This past Sunday was my favorite Sunday teaching. Ever. (You can see it for yourself here.) I had the honor to teach alongside Amy (my bride) on the topic of parenting. We allowed the opportunity for folks to ask questions during the message. I encourage you to listen to it for the full context, but let’s tackle a couple of questions that were asked here.

How do you confess to your kids that you made a mistake in your parenting without letting them see you truly have no idea what you’re doing?

One of the primary goals we have for our kids is to experience the unconditional love of Jesus, not to believe that we are the perfect parents. Therefore, we have made multiple trips to their room after the fireworks of an argument to apologize for HOW we handled a situation. It gave our kids an opportunity to give grace and forgiveness instead of just receiving it.

It doesn’t undermine your authority when you apologize for something you’ve done wrong – like losing your cool or overreacting. If anything, it increases your credibility by being transparent and authentic.  I apologize for HOW I handled this. I should not have lost my cool. Yes, you are still grounded.

We consistently remind our kids that this is first time we’ve parented in these waters.  It is like putting together an airplane while it is in the air.

How do you gauge your kids’ sincerity in their decisions versus just trying to please mom and dad?

I hope I understand the question correctly, but let’s start with what Amy said on Sunday: work backwards from the behavior to the heart. She does a great job unpacking that in greater detail, so I won’t repeat all of that here. I will say that I’m not sure how important ‘sincerity’ is in cases of obedience or wise decisions.  Here’s why…

Every decision has consequences. Some good, bad, ugly, indifferent, unintended – you get the idea. Some decisions I make are made because I don’t want to deal with the bad, ugly, unintended, not-so-good consequences. It’s not because I LOVE the decision or I sincerely WANT to make that decision.

If I like sleeping in so much that I sleep in all week and miss work or class, then that will have its own set of consequences. Get fired, fail assignments, no paycheck, don’t graduate, lose trust, etc.  So get up, shower, and grind out the day. Begrudgingly. Is that ‘insincere?’  Sure, but we could also call it MATURITY. Making the right, good decision and grinding through it is called adulting.  This is what we want our kids to learn, right?

When you have multiple kids and have to discipline them differently, how do you explain that to them?

We will parent you at the level of maturity you have displayed.

If a kid continuously lies, doesn’t own their junk, and has to learn things the hard way – we parent that child very differently than the one who is compliant and receives instruction willingly. It’s not about love.  It’s about what they have exhibited they need in order to learn how to be a better adult.  And all we have to base this decision on is their past behavior. That’s all we have to make decisions on – the character and pattern they’ve established.

The good news is they have control over that.  The bad news is it takes a long time to earn back the trust they’ve destroyed.  It’s possible, it’s just harder.

So when we get hit with the argument, ‘Why do you keep bringing up my past? Where is the forgiveness?’  The answer is, ‘You have been forgiven,’ but forgiveness is different than consequences.  And one of the consequences is that your behavior is tied to a heart issue, and your behavior is showing us that you still have this heart issue.  In short, YOU keep bringing up the past by your decisions and actions. When you prove that you’ve learned this lesson or can handle conflict maturely or not lie, then it won’t be brought up anymore.

This is one of those ‘hard decisions’ of parenting. Kids won’t understand or see in the moment why you’ve parented them differently. That takes some maturity which none of us had in that moment. All they see is that life isn’t fair and you didn’t treat them the same way you treated their sister. Amy and I always admitted that from the start: absolutely, we are parenting each of you differently because each of you behave differently. We told each of our kids – you have significant control over how we parent you based on how you handle hardship.

Along those same lines, trust is different than love. Love is unconditionally given. Love is never earned. There’s nothing they will ever do that will make us love them less. Trust? Completely different. Trust is earned. It can be destroyed. It can be built up. It always takes longer to build than to destroy. Trust is the difference between having an adult/mature relationship with your kids and having to treat them like 4-year olds.

What priority should biological kids be given in a divorced/step-family situation?

The marriage is the most important earthly relationship.

This does not mean you can’t be a great parent if you are a single parent. This does not mean you SHOULD get married if you have a kid out of wedlock. This does not mean you should get remarried if you are divorced.

