My son, now grown and living with his wife, recently faced a poignant loss—the passing of his pet ferret, Ollie, who had been his emotional support animal for many years. Despite Ollie’s surprisingly long life for a ferret, his absence left a profound void. Witnessing my son grapple with his grief from afar caused me to reflect on the complex journey of seeking solace and the places and beings we turn to for comfort.
This experience got me thinking about the true nature of comfort and support. Pets, with their unconditional love and presence, offer a tangible source of comfort. Yet, their inevitable departure often leaves us confronting the impermanence of such sources of emotional support. They take pieces of us with them when they go.
Timeless Comfort
This turned my thoughts to the timeless comfort offered by God, a source of solace that transcends the physical world. He promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8). Also, as the Apostle Paul points out in his letter to the church at Corinth, God is the God of all comfort:
Unlike our earthly comforts, God’s support is unwavering, boundless, and eternal. Peter the Apostle points out that God is fine with us dumping our concerns on Him because He cares about us so deeply:
In moments of loss or despair, the realization that we have a divine Source of comfort that will never leave us in any way and that is available at any time offers us a profound sense of peace and hope.
Reflecting on Jesus’s promise in Matthew 11:28, I see a clear invitation to seek solace in His presence. This invitation extends to you and me, regardless of our past or the depth of our current struggles. He wants to help us, to give us peace and rest.
I feel so sorry for my son. I’ve loved all my pets deeply, so I can empathize with his profound sense of loss. However, his situation is even more challenging, I think, because of how much he relied on Ollie to give him emotional support, to help him make sense of the world. What will he do now? He needs Ollie to process the loss of Ollie, but he’s gone.
This is what concerns me about his current inability to accept the comfort that God offers him. It’s never easy to lose a beloved pet or (worse) a person you love. For me, one of the most important things that has given me strength for a rough journey like that, to find my way to healing, is the solace of God’s comfort, and knowing that He is not subject to the confines of time or life’s circumstances.
In remembering Ollie and the joy he brought my son, I also want to celebrate the infinite, unchanging comfort provided by our emotional support God. He’s there for us now, and whenever we need Him. He loves us, comforts us, heals us. And He will never leave us.
Last week, I wrote about God making us (and all things) new. An ongoing, continuous process. We’re like old-fashioned wooden pencils — God sharpens us and we write nice and cleanly, crisply, again. But over time, we get dull. We get distracted, we lose our focus. We forget about the miracles of parting the Red Sea and manna, and instead focus on our brief and temporary thirst. We wander in the wilderness, complaining that God has abandoned us.
But then, when we recognize our wayward ways, we must turn back to our loving and patient Creator and ask Him for His help, to make us new.
Thankfully, He welcomes us back when we go crawling back to Him. In fact, He runs out to meet us and wraps His arms around us, hugging us like we never left.
Also thankfully, we’re not alone in this cycle. We all know “real” (i.e., honest) followers of Christ who have gone through the same thing, who have traveled similar circular paths. That’s one of the reasons I shared that part of my journey last week.
And as I thought about it over this past week, I realized that the Bible is full of stories of people who have followed the same journey of clinging desperately to God, falling away, and then returning to Him begging for forgiveness.
One such case is David, perhaps Israel’s greatest king. A man after God’s own heart. He had killed Goliath with nothing but a stone and a complete and utter dependence on God. But over time, he became more full of himself than he was with the Spirit of God (like we all do). He really blew it with Bathsheba, then had her husband killed to try to cover it up. Talk about falling away!
But then he wrote the fifty-first Psalm, which includes this heartfelt plea:
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
The juxtaposition of these two passages offers profound wisdom for us. These verses not only highlight the importance of foundational strength but also remind us of the constant need for renewal in our walk with God.
A Heart Renewed
In Psalm 51:10, David begs God for a renewed heart. At the same time, he asks for a steadfast spirit, the ability to stay close to God so he wouldn’t keep stumbling. This verse serves as a powerful reminder of our need for God’s transformative work within us. In a world that often pushes us toward instability and doubt, the plea for a steadfast spirit resonates deeply. It’s an acknowledgment of our human frailty and a declaration of our dependency on God’s renewing power.
