Humility

I suppose that humility is not listed in the fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5 because it is part of our freewill; we can choose to be humble. 

James explains that humility is key to intimacy with God, and we see this modeled throughout the Scriptures (e.g., Moses, David, Jesus), as well as repeated in Proverbs.

James 4:6, 10‭ NIV

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." 

...

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

John the Baptizer considered himself unworthy to perform even the basic service of a slave, washing Jesus's feet.

John 1:27 NIV

He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."

James reminds us that our knowledge is so limited compared to the Father's omniscience, and our time in this life is so brief compared to eternity.

James 4:14 NIV

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Father, I want to be humble.  Holy Spirit, please help me choose to be humble.  I want my heart to be fertile 100-fold soil.  Please grow your life deeper in me.  Lord Jesus, I want to honor your reign.  I love you.

Childlike faith

I started reading Loving Our Kids on Purpose by Danny Silk (finished the first chapter).  I am impressed by the thesis that it is more important for us to teach our kids to know how to handle freedom than for them to be made to be compliant.  

I was also struck by his points about how children innately trust their parents.  They don't have an inherent skepticism that many of us develop as adults.  First, it is a sobering responsibility to steward that childlike trust of my children.  I want to be a blessing to my children.  I want to be a better father.

Second, I want to unlearn skepticism with my Heavenly Father and return to childlike faith.  When He says something, I want to immediately accept it as truth.  His word is seed, and I want my heart to be fertile soil for Him to plant everything He wants in my life.

Father, I know that your word is true, and I want to live in simple harmony with your word. Please plant more of your word in my heart, and help me clear out the thistles and rocks and till the compacted soil.  I trust you, and I believe you.  I love you, and I want to be with you.  I want to be like you. You are the best.  I am sorry for listening to lies of the enemy that you are holding out on me.  I believe that you want the best for me, you have the best for me, and you are the best for me.  Thank you for being such an amazing daddy!

We now have direct access to God as our good Father

We cannot overstate the significance of the tearing of the Temple's curtain to the Most Holy Place when Jesus was crucified.

The old covenant is now obsolete and has been superceded with a new covenant that is incomparably better:  we now have direct access to God as our good Father.  

Luke 23:45b NIV

And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

We don't have to go to a certain place to find God.  He is everywhere.

Hebrews 4:14‭, ‬16 NIV

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ... Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

God is not angry with us.  His wrath for sin was satisfied by Jesus' sacrifice.  So, we can approach the Father any time. 

And if He is good, why wouldn't we want to spend every moment with Him?

Father, I want to learn to approach you confidently.  I want to know you and be like you.  Jesus, thank you for restoring connection and fellowship with the Father.

The importance of spiritual mindsets

Brandi and I heard a couple of sermons in the past several weeks that both referenced Prov 23:7a, and I read this verse in my daily reading this morning:

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. ...

Proverbs 23:7 NKJV

The first sermon focused on demolishing strongholds in the mind:

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3‭-‬5 NIV

Brandi and I have been trying to be more aware of our mindsets and then intentional in believing and declaring the truth of God over our lives.

Father, thank you for your truth.  Thank you for your power to demolish strongholds.  Thank you for renewing our minds.  I love you.

San Francisco Trip

Came to San Francisco this week for a conference cosponsored by the International Desalination Association (IDA) and NEOM.  Very interesting, technically, and also great professional networking.

Yesterday, I walked to and from the conference, along the bay, with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Sang, whistled,  and prayed. Very refreshing. The cool breeze and sound of seagulls reminded me of Jesus on the shores of Galilee.

Prayed for the Uber driver this morning.  She was a little older than me, from Ethiopia; spirit-filled, but very spiritually weary.  I was going to ask her if I could pray for her, but she asked me to pray for her.  I sensed that there was a strained relationship.  She said it was with her parents.  It was very encouraging for her, and it was encouraging to me that I felt like I actually heard something to pray for.  I want to step out in faith more in prayer.

