I (Kevin) watched the movie Bella last night and was reminded of an important and neglected truth in most churches today. The world is hurting and needs hope. And, they will have no place for the hope we offer if it is only for the life to come.

Bella is a movie about two people dealing with past experiences that threaten to keep them from living life now. The cinematography was great which made the movie quite enjoyable. I liked the movie, but you can like the movie or not. The point I wanted to bring out is that the experiences of the main characters are not far from the experiences of the world we are trying to reach. Bad things happen. The innocent are hurt or even killed. Walls are erected for protection.

What are we going to offer these people to transform their lives? Too many followers of Jesus are content with having their sins forgiven and have laid their own pain and questions to rest deep in hidden areas of their hearts. Sure there are sins that need forgiven and there are people living under the weight of guilt. But, if we cannot answer these questions, what are we offering the world besides medication before death takes us home. Whether they admit it or not, many people (Christians included) are angry with God. It is hard to love and follow God if you are angry with Him.

I believe this is one of the reasons for the success of the book, The Shack. People feel the loss of innocence in their own lives and feel that maybe God cannot be trusted. He could have stopped my daughter from dying. He could have protected my brother from the drunk driver. He could have put me in a family that wasn't abusive. He could have made me less beautiful so I would not have been raped. He could have. We think He should have. But, He didn't.

What are we as the Church going to offer those people?

Here is some insight that I have noticed from people... when they ask you, "if God is so good, why is there evil in the world?", most of them are not asking for an intellectual answer. They want healing from the pain they are carrying around.

O Lord, help us to move away from the formulaic to trust in the Holy Spirit's guidance. We don't know why all of those things happened, but we know that You are good. You love us with never-ending love. And, we know you are a redeemer. The enemy may have meant it for evil, but somehow You, O Lord, can make all things beautiful. We do not have those kind of answers, but we can bring these broken people to You for you are mighty to save. And You want them to know that yes You are good and You have a good answer to their questions.

What does it walking in the Spirit look like? I recently just finished a move cross-country. It was a move that both my wife and I felt God was leading. Even more we felt that He wanted us to move as soon as we could. It really did not make sense. We were to leave the state where we were born and raised, which meant leaving our family. We were to leave our house and neighborhood we really loved. We were to risk losing my job. But, in the end, we both felt this was God’s next step in our journey with Him.

As we moved forward in faith, God gave me favor with my boss to be excited about the potential that my move opened up. We also found places to stay in the move and people to help us in that transition that were just opening up as soon as we got there.

This in itself was wonderful, but just a few days after moving into our home, God introduced us to a young lady with a toddler needing a place to stay. She had just started to realize the destructive nature of her husband’s words and attitude towards her and her child and had just left for their safety. Our home provided a stable location for their family to get help. It also provided children to help her child have friends and love during a stressful time. It is a story that is still without an ending.

The point of what I want to get across is that walking in the Spirit is a life of faith. As you feel God leading you to something, you will often not know the reason for your actions ahead of time. Faith is stepping out in obedience with the outcome not guaranteed (that is circumstantial outcome; the spiritual outcome of pleasing your Father is always guaranteed).

The secondary point is that it is not always about you even though it is always about you. It is always about you because God is building character and eternal rewards for you. It is not always about you in the temporary.
God the Father, in His immeasurable love for this girl and her child, motivated a family from across the country to move with haste to create a place for her to land for her safety and health.

My wife and I believe that there are other blessings to come with the move, but the “as soon as possible” was at least for this hurting family as much as it was for us.

Image taken on the STS-127 Shuttle Mission (via NASA).

Have you noticed that there is one particular attribute of God that really strikes a cord with you? One thing that is the message of your life?  Sure, you can relate to other parts of God's character and enjoy them, but is there one thing that brings you into the intimacy with God?

For me, it is that God intimately cares for me and will release all the power of heaven to take care of me. To put it simply, He wants to be my best friend. He likes me. He likes being with me. He hurts when I hurt, even if it is self-inflicted or a misunderstanding. He rejoices in my achievements and wants to help me have more. He will walk through any pain, trauma, or hurtful experience of my past or present to redeem it, so it will not hurt anymore. He has good intentions for me.

Several years ago God took me through some experiences that forced me to re-engineer the way I thought. I had terrible thought patterns and was in a constant state of fear of abandonment... a fear that grew with the thought of anyone knowing the real me. (Obviously, hard to have friends this way.)

God helped me see how He saw me, but more importantly He showed me how I was not living out of that reality. In several ways I am still trying to transform my mind to live out of His reality.