A Foundation Unshaken
Jesus’ parable about building our house on solid rock (Matthew 7:24-27) complements this plea beautifully. It’s a vivid illustration of the life that withstands trials and storms, rooted firmly in faith and obedience. This story encourages us to examine the foundation of our lives: Are we building on the shifting sands of worldly values, or are we grounded in the eternal truths of God’s Word?
Interweaving Themes for Today
In our pursuit of spiritual growth, these messages urge us to build our lives on the solid rock of Christ’s teachings while seeking a heart renewed by God’s grace. They teach us that true stability comes from a steadfast spirit and a life built on faith. Through personal reflection and commitment, we can navigate the challenges of life with confidence, knowing our foundation is secure.
A Journey of Renewal
As I mentioned last week, I’ve begun my journey of renewal, recognizing that God is making me new. And things are looking up. But even if they weren’t, I would keep doing at least one thing differently each day until they were. And I would keep asking God to make me new.
We should all embrace the journey of renewal, for to travel through life with Christ is to be made new as He chisels away our old selves so that we, bit by bit, can look more like Him. If we ask God to create clean hearts in us, He will grant that. How long will each of us let our hearts remain that way? If we ask Jesus to renew our steadfast spirits, to help us ground our lives in His unshakable Truth, He will help us do that, too.
He wants to prepare us to weather whatever storms crash upon our shores. He will guide us on a path of continual spiritual renewal, if only we let Him.
We all have moments in our lives when we burst into flames. Or drown. Or bury ourselves. Pick your metaphor for getting beaten down by this life, this painfully broken world.
I hate to admit that I’ve been dealing with that myself lately. My consulting contract (and therefore my job) ended in early December, and I haven’t found my next job yet. Not long after that, I fractured my wrist, and I’m still in a cast (and in pain) from that. I have gained back some of the weight I worked so hard to lose over the last few years, and I’m struggling to get it back off. It pains me to confess that I’ve had more than my share of moments recently where I have felt defeated.
But there’s hope. Thank God, there’s hope.
Over the last few days, I have experienced a phoenix moment, rising from the smoldering ashes. Coming up from the water, out of the grave.
In the tapestry of scripture, few promises are as profound and hope-inspiring as God’s declaration in Revelation:
This promise stands as a testament to God’s infinite creativity and His transformative power in our lives. It’s not just about the grand cosmic renewal but also a deeply personal call to each of us. When He says this, there’s no reason we should assume that we should be excluded from the list of all things that He is making new, is there?
Let’s explore how God’s creativity captures our attention and how His power is making us new, leading us away from our old, self-destructive ways.
God’s Creativity: A Call to Attention
The Bible begins with a narrative of creation, a powerful display of God’s creativity. From the vastness and agelessness of the universe to the intricate details of a flower that whithers in a few days, everything speaks of a Creator with an endless imagination. God’s creativity is not a past event but a continuous, dynamic process. It’s evident in the changing seasons, the diversity of life, and even in our daily experiences. This creativity is God’s way of capturing our attention, drawing us to marvel at His works, and recognizing His presence and power in the world around us.
Yesterday I went to a botanic garden called Sunken Gardens near my new home. This experience was restorative to my soul. But anyway, since moving to Florida, I’ve seen several more varieties of palm trees than I knew existed (I thought a palm tree was a palm tree). However, at Sunken Gardens, I saw even more varieties of palm trees than I see each day walking through my neighborhood or driving around town. So, out of curiosity, I looked up how many varieties of palm trees exist, and I found that there are more than 2500 unique types of palm trees! We have a creative God, and I think He wants us to notice.
Personal Renewal: Becoming New Creations
So what? Well, if God will spend that much attention on variations of a single type of tree, imagine the effort He spends remaking you and me. More than just transforming the world, God is deeply committed to renewing us. As Paul reminds us through his second letter to the church at Corinth:
This personal renewal is an integral part of our spiritual journey. God’s creative work in us involves reshaping our thoughts, desires, and actions, steering us away from self-destructive patterns. It’s a process of being molded into the image of Christ, growing in love, grace, patience, and kindness.
