a Youth Ministry Trade School in Minnesota. While waiting for an interview in South Dakota, I spent some time in Ohio working odd jobs. After my job offer in Rapid City fell through, I worked a semester at a boarding school in West Virginia before being offered a full-time youth ministry position in Columbus, Indiana. This is the closest I’ve ever come to living the abundant life, John 10:10.
Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own. 13 I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward, Philippians 3:12-14.
Perhaps Mat Kearney had a similar experience in his own life to inspire the lyrics to Nothing Left to Lose. Mat’s song reminds me of the words of the apostle Paul in the passage above. Paul didn’t want to be an idle or stale Christian. Therefore, his mindset on earth turned toward heaven, making sure his own motives aligned with God’s will for his life. As you listen to Nothing Left to Lose, may you become embolden to live 2023 with your eyes fixed upon Jesus, Hebrews 12:2.
One of the first Christian songs I was introduced to was Pass It On. This campfire begins with “it only takes a spark to get a fire going.” During the first retreat I ever attended in high school, I was told by the Youth Director to “come as you are.” The context surrounding this Saturday night message was that Jesus meets you were you currently are in life. While many outside the church believe religion is about following a set of rules, Jesus brings His light into dark places to reach lost and lonely people, Luke 19:10.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck measure, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your [z]moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and [aa]recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven, Matthew 5:14-16
The Sermon on the Mount is the only uninterrupted message presented by Jesus in the Bible. While the gospels are full of parables which illustrate spiritual truths, these 3 chapters (Matthew 5-7) highlight the need for followers of Jesus to shine their own light within their hearts into dark places on earth. The lives of Christians should add spiritual flavor to conversations as well as point to the city of a hill, (the local church) where the Holy Spirit thrives.
[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while [j]effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and[k]delight. 14 Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [[l]against God] and [m]questioning and doubting [among yourselves], 15 That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world, 16 Holding out [to it] and offering [to all men] the Word of Life, so that in the day of Christ I may have something of which exultantly to rejoice and glory in that I did not run my race in vain or spend my labor to no purpose, Philippians 2:13-16.
Hiding God’s light was not an option for the apostle Paul who spent his entire Christian life fulfilling the great commission, Acts 1:8. Paul personally experienced imprisonment and nearly died on a couple of occasions by brining Jesus’ light into dark places throughout the Middle East. Yet, despite the pain Paul endured, he called one congregation to become shinning spiritual stars by holding out the Bible to all nations. This is the model modern day Christians should emulate to shine God’s light into the darkness.
In the Old Testament, conquest and war was an annual sessional event. According to the prophet Samuel, kings led their armies off to battle each spring after the snow melt made roads passable. Based upon the account of David being sent by his father to visit his brothers to see how they were doing, communication was usually sent by messengers often riding on horseback. However, today’s song speaks of the connection between spouses after one is sent off to war by their country.
In the spring, when kings go forth to battle, David sent Joab with his servants and all Israel, and they ravaged the Ammonites [country] and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem, 2 Samuel 11:1.
While letter writing is becoming a dying art, replaced by emails, Facetime and texts, receiving a letter is a powerful visual aide. As a college student, I wrote anywhere between 20 to 50 letters a month, trying to keep up with friends who chose another path in life. Depending upon the person I was writing, I might ramble on for 3-5 pages, filling in every important detail. This is the context of Letters from War, always eager to find out and know if their loved one in still alive. May the lyrics of Letters from War help you have a better appreciation for life in 2023.
A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection. This is a term that adults use when things align, come together and occur as if there was a divine being working behind the scenes. My high school coach referred to coincidences as God instances where timing is everything when it comes to God’s plan for your life. As angels appeared to shepherds in a field, there was a purpose for this heavenly encounter.
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing ([f]saying) that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. 16 So they went with haste and [[g]by searching] found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known what had been told them concerning this Child, Luke 2:15-17.
When a famous or wealthy individual shares a story like the shepherds, there is usually some sort of impure motive like the release of a new book, movie or upcoming feature on a similar topic. However, when common people speak of an angelic experience, more people tend to believe their story. Common sense and logic suggest that this person is crazy or this actually happened? God’s plan for the shepherds is revealed in the passage below.
And all who heard it were astounded and marveled at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary was keeping [h]within herself all these things ([i]sayings), weighing and pondering them in her heart, Luke 2:18-19.
The arrival of shepherds to this barn in Bethlehem isn’t a coincidence. Rather this God instance occurred so that this eyewitness account could be passed down for generations. Instead of becoming arrogant and proud, Mary pondered this encounter in her heart, wondering if everything that has happened to her is real or merely a dream that she’s going to wake up at any time. As King Solomon wrote hundreds of years earlier, God makes everything beautiful in His time, Ecclesiastes 3:11.
If human beings could have access to or be privy to the spiritual dimensions, you will find shackles on many individuals. Whether this comes in the form of addictions, bad habits and cravings that never seem to go away, many people are bound in spiritual chains and are unable to break free on their own. Today’s song Shackles by Mary Mary reminds of the passage below of a married man who left his wife and children to live in the catacombs, fearful that he might hurt someone that he loves.
