Security, closet cleaning, and alternators

The security of belonging to a good God

I was first reminded of it as we sang the chorus of I trust in God..

I trust in God, my Savior

The one who will never fail

He never fails.

Goodness I needed to hear my brothers and sisters singing that to me!

And then I was reminded of it again as we reopened our We are His series in 1 Corinthians.

It's good to belong to a faithful, loving God that delights in us enough to discipline us.

And then you can't go wrong with Because He Lives!

Yesterday's worship gathering grounded me in the security of Christ. It changed my day. And my week as we started this new year.

The security of belonging to a good God is good.

Closet Cleaning: Out with the old and in with the new

Over the break, I helped all 3 of our kids do a deep clean of their rooms including one gnarly closet. As we filtered through a ton of old stuff, there was the familiar tension of all the good memories that stirred up alongside of the realization that you don't need or use those things anymore. Out with the old, in with the new.

I'm feeling some of those same things as we move into 2026 as a church body. 2025 brought so many good things, and I've already had so many converations about good things coming in 2026. As we step into the good things God has for us in 2026, it will be inevitable that we make space for them by cleaning out some of the old. Old habits, patterns, rhythms, even ministries and groups.. It's likely that many of them are good! But to keep following Jesus by faith will likely require us to clean out some closets and choose what's best. What an opportunity to press into Jesus as we do that together.

What to do when your alternator quits working

I commented the weekend before Christmas that we were about to celebrate our Ford Explorer crossing 200,000 miles! At 199, 448, the Explorer died because the alternator had gone bad and stopped charging the battery. Have no fear, we're replacing the alternator and it's going to cross 200,000 (yay for no car payments!), but it got me to thinking about how we treat the "batteries" of our lives.

We're always looking for ways to recharge on the fly; We call it self care, vacation, splurging, retail therapy.. you've probably got a few you could add to the list. It's the world's version of an alternator.

Over this Christmas break, I realized my spiritual battery wasn't working because I was using the world's version of an alternator instead of God's version: Sabbath rest. Guarding a day to rest in and trust the Lord to keep all the plates spinning. 

So this week, I'm praying for our church that 2026 would be a year we rest in the Lord more than we ever have before, discerning how we might join the Lord in all the new things he has for us, so that we might continue to know and enjoy the security of belonging to our good God.