Friar Tuck's Word of the Day

The Word of God Speaks

2012-02-27T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 27

(Proverbs 2:1-9 NIV) "My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, {2} turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, {3} and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, {4} and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, {5} then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. {6} For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. {7} He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, {8} for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. {9} Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good path.”

“The last thing I need is to be heard… but to hear what you would say. The word of God speaks. It pours down like rain. Washing my eyes to see, your majesty. Be still and know.” - from “The Word of God Speaks” by Mercy Me

One of the most popular children’s songs ever is Jesus Loves Me. Almost everyone knows the lyrics: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so.”

If you were asked to state the main truth of this little song, what would you say? Most people would probably say the main truth is that Jesus loves me. After all, that is the title of the song. But how do we know? How do we know that Jesus loves us? Most people don’t give much thought to the all important second line. “FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO”.

The word of God speaks and it tells us of the love of Jesus. “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding”.

We know “Jesus loves me” is true only because “the bible tells me so”. If the bible isn’t true the song is a lie. Take the word of God out of the picture and we are left with conjecture and wishful thinking.

It was the great John Wesley who said: "I am a spirit come from God and returning to God. Therefore I want to know one thing: the way to heaven. God Himself has condescended to teach me the way. He has written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! Let me be a man of one book. Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone. Only God is here. In His presence I open, I read His book - for this end - to find the way to Heaven."

One of the major weaknesses of the North American church today is illiterate Christians. I don’t mean Christians who cannot read… I mean Christians who will not read. They will not read God’s word even though they read almost everything else.

If Christians spent as much time in the word as they spend on Facebook or Twitter or their morning newspaper, the nation would be filled with spiritual giants. But for one reason or another, many believers today seem to be into “Scripture Lite”. We want to put our lives together without reading the Manufacturer’s Instruction Book.

The lack of depth in many Christian lives today is the direct result of our failure to read and study the word of God. In a generation where the bible is more widely available than ever before in history, scripture reading and scripture knowledge are historic lows.

Every Christian should have a strategy for getting the word into their lives. Do you?

“Turn your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding. Call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding. Look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure. Then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.”

Model Imitators

2012-02-26T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 26

(1 Thessalonians 1:6-9 NIV) "You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. {7} And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. {8} The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia--your faith in God has become known everywhere.”

(Ephesians 5:1 NIV) "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children"

(1 Thessalonians 2:14 NIV) "For you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus:”

When the gospel invades and conquers our life, something observable begins to happen. Jesus completely rewires our system and evidence of that fact becomes visible to those around us. “The invisible Christian” is an oxymoron.

Whereas we once mimicked the foolishness of the world in a highly visible way, we now become imitators of Christ. We start acting and living like Jesus did. How do we know what that behavior looks like since we have not physically seen our Lord?

First, we believe what the bible says about how Jesus lived and how he told us to live. As we digest the gospels and the rest of the New Testament we are reading the handbook of Christianity. If we fail to read this “operators manual” it is no wonder that we end up making a lot of very avoidable mistakes.

Second, we observe seasoned brothers and sisters. It’s this concept that should be a wakeup call to Christians. Someone is watching you and they should be. The question is: What are they seeing?

In 1 Thessalonians 1:6 Paul says, "you know how we lived among you. You became imitators of us and of the Lord."

Isn't that pretty bold? Paul was saying that when the Thessalonians imitated him and his team, they were also imitating Jesus. He was saying that his behavior and Christ’s were so similar that if the Thessalonians did what he did, they would be doing what Jesus would do. This was W.W.J.D. in living color.

Could you say what Paul said? When people at work, or at school, or at home see your life, and they imitate you, will they be doing things like Jesus did? Will they be imitating Jesus if they imitate you?

When the Thessalonians imitated Paul, they began to look like Jesus. In doing so, Paul says they became a “model” for those around them. They became the church where everyone was sent by the Bishop to “see how it’s done”.

This is discipleship at its core. Paul imitated Jesus. The Thessalonians imitated Paul. And they became a model for other churches around them to imitate. The Lord's message “rang out” from them like a high volume church bell and their faith in God became “known everywhere”. They were broadcasting Jesus in high definition color and surround sound.

This is also a worthy goal for Christians today: to become so much like Jesus that when people imitate us, they are actually imitating the Lord… to follow Jesus so well that we become a model to all those who are watching our broadcast… to live in such a way that the message “ringing out” from us becomes “known everywhere”.

