I am back from a great trip to Tennessee. I was able to speak to over 2000 Children’s pastors and workers from around the country and God moved in MIGHTY ways. Thank you for your prayers.

Recently I was contemplating on what it takes for us to truly pursue God. This passage came to mind: "You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him and keep His commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him." Deuteronomy 13:4

Follow…fear…obey…listen…serve…hold fast.

I’ve never been one to just fall in line. It is hard for me to follow and I have a grave dislike for being part of "The crowd." Yet, so often God says, "Follow me," beckoning me to leave my own desires aside and fall in line with His will. At times I feel like it is against my natural bent, but in the end I have to realize that following actually sets me apart for a specific purpose.

The steps to following God are simple in concept: fear, obey, listen, serve and hold fast. At first glance these may seem conquerable, but when you try, the tasks are much harder to act out.

Fear: To have a deep revere for the Lord demands my humility.

Obey: To be able to take His direction means I have to be thoroughly familiar with His commandments.

Listen: To hear His voice require intimacy in order to know what He sounds like when He speaks.

Serve: To serve Him with wild abandon calls for complete availability to His promoting at any moment.

Hold fast: To cling to Him with my entire self, from the depths of my soul, means I have to trust His sovereignty completely.

Humility…familiarity…intimacy…availability… sovereignty.

For all of us, there are moments when following Christ seems impossible. Especially when He asks for our conformity in a time of utter disappointment and lack of clarity.

When it comes to following God I must remember this: Though His steps are lengthy and cause me to stretch, there is nowhere else I would rather plant my feet than in the footprints He is leaving as He walks before me.

You are loved,

Josh.