The Excitement of Transformation
But let me back up a few days. My most recent phoenix moment began when I attended a 3-day “Time to Rise 2024” seminar given by Tony Robbins, a famous author and coach who is known for helping people transform their lives. By no means am I comparing him to God, but his message is similar to the idea that God will make you new if you let Him. Tony affirms that our old story does not need to be – indeed, should not be – our new story. Robbins shares one example after another where someone had been beaten down, but then, with encouragement and help, they rise above their miserable circumstances to reach heights they never thought possible. And he gives seminar participants the tools they need to achieve similar outcomes.
The whole seminar jarred me back into remembering that I can’t control what happens in my life, but I can control how I respond to what happens to me. Further, Robbins also reinvigorated my mindset by saying, “What if God is challenging you to rise above what’s happening to you?”
What if, indeed. What if God is making me (and you) into something new, someone who overcomes our current challenges?
In case I still wasn’t getting the message, God drove home the point in the praise music at church this morning. All of the songs (Raise a Hallelujah, Same God (Oh God My God I Need You), O Praise the Name) spoke to trusting in God for victory. Grateful tears streamed down my face when we sang the lyrics:
I raise a hallelujah Heaven comes to fight for me
I’m gonna sing in the middle of the storm Louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar Up from the ashes hope will arise Death is defeated, the King is alive
There is a profound excitement in this process of becoming new. It’s not merely about self-improvement; it’s a divine transformation. It’s Jesus making us into overcomers, more like Him. As we let go of our old ways – our fears, our sins, our selfishness – we discover a life that is richer, more meaningful, and more aligned with God’s purpose. This transformation is a journey filled with moments of revelation, growth, and, importantly, joy. It’s about discovering our true identity as children of God, created in His image and called to a life that reflects His glory.
Embracing the Newness in Christ
Embracing this newness requires faith and surrender. It means trusting in God’s plan for us, even when the path is uncertain and difficult. It’s about allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us, to renew our minds and hearts. In this journey, we find that our once self-destructive paths and negative self-talk are replaced with pathways of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17, NIV). This is the essence of living in the newness of life that God offers.
Conclusion: A Continuous Journey of Renewal
God’s promise to make all things new is both an assurance of a future-perfected world and a present reality in our lives. As we journey with God, let’s remain open to His creative work in us and through us. Let’s celebrate the transformation He brings and eagerly anticipate the new things He is doing. Remember, in God’s creative hands, we are being made new, day by day, into a masterpiece that reflects His love and glory.
By His grace, we rise from the ashes we created. Like being baptized anew, He pulls us up from the water that had overtaken us. Like Lazarus, He calls us out of the grave.
This is our time to respond to our kind and creative God, to step forward as bold new creations.
We may think of our journeys from cradle to grave as long and winding roads, and that’s entirely appropriate. We can also break our lives into smaller segments, which can seem lengthy and circuitous, especially while we are going through them.
Particularly when we are waiting to see God move in our lives somehow, the wait can seem endless. Sometimes the extra twists and turns can be of our own making, resulting from dumb decisions we’ve made. But other times, the delays (or perceived delays) could be due to God’s actions or timing.
Why would that be? I don’t have a good answer, other than to say that God’s ways are often beyond our ability to understand (Isaiah 55:8-9). When we wait for Him, it might be because He is working on something else (maybe even withsomeone else) that needs to happen before our desired outcome can be achieved. Or maybe we need to wait because He is teaching us to be patient or that nothing is more important than our relationship with Him.
And at the end of the day, that’s probably it–that the most important thing for our eternity is our relationship with God. We can and should lean on Him, lean into Him. We need to trust that He is working for our good, as Paul points out in his letter to the Romans:
I know we want what we want, and we want it now, but our desired timing is less important to God than our relationship with Him. One of the really effective ways that we can develop our relationship with Him is by developing our trust muscles, our faith in Him.
