living by faith

Kindness is always a good fit

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

Several years ago following the closing of my local men’s shop, I found myself needing a new suit.

While in Nashville for doctor’s appointment, I noticed a national menswear location having a sale nearby.

I was in my mid-20s, several friends were marrying in the coming months, and I needed to make my purchase soon.

Upon entering, I spotted an older man who appeared the stereotype of a tailor- tape measure around his neck, reading glasses perched on his nose, and a determined look on his face.

The store was empty of other customers, so I walked up, and briefly explained I didn’t wear a suit often, but I was looking for something simple for funerals, weddings, and special occasions.

Looking me up and down, he responded, “Well, do you prefer the Asian style cut or more of a European fit?”

He could tell I did not know the difference, and it seemed to give him joy to watch me look unsure.

“I am not sure. Just simple and black and that fits well I think,” I finally answered.

“Unless you know what you want, I can’t help you. Look around if you want,” he said and went back to folding shirts.

While this was a relatively minor incident, it made me feel small, unwelcome, and foolish. I was a most willing customer, but for whatever reason, he did not see me, listen to me, or do anything helpful- instead, he left me feeling that I was not worthy of his time, energy, or effort.

Because he did not make any effort to listen or truly help, he missed an opportunity to not only make a sale, but to show common courtesy.

And I was still without a suit.

A rival chain store was nearby, so I stopped there. As I entered, I met William.

William also had the tape measure and reading glasses, but he had a smile, warmth, and questions.

He asked what I was looking for, where I lived, what I did for a living, how often I wore a suit, how long I had been in ministry, how soon I would need the suit if it required alterations.

Because of a seasonal markdown, I could actually buy two suits with my budget, and he advised me to do the basic black I needed, but also a more youthful brown.

He spent well over an hour with me- measuring, adjusting, and giving me time to consider options and styles. I mentioned my plans to a wedding the next weekend, and he offered to have any alterations done quickly so I would not have to make another trip to Nashville.

I drove home that day with not only the clothes I needed, but with more confidence, a sense of being heard and helped, and a great impression of that man and his store.

Now years later, I still have “William the Suit Guy” saved in my phone, and I have shopped with that company several times since.

Small encounters matter a great deal.

People we encounter every day may appear to have widely differing needs, but each person wants to feel seen, appreciated, and valued.

For all I know the man at the first store was just having a bad day, but I still remember how I felt when I walked out of his store and the stark contrast when I left after my time with William a few hours later.

While person’s faith must be grounded in truth and not based on feelings alone, how we choose to respond when people ask us about our faith will either welcome conversations or will serve to shut down even the most eager, curious people.

I pray that our hearts will be more attuned to hear what people are truly saying, and our words and actions might point them to our Lord who loves, listens, and truly cares about each person.

Harvest Time Is Here

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

We find ourselves once again in the midst of the harvest season here in rural West Tennessee.

For the next few weeks, farmers will continue to labor to bring forth from the fields the abundance of what has grown over the last several months. We are blessed to live in an agricultural community- where we live daily in connection with both the bounty and burdens that come with being stewards of the land.

Composed in the midst of agrarian cultures, Scripture turns often to the images of planting, husbandry, and harvest as present physical realities that illustrate eternal spiritual truth. In the narratives of the Bible, sowing, tending, and reaping are near constant themes.

Like our ancestors, we come to appreciate that tomorrow’s harvest is based on yesterday’s labors.

No realistic farmer would live in the expectation of a vast harvest to come unless many hours of preparation and planting had already occurred.

While this may seem obvious to us who are familiar with the sight of planters and sprayers giving way to scenes of combines and cotton pickers as the seasons change, we often ignore this principle spiritually.

Many churches and communities look up one day to appoint new leaders or to recruit new volunteers and realize the preparation for these roles should have been initiated long before the workers were needed.

What holds true in our churches holds true in our own hearts.

If we are unwilling to cultivate our lives faithfully, we should not expect the most fruitful harvest.

God can, and does, bring forth unexpected blessings, but our responsibility to plant faithfully and tend consistently in His kingdom today is His appointed way to prepare the harvest we long to see in the future.

As with physical farming, we also acknowledge that a given season’s harvest is impacted by many factors- some we can control and some we cannot.

Sickness, economics, and the decisions of others can all powerfully affect the outward results of our lives. Despite seeking to be faithful and to lean into God’s leading, we sometimes face tough seasons of loss, hurt, or personal challenges.

