Ever Golfed?

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! —2 Corinthians 5:17

Ever golfed? Golf is the most enjoyable/frustrating game I’ve ever played. It’s like a long walk with friends, mixed with 18 little puzzles (how to get that ball in the hole) along the way.

My friend Dave Stewart introduced me to golf and, after I had been playing about a year, one day every shot from the tee was straight and long.

“Whoo-hoo!” I thought. “I’ve done it! I’ve cracked the code! I’ve learned how to drive from the tee box!”

Until the next time out. I couldn’t straighten out a single drive.

But there is a word I’ve come to love in golf. “Mulligan.”

A mulligan is a permission to take another stroke after a bad one (especially when you’re trying to drive from the tee) without counting the previous stroke against your score. It’s a free stroke.

Your friend looks at your shot and says, “No worries. Tee it up and take another shot.” That is grace.

Life is a lot like golf. And, if you’re like me, you’re looking for mulligans along the way.

This is what I love about Christ. When you begin following him, he gives us a new start. A clean slate. A fresh beginning.

Not only does he not count your bad strokes against you, but he also gives you a new identity and a fresh new purpose. That is grace.

In fact, he declares that the strokes that sent your life into the rough, or into the weeds—or worse, into the water trap—no longer count against you. Everything is new.

So, today, start fresh. Let go of past memories and tee it up again.

It’s a new day. You are a new person. Surround yourself with friends who look at you with the eyes of grace and say, “No worries. Tee it up and take another shot.” This is a whole new game.

The new life has begun.

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Image by Stefan Waldvogel Stefan Waldvogel from Pixabay

Christmas in July?

For the LORD your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. —Zephaniah 3:17

It is mid-July and summer has arrived in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. But today, my mind is on Christmas.

Maybe it is because one of my favorite reminders at Christmas is “Immanuel: God with us.” Jesus’ arrival into our world.

Wherever we go, or whatever we do, God is with us. He lives among us.

Immanuel.

Not only is he with us, but it means that he is with us to deal with every difficulty we encounter—He is a mighty savior. And what is this mighty savior like?

He delights in his children.
In his embrace, he calms every fear.
Like a good father, he rejoices over his children with joyful songs.

Wow. Amazing grace. Overwhelming love.

You are not alone. Today you have access to the One who knows every possible scenario you will ever encounter, and walks with you through them. He has graciously given you this life and he holds the keys to open every door into the next.

Now is a good time to celebrate the reality of his presence. Why not start today by thanking him for his grace. God is with us. Receive the gift of Immanuel.

Even in July.

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Love this song For God Is With Us, by For King and Country

Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay

Vampires and Werewolves

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
   so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
   so why should I tremble? Psalm 27:1

When I was about 9 years old, Dad asked me to get something from our family car, which was parked outside our home. It was only about 40 feet from the front door. But there was just one problem…

It was dark outside.

I looked out the window and thought, “What could possibly go wrong?” A couple of things came to mind: Vampires and werewolves. “You never know when one might appear,” I thought.

Thanks, Lon Chaney.

Now that I’m older, I go outside at night without a thought. But still there are moments in my life when fear rears its ugly head. Usually it is around family or the future.

But here is what God’s Word declares:

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble? —Psalm 27:1

When we experience fear, he promises to be

Our Light.

Our Help.

Our Fortress.

Our Protection.

And the good news is that he is already here—even in dark seasons. So why should I be afraid? Why should I tremble?

When we acknowledge God’s presence, the need to fear or tremble is gone. He takes our fear and replaces it with his palpable peace.

Let go of the fear and walk into the light.

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Image by Robert Karkowski from Pixabay

40 Year Anniversary!

It is hard to believe, but we are celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary today, July 9! Just a quick shout out to my beautiful wife who has blessed me with 3 children, 4 grandchildren and 40 years together. You are my joy.

Here is to 40 more!

Love you Erin Herried!