Pray about this. Commit your life to it. It could change the world

The Big Three - Hope That Endures

2012-02-25T00:10:00.002-06:00

February 25

(1 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV) "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."

(Romans 4:18 NIV) "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations..."

(Romans 15:4 NIV) "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

(Romans 8:24 NIV) "For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?"

There is a third member of this trinity of godly attributes listed in 1 Thessalonians 1:3. “ENDURANCE inspired by HOPE.”

Hope inspires endurance. When we have hope we can do extraordinary things. The word used here for “endurance” was used in its day to describe someone who was "bearing up patiently under a heavy load".

In almost every sporting event there is a "turning point". It is that point in the contest when one team gains momentum and the other begins to doubt they can win. The game may not be over yet, but the winner has been decided.

Whenever there is a “great comeback” in sports, it is because the team that was behind did not give up hope of winning. Some event in the game... a great play by someone or a big mistake by the opponent… inspires the team that was down to play with greater intensity. Momentum is regained, resulting in a “come from behind” win.

This is the kind of hope we need for today. A quick and honest look at our world could easily convince Christians that we are behind and losing badly. We need the endurance inspired by hope. We need the kind of hope that Abraham, the father of faith, possessed. It’s a hope that can only come from God.

God promised Abraham that he would become the “father of many nations” and have “descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky”. Abraham’s hope wavered at times but before he died he became the father of one child who began the fulfillment of God’s promise. He was an old man before this happened. He never lived to see the total fulfillment of God's promise… but he believed God. He was a man of great faith and enduring HOPE.

Like Abraham, we may not ever receive all that we hope for while here on this earth. But that does not mean it will not come.

Where can we get hope when we are tempted to give up? Where can we find the energy for endurance? We find it in Jesus and we find it in God’s word. “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

We should also remember that we never hope for what we already have. This is such a basic but vital truth. We only need hope for what we don’t have. We need hope to strive for something that is not yet ours. And as we wait, it is hope that inspires endurance.

So we arrive at this striking conclusion: Hope is always based in an optimistic future. We need no hope for the past. And a pessimistic view of the future brings despair. But hope that looks to the future with optimism inspires great endurance in the present.

Think of something or someone that you are about ready to give up on. Think of a situation that would be considered “hopeless”. Now try to imagine a different future. Pray and ask God to help you have an endurance inspired by hope for this situation. Ask the Lord for wisdom to know what to do and what not to do. Then let it rest in God's hands because they literally hold the future. Trust him for it.

The Big Three - Love that Labors

2012-02-24T00:10:00.002-06:00

February 24

(1 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV) "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, and your labor prompted by love…"

(Ephesians 5:2 NIV) calls us as Christians to "live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

(1 John 3:16 NIV) tells us, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

“Love hurts. Love scars. Love wounds and marks any heart not tough or strong enough to take a lot of pain. Love is like a cloud that holds a lot of rain. Love hurts.” -- Nazareth

Yesterday we began a look at the “Big Three”. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul names three qualities these Christian possessed that caused them to stand out. The first was their “work produced by faith” (see Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day for February 23).Today Paul lifts up a second trait considered important in the eyes of God… their “labor prompted by love”.

What is the difference between work and labor? In the original Greek the word translated “labor”, was used to describe something that took extraordinary effort or persistence. Another English term used in translating this word is “TOIL”. This is a step or two beyond regular work. Work can often be fun. Labor begins when the fun stops.

There is a reason they call the period leading up to the birth of a baby, “labor”. It involves prolonged discomfort and intense pain. It calls for great energy to be expended. It demands sacrifice. A mother literally lays her life on the line so a baby can be born. We could even say she gives herself up for her child. No one would endure this process unless there was a great purpose involved. This goes beyond the standard definition of regular everyday “work”. It is a “labor prompted by love”.

One of the great disservices done to us by modern culture has been the cheapening of the word love. It has come to mean an infatuation of the heart or an act of passion. It seems that everyone is either “falling in love” or “making love”… with the main emphasis on the “falling” and “making”. The word love is thrown around so much it has become trivialized as a feeling that comes and goes. Think about it: if we can “fall” into love, we can just as easily “fall” out of it. When “love” stops “feeling good” we assume it isn’t a true love worth pursuing... so if I'm not happy, I'm out of here.

