There are times in our lives where we are overwhelmed, unappreciated, and tried of dealing with so much. These are the times in our life when we need to stop and refocus.  In order to refocus – you must first figure out what you are focusing on.  There are times in our lives, different seasons where life ebbs and flows, and of course, based on the age of our children and the season we are in, some things deserve more of our attention and focus than other times.  However, there are things that I’ve identified are focus-stealers. They are things that have no place in our lives, yet we give far too much attention to them.  

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” (Psalm 16:2)

In Psalm 16, David is taking refuge in God. Taking refuge includes David’s prayer for God to keep him. In other words, the prayer “preserve me” (Psalm 16:1) is itself a taking refuge in God. But David doesn’t simply ask God to keep him. He also speaks and declares truth to God. He exults in Yahweh his refuge (Psalm 16:2).

The last phrase of verse 2 is packed with deep theological truth and precious fuel for worship. So, what does David mean when he says, “I have no good apart from you”?

There are many needs in the world. Poverty, homelessness, unreached people groups, sex trafficking, broken homes, orphans, church division—the list can go on and on. But where does God want you to focus your limited free time? What area of ministry might He be calling toward?

When was the last time someone did you wrong? Did you hold on to the hurt, become vindictive, and try to pay them back? When someone betrays your trust, when they leave you out, when they say things that aren’t true about you, the offense leaves a wound. One big test we have to pass is to forgive people as Jesus has forgiven us and as much as possible to be a “peacemaker” rather than revengeful (Matthew 5:9).

The resurrection is more than just an event that happened once in history. It’s the source of the power you can experience in your own life, every day. The same resurrection power that brought Jesus from death to life is available to you, and if you tap into it, you’ll see an amazing transformation in your own life, too.

Here’s 10 powerful ways for how you can experience resurrection power every day:

It is one of the most audacious, and awe-inspiring, moments in all of Scripture.

In the wake of Israel’s shocking rebellion against God — blatantly violating the covenant God just made with them — Moses humbly dares to mediate between God and his people. At the climax of his intercession, and his careful yet determined dialogue with the living God, Moses makes what is perhaps the greatest, and most perceptive, petition a creature can of his Creator.

And it is, after all, a prayer — a modest yet bold request, made by man, to God Almighty: “Please show me your glory.”

One of my favorite hobbies is hiking. I love finding a new trail, tackling the unknown terrain and enjoying the beauty and peace of nature. There’s so much to reflect on and experience along the way. And in the end, there’s nothing like the satisfaction of making it to the top and viewing the city below me.

Our lives are a bit like a hike. We are all journeying in some way. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we set our paths towards certain experiences and aim for a desired destination.

You may have heard the tale about a tiny little mouse and a huge elephant that went for a walk one day. They admired the flowers and birds all along the way. Soon they came to a rickety old cable bridge that crossed a brook. As they crossed the bridge, it trembled and shook and swayed under the weight of the elephant. “Wow,” squeaked the mouse when they were on the other side of the stream, “didn’t we make that bridge shake!”

Today is Valentine’s Day, marked by many with romantic dates, gifts of flowers and chocolates, and expressions of love to our significant other. Many forget that it is, more accurately, Saint Valentine’s Day (or the Feast of Saint Valentine). Saint Valentine of Rome was a third-century Roman saint who is commemorated on February 14, the day he was martyred and buried. It has been honored that way since A.D. 496.

So why do we associate his day with love?

One recent early morning, I was reading Psalm 36 and savoring one of the sweetest doxologies in the Bible:

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
     The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
     and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
     in your light do we see light. (Psalm 36:7–9)

I love the way David stacks wonder upon wonder: the protection of God’s wings, the abundant feast in God’s house, the refreshing river of God’s delights, the fountain of God’s life.