This man [a]continually lived among the tombs, and no one could subdue him any more, even with a chain; 4 For he had been bound often with shackles for the feet and [b]handcuffs, but the handcuffs of [light] chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he rubbed and ground together and broke in pieces; and no one had strength enough to restrain or tame him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always [c]shrieking and screaming and [d]beating and bruising and[e]cutting himself with stones, Mark 5:3-5.
Perhaps, the Parable of the Sower shines light on being shackled, Matthew 13:18-23. Jesus points to 3 different unhealthy environments that human beings grow up in that result in being spiritually shackled. The first soil is compacted, hard and difficult to grow anything for an extended period of time. The second soil is rocky, and shallow which prevents a strong root system from being established. Finally, briar patches and sticker bushes can suffocate people from experiencing joy, John 10:10. May today’s song inspire you to overcome any shackles that you may be carrying over from 2022 so that you’re able to praise God in 2023.
As the son of a former member of the military, my father pushed me as a child. When my dad felt like I wasn’t giving my best effort, he went into his Army Drill Sergeant mode. As an extremely emotional and unconfident individual, this wasn’t an effective strategy to inspire me to reach my full potential in life. Despite my father’s imperfections as a parent, he instilled within me a work ethic that few people my age still possess. Arriving early and giving it my all remains part of my DNA today.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination and intention of all human thinking was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved at heart. 7 So the Lord said, I will destroy, blot out, and wipe away mankind, whom I have created from the face of the ground—not only man, [but] the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air—for it grieves Me and makes Me regretful that I have made them, Genesis 6:5-7.
Unfortunately, there were a few times in college where I greatly grieved my mother by not calling her in the middle of the night to inform her, I was staying over a friend’s house before I went to work. On one occasion she thought I had died like a similar student my age. The parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 provides a glimpse of what God the Father does when we decide to live on our own for a while. Luke compares this to a human father sitting on his front porch, patiently waiting for our return.
These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren. 20 My son, keep your father’s [God-given] commandment and forsake not the law of [God] your mother [taught you], Proverbs 6:16-20.
While the Lord is a patient, King Solomon does write about what God detests. These behaviors listed in the passage above are prevalent on the nightly news. Whenever a saint begins to stumble by turning their attention toward the sinful nature God’s heart grieves. According to Jesus, this is expected by non-Christians, but God calls believers to higher standards in Matthew 5:43-48. Rather than follow in the footsteps of Demas who abandoned God in the first century, mend your relationship with God before you become too far gone, James 5:16.
There are two passages in the New Testament that speak about welcoming home individuals. The first comes in the form of the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. After quickly squandering away his inheritance, a younger son ends up bankrupt, working on a farm, yearning for the slop that he feeds to pigs. When this young man came to his senses, he returned home, replaying in his mind what he was going to say to his father. Upon his return, his father ran and greeted him with the words,” welcome home.”
Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude]. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me, Revelation 3:19-20.
The second account takes place in John 14 as Jesus talks about going on ahead of his disciples to prepare a place for them in heaven. One of Jesus’ disciples who was present for this conversation has a vision in the passage above. Jesus doesn’t force individuals into heaven but offers human beings free will to decide for themselves. This door to heaven only has a handle on our side. When God knocks, only we can let Him in. When we open this door God replies with a similar message, “welcome home.”
As someone who has broken my leg, ankle and had major reconstruction surgery on my left leg and ankle, each time my cast was taken off, I had to relearn how to walk again without a limp. This concept also applies to your spiritual life. Whenever addictions, bad habits and sinful cravings that you can’t control pull you away from God, it takes time to recovery spiritually. Just as it takes a long-distance runner time to get back into shape at the start of a new season, developing a quality time of Bible Study and prayer doesn’t happen overnight.
The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step], Psalm 37:23.
According to King David, you have to take one step at a time spiritually. As a new resident of Aiken, South Carolina, I’ve taken my fair share of U-turns to head back in the right direction. For Christians, U-turns are an admission that you’ve been heading in the opposite directions of God. Like a stubborn man unwilling to stop and ask for directions when he’s lost, the quicker Christians stop to confess the errors of their ways to God, James 5:16, the sooner you’ll be heading back in the right direction. Spiritual details come to you as you step toward delighting the Lord once again.
How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 106 I have sworn [an oath] and have confirmed it, that I will keep Your righteous ordinances [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them], Psalm 119:103-106.
Psalm 119:105 is one of the most quote passages from the Old Testament. Unfortunately, the context of the verses before and after this verse has been neglected. As a teenager, I thought fundamental Christians were crazy. My faith was nothing more than a religion, missing out on a personal relationship with Jesus, Romans 10:9-11. Yet, when I became on fire for God through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the words of the Bible became sweeter than honey. Nearly 40 years later, my daily Bible Study provides details and steps toward delighting the Lord. May today’s blog inspire you to daily read the Bible in 2023.
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