Prayed for the Uber driver to the airport.  His legs are getting weaker, but the docs don't know why.  I commanded strength to return.  I hope I was an encouragement to him.

Father, thank you for your encouragement.  Help me represent you well.  Holy Spirit, I want to be sensitive to your preferences.  Help me think spiritual thoughts instead of just thinking about the things going on in my routine.  Jesus, I love you.  

Thankful for my wife

We had the privilege of traveling to Playa Mujeres to celebrate our 20th anniversary (the week prior).  On the day of, Brandi spent almost the whole day creating a virtual photo album of our ~25 years together and posted it on Facebook with a really special message.  She is so good with words and artistic presentation! That meant a lot to me.  I hope to live up to what she said about me.

We didn't celebrate my 40th birthday last year because of COVID, and this past week, I had been pretty discouraged, in part due to missing that celebration.  But Brandi surprised me with a 40th birthday party on my last day as a 40 year-old, and that means a whole lot to me.  A number of friends and students came on short notice, including my parents and my brother, Jeremy.  That meant a lot to me.

We took an overnight trip to Ruidoso this weekend, and we ended up hiking Ski Apache (9,600 feet to 11,500 feet, ~7.5 miles in 4 hrs, round-trip).  I've wanted to do that since I was a kid.  Dream fulfilled.  I thought it was funny that at the beginning of the hike, Brandi reminded me that I wasn't hiking with Brandon, so I focused on enjoying the journey and not worrying about the destination.  I was genuinely content with not making it to the top.  But after a couple of hours of hiking, when I suggested that we hike for 15 minutes more and then descend, it was actually Brandi who urged us on to the top.  (And Katelyn, who led the last leg to the summit.)

I am so thankful that the Lord blessed me with Brandi, the wife of my youth.  What a privilege!

Father, thank you for Brandi.  Thank you for her partnership and the way you speak through her to encourage, strengthen, and guide me.  Holy Spirit, please continue to grow us together with you in love, unity, intimacy, and calling.  I love you.

His grace is sufficient

2 Cor 12

9 but He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness." Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me. 10 So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God's strength].

Today is the first day of the More Water Less Concentrate competition.  My flesh wants our team to perform well.  However, spiritually, I can do well regardless of the worldly outcome.  Spiritually, I can demonstrate the attitude, mindset, and character of Jesus regardless of the worldly circumstances.  I can be a conduit of the Living Water flowing through me.

Father, thank you for your abundant grace.  Thank you for your power.  Thank you for your presence.  I want to be like you.  I love you.

You become what you assimilate

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:16‭-‬18 NIV

If I regularly, consistently, constantly focus on the Lord, then I will grow to be more like Him.

Sadly, there are undesirable alternatives.  If you focus on things in this world, then you will grow more worldly.

Father, help me see you and watch you.  I want to be like you, Daddy.  I love you.

Missing Daddy

1 Cor 13:1-3

I've never seen my daddy.  I get to talk with him regularly, but I haven't seen him.  I want to be like him, but sometimes it feels like I don't know him since I can't see him.

My big brother is much older than me.  I've heard stories about him, how he was so much like my daddy.  But I haven't seen my big brother, either.  I wish I could see them.

Sometimes, I get so focused on trying to copy the things that I heard my big brother did that I forget to be like him in heart and mind.  I really want to do some of the amazing things that my big brother did (in fact, he said that I could do even greater things than he did), but recently, I've been realizing that I think he and daddy both care more about my attitude and motivation than my accomplishments.  They are both legendary for the way that they care for people: sincerely, genuinely, compassionately, and vulnerably.

I have a friend who I'm getting to know better over the years who actually knows my daddy and big brother very well.  He helps me when I try to do the things that I heard my big brother did, but he also reminds me about my heart and motivation.

I miss daddy and big brother.  Can't wait to see them.  I hope that when I finally get to meet daddy, he sees himself in me.  I want to be just like him.

