God is kind. He’s kind enough to lovingly discipline, to gift good things, and to rebuke and admonish when necessary; He is kind. I recently got back to the states from a two-week trip to Israel. This was my second trip to the Holy Land, and the rich history of the land is such a testament to the wonder of God. A second trip was not enough to soak it all up; I’ve barely scratched the surface of this story of a God who is good and who is kind, and who cares for you and for me. This trip did make me beg the question, “what’s it all about?” Not just in respect to Israel, but also to this Christian life. Our good and kind God is also creative with making connections; He made a wealth of connections between each spot we visited and exactly what He’s doing in my life. He’s not only kind, He’s good. Here’s a list of a few things that this trip, and more importantly this life are all about.

It’s about facing giants | Our first day touring the Holy Land began with a stop at Tel Azekah, a hill overlooking the Valley of Elah, which is by tradition where David defeated Goliath. There’s no better perspective or place to think about what it looks like to face giants in life. David, a puny chump is matched up against Goliath, the giant. Defeat is imminent. David is a young-man of courage and character who is seeking to win a battle in the name of God Almighty! David faces up against Goliath, throws a rock from a sling that sinks into Goliath’s head, and then uses Goliath’s own sword to behead him after his fall. Victory was won in the name of the Lord (1 Samuel 17). What’s this all about? There are giants in life to be faced every day. For me, the biggest is fear. I’ve been candid through this medium before; I’m not scared of anything specific, but fear seems to be its own preoccupation. I do fear the slow dissolution of close relationships, I fear the what-if, and a fear that I’m going to be abandoned and alone. God calls me beyond this fear, and to face it in His name. God calls me to throw my stone at this giant. God is kind to remind me that He’s the one who gives me the stone to throw and tells me how to throw it.

What are your giants?

While praying and thinking through all of this at Tel Azekah, I picked up this stone. I chose to throw it. It’s a reminder of my daily need to throw my stone at my giants.

It’s about giving glory only to God | We crossed over into Jordan as we followed the chronology of the Scriptures. Staying in a desert camp in Wadi Rum is always one of the best parts of this trip. We learned about the Bedouin people and their culture, ate some good lamb, and got to witness a pretty epic sunrise. Upon learning about some of the history of the Nabatean people who built the famous treasury at Petra, God made a thematic learning of this trip evident for me. God is not in the business of sharing His glory. Human history is full of idol worship. Fact of the matter is, Satan tempts mankind to take God’s glory away from Him and attribute it elsewhere (2 Kings 17:41). In Biblical times, it was a golden calf or maybe an altar. Today, it’s status, wealth, affirmation from people, etc. I simply don’t understand why I’d ever want to worship anything other than God (yet I’m certainly tempted too). He has been kind and faithful to show me that the biggest idol I worship is the fear of man (Proverbs 29:25). There’s a deeply ingrained desire to be a people-pleaser and to find my approval and affirmation from how people respond to me. What’s it all about? It’s about giving glory only where it’s due. If I’m filled by God’s Word and affirmed by Him alone, I don’t need the words of people to make me feel good about myself. Look at all of human history, idol worship always returns void. Give glory and honor to God, and worship Him alone.

What idols are you worshiping?

It’s about weathering the storm | One of the more beautiful areas in Israel is the region of the Galilee. Much of Israel is arid desert and harsh; the Galilee is lush, green, and beautiful. Our time in the Galilee on this trip will be remembered by rain – days of rain. We were troopers and still visited all of our spots, but we were certainly soaked. There’s great application here, as life is full of storms. Oh how the Sunday School story of Jesus calming the wind and the waves resonates here. How cool is it that the actual Sea of Galilee is situated between two mountain ranges that both have valleys and create some of the most perfect conditions for random and violent storms? It’s totally plausible that there were huge waves and a storm out on the water as the Scriptures record. There’s a precedent set here of the geography and topography of the land supporting what the Bible records (Matthew 8:23-27). What’s this all about? Life on this side of heaven is going to be full of unexpected storms. There’s a clear choice to not fear and to trust in Jesus’ ability to bring order into chaos as is modeled in the story here. There’s another clear choice to fear and not believe, and effectively sink. Remember, fear is my personal plague. This spot is especially convicting for me because it’s where He specifically said to not fear. It’s about weathering the storm courageously and with the knowledge that Christ really is there, and there for you specifically (Mark 5:36, Isaiah 41:13-14).

