Tag: Holy Spirit

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Best Valentine’s Ever

Ten years ago this weekend, I had no idea that my journey with Jesus was about to take a meaningful turn. In 2016, on Friday the 13th right before Valentine’s Day, I was on a 4-hour drive to a concert with my sister and our friend.

That weekend, I drove through snow, even though I didn’t want to. I shared a room with other people, even though I didn’t want to. I prayed out loud, even though I didn’t want to. But I’m getting ahead of the story. It felt like I was starting a new life. Turns out, I really was.

We arrived safely through the snow to our hotel, and met with three of my sister’s friends, who I’d never met before. We all had tickets to see the Christian band, Kings Kaleidoscope, play later that evening. We did our nails together, got dressed in our concert best, and headed to the venue. After an amazing show and really a time of corporate worship where we got to stand right up front near the stage, we got back to the hotel and someone started prayer.

For the next hour or more, I was part of a prayer circle like nothing I had ever experienced before. There were heavy things being felt and carried by individuals in the group, many of those things were unknown to everyone, but each girl was prayed for uniquely in the Spirit with so much love. It was a night I don’t think I could ever forget. There was so much encouragement and a feeling of God’s Presence and Him carrying our burdens that it felt like I could be free in a way I hadn’t experienced before. Being supported in a community of women like that who were devoted to Jesus made a big impression on me, right at the time when I was starting to trust Jesus for myself again.

I experienced God’s love that Valentine’s weekend in community. That prayer circle was the church for me at a time when I wasn’t sure about attending to a church again. Those women set me on a trajectory of prayer that I’ll always be grateful for. Every single one was younger than me and had so much passion and wisdom in the Spirit as they sought Jesus. It put me in a state of awe and I was humbled to be a part of it. They gave me courage to pray aloud, to encourage them in return, and to love people in a way that I had been afraid to. It opened me up to a new realm of possibility in my faith and role in community.

Here at the ten year anniversary of that beautiful weekend, I am so grateful that God gave me that experience with other believers at that time in my faith journey, and allowed me to know beyond a doubt that He was present among us. I experienced in the most potent way, maybe to this day, the truth of the verse: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20).

So friends, let’s seek the Lord for our friends in the faith. For me, the love shown to me in that community of women was and is more precious than anything of this world. Let’s pray with our friends, not just for them. Being the church outside its walls stands the test of time. Ten years and counting.

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Led by the Spirit

Here in the middle of winter, there has been a shift in spiritual seasons, at least for me. I had been in a season of waiting, of resting, and of stillness. That season was humbling, and at times frustrating. In Isaiah, it says, “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). I’d been so conditioned to work and make things happen, that being out of action felt wrong. But it was exactly what God was calling me to. I learned obedience, and to submit to His will instead of mine. It became clear that I needed that season of rest and to wait for the strength of God to be behind what I did in and with my life. I learned in this last season to wait for leading from God before jumping into anything new.

To wait on God requires seeking God and His will, all the time. For me this was also a frustrating process to learn, as it seemed so incredibly mysterious and too “woo-woo” to be practical in everyday life. But I just needed to surrender to get out of my own way and believe the truth, that God really does communicate, all the time! God’s Word says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). That’s a promise!

We see an amazing example of this in Acts 13, when the church where Paul (Hebrew name Saul) was worshipping in Antioch was all fasting together. While they were seeking the Lord in worship, the Holy Spirit spoke to them and told them what they were to do next. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them‘” (Acts 13:2). After obeying this command, the next time the Holy Spirit is mentioned, He empowers Paul to speak boldly, leading to a miracle (Acts 13:11) that stopped evil influence (Acts 13:8) on a man of intelligence (Acts 13:7) in the region, and his subsequent belief in the gospel (Acts 13:12). Paul’s words and actions were led. They weren’t done on his own strength, or just because he in himself felt ready to go. He was sent by the Holy Spirit, given God’s strength to take the actions he was sent to take.