What I am saying is – IF you get married, that relationship should have the number 1 earthly priority in your life. ABOVE your kids. Biological. Step. Foster. Adopted.

Doesn’t matter if it’s the first marriage or the second (or third). Marriage is where we make vows to another person. Marriage is the foundation of the family. Christian Marriage is supposed to give the world a glimpse of what unconditional love looks like and is to reflect Jesus’ relationship with the Church. Chances are great that our kids will one day be married, and they need to have a model of what LEAVE, CLEAVE, and BECOME ONE looks like (Gen 2:24). When the marriage is given first priority, it allows you to parent together.

I could go on, but the goal is to raise responsible, contributing adults. That means learning the world doesn’t revolve around them, the world doesn’t owe them anything. If the marriage is given first priority in a divorce situation, hopefully the outcome will be that the child gains a parent – not lose one.

Please join us for the next two weeks as well.  Amy and I will be talking about relationships and conflict resolution.  We’ll take a look at how marriage and any other great relationship requires work and intentionality.  Hope to see you there.

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Jesus in Luke 6:45

I really misunderstood this verse in my early years of following Jesus. At first glance, it seems pretty straightforward. What we say and what we do is the result of the condition of our heart. And yes, this is exactly what Jesus meant. That’s not the part I misunderstood.

It was the application of the verse where it all fell apart.

Hear me out…

If I say bad things, do bad things (insert your list of favorite sins/bad things here – sex, drugs, rock and roll, gossip, greed, language, etc.), that is an indication that my heart isn’t where it should be. So far, so good.

The remedy of this situation is to be more disciplined in what I say, hear, watch, do, read, etc. So install filters on my devices, get an accountability partner who will ask me if I’m lying to him, listen to only Christian music, and the list of activities could go on and on.

This is exactly the place where I went off the rails with what Jesus was teaching. The solution to bad outflow is not to modify the behaviors but to change the source. Change the heart. Of course, I’m incapable of doing that. It’s not a matter of discipline. It is outside the realm of possibility for me to change my heart.

The Spirit of God is what changes our heart and renews our soul. Connecting with Him, yielding to Him. This is the only path to true heart change. How do I do that? By spending time in the Bible, worship, prayer, and those other things we call spiritual practices/disciplines.

But wait… aren’t I right back where I started? Aren’t I right back trying to be more disciplined in my activities, which really isn’t changing my heart?

Maybe. There’s a subtle but important distinction that we need to make. Allow me to make the point using another relationship example.

There was a young man who was smitten by a beautiful young woman on the college’s volleyball team. How could he get close to this woman? How could pursue her at all?

The team was always in search of students who would call lines and shag volleyballs for the women during warmups. In a stroke of brilliance (or desperation), he volunteered to do both. The only real flaw in his plan was that he knew absolutely nothing about volleyball.

Nada.
Zip.
Zilch.

How in the world did he have a chance with this woman if he knew nothing about the sport that was so dear to her? In the days before Google??

He went to this gigantic building on campus called the library. He interviewed players and coaches. He did the work and research. Then he volunteered to call lines and help out during warm-ups.

Because he loved volleyball? No, that came later. Because he was trying to connect with this girl. He did those things with the intention of getting close to that girl. Turns out, he was really good at calling lines and being an official. But that’s not why he did all those things.

And then she crushed his heart into pieces.

BUT that ended up being the best thing ever, because the next season, Amy joined the team.

What I’m trying to say is this – when we engage in spiritual practices, we must invite the Spirit to that place. We must engage in these practices not for the purpose of changing our behavior but to expose our heart to God. The point of the practices is to get transparent with the Lord, not become more disciplined, more insightful, or more moral.

If the end goal of all your religious activity is to be better at religious activity, then you will one day wake up with a cold, brittle, dry, hardened heart. The point of opening God’s word is to engage with the Spirit. Argue with him. Plead with him. Fight with him. It is to give Him unfettered access to our hearts so He can begin the slow process of transformation inside us.

Yes, I still read my Bible every day. I pray… every day. Some days it is out of sheer discipline and routine. I admit that. It’s a lot like going to the gym every day. Some days it’s just get on the bike and grind out your 30 minutes. I confess that I have those kinds of days.