This truth about God desiring to be my best friend, my help-mate, is my testimony. It is the message that burns within my bones. It is the message that grieves me when others do not know God in this way. This is what motivates me to write this blog. Prayer is communication with the One who longs for you to experience the fullness of life and can help you attain it. Prayer opens you up to receive from God and release things to Him.

Your one thing may be different, but find out what it is. That one thing will motivate your walk with Jesus like nothing else. It will also be the source of life to those around you.

Share what's your one thing with us in the comments.

Have you ever had God teach you the same lesson over again? My wife and I move a lot and every time we have some major thing go wrong. This time as I watched it happen again, I asked God what He was trying to teach me.

Let me give you an example of what kind of things have happened. Most of the time we have moved ourselves, and the issue had been with the moving truck. We often spend the morning of moving day finding where the companies have placed the truck that said they reserved for us ("Sure anyone can take a reservation..."). The most memorable move was when the company gave us a truck that had very worn breaks. We had to drive it 90 miles to the company's repair center to get them fixed. Luckily I only ran one light due to not being able to stop and there were no accidents.

On one move we were given the wrong date to move in. We sold our house then were told that our new house would not be ready for another month. Therefore we had to find temporary housing for that month.

Each time God provided for us during the difficulties, yet each time it was a frustrating experience. Why does our move need to be stressful because of others negligence?

This time around we decided to have moving company do the move. Taking kids cross country was enough of an adventure that we did not want to add driving a moving truck. Everything was lined up, the date was promised by the moving company, and again the movers did not show. We had to fly cross country with all of our stuff still in the house.

God, what are you really trying to teach us through this? In the past I had pushed back on the companies that faltered in their promises, and each time I had received some sort of compensation for the mistakes that were made. I was all geared up to follow the same path again, but as I prayed I felt that above it all I needed to focus on displaying the fruit of the Spirit. But what about compensation? Allow Me to compensate you. I want you to focus on displaying trust in Me.

It is now a week later. Our stuff is on a moving truck somewhere. I know it was picked up, but I still do not know when it will be delivered. And, for now, I'm ok with that. God is good. And, I have to admit, holding it loosely is more peaceful.

What are the difficult circumstances that God keeps taking you through? Does He have something to teach you through them?

When I was first on staff with Campus Crusade, we were trained to ask people the following question to initiate a gospel conversation: "Have you come to know the wonderful adventure of knowing God personally?" While I did know God personally, I lacked the experience of it being a wonderful adventure. Sure I was grateful for knowing my sins were forgiven and that I would enjoy eternity in heaven, there was still a little disconnect between eternity and the here and now besides just keeping me out of bad choices and a fall back when I did not know what else to do.

Looking back on my life and experiences, I can say that it is definitely a wonderful adventure. The things God had led me to do and go are for me exciting. As a quick example, I have been married for 13 years during which we have moved 10 times... with several month long stays in between. All this has come up in my mind again because next Monday we are moving yet again.

He may not make you move at all as you journey with Him, but I have found that He is unpredictable in His predictableness. I may count on His love and faithfulness, but the way He chooses to show them to me are rarely the same.

I believe the book of Joshua is a good example of how we are to live out this adventure. Joshua is one of the two spies that go into the promised land and comes back ready to take it. He knew God's call for the Israelites and wanted to move forward in faith. Unfortunately he had to wait 40 years in the wilderness because of others unbelief. Finally, he gets the green light and also gets tapped to lead the people in. He gets the clear directive on how to cross the Jordan in the land. As they followed the clear directives, God miraculously stopped the flow of water. God was leading them into Canaan.

God then delays the first battle to get all of the men circumcised leaving them in enemy territory vulnerable to attack. Again following God's directive and not man's wisdom.

Then as they prepare to take Jericho, Joshua seeks God's direction and finds a new plan. Again Joshua had clear directives and again God worked miracles causing the walls to fall down before them.

Now the Israelites' confidence was running high, so as they went to fight the city Ai, they planned out what seemed best. Unfortunately, this time they did not seek out God's direction and lost many lives. It turned out that someone was carrying around plunder from Jericho that they were told to leave. After seeking God's direction, He lets them know the issue and they correct it. Now they sought God's direction again about how to fight Ai and they completely destroy them.

Feeling good about themselves again, the Gibeonites came up to them and easily deceived them. Not seeking God's wisdom, they make a treaty with a nation they were to destroy. But then mercifully, the other nations find out about the treaty and attack the Gibeonites.  This time instead of trusting in man's wisdom, they sought God and found out that they were to maintain their treaty and go protect the Gibeonites.