While God may not speak audibly all that often, He speaks, leads, and sends people today in many ways. He’ll also speak to us if and when we’ve taken a wrong turn. Wrong turns are okay, as long as we are listening to Him! God won’t stop letting you know what’s right and in His will for you. He always makes a way for us to come back to Him.

I’m entering a new season where God is sending me in a new direction, and I’m excited to be able to share the details with you very soon! For now, I want to share that God has graciously given me new work to do, and in this new season I’ll be doing my best to steward it well and according to His leading. Friends, I would appreciate your prayers as God is leading my life in a new direction, that I would lean on God’s strength, continue to wait on Him even in the middle of the work, and allow myself to be led by the Spirit through it all.

I encourage us all to surrender it all to God, today and every day. The Spirit is eager and longing to lead us in God’s unique and beautiful purpose for our lives. May we let Him lead us as the King of our hearts. Seek Him and you will see miracles! Let your faith in God’s leading shine, and may He will do His will through you. Amen.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).

“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit“. . .’ (Acts 2:38).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Offense on Offense

My family has been following NFL football closely this year. I know way more than I ever cared to know about coaches, players, and the big business that is American football. However, it has been helpful in getting me to think more in terms of offense and defense when it comes to the identities we take on, and try not to take on.

We can be quick to defend ourselves, our opinions, our perspectives. I easily can take offense when what I feel or think is dismissed, misunderstood, or misrepresented. I am capable of feeling very offended, especially when I’m dug in about something that I feel has been a wrong committed toward me. It’s a game that I’ve played many, many times, but the funny thing with the offense game, is that everyone loses.

When I get so offended that an argument starts, I never get the apology and the warm feelings restored that I want. Others see the worst of me and get offended right back at me. Instead of calmly righting a perceived wrong, getting offended sets off a chain of events that keep getting farther and farther away from a loving resolution.

So, how do we take an offensive approach (thinking football here) on getting offended? Without a plan, the feeling of offense tends to spiral out of control into a place that no one cares to be, but how do we go in the opposite direction in the first place? How do we turn the other way entirely from deeper division, more hurt, and more misunderstanding?

Looking at Jesus, He has every right and reason to be offended by the ways we sin, ignore His commands, and forget to include Him in decision-making, yet He never is. Jesus is so aware of and rooted in the Father’s love; He doesn’t “need” me to understand Him or see His side or say something in a nicer tone. He is secure in who He is and who His Father is. He doesn’t hold on to offense.

Focusing on how Jesus took the offenses that I committed against Him has helped me to not only think twice before getting offended, but start from a place of not feeling offended altogether. That place is a heart posture, a state of being, a perspective and posture of grateful grace that takes me beyond offense, a place I could never be without Jesus. Remembering all the ways He responded to me in love when I didn’t deserve it or know better, or understand helps me to move forward in forgiveness instead of back towards feeling offended.

As I’ve been writing about the last few weeks, the way of Jesus is the way of love, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). The way of offense is self-serving (arrogant), insistent on a problem, and holding on to an attitude of resentment or rudeness.

The way of love lets all of that go, because of the scars of Jesus. The identity that the feeling of offense tries to protect is no longer threatened, because it is rooted in the Truth of the Father’s love and the True identity found in Him. The way of love covers the sin of offense.

To take the offense (meaning like football again) on feeling offended, we remember the risen Jesus is with us, and His Spirit in us. Letting go of offense is never easy on this side of eternity, but we are able to let go of offense because we have Jesus to lean on! We don’t need to fight for position or understanding in this world, or defend our positions if threatened. An identity rooted in Truth stands confidently that we already have all the understanding we need in God, and so we don’t need or expect it from another person, no matter how close that person may be to us. He tells us not to fight or to defend (Exodus 14:14, Deuteronomy 1:30), but instead to love (John 13:34). Getting offended doesn’t help God’s cause and purposes in the world, but us loving people does. Trying to make everything fair in everyone’s eyes or being respected in the world aren’t things Jesus strove for when He was here. Walking in His footsteps, we are to love one another as He loved us (John 13:34). That’s how we can offend offense.