But I have other days where the Lord ambushes my routine. He invades my routine, and I am overwhelmed in those moments. Sometimes He delivers a swift kick in the rear end. Others, it’s a great big hug and a whisper to my heart to remind me of what He paid to be my Savior.

This is why I keep going to back to the Scriptures and prayer. For those places are where I find connection and transformation. They happen at the craziest of times and locations, but this is the WHY of my activity.

Not to be smarter. Or more moral. Or more intelligent. Or more prepared to teach. Those things are so insignificant and unimportant when compared to the Spirit changing my heart to look more like Jesus.

And that’s what I think Jesus was trying to say.

We’ve got a dining room in our house that I seriously wonder why in the world we even have. We use it maybe twice a year: Thanksgiving and Christmas. Life in the English family centers around the kitchen table. (Technically, it’s an island.)

It’s where mail is dropped off, backpacks are left, coffee mugs are forgotten, keys are thrown, and meals are prepped. It’s where late night conversations about school, friends, parenting, dating, marriage, and work all take place. It’s witnessed the struggle with geometry, boys, parenting, and family. It has survived the crayon years, the water paint years, and the marker years. It’s been used to dodge nerf darts, and it has served as a support to lean on when the tears flown.

The table is a place for real talk in our house. It’s where we navigated everything from the terrible twos to middle school drama, the high school disappointments and college transfers. The table is where hard truth and deep love is spoken.

The table is where we do life. It’s where we figured out how to live out our faith. Together.

I’m not saying the table is always a comfortable place to be. It can be full of arguing and fighting as well. It’s a place to figure out life, and life has some hard chapters in it. The table is not immune to that, and I think that’s why I love it.

Everyone needs a table like this, but not everyone gets one. So allow me to invite you to The Table for the next 6 weeks. This series is about how to live out our faith in various life stages – from grandparenting to parenting, from single to married and back to single again. For all of these phases of life, come sit at the table while we unpack Biblical principles to navigate them.

I can make you a couple of promises. You’ll hear other family’s ‘Table Moments’ that helped them figure it out. There will be plenty of stories to make you laugh and a few that will force some tears. You’ll hear how no matter where you are in your journey, there’s nothing beyond the redemption and reach of Jesus.

And I promise you, there will be plenty of room for you and your questions at The Table.

If you haven’t listened to the message from Sunday, this might be a good time to check it out. The Question this week was, Is God In Control?

I said this in the message on Sunday, and it bears repeating. If you are looking for quick, simple answers, then you’re going to have to search elsewhere. The world we live in is much too complicated and too deeply broken for simple, pithy answers. Besides that, we should want more out of our faith than just sweet, unexamined sentiment. We should also want more out of our faith than neat theological boxes that have no tension in them.

That’s precisely the dilemma with this question. One of those neat theological boxes is the answer that God is in control of everything. This answer implies more than just saying everything goes through His hands. It’s saying everything comes FROM His hands.

This is a significant step to take. I understand why some people take it. To some, it is disconcerting to think that God doesn’t control every aspect of life, or perhaps more specifically that He controls “my life.” In their minds, the concept of God allowing things to happen that are evil or bad, or even things that He doesn’t want or like, compromises the sovereignty of God. Somehow in this construction, God is less than God if He doesn’t have total and complete control.

The problem with this concept is that God doesn’t present Himself to us this way. He doesn’t define His own sovereignty by control. From the beginning of the story, God limits Himself. He exercises restraint. The Infinite chooses to limit Himself to thoughts, words, and worlds. He creates time and space, then He chooses to put a free will creature in that space to relate to in that space and time. He chooses to create a world in which CONTROL is secondary to RELATIONSHIP.

Here’s the lynchpin in this – He chooses this. It wasn’t forced on Him. It didn’t surprise Him. It was self-imposed. He chooses relationship over control from the beginning to the end of the story.

Does this call into question His power or sovereignty?

I don’t think so. He consistently shows us that His definition of power is different than ours. He doesn’t grab control. He manifests love. That is who God is at His core – love. God is love. He HAS power, but He IS love.

