As I think back on 2023, it has truly been a blessed year in so many ways.

Experiences

For instance, the picture above is but one of a ridiculous number of memories we made during our 3 week trip to Kenya this summer. A trip that was 2 years in the making and was more amazing that we could have possibly imagined. Any inconveniences or frustrations were minor compared with the incredible experiences we had. The Lord blessed it from beginning to end. I hope to be making some posts in the near future that are entirely about that trip with lots of pictures so that those who do not have access to social media to see what we have posted there can enjoy the memories. We truly cannot be thankful enough for this moment in our lives.

Though not the original intent, this trip served to celebrate other milestones of the year. My oldest son Ryan graduated HS, my youngest son Alex graduated middle school, and my wife Angela (Angie) finished her 2 year lateral entry program through ECU and got her official teaching license. She also celebrated a milestone birthday. My big accomplishment was driving the planning of the trip to Kenya and I suppose officially finishing my second full year as an RN. 

There were definite challenges most of which I won’t get into here, but suffice it to say that my wife having a cancer scare was probably the biggest. She had surgery to deal with it and has pretty much fully healed for which we are very grateful. The second biggest challenge or scare was Ryan totaling his car in November. He rolled it and had no significant injury from it. Today we are celebrating not only God’s protection, but also His provision as we finally found him another car just yesterday.

Spiritual Reflections

So those were examples of life experiences that had God all over them. Now to reflect more specifically on the spiritual aspects of my life.

In the words of the Apostle Paul,

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But i received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”

1 Timothy 1:15-16

My sins are different than Paul, and I certainly don’t consider myself remotely close to the man of God that Paul was. However, I am guilty of my share of sins and I continue to add to it daily as I struggle to pursue righteousness by the grace of God. 

I can be impatient or loose my temper with the best of them. I can be overly sarcastic. I can be overly critical. I can whine and gripe about things I don’t like. What can I say, I’m a sinner saved by grace.

Yet God has been gracious to not only save me, but to use me to serve the body of Christ in spite of myself. He allows me to participate as not only a worshipper, but as a leader of worship. I have been doing that for many years. 

For the last two years, he has allowed me to not only be a small group member, but to lead a small group and be responsible for leading and serving a group of believers in our church body as we strive to build community through faith, fun and fellowship. Sometimes we play games and have silly conversation, other times we have deep and somewhat uncomfortable conversation as we wrestle with the difficult topics in life and doctrine. It is a humbling experience and I am honored to be allowed to do it.

Despite being used of God in these ways, I still wrestle as many believers do to read the Word consistently and pray as often and intentionally as I should. Thankfully Paul also reminds us as he quotes the Lord in 2 Corinthians 12:9,

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”

I often wish I was a better father and husband. I regularly regret my lack of spiritual discipline and how often I take for granted the grace that God has provided me to live in the country that I live in, to have the resources that I have, and to have the freedom to attend church, live out my faith and read my bible. A bible that I am regularly reminded still needs to be made available to many, many people groups in this world. So many in this world don’t have access to the bible, yet I have about 5 and have taken them for granted, not reading them and valuing their content as I should. 

Thankfully

I’m so thankful for those many blessings that I often take for granted.

I’m am more thankful that I don’t have to wallow in guilt and shame about any of these things because God’s grace IS sufficient. All I have to do is confess my sins and He is faithful and just to forgive me my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) God is a good and loving Father and he is kind, which is meant to lead us to repentance. (Romans 2:4)

Reflection is good. It is not bad to recognize areas of failure or disappointment. You can’t repent or improve if you are not aware of those things for which you need to repent. It is important to reflect, repent and move on, striving toward obedience.

So I will move forward, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what lies ahead. I will press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

So Can You!

I want to encourage you that if you have regrets, if you think you have failed God one to many times, if you think you are too great a sinner for God to love you or redeem you, I promise you YOU ARE NOT!! 

Whether you are an unbeliever who thinks God can’t save someone like you, or you are a believer who has been deceived by Satan into believing that you are a failure and God sits around shaking his finger at you with no relief in site, it is a LIE!

Jesus died for sinners. Jesus also lived for sinners. When we place our faith in Jesus, HIS righteousness from HIS perfect life is applied to us and the Father sees us through HIS blood. He saves us based on our faith in Christ’s righteous life, sacrificial death which paid the price for our sins, and His glorious resurrection when he defeated death for everyone who trusts Him as Savior and Lord. You are right before God and on your way to heaven the moment you believe in the resurrection and confess Jesus as Lord. (Romans 10:9) 

The rest of life is a journey toward sanctification and becoming more like Jesus until the day we die and are perfected and get to see Him face to face. Oh what a glorious day that will be!

Reflect on THAT! Meditate on THAT! Rejoice in THAT!

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever, AMEN!”

Jude 1:24-25

Reflecting on the glorious love and goodness of God,

Josh