Evaluation

I woke up this morning (first morning in Antigua) thinking about the meetings ahead of me today and hoping I measure up.  Then I realized that the only person whose evaluation matters is my Father's.

I had an image of a large golden-copper square, maybe seven or eight feed wide, and an inch thick.  When a person stands in front, it is like taking an x-ray, but this is a spiritual x-ray.

Our Father sees us completely.  "The one who knows us the best, loves us the most."

Father, thank you for your great love for us.  Thank you that I don't have to worry about what other people think of me.  I want to bring you great joy in the way that I think, feel, and live.  I love you.

Happy Easter

After our church left this afternoon, I was cleaning dishes and warming up leftovers for dinner, and Beau came up to me and gave me a hug.  He told me that he sees that I'm different from other dads, and he really appreciates me.  

That means so much to me.

Father, I want to be like you.  I love you.

Intimacy with the Father essential to walking as Jesus modeled

I had lunch at UTEP with Steve on Wednesday.  We had a great conversation, getting to know each other and sharing our current questions in our pursuit of Christ.

The conversation concluded with an awareness of the need to spend unstructured time in conversation with the Father, as well as a resolve to develop an intimacy with the Father through consistently meeting Him in the mornings.  I want to two to the point where I can call Him "Daddy" (similar to "Abba") without it feeling forced or awkward.  And I want to be close enough in my relationship with Him that I can talk about my deep wounds/issues openly and unashamedly with Him, open to His direct ministry and healing in my soul.

Observation: my chronic overcommitment and stress get in the way of me spending time with the Father.

Father, thank you for always being available to meet.  Jesus, thank you for your example of spending time with the Father.  Holy Spirit, please guide me into closeness with the Father, and lead me to healing from feeling like I need to be busy all of the time.  I love you.

morning Bible study with Beau and Jude

A few weeks ago, I began meeting with Beau and Jude (sometimes individually, sometimes together) in the morning before school to study the Scriptures.  Beau chose to start in the Gospel of Luke, and Jude chose to start in John.  We are using the SOAP framework: scripture, observation, application, and prayer.  Two guiding questions for observation (from the discovery style) are: (1) What do we learn about God? and (2) What do we learn about humans?  And a guiding question for application is, how can I respond in faith and obedience.  It has been very encouraging to me to share this time with them in the Word and answer their spiritual questions. 

Father, thank you for the opportunity to help guide Beau and Jude in their spiritual growth.  Holy Spirit, please bless these meetings, and continue to increase their hunger and thirst for you.  I love you.

Processing salvation and fishing

A colleague recently invited me to go fishing with him.  So, we scheduled a time to walk around and talk and pray with folks.  We have done it several times now, and I think we had several encounters that were encouraging to the folks that we spoke with. 

Before our most recent outing, my colleague showed me a pamphlet and asked if I would like to hand them out to the folks that we spoke with.  I respectfully declined because it almost exclusively focused on avoiding eternal punishment.

In the church culture that I grew up with, I was prepared with several ways of explaining the Good News, for which I am thankful.  Unfortunately, I think many of those methods implicitly centered on avoiding eternal punishment instead of embracing the mercy, grace, and restored sonship of a Good Father.   While I agree that justification is an important concept, unfortunately, I think too many think of "justification" as a conversion from "sinner" to "sinner saved by grace", whereas Jesus's parable of the merciful and gracious father reveals that by faith, our sins are forgiven, and we are restored to sonship.

I was taught that salvation has three aspects, like the three aspects of a mathematical ray: justification (the beginning point, when a person begins faith in Jesus), sanctification (the finite period until death, growing into the image of Jesus), and glorification (the arrowhead that symbolizes continuation to infinity, fully restored to God after death).  Much attention has been spent on the topic of justification, and I think there is a tendency to drift towards religion. Moving forward, I would like to focus on sonship.