Nothing could be further from the truth about genuine love. The classic rock hit by Nazareth got it right when it said: "Love Hurts". Love will sometimes cause us discomfort ... even great pain. Love calls for great sacrifice and endurance… the laying down of our life for another.

Labors of love will not always be pleasant but will garner great rewards. If we love Jesus we will labor for him. We will do work that doesn't always bring us “warm fuzzies”.

We must also recognize that “love” as a verb is in the present tense. Having loved in the past or having good intentions to love in the future are insufficient in the eyes of God. We are called to be laboring in love right now… in the present… or it can truthfully be said “we are not loving.” So if you find yourself laboring to love today… GOOD! That is as it should be. LOVE LABORS.

The Big Three - Faith That Works

2012-02-23T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 23

(1 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV) "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."

(Galatians 5:6 NIV) "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

(James 2:26 NIV) "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

(Matthew 9:2 NIV) "Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.""

In his preamble to First Thessalonians, Paul lifts up three qualities that he was encouraged to see in the Christians at Thessalonica: “your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope”. Today we look at the first: “work produced by faith”.

Some Christians seem to think that because of Paul's emphasis on grace and faith he wasn’t all that interested in the works of the Christian. That would be a wrong assumption. Paul talked more about the work produced by faith in the Christian life than any other writer in the Bible. He definitely believed that faith was much more than just an intellectual exercise.

Paul believed that faith produced works or it wasn't genuine faith. Even in his letter to the Galatians, written to defend the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone, Paul wrapped up his thoughts by reminding them that what really counts is “faith expressing itself through love.” That’s faith at work.

So faith “expresses” itself in some way or it is a deficient faith. This means Paul would have no basic disagreement with James who wrote that if our faith doesn't include some form of action, it is dead.

After all, Paul and James were both just following the example of the One they called Lord. Jesus was a man of action. He taught that faith was more than just head knowledge. Faith followed. Faith drove out demons. Faith moved mountains. Faith healed the sick. Faith walked on water. Faith raised the dead.

In other words, faith works or it isn’t Christ-like faith. With Jesus faith was not just an intellectual pursuit. His faith worked in mighty ways. It was a belief and trust in God that affected everything he did. And while Jesus didn’t teach that we are saved by works, he did teach that the one who does not work is very likely not saved. The only one with an excuse for not putting his faith to work was the repentant thief on the cross who had neither the time nor the freedom to show his faith by his deeds.

This concept of faith that works is what Jesus appreciated about the men who brought him their paralyzed friend. It was not the faith of the paralytic that brought about his healing. It was the faith of his friends who did the work of transporting him. They had faith, so they carried their friend to the Lord. Their faith worked to get their friend close to Jesus. Faith moved them to action and their faith brought their friend to the Healer. Faith works.

Is your faith working? How is it working? Where is it working? What is it doing to further the kingdom of God… to bring others closer to Jesus? Is your faith expressing itself in any way? If someone looked at your life, how would they say that you differ from the average, hard working, law abiding unbeliever in our society. What are your works of faith? FAITH WORKS!

Rejoice in Suffering?

2012-02-22T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 22

(Romans 5:2-4 NIV) "And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. {3} Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; {4} perseverance, character; and character, hope."

(Romans 8:24-25 NIV) "For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? {25} But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

(Romans 15:13 NIV) "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

(Psalm 62:5 NIV) "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him."

(Isaiah 40:31 NIV) "... but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

“Rejoice in our sufferings”? You've got to be kidding. Is this some kind of masochistic spirituality? Or is it a great spiritual truth? However unpleasant it may sound, if we look at the totality of scripture, it is the latter. It is a great spiritual truth.

We must remember that believing spiritual truth is not without its benefits, even when it is unpleasant. Paul fills us in on the positive side of trials and trouble. He tells his readers they should rejoice in suffering because in the end it produces hope.

This is a revelation. Most people would assume that suffering drains the hope out of us. It certainly has tended to do that in many of us, hasn’t it? But if we can realize God’s presence with us during our ordeal, then suffering can actually work to fill us with hope. To the person who perseveres in the faith, suffering can actually be the highway to Hope.

The principle works like this. When suffering comes we can either wilt or we can persevere. We have a choice. We can slink away or we can stand strong. Everyone gets to decide for themselves which course to take.