Seattle skyline: View from our anniversary dinner table, celebrating 40 years

I Can Talk To God About Anything?

O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
   Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
   You have no equal.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
   I would never come to the end of them. —Psalm 40:5

Where do you go for encouragement? My favorite go to is the book of Psalms.

Where else will you find a resource that has brought hope, inspiration and encouragement to generation after generation for thousands of years?

And what is at the heart of this book? One word: Worship.

Worship.

But don’t come to the Psalms merely looking for a nice thought for the day. There is way too much honesty here.

But don’t come to the Psalms merely looking for a nice thought for the day. There is way too much honesty here. The writers of this book pour out emotions from the raw experiences of life. This book cries out with questions like, “God, why do the evil prosper?”, to songs of gratitude for all of God’s goodness to us.

And what is so refreshing to discover is this: God loves to hear it all. Nothing is off limits when we pour out our hearts to him. Complaints, thanks, confusion, applause, frustration, joy, it’s all there.

And the reason this is so good is we see that He listens to it all—nothing is off-limits. He’s not too sensitive to hear what’s in our heart—in fact, he already knows.

And if no one else is willing to listen, He is.

And He does.

So, pour out your heart. Pour out your confusion. Pour out your thanks. Pour out your confession. Tell Him what’s on your heart—yes, he already knows, but he loves to talk with you. He loves hearing from his children and he loves imparting His wisdom, His grace and His comfort to you—especially in a world that focuses mainly on brokenness.

Come to Him. Give Him all that is in your heart. Allow Him to take the burden you carry and replace it with his peace. That is what He does.

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Image by Jackson David from Pixabay

What Would You Do If You Knew You Couldn’t Fail?

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” —Deuteronomy 31:8

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Ever felt unqualified? Maybe you feel you’re not old enough to step into a new job opportunity? Maybe you feel too old to take on something new! Or maybe you don’t feel totally prepared for your next step in life?

In this chapter in Deuteronomy, Moses is handing off the leadership of the nation of Israel to Joshua. Joshua will now be leading God’s people into the Land of Promise.

Joshua wasn’t sure he was the up for the job. Even though he had seen God release his people from the slavery of Egypt through ten plagues; even though he had seen God deliver them by creating a path through the red sea and then destroy the pursuing army of Egypt through the same path; even though he had seen God provide food, meat and water for millions of people in the desert, he was unsure that God would do the same for him.

No doubt, Joshua was like us. “Sure, God would do it for Moses, but I’m not sure he could do it for me.”

What Joshua doesn’t realize is that it is not the limited ability of the leader that determines success, but the limitless ability of God. It is the leader’s job to hear, then be in sync with what God is doing.

Joshua knew the path; Moses had given him that. Now the task was to continue with the next part of the journey.

So, Moses encourages him:

Then Moses called for Joshua, and as all Israel watched, he said to him, “Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors he would give them. You are the one who will divide it among them as their grants of land. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” —Deuteronomy 31:7–8

The Lord will personally go ahead of you.

And here is the key for us today:
Walk boldly with Christ: Be strong; be courageous! Listen to him and you will understand his purposes for you in this generation. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

And here is the key for us today: Walk boldly with Christ. He is the way forward.

What would you take on if you knew you couldn’t fail?

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Bill Herried is a pastor in Tacoma, Washington and is married to the most extraordinary woman on the planet. Together they have 3 adult children and 4 grandchildren. He has been the lead pastor at CenterPoint Christian Fellowship in Tacoma since 2006. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, and Master of Divinity from Corban University in Salem, Oregon—and he loves a good biryani.

Image by 2649771 from Pixabay

No One Can Stop God’s Plans for You

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 
—Isaiah 55:8-9

There are times when we are tempted to feel that our efforts aren’t paying off. We feel stuck. Ineffective. Unproductive. Unsuccessful.

And when those feelings sink in, you may be tempted to give up.