Faithful living, like faithful farming, comes by adjusting as best we can to these circumstances we can never fully predict.

The life of faith requires the daily choice to keep trusting and keep working in spite of the unforeseen hardships we face. As believers, we rest in God’s faithfulness, and from this assurance, we labor in love to share His gifts and to bless others day by day.

We also come to understand that the opportunity to harvest must be seized when the time is right.

If we panic and gather too soon, we pick a crop that is immature, not fully formed, and suffer loss. If we wait for perfect conditions to arrive, we risk a crop that is too dry, water-damaged, insect-compromised, or impacted by the coming of winter.

It is the goal of the farmer, as well as the active disciple, to develop an understanding of different soils, seeds, moisture, geography, and weather conditions, and to come to appreciate the “just right” moment to gather in the crop.

When the moment is right, it becomes a race against time and the factors of life to garner in the crop while it will yield the best result.

Such a sense of timing, both in farming and in discipleship, is best gained by imitating those who have gone before and learning through our own experiences over a lifetime of faithful living.

Humanity’s roots in farming are ancient, but the applications we can gain spiritually from observing the physical harvest are as fresh as a crisp fall morning.

May we not neglect to appreciate and value what God’s created order reveals about our own hearts.

Come aside and rest awhile…

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

We have all experienced situations where we could sense the momentum of the moment was shifting dramatically.

The excitement swelling up in a crowd at a concert when the first chords of the band’s hit song are struck. The rush taking over in a crowded gym as one team enters the zone where they can do nothing wrong and the other can seem to do nothing to stop them. The shift moving through a tense meeting when one idea rises to the top and soon carries the conversation.

In such moments of excitement and power, we often feel both a sense that we cannot let the opportunity pass and also a feeling that we are caught up in something far bigger than ourselves.

I believe wanting to act on momentum while still appreciating the real danger of being overwhelmed by activity was an issue in the early church.

These believers were truly on the cutting edge of a movement that in the span of one lifetime “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6), and yet most were common, everyday people without formal training in either theology or ministry (Acts 4:13).

It would have been easy to get caught up in the momentum that accompanied the miracles and mission work and to lose their grounding as servants of Jesus.

In our own time, we do not have to look hard to see men and women committed to God’s work who have become battered by stress, overwhelmed by burnout, and collapsed under moral or relational failure.

How did Jesus respond during His earthly ministry when His disciples brought news of the skyrocketing momentum and constant activity in their ministries?

In Mark 6, Jesus commissions His apostles to go out in pairs to teach, heal, and share the good news in the power of the Spirit. Almost immediately, these efforts yield huge results as the sick, possessed, and hurting are brought to them and restored- opening the door to their preaching and teaching.

The crowds are flocking to receive blessing and hear the truth. When they report back to Jesus later in the same chapter (Mk 6:30), they relate to Jesus all that is happening through their teaching and miracle-working.

In the midst of a thronging crowd so dense they did not even have time to break to eat, Jesus says, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.” (Mk 6:31)

In a moment of great momentum and excitement, Jesus calls for them to pull back and to rest and refocus.

This strategy is certainly opposite of what we would expect of a charismatic leader or any public figure today.

Rather than pushing them to bigger numbers and pressing into deeper and deeper activity, Jesus discerns that their incredible report calls for intentional rest.

The crowds can, and in fact do, keep coming, but Jesus acknowledges that there is a danger in becoming overextended- even in the best of all possible causes.

Connection with Jesus Himself, rather than the signs, the wonders, and even the doctrine, proved to be the essential element needed to maintain and grow health and holiness among the first disciples.

I would suggest that the same is true for us as followers of Christ today.

Momentum is a blessing, but it can never be allowed to become the primary factor in building and sustaining a ministry or a movement.

Spiritual maturity and deep relationships will always sustain us longer than passing momentum and exciting circumstances.

Momentum yields powerful fruits and blesses us in certain seasons, but our long-term connections with Christ, Scripture, and fellow believers provide the roots that continually equip us with the subtle strength we will need for a lifetime of faith.

Will change make us bitter or better?

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán

We are living through a time of tremendous shifts- political, social, cultural, and spiritual.

Who deserves blame? Who deserves credit?

Does it matter how we respond to times of change? How can we respond faithfully to times of transition in our world?

As we live by faith, we must acknowledge that change is a part of life.

