Our current sermon series is a walk through the Psalms. I love the Psalms. They are so deep and so rich! One of my favorite things about the Psalms is the raw, gut-level honesty we see in so many of them. The psalmists cry out to God with real, heart-wrenching emotion. In several of the Psalms of David, for instance, we see him crying out to God, asking where God is, and how long David has to wait for God to show up while his enemies surround him. I don’t know about you, but I have definitely felt that way a time or two in my life!

In the midst of those situations, what the Psalms almost always point back to, though, is a reminder of God’s goodness. His steadfastness. His reliability even in the middle of life’s most difficult circumstances. 

They tell us to BE STILL and wait on the Lord. 

“Be silent before the LORD; wait expectantly on Him.” (Psalm 37:7)

“Stop fighting and know that I am God; exalted among the nations; exalted on the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)

These psalms remind me of another passage in the Bible, but a much earlier one.

In Exodus 14, the Israelites have just fled Egypt after hundreds of years of oppression at the hands of the Kings of Egypt. They’ve been slave labor to build Egypt’s major supply cities of Pithom and Rameses. But now, after God used Moses (and a bunch of really awful plagues) to convince Pharaoh to release them, Pharaoh changes his mind and decides he wants them back. He summons his army and is now pursuing them.

The Israelites are now in a total panic! We’re talking complete toddler-in-a-grocery-store meltdown mode. They know they are no match for the Egyptian army. They think they have gotten SO CLOSE to freedom, only to have it snatched back out of their hands by the same King that just begged them to leave! Now they have the sea in front of them, and Pharaoh and his soldiers closing in from behind them.

You see, they were bringing their old battles with them into a new land. They had forgotten that God had already delivered them from their enemy; the God they served had already declared victory, they were just too afraid to hear it. 

Then Moses gives them the greatest reassurance! “The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still.” 

I wonder if that’s you today…forgetting the God you serve, and dragging last year’s battles into the new territory of 2026, when God has already declared victory over them. Battles over addictions. Battles over emotions or thoughts that hold you hostage. Battles over bitterness. 

Don’t let the situation around you keep you from trusting that God is in control of it. Decide right now to trust God to fight your battles. Commit to making space to “be still” before Him, as you let God be the one who fights your battles. 

1. What battles are you bringing into 2026 that God wanted you to leave behind?

2. In what area of your life do you need to “be still” and let God fight for you?

3. What is one PRACTICAL step you can take this week that will help you move towards faith and stillness?

Ask God to show you what battles you are still trying to fight that are actually His. Ask Him to give you the wisdom to let go, the strength to be still, and the character to trust Him.

For more on Exodus, join our Wednesday Night Adult Bible Study, a chapter-by-chapter deep dive into Exodus, starting January 7th at 6:30pm.

1. Where would you place yourself right now on a scale of 1–10 in your closeness with God?

2. If time with the Lord has been inconsistent, what would it look like to take one intentional step toward Him this week?

3. Ask the holy Spirit, what is something that is messing up your heart posture, causing you “strain” or “discomfort?”

Proximity & Posture

Genesis 28:10-16 is the story of Jacob's dream at Bethel. Jacob had left Beersheba and set out for Harran. Jacob stopped at a particular place to sleep for the evening and dreamed about angels ascending and descending between heaven and earth. God spoke to Jacob and told him his descendants would be as numerous as the dust of the earth. When Jacob awoke, he said, "Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it."

"I was not aware." Those are powerful words Jacob spoke and a bit scary too. If truth be told, we are unaware far too often or most of the time, especially where the presence of God is in our midst. Our lack of unawareness may explain why we have so many troubles in life: complicated relationships, misunderstandings, and missed opportunities. We plod through our marriages, friendships, and opportunities and ignore the gifts and blessings God has put right in front of us. This story is calling us to use our attention.

In English, our focus is usually on paying attention. However, when we turn to the Hebrew word for attention, the focus is on placing our hearts on something. Placing our hearts on something evokes a more profound commitment not just to listen to or look at it but to take in and truly consider something and, if it is worthy, make it a part of our lives. Therefore, to pay attention or to be aware is an act of spiritual discipline.