So, I am still trying to figure out what I would like to provide as a printed resource with spiritual information about sonship.

Father, you are a good father, and you have given us wonderful promises.  Jesus, thank you for showing us what it means to be a son.  Holy Spirit, thank you for leading me along in sonship.  I love you.

Replaceable versus irreplaceable

Yesterday, I spoke with Caleb on his drive home from work.  He made a great point that it is ironic that we work so hard at our jobs in which we are replaceable, and that limits our engagement at home with our families with which we are irreplaceable.

That statement resonated with me.  

Father, help me focus on spending my limited time making the biggest impacts.  My life is yours.  I love you.

Repentance, holiness, and intimacy with God

God is holy.  Definitions of holiness include moral purity, wholeness, and being set apart.

Revelation 4:8 NIV

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: " 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come."

And He calls us to be holy.  The word is also translated as "saint".

1 Peter 1:15‭-‬16 NIV

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

However, sin/sinfulness separates us from God.  It is the elephant in the room, so you sit there silently looking at your feet instead of gazing into His eyes.  It sucks the air out of the room so that you can't say anything in His presence, and all you can think about is how you want to step away to catch your breath. 

So, repentance is necessary to return to unhindered fellowship/communion (i.e. intimacy) with God (i.e., holiness).  Repentance begins with a humble admission of responsibility of being the one who stepped away from the relationship, and it includes a God-given emotional sorrow for messing up the relationship, hurting Him, hurting others, and hurting yourself.

It is like the son who asked for his inheritance from the father (before he died) and ran away and wasted it.  But then he realized that he had messed up, and he decided to humble himself, return to his father, and admit that he was wrong.

And the Father forgives.  His character is fundamentally good, and He always forgives when we repent and return to Him.  Then He restores us to that place of intimacy, and He throws a party.

Father, thank you for making a way for us to return to intimacy and holiness with you.  Thank you for your compassion and love.

Lent 2022

Several quotes from Day One of 

40 Days of Decrease: A Different Kind of Hunger. A Different Kind of Fast by Alicia Britt Chole and Dr. Simona Chitescu-Weik:

"Lent, in kind, is less about well-mannered denials and more about thinning our lives in order to thicken our communion with God. Decrease is holy only when its destination is love."

"God seems more interested in what we are becoming than in what we are giving up."

"I invite you to consider Lent as less of a project and more of a sojourn. A sojourn is a "temporary stay at a place." And a "stay" is about presence, not productivity."

"Spiritual disciplines do not transform, they only become relational opportunities to open the heart to the Spirit who transforms." — JOHN H. COE

"Why [fast], indeed. My annual fasts, seasonal forty-day fasts, and weekly twelve- to twenty-four-hour fasts are more love offerings than disciplines, though it certainly requires discipline to maintain them. In short, I ache. I ache for my Bridegroom. I ache to live every waking moment conscious of His presence. I ache to live aware of His past and present suffering. I ache to live unattached to what man counts and measures."

I have decided to fast from sugar/sweets during this Lenten season.  I have also decided to give up self-criticism and criticism of others (hopefully, permanently).  And as I focus on the fruit of kindness in 2022, I want to focus on the kindness of God through the life of Jesus during Lent.

Father, I want "to live every waking moment conscious of your presence".  I want to decrease the rocks and thistles in the soil of my hear to make more room for your zoe life.  Jesus, thank you for your suffering and sacrifice.  Holy Spirit, thank you for your presence and power.  I love you.

Growing in sharing the Gospel and baptizing

On Wednesday evening, Shaun and Realene came over, and we debriefed and processed the events on Tuesday.

One of the things that I realize now is very important before inviting people into faith in Jesus is a frank and personal conversation about sin and repentance.  I have also come to see that baptism is more than a symbol; it is the Red Sea in which the enemy's attacks are crushed.  I have also come to realize that we need to cross the Jordan into fullness by being baptized in the Holy Spirit, just like Jesus.

