Life does not always feel like it is supposed to for the season we are in. Our circumstances, emotions, and thoughts may not be in sync with what we expect for the timing of our lives. We may feel joyful when we could feel sad, and we may feel discouraged when we have many reasons for encouragement and hope.

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, the beginning of the most meaningful season of the church year. It is a week I look forward to every year. I know that I will end the week exhausted and ready for some rest, but the power of these days is amazing, and truth they proclaim about God’s love for the world, and for me, is profound. Every service is full of meaning, and the time in between is laden with reasons for reflection, revelation, and expectation.

This year, I confess that I don’t feel very much like the season suggests I should. Like the weather that doesn’t yet appear like spring, I am not overly inspired to wave my palm branches in celebration tomorrow morning. In many ways, I still feel like I am at the very beginning of Lent and that Easter is a long way away. Thankfully, the season does not wait for my feelings to be ready. Instead, it calls out to them saying, “Wake up! The time is at hand! Embrace what is coming for the resurrection is on its way.”

I can only imagine what Jesus felt as he entered Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday. Clearly, he knew where the journey would lead him. The hope of the resurrection must have been mitigated by the reality of his betrayal, and the pain of the crucifixion that were yet to come. The week ahead likely seemed overwhelming, yet he put his trust in God and walked out the path that was before him.

Thankfully, none of us is required to be led by our feelings. We can take every thought captive by the power of the Spirit, and we can choose to live by a deeper connection to the One who promises resurrection, and a stronger conviction that, through Jesus Christ, joy truly does come in the morning. In just a little while, all of nature will declare that spring is here, and in just a little while, the Dawn from on high will break upon us. We may feel out of season, but we are called to wait and believe until it is fully revealed in our lives.

May our Holy Week be blessed as we embark upon this sacred journey with hope in the One who calls us to believe.

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I have a list of experiences I regret. Actions and choices that seemed to fulfill at the time led to personal pain, and often had a significant negative impact on the people around me. There are words that were better unspoken, choices that were tremendously unhealthy, and actions that were based in great selfishness.

Like many others I know, I frequently commented on how I wish I made better decisions, often pondering the, “If I had it to do over again…” thoughts. Certainly, I can see many ways I could have made better choices, but I see those options because of what I learned by making the wrong choice. In fact, it is these very painful experienced that shaped me into the person I am and demonstrated the immense, transforming love of God.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Ephesian Christians, said he prayed that they would, “know the love of Christ that surpassed knowledge.” (Eph. 3:19) What a powerful and important prayer that was, for it is one thing to know about the love of God, but is something quite different to experience the greatness of that love. Far beyond knowledge is the awesome gift of God’s gracious, forgiving, and transforming love!

Too often, I try to fix the broken places in my life which leads to even greater feelings of frustration and regret. Maybe you can relate to those feelings. What I really need is not another round of trying to work harder. I need to experience God’s healing grace that renews the wounded, broken places of my life and frees me for the new life that lies ahead. Instead of lamenting my past failures, I can allow God to help me leverage them to shape my future.

All of the guilt, regret and sorrow we can muster will never change the past and will only hold us captive where are. The touch of the gracious love of God will free us from the bonds of our history and the present and prepare us for a future of destiny. God does not want to hold us captive to the sin and mistakes of our past. Instead, we were meant to see the door that is now opened to a redeemed and renewed life in Christ.

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As you can imagine, accepting the coming change is a difficult thing. Some people are ready to move forward while others are still trying to adjust to the news. For many this time simply feels like chaos, and questions about the future seem unanswered.

Yet, in the midst of it all, God is present and that is the whole point of what we celebrate on the Day of Pentecost. Some call it the “Birthday of the Church,” but it is so much more. Pentecost is the celebration of Jesus’ promise that God would send the Holy Spirit. It is a celebration of God’s intimate presence with us.

I find it so appropriate that Pentecost Sunday should fall on Memorial Day weekend. In the midst of our national time of remembrance of those who sacrificed their lives for our future, we celebrate the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ who sacrificed his life for our salvation.

Jesus told his followers that the Spirit would remind them of all he said to them and teach them everything. The presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives would allow them to remember all that Jesus did and said so that, from their remembrance, they would be able to look forward to God’s future for them and for the world.

The Spirit does the same for us today. We too, are reminded of the teachings of Jesus’ life and words, and we are equally empowered by his indwelling presence to fulfill God’s destiny for our lives. By the Spirit’s leading and empowerment we are able to face our fears and challenges, even an unknown future, with divine direction and strength.

