Follow Alongside

by Pastor Mark Jordan

“I always put the Lord in front of me; I will not stumble because he is on my right side.” (Psalm 16:8)

Today’s great verse is a great descriptor of discipleship. We hear Jesus’ invitation to follow, and we do…or at least we strive to. So we experience the first part of discipleship, which is to follow the Lord. Then, something magnificent happens — as we follow the Lord, we aren’t always walking behind Him, because He comes to walk beside us, steadying and supporting us on our life journey with Him and others. Check out this gem from 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (MSG)…

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

Let’s thank God for His invitation to follow Him, and resting in the knowledge that He is right there beside us, too. Let’s also thank Him that we do not have to go through this life alone, because He connects us with others, enabling us to know we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for loving me. I choose to follow you, and thank you for walking alongside me to help me keep my footing. I praise you in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.

Moments of Grace

By Mary Stout

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way. Psalm 139: 23-24

Our thought life often doesn’t align with God’s thoughts about us, does it?

We spend countless minutes, hours, and sometimes days distracted by what people think of us. We tend to grab onto a crummy thought about ourselves and run with it.

What happens next? Another crummy thought pops up. Whether someone else gave you the thought or you thought it yourself doesn’t matter. It’s sort of like a snowball at the top of a hill gaining traction as it flies down.

As we walk with Jesus, our path will be filled with crummy thoughts at times. It’s a part of the human condition.

God’s mercy and grace transcends that. He tells us we are to examine ourselves and allow Him have them.

Let us examine and probe our ways,
And let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40

Walking with God doesn’t mean everything will be smooth sailing. We are still human and sinful.

The beauty of God’s mercy and grace brings us peace in the midst of our humanity.

Remembering we are His, we can be assured of His love and steadfast consistency in holding us up when our thoughts and feelings don’t like up with His. Isn’t that awesome?

Jesus’ sacrifice gives us hope. Our human condition is forever hidden in Him. Allow His love to heal those anxious thoughts and ways and lead you.

Prayer: Search me Lord and show me the ways to become more like you in every moment. Take my tendency to think poorly of myself and transform me for your glory. Guide me to your everlasting way. In Jesus name Amen