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I am a huge fan of joy! I unashamedly declare that I desire to have the deepest, longest, most fulfilling joy I can possibly attain. I think this desire is shared by all humans. God hard-wired the pursuit of the greatest joy possible directly into the hearts of mankind because He knew He was the only One that could and would fulfill that desire.

Listening to Pastor Tim preach through this section of 1 Samuel recently, my mind fixed on this verse. As I went back later and meditated on it, I wrote down a few thoughts that the Lord placed in my mind...

A common question during discipleship conversations is some version of “I don’t feel like I’m where I should be, what do I need to do?” It’s a totally well-intentioned question of a heart wanting to pursue God. But it is also indicative of a heart still longing for control that is not ours to have. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are things we can and should do, i.e., the means of receiving grace – be in the Word, pray frequently, seek out Christian fellowship where spiritual conversations are the norm.

One of our Grace church planters asked for thoughts on how to gauge the spiritual health of his flock (and urged me to share my response here). While a little longer than a normal post . . . here it is:

Imagine the scene of Eden—not born of human hands but planted by the Lord Himself. Every tree that was pleasant to the sight and good for food sprang not from the sweat of Adam’s brow, but from the fertile goodness of God’s own hand. The rivers flowed, the fruit ripened, the earth smiled with abundance—all before man lifted a finger.