Caroling, Caroling

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I did something I haven’t done in a long, long time. Not since college. Maybe even high school. I went caroling, complete with printed sheets of lyrics and everything. Just like it was back in the late 1900s.

It’s been that long.

Back in the day, we’d all gather together and carpool from place to place with our arsenal of festive seasonal classics. I’m sure we were joyful and triumphant in our attempts to pull off the carols and jingles. We probably came closer to making a joyful noise than anything else. I couldn’t tell if the guy next to me was trying to harmonize or was just really off-key, but it didn’t really matter in the end. A good time was had by all.

Tonight, we started off visiting the house of a deacon who very recently had been fighting for his life. It was heartwarming to see him standing in the doorway, a sort of miracle in itself, with his wife wiping away tears of gratitude as we sang loudly and zestily (if not always in tune or in the same key).

Then we headed over to my pastor’s parent’s to do more yuletide crooning. They’ve both had health issues and have had a rough 2022, but they were both pleased and grateful to see us gathered in their front yard, singing about those herald angels.

The last stop was the next-door neighbor who was a founding member of Brentwood Baptist Church along with her late husband. She lost him around this time last year, and I’m sure she was thankful for the company. Christmas is a beautiful time, but sometimes I forget that it’s not the easiest season if you’re missing a loved one.

I snapped a picture of this forlorn little reindeer in one of the yards. Hopefully, someone got a good snapshot of all of us singing in different keys and sometimes different verses at the same time. The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir we were not.

But I’d do it all again tomorrow night if I could. In fact, I hope this caroling thing becomes another tradition that I can look forward to through the spring, summer and fall.

The Most Reluctant Convert

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I did something that I rarely do these days — I went to an actual movie in an actual movie theater. It’s been a while.

Normally, I like to wait for it to hit streaming services because few films are worth paying the current price of movie tickets. But in this case, I made an exception. I wanted to support a faith-based film from a group that I’ve grown to respect as I’ve gotten to know about them, the Fellowship for Performing Arts, led by one Max McLean.

The film is centered around the story of C. S. Lewis’ 10-year journey from atheism to Christianity. Without giving away too much, the narrative device they use to tell the story is unique and compelling. I feel like Mr. McLean masterfully portrayed the title character and the filming locations gave the production a note of authenticity.

But what captivated me most was the way the movie used Lewis’ own words. I believe a lot of the narrative came directly from his autobiography Surprised by Joy. For once, it’s a faith-based film that actually succeeds at being a good film first, and without being preachy or didactic.

It will make you want to dive deep into the writings of C. S. Lewis, both apologetic and fiction, as well as possibly leading you to check out some of writers who inspired him such as George MacDonald and G. K. Chesterton. I can’t recommend it highly enough for anyone who wants a quality movie about the nuances of faith and intellect.

Do Thou for Me

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“Do Thou for me, O God the Lord,
Do Thou for me.
I need not toil to find the word
That carefully
Unfolds my prayer and offers it,
My God, to Thee.

It is enough that Thou wilt do,
And wilt not tire,
Wilt lead by cloud, all the night through
By light of fire,
Till Thou has perfected in me
Thy heart’s desire.

For my beloved I will not fear,
Love knows to do
For him, for her, from year to year,
As hitherto.
Whom my heart cherishes are dear
To Thy heart too.

O blessèd be the love that bears
The burden now,
The love that frames our very prayers,
Well knowing how
To coin our gold.  O God the Lord,
Do Thou, Do Thou” (Amy Carmichael).

There are times when we simply don’t know how to pray for a circumstance or a loved one. Try as we may, the words will not come.

I think even then God hears the groans and sighs of our petitions and knows what they mean. He hears the deepest desires of our hearts and knows best how to grant them.

Even when we have words, they aren’t always the best ones. Sometimes, we ask without such a limited point of view. Sometimes we ask selfishly. Sometimes we have too small a view of God and ask too little.