It changes everything to be able to let offense go. When we let it go, we also let go of the crack that it leaves open for the enemy to sneak into our hearts through. So much freedom comes in giving up the state of being offended, and in choosing the stability of the identity Jesus has already given us as co-heirs with Him (Romans 8:17). We don’t have to give in to the trap of offense when we have Jesus to help us stand firm in the Truth. Friends, it’s time to play offense!

“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall” (Ezekiel 18:30, NIV).

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34).

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well” (Matthew 5:38-40).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Doing Justice

There are many cries for justice in 2026, many hateful governments, groups, ideologies, and -isms in the world today. As hateful events happen closer to where we live, we feel anger, frustration, and perhaps even sometimes conflicted about the reassurances of the Bible, such as “…do not be afraid” (Mark 6:50). In high school, I participated in a protest against the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. That was my first real taste of the efforts for justice on an international scale. The situation was horrific, and yet as a teenager it felt far enough away to not feel threatened that the same would happen at home.

Since then, genocide that did stop 20 years ago in Sudan has recently resurfaced. I felt unsettled because I knew that the underlying problem of hate was not replaced with love. Hearts were not changed. Those protests and efforts that lasted a little while didn’t result in lasting peace. This same pattern tragically continues in many places in the world. So, what do we do when we realize that human interventions prove unsuccessful to stop acts of hate in the long term?

We can easily feel powerless to stop hate. There are hateful things even in our own circles of friends and family members that we can’t change. Jesus promised that those who believed in Him would be hated, “and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). That we understand; Jesus is confronting and can be triggering to many; He warned those who believe in Him of this.

Yet, Jesus is the only way to find True peace. He is able to change hearts filled with hate and turn even the most hopeless situations around; and we can pray with faith that He will! “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me‘” (John 14:6). As much as the world likes the idea, the Truth is that there are are not multiple ways–Jesus is the only way to life. To follow His way is to love as He loves, and to trust that He will help us expel hatred from our own hearts.

Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). After seeing human efforts to stop hate fail for over twenty years now, and going through many times of feeling powerless, I can take heart in the difficult words of Jesus, to “love our enemies” (Matthew 5:44). Now I see loving our enemies as a way to do the justice that human efforts to stop hate cannot do. Doing justice can be to earnestly love the hearts of those who do evil things in obedience to Jesus’ command, and pray for Jesus’ blood to cover them too.

Paul wrote, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). To love our enemies we must humbly remember that in the face of God’s holiness and righteousness, without Jesus we are no different than those who act in hate. We are all in desperate need, for the covering of Jesus’ blood to pay our debt before God, no matter our sin or the state of our hearts.

We give the fight for justice over to God when we choose to love in the face of hate. This involves letting go of what the world is telling us to hold tight. God desires to avenge evil Himself; He is the only True Judge. Paul wrote, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Jesus prepared us for this present hate, and He knew it was coming, saying, “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another” (Matthew 24:10). In preparation for this time, Jesus taught His followers to love.

We don’t get what our sin deserves when we are in Christ, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). How is this just? Though we all deserve the responsibility for our sin, we could not pay the price for it. Jesus came because He could make a way to pay for it on our behalf. Because of His love for us, His blood payment is now available to cover anyone’s sin debt who believes in Him, even those who have perpetrated hate and done injustice. Justice was served by Jesus’ blood. He took our place. He was and still is a God of justice. Trusting Jesus’ fulfillment of justice for our souls and the grace provided by His sacrifice allows His love to reign in our hearts, which we are commanded to share.

God is looking to partner with us and the love He’s given us through the Holy Spirit to transform and change even the hardest of hearts with love. God is after human hearts. He doesn’t operate the same way as this world of threats and fear-based consequences. It’s when we follow Him and learn to operate in His way, the way of the Kingdom of heaven, that we are free from fear.

May Jesus reign in our hearts. He is the only Way to a truly just world.

“The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14, NIV).

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8)?


