Kind Awakening

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 (KJV) I've read this verse many times, but there's something about it that deserves our attention. David doesn't simply ask God to forgive him. He asks God to change him. And there's a difference. Sometimes we come before God asking Him to fix what has gone wrong in our lives. We ask Him to restore a relationship. Remove a problem. Change our circumstances. Help us get through another difficult day. And there's nothing wrong with bringing those requests before Him. But how often do we stop and pray: “Lord, what needs to change in me?” Not just around me. Not just in the people I'm struggling with. Not just in the circumstances I wish were different. In me. That's what makes David's prayer in Psalm 51 so powerful. He recognized that his greatest need wasn't simply relief from the consequences of his actions. He needed God to do something deeper. He needed a clean hear...

“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (KJV) Sometimes we make serving God more complicated than it needs to be. We think we need to know the Bible from beginning to end before we can help someone. We think we need the perfect words. A powerful testimony. A great message. An answer to every question. And because we don't feel qualified, sometimes we say nothing at all. But what if serving God today is much simpler than that? What if it's calling someone who has been on your mind? What if it's sitting beside someone who's hurting? What if it's telling somebody, "I'm praying for you, and I mean it"? Sometimes the most meaningful thing we can do for another person isn't giving them an answer. It's reminding them they don't have to carry everything alone. Everybody Is Carrying Something One thing I've come to realize is that we rarely know everything another person is going t...

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” John 14:27 (KJV) Sometimes you'll hear someone say: “The Kingdom of God is backwards from the world.” But perhaps we've been looking at it from the wrong direction. The Kingdom isn't backwards. The world is backwards from the Kingdom. Jesus didn't come to adjust Himself to the values of this world. He came revealing the truth about God, about us, and about what life under God's rule actually looks like. And when you listen to Jesus, His way often sounds completely opposite from everything the world teaches us. The world says: Hold tightly to what you have. Jesus teaches generosity. The world says: Promote yourself. Jesus says: Humble yourself. The world says: Get ahead of everyone else. Jesus says: “But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.” Matthew 19:30 (KJV) The world says: If you want to be great, make sure people serve you. Jesus says: “But he that is ...

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV) We quote this verse often. “Give it to God.” “Cast your cares on Jesus.” And sometimes we genuinely do. We pray: “Lord, I give You my family.” “I give You this relationship.” “I give You my health.” “I give You my finances.” “I give You my future.” “I give You this situation I cannot fix.” Then five minutes later, we pick the whole thing back up. We start replaying every possibility. What if this happens? What if that happens? What am I going to do tomorrow? How am I going to fix this? And suddenly the burden we placed before God is sitting on our shoulders again. Perhaps the question isn't simply whether we've prayed about it. The deeper question is: Do we trust Him enough to leave it there? Casting Means Getting the Burden Off of You Peter doesn't tell us merely to acknowledge our cares. He says: “Casting all your care upon him...” The picture is one of placing the burden onto another. That's i...

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (KJV) Have you ever messed up and almost immediately wanted to hide? Maybe you said something you knew you shouldn't have said. Maybe you lost your temper, went back to an old habit you thought you had overcome, or knowingly did something you knew wasn't pleasing to God. Then comes that awful feeling afterward. “I knew better.” “Why did I do that again?” Sometimes you don't even want to pray. You feel embarrassed before God, ashamed of what you've done, and part of you thinks it would be easier to avoid Him for a while. I've come to realize how backwards that is. The moment I want to hide from God is usually the very moment I need to come to Him. That's what makes 1 John 1:9 so comforting. God doesn't tell us to clean ourselves up and then come back. He tells us to confess. Bring it into the light. God Already Knows One thing I...

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other...” Galatians 5:17 (KJV) We've talked about trials. We've talked about tribulation. We've talked about trusting God and maintaining a Christlike attitude when life becomes difficult. But what happens when you know all of that... and you still fail? You lose your temper. You become frustrated. You complain. You say something you shouldn't have said. You fall back into the same attitude you promised yourself you weren't going to have anymore. And perhaps the most frustrating part is: You genuinely didn't want to respond that way. Something inside you desired to respond differently. Paul describes a real conflict in Galatians 5. There is a battle between the flesh and the Spirit. And understanding that battle helps us understand why the Christian life cannot be lived successfully through human determination alone. There Is a Ba...