In Jan Karon’s Mitford series, Father Tim Kavanaugh always has his go-to prayer, or “the prayer that never fails,” as he calls it. The prayer goes “Thy will be done.”

You can never go wrong with leaving the matter in God’s hands.

In Over Your Head

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“But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob,
the One who got you started, Israel:
“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you.
I’ve called your name. You’re mine.
When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.
When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you’re between a rock and a hard place,
it won’t be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God,
The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you:
all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!
That’s how much you mean to me!
That’s how much I love you!
I’d sell off the whole world to get you back,
trade the creation just for you” (Isaiah 43:1-4, The Message).

Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Praying for Muslims During Ramadan

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Last year, I did something new. I felt led by the Lord to pray for Muslims during Ramadan, their most sacred time when they are fasting and seeking guidance. I don’t say this so that everyone can pat me on the back and tell me how great I am. I’m telling you because it really changed my own faith for the better.

The goal is that Christians from all over the world are praying for Muslims during this month where they will be the most spiritually receptive. There is an organization that has something called 10/10 Prayer & Fasting, and their goal is to see at least 10% of the Muslim world saved by 2028. That is a God-sized goal, but just imagine the impact around the world if it came to pass?

This year, Ramadan runs from Tuesday, February 17 to Thursday, March 19. I’m including a prayer guide from the International Mission Board for how to pray during these 30 days. As you pray through the different prompts, you will learn about Muslim practices and gain understanding into the purpose of Ramadan. Hopefully, you will be burdened to pray for them beyond Ramadan and through the rest of the 2026 and beyond.

I believe God’s heart is for people from every nation, people group, ethnicity, and religious background to come to faith in Jesus. I also believe that there will be countless multitudes from every tongue, tribe, and nation around the heavenly throne, including those who formerly served Allah. I’m praying this year God does something amazing in the Muslim world due to the prayers of His people. Lord, let it be so!

Ramadan Prayer Guide

Cultivating Confidence in God

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“Cultivate the greatest confidence that, though you cannot see into your heart, God is working there by His Holy Spirit. Let the heart wait at times in perfect silence and quiet; in its hidden depths God will work. Be sure of this, and just wait on Him. Give your whole heart, with its secret workings, into God’s hands continually. He wants the heart, and takes it” (Andrew Murray).

It takes discipline and intentionality to remain stedfast through seasons of waiting. Waiting is not a passive sport. It’s not sitting by the phone or in front of a computer screen or doomscrolling through your texts and emails.

Waiting on God means that you do everything in your power to be prepared for when God calls your name. It’s preparing the fields to receive the rain. It’s living in a posture of complete surrender to El Shaddai, God Almighty, and to whatever and whenever and wherever He asks of you.

Waiting on God means confessing once again that God, not you or I, knows best. God is the one who sees the entire big picture while you and I see only a tiny part of it. It’s trusting that God’s purposes toward you are true and good. It’s believing that God will work all things, even your present circumstances, for your good and His glory.

Lord, help us to wait well. Help us to be faithful and obedient right where we’re planted until You move us to where You want us next. May we never give up in doing good and never tire of waiting on You because the wait is always, always, always worth it. Amen.

A Narnian Excerpt

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Because I’m sleepy and my brain is banana pudding, here’s an excerpt from one of my favorite books out of one of my favorite series. The book is The Horse and His Boy, and the series is The Chronicles of Narnia. Both are by C. S. Lewis, and I recommend both, whether you’ve never read them before or have read them each 100 times:

“Bree turned round at last, his face mournful as only a horse’s can be. ‘I shall go back to Calormen,’ he said.

‘What?’ said Aravis. ‘Back to slavery!’

‘Yes,’ said Bree. ‘Slavery is all I’m fit for. How can I ever show my face among the free Horses of Narnia?—I who left a mare and a girl and a boy to be eaten by lions while I galloped all I could to save my own wretched skin!’

“We all ran as hard as we could,” said Hwin.

