Why Walking Worthy?
It seems like an unusual title for a blog – Walking Worthy. I agree that it is, so I want to give the reason for the title (to those of you who are interested).
Many of you may know that a week before Christmas I broke my ankle in two places. You can see the video of how it happened here. I had surgery to repair the bones a few days later and began the recovery process. In the weeks following the first broken bones in my 31 years of life, I found myself in a strange place with God.
There were several issues that I had to deal with along with changes that I had to make to cope with being unable to walk. Lack of sleep due to pain and nerve damage in my ankle contributed heavily to what I feel was a moderate depression. Being awake at all hours of the night plays tricks on your mind and emotions. There were several nights that I was up arguing and crying out to God in exhausting frustration. I didn’t seem to get any answers.
About three weeks into recovery, I realized that I was in a very sad place. It’s okay to be in those places for a time, and I believe now that The Lord had me there for a reason. I had not been to church or had much time and interaction with my church family due to my near-invalid status. I was unable to concentrate for long periods of time or read more than a few pages at once because of the nagging pain and zombie-like state I was in from lack of sleep. So one morning I woke up after a couple hours of rest and got on the computer to try to do some studying (again a near impossibility). All of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere (in reality, by the Holy Spirit), I was confronted with the fact that I had not worshiped God at all since my accident. I had not thanked Him or praised Him with my voice or heart in weeks. I was so focused on my situation that I did not consider what The Lord might be doing in me through all of this. It was a time of difficult introspection which God used to bring me to a place of repentance that I had never been before.
Some of you know that I am a guy who loves to sing all the time, particularly in worship, and I found it heartbreaking that I had neglected it for so long. Sensing that I needed to sing LOUD in worship, I started looking on YouTube for some videos that I could sing along with. I found this version of Revelation Song, which is an amazing song about the worthiness of Jesus. The first lines of it played:
Worthy is the
Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song,
to Him who sits on
Heaven’s Mercy Seat
Just hearing those words hit me like a sledge hammer in the chest. The selfishness and laziness of heart that I had displayed to my King for a long time, well before the accident, was revealed to me in that moment. All I could do was weep bitterly. It’s still all I can do to not cry every time I hear those words. Colossians chapter one, particularly verse 10 which is our church verse, came to my mind.
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:9-14 (ESV)
Graciously, that day The Lord once again brought me to His mercy seat. He reminded me of who He is and what He has done and How worthy He is. He has used this season to change me forever.
It’s as if He said to me, “I’m not going to let you walk again until you remember how worthy I am of each step you take.”
It is overwhelming to think on the worthiness of Jesus Christ. It should pierce our hearts to know that we have all treated Him with such contempt. My hope is that we will see more clearly the worthiness of this great Savior, and walk worthy in response to His gracious dealings with us.
I want to thank you for reading this post. Now that you know why I call this blog Walking Worthy, I hope you will join me in encouraging others to do just that.
Blessings,
Jeff
Why I Publicly Praise My Wife
I get a lot of negative feedback from my good buddies when I publicly praise my wife. I have a tendency to do this on my Facebook page or when commenting on hers. I know I am very outspoken when it comes to Michelle, and I am okay with that. The truth is, she does a lot to deserve my praise – alright I won’t list everything here – but seriously it’s a blessing to have a woman like her as my wife and I want her to know that. She appreciates that I share my heart for her with the world, though occasionally she does like to tease me about it.
Some of the dudes reading this may already be tuning out, but stay with me for a second. There are two important reasons why I think it’s good when I show my love for Michelle openly and publicly:
First, it blesses my marriage. When I tell the world that my wife is the crown and joy of my life (Proverbs 12:4), or when I comment on how beautiful she is, she always responds. It produces something in her heart (and mine) that overflows into our relationship. It provides a spark for the day that has the energy to kindle greater affection and love as the day progresses. I want her to know that I love her first thing in the morning, so that she can think on that all day and know that she has a man who is anxiously waiting to see her when the toils of the day are over. Guys, this can work in your favor, believe me!
Second, when I publicly share my heart for my wife, it is a challenge and rebuke to all the slugs out there who come home after work and plop down on the couch without even acknowledging the wife they don’t deserve. The truth is guys, that we don’t deserve to have another human being love us and serve us the way our wives do. We just don’t. If you are honest with yourself, you will believe that. It is only by God’s grace that we even have our wives. Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” Again in Proverbs 31:10 we read, “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.” We need to greatly love, serve, and respect our wives in order to earn the love, service, and respect that our wives desperately want to give us. Your wife wants a man who can draw those things out of her by displaying the character and love that Jesus did. It can begin with a few simple heartfelt words. She will respond, I guarantee it.
I don’t want to place all of the responsibility on the men, but if we are to lead in our marriages it should begin with us.
One of my favorite blogs is written by Kevin DeYoung at The Gospel Coalition. He has posted some questions for husbands and wives which I believe are very helpful for married couples who are in need of a “jumpstart” to the romance in their marriages. Check it out.
Blessings,
Jeff
Nothing new…at all.
If you are here, you already know that this is a new blog for me. I’ve had a site before, but I decided to trade it in for a simpler (and free) one. I am hoping that the focus of this blog will be that of encouraging and equipping those who happen to visit. I will be posting my own writings along with quotes and anything else I can “borrow” (of course giving proper credit) in order to make it interesting and profitable. That being said, there will definitely be nothing new in the way of ideas or principles that comes from me. What I mean is, I agree with Solomon that “there is nothing new under the sun” so I am not looking to change that. I am hopeful, however, that I will be able to present some things to you in a way that makes them memorable and effective, so that you will change. We all need to change; more specifically, we all need to grow. We need to grow into maturity and we often do this when we come together with the intent purpose of building each other up. We accomplish that solely by the grace and power of Jesus.
The Apostle Peter amazes me in this exhortation in 1 Peter 4:7-11 (ESV)
The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Blessings,
Jeff