“They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:19, NIV).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Loosening the Constraints of Time

Last weekend I visited a place near the water and stayed for a couple of days. This beloved place of retreat has a wonderful sense of peace, covering, and wonder that I’ve returned to over the years. While there, I often get a sense that I could be in many different time periods other than my own, with its creaky wooden staircase and its decorative historical references. All these elements combine so that being there often comes with an intangible sense that anything is possible.

However, the huge, imposing grandfather clock has rung its familiar chime every hour on the hour year after year. I never have really loved being so acutely aware of the time. It often falls into one of two extremes; either feeling like the time is slipping away too quickly, or it’s dragging on so slowly that the chime, which makes some form of a sound every 15 minutes, starts to loom irritatingly large. Even with the place’s magical quality, the clock’s chiming made time feel like something I couldn’t have the illusion of escaping from, even on a restful vacation.

That is, until this trip. The grandfather clock rang its familiar tune, but this time, something was off. First, the hour chime missed the hour by quite a lot. Then the chime indicating which hour it was was comically off by several hours. Suddenly, it became a magical land in a new way. The fantasy of not being constrained by time was much easier to inhabit when I knew the chimes could be laughed at, even ignored altogether. I could look at the actual time whenever I chose to, instead of having the time imposed upon my conscious mind. Time became irrelevant, and it felt like freedom.

God Himself is not confined by time. He operates in eternity, which can be difficult for us humans, trained on the limitations of time, to understand. “For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night” (Psalm 90:4). Similarly, Peter reminds us that time is not so relevant in light of the eternal timeline of God, “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:8-9). We have no control over time, how much we have, how fast or slow it comes and goes; we are completely dependent on God for the time that we have. Time can become so complicated the more we think about it, but there at the retreat this past weekend, I was reminded that all we are able to do is trust God with the time that He’s given us. “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Psalm 62:8). With that broken grandfather clock chime, God provided me with a glimmer of the feeling of living in His realm. There He loosened the constraints of time that I am bound by here on this earth, and gave me a taste of eternity.

Even with how much is made of time, and how much time has been overemphasized in some ways, time is in fact a good thing. God made it, and the original clock was the moon and the sun, “He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting” (Psalm 104:19). It is good for us to have rhythms to our lives, to follow the rhythm set for the earth from the very Beginning.

But, it is also good for us to catch these glimpses of eternity, which is just as real as time. Jesus Himself tells us to focus on the things of heaven, set in eternity, where time no longer has an effect on us, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). Our real treasures are the ones that are in the eternal realm; they’re the ones that last. The ones built on the fruits of the Spirit. Our time here in time is short, but it is enough for us because of Jesus. It is not something to dread or avoid, but to bring before Jesus and ask Him for wisdom.

May we ever look for God’s Truth and wonder, and find His order and respite in the midst of chaos.


“Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man!” (Psalm 89:47).

“For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:9-12).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Fear and Love

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If you’re anything like me, it’s easy for us to leap to conclusions. Something, could be anything, irritates, frustrates, or seems to cross a line, and before we know it, we’re either withdrawing or arguing about how wronged we feel. A calm, back-and-forth conversation with a lot of listening and wisdom feels impossible; we’re totally triggered. After about twenty minutes our brains start to calm down enough to better perceive the reality of the “threat.” Sound familiar? What is a threat to you?

For me, tone is a big one. If someone says something to me in a tone that I perceive is irritated with me, I tend to take it extremely personally. I get offended. I shut down. While I want to be like Christ and follow His example of patience and grace for both myself and the other person, in these moments I feel about the furthest from Christlikeness that I can get. I often leap to a conclusion that involves fear.

I’ve described this reaction as a “quick to jump to control,” and thankfully for us, the Bible is full of examples of people who also made this leap out of a place of fear, yet received God’s grace and love nonetheless.

A well-known example is Peter, and the account of him walking on water. In Matthew 14, Jesus walks on water toward the disciples’ boat, and the disciples “cried out in fear” (verse 16), thinking He was a ghost. “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.‘ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:27-31). Peter let fear dampen his faith in Jesus’ trustworthiness.

