Non-Fiction

My thoughts about things, mostly from a spiritual perspective. Some of this material could be considered creative nonfiction.

You Can’t Out-Sin God’s Forgiveness

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

As believers in Christ, we’ll never be outside of God’s forgiveness. 

Think about that for a minute…

There’s nothing we can do that God will not forgive us for—so long as we’ve trusted Jesus for our salvation.

That’s the key. Without Jesus, there is no forgiveness. 

Instead, there’s a great gulf between God and us because no one is able to completely keep all tenets of the law that God gave to His people. 

That’s the reason for Jesus. God the Father knew that man doesn’t have the ability to follow the law completely, keeping even the smallest detail without sinning. As we’re told in James 2:10:

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

It doesn’t matter if we tell a so-called “white lie,” or if we’ve killed someone, guilty is guilty. 

However, the good news is that Jesus’ death and resurrection puts us right with God. God, being eternally just and good, couldn’t go back on the law He created, so He sent Jesus to fulfill the law. 

Through His crucifixion and subsequent rise from the grave, Jesus became the first fruits of all of us who believe in Him. All we have to do is believe in the lordship of Jesus and that He died and rose from the grave to pay for our sins. 

It’s that simple. Our works won’t get us into Heaven. Instead, our faith does. 

So, going back to forgiveness…once we become followers of Jesus, we have God’s complete forgiveness no matter how badly we mess up. All we have to do is repent and confess our sins and we can be confident that we have God’s forgiveness.

How great is that!

So, if you haven’t trusted your eternal destiny to Jesus yet, that’s the first thing you need to do. Your life will never be the same afterward. Take a moment now to invite Jesus into your heart.

Then you can rest easy, knowing that there’s nothing standing between you and fellowship with God.

Of course, as followers of Christ, we should want to avoid sin. However, being human, we will invariably fall short. When we do, thanks to Jesus we can know with confidence that we have God’s forgiveness. 

That should give each of us peace of mind!

Trust God and Be Happy

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As if we didn’t already have enough reasons to trust God with our lives, could it also turn out that trusting in God will bring us happiness?

Yes, that is exactly the case. Our heavenly Father wants us to rely completely on him, so much so that He makes it that if we do trust him completely, our lives will be better for it. 

Take a look at Proverbs 16:20b in the ESV (English Standard Version):

Blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.

The word that is translated “blessed” in this verse can also be translated as “happy.” Some translations, including the CSB (Christian Standard Bible) actually render the verse that way. 

God is telling us that we will be happier and more joyful if we’ll just trust in Him and His guidance. Whenever our eyes stray away from God and onto our own way of thinking, we’ll get into trouble. It’s far better to trust in the Lord for everything, plus doing so will bring more joy into our lives.

In Psalm 34:8, we’re told:

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Once again, the word translated as “blessed” can also mean “happy.” Go ahead and take refuge in the Lord. Make Him your mighty fortress when the challenges of life come your way, because they surely will. 

In fact, we should make it a priority to rejoice in our trials, as we’re commanded in James 1:2-3:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

Let’s get to the point where we welcome struggles and challenges every day because we know they’ll increase our faith in God.

I, for one, will admit that this area has been a huge problem for me. When something goes wrong, often my first inclination is to blame God, and even get mad at Him for it.

After all, I’m a “good Christian,” right? I shouldn’t have to deal with a broken-down car or plumbing problems at 2 a.m., should I?

God never promises that following Jesus would eliminate all our problems and frustrations. What He does promise is that if we’ll take refuge in Him when faced with challenges, that we can have joy and that our faith will grow.

Furthermore, we can thrive during rough times. Just read Jeremiah 17:7-8:

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream…and is not anxious in the year of drought.

Trusting in God wholeheartedly not only can bring us happiness and joy, it is also a potent antidote for anxiety. And in these trying times of global pandemic, chaos, and political upheaval, it doesn’t get much better than that. 

God wants and longs for what’s best for you. Take Him at His word—begin a new pattern of trusting Him with the entirety of your life, even the smallest of details. 

When you turn everything over to Him, He’ll shoulder the burden (1 Peter 5:7) and you can rest in the joy of the Lord.