As we remember those who gave their lives so that we might be able to live, and as we celebrate the presence and power of the Spirit of Christ within us, let us be good stewards of the lives we are given. Placing our trust in God and in the power of his strength, let us boldly embrace the future before us as we savor and celebrate each day. With the presence of God within us, may we walk by faith in such a way that we might leave a legacy of love and hope that enables others to experience the power of the risen Christ and embrace the promise of God for their lives as well.

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There is a stanza in this classic hymn that includes the words, “He breaks the power of canceled sin, he sets the prisoner free.” I cannot begin to imagine how many times I sang these words throughout my life, but I remember the day they broke through my filters and I heard them with fresh ears.

In the midst of my own struggle with parts of my past, the idea that canceled sin could still have power gripped my heart. Certainly, God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ is complete, but we can allow those forgiven sins to affect the way that we live. If we choose to perpetuate those former sins, or if we choose to live under their guilt, we will not experience the fullness of life God intended for us.

Too often, we get lost in our past and we miss what God is doing in the present to prepare us for our future. We wallow in self-condemnation, self-pity, or some other burdensome understanding of our lives, while we neglect the freedom that comes from laying such burdens on the Lord. It is a tremendous tool of the enemy to keep us bound in false chains and away from living our destiny in God.

Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, “neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” Clearly, there was forgiveness and a call to a better way, but there is also the promise that living beyond sins of the past is truly possible, especially in light of the power of God to make it so.

While at a pastor’s prayer retreat, the leader of one of our sessions offered the following insight:

Anytime the devil brings up your past it is because…
1) He hopes you are ignorant of the truth
2) He fears your future
3) He wants to rob you of God’s best

There is powerful truth in those words. Just like the truth found in the words of the hymn reveals the power of cancelled sin to imprison us, the revelation shared at that retreat reminds us that our past is in the hands of God and through his mighty acts of salvation, we are no longer a slave to that past. We need to know the truth that we are delivered from our past, that God has a future for us, and that evil is always working to steal God’s best from our lives, but we do not have to surrender it.

If we are walking with God, it is time to lay down the heavy weight of our past and its sins. It is time to embrace the freedom and newness of life given to us by God while we walk in its joy and wonder. It is time to allow the Holy Spirit to break the power of canceled sin and set us free from our self-made prisons. It is time to live the abundant life that is already ours.

Today is a great day to leave the weight of our past behind, choose life and walk in it toward the future divinely created for us. May it be so.

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I also bring along two other journals for the team. The first is a group travelogue that includes morning and evening reflections and rotates through the entire group. The second is my favorite. It is a complaint journal.

On our last trip to Brazil, I described the journaling process to the team. When I came to the complaint journal, there were many puzzled faces and the obvious question, “What’s a complaint journal?”

I shared how a good friend who led the first international mission trip I participated in taught me the value of this tool. It is a place vent frustration and concerns so that they stop weighing you down in your ministry. “Who reads the Complaint Journal,” they asked, and I replied, “no one.”

The point of this journal was to give a tangible way to express inner turmoil without burdening the entire team with negativity and without trying to keep such corrosive feelings bottled up inside. Here was a place to whine about the food, the lack of hot water, and the snoring in the next bed. It was a safe place to vent feelings of helplessness and loneliness, all mixed with a little homesickness. It was a means to honestly address what we felt and thought without the destructive results other forms of expression could have.

I still keep a complaint journal. Now it is most likely found in my freewriting, as I seek to limber up my thoughts, mind and skill. Occasionally, it seeps over into my daily journal as well. Life is hard and hurtful, and it is important to have a place to address those challenges openly, to say what is really on our mind and “lay it all out” before ourselves and God. Once we do, then we can begin to seek solutions. I often use my venting as the foundation for my prayers so that I can listen for God’s answer to speak life into challenging moments.

One of the most powerful words in our faith vocabulary is “redemption.” God likes to redeem things. It is the message of our faith history and we see God’s acts of redemptions time and again throughout the biblical story, culminating in the redemption brought by Jesus Christ. It is the power of this redemption that allows us to speak wholeness and healing into places of brokenness and pain. It is the knowledge of redemption that keeps us grounded, knowing that no person or situation is too far gone for God to do something beautiful and amazing with them. It is the source of our hope, and the hope of the world.

No one needs to hear our words of frustration; they need to hear God’s words of redemption. People do not need our expressions of anger and death; they need God’s gift of peace and life. The world needs hope and God chooses to use us to give it to them. It is easy to join the masses drowning in negativity, but there is such joy in being a prophet of hope; a messenger of life though Christ.

The Gospel really is “good news!” It is not just the story of Jesus, nor is it just the promise of heaven. Instead, it is the proclamation of hope, life and peace available to all who will receive it, even now. The good news is that God is present and powerful and nothing in heaven or on earth can separate us from his great love. Redemption is real, and it is available now.

