David had a craving, a longing, a hunger.. to be with God. I’m sure he had experienced an awareness of God’s presence at times, but he wanted to have this continually every day. He wanted to be able to behold the beauty and goodness of God because the distractions of everyday life can present some very ungodly and ugly situations.

Today, I'm thinking about Life, not just the time we spend from birth to death, but Him who is Life. I'm thinking about how, in the beginning, God expressed Himself in a place covered by darkness, and Life happened. Things began to thrive and grow, and it's been happening ever since.

Some people may not know that in my spare time, I am a professional umpire. I work in all of our local softball leagues. This is a job where it's impossible to please everyone. Close calls will be disputed, and it's also possible for me to just get the call wrong.

Shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and somehow unworthy of love or belonging. It is the most primitive affect or emotion that we experience as humans. It is universal — every one of us has experienced it to some extent or another. Shame causes us to hide or cover ourselves, which in turn causes disconnection in relationships. It is the birthplace of perfectionism and it is highly correlated to addictions, depression, eating disorders, bullying, and even violence. Shame feeds off of secrecy, silence, and judgement to grow.

A few weeks ago, I read something that has stuck with me. This person was relating a story about “having room for a particular person to disappoint them”. The whole concept struck me as beautiful, gracious and much of what I experience when I am able to tap into God’s love.

Once we were in Hawaii on the island of Maui exploring the breathtaking beauty of nature. Prior to the trip, we bought a guidebook written by a local islander, offering tips and suggestions of the best things to see. As we traveled the Road to Hana, we saw many sightseeing stops where lots of tourists had gathered to view various ocean vistas, waterfalls, bamboo forests and volcanic rock.

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. From such stay away.” – 2 Timothy 3:5 NKJV

That verse is usually used as a rebuke toward those who may not believe in, or operate in the charismatic gifts of the Spirit. Or if they believe, they don’t allow them, or give much room for them in their church services. Some think that this verse is telling us to stay away from such Christians.

Jesus told a woman accused of sin “to go and sin no more”. Although I would like everyone to go and sin no more, I almost wish that Jesus had never said that particular phrase because it can give the impression of a demand on us to keep ourselves sinless. It’s often given as a reason for us to continue preaching about sin.

Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets.  I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. – Matthew 5:17

Jesus did not come preaching that the law of Moses was to be disregarded.  It was not to be thrown away just because we wanted to do something else.  It had to be fulfilled.

As spring begins to flourish around us and Easter has come and gone, a great reminder settles in. New life is inevitable. Death is not the final say. Life everlasting is happening here and now.

Springtime teaches us that new life comes after a long, cold winter, a seeming death. Springtime shows us that seed and harvest will come. Springtime is a beautiful inevitability.

As we consider the week leading up to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are moved by His unwavering and determined love for us. He had a purpose and it was to get to the cross. There He would defeat sin, the enemy, and death. But He did it in such an unprecedented way: through seeming weakness and humility.

Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” To which they responded, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

But then Jesus asked them this pointed question: “But who do you say that I am?”

God is love, and I just can't say it enough. When I really found out that God likes me, it was the biggest change of my life. It was the truth that made me free from my greatest enemy, the accuser.

There is a divine mystery—a secret surprise that has been concealed from the world for generations, but now it’s being revealed, unfolded and manifested for every holy believer to experience. ~Colossians 1:26

It’s a secret surprise! For you and for us. It’s a mystery that was concealed and is now revealed…

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (1 John 3:1, NKJV)

Who is the world John is referring to in this scripture? Typically we see the “world” as those sinners out there. Those ones not following God, not going to church, those ones committing the “big” sins.

When we read about Joshua and Caleb spying out the promised land, we see that their perspective was not the same as the other ten spies. They had what God called a different spirit. They saw the land as exceedingly good and worthwhile. But they also believed that the Lord delighted in them and would bring them into the land flowing with abundance. [Note that it wasn’t their strength that they were relying on to bring them into this new territory, it was God’s.]

We are now at the end of another year. Twelve months is actually a long time. It's time enough to include a very mixed bag of highs and lows, joys and sorrows. Most of us have probably experienced both this year. Judi and I surely did. Though the year did bring us a heartbreaking challenge, we also saw some of our most joyous times

Last night, Judi and I did something we do every Christmas season. We printed a list of holiday lights and decorations, heated some spiced cider, then drove through the neighborhoods, trying to find each one.

We checked off every find as we sipped our warm drink. Reindeer on roof. Check. Spiral Christmas tree. Check. Grinch. Check.

But one thing that evaded us was a "PEACE" sign. We saw many that said "JOY", "Merry Christmas", "Happy Holidays", and even one that said "HOPE", but not one that said "PEACE".

Once I was in a boat with some friends and saw a group of dolphins about twenty yards away. I pictured myself swimming and playing with them like I’d seen in movies and TV shows. So I dove in and swam toward the friendly dolphins, but they weren’t quite as friendly as I’d hoped. They allowed me to get close to them, but they stayed just a few feet away from me and I could never touch them.

As we enjoy this Christmas season, let’s take a moment to ponder the miraculous gift of Jesus. Through His life, Jesus let us know one of the most important things that we will ever know… that God LOVES us.