The point I am trying to make is that even though Joshua could rest in the promise that God was giving them the land, he still did not know how God was going to give it to them. And the real adventure was not taking the land God had given them, but finding out how God wanted them to take the land.

The Christian life is an adventure because we are following a God that is creative in how He deals with us. Sometime he wants us to walk around the city; sometimes He wants us to go out and fight; sometimes He wants to make the enemies fight themselves; and sometimes He wants to throw huge stones from the sky. We just don't know what He wants to do, so we live the life of faith continually asking Him what is the next step. We can trust that God wants to lead us into winning our battles, but He wants us to win on His terms.

For me and my family, following God has meant a lot of moves. Each step along the way He has had something new and different for us. New people to meet, new experiences to develop us.

Don't be so wedded to your conception of what is next that you become angry and confused when He takes you on an adventure and even more blessing. Others have also been led on crazy adventures, but you only get to the Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11 by being faithful building boats in deserts.

Earlier this week I shared what I learned from saying night-time prayers with my youngest daughter. I thought it was only fair to share something from the oldest. As she has gotten older I have added more things to our routine. Lately I have been praying Paul's prayer for her as found in Ephesians 3:16-19. (If you are interested we did the Lord's Prayer for a year than migrated to this to add variety.)

Here are some things this practice has taught me:

1. I have learned how important it is to pray Scripture over my children. It is broadening out my prayers for the girls more than what I naturally would think on my own.
2. I am reminded how important a routine is for kids. If I feel like it is late and try to skip this part of the prayers, she lets me know.
3. I have also realize how little I valued this as effective prayer by wanting to skip it when I'm in a hurry.
4. I have learned how important this time of night-time prayers and this particular prayer routine is in teaching my children love of the Bible and learning what it says.
5. I like how in this passage we are reminded that my ability to dwell in love is tied to knowing the depth of God's love.
6. I like the reminder that love is tied to faith not knowledge.
7. I like how praying this passage each day has embedded it deeper into my own heart.

What are some ways you pray with your kids?

Each night I read the Bible and pray with each of my daughters before their bedtime. My youngest is 2 years old, and she sits on my lap, sucks her thumb, and listens. I know that she listens because if I accidentally skip a part of the prayers she lets me know. This tradition make the bedtime routine long, but it is also very rewarding having this one-on-one time with them after being gone at work all day.

For each daughter I have them tell me what they would like for me to pray for. The youngest will say the family members, some friends she has played with recently, and anything in the room she likes. For the longest time, I laughed only thinking about how she was practicing speaking, but the other night as she was going through her list, I realized how in some ways God wants us to be like this. He wants us to be thankful for all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18). He wants us to tell Him the things we like and speak to Him about everything. He enjoys the time with our attention focused on Him. He likes spending time with us.

I can't fully know why my daughter names all that she names for me to pray about, but I do know I can be very grateful to God for her horse and cat that she sleeps with. These stuffed animals provide her with comfort and joy, and as a father I enjoy seeing her happy. And I know that every good gift comes from God (James 1:17).

I had the privilege to hear from Carey Casey, the CEO of the National Center for Fathering, on Friday morning. He shared a story about his youngest son Chance that I would like to share.

When he is not traveling, Carey gets up early to spend time with God in a set room in his house. A some point Chance decided to get up with him and sit on his lap while his dad spends time with God. One day Carey asked his son why he enjoyed sitting on his lap. He said:

• Your lap is warm.
• I feel safe.
• I like your coffee breath.

This is cute story, but Carey followed this by saying that God whispered to him saying, I want you so close to me that you smell my breath.

I hope we never get over the great privilege of being close to God and having his desire for us to come to him. What an amazing thought of being that close to God. To sit in His lap and feel His protection as our dad.

• How do you get that close to God?

Have you ever considered the implications of God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? Sure everything ends up wonderful and Isaac is spared. Sure it is a profound analogy of God offering up Jesus. But, have you ever considered that God asked Abraham to do something God did not want him to do?

God told Abraham to offer up his son as a sacrifice. Then God stops Abraham before he could follow it through. How many of us would have continued with the sacrifice holding on to what God originally said?

The thing that gets me is that God seems to lead us into situations and even leads us into decisions through prayer that He does not want us to ultimately follow through on. He seems to be getting us to a point of obedience that we would go and do whatever and then because of our willingness to do that first thing, He leads us into something even better. This is what happened to Abraham.