Finding Joy in Any Circumstance

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If you try to rely on your circumstances for your happiness, you’ll never be happy. We live in a flawed and fallen world full of challenges and, for that matter, evil.

Each and every day, we go head-to-head with situations that challenge our fortitude, our joy, and our peace of mind.

From financial struggles to relationships that become strained to job losses and even COVID-19—we’re never going to experience a life that is without challenges.

I have often been guilty of longing for this kind of “cruise control” life, but I’ve realized that it is only a fantasy; it doesn’t exist on this planet. 

I recently heard a local minister say something to the effect that if we’re waiting for our circumstances to make us happy, we’re going to miss 98 percent of our lives. I think he’s right.

Waiting for perfection is only going to frustrate us and make us increasingly bitter with life and with God. And that’s the last thing we need.

Rather, we need to cling to God more and more each day, relying on him to guide and sustain us through each new challenge in our lives. 

Just as the famous verse John 3:16 says, He loves us dearly and wants the best for those He has called to follow Him. 

In fact, He will work all things together for our benefit (Rom. 8:28).

But it’s up to us to trust him with everything in our lives (Prov. 3:5). He will not fail us if we don’t give up on our faith in Him.

Sure, we’ll walk through some tough times, but if we lean in even closer to Him during these trials, our faith will slowly but surely grow.

Our experiences with God will transform how we view our relationship with Him, and our faith will increase little by little. 

Each successive time we’re faced with a difficult challenge in life, it will be even easier to trust God because we’ll know for certain He’ll come through just as He did the time before.

Remember this important command from God: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 118:24). 

Try committing your day to God and His purposes for your life. Then, no matter the circumstances, you’ll experience more joy and less frustration. 

Yoke Yourself to Jesus Every Day

/ Clay D. / 1 Comment

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

Matt. 11:29

A while back, Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in southern California, put out a podcast on which he advised his listeners to yoke themselves to Jesus. 

The point of the podcast was simple—to explain what it means to yoke ourselves (it’s not what you think) and to encourage us to do so on a daily basis.

In a nutshell, to yoke ourselves to Jesus means to attach ourselves to him to lighten our load through this life. 

Just as James tells us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2), we can be assured that we will have challenges and struggles in this life.

So, what better way to get through life than by partnering with Jesus?

These words have the power to bring comfort, healing, and peace to even the most troubled soul, of which I am often one.

The reason is because of what a yoke does. Rather than strapping us with more burden— what many people believe—a yoke is designed to lighten the load. Back in biblical times, a farmer would yoke two oxen together to make it easier for each ox to pull the load behind them. 

The yoke evenly distributed the burden of the load between the two oxen, making their work easier and even allowing them to get more work done. The yoke was actually a welcome relief for the animals, and they were able to accomplish more than each one could on its own.

This is how we should look at the command found in Matthew 11:29. The yoke is not meant to put more burden on us, but rather to lighten the load we’re already carrying. 

Jesus is telling us to partner with him, leaning on him daily for renewed strength to make it through the challenges of our often hectic and demanding days. 

No one on this earth is without some sort of burden. However, by allowing Jesus to share our burdens, these burdens will seem lighter and easier to handle.

After all, we’re also told in 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

God loves us and wants the best for each of his children. 

It took me a long time to really understand and accept this truth for myself, but I think I’m finally able to do that, at least to some degree. I still have room to grow in this area, but it’s such a welcome relief knowing that God loves me and wants to make my journey through life easier by yoking me with Jesus.

And He wants to do the same for you, friend.

Trust in God No Matter What

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

What does it mean to trust in the Lord with all your heart? And to not rely on your own understanding?

These are deep words for certain. I believe we need to go beyond just a surface explanation of what it means to trust in God, as the verse includes the words, “with all your heart.”

That means we are to trust, rely on, depend on, and put all our weight on God. With every fiber of our being. No matter what we’re doing, we’re called to trust in Him.

That’s hard to do because we’re human. As mere humans, we tend to focus on what our senses reveal to us. We look at what we can see, hear, and touch.

Relying on God requires more than that. It’s a deep dependence of surviving on God and Him alone.

It’s knowing that God is our provider for everything that we need to sustain us. He wants us to rely on Him—that’s why He tells us to do just that.

