Derrick Bremer 3/18/25 Derrick Bremer 3/18/25

Beholding: Rediscovering the Wonder of Worship

The recliner groaned as I sank into it, the weary springs clanging. Across from me, a wise friend—fifty years old but weathered beyond his years—slurped his coffee. His gaze wasn’t on me but beyond, watching a fat squirrel cling to the rough bark of an oak.

“He keeps the others away,” the old man murmured. “Greedy little thing.”

Our conversation drifted like fallen leaves, words coming and going, never quite landing. But when I asked if he wanted to pray, something changed. His lips moved without sound—just quiet, awe-filled gasps. His eyes glistened as though he saw beyond his living room, beyond the window, beyond this world.

I started to pray, but my words faltered. He wasn’t asking for anything. He was beholding.

That moment changed me. My prayers had been heavy with burdens, filled with needs and cries for help. But my friend came to God with nothing but worship.

David once wrote, “One thing I have asked of the Lord, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).

Busyness reduces prayer to a transaction—words spoken, requests made. But the gospel calls us back. The cross reveals God's beauty, drawing our hearts to adoration.

When was the last time you worshiped God, not for what He has done, but simply for who He is?

Will you stop long enough to see?

Derrick Bremer 3/14/25 Derrick Bremer 3/14/25

When Conviction Calls: Finding Light in the Darkness

I never meant to be in that chase. But somehow, I got swept into it.

The roar of engines faded into the night, and suddenly, I was alone—stranded in the dark with a dead four-wheeler and no idea where to go. I had followed others without knowing where we were headed. Now, without them, I was lost.

Then, in the distance—a flicker. A beam of light swept through the trees, exposing the tangled thorns and hidden dangers around me. It didn’t just show me the way forward; it revealed how lost I really was.

Conviction works the same way. The Holy Spirit doesn’t convict us to shame us but to wake us up—to open our eyes to the truth and lead us home.

"When He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment... When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth" (John 16:8,13).

Have you ever felt the Spirit convicting you? Have you ever ignored Him, only to realize later that He was leading you home? Share your story in the comments—I’d love to hear how God has worked in your life. And if you know someone searching for the light, send this their way. You never know who might need it.

Derrick Bremer 3/11/25 Derrick Bremer 3/11/25

A Face Too Familiar to See