In our country’s history, we can consider that Civil War veterans lived to see the Great Depression, and only six decades passed between the first airplane flight and the Apollo moon landing. As many noted yesterday, many children born after September 11, 2001 are now adults with some already serving in the military.

Time truly marches on.

Major changes are a part of not only our specific national history, but the overall ongoing passage of time.

The wise speaker of Ecclesiastes 3 declared that “to everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.”

In this passage’s contrasting list, birth and death, planting and harvest, breaking down and building up, along with many other cycles of life, are shared as proof that the one constant is the presence of change.

Change is not only possible in our lives- it is certain.

Our faith cannot prevent change, but it does equip us with a spiritual perspective when changes come.

By faith, we come to be able to acknowledge, accept, and even welcome needed changes.

The last few decades have witnessed dramatic transformations in so many areas of our lives. Technology and transportation advances alone have made everything from our shopping to our missionary support easier, safer, and more convenient.

Socially, changes have occurred that believers should welcome gladly. The Civil Rights Movement for racial equality, awareness to better care for God’s created world, and laws to prevent the exploitation of children, the elderly, and those living with disabilities have all been major changes.

We all tend to resist change unless we can see the benefit in human terms and in the impact changes have on people we love. Change is constant, but as believers we can work to guide the changes in our families, communities, and larger world.

What we do today may well be changed later, but as those seeking to live for Jesus, our goal is to share the life-changing message of Christ.

If we fail to keep His message at the center, and instead cling to one beloved method, we run the risk of losing our grounding in changing times.

All change creates uncertainty, but it is our faith that equips us to hold fast to God as we face the challenges those changes bring.

Change is scary, but the God we serve has not changed- He has not wearied or faded or lost interest in His people.

In times of change, we cannot let our fear of what might happen next blind us to the faithfulness of God in the past.

As change rapidly occurs around us in many areas of life, we can be tempted to default to an appreciation of the past coupled with discouragement in the present and despair about the future.

When we allow the specter of change to overwhelm us, we miss out on seeing the good and precious things God is doing right now in the lives of His people.

Will the forces of change overwhelm us?

Will the constant currents around us drive our roots deeper into better connection with Christ or will these same changes in our world make us petty and bitter towards others?

The changes are certain- how we respond as God’s people is up to us.

Where Wisdom Waits

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

Seeing hundreds of photos of local children returning to school last week, I could not help but recall teachers who impacted my own life.

Some taught students effectively due to high doses of both energy and engagement.

Others were dedicated to their particular subject and taught with a contagious intensity.

As I grew older, I came to see the power of a teacher who not only could provide correct information but who could push students to ask deeper questions. Knowledge of the correct information is key, but sharing that information in a way that causes students think more fully is a mark of our wisest teachers.

While knowledge and wisdom are at times parallel and often intertwine, the ability to apply what we know to how we live ultimately passes beyond “just the facts” and into the realm of true wisdom.

Knowledge tells us what we have in front of us, but wisdom helps us decide how to live faithfully with whatever we have.

Scripture reveals that true wisdom comes from God. We are reminded that if we lack wisdom, we should ask, and God will give it generously (James 1:5).

Often in life, we become frustrated as if attempting to put together an elaborate toy or piece of furniture. It looks simple enough, and so we race ahead soon finding ourselves lost in the complex assembly. If we keep at this task long enough, we realize (or perhaps are told by an onlooker) that we should have read the directions first.

Spiritually, we often do the same.

Rather than seeking to know God’s will and asking for the wisdom to live each day, we rush ahead and only ask for help once the trouble hits. Such an attitude may seem like independence, but our repeated refusals to ask for help only further prove our lack of godly wisdom and genuine humility.

The Bible also teaches that wisdom comes not only directly from God but from the counsel of others who have faced the trials of life before us. A foolish person believes he is the first person to ever face his particular problem, but a wise person seeks out the advice of others (Prov 12:15).

A lot of us want to go our own way and to do things according to our own understanding. In some areas of life such confidence can be a blessing, but we are foolish if we allow self-confidence to prevent us from seeking out the wisdom others have gained through time and experience.

Wisdom understands that learning from others shows strength rather than weakness.

A person without wisdom is a great waster of time.

This individual sees the future either as too immediate to change or too far away to be concerned about.