Because God knows the plans He has for us, and in the end those plans are good. He gives us hope and a future. Let’s thank God for that, in spite of our long and winding roads.
There are, of course, many different reasons people choose to follow Jesus, but I would assert that most of them can be reduced at their core to one of two driving forces: running toward heaven or fleeing from hell.
For running toward heaven, I think of people who are motivated by the idea of spending eternity in paradise, face-to-face and arm-in-arm with the Triune God. They are eager to enjoy abundant life, both now and forever, and are perhaps looking forward to being reunited with loved ones who also accepted Jesus as their Lord.
On the fleeing from hell side, the motivation is more likely to be an overwhelming desire not to spend eternity suffering unimaginable agony.
I know I’ve made these out to be mutually exclusive, as though you have to be purely in one camp or the other. But I know the reality is probably that we can fluctuate between the two key motivators daily, and sometimes even more frequently than that.
However, I’ve made the distinction to give our minds and hearts something to ponder. Let me add the caveat, though, that at the end of our days, it won’t matter what path we took to become followers of Christ–the important thing will be that we became His followers. Having said that, I’ll suggest that our daily walk with Jesus might be more fulfilling and enjoyable if we make a conscious effort to allow our continuing faith to be motivated by running toward heaven.
Why do I say that? Well, running toward heaven is about love. It’s about wanting to be in God’s presence because we love Him so much, because we are so grateful for the countless ways He has blessed our lives. It’s about yearning to be welcomed home by a cloud of witnesses, which will hopefully include loved ones who have gone before us.
Whereas fleeing from hell is about fear. It’s about being terrified of eternal torment, about eternal separation from God. Imagine being able to see the people enjoying everlasting life with our Creator in paradise, but not being able to cross the chasm separating you from them (as Jesus suggested in His story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31, which was the subject of a great sermon today by Pastor Johnny Scott at Generations Christian Church).
Now, don’t get me wrong. We should be terrified of those things. But if we’re motivated mostly by fear, our faith might become twitchy and jumpy, waiting for judgment to crash down on us the next time we screw up.
That kind of outlook misses the greatest gift God offered us: His grace.
I like the way the Apostle John put it in his first letter:
Since the Daily Audio Bible’s annual journey through the Bible returned to the starting gate at the beginning of the year, we’re once again getting reacquainted with Abraham, who is basically each of our father in the faith. This is what the Apostle Paul wrote about him:
So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
But here’s the thing–even with these glowing credentials, not even Abraham got it right every time. In Genesis chapter 12, God promises Abraham (Abram at the time) that He will make Abram into a great nation and that all peoples will be blessed through him.
Jumping ahead to chapter 15, though, we see Abram asking God for clarification about that prior promise. He had not yet had a child through whom God could create a great nation, so he’s wondering aloud whether God may have meant that the great nation would actually come through Abram’s servant and not his direct lineage. But God reassures him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” (Genesis 15:4, NIV). To this God adds a covenant and a promise that his own descendants will be as numerous as the stars.
Sounds good, right? There shouldn’t be any reason for Abram to doubt that commitment, should there?
Well, not so fast. In chapter 16, we see Abram and his wife Sarai wonder if she might be the reason Abram still has no heir. Sarai helpfully suggests that maybe her servant Hagar could provide Abram with a son. Hagar succeeds, and Ishmael is born. The problem is solved, right?
No, not really. In fact, more problems are created, which we’ll come back to in a moment. By the time we get to the seventeenth chapter of Genesis, we see God telling Abram that Ishmael was not the answer He had in mind. He clarifies that Abram’s wife Sarai will bear him a son, whom they are to name Isaac. And both Abram and Sarai receive new names from God: Abraham and Sarah.
However, before we reach that happy resolution, Abram receives the prophecy from an angel of the Lord that Ismael “will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” And that prophecy has rung painfully true, since the abrasion between Isaac and Ishmael formed the root of the Israeli/Arab conflict that persists even to this day. And all because Abram/Abraham didn’t quite understand the direction God had been giving him.