Where are our hearts? God cares about our hearts, and like Peter’s story shows us, He cares about how much faith our hearts have in Him. The first and greatest commandment according to Jesus is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5, see also Mark 12:29-30). Do we have connection with our hearts and do they come from a place of love for people and for God? To love takes selflessness. God is faithful to work in us and to help us love Him so that we may obey this command.

I’ve been convicted and challenged by the verse, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (1 John 4:18). I’ve also been greatly comforted by it. God is in the business of perfecting His people in love. Even Peter, who walked with Jesus experienced fear. Jesus was faithful to teach Peter with patience how to trust and not doubt, how to love and not choose fear.

In my frustrations with falling into fear and struggling to love like Jesus, I’m reminded that Jesus paid the price on the cross already for this lack in me. My weakness is not a problem for Jesus. My fear holds nothing that He’s not already overcome. In Acts 7, Stephen, a man “of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3) as appointed by the twelve apostles, rebuked those who misunderstood Jesus’ teaching as a threat, and told them point blank, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you” (Acts 7:51).

I want to be like Stephen, praying for wisdom and the filling of the Spirit, but I know there are many times I am sorely lacking. More often I’m like the people Stephen speaks to, the ones who are triggered, outraged, stuck in rigid control, and oblivious to the work of the Holy Spirit. In these moments again, while we are still sinners (Romans 5:8), Jesus invites us to surrender to Him, for we don’t have power to change our own hearts. All we can do is be willing (see post Nothing But Willingness) and open to let God work on our hearts and trust that He has and is and will perfect us in love.

It is out of His great love for us that Jesus has already paid the debt to allow us to let go of fear and walk in His love, trusting God and caring for people. We are covered by the blood of Jesus. Our lives are entirely in His hands, and we are safe there. We are alive in Jesus Christ forever and ever.

May we let go of fear and love God with all we are. Amen.

“and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart;” (1 Kings 8:23).

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God’s Help

Letter to my future self

Is it hard for you to accept help too, or is it just me? It can be very difficult for me to accept help from people and from God. Pride can get in the way so easily, and that’s especially when the way of the world can seem more important than the Way of Jesus. However, it’s fundamental to Christian faith to be able to accept help and grace from Jesus, and from His people. Even when I believed they couldn’t help. Even when I felt it looked weak. For some of us, it’s not as easy as it sounds to accept help.

“I hope you have looked to God to help you with all of these things.” When I was 14, I wrote that in a letter to my “40-something” self. I pulled it out of dust today, and while I’m not quite 40 yet, that letter reminded me of how much God has taught me this past year about how to let Him help me. Even at 14, I knew it was a struggle for me. I was used to walking in the opposite direction of God for help, trying to help my own self, thank you so much. I wouldn’t have admitted that, though. But, revelation comes when we are ready to see it. God is so mercifully patient with us that way.

I was lost in the way of the world and couldn’t stop going the wrong way, like running on a treadmill with a broken emergency brake. But I didn’t know how to fix it. I needed help. God helped me first by letting me break all the way down. To the point where I couldn’t help myself even if and when I tried. “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2). It was humbling, but it was the lesson I needed. We can’t humble or transform our own hearts, we need Jesus to do that.

Part of me will probably always be prone to being tempted to earn things for myself; I think that’s normal for us human beings. But God has been faithfully teaching me a new Way, a Way of freedom from sin, including the pride that kept me from accepting help. My letter showed me that my 14-year-old self was longing for it and I’m grateful that I’m finally starting to learn. And God is faithful to teach you too. He never gives up on us, not even after many, many years. It’s His kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). So now, though I’m sure I’ll mess up again, because hi, human, I’m looking to Him more than ever to live a life aligned with the Truth: that it is only by God’s help that we have every breath and blessing.

May we all learn to rest in the Truth of God’s help, aware of how completely we depend on Him for all we need. Amen.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore (Psalm 121:8).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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In Flesh and Spirit

Applying the Bible to day-to-day life is an ongoing, daily decision. For a long time, I didn’t really understand how it applied to my job or sleep or inner monologue. I got very used to doing whatever felt right and seemed right to me at the time, which I’d describe as my default way of being. I later learned the Bible calls it the way of the flesh. 1 Corinthians 3:3 calls being in the flesh “behaving only in a human way.” Well, human is what I am, isn’t it? Why should I expect more?