When God’s Word tells us to walk in wisdom, one aspect of a such a life is “redeeming the time” (Eph 5:15-17). One who possesses wisdom understands that time is precious and will seek to make the most of each moment.

Knowledge can give us the facts we need to act, but wisdom tells us when action is needed and what action is best.

Knowledge can be sought, processed, and quantified while wisdom is received through prayer, discerned through conversations, and demonstrated through faithful actions.

May we come to appreciate how much we need not only to know the right answers, but to ask better questions and to faithfully apply godly wisdom to our lives.

“For What Is Your Life?”

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

In speaking of the brevity of life, James 4:14 offers this insight,

“For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

Few of us who have lived long in this life would deny this truth.

One day we are nervous about our first day of school and the next we are watching our own grandchildren walk across the stage at their graduations.

Despite knowing that even the longest life is brief, we often live an unexamined life under the impression that we will have more time.

While we cannot know the exact length of our days or the challenges they will bring, we can and should choose the mindset we embrace as we move through our lives.

When looking at the issues facing our world, some will choose to live a constantly critical life.

There is certainly much wrong in our world- destructive weather and tragic accidents, crime and violence, corruption and injustice, disease and spiritual darkness.

All of us who are paying attention see these challenges and these hardships, but we consider the many bad situations side-by-side with the good that exists around us.

The one who chooses the critical life ends up actually wanting to be cynical and bitter so the truth of his own judgment proves true- and he comes to discount any aspect of reality that would prove there is good left and hope alive.

To paraphrase the folk song, this person sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest.

Such a critical life not formed in a moment, but by many small negatives that compound over time.

Not everyone will choose this cynical criticism, but many of us will choose to lead highly compartmentalized lives.

In order survive in an often harsh world, we divide our larger lives into smaller sections and parts that, at least in theory, can be managed more easily.

We may have “work life,” “family life,” “school life,” “church life,” and so on. We come to think we can keep these areas of life from overlapping too much, and we approach each day with the idea of divide and conquer.

We often come to realize that while this compartmentalization may be efficient for a season, it becomes an unfulfilling and often conflicted way to live.

We may do a lot, but nothing is done fully or well.

If our compartments conflict, we end up living with more self-created tension and anxiety.

Amid those who are critical of others or so compartmentalized that they struggle to be genuine, there are those who will choose a committed, Christ-centered life.

Both the commitment and the focus on Christ are vital to those who take this path.

On the surface, a committed life of any kind may sound positive, but it is only better if our guiding commitments are set upon the right things.

Being Christ-centered is essential, but we must be centered in Him and committed to Jesus over the course of time- not just in the excited enthusiasm that often accompanies conversion.

To be both committed and Christ-centered will form the lasting components that shape a faithful life.

Life is brief, and yet the life we choose shapes not only our own souls but impacts the many lives that intersect our own.

We cannot know what will befall us or how soon our vapor will vanish, but we can commit and center our days in the One who not only knows our paths but values our lives far more than we can ever fully understand.

Distractions I Love

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

If you use social media, you have likely seen several different versions of this type of article.
My hope is it will serve as a reminder to all of us and a simple encouragement to share with young parents who may need it this week.

Once again, you are sitting in worship, and your child is restless.

Perhaps even moving around and getting noisy. You try to calm them down, and things only seem to get louder. You try to pacify them with a small snack, toy, or whispered encouragement, and nothing works. You wrestle with them, and debate whether to wait out the moment or take them outside.

You feel like you are distraction either way.

All the while, you are a little embarrassed, and maybe a little frustrated too. You look around and seem like the only one fighting this fight. You might even think to yourself, “There’s not much point in coming to worship. I can’t focus on the service because I am constantly caring for my kid(s), and I know we are distracting others. What’s the use?”

I humbly suggest you take another look around.

The widow over there quietly gives thanks at the sight of you wrestling with your little one. She was once where you are once, and she knows how hard it can be. Oh, she remembers, but she smiles because to hear small children and see young parents here brightens her day. She received some discouraging test results this week, but even without that recent blow, time tells her that her race of faith is nearing its end. Overhearing the loudly-whispered questions of your little one takes her back to her own youth, her friends, and their families, all gone now, who once shared this sacred space.