So is God in control? He’s in as much control as He has chosen to be. He’s as in control as much as He wants to be. Is that a cop out of an answer? Perhaps. But I’d also argue that He will exercise “control” as much as it doesn’t compromise love and relationship. For Him, power is measured by sacrifice, not manipulation or control.

This was Jesus’ point to His disciples – don’t lead like the Gentiles lead. Don’t lord authority over others but instead serve all. Where we would grab power, Jesus grabs the towel. Where we would want control, Jesus takes the cross.

Therein lies the tension. God does not seem to have the need for control that we so desperately want Him to have. We want Him to stop the fires, heal the sick, prevent the disaster. From our perspective, His interventions are haphazard at best. Part of this is because we are in the dark as we look through the lens. We are finite trying to understand the infinite.

But part of it is also that God doesn’t play by our rules or expectations. I could put flowery words to this – God’s ways are not our ways, He works in mysterious ways – but these explanations often miss the grander point. As in, God has consistently shown in Scripture that He is perfectly pleased with working with the free will of man.

He wrestles with Isaac. He argues with Moses. He speaks with Noah. He chastises the kings. He encourages the prophets. His son cries in the garden.

Does this make life more complicated, nuanced, difficult? Absolutely. It also makes it more meaningful. It means that God will never compromise Himself. He will never compromise love. It means “control” has never been the most important value to Him.

His mission was not to control the world. His mission was to love the world. Can’t have it both ways. He has made it His mission to make a people that will freely worship Him. A people that would freely stand and say, “You are my God, and we are your people.” A people with a changed heart, not a programmed response.

Neither am I saying that God sits in heaven wringing His hands waiting on the response of humanity. God is not hostage to the decisions of man. That would be the other extreme, neat box that I’m trying to avoid as well.

What I really wish is there was some neat way to end this conversation, but alas – that is not to be found. I believe in the goodness of God, that He is working all things out for good. Not that all things ARE good. He didn’t cocoon Himself to that kind of life, why would we think we would be exempt from hardship? I see the cross as the worst that the world, humanity, and the devil could throw at God. The empty tomb as Christ victorious over all. His promise that one day He will return and have control.

But for now, we live in that tension. By faith. So help me, God.

This week’s message is the background for this week’s devo. So if you kinda get lost on this devo, that’s the backstory.

I admit it. It is easy to say “God keeps His promises,” quote 2 Corinthians 1:20 (All the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ), throw down the mic and walk off the stage. It’s even easy to understand how that verse is true. In Christ, God has kept his promises and covenants with the people of God.

But what about…

What about Jesus’ words, “pray with the faith of a mustard seed and you can say to this mountain go throw yourself in the ocean and it will happen?” What about Paul’s words, “God is working all things out for good for those called according to His purposes?” What about the promise of the peace of God in my life? What about 50 other verses I could quote?

Yeah, about that…

Jesus made other promises that I sometimes forget about. The promise that I would be misunderstood and misquoted because of my faith. The promise that the culture around me would get more hostile to Jesus. The promise that I would be persecuted because of my faith. The promise that He disciplines His children.

I have a tendency to forget about those promises.

My life is better with Jesus. I know this to be 100% true. I’m a better person with Jesus. My marriage is better. My kids. My job. There is not any area in my life that would be better without Jesus. I know this because I remember a time in my life without Jesus.

Better is NOT easier. Better is not more comfortable. Better is not safer, richer, or more predictable.

Listen to the stories of those who have come to faith later in their life. Listen to those who have walked with Jesus a long time. Listen to their experience, and you’ll hear a common thread. God has kept His promise – to never leave them, to make them look more like Jesus. These are the promises that matter most.

I can’t explain why I haven’t been able to move a mountain into the sea. Maybe I don’t have enough faith. Maybe the mountain Jesus is moving is me. I can’t always see the good in trauma and crisis. I can’t always see how God is going to use pain, hurt, anxiety, or disappointment.

But I’m always amazed at how God works. Always. I’ve got a list of prayers and ‘promises’ that I am so glad that God said “No” to. He’s proven Himself over and over. So when those times come… I’m choosing to believe that somehow, someway, sometime He will once again prove how H

e kept his promises.

