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This Psalm is not part of our series, but it's a great description of a life refreshed. This last weekend was CWOW weekend, which is a Sunday that we practice being the church rather than going to church. But this Psalm came to mind...

Psalm 133 is focused in unity, relationships. A few years ago, the surgeon general of the United States said that the greatest epidemic we are facing right now is an epidemic of loneliness. John Cacioppo, director for Social Neuroscience at the University of Chicago, is the world's leading expert on loneliness. In his landmark book, on loneliness, he describes how profoundly the epidemic of loneliness is affecting the basic functions of human physiology. He writes: "When we drew blood from our older adults and analyzed their white cells, we found that loneliness somehow penetrated the deep recesses of the cell to alter the way genes were being expressed." In other words, when you are lonely, your whole body is lonely. Psalm 133 is a reminder of God's treasuring of community. We are created with a connection requirement! Let unity refresh your life!

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Nehemiah 12 is about a celebration and dedication. That word dedication means to set apart, to consecrate, to totally give over. As the people were dedicating the walls of Jerusalem, they were basically saying, "God everything inside of these walls belongs to you. You are the builder of this city. You are God of this city. Not just the temple, the whole city. The marketplace, the gates, the homes, the people, everything belongs to you." Dedication is more than a ceremony, it's a commitment.

But here's the deal when we commit our lives to God, our lives will make a difference in our world. We'll leave a mark. If I could choose the goal of my life, I want to leave a mark with my heart!

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Two things are taking place in Nehemiah 12, celebration and dedication. In this episode we'll focus on celebration. We celebrate what is important to us. What we celebrate tells the story of our passion. So what do you celebrate? You know what I was thinking about this week? I was thinking that every celebration contains a story. We celebrate stories, God-stories, places where God showed up in or through us.

Nehemiah chapter 12 is about a celebration. The people gather together to celebrate and dedicate. They are celebrating the places where God showed up in Jerusalem, where God showed up to rebuild their broken places... The wall's been built, the gates are hung...people have come to live in the city...and so they celebrate...because their city matters to them. Don't miss this, celebration goes deeper than having a party. It's all about gratitude. Living forward in faith finds it's fulfillment in looking back with gratitude.

Gratitude is a discipline we all need to practice!

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In Nehemiah 11, the walls are rebuilt, the people are getting rebuilt, but the city is empty and God has redemptive purpose for this city, in fact for every city. And He has a redemptive purpose for your life. So here's what I believe. I believe that God determines the times and the exact places where we should live. If you live here, you are not a guest. Where you live is your city and God has a redemptive plan for your city and He has a redemptive part for you to play in that plan.

I believe that you are strategic to God's plan in the strategic region where you live. nd I don't want us to miss what He wants to do. So the question simply is this, "Will I love and serve my city? Will I love my neighbors all the way to Jesus? We are called to do good where we live!

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I closed the last episode of this series, with the words, "Our hearts follow our treasures. If we aren't surrendering our treasures to God, then we're robbing God of our hearts." Do you understand God doesn't need our money. He wants our hearts. And if we chase God with all our hearts, He promises to open up the floodgates of heaven and pour out an uncontainable blessing. If we pursue God with all our hearts, here is the promise, God says, "I will open the floodgates of heaven and pour out uncontainable blessings."

Ask yourself the question, "Is my life overflowing with God's blessings?"

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This message was given on Father's Day as part of our summer Psalms series. And here is the heart of the message. Before we ever talk about the kind of fathers we need to be, we need to talk about the Father we long for. I really believe that in every heart, there is a father we long for. I know we come with mixed emotions on Father’s Day. But before we talk about the kind of fathers we want to be, we
should talk about the kind of Father we have. He's described in Psalm 103.

We long for a Father, for a Father God who loves us unconditionally, unrelentingly, with His whole heart. See before I can be a good father, I need to have a good Father. And in the journey of become a good father, I need to understand where the journey starts. It's not about trying harder, it's about looking higher.

He is the father our hearts long for...

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Malachi was a contemporary of Nehemiah and we are going to detour to some of Malachi's words in this episode. As the people make their commitment to return to God, Malachi's words seem so appropriate. Malachi tells God's people how to return to God, why they are missing God. Malachi spoke to a generation of Israelites who, like many of us today, were chasing everything other than God. Some of us keep wondering why we never run into God, but we can't run into God while we are chasing other stuff. There are really only two directions in
life, either chasing God or running from God.

So how do we return? It could involve many things...but let's not miss the map God gave in Malachi's day. If you want to return, stop robbing God. We would probably expect God to say, "If you want to return to me, Pray more. Dive into the Bible." Both are incredibly important! But what does God say? "Stop robbing me." Are you robbing God?

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I believe that a sin-soaked heart is life's greatest problem. It keeps us from life and leads us to addiction. It ravages marriages, breaks families, and hardens hearts. It drains joy and reaps discouragement. It causes us to care about so much that matters so little. A sin-soaked heart is life's greatest problem.

But even more importantly, or at least more personally, my sin-soaked heart is my greatest problem. But my greatest hope is that we are relentlessly pursued by
a lavishly gracious, greatly merciful, fiercely loyal, patiently loving God. He is in pursuit of you. He's already pursued you all the way to the cross. If He went that far, He won't stop. Sometimes chasing God is as simple as stop running, and turn around. Give Him your ears. Give Him your heart. Become one of His love stories.