“After all,” we think, “what difference does it make?”

Here is what I’ve discovered:

God has a plan for your life, and it’s not over ’til it’s over. Where there is breath, there is hope.

It’s not over ’til it’s over.

Let this thought settle deep down within you: God created you with a purpose and plan. Not only has he been with you to this day, but he has an unstoppable plan for your life.

Your Heavenly Father doesn’t waste a thing—not one single experience. You may have regrets in your past. You may feel that your efforts have gone unnoticed. You may feel you’ve been unproductive.

But the truth is that even in your darkest of moments, he has been with you doing something beyond what you can currently see. He is building endurance, strength and resilience into your life.

James, Jesus’ little brother, wrote: Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. —James 1:2–4

Did you hear that? “When your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”

So let it grow! Learn to see your experiences from his perspective. God doesn’t measure success the way we measure it. He doesn’t see failure the way we see it. He is doing something in you and through your circumstances today preparing you for eternity.

With that in mind, listen to what he says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts…neither are my ways your ways.”

Then he takes it a step further, boldly stating:

“In the same way that the heavens rise high above the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

So today—whether you feel stuck, frustrated, or even feel like your life has been a failure—know this: No one can stop God’s plan for your life! He is working it through to completion. He is building strength and endurance, even in the face of difficulty or adversity.

No one can stop God’s plan for your life.

Trust that he not only knows your situation, but he is actively involved in it. Ask him for wisdom and clarity. He loves to lift up his children to see what he sees.

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Image by ChiemSeherin from Pixabay

Time for a Break!

Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” —Mark 6:31

After an intense schedule, Jesus got away with his disciples—and the reason they did was for rest and refreshment.

Schedules can be exhausting. What do you do to rest and recharge? Summer is here and I hope you’ll take some time to do that.

Thank you for joining me in this journey with Your Daily Encouragement. I will be taking a little summer break—but looking forward to returning soon.

In the meantime, what does relaxation look like for you?

Blessings, Bill

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Image by 2023852 from Pixabay

Jesus Is Coming Back!

May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers.

—1 Thessalonians 3:13

One of the most powerfully encouraging teachings from Jesus himself is that he is coming back! And this was the lens that his closest followers viewed the world through.

Not only did Jesus’ teachings give us perspective into the life beyond this life, but his resurrection validated every other claim he made.

In essence, the early believers reasoned, “If he said that he would overcome death, and he did; then if he says that he is coming back, he will.”

Let the power of that future reality be the lens that you make every decision through today.

And, I hope you can join us for worship this Sunday, 10AM PST at CenterPoint—whether you worship with us onsite or online—I’m praying that he will make your heart strong, blameless as you look forward to his arrival.

Also, this song from Jordan Feliz “Jesus is Coming Back” has been going through my mind all morning. Enjoy!

Jesus is coming back!

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Image by David Mark from Pixabay

Tired of Being Alone?

I know the LORD is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. —Psalm 16:8

Soul great, Al Green’s first breakthrough hit was called Tired of Being Alone. Al sang “I’m so tired of being alone, I’m so tired of on my own”—and the reason it was a breakthrough is that Al is singing to all of us. We know—deep down—that hollow feeling of loneliness.

And the crazy reality is that we can experience loneliness—that feeling of isolation—even in a room full of people.

But here is another reason I love the encouragement that comes from God’s Word: He tells us that wherever we go, whatever we do, there is no place that He isn’t.

I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

Psalm 16:8

He is the Ever-present Presence.

There is no destination you can go that he’s a stranger to, and there is no situation that he doesn’t already know the outcome.

This is true whether we recognize it in the moment, or not.

So, today, remind yourself of the reality of your Heavenly Father’s presence. Thank him that he is not only with you, but he knows you better than anyone on the planet. Then walk in the confidence that only he can give.

He is with you. Now. Acknowledge it and rest in his unshakable presence.

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