I know it happens. You say, “I’m going to read the Bible this year,” and you mean it. Maybe you mean MORE than what you read last year, or maybe you mean the WHOLE Bible. Either way, it doesn’t take long to realize how in over your head you are. Miss a day, and it seems like you’ve got 23 chapters to make up.

For 2020, things could be different. Allow me to put three tools in your hands.

The 5 Day Bible Reading Plan
You can download a free PDF of the plan right here: biblereadingschedule2020. It’s a simple, front and back sheet of paper. Put it in your Bible or on your fridge. I stumbled across this plan a few days ago, and it’s amazingly simple.

First, the readings are in chronological order – for the most part. There are a couple of exceptions but nothing major. Plus the Psalms are interspersed in the readings when we think they were written. So as you are reading through the life of David, you’ll get to read the Psalms he wrote during that time of his life.

Second, it’s a 5-day plan, not a 7-day plan. That’s right – you get two days to catch up on what you missed or to read something else. It’s a plan with MARGIN in it. How awesome is that? If you miss a day, you’re not behind 23 chapters.

Journal – Online or Analog
If you have a phone, you’ve got a note app on it. Start using it. Write down questions, observations, insights you get while reading the Bible. Doesn’t have to be eloquent. Doesn’t have to be polished or presentable to the public. You could go old school – actually get a pen and paper. That doesn’t really matter either. What does matter is that you INTERACT with God’s Word, not just read it. Pray through it, argue with it, ask questions of it, discuss it.

Connect Group or Read Group
This last tool is super important. It’s also the hardest one to start. Get involved in a small group that is reading the Scriptures with you. It allows you to share your notes (see above). It will help answer questions, see another perspective, grow deeper, get smarter, apply it better.

We’ve got plenty of places you can find a group. Starting Point will kick off on January 13th during LEAD Night. You can find an existing Connect Group. Join our men on Wednesday mornings. Find a women’s Bible study. You could find a couple of other friends to grab a coffee, breakfast, or lunch during the week to do this together.

These three tools – reading the Word, engaging the Word, unpacking the Word in community – used in conjunction with each other are a powerful strategy for spiritual growth. I’ve grown the most when these three tools are clicking with each other. When these three are running together, it pushes me to serve, to apply God’s word, to not give up when I fail. I don’t get as discouraged when times get tough.

Is it possible to do one or two of these without the other? Yes, but your mileage is going to be greatly reduced. You’re just not going to get the most out of it as you could. You’ll miss some things. Perhaps a lot of things. It’s possible you’ll misinterpret or misapply the scriptures. You’ll get discouraged. It will be easier to quit.

What we want – or should want – is spiritual transformation. I want to be changed to look more like Jesus. That’s what these three tools working together do best.

I miss my grandfather.

Pawpaw (as he was called) was quite the character. Everyone called him ‘Mike’ even though his name was Harley. His favorite drink was coffee. Black. Morning. Noon. Night. He took his time doing everything. He walked slow, fished slow, gardened slow. He’d walk every aisle at a flea market (slow) and visit with any vendor that sold knives, wallets, or fishing gear. He’d sit in a restaurant for hours (it felt like hours) after dinner was over. He’d sit in coffee shops long before it was cool to sit in coffee shops.

He’d drive slow – which I might add was the source of much conflict in his marriage. The maddest I’ve ever seen my grandmother was when Pawpaw traded her big Oldsmobile Delta ‘88 with a V-8 engine for a little Toyota truck with a 4-cylinder engine that he called ‘my wheelbarrow.’

We’d show up at his house, and he was ALWAYS sitting on the front porch drinking coffee waiting on us. Always.

“Pawpaw, what you doin’?”

“I’ve been waiting on you!”

I’ve been waiting on you.

How powerful are those words? After all these years, I now realize now how powerful those words are. I understand now how meaningful and full of love those words are. I’ve been waiting on you.

There was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He’d spent his life waiting. Waiting on the Messiah. Every day, he would show up at the Temple. Along the way, the Spirit revealed to Simeon that one day he would see the Messiah with his own eyes.

Just waiting. On the Lord. Every day. Doing what he knows to do, doing the next thing. Worshipping. Anticipating. Maybe at times even wrestling with discouragement.

