​Have you ever prayed a desperate prayer? Every Christian has either prayed a prayer with our shirts drenched in tears or with our hearts defeated by the circumstances of our lives. Moms have prayed desperate prayers when their toddler is acting out in public. Teachers have prayed desperate prayers when their students aren’t listening during class. Men have prayed desperate prayers when they aren’t physically able to do what they once could. We have all prayed desperate prayers. But what happens when God says, “no”?

One of the most difficult things to write about is the stuff that you personally deal with. I don’t think there will be a topic that hits me deeper than talking about how OCD has affected my life. Many people who think of OCD think of a well-organized person who is just particular about where stuff should go. While this is sometimes the case, for some people OCD is a lot more difficult than that. ​

I’m not much of a singer. Ok, maybe that is an understatement. I sing about as well as a rooster crowing in an early morning. It’s not a very pretty sound if you ask me (or those who sit next to me in church). But here is the thing, to me that has never mattered. Even when I was a child going to church on Sunday morning, I have enjoyed singing the songs even though I knew I was not making an enjoyable sound. ​

​Leaving a legacy is something that even the greatest kings and queens have spent time, money, and resources on. Kings left legacies of kingdoms built, nations conquered, and monuments made. CEO’s have left legacies of companies that started in a garage and are now multibillion dollar companies. Coaches have left legacies of championships won. Have you ever wondered what your legacy will be? Or maybe a more important question is, which legacy matters to you? 

I imagine that most Christians struggle with eagerly pursuing after God. Why do I think that is the case? I
think that it is because even a pastor like myself struggles with eagerly pursuing him. I find that my
morning routine of reading the Bible can become more bland than I would like to admit. Most Christians
that actively read their Bibles can find themselves doing it more out of duty than delight. 

​Something about the phrase “Sunday School” makes us think about going to church when we were a kid.

The end of 2020 is finally here! Is it just me or has it seemed like this year has lasted forever? This year has been filled with difficult decisions and unforeseen scenarios for everyone. One of the questions that comes to mind as we end the year is, why is it difficult to go to church? 

​As our church has gone through the book of 1 Samuel, we have seen Eli and his “worthless sons.” I think as you see the corruptness of Eli’s son’s Phinehas and Hophni it makes you think. How did they become that way? Did Eli teach them to honor the Lord? Did he show them what they were supposed to do? Did he explain to them the dangers of practically spitting in God’s face? Scripture doesn’t give us a clear description of Eli’s parenting of his sons before we see them as corrupt priests but I believe we can make a couple of assumptions that we can learn from as parents and believers.
 
1. Eli showed them religion but did he show them God?
When we are introduced to Phinehas and Hophni they are already priests. They knew their priestly duties but did they understand what their priestly duties were for? Did they see that God was worth their praise and adoration? We do the same things today. We take our kids to church hoping that church will teach them good morals but not teaching them that Jesus is the ultimate treasure! We teach our kids that Jesus is the ultimate treasure by modeling this in our homes. What a difference it could have made if Eli would have explained the great love of our God from their house. Parents you have a responsibility to show your kids by living it out that Christ comes first. This is where Eli failed as a father and priest. He didn’t teach his children that God must come first. In what areas of your life have you let other things take center stage?
 
2. Eli conformed to the world.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
 
As we see through the punishment that comes upon Eli’s household was that Eli became like the world. He treasured things that were fleeting, he valued the creation over the Creator, and he took advantage of what God had given him by feeding his own appetite. Romans 12 reminds us that we are called to be transformed by God and not conform to the world. Do you model this for your children? Is your life evidence that you aren’t letting this world steal your heart from the Lord? 1 Samuel 2 shows us a lot about Eli’s failures as a priest and as a father. Let us not make the same mistakes but rather let us teach our children to love God over everything. 

If you are reading this then more than likely you already know what social distancing is and that our world has been asked to social distance themselves from others for their own health. I want to discuss a different kind of social distancing in this blog though. Are you social distancing yourselves from God? All our lives have changed more over the last two months than we were ready for and amidst all the change have you found yourself distancing from God.