That older man who always seems to be a bit grouchy sees you too. He’s always going on about how young people these days have no respect or sense of respect. The world is bad and getting worse is the message repeated each night on the news, but he sees your young family in worship each week, and he can tell how hard you work to be there. He knows something about hard work and hard times. Whether or not he can admit it, seeing (and hearing) your noisy kids gives him a little hope that maybe world isn’t doomed after all. No one would call him an expert on church trends, but even he knows it would be far easier to stay home or head to the lake or the ballpark after a hard week.

The preacher who may look tired and frustrated is not wearied by your presence but because he spent his Saturday night sitting up with a sick church member at the hospital, sharing an infrequent evening with just his own family, or waking early a few hours ago to pray for God to bless today’s lesson. His fatigue is not from your kids- in fact, their presence is a treasured reminder that God is still working in this place.

Keep on bringing your children to worship. As hard as it might be at times when half-asleep and worn down from the week, keep that connection strong. You are an encouragement to so many, and you are placing your children upon a strong foundation.

Whatever we make time for in life is seen as a default priority.

If we set the priority of attending worship as a family when our kids are small, it is far more likely to be second nature for our children as they grow older, make their own choices, and face even more distractions.

For the rest of us, young parents and their kids who are making the effort to be present should never be seen as distractions.

Their commitment is essential- not only to the future but to the present life and impact of every church family.

“It’s just so unfair!”

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

“We just want things to be fair for everybody.”

How many times have we heard a parent, teacher, coach, or politician express the idea that fairness in life is not only desirable, but an achievable goal in a given situation?

Certainly, if we are talking about people having an opportunity to succeed or a chance to follow their dreams, fairness may be an ideal to strive toward. Day to day, however, we quickly realize that challenges- some we actively cause and many we do not- impact access to opportunities and create an uneven path to fairness in many areas of life.

In the midst of our world’s clamor to be fair, Christians are called to be grace-filled, forgiving, and compassionate.

Often when those around us demanding things should “just be fair” are actually seeking advantage for themselves, but believers are reminded that success for the Christian is not defined in terms of worldly status but in faithfulness to Christ. As we live in a world focused on gaining more and promoting the fear driven by perceived scarcity, disciples are to live a life that is open-handed and gracious to all.

This attitude of grace is not formed from our natural inclinations or under the influence of our dominant culture. Grace toward others can only be truly extended by those who have experienced God’s grace in their own lives.

Believers know the world is not fair- and we should be extremely thankful for it.

Because of Christ’s gracious gift, we are relieved of the massive burden of our sin. The Person who was not responsible for the world’s brokenness comes to us in lovingkindness and takes our hurts and harm upon Himself. If life was fair, the Bible (and humanity itself) would end in Genesis 3 with the first sin, but because of God’s unfair grace, we are given another opportunity to start again. This scenario of sin, hurt, grace, and hope repeats across the millennia of Scripture as well as in our own lives each day.

We should not long for fairness from God- in the light of His perfection, who could honestly claim we want what we deserve?

It is so hard to admit mistakes and confess our inability to sort out our lives in our own strength.

As we feel that we are beginning to grow in grace, the frustrations of life seem to rise in response. God’s grace is abounding, but so often we limit our own ability to share in this abundance. Rather than freely sharing in the divine bounty that is available, we focus instead on defining the terms of grace and building borders around God’s intended blessings.

We often give the impression that if God’s grace gets out of control, the lack of boundaries will cheapen our own bond with Him.

Until we come to acknowledge and appreciate God’s grace toward us, we will continue to struggle to share His love to those who need it most.

Ultimately, I must resolve to let God be God and to accept both His love for me and to appreciate His grace toward others.

We are to be ambassadors for Christ and ministers of reconciliation rather than gatekeepers of grace.

The message of the gospel is that we receive God’s grace we could never earn rather than the wage of death that our sin deserves.

Through Christ, all people are offered the opportunity to share in the riches of grace- it is not fair, but it truly is good news.

Where are the people of God?

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

O LORD, we think we have it all figured out.

We are so certain that our ways are conformed to Your ways, and yet Scripture tells us that Your ways are higher- higher than this one moment, our frantic news cycle, our own all-absorbing ambitions and power grabs. We proclaim our oneness with You even as we reject and fear and refuse to love our neighbor- whichever neighbor we can be convinced to divide from and despise today.

God, help us.

When will we ever learn, Lord?

We prefer our labels to love.

We offer our political posturing rather than words of peace.

We choose noisy crowds over nuanced conversations.

We seize the win of an instant over the wisdom that can come only forth from seasons of reflection.