As Joseph and Mary enter the Temple to dedicate Jesus, I wonder what was going on in their minds as this old man approached them. It’d already been a weird few days, so an old man blessing them wasn’t the craziest thing in the world. But his words…

Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
You may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
Which you have prepared in sight of all nations:
A light for revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of your people Israel.

Simeon, what you doin?
I’ve been waiting on you.

Simeon had been waiting for when all the people of the world would see and know the King. He’d been waiting to see the child that was born for humanity in order to show’s God’s peace and good will toward them. He’d been waiting to see the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

Immanuel. A light for revelation to the Gentiles, the glory of His people Israel.

Simeon teaches us that it’s okay to wait. It’s okay to not get what you want when you want it. Simeon shows us that a life in anticipation is a good thing, not something to dread. He reminds us that while God never operates on our timetable, sometimes being slow is a good thing.

I hope this Christmas we can see through the eyes of Simeon. Eyes that are okay with waiting. Eyes that see hope when it shows up. Eyes that look up in praise when it does.

It sounded like a good idea at the time.

Many years ago, we had the idea of telling the Christmas story from the perspective of the shepherds. Somebody suggested that we ought to get a lamb and tell the story while holding the lamb. In fact, to make it even more impressive, let’s get the kids gathered around with somebody holding the lamb.

What could go wrong? Lambs are cute. Docile. Cuddly. Soft.

Against my better judgment, I agreed to try it. My son, Cooper, was in middle school at the time, and he was ‘voluntold’ that he would be the one to hold the lamb while I gave the devo. Again – it sounds fine and dandy until you actually get face to face with a lamb.

Here are the things I didn’t know about lambs. They are curious. Which means they are not going to just sit still and look cute. They require constant attention. They are noisy. They bleet all the time. They smell… they smell like you would think a barnyard animal would smell. And they occasionally nip at you.

Nothing went wrong per se, it’s just that things didn’t play out like we thought they would. That really shouldn’t be that surprising though, right? I mean, we’re talking about dealing with live animals.

If you think about the first Christmas from the perspective of the shepherds, there are a lot of things that weren’t wrong… It just didn’t play out like it was expected.

First, these shepherds were more than likely looking over the Temple flocks. These animals were located in Bethlehem and raised for the sole purpose of being sacrificed. They would be transported to the Temple to be bought by travelers as their sacrifice.

Shepherds were typically the youngest siblings in the family. It was a dirty job, because you practically lived with the animals. Shepherds had three pieces of equipment that were most valuable to them:  their staff for walking and nudging the sheep along, their slingshot for larger predators, and their flute for their entertainment in the field.

Culturally, they were merely tolerated. They were outsiders. They were necessary – like migrant workers. They were the forgotten ones. Some scholars believe that their testimony wasn’t even allowed in a court of law.

And on the night Jesus was born, God made sure they got a front row seat to the greatest birthday band in the world. Plus an invitation to go see the Christ child. The Messiah. The one who would bring God’s good will to all people.

All people.

The forgotten ones got an invite. They got front row seats to the most extraordinary moment in history. They had to feel at home as they entered the barn and saw the manger. Familiar sights and sounds and smells, except for this teenage girl, her husband… and their child.

It was as if God was saying to them, “Come on, get close. Don’t miss this. Come see the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world.“

So in a forgotten town, in an out of the way barn, to two outsider parents, God With Us arrived.

Christmas is for the outsiders. The forgotten. The tolerated.

One of my favorite nativity scenes of all times involves a Delorean and Yoda. I’m not saying it’s accurate. I’m saying I like it. Actually, I love the idea behind it better. Looking at the Christmas story through the eyes of people who we typically don’t think of being a part of the Christmas story. And if that happens to involve characters from movies of my childhood… all the better.

But today I want to think about it from the perspective of Zechariah.

Not sure who that is? It’s John the Baptist’s father. His story is found in Luke 1:5-25 and 1:67-80. Zechariah was a Jewish priest and highly respected. He was considered a righteous and honorable man by his peers, even though he and his wife were unable to have children.