Wednesday evening, Shaun also showed me an engaging Gospel presentation method using about a dozen cards with conceptual images on them (produced by TLR), telling the story starting from the Garden, sin, Israel, Jesus, Holy Spirit, and the disciples waking in the fullness.

I had the opportunity to practice that presentation with Santos and Rene yesterday afternoon after our gathering.  After going through the presentation, I asked Santos where he was in that story, and he said that he was baptized, but he hadn't been filled with the Spirit.  Brandi and I shared our experiences, and then I asked him if he wanted that.  He said yes, so we all gathered around, and he was filled and spoke in tongues a little bit!

While I was presenting to Santos, i could see that Rene was tracking, so after we praise for Santos, I asked Rene where he was in the story.  He said that he has know that he needs to be baptized for seven years.  So, we encouraged him, and Derek read several Scriptures with him, and he decided to go ahead and be baptized.  So, we rinsed out an empty fish pond in the back yard, filled it up with a garden hose and added some boiling water, and we baptized him and prayed for him to be filled with the Spirit!

Father, thank you for these Brothers and Sisters who have encouraged us to walk like Jesus.  I believe that Jesus is the prototype, and as your son, filled with your Spirit, I want to walk in the fullness that Jesus demonstrated.  Jesus, thank you for your example and for making a way for us to die with you through baptism and receive the powerful anointing of your Spirit.  Holy Spirit, you make me glad.  I love you.

TLR in El Paso

Last night, Torben Sondergaard and a team from TLR stopped in El Paso on their way back east for a one-noght kickstart.  

Torben shared his story of putting his faith in Jesus but being unsatisfied with the typical church-atrendance model.  He even became a pastor of a typical church, but he was still frustrated that his life didn't look more like the stories we read in the New Testament.

After that, we had the opportunity to pray for people, and I prayed for an older gentleman who had hip pain.  A pastor who knew him was delighted to see him walking around without as much pain.

Later, people were given opportunity to respond by repenting, believing, being baptized, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.  Brandi and I participated in assisting a number of the baptisms, commanding demons to leave them, and inviting the Holy Spirit to fill them.  It was amazing to see the power of God flow.  And I look forward to hearing testimonies of their transformed lives and multigenerational discipleship.

Father, thank you for the opportunity to experience a kickstart.  Jesus, thank you for your example for us to follow.  Holy Spirit, thank you for your presence and power and leading us in making disciples.  I love you.

Five-day fast

As part of our final week of the 2022 January Daniel fast, I wanted to reach for more.  Brandi and I went to dinner together last Friday, and then fasted from food (only water and herbal tea) for five days, breaking the fast with dinner on Wednesday night.  Generally, I felt like I had more strength than I remember having last year, until day five.  Starting around the middle of day three, I felt like I had a greater sensitivity to spiritual things.

I shared these verses with our church as we finish the corporate fast this week.

Hebrews 11:6 TPT

And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who passionately seek him.

One of the main realizations that I had during my five-day fast is that we are gaining by fasting is eternal and infinitely more valuable than the temporary things we choose to fast from.

2 Corinthians 4:17‭-‬18 TPT

We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison, because we don't focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.

Father, thank you for your promise to be found by those who seek you wholeheartedly.  Thank you for the opportunity to pursue greater depths of your love and goodness.  Jesus, thank you for your example of living.  Holy Spirit, thank you for your constant presence and the opportunity to be more attentive to your presence through fasting.  I love you.

Don't worry

"This is why I tell you to never be worried about your life, for all that you need will be provided, such as food, water, clothing—everything your body needs. Isn't there more to your life than a meal? Isn't your body more than clothing? ... "So above all, constantly chase after the realm of God's kingdom and the righteousness that proceeds from him. Then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly. Refuse to worry about tomorrow, but deal with each challenge that comes your way, one day at a time. Tomorrow will take care of itself."

Matthew 6:25‭, ‬33‭-‬34 TPT

I don't think I know how to do this.