Lord, help us to recognize our faults and to appreciate our failures.

We are so limited, so small, so petty, so forgetful of the glory You offer in Christ.

And yet, we declare with the those of old, “we would see Jesus.”

Where is Jesus, Lord?
Where is Your visible presence among us?
Where are those called by Your name?
Where are the people of God in a world full of anger, bitterness, and self-seeking?

You answer again in the still, small voice of grace, and remind us that, “My people are right where they always have been…”

  • Proclaiming good news.
  • Speaking truth in compassion to the straying.
  • Declaring the truth in boldness to those bewitched by power.
  • Comforting the hurting, praying with the broken, and raising the oppressed.
  • Singing out hope in the darkness of despair.
  • Setting prisoners at liberty and lifting the burdens of the downcast.
  • Admitting shortcomings, acknowledging sins, and turning from wrongs.
  • Serving the poor, healing the sick, and sitting with sorrowing.
  • Fighting for change, cleaning up messes, and making amends.
  • Listening to struggling strangers on benches, on buses, and in bars.
  • Hearing the unspoken tensions that echo each night in hurting homes, broken communities, and lonely hearts.
  • Serving all those that go unserved.
  • Noticing those who others miss.
  • Loving all those that go unloved.
  • Pointing each soul to Jesus.

When it seems that all is lost, that every knee has gladly bowed in submission to the gods of this world, that all have compromised the glory of the eternal for the gratification of the momentary- remember the gates of death and hell have not prevailed.

They have not.

They will not.

They cannot.

Hold fast and take courage for He who promised is faithful.

Intentional Practices in Distraction

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

We often find ourselves in seasons of distraction.

While we may be moving rapidly through full, busy days, we find our actual focus dulled by the summer heat, numerous activities, major health challenges, or unending preparations for upcoming events.

Distraction becomes a subtle destroyer- we may still get everything done, but little is done well or enjoyed fully as we take on more and more.

Even if we recognize this problem, we often do not want to burden others with our challenges, and because of this social silence, we tend to think we are the only ones distressed by the busy pace. In our desire to avoid awkwardness, we actually create more opportunities for our distress to grow and potentially lead to lasting spiritual harm.

Unless we acknowledge the challenge, we cannot employ intentional practices to overcome the fatigue and frustration created by our distractions.

In distracted seasons, we need to recenter our lives with intentional prayer.

In overwhelming busyness, it is difficult to take time to truly pray. The idea of setting aside time to pray in the midst of an already hectic life seems counterintuitive.

“Why pray when I could be doing?” “Rather than a certain time, can’t I just pray as I move through my busy day?” “Isn’t spontaneous prayer really more heart-felt anyway?”

While we can pray at any time in any place, Scripture reveals that some spiritual victories come only in response to a disciplined life (Mt 17:19-21). It is Satan’s design to disconnect us from God, our Source of spiritual strength.

As the saying goes, if the devil cannot make us bad, he will make us busy.

When we move to pray, we are taking a step toward returning our relationship with God to the center of our lives.

It is in life’s most hectic times when we feel least like praying that we often most need to pray.

We keep track of the most important appointments/events in our lives. We mark down what we do not want to miss- doctors’ appointments, weddings, reunions, recitals, concerts, and ballgames. It is not that we would always forget, but that we want to be certain to prioritize the most important things and set that time apart. What could be more important than a daily appointment with the Lord that we prepare for and commit to keeping amid the busyness of life?

A set time of prayer need not be seen as a surrender to legalism, but simply a personal discipline that seeks to shape our busy days with more time purposefully spent with God.

Along with prayer, we need to reengage in intentional fellowship with others.

While a restored connection to God through prayer is essential, we also need the support of other believers as we seek to establish balance and boundaries in our lives.

As human beings, we are created for life in community- both socially and spiritually.

In times when our own fire is dimmed and dying out, we can draw warmth and light from the believers gathered around us. We may feel like we are the only ones struggling, but when we give voice to our fears, we find others too are overwhelmed by life’s hardships. Such honesty serves as a gateway to the strength that comes only when fellow disciples join together to listen, pray, and bear one another’s burdens.

In Christ, we have access to our Heavenly Father and the comfort of the Spirit throughout our lives- even in seasons of increased busyness and distraction.

In the face of life’s distractions, we can choose to embrace the practices of intentional prayer and active fellowship in order to refocus on God and draw strength from the enduring bond we share in Christ.