Why do I point this out? Certainly not to paint Abraham in a negative light. Not at all.
My goal in going through all of this is to give us all hope in our relationships with God. I’m making the assumption that you are like me in that you don’t usually have a clear picture of what God is saying to you or how He is directing your life. Like me, maybe you’re trying your best to live true to God’s calling for your life, but it’s not usually clear what that is. So what should we do? Give up?
By no means! Reading through this story of Abram/Abraham, we see that he has what appear to be some very direct conversations with God. But even then, he doesn’t get it right. He misunderstands what God is telling him, but it doesn’t really matter.
Why not? Because he remains faithful to God, even when what’s going on makes no sense. His faith is counted as righteousness, and God works with that. In the end, God achieves the outcomes He was after all along. In the end, God wins and Abraham wins.
And we can win, too, if we’ll let God work in us and through us, the way Abraham did.
It’s time to flip the calendar over to a new year. For me, I’m glad to bid farewell to 2023. While there were blessings this year, it also came with its fair share of challenges.
As we turn the calendar over to the new year, it’s a good time to reflect on the year that was–but then let it go. It’s useful to remember. Looking back, it’s helpful to reflect on how God blessed you as you reached mountain peaks. Carry those memories with you as you move into 2024. It’s also a good idea to reflect on how God comforted you when you traversed the shadow of the valley of death.
In both cases, it’s helpful for us to remember the moments when we were aware of God’s presence. We should leverage those remembrances to give us hope in 2024–God is and will be with us throughout the year. But other than hanging on to the hope we glean from remembering, we need to let go of all of our other baggage as we move into the new year.
Here are some encouraging verses to keep in mind as we head into 2024:
I got some discouraging news last night, but then God reminded me of this verse 3 different times this morning! I first saw it in my morning devotional, and then it came up twice in the church service I attended this morning. God wanted to make sure I was listening! I’m thankful for that, to be sure.
I love this picture, but it doesn’t tell the whole story of the reason we can be strong and courageous–because of God’s presence with us wherever we go. Here’s the whole verse:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
So, let us all remember to walk with God in the best of times and worst of times throughout 2024. We can trust Him, that He is working for our good. He blesses us and comforts us. Thanks be to God!
Happy New Year, friends! I wish you all a 2024 full of the richness of God’s blessings.
Christmas is the culmination of God’s plan to liberate us from the clutches of evil. A modern-day analogy of this event is known as D-Day–the date upon which the Allied forces launched their daring assault on Hitler’s “fortress Europe”. One characteristic of that invasion was that it did not look like what the forces of evil expected, which is at least part of the reason why it succeeded.
In the same way, who would have expected God to land on Earth in the form of a newborn baby? Satan certainly did not. After all, what chance did a helpless baby have against the mighty fallen angel? Not much, really.
Helping the Helpless God
Except it turned out that Jesus wasn’t helpless, after all. God put people in place to protect Him until He could protect Himself. God gave Him human parents–the most ferocious representatives of human love–who obeyed the strange dream God had given them, moving to Egypt (and away from everything and everyone they knew) to protect Jesus from Satan’s / Herod’s deranged plan to kill all the baby boys in Israel. God sent kings who were humble enough to obey God rather than the ruler of the land, deciding to take the long way home to avoid revealing Jesus’ whereabouts.
Who would have thought we mere humans could help God? Since He is God and can do anything, He doesn’t need our help. But He wants it. He wants us to help Him by helping others. And by so doing, we end up helping ourselves as well.
Beginning of the End
Back to the invasion story. Even though June 6, 1944, marks the beginning of the invasion, the full invasion was not completed until the end of August 1944, when the Battle of Normandy was won. Similarly, Christmas marks the beginning of God’s invasion of Earth, but it was not really completed until Easter 33 years later, when Jesus rose from the dead, crushing sin and death and Satan.
But If Jesus Defeated Satan, Why Is There Still Evil in the World?