If we obey God, adopting and maintaining the mindset that everything comes from Him, we can take it a step further and comfortably give Him all our cares and worries—which He commands us to do: “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

However, if we don’t first accept the fact that everything in our lives comes from Him, there’s no way we can ever hand over our cares to Him.

Just as God wants us to lean into Him and rely on Him, He also wants us to be free from the worry and anxiety that everyday life can produce. Philippians 4:6a tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything.”

These are fantastic, life-changing words! God literally commands us to live a worry-free life!

He doesn’t want us weighed down by our circumstances, but rather, He wants us to rely on Him, lean into Him, and give Him any burdens we’ve been carrying.

This is the freedom that so many of us desperately need each day. I know I do. Just the thought that God wants my mind to rest free and easy gives me hope that I don’t have to worry and fret about finances, my career, my relationships, and a host of other things.

And it should give you hope, too.

Everywhere I Turn Is a Reminder

/ Clay D. / 1 Comment

TobyMac’s words filled my car as I drove down the road: “Everywhere I turn is a reminder…I see You in everything, all day.”

I had heard those same words countless times before, but for some reason, they hit home with me this time. 

All we really have to do to see God is just look around. He’s everywhere and in everything. It’s easy to forget about Him in the hubbub of everyday, first-world life. Sometimes we need to just take a few moments to do a mental inventory of God and His grace.

Life is certainly not perfect, and there are many awful things we can focus on (as I write this, the Coronavirus is ravaging the world), but we can just as easily look at all the ways God has blessed us.

Speaking of the first world, in our enclosed little bubbles we forget that billions of people live in poverty in other parts of the world. 

The things we take for granted—like clean water, nutritious food, a sturdy roof over our heads, a steady job, and a car to take us to that job—are all parts of life that vast numbers of people do without every day. 

Just owning a car makes us among the wealthiest people on the planet. Can you imagine that? 

We may think we have it rough when our old car is giving us fits, but it is actually a luxury item that billions of people don’t have access to. 

Think about the ability to walk to the sink and move a handle, allowing fresh, cool water to pour into a clean glass for your enjoyment. God blessed you with that today. 

You could have been born in a third-world country where you had to walk miles to find the closest water, then be forced to share it with livestock. It could be filthy and diseased, but it’s all you have.

Everyone, or nearly everyone, reading this has never experienced that kind of poverty—and likely never will. We really can’t imagine what that must feel like as we live in our climate-controlled houses with our climate-controlled cars sitting out in the driveway.

God didn’t have to bless us with these creature comforts, but He did. For that, we can be thankful every day. These things serve as a reminder of who He is and what He’s done for us. 

Just having the freedom to walk outside and see the sky, the trees, and the rest of nature is a gift as well. Many people don’t have this opportunity for one reason or another. 

People who are homebound, or incarcerated, or trapped in human slavery don’t have this freedom. I can get up right now from my chair and step outside and enjoy a taste of God’s goodness on this beautiful spring morning. Not everyone can.

The point is that there are signs of God’s goodness and grace wherever we look. We don’t have to search very long to find evidence that he’s blessed us in awesome ways.

We can take heart in the fact that He cares enough about us to show His love in these ways.

You may be saying to yourself, Well, what about those people who ARE living in poverty across the world? They don’t have these things to be thankful for. They don’t have a reason to acknowledge God.

No matter what situation you, I, or anyone else find ourselves in, God has never forgotten about us. 

Just remember Joseph’s story in Genesis. He was sold into slavery by his brothers and falsely thrown into prison later on. He spent years locked up before his chance came to be free.

Had God forgotten him? No. God works out all things in His own time. He was working behind the scenes while Joseph waited patiently in prison. Joseph knew God’s goodness and that He would not forget about him. 

In time he was freed and eventually became the number two man in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself.

The key is remembering that God is good, He’s everywhere, and He has a plan for you. 

Take notice of Him in the small things each day. It will do wonders for your mood, plus it will help draw you closer to God.

And that’s what it’s really all about, isn’t it?

Don’t Give In to Your Thoughts and Feelings

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

“You don’t have to think about everything you feel, but you will feel everything you choose to think about.

Levi Lusko

Counselors who specialize in cognitive therapy will tell you that your thoughts and feelings don’t determine who you are and how your life has to be. 

