Take the First Step

I am afraid of God-sized dreams. I am afraid that I won’t have what it takes to achieve a huge dream. And you know what? I won’t. I don’t have what it takes to achieve great things. When God plants a dream it will seem too big for me to do. It’s not going to be easy. I’ll have to work hard but I’ll also have to rely on Him to help me get it done. True God-sized dreams can’t be accomplished by human strength alone. They can only be accomplished by my work infused with His help. If I take out His help then I have nothing but insecurities and the fear that I will fail Him.


My challenge is not to focus on how hard the work will be or even what will happen if/when I finish. I need to focus on seeking God who promises to show up as I work and trust Him to multiply my efforts. Like the priests in Joshua’s day (Joshua 3:13), I have to take the first step into the water before it will part. Miracles happen when my feet are wet and I’m trusting my God.

Dear Lord, help me to not be afraid or discouraged by the bigness of a task at hand. I know that You will not fail or forsake me. And help me to remember that usually the joy is in the journey and not just in the end. Amen.

What is Love?

What is love? Love is patient, kind, doesn’t envy, doesn’t boast, isn’t arrogant, isn’t rude, doesn’t insist on its own way, isn’t irritable, isn’t resentful, doesn’t rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and never ends. Faith, hope, and love are good but love is the greatest of them all (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13).

If I have love for the Lord and love for my neighbor, even the neighbor that isn’t lovely, I fulfill the whole law. This is a simple truth but it takes a lifetime to learn.

I want to live this definition of love. I want to but I don't always do it. I need grace when I'm about to say or even think something that is unkind or unloving so that I don't go through with saying it, or even think it. I also need forgiveness when I don't think beforehand and I go ahead and speak something unkind.

I am here to love. Not much else really matters.

To Lent or Not to Lent

Today is the first day of the Lenten season. I have nothing against this season's objectives if those objectives are to 1.) remember the blessings of the cross of Christ or 2.) give up something that is hindering your walk with Christ. But I don't usually take part in this season because I do those things year-round, or at least try to and repent when I don't.

Knowing Jesus Christ isn't about crossing things off of a to-do list. It's not about not doing things on a don't list either. It's about a relationship with the living Lord and trying your best to walk with Him so you grow to be more like Him. And when I do this, God is glorified in my life. It's all about Him anyway. Anything I do or don't do because of my relationship with Him serves to worship God and if it helps my life in the here and now, as well, then that is just icing on the cake.