The world needs good news. The world needs the Gospel, and we have the joy and privilege of being the means by which God shares this blessing. It is a great responsibility, but also the greatest honor we will receive. We can keep the complaint journals to ourselves, but let’s write the redemption journal on the lives of others and see the true power of the Gospel.

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Twenty-seven years ago, I awoke in a Pittsburgh hotel a married man. The previous day was a flurry of activity leading up to our wedding, and after celebrating with family and friends, and making time to visit a few of our relatives who could not come to the ceremony, my wife and I set off to begin our honeymoon and our new life together. We did not know all that was ahead of us, but we knew that God brought us together, that we loved each other and that we were committed to sharing the journey as one.

The days and years since have been an amazing adventure. We went to college together, traveled through the ordination process, served in ministry, became parents and now grandparents. There were times of sickness and health, times that were better and worse, and certainly lean times as well as prosperous times. Just as our vows declared, there were challenges and celebrations, but through it all, we had each other and we had God.

I know some people are called to singleness, and that sometimes relationships break, but I also know, that following God’s plan leads to the blessings that really matter. When the author of the proverb says that the one who, “finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.” I can say that it is undeniably true in my life. Looking back, I cannot imagine traveling this path without the woman God chose for me. I know that the hard times were made better because of her presence and good times were all the sweeter because they were shared with her. There is no question I receive God’s favor through my relationship with her.

Relationships can be challenging, but they are also the source of great blessing. Too often, I meet with couples who have lost sight of the blessing of God found in each other. The challenges and obstacles of life slowly drained the joy from them and instead of joining hands and hearts together; facing those challenges with love, commitment and the power of God, they allowed them to come between them. Then, wounded from without and within, the life of their relationship slowly faded. We too, have been through the valleys. We felt the pains of life, and we wounded each other, but we never completely lost sight of the blessing of God found in each other.

The places of God’s blessing are like that. They will be tested and tried, and it takes great effort to remain committed to overcome the temptation to walk, and even run away. It is easy to lose sight of how blessed we are, and in the midst of pain, we can even feel like the source of our blessing is the source of our pain. If we remain committed to God and to God’s work in our lives, and if we will keep the faith even when it is hard, we will be able to look back and see the provision and blessing of God, and we will walk into the future with greater strength and promise. When my wife counsel other couples, we tell them that marriage is a tough job, but worth all of the effort. Walking with God is like that. It is not always easy, but it is definitely worth it. The richness of my life found in my relationship with God and with my wife is worth so much more than the investment I have made. I look forward to the joy of the next 27 years together and beyond.

Take a moment to look at the blessings of God in your life, especially in your relationships. Tend to those special places, even if it is difficult. Do not let them be overcome by life’s challenges, but find strength in them to be the one who overcomes. Make the investment in your relationships, with God and in the places created for your blessing, so that you will receive favor from the Lord and be blessed.

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Watching nature transition from the luscious life of summer to the vibrant beauty of autumn, it is hard to miss that a deeper beauty is revealed in the process of letting go. As the nourishing light begins to diminish, trees struggle to keep their foliage, but even as they lose the battle again, a palate of colors is revealed. Each day loses more sunlight, but that light becomes more dramatic at the same time. Even the composting leaves and grass become richness for the future.

Too often, as we face obstacles in our lives we lose sight of what is on the other side of the challenge. Lost in the drama of the moment, we miss what beautiful thing is being created in us. The test we face is producing a testimony that will bring light to dark spaces and color the gray places.

I do not believe that God causes evil in our lives, but from the painful moments, God can create something wonderful. During an especially difficult time in my life, I shared my challenges with a dear friend. As I poured out the issues before me, he replied, “Just remember, God does his best work in chaos.”

What a wonderful truth. The biblical story even begins there, as the Spirit hovers over the chaos and God says, “Let there be.” In a moment, at the word of God, the disorder begins to take on the order and the beauty of creation. As the story goes on, we find places where Israel’s chaotic experience becomes the setting for God’s recreation. We read of people, great and small, who God leads out of their challenges to new beginnings. Even in the death and resurrection of Jesus we see God redeeming darkness and death to bring forth light and life, and the promise of his future return is the expectation of the ultimate re-creation.

The difficult places of life are never enjoyable and they can feel like they have no end, but God, who declares the end from the beginning, not only sees where our challenges are taking us, but is personally invested in seeing that we get there. When things get tough, it is easy to throw our hands up, sit down and give up, but that is precisely the time when we need to press into God, draw strength from the Spirit and push through the dark valley to the hidden beauty beyond.

Whatever you are facing today, God is more than big enough, more than able to redeem it by using the tough moments to reveal the hidden beauty within you. Have patience. Have hope. The God of all creation is with you, loves you and is speaking words of creation over your life even now.