Where are you being fearful in your storm?

**A humble and sincere thank you to those of you in my life who are kind to regularly call me out of my fear of abandonment, and who remind me that you’re not going anywhere. You are truly rich blessings from the Lord that remind me of His same promise.

It’s about giving of yourself | My job allows me to meet about 50 new people each year to love and disciple for a short though intense season of ministry. It’s this privilege that keeps me in the vocation that I’m currently in. The idea of discipleship has been modeled for me by many wonderful men of God; first and foremost, Jesus in the Scriptures. He’s quick to teach, encourage, rebuke, admonish, and He’s known to never run out of love. The disciples disappointed Him, doubted Him, denied Him, and one even betrayed Him, yet He met them with undying love and affection. He gave of Himself for the forgiveness of all sin, for the betterment of the Kingdom, and for the purpose of discipleship. The cost of discipleship is everything; everything that you have to give (Luke 9:23). One must be ready to give of oneself and not expect anything back. There’s a few elements of discipleship, one being teaching, one encouraging, one rebuking, but most of all, that of loving (John 13:34-35). Love in its purest form is sacrificial. In 2019, my job provided me a rich blessing in the form of a brother to disciple outside of the normal window that work provides (2 Timothy 2:2). Allen is a living testament to the life-transforming business that God is in (Psalm 115:1). I’d been to Israel once before this trip and have been eager to return, but the main reason in going back was because I felt a clear nudge from God to do all I could to make the trip happen for Allen. The privilege of watching him witness the Scriptures come to life brought me joy in the purest form. Whether it was providing him time, prayer, explanation, space, confrontation, fun, or encouragement, the purpose in the trip was to model for my brother the sacrificial love that Jesus freely gives. So, what’s it all about? It’s about discipleship (Matthew 28:16-20). Jesus gave and gave of Himself up to the point of death, and while He calls me to full devotion to Himself, I am reminded by this trip that my purpose isn’t to expect anything back from anyone. There’s certainly a mutuality that comes with relationships, but I’m setting myself up for failure and disappointment if I’m expecting everything I pour out to be completely reciprocated.  This is a character flaw and temptation of mine to selfishly try to extract the same level of love and care that I pour out from those whom I’m privileged to teach and disciple. This isn’t Jesus’ model. If I am filled my Him, I can give continually, and not expect anything back.

Where are you flawed in giving of yourself?

Who’s worth sacrificing time and effort for in this life?

There’s no way to properly cover everything that God did on this trip, just like there’s no way to encapsulate everything about our awesome God. What I do know is the Bible is one story; both the Old and New Testaments are one grand love story that God has written and is still writing. God is everywhere, and longs to teach, sanctify, and live in relationship with you – just call out to Him. I’m fascinated by the Jewish roots of the Christian faith, the history of the Promised-land, the way that we are loved and pursued continually by God, and the fact that we’ve literally got the answer to the question that I started this thing with. What’s it all about? It’s all about Jesus. It always has been, and it always will be (John 1:1-18).

Is it all about Him for you? If not, why not?

Special thanks to these men God has used to disciple and sharpen me (Proverbs 27:17):

• John Lyles Polk – for challenging me, pushing me, encouraging me, and mentoring me on this continual journey of sanctification (Psalm 1).
• Jacob Tyler Overby – for pushing me to go the extra mile, and for making me the minister that I am today (1 Peter 1:13).
• Mark Alan Kaufmann – for reminding me of who I am, what I’m worth, and how those things aren’t dependent on other people (Philippians 4:8).
• Randall Keith Myer – for showing me what it really means to abide (John 15:4-9).
• Arlington Ford Francis – for modeling the true cost of discipleship (Luke 9:23).
• Scott Allen Winter Jr. – for the BC, for all the laughs and the tears, for the adventures, for showing and teaching me what unwavering faith in God looks like. For being my closest and best friend (Proverbs 18:24).