Lay down on your back and close your eyes. God, I give you everything that is on my mind. I give you everything I’m trying to solve. I give you all of my problems. I give you all of the world’s problems that are on my shoulders. I give you all the injustices. I give you the people who are against me. The problems I can’t solve. The people I’m waiting for. The stress and the strain. They are yours now. I take them off my shoulders and out of my mind and put them in your hands. I close your fingers around them. I now rest my mind in your presence. I rest in being with you. I rest in being your son/daughter. I rest in being a human being not a human doing.
Psalm 36 Devotional – God’s Unfailing Love for You
Meanwhile God isn’t trying to deprive people of delight, he’s trying to draw us toward real delight. He’s trying to draw us toward a solid foundation that doesn’t eventually evaporate. I’m reminded of Jesus’ parable of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7:24-29. Psalm 36 takes it up to an even more worshipful notch though. It lays out the path of the sand, the path that evaporates, and it lays out the path of the rock. The path that holds up when life’s trials come. The path that holds up for all of eternity. But then it uses these two paths to lead us into worship. It leads us to praise God for his love and faithfulness that reaches to the skies, his righteousness that’s like the highest mountain, and his justice that is deeper than the ocean. What imagery! What beauty. It leads us to his unfailing love. His priceless, unfailing love. There is no better picture than this in all of Scripture. God loves you so much. His love for you is worth more than all the money, gold, and treasure in the world. And his love for you never, ever fails.
Ep. 49: The Sex Episode
Noah previews his new book Beyond the Battle: A man’s guide to his identity in Christ in an oversexualized world, which releases July 13th and is available for pre-order now.
Psalm 34 Devotional – A refuge to the brokenhearted
Verse 18 tells us the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. It’s important that we recognize how rare this claim is among world religions, both historical and contemporary. Our God cares for the broken. He cares for the oppressed. He cares for the abused. He cares for the impoverished. He cares! This is such a gift to each of us whom he cares for, and sets us on a path to embody his love to a crushed and brokenhearted world.
Psalm 33 Devotional – He Puts the Sea into Jars!
I wonder what examples a psalmist would use for our epitomes of power today that we look to to deliver us… No businessman is saved by the size of his portfolio; no politician escapes by his great following. Possessions and wealth are vain hopes for deliverance, despite all their momentary comfort, they cannot save. Just as kings, physical strength, and horses were not sinful in the ancient world, I’m not saying portfolios, politics, and possessions are sinful today. But am I saying that we look to these things to deliver us. They are the things we spend most of our worry, anxiety, and stress on.
Ep.48: Interview with Sam and Tova Jones on Marriage and Singleness
This interview is a deep dive into issues facing married couples and singles today and is loaded with great advice and strategies.