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Recently, I sat with another pastor who I just met. We were sharing ministry stories, especially discussing our favorite authors and resources. The conversation moved to our sources of inspiration and we began to talk about what motivates us, not only for ministry, but for living the Christian life.

My new friend told me of someone he knew. This person had been through the fire in many ways and certainly had reason to be depressed and discouraged, yet I heard how infectious his joy was and about the impact his happiness had on others. My colleague said to me, “How many pastors do you know, who in their 40’s and 50’s became bitter because of the many wounds they took in ministry? Yet, here is a man who had every reason to feel bitter and he was full of the joy of Christ instead.”

Since that conversation, I continue to reflect on where real happiness comes from. Too many times it seems we connect our happiness with someone or something else. A challenge comes along and we become unhappy. Someone hurts us or speaks against us and we lose our joy. An unexpected event comes along and we throw away our happiness, exchanging it for fear, frustration and anger. Because we tie our happiness to changing and transitory things, our joy is tossed to and fro by every little wave that comes along.

Jesus said, “In this life you will have trouble.” (John 16:33) We should not be surprised by obstacles and opposition, nor should we lose heart in the face of these challenges. Rather, we should hold fast to Christ, celebrate his presence and believe in where his Spirit is leading us, for he also said, “take heart. I have overcome the world.” When our happiness is connected to God, the One who is the same yesterday, today and forever, our joy can be God’s joy and it can remain unwavering in the face of adversity.

One of my favorite verses comes from Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” What an amazing promise! It does not deny the reality of our human struggle, but reminds us that, in spite of our challenges, our hope is in the Lord. We may feel overwhelmed, but God is not. There is no terror or timidity in heaven today, no question of what to do. God is seated on the throne and speaking forth the creation of life.

What, then, does it take to be happy? Our answer is found, not in external things, but in an unwavering trust in the Lord of Life. We do not look to our circumstances to determine our attitude. We do not look to the opinions of others to determine the state of our soul. We look to Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith. With our soul at rest in him, we can find unspeakable joy.

Life is too short to be unhappy, especially when the joy of the Lord can be our strength. May our faith rise up and give us joy today as we hold fast to God and know that, in him, we will not be moved.

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I struggled with this for years and still have to bring these thoughts under control. I convinced myself that once I graduated from college, I would feel secure in my position and ready to lead. Following graduation, I revised the plan with a new necessary accomplishment. However, no matter what stage I completed, those feelings never completely took hold. It was not until a good friend encouraged me to look at what I was doing, that I realized that lasting feelings were not ever going to be the result of an accomplishment. Life would always offer challenges and there would always be something waiting in the future with the false promise of secure feelings. My answer was not in my accomplishments, but my attitude.

That is not always easy to hear. We like to believe that our feelings and perspectives are the result of the actions of others or situation we are in. These may influence us, but ultimately, our experience will be shaped by our beliefs and our attitudes.

There is a wonderful story in the book of Acts. The Apostle Paul and Silas are imprisoned for stirring up trouble. It seems that their preaching about Jesus made some people quite upset and the disturbance landed them in jail. This was not just a night in a cell with the promise of, “leave town and don’t come back.” The morning held the real possibility of torture and maybe even death.

Locked in their cell and guarded by the jailer they faced a challenging night. Who could blame them for fear and concern, maybe even a little anger at the people or God for allowing this to happen? This was unfair and not likely what they were expecting. It was exactly the type of situation that leads to discouragement and depression. Yet, that was not their choice. Here, in the face of danger and death, they were singing.

Paul and Silas made a decision. They put their trust in God and lifted their eyes to a bigger picture than their circumstances, to a God who was larger than anything they faced. They allowed their spirits to take the lead and so, looking squarely at their dark reality, they chose to believe, to sing, and to praise in their prison.

The result was not only their spiritual freedom, but their physical freedom as well, and the blessings did not stop there. This witness to their faith changed the lives of others in prison with them, including the guard. Their willingness to rejoice in their unpleasant circumstances changed lives, and continues to do the same as their story is told 2000 years later.

We face prisons of many kinds in life. Some are made with concrete and bars, while others we fashion brick by brick within our minds and spirits. In those confining moments and seasons, we can lament our circumstances, bemoan our misfortune and give up on our future, but there is another choice. We can decide, like Paul and Silas, to offer our praise in spite of our circumstances. We can declare God’s goodness and his divine possibilities in the face of pain and fear. We can believe with action in the presence of the temptation to doubt. We can praise in our prison.

When we release our faith in these moments, cell doors open, we find freedom and the people around us get changed. I once heard a youth speaker say, “People are waiting on the other side of your obedience.” Maybe, they are also waiting on the other side of our praise. May we find the strength in God to praise in our prison and break free in our faith.

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