They are just emotions that pop into your brain. What we choose to do with them at that point makes all the difference.

For example, we can decide whether we want to linger on the fact that so-and-so never returned our phone call. 

We get to choose whether to get mad (and stay mad) that someone cut us off in traffic. 

We can decide if we’ll let everything go to crap when the thought that the day is ruined flashes into our mind.

These are all decisions that we must make every day, moment by moment. 

The decisions and reactions we make regarding what enters our brain determine how our lives will be—not the stimuli themselves. 

Don’t give your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and impressions more power than they have. You get to determine the course your life takes—not them.

But here’s the thing…

Just because you decide to go ahead and have a good day after a negative thought crosses your mind, doesn’t mean that’s the end. That thought may keep coming back, over and over. You may have to decide dozens of times a day to make your day the best it can be.

It would be nice if we could just make that decision once and that was it. It doesn’t work that way, however.

Moment by moment, we must decide what our outlook on our situation is going to be. How will we react to each interaction, event, or incident in our lives?

It can be hard when you first start taking control of your reactions to your thoughts. The task seems daunting. However, it gets easier the longer you do it. 

Begin making it a habit to think positively about your situation, no matter what you find yourself in. Find something good you can focus on, rather than something bad.

Just Say No to Perfection

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

I recently heard Stephen Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church, say something to the effect of, “It’s impossible to experience peace if you’re expecting perfection.”

I believe there is a ton of truth in that statement. Too many times I have fallen into that trap, thinking that once something specific happens, I’ll finally be happy.

Once I make $_____ a year, I’ll have arrived and I can feel like I’ve accomplished something.

Or, once I’m able to buy such and such a car, then I’ll feel good about myself.

The truth is, perfection is a rare bird. If you or I live our lives waiting for it, we’ll spend our whole lives “on hold.” 

We’ll never feel quite right inside—not until we get that one thing we’ve been waiting for. That job, that house, that car, even that spouse.

We’re told in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

We’re not designed to live life thinking, “If only….” Today is all we have. We’re not even guaranteed that we’ll wake up in the morning and have another day on this earth.

We’ll never achieve perfection in these human bodies we inhabit. The world is a broken place, and we must accept that if we’re ever going to experience contentment and peace. 

Embrace your flaws and realize that they’re what make you who you are. 

And while you’re at it, embrace the flaws of others as well. The rest of the people on this planet are in the same situation—they’re not perfect either. Don’t hold them to a higher standard than you hold yourself.

Certainly, we should try our best. But we must realize that our best will not lead us to perfection. 

It’s not the way the world works. Since the moment that the first man and woman took bites from the forbidden fruit, we’ve been unable to attain perfection. 

Take satisfaction with what you have, where you are, and who you are. 

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to improve ourselves. The minute you stop making forward progress you begin to slip backward.

You’re always moving in one of two directions—progressing toward a better you, or regressing toward a lesser you.

But realize that life is about the journey, not the outcome. Take joy in the steps you make each day toward making your life—and the lives of those you touch—better. 

Be glad that you have the opportunity to make a difference in the world. Just remember that it’s not about perfection, but rather about the process.

Why Is It So Hard to Cast Our Anxieties on God?

/ Clay D. / 1 Comment

“…casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

1 Pet. 5:7

Take a moment to really think about what this verse is telling us to do. It is literally commanding us to give our anxieties and cares to God our Father because He loves us deeply and doesn’t want us weighed down with the burdens of life. 

You might wonder exactly how we’re supposed to do that, given that every person reading this is bombarded with anxiety after anxiety daily. There’s no escape from it in our hurried, frantic way of life. 

Even in slower, more laid-back cultures, there are still ample opportunities for anxiety to creep in. Anxiety and stress are a fact of life on this fallen planet we call home.

I’ll admit that I don’t fully understand how we’re supposed to give God our anxieties. I believe that you have to take this verse (plus the ones immediately before and after it) and read it along with other similar passages such as Philippians 4:4-9, Matthew 6:25-34, and Luke 12:22-31 before you can really start to get a good feel for what God is telling us. 

I’ve been reading and rereading all these verses for years, but I have yet to reach the point where I don’t struggle with anxiety and depression. All too often, I find myself worrying about finances, health, relationships, my career, or any number of other things. 