‘Shasta didn’t!’ snorted Bree. ‘At least he ran in the right direction: ran back. And that is what shames me most of all. I, who called myself a war horse and boasted of a hundred fights, to be beaten by a little human boy—a child, a mere foal, who had never held a sword nor had any good nurture or example in his life!’

‘I know,’ said Aravis. ‘I felt just the same. Shasta was marvelous. I’m just as bad as you, Bree. I’ve been snubbing him and looking down on him ever since you met us and now he turns out to be the best of us all. . . .’

‘It’s all very well for you,’ said Bree. ‘You haven’t disgraced yourself. But I’ve lost everything.’

‘My good Horse,’ said the Hermit, who had approached them unnoticed because his bare feet made so little noise on that sweet, dewy grass. ‘My good Horse, you’ve lost nothing but your self-conceit. No, no, cousin. Don’t put back your ears and shake your mane at me. If you are really so humbled as you sounded a minute ago, you must learn to listen to sense. You’re not quite the great Horse you had come to think, from living among poor dumb horses. Of course you were braver and cleverer than them. You could hardly help being that. It doesn’t follow that you’ll be anyone very special in Narnia. But as long as you know you’re nobody very special, you’ll be a very decent sort of Horse, on the whole'” (C. S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy).

God of the Waves and the Billows

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“But God is the God of the waves and the billows, and they are still His when they come over us; and again and again we have proved that the overwhelming thing does not overwhelm. Once more by His interposition deliverance came. We were cast down, but not destroyed” (Amy Carmichael).

I always love the story of how Jesus walked on the water to His disciples in the midst of a raging storm. Right in the middle of the disciples’ worst case scenario coming to life and in their worst nightmare, Jesus shows up.

And He speaks peace to the wind and the waves. That’s when they really take notice of who He is. They say Who is this who even the wind and the waves obey? In their minds, the sea represents chaos and death, but they see one who can overcome it.

Later, they will see Jesus overcoming actual death. They will remember this story and so many others where what seemed impossible to them was not even remotely difficult for Jesus. They will never stop telling the story of what they saw and heard to the generations to come.

Lord, who makes even the waves and the billows obey, we know You are with us in the middle of our own storms. We know You can still the storm and speak peace to the waves or You can still Your children within the storm and speak peace to our hearts. We trust You. Amen.

Don’t Be Anxious About Tomorrow

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“Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths” (C. H. Spurgeon).

“Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matthew 6:33-34, The Message).

The key is a shift in focus. Instead of dwelling on what you lack, dwell on the abundance of God’s resources. Instead of worrying about what may or may not happen tomorrow, focus on what’s in front of you today and remember that the same God who is present with you today is already present in the tomorrow that you’re so worried about.

So far, I’ve found the best way to keep my heart and mind focused on God is to recall as many attributes of God as I can call to mind. It’s also helpful to let worship music permeate your mind as you bring to mind the many promises of God in the old hymns and the newer worship songs.

I love the quote that says that the cure for anxiety is adoration. That’s worship. That involves singing but it also involves every aspect of your day-to-day living. Make it all an offering to God. Let your whole life be a praise to the Almighty. Take every anxious thought captive and make it obedient to Christ, trading it for His perfect peace.

Lord, so many of us are anxious. It’s our default setting. We don’t mean to be, but we often worry without even trying to or meaning to. Lord, we bring our anxious thoughts to You and ask for Your peace in return. Bless us this night with Your presence and keep us in the center of Your will. Amen.

Another Good Reminder

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I’m slowly reading my way through Waiting on God by Charles Stanley. Today, I believe God spoke to me through one of the things Dr. Stanley said. He basically said that waiting on God means focusing not on the object you’re waiting for but on the Giver. Keep your eyes on Jesus and not on the lack of spouse, job, house, money, etc.

Whenever I look to whatever it is I’m waiting for, I can become hyperfocused on what I lack and anxious almost non-stop. But when I remember to look up and fixed my eyes on Jesus, that peace that I’ve been praying for comes back. That’s when I recall all God’s promises to me to supply all my needs and never to forsake me.