But we all do, don’t we? We know what we want to do, but sometimes—or as was in my case, often—we just don’t. No great explanation, we just fail to show up, fail to follow through, or run out of time or energy. I think Paul captures this frustration best, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (Romans 7:18-20). This isn’t to be read as an excuse for doing things we ought not do. Instead, it highlights how much we need Jesus. Only through Him can we be given the ability to do God’s will, or using the language in the ESV Bible, the ability to walk by the Spirit. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

The way out of the frustrating cycle of doing what we don’t want to do depends entirely on how dependent we are on Jesus. To be in the spirit involves our minds, our thoughts: “those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5b). It also involves leaving behind the selfishness that our flesh defaults to, “if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13b). Easier said than done, eh? Our minds churn out thousands of thoughts every day, and our bodies creep toward seeking comfort at every turn. To go against all that seemingly makes us human to obey God is no small feat, and one that we simply cannot do alone.

No matter how difficult it can be to resist old patterns of thought and behavior, God does not set us up to fail. To depend on Jesus is to be set up by Jesus with the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to be able to transcend our human weaknesses to obey the will of God. In surrender to God, we can love Jesus and keep His commandments (John 14). This is something our flesh simply cannot do. When we trust in Jesus and obey Him, we are able to walk by the Spirit and do things that aren’t possible on our own strength.

When we don’t depend on Jesus daily, or take care to walk in relationship with Him, we can quickly default to a self-pleasing or people-pleasing way of being, or the way of flesh. Jesus warns of this happening even when our intentions are good, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

By trying to be like God we fell into the state of being in the flesh. But in His grace, God has made a way for us to walk in the spirit despite our human shortcomings. In fact, He turns our weakness into the very avenue that leads us to Him. It is when we admit to and surrender our weakness to God in trust that He empowers us to walk in the Spirit.

The flesh, while something we must all live with and are warned about in Scripture, can be used for good when we choose to surrender it to Jesus. It makes your relationship with Jesus so much closer! It is in admitting the weakness of the flesh that I found out how completely I had to surrender to Jesus, and it is so worth it. Paul acknowledges this too, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

In Jesus, we have the power to overcome the power that the flesh has over us, and the power to walk in a way of goodness and obedience far beyond our human capability. He is faithfully restoring all things that were lost through Jesus. May we choose to walk in the Spirit daily, just as God created us to do from the Beginning. Amen.

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! . . .” (Romans 7:21-25).

“…if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. . . .” (Acts 5:38b-39a).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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The Spiritual Disciplines: Silence

One of my favorite things to do is take a silent retreat. It is impossible to predict how it will go; they can be both terrifying and peacefully beautiful. The presence of the Lord is both and for me that’s what a silent retreat is all about: seeking God’s Presence.

I’ve tried to take at least one such retreat each year for the last few years. The retreats don’t have to be very long, but they have become welcome times when I can find a place in the year from which to move forward. (I’ve never really been a big fan of January 1st as a fresh start.) Scripture describes time with God to be refreshing: “Repent . . . that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…” (Acts 3:19-20). I’ve certainly found this to be True.

It seems odd at times to talk about being in God’s Presence as a discipline or spiritual practice; God is after all omnipresent. The Holy Spirit is always with us (John 14:12-13). However, hearing His still, small Voice sometimes does require intentionality. It takes effort to be silent, take the time to listen, and simply marvel at the fact that through Jesus, we can enjoy being with our holy Father. Sometimes it takes silence on our part to appreciate this profound gift.

I wrote about the practice of solitude years ago in a previous blog, TSD: Solitude. Solitude and silence often go together very closely, and often have the same broad goal of connecting with God. However, some of my most profound times of silence have not been in solitude, but in the company of other seekers of God’s Presence. Practicing silence in community is something very sacred, and I don’t have proper words for it, except to encourage you to experience it on a silent retreat for yourself.

