Tag Archives: Nephilim

Stay Close… a theme for 2022

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A couple weeks back I had a conversation with my friend Jake (he’s a trained & licensed therapist/counselor) about ‘feelings.’ One of the things I’ve learned from Jake (& there’s a bunch) is how to better identify & work through my feelings/emotions. As such, something I’ve wrestled with, especially lately, is when I hear someone say something along the lines of “I don’t feel safe…” with whatever reason they have for not feeling safe. Except “safe” isn’t a feeling; it’s not one of the 10 core emotions that all humans have… yep – everybody – regardless of background, culture of origin, etc… (If you’d like to see/hear Jake identify & talk about our 10 core emotions, check out THIS LINK– I’ve found the information & application to be SUPER helpful. Back to the conversation…)

Jake clarified, “Safe” isn’t a feeling – its more of a belief or interpretation, an impression, thought, idea, evaluation of a situation or circumstance.” (Thanks Jake.) Now I GET what is probably meant by “I don’t feel safe” – my guess is that its usually fear that is registering for that person at that moment, based upon what they’re experiencing & how that could affect them.

With that said, & with a bit of a disclaimer: I’ve been a pastor for 30+ years, & until recently, I’ve never felt like I had some sort of overarching ‘theme’ for the year for our church… I said “until recently,” because the last 3 years have been different (Boy haven’t they.) Its not like I sit & think for hours until I “get” the theme for the year… it has just ’emerged’ while I’m going about my preparations for a message, or in my thinking times, or through conversations (like the one with Jake W I mentioned above.) 

While I was pondering ‘safe’ (& feelings, & emotions, & fears, & pandemics, & hysteria, & people, & stuff) what came to mind were a series of stories/accounts from the Bible book of Joshua. Joshua is an account of the Israelite people entering into & taking possession of the Land, including their daunting encounters with the Nephilim: Giant, 1/2 demon, 1/2 human spawn occupying the Land & making up large numbers of the “-ites” the Bible talks about.  

God promised Joshua (the new leader of Israel after Moses’ death) & the Israelites He would be WITH them, He would GO BEFORE them, He would NEVER LEAVE or FORSAKE them, & He would GIVE them the Land. Their job? To believe Him, to meditate on His ways (commands, precepts, teachings, path… think of it as “God’s road for life) & to not be afraid.

I definitely don’t want to get caught up trying to make a step by step, blow by blow comparison of Israel entering the Land & our lives in 2022… but I would like to share a couple of things: 

One of the main ways that we experience attack from the dark one comes through FEAR: he wants us to be intimidated, to be focused solely on our resources (or the lack thereof); to be consumed by our inadequacies & weaknesses. The goal is to keep us bound up, settling for less than God’s promises, mired in inactivity & paralyzed by our very real fears. 

God invites us to live differently. Instead of attempting to overcome insurmountable & seemingly invincible enemies with our own resources & strengths & abilities, He encourages us to STAY CLOSE to Him, to live (walk) as He intends, & to allow our day-to-day to be orchestrated & ordered by Him. And as we do that, we will see Him overcome/conquer/destroy/wipe out the adversaries in front of us.

With all that said, for 2022, our theme at Hillside is STAY CLOSE – what that means can mostly be summed up in these 5 things that help define what this STAY CLOSE looks like, lived out:

  • Stay close to Jesus
  • Be flexible/open to God change
  • Be prepared/get ready
  • Be strong & very courageous – don’t be afraid
  • Be careful to obey everything you know to obey

The days we live in are challenging… & I don’t believe that our adversaries, our ‘Giants,” should merely be explained away as people with wrong thought processes, ideologies, self-destructive practices, control issues, &/or political/religious/national affiliations. Instead, I believe we’re dealing with spiritual forces of darkness that aim to enslave, to steal/kill/destroy, to keep us from becoming who & what the God says we are… 

Therefore, I aim to STAY CLOSE & to do my very best to walk in His footsteps in 2022 & beyond. 

BONUS: check out Psalm 91 – one of the best (my favorite) Psalms on staying close to God.

What was THAT? & other musings on a Tuesday…

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Left the office a little early today to run some errands only to find… snow. Flakes the size of KAN-tuck-ee. I did what anyone else would do in that situation: I checked my Weather Channel app on my iPhone. It confirmed what I already knew; there was no snow. Except that there was. Checked the hourly forecast. No snow. The weekly forecast. No snow. Actually said 0% chance of snow.

Except that there was. Sigh.

Made it home, only to find… blue skies. Silly skies. Goodness. What WAS that?

I’m hungry. Looking back, I forgot to eat breakfast & lunch. Oops. Sort of missed them, probably due to the filling affect that coffee brings with it. Only had 2 cups today, but they were very well placed cups.

What to eat? I can visualize dinner right now – chili, topped with processed Con Queso… using salami as a spoon to scoop it out. Ah, yes. I think that would be great. Now only if I had a personal chef to make it for me. Because cooking chili would take at LEAST 3 minutes. Then a thought hits me. Con Queso. Spanish for “With Cheese.” With cheese? As opposed to… what? I don’t even want to read the ingredients. Bet its not organic. :)

Reading a fictional book a friend lent me, based upon another non-fiction book. So far, so good.

My theBean is at work. Tuesday & Wednesday are Doubles: a lunch & a dinner shift. That means they’re the longest days of the week for me. She works hard. Sometimes I like to go in to her restaurant, sit in the lounge & watch her do her thing. So gifted, such an eye for detail. Very pleasant in all of her interactions with others, something I’m still trying to learn. Love that girl.

Listening to PFR. I could listen to Great Lengths over & over. As a matter of fact, I AM listening to it over & over. Feels a little like a binge.

Of all the emotions that, when unleashed & given full vent, are most destructive, jealousy, born from discontent, has to be at/near the top. Man, it’s ugly & doesn’t play well with others. It undermines, whines, cries out in immaturity for self-fulfillment, but ironically is never satisfied.

Teach me LORD to be content in any & every situation.

Went to the gym to show a couple of buddies the way of the Kettlebell. Pretty soon, the gym is going to have to get another set to keep up with the demand. They can thank me later. :)

Prepping for Christmas Eve service & a Christmas Eve message used to be something I dreaded – mostly because I felt like I needed to come up with something Clever. Unique. Special. Different. And the longer I’d been around & attended church Christmas services, the more daunting ‘my Task’ became.

Then a couple Eve’s back, it hit me. Christmas isn’t about me. Being Clever. Unique. Special. Different. Christmas is about Christ, & the Good News of Great Joy for EVERYONE. And I get to be a part of telling that news. Silly me, making it so hard, when in reality its the easiest & best story ever.

Verdict is in: Chili. With Con Queso. Yes.