We often think the only way to draw closer to God and connect is by Bible study, attending church, Christian fellowship, tithing, and serving those in need. All of those things are important and necessary; however, if that does not prompt us to live in the moment and place our hearts where God is acting, moving, healing, blessing, and walking beside us in sorrow and our everyday moments, then we have missed what God teaches through the scriptures and what Jesus instructed us to do. To be genuinely connected to God and live an abundant life with God, we must translate what the Bible is saying to us, what we learn in church and Christian fellowship -- we must translate all of that into purposeful use in our particular moments.

Daily devotionals, reading scripture, praying, tithing, serving those in need, and attending church are all life-transforming and changing. All of that needs to come first, but truth be told, when we are to that point and living into that lifestyle or what I would call living into that "Godstyle," there is a more profound connection yet to be had. There is an even more wonderful and beautiful God to behold. There is more life transformation that can occur. However, it requires one little thing: attention to creation, attention to the moment we are in, whether it be pain, joy, sorrow, sadness, a time of doubt, disbelief, or questioning. Attention matters.

Attention is an act of connection. However, due to a lack of attention, Christians often block their spiritual growth and possible deep relationship with God. Rather than living or working in the present moment, we spin our wheels in task after task, running from one chaotic moment to the next, or while away our time in fantasy -- either through daydreaming, books, Instagram, or games on our phone.

Have you noticed how many apps on your phone are available for fantasy worlds? You can create your village, town, city, or deserted island. You can build restaurants serving food or your own ice cream shop with all the possible flavors. You can do home and personal or pretend makeovers on avatars or pretend houses.

If you had to be honest with yourself, where do you tend to waste your attention? Is it in running from task to task, only partially focusing on one, or living in a fantasy world? Or both; think for a moment. Write down your answer in your devotional journal if you have one.

Illusion or fantasy is a beautiful friend. Never-ending tasks are lovely friends. One we often hide behind. It is so tempting to live with illusion or never-ending tasks rather than face reality. Often, we do not like the reality around us, and we do not know how to fix it or even want to fix the situation – to do so would be to recognize our part of the story and our responsibility in perpetuating the false narrative. So, if we are trying to be more attentive, we must be honest about how we spend our time and waste our time.

Another thing we have to do to be a people of attention is deal with a major misconception. One of the great misconceptions about a vibrant spiritual life and connection with God is there should be significant amounts of just faith. Just believe. Just trust. With the emphasis on our only action needs to be to have faith, God will do the rest of the work. With this idea of faith, there is a sense that we have given up our responsibilities and our need for action.

While there are times we do need to have faith (where we have done all that we can do or we have two paths to go down, and we have to have faith that we are choosing the road God wants for us), too often, we say, have faith. We put the burden of the responsibility on God and what God should do instead of being willing to take risks, take responsibility, and take action out of fear of failure or not getting it right. So, while we may think a vibrant spiritual life and connection with God are about tremendous amounts of faith, that is untrue.

The truth is that a vibrant spiritual life and connection with God require significant amounts of attention. Attention is a way to connect with God, come alive in Christ, and grow spiritually beyond anything we can measure. So, how do we get better focus and attention or placing our hearts where they need to be?

There are many ways to learn to pay attention and live in the moment. These techniques only work long-term if infused with a focus on God. God is the creator, sustainer, and giver of attention in the first place.

Journaling and creativity (art, music, writing, dancing) are ways to pay attention. Walking through nature and observing all around us is a way to focus. Intentional breathing is a way to still our minds. Genuinely concentrating on a particular question or how to solve a problem in your life is a way to pay attention. And the list of ways to pay attention goes on. To pay attention, you have to connect with the creation around you. You have to spend time alone with God; you have to spend time with God while you are journaling, drawing, painting, writing, dancing, walking in nature, or focusing on a particular question or problem. God needs to infuse into your every moment of every day. It goes back to the verse Ephesians. 6:18, "Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. (ESV) Or, in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing." (ESV)

So how do you pray all the time and on every occasion? How do you pray without ceasing? You are going to love this; you pay attention. They are synchronous; they need/require each other. You have to pay attention all the time, pray and seek God all the time -- look through a God lens all the time.