He was nearing the end of his career. They were getting up there in age, and he was selected to serve in the Temple to burn incense before the Lord. While he was in the Holy Place performing this ritual, the angel Gabriel appeared to him.

Gabriel told him that not only would he and Elizabeth have a child, but the child would become a great man. He would turn many back to God. He would be like Elijah and make ready the people for the Lord. It’s understandable that all of this was a bit overwhelming for Zechariah. He interrupted Gabriel’s announcement to remind him that a) he and Elizabeth were really old, and b) they weren’t able to have a child.

Gabriel in return told Zechariah he would be unable to speak until the child was born.

Merry Christmas, brother.

You might be thinking that this is an introvert’s dream. You mean I can be absolutely silent for the next 9 months? YES! But I’m confident it got old quickly. Zechariah and Elizabeth had dreamed of having a child. As the years turned to decades, that dream had died.

Then everything changed. Everything. Where there was hurt, there is now hope. Where there was regret, there is now purpose. There is a life! There is the coming Messiah. This child will be a part of that.

And Zechariah couldn’t speak a word of it.

For nine months.

He couldn’t encourage Elizabeth. He couldn’t prep her for what this child was going to mean for the nation of Israel. He couldn’t laugh with her at the audacity of what God was doing.

All he could do was think. And pray. Be still.

Then again, maybe that’s exactly what God wanted from Zechariah. He’d spent years serving and doing things for God. Now it was his turn to receive from God. To be still and know. To enjoy the journey.

Once John the Baptist was born, Zechariah was able to speak again. His first words were to name his son John. He was able to tell the whole story then. When Mary came to visit and they heard of her pregnancy… what a time to be alive.

I think that we’d do well to take a page out of Zechariah’s book. To find times to be silent and just watch. Be still. Allow Christmas to just happen in front of us, around us. To watch the joy of others. To just be in that moment God has us in and be silent enough to look at how He is moving all around us.

Not a bad way to see Christmas, is it?

Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they (Mary Magdalen, Mary the mother of James, and Salome) went to the tomb at sunrise. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?”

I’m glad these women didn’t wait until they had it all figured out to go to the tomb that morning. They had a significant problem. A two thousand pound problem. Literally. How were they going to get to Jesus with that huge rock in front of the tomb? The Roman guards were going to be no help. The disciples were scattered to the four winds.

But they went anyway.

If they had been part of a ministry team at a local church, they would have been labeled unorganized, scattered-brained… unfocused.

If they had waited until they had it all figured out, they’d still be sitting in that house. They were never going to experience what God wanted them to experience if they had waited until they had it all figured out.

Here’s what they knew – Jesus’ body needed preparing for burial. What about the predictions of His resurrection? What about the fulfillment of prophecy? Shouldn’t they have been holed up in prayer trying to figure out the next step?

I don’t think so. I think they were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Which is – trust God and do the next thing.

Obey first, figure it out later.

Do what you know to do while waiting on God’s next step.

Want to kick-start your walk with Jesus? Stop waiting until you have IT figured out before you obey. Stop waiting until you understand before you put a spiritual principle in practice.

Do what you know to do. Volunteer. Show up. Give what you can. Push beyond what you are comfortable with. Go, even though you may not know what the next step is.

Psalm 119:105 says “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

God never promises street lights. He promised just enough light for the path to take your next step. You may not ever be able to see further than that. Which means, the whole time you are waiting for a bigger map, you are missing the journey that Jesus has for you.

This is what real waiting on the Lord looks like. You keep doing what you know you’re supposed to do until it’s clear He’s got something else for you. I’ve never been able to figure out what God’s total plan is and THEN obey. So many times it is – do this little step. Then once I’m over there, He shows me another step I need to take that I was not able to see when I was standing over there waiting.

So many times the places God wants to take us can’t be seen from where we currently are. And He’s not going to show them to us from where we are. He’s never worked like that. See Abram. I’m going to take you to a land where I will tell you about later and bless you in a way that I will explain later. In the meantime, take this step.

So start moving. Start where you are. He’ll show you the next step in due time. He’ll remove that obstacle in His time. Just don’t wait until you’ve figured it out. You’ll never get anywhere.