Father, please help me.  I love you.

Two trees and three kinds of people

On Sunday, I listened to some teaching by Chris Blackaby about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and he explained that the consequence of death by the path of evil is somewhat obvious, but the consequence of death by the path of good works (i.e., self righteousness or religion) is slower and less obvious, but death, nonetheless.  

This is sobering.  There are so many people who consider themselves "Christians", but actually, they are walking down a path of religion to death.

I think the roots of religion are very deep in my heart, strangling the growth of Christ in me.  Religion has exacted of me a strict behavior modification.  But religion is of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and religion is fundamentally incapable of yielding the fruit of the Spirit in my heart.

And I realized that much of my anger/frustration is an artifact of my mindsets and heartsets that are based in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil: justice, fairness, and perfectionism.  These thought patterns generally lead to either a path of self-righteousness/arrogance or self-criticism/condemnation.  Either of those paths spills over into criticism of other people.  None of this is of the Father.

So, I need Jesus to set me free from religion and overflow me with kindness, which is of the Tree of Life.  I want to be in the third category of people, walking in life, freedom, grace, and mercy with the Father.

Father, you are good.  You are gooder than I think or can imagine.  Jesus, please deliver me from religion.  I want to walk in life with you.  Abundant life.  Holy Spirit, please overflow me with kindness.

Jesus' 40 day fast

Beau and I had a good conversation about fasting.

Previously, I thought that Jesus had to starve His body for 40 days to weaken Himself from "superhuman/hero" level down to "normal human" level so that the temptation would be legitimate and representative of humanity.

However, now I see the 40 days of fasting as an intentional time of focusing on the Father and the Spirit and deemphasizing the desires of the body.

God doesn't love us more if we fast, and He doesn't love us less if we don't.  I'm fasting because I am strengthening my spirit and soul by prioritizing my spiritual will over the desires of the flesh.

Father, thank you for this opportunity to prioritize my desire to seek you.  Jesus', thank you for your example. Holy Spirit, thank you for your power and encouragement.  Help me break free from worldliness and religion and instead walk powerfully in faith and love.  I love you.

2022 kindness

I am continuing to focus on a word for a year, and I am continuing with the next fruit of the spirit: kindness.

Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NIV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. ...

I briefly studied the difference between kindness and goodness, and to summarize, it seems that goodness is an attribute of your moral quality, whereas kindness is an attribute of the way you treat other people.

I also decided to repeat the four-course Scripture meal plan again this year.

In comparing Psalm 1, Proverbs 1, Matthew 1, and Acts 1 this morning, I was impressed by several points.  

First, Solomon was a king of Israel by birth of the lineage of David, but Jesus is rightfully king of Israel by adoption into the lineage of Joseph who was of the line of David.  Spiritually, we are sons and daughters of God, so we are spiritual kings and queens, and God wants us to advance His kingdom on earth.  The King's domain begins with our hearts and flows from there.  I need to do a better job realizing this for myself and teaching this to my children.

Second, the Kingdom of Christ is apolitical.  Jesus did not rely on political affiliations to accomplish His mission.  And having recently read Revelation, political power is associated with the kingdom of Babylon, not the Kingdom of Christ. So many people think that one political affiliation or another is more or less "Christian", but these mindsets are illusions.  They are tragically deceived.  

Third, to be planted by a stream of water is to abide in Christ and enjoy the fellowship, fruit, and power of the Holy Spirit.  Life apart from Holy Spirit is only religion, not faith.  I want to see increasing measures of spiritual fruit and power in my life as evidence of His abiding presence.  This is Kingdom life.

Father, I praise you for being good AND kind.  Jesus, I want you to be the center of my life, not tangential.  Help me focus clearly on your Kingdom, and expose deceptions of worldliness that I think is Kingdom life.  Holy Spirit, please plunge me deeper into your transformation.  Please help me keep in step with you, moment by moment.  I love you.