I have head knowledge about what these verses are saying—that God loves us and doesn’t want us fretting about our basic needs because He’s got it all covered. But somehow that doesn’t always translate into belief in my heart. Yes, I know that’s pathetic. I feel like I should be able to just take God at His word and not let anxiety gain a foothold in my life. 

Maybe it’s just guilt on my part. You know, I feel guilty about being such a lousy example of a Christian that I don’t feel like God’s grace could possibly work for me. 

But feeling this way is actually an insult to God. I’m essentially saying that His grace and forgiveness are not strong enough or good enough to penetrate my sin and make me clean in His eyes. 

However, I know that’s not the case—He sees me as redeemed, thanks to Christ’s death and resurrection and my belief in these two events. 

Maybe it’s hard for me to give my anxiety to God because of lingering questions. I mean, why do we have to cast our anxiety on Him? Why can’t He just swoop down with His big hand and snatch them all away from us once and for all?

That is a question for which I definitely do not have an answer. I can only guess. Perhaps it’s once again because we live in a fallen world and He chooses to abide by the effects of sin upon us humans. 

There are many evils and ills that He could rescue us from on a daily basis, but he doesn’t because our sentence is to live in a world full of sin and decay. Anxiety and depression are just two of those results of our fallen nature. 

He does, however, give us the means to lift ourselves out of the pit of despair by telling us over and over in the Bible not to be anxious, worried, and fearful. 

Perhaps the more sinful we are as individuals, the harder it is for us to remain anxiety-free. The more we lean on God and strive to obey Him, the easier it becomes to live a life brimming over with joy and happiness.

These are all just guesses—I’m no theologian; this is just me putting my thoughts into coherent words. 

Does anybody else have any thoughts on these issues?

The Safety We Long For

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

For this post, I went here to get a random word (which turned out to be “safety,” then made it the focus of the post.

I’d say that safety, or at least the feeling of safety, is something that nearly everyone craves at one time or another. 

As a little kid, if you have reasonably good parents, then you can feel confident in the fact that they’re going to take care of you and help you feel safe. You know that you can always find a loving arm and security just by running to one of your parents. That’s the idea anyway. Far too many children don’t have that kind of security in their lives, that’s for sure. I think that’s something as adults we certainly miss. 

I know I do. I long to have a parental figure that I can lean on and seek refuge in. It’s lonely being an adult and having to face any number of problems every day. Knowing that you’re the last line of defense against all the bills, laundry, dirty dishes, car repairs, skinned knees, emotional trauma, and everything else can be overwhelming. Where is my safety net?, I’ve regularly asked myself over the years. 

Once you become an adult and have to take care of yourself, your parents don’t play nearly as big a role as they once did. How often I’ve longed to be a kid again. Ironically, when I was a kid, I longed to be an adult so I could make my own decisions, come and go as I pleased, and do what I wanted to. 

How nice it would be to be 13 or so again – old enough to take care of yourself in many respects, yet young enough to still fit under your parents’ wings when hard times come knocking. Alas, life doesn’t work that way unfortunately. It would be nice if it did (or at least it seems like it would be nice).

I can console myself with the fact that God designed the human existence the way He did for a reason. I don’t know why things are the way they are. I don’t know why I can’t snap my fingers and be a teenager again. It seems like a good idea to me. 

However, I guess God thinks otherwise, since we can’t do that. I have to keep telling myself that He knows best so I don’t go crazy trying to figure out all the questions about life I have that really don’t have any answers. If He wanted me or anyone else to know these answers, we’d have them. All we can do is just keep forging ahead through life, trusting Him and trying to do our best each day. 

If we think too hard about some of these things, we’ll just end up frustrated and angry, a state I’ve found myself in all too many times. It’s not a good place to be, and it’s not how we should feel toward our Heavenly Father who only wants the best for us. His plan is the best, even though we may not always understand it, and our job is simply to go along with it. 

Still, though, that often doesn’t make things any easier when we’re in the thick of a personal crisis. We long for the safety and security that our 5-year-old selves had so many years ago. We want those big strong arms wrapped around us, comforting us and telling us everything will be OK. 

I haven’t figured out how to make that happen as an adult. All I can do is keep trusting in my Father, and remember that He is ultimately in control of everything.