It takes intentionality to take my eyes off of those stormy waves and put them back on Jesus. Otherwise, I become like ol’ Peter and sink like a stone. Those waters can get overwhelming in a hurry if I let them, but if I keep focused on Jesus, I know He can speak peace to the wind and the waves. As the old song goes, even if He doesn’t calm the storm, He can calm His child in the midst of the storm.

So tonight’s a bit of adjusting my perspective and my focus. I’m thankful that God sees me even when I’ve forgotten to look for Him. Lord, keep my eyes fixed on You instead of everything else, and I know that everything else will be okay because You are with me. Amen.

Sing What Is True

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“Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight;
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight.
Thou my soul’s shelter, thou my high tow’r;
Raise thou me Heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r” (Versifier: Eleanor H. Hull; Translator: Mary E. Byrne (1927)

Recently, a friend introduced me to a daily devo from the Worship Initiative. Basically, it’s a time of worship with a short devotional that typically lasts 15-20 minutes. It has been a breath of fresh air these past few days.

This week, they’ve done all hymns. As much as I really like some of the newer worship songs, I find that the old hymns typically have such sound theology (and usually better rhyme schemes). The new songs don’t have the staying power of those old hymns. While new songs might last for a year or two or even up to a decade, some of the ancient hymns have been around for centuries.

But there’s something about singing the truth of God’s Word that doesn’t happen in reading a regular book or singing a regular song. When you sing God’s words and mean them, real worship happens. I don’t mean a warm fuzzy feeling. I mean you are in that moment declaring the true worth of God. That is magnified exponentially when we are gathered together, which is why being a part of a local worshipping community of believers is vital.

But I can’t leave without putting in a shameless plug for The Worship Initiative. If you want to check out the Daily Devo, go here:

https://sing.theworshipinitiative.com/auth/login?redirectTo=https%3A%2F%2Fsing.theworshipinitiative.com%2F

You won’t be disappointed. I promise. Just remember to bring that beautiful singing voice (even if you croak like a frog) every weekday morning.

Trusting the Journey

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“I may not not where I am going next, but I trust the One who’s leading me.”

That’s me. I don’t know where this current journey is leading me, but I trust the One who is leading.

It’s like Corrie ten Boom once said about when the train goes through a tunnel and everything gets dark. You don’t throw away your ticket and jump off the train. You stay on and trust that the conductor has enough sense and knows the way out of the tunnel.

Life has times where it feels like we’re completely in the dark, not knowing what’s coming. But God knows. God sees the future because He’s already there. Again, it makes my brain hurt but God is outside of time. Therefore, He can be with me in the present and also waiting for me in the future.

Therefore, I can trust Him. I can trust His plans for me. I can trust that He’s still working all things together for my good. I can trust that He knows the plans He has for me.

So maybe I’m not trusting the journey as much as I’m trusting my Guide.

A Blessing of Dwelling

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Again, my brain is toast, so I borrowed something I found on Facebook. It spoke to me and I hope it will speak to you as well. May God’s blessings all be yours wherever you live, work, and play:

May you sit down in the presence of the Most High,
no longer visiting, no longer striving,
but settling into the place prepared for you.

May you discover that God Himself
is your refuge and your resting place—
not a fortress you must reach,
but a shelter already surrounding you.

May you live beneath His protective nearness,
held in the shade of the All-Sufficient One,
where fear loses its voice
and your soul remembers it is safe.

May threats that trouble others
lose their power over you.
May chaos pass nearby without overtaking you.
May you remain untouched, not because you are strong,
but because you are kept.

May unseen help attend your path,
lifting you gently when the way is hard,
so that even what might wound you
does not have the final word.

May love anchor you so deeply in God
that rescue comes naturally,
answers come personally,
and His presence meets you
even in the midst of trouble.

And may your life be filled with quiet satisfaction—
long enough to savor goodness,
deep enough to know salvation is not distant,
but dwelling with you,
here and now.

Amen” (Kirk Dearman).