You may be thinking; this is hard. No, it is not. It just takes effort and setting intentions. In scripture, Jesus made it very clear that His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. In other words, this stuff is simple. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. Jesus, on more than one occasion, talks about the simplicity of faith and finding rest in Him. Again, it is easy; it is light. It is a simple way of intentional living that transforms you into a brilliant beacon of light for God. If we read the entirety of Ephesians 6, Jesus brings joy, relief, peace, and freedom -- even when we face troubles, they will not break us down. Matthew 11:28-30 states, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (ESV)

It is simple; we need to realize our need to pay attention and pray at all times and on every occasion. Then, we have to set the intention to pay attention and the intention to pray at all times and on every occasion. Intention is key. Intention means to be on purpose; deliberate. We must make up our minds; this is what we will do.

Lastly, we have to do it. We may sometimes forget (I know I do), but through our set intentions of purposively paying attention in our everyday moments, focusing on God, and trying our best to do it, I promise God will prompt us to remember Him. God will encourage us to pay attention. Acting on these two things and being intentional becomes self-fulling, self-sustaining, and life-giving.

Reflections…

New Years’s resolutions. Let’s be brutally honest with ourselves for a moment. We’ve all chosen to make them, but how many of us have actually seen them through to permanent personal change? So much so, many of us (to an extent, myself) have given up on the idea of New Year’s Resolutions all together. There are so many reasons that people don’t hold to their resolutions. Among them; too big of a change, too undefined, too uncharacteristic ,and too unrealistic. However, one of the biggest reasons resolutions fail is that people attempt to go about them alone.

One definition of a resolution is; a firm decision to do or not to do something. To me, this definition has the connotation of arriving at a decision by one’s own doing. A group of people rarely come up with a “firm” decision without at least one dissenting individual making a compromise. In John 15:5, Jesus states, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything.” With this verse, we see that our resolutions are destined to fail when we attempt to achieve change apart from Jesus.

When we read Matthew 28:16-20, we see that Jesus left us not only an Assignment, but also an Aid. The assignment: the Great Commission. The Aid: The Holy Spirit. In Mark 6:7, we see Jesus sending out his apostles in pairs. In Galatians 6:2, we are to share each other’s burdens. In Hebrews 10:24-25, we are to gather regularly. We are not to go through the trials and tribulations of life alone, and New Year’s Resolutions are no different.

So as followers of Jesus, do we have a ready-made list of areas of improvement (or assignment) as we enter the new year? Paul writes in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law for things like this.” For those who follow Jesus, the Fruit of the Spirit is the perfect choice for a resolution-building block. However, as Pastor Cameron said in his message last Sunday, “You can’t have the Fruit of the Spirit, unless you have the Spirit.” Enriching our spiritual lives through the Fruit of the Spirit is something we cannot do apart from Jesus.

Now that we have the Assignment, and the Aid at our side, we now come to the point of our personal devotion. Just as following Jesus must be a personal choice, allowing ourselves to be filled with the Fruit of the Spirit is also our choice. In John 16:33, Jesus said "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world". Jesus didn’t say that we may have trouble, he promised that we would. As we go forward into the new year, despite our hardships, our new ministry is to choose to;

•Be loving instead of cold-hearted

•Be full of joy instead of total despair

•Be peaceful instead of hostile

•Be kind instead of cruel

•Be full of goodness instead of wickedness

•Be faithful instead of unfaithful

•Be gentle instead of brutal

•Have self-control instead of being uncontrollable

Meditate on it…

Looking back at your trials and tribulations of 2025,

1.Were there times that you chose to go-it-alone instead of abiding in Jesus?

2. Were there times when you may have missed an opportunity to show the Fruit of the Spirit?

3. Looking ahead, using the Fruit of the Spirit, how can you prepare yourself for trials and tribulations in the New Year?