This is also what happened to David. He is getting chased all over Israel by Saul. Then on two separate occasions God gives Saul into David's hands. Both times David could have easily ended all of his running around. Both times he feels that God does not want him to harm Saul.

The funniest example I have heard about this is Jesus before He is betrayed tells His disciples to get swords (Luke 22:36-38). Then when Peter tried to use one later on to protect Jesus, Jesus tells him to put it away.

I don't claim to understand all of God's ways. What I do know is that He is intentional with us. He is leading down a path where we will have greater freedom from sin, greater power over the enemy, and greater joy in our lives. He is a loving Father that want His best for His children.

I have been thinking about this lately because, my wife and I feel God leading us to slow down our adoption. We are currently on the second attempt to adopt a little girl. Our first attempt was postponed by the announcement that we were pregnant with our second child. Both times we have felt very clearly that we were to start the adoption process. Both times we have given a lot of our time and money into trying to be obedient. We may have mis-heard His direction. We may also have heard Him correctly, but He did not want us to finish the adoption. Maybe the answer is another unknown alternative. I don't know the answer to that yet. I do know that God loves and rewards faith and obedience (John 14:15 and Hebrews 11:6).

I do not know what God is doing at this time, but I know He loves me. I know that He will take care of me and my family. I am know that He has already blessed me with more than I ever would have dreamed possible. So, I will press on with where I feel He is leading, and I will continue to press in to Him to enjoy this wild ride He has me on.

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New Year’s resolutions have always been something I have avoided. Mainly because they have always been a reminder of my failure to keep them, and I don’t need that type of discouragement. Now with this disclaimer out of the way, I believe I have come up with the best New Year’s resolution possible.

• I resolve to just do it this year.

Whatever it is, I will commit to just do it. I will not wait until I am perfect. I will not wait until I have it all figured out. I will just move forward with faith.

How Does Not Doing It Hinder Your Walk With Jesus?

This can be in prayer. Many people are stuck from moving forward with consistent prayer because they feel they do not know how to do it. What about praying with your children? Praying with your spouse? Praying with a friend who is in need? They need to hear your heart of love for them and your dependence on Jesus. You can always grow in prayer, but do not let your level of growth limit your willingness to step out in faith. It is easier for God to steer a moving ship then one that is still in the harbor.

When I used to work with college students, this was an excuse for sharing their faith, leading Bible studies, investing a summer for missions, etc. I’m not ready. I have never done it before. I do not know what to say. I don’t have all the answers. If you let your inexperience limit your willingness to try, you will always be inexperienced.

What Are Some Biblical Examples of Those Who Just Did It?

We as a community of believers have bought into a lie that we have to be perfect before we do anything for the Lord. Look at Jesus. Yes, He was perfect, but the people He surrounded Himself with were not. Peter, the one He decided to head the church, was notorious with sticking His foot in His mouth. None of the other disciples had Jesus refer to their comments as being from Satan. But also none of the others had a comment attributed to God.

Peter walked on water, he made gutsy statements, he stood up to Jesus, he defended Jesus by attacking an army of soldiers,… he was a man of action. And, Jesus did not condemn him for it. Rather Peter was rewarded.

John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, and his brother James were no less brash. They asked to be Jesus’ top men in the coming kingdom. They were nicknamed the sons of thunder. John was the lone disciple at the cross being willing to be identified with the One on the cross. James was the first disciple to be martyred. Their mistakes may not be as widely known, but they were obviously willing to step out with the outcome unclear.

What Will I Plan To Just Do This Year?

For me personally, the area I feel God leading me to move forward in faith is in singing. I actually like to sing. I am one of the loudest singers you will ever meet. Unfortunately, I lack rhythm and have a hard time remembering words. This is not a good combination for someone who can be heard by everyone. A worship leader of a several hundred member congregation told my wife that she could always tell when Kevin is here. Kids frequently turn around and stare at me.

You may be saying what is the dilemma? My dilemma every week is should I sing with the potential of throwing off others by being off key or by using the wrong words, or should I just let it blare as I enter into God’s presence? Should I be silent that others minght enjoy the worship more, or should I trust God to either allow my voice to enhance the worship or allow the others to tune out my mistakes? As with the life of following God’s leading, there is no set answer besides asking God each week what He wants.

But, with this said, I can improve my singing. This is something that I have never pursued. I can take lessons to know how to better keep in key and follow rhythm. God has given us each gifts, but He also wants us to grow in those gifts. Practice is the best way to grow, but instruction is also great. You cannot divorce the two. My just do decision is to pursue lessons.