Have you ever been hiking at night? If the woods are dense enough, almost no moonlight or starlight penetrates the thick canvas of the forest roof. When you turn your headlamp on, the immediate area in front of you lights up, and everything else is draped in blackness. You can see clearly for maybe thirty feet, then after that it tapers quickly back into pitch black. There’s a certain amount of faith that you have to walk in when you are night hiking. You have to trust that the trail will take you where it is supposed to go. You have to have faith that the trail itself is safe, even if it runs alongside a step cliff or next to a rushing river. You trust that the noises you hear are really just big squirrels and not hungry bears looking for tasty, out of shape and slightly plump, stray hikers. So you hike in faith, knowing for sure only what lies 30 feet in front of you and hoping that you’ll reach your campsite before Roscoe the Mountain Man jumps from the shadows to demonstrate to you his deep knowledge of the movie “Deliverance.” It really is exciting. Believe me. Try it sometime. Well, I am on a night hike of sorts right now, figuratively speaking. All of us that have entered into this amazing adventure that is following Christ are on night hikes. Our destination is certain: the Kingdom of God. Our trail is firm: the Path of Righteousness and the Way of the Cross. Our light, The Holy Spirit, illuminates all that we need to know in order to navigate through the world that is shrouded in the darkness of sin. The path that I am currently on is not one that I ever thought that I would take. It is a crazy trail that already has seen miracles, struggles, leaps of faith, and mighty acts of God. And we're only at the beginning. My hiking companions are my wife Brandie, and my three sons, Sam, Jack and Luke. It is a journey that we would love to share with all of you, if you want to read along.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

What more triumphant phrase can be uttered?


"Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"


Thanks be to the Father, who sends the Son. Thanks be to the Son, who suffered died, and was raised for our sake. And thanks be to the Holy Spirit, who draws us into perfect unity with Trinity.


Amen!

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