Silence as a spiritual discipline implies visiting a place of inner quietness along with and often helped by getting in a quiet outer environment. As I’ve worked for the past year to disconnect from the things which tend to rev up my inner noise, I’ve noticed it’s become a little bit easier to rest. Resting in God’s Presence is something I have struggled with, but it is indeed what God asks of us. Like sheep, we are invited to rest in the care of God our Shepherd in trust that He has our lives in His hands, and that we don’t need to fear (Psalm 23).

Yet, being in God’s Presence, as I mentioned, can be terrifying, or at least something to prefer to avoid. Psalm 90 describes this, “You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence” (Psalm 90:8). Nothing is hidden when we come before God and enter His Presence intentionally. Suddenly, we may become acutely aware of our utter failure to hold up our end of the relationship with God, to be perfect as Jesus was. Thankfully, Jesus’ perfection covers us, having allowed us to be in God’s Presence in the first place. We are utterly dependent on Jesus, and in the practice of silence we can become more aware of this fact. “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24). We cannot give defense of our sins before God, as we so easily can try to do before people. In God’s Presence, we are completely undone. “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,” (Psalm 114:7). That’s the terrifying bit. The fear of God is a necessary part of relationship with Him.

But the beauty of it is worth that momentary discomfort. (No one said silence was easy!) After experiencing the humility that comes from being in His Presence, comes the incredible love and grace God gives freely and abundantly. His Presence is an expression of love for us; it is where we are transformed and healed. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). If you want to be changed, drawing near to God, being in His Presence, is the only way I’ve found leads to real transformation.

Silence is not easy and it takes some intention. But it is a practice, and it is one that can help our relationship with God if we are willing to take the risk. Practice silence in solitude and practice silence with others, but most of all, don’t hold back from all that is awaiting you in God’s Presence.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

“And he said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest‘” (Exodus 33:14).

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” (1 Chronicles 16:11).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Nothing but Willingness

Today I have no prepared insights to write about, no theme on my mind, no Scripture to anchor my anecdotes. As usual, my demons haunt me with thoughts about not being worthy to write at all, not being a voice worth sharing, and all the other such lies I used as excuses to stop trying. But today I’m choosing to write anyway, stare my demons in the face and defy them. Resist!

So, how are we doing? I like to take a look back at the end of summer as the new year is soon to come; I’ve begun to measure years starting with the beginning of autumn, in keeping with the Jewish calendar. What I see now is that I took some steps forward at the start of the summer, and have since taken a step back. Thankfully, Jesus is still King.

Today, in light of feeling set back, I feel like all I have to offer to God is willingness. I’m willing to obey Him and willing to do what He asks, but as Scripture says, the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). I don’t feel the same confidence I had at the start of this summer to take action, to enact change, or to get things done. But I can look back now and see that God has been and still is using it all. He uses our ups and downs, the days when we fall apart and the days when we are steady, the emotions we feel and the people around us, all to draw us closer to Himself. Today the Holy Spirit encourages us to turn to Him and to teach us to follow Him, just like Jesus, when He walked the earth, taught His disciples to follow Him.

For me, this year has been another season of learning more deeply that emotions don’t equal Truth, and that how I feel isn’t often aligned with Truth. This is one of the things that made me decide to start this blog in the first place, to better discern what is actually True versus what felt True at the time. As a person who is naturally wired to use emotions as intel, this is a hard lesson I’ve been tempted to forget over and over. But God has been mercifully patient with me and simply has taught it to me again this year.

These lessons we keep learning, these are clues for us. We can recognize them and bring them to God in earnest. All I can bring today to the foot of God is willingness to walk in the lesson learned; but walking in the completed transformation is something different. Some days, like today, all I can do is to be willing. God can always do something with our willingness, when we give Him room in our hearts to work. There are things I cannot overcome without God’s help–everything, in fact! That is something I’ve learned the hard way.

As this year winds down, may we all be willing to bring our shortcomings before God and earnestly ask Him to overcome where we cannot. Amen.

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1-3).

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