Even though the D-Day invasion marked the beginning of the end of World War II, it didn’t actually end until May 8, 1945, more than 11 months later. Why? Because evil was not going to give up without a fight. Sadly, tens of thousands of people died during those 11 months.
So why is there still evil in the world, even though Jesus’ resurrection marked the beginning of the end of the war between good and evil? Because Satan is not going to give up without a fight, and he wants to take you and me and millions of others with him when he goes.
The Choice to Live
Thankfully, we don’t have to let that happen to us. We have the choice to be spared, unlike those who perished during the final 11 months of WWII.
How can we choose to be spared?
All we have to do is look to the Baby Boy born on Christmas, who is God with Us. And upon realizing that He will become the man who dies on a cross to take the punishment for our sins, we fall on our knees in worship and gratitude. Even better, we rise with Him three days after His execution, following Him through His resurrection into paradise, which will be our address for eternity.
This past week in the Daily Audio Bible, we read the book and story of Jonah, the reluctant and annoyed prophet of God. It’s a famous story and a short book, so I won’t recap it here. Also, there are many nuggets in this story, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll focus on 3 key points.
You Can’t Run from God
God directs Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capitol city of the Assyrian empire–the bitter enemies of the Hebrew people. He tells Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh that if they don’t turn things around, He is going to destroy the city. But Jonah doesn’t want to do what God has asked him to do. In fact, he would like nothing more than for God to destroy Nineveh. So he runs away from God.
At least, he tries to. He goes in the opposite direction from Nineveh.
The sailors on the ship Jonah takes for his escape attempt figure out that he’s the reason for the deadly storm, so they throw him overboard and leave him for dead.
But God finds him. This leads to my next point.
God Will Still Save You
Even though Jonah was trying to run away from God, God sends a giant fish (or whale) to save him. God is kind, so He saves us, too, even when we’re trying to run away from him. But His ways are also mysterious, since Jonah survives for 3 days in the belly of the fish without getting digested. It might also be that the way He is working on saving you (or the way He saved you) doesn’t look much like a rescue story, either. But it is.
And also, not to be deterred, guess where God has the fish barf out Jonah? You guessed it–Nineveh.
This leads to my final point.
God Wants to Save Everyone, Even Our Enemies
Jonah is the only prophet that we know about who God sent to someone other than the Hebrew people. But the Assyrians were wicked people, so why did God want to save them? Because they were wicked, and He didn’t want them to stay that way.
This seems a little extreme at first, until you realize that most of us aren’t descended from the 12 tribes of Israel, and we all have streams or rivers of darkness running through our hearts, so Jonah is also speaking to us on God’s behalf (not just the people of Nineveh).
God Wants to save us because He loves us. This time of Advent is a time for us to reflect on God’s invasion of this cruel and wicked world to save us from ourselves. And this story of Jonah shows us another example of the lengths to which He will go to rescue us, His beloved.
Most of us like free stuff, to an extent. I’d likely accept if you wanted to give me a free T-shirt or pen unless there was something weird about them. However, if you offered me a free car or a free house out of the blue, I’d probably decline, suspicious of foul play, something too good to be true.
Maybe this is why so many people–Christians included–are tempted to turn God’s grace for us into something that must be earned, because if we earn it, then it isn’t something we get for free.
But, of course, it’s also not God’s grace, as the Apostle Paul explains in his letter to the Ephesians:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
I wonder if this is why unbelievers mistakenly think they have to “get their act together” before they can even think about going to church, as though they (or anyone) can behave well enough to be acceptable to God–they can’t. None of us can.
I also wonder if this is why it’s hard for some people to accept this gift that God offers us–His grace wrapped up in the package of a tiny baby, who would grow up to become a man. A man who would give His life for us because none of us is worthy to go to heaven. He would take the punishment we deserve so that all who accept this gift are made worthy to go to heaven.
This is a gift that costs us nothing, but there’s no catch. It’s not too good to be true. Jesus gave everything to offer it to us.
Master's Canvas - Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter 