This passage was one of our references in this morning’s Men’s Bible study. Such encouragement in this.

When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. – 2 Kings 6:15-17

By faith in Christ, we are children of God and He is with us and for us, always. There’s a lot more at work, on our side than we can see with our limited, physical eyes.

Sadly, some of us went to bed last night fretting and woke up this morning worrying, milling around in our head a thousand ways things are going to go wrong, we are going to fail, and all is going to end in tragedy. That thinking is not for you. If God is for us who can be against us? No one and nothing. (See Romans 8:31-39)

Open our eyes, Lord, that we may see. Amen.

LookUp

do not be anxious about your life…Look at the birds of the air…your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? – Matthew 6:25-27

If you’ve had a chance be outside this morning you’ve likely seen or heard the activity of “the birds of the air.” They’re goin nuts at my house right now. From my back porch I can hear so many different birds singing it’s hard to distinguish which one is which! Every once in a while I see one of them hitting up the little bird-feeders we have out, or landing in the yard and pecking out who knows what, I hope their eating chiggers 😅. All these species of birds, with all their songs, all of them have needs, and not one of them doing without. It reminds me of Jesus’ words to us, “Don’t worry. Look at the birds. I’m taking care of them. I’ll take care of you too.” Jesus says “you’re more important than birds. Calm down.” The birds aren’t riddled with anxiety. Simple creatures like birds sometimes have better practical theology than we do—just enjoying the provision they have, and singing. We can learn something from them, a little more trust and a lot less worry. A little less fretting and a lot more singing.

Jesus loves you, friends.

#LookUp

Seasons (winter, spring, summer, fall) sometimes serve as reminders of loss. I miss my friends and family that have passed on more intensely during the season that they passed. Each year there’s more. It’s good to miss people. Being reminded and missing people is a “good grief” that shouldn’t be dismissed or neglected. Rather than dread an approaching season filled with reminders, we can remember, celebrate, smile, laugh—and yes, grieve, hurt and cry, bc we miss our loved ones. Doesn’t make us weak or faithless, it makes us human and causes us seek and trust God more. God made us to value people. We move forward, but we never fully move on without them. That’s a good thing. With God at the center of our life we don’t have to fear grief, bc we can grieve, but we never do so without hope.

Also, we don’t know what people are going through. If someone doesn’t seem themselves or seems short with us, it’s reasonable for us to think to ourselves—“I think I’ll show them grace. They may be struggling in a unique, intense way right now bc they’ve been recently reminded of a loved one they lost.”

Who knows, maybe they weren’t struggling or grieving and you just gave grace to someone who didn’t deserve it. Kinda like Jesus gives us grace, every. single. day.

#LookUp

Good news for folks who are frustrated, exhausted, fed-up, confused, hurt, heart-broken, that don’t even wanna pretend to have all the answers, but DESPERATELY need someone to look to for wisdom, change, grace, forgiveness, purpose, strength, comfort, rest, SALVATION and a sustainable path forward toward a truer and better reality that is to come. If that describes you, Jesus Christ has an invitation:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30

#LookUp

Shout out to quiet servants, putting in work, staying faithful, day in and day out, amid the craziness and chaos. Thank you to faithful people who don’t have to post about it, because you are about it. Thanks to mommas and dads who are spread thin, but doing the best you can to give your kids a life and raise them right. Thank you to just good hard working people who give 100% to your job. I’d like to say “we see you” but we honestly don’t. Sadly a lot of what you do goes unseen by most. But God sees you! He notices! You’re not forgotten! I hope and pray you lay down tonight with your body tired and your heart full, knowing you stayed faithful another day. Tomorrow’s another day filled with opportunities for quiet faithfulness. Be encouraged!

New resource from one of my favorite authors for a series coming up this Fall. This summer we’re gonna finish the beatitudes + a Father’s Day message, then a ‘Salt and Light’ message from Matt 5:13-16, then a short topical series on disciple making to finish out the summer—Connect, Grow, Serve, THENNNN we’re gonna circle back to Matthew and finish the WHOLE Sermon on the Mount, verse by verse—Matthew 5:17-7:28. C’mon somebody! Pray and see what God does! 💪🏼 🙏🏼 ✝️

Haha I know it’s nerdy but this kinda stuff pumps me up.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. – Isaiah 26:3

Peace is a product of what we spend our time thinking about. We can think of a thousand reasons why it’s all going to go wrong and everyone is against us. Or we can think of the sovereignty of God and how if God is for us nothing can be against us. In Christ we aren’t forgotten, disregarded, or abandoned. We’re called, loved, and kept. What a gift it is that TRUE thoughts about a REAL God bring REAL PEACE.

Father in Heaven, you’re worthy of all of our thoughts. Please keep us in your perfect peace, Lord. Let our minds be stayed on you. Help us to trust. We love you, Lord. In Jesus name, amen.

Hey friends. I wanted to share a resource with you available on Right Now Media from Dr Tony Evans on the topic of racial unity. Dr Evans has been a strong influence in my life for a long time through his preaching, teaching, and writing. God has used him to make me strive to be a better citizen, husband, dad, pastor, and most importantly, he’s challenged me to be a more faithful follower of Jesus Christ. I feel this resource and others from him will serve you well. (For those who are not RNM users, I’ll post a YouTube link to Dr Evans teaching below.)

Blessings, roy

https://www.rightnowmedia.org/content/series/196905

https://youtu.be/H-8RFZbkKsU

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PARENTS OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADS: 5 great, and somewhat unexpected things about parenting college kids.

My oldest just graduated from U of A and my 2nd oldest is in her 2nd year of college. I know everyone’s experience is different. And this group of seniors and parents have had a ton of added challenges, but I wanted to share some of my story and some encouragement to parents of kids entering a new season.

Psalm 127 says children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. It kinda hit me like a ton of bricks when I realized arrows are meant to be aimed and released 😅😬

My oldest graduating from high school was harder for me than I thought. I played it pretty cool till we dropped him off in Arkansas, then on the way home my wife had to drive because I cried. Not just a little. I cried like 3 year old with a skinned knee. Then, for a good week or so, I’d cry on and off every time I had to do something without him that I’d normally done with him! 😅 Sad right?

Two years later my oldest daughter graduated. This should be easier because I knew what’s coming, right? Wrong. The knowing it was coming was like that horrible upward click-click-click-click at the beginning of a roller coaster you don’t really wanna be on. But nevertheless we moved her to Missouri. I cried again. 😆Then, when we took the leaf out of our dinner table because there was now just 4 of us, I cried again. 😆

But here’s the thing, while seeing them leave is really hard, I’m actually LOVING their college years!!! Here’s a few of the GREAT things about parenting college kids that I didn’t expect:

1. Less tension. I wouldn’t have described my relationship with my HS age kids as tense, but I would say that after they graduated things were “less tense.” I think they’re more themselves after experiencing some independence. It’s not that they don’t care about what I think of them, it’s just they don’t care as much 😂. And that’s a good thing! They’re able to be more honest about where they are and what’s going on with them, I think partly because their mature enough to realize it.
2. Better parenting. Parenting didn’t end like I feared it would. I had this crazy idea in my head that a HS diploma in their hand and a new address would muzzle me as a dad. I thought whatever I’d taught them or shared with them before graduation was IT. No more. That hasn’t been true. If anything I think I do that kinda stuff more. Seems like college kids are more open to hearing and learning, not just from parents, but definitely including parents. And that’s not a shot at HS students. Just a different season of life.
3. More appreciation. Maybe it’s because we’re not with them everyday—I’m sure that’s part of it. But it just seems like they value us, our input, and our relationships more. They seem more appreciative and better able to express that appreciation. Wether we say it or not, we want that appreciation as parents. Their college years may seem like an unlikely time to get it, but it’s actually right on time.
4. Learning from my kids is easier. For a couple decades now I’ve tried to approach life believing that you can learn from everyone, my own kids are no exception. They’ve always taught me things. But it seems like the lessons have been turned up since they’ve been college-age. Back when they were in HS, we were around mostly the same people. But now, they’re learning from different people and so I’m learning from them. My college kids have younger siblings, so I’ve called them asking for advice on how to deal with their little sisters multiple times. They care. They share wisdom-many times from Scripture.
5. We have more in common. Not sure how to describe this one, but I just feel like we’re dealing with similar life struggles now. Recently I spent some time talking with my son and his roommates about God, The Bible, and life. I didn’t really feel like the guru I did when he had his middle school buddies over for Bible Study and 2K. It was more like a conversation and sharing of ideas. Same has happened with my oldest daughter at times. Idk, maybe it’s not that we have more in common, just that we’re more aware of what we have in common. Whatever it is, it’s great.

Parents of HS grads, I’d like to encourage you that there are GREAT days ahead. New seasons are hard, especially with our kids. But I’m loving these college years as a dad, and I think you will too.

I told my oldest daughter that moving from one season of life to another is like a lobster losing its shell. There’s vulnerability involved, but it’s necessary for growth. I think I’ve needed to hear that more than my kids.

I hope this has encouraged y’all. I love you and I’m praying for you.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! – Psalm 127:3-5

Do you preach the gospel to yourself? You should! Check out this quick 3 min video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Px0S4JlVaSM