If we choose perseverance and follow through on that choice, our character grows stronger. We begin buffing up instead of folding up. As our character is strengthened, hope, rather than despair, becomes a standard feature in our life.

So the apostle Paul is saying that God can actually use the pain and suffering that comes into our life to produce a hopeful person. God can transform us into someone who overflows with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Just remember, no one needs hope for what they already have. Paul puts it this way: “Who hopes for what he already has?” Hope is needed for what we do not yet have. Our hope and prayer is that God will provide for us what we need. For those who persevere through suffering, character grows... and then comes hope. Hope is both a renewable resource and a choice.

Perhaps this day we can begin to say along with the Psalm writer: "... as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. (Psalm 71:14 NIV)

The Three R’s of Eternity - Relationship

2012-02-21T00:10:00.002-06:00

February 21

(Genesis 3:7-10 NIV) “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. {8} Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. {9} But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”{10} He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.””

(John 10:14 NIV) "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me".

(Matthew 25:11-12 NIV) ""Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' {12} "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'"

(Matthew 7:22-23 NIV) "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' {23} Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.'"

(Philippians 3:10 NIV) "I want to know Christ…”

The first two “R’s” of eternity, REJECTING God, and developing a RELIGION, always fall short in the end. That is why there is a third “R”. It has been God’s original plan for us since creation. The third “R” is RELATIONSHIP.

God wants to have a relationship with us. He wants us to know him… personally. He wants us to know him in an intimate way… as a father knows a child ... as a husband knows his wife.

Many people will spend their entire life running from this relationship. Why would they do that? Perhaps it’s because in any relationship of significance we must always give up our absolute autonomy. In any relationship that really matters we have to surrender some of our freedom. For many this is just too high a price to pay... and so we run.

But eventually we run out of places to hide and, like Adam and Eve, we sense our “nakedness”… our inadequacies and our isolation. We may have been hiding in the “garden” of our choosing for a long time but still God comes looking for us and calls out to us, “Where are you?”

God wants us to know that even though our body will certainly die, that part of us that makes us unique and special… our soul… that will not die. Our soul will live on eternally somewhere… and that somewhere depends not on our good deeds - not on our pleasant personality - not on what church we join or what lodge we belong to - but on our relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ.

God tells us we can know for sure where we will spend eternity if we know for sure that we know him. The bible teaches that when we walk in relationship with Jesus here on earth, we will live in relationship with Jesus forever in heaven.

Rejecting God will bring a fool’s death. Religion will leave us empty in the end. But a Relationship with the eternal God will last forever.

If you died today, do you know where you would spend eternity? Jesus came to earth so we could know him and know for sure. God did not send his Son to die on a cross, so we could say, "I guess”, or “Maybe”. There will be no cases of mistaken identity in heaven. God has a perfect memory. He never forgets our name. He never forgets when and where he met us.

Do you know Jesus? Does Jesus know you? Have you met him personally? Do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ? If not you can start one today. You can declare along with Paul, “I want to know Christ”.

RELATIONSHIP… it’s the best “R” of the three and the only “R” that will get you where you really want to be. Answer his call. Come out of the bushes and let him love you.

The Three R’s of Eternity: Rejection and Religion

2012-02-20T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 20

(Romans 1:21-22,25 NIV) "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. {22} Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools… {25} They exchanged the truth of God for a lie…”

(Matthew 15:9 NIV) "They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”

There are three ways people tend to respond when confronted with the gospel of Jesus Christ and our own mortality. These three choices could be called the "THREE R's of ETERNITY".

First, many simply REJECT God and the truth. They just refuse to believe and end up living their lives without God. And when they die, they die without God.

There are consequences both here on earth, and in eternity, for the decision to reject God. Without God, there are no real absolutes. Without God, there is no established code for life. Anything goes. If it feels good do it. Do your own thing. Our society is now reaping the harvest of that philosophy as a large number of its people live out its tenets.

Without God there is no direction for life. And without God there is no real hope in death. We die in fear and confusion… whether it comes suddenly or slowly.

It has been said that there are very few atheists in foxholes. That may be true but it is also true that there are very few atheists on deathbeds. It is one thing to live our lives without God. It’s another to try to die without God. Very few are foolish enough to try.

The second R is RELIGION. This seems to be the most popular option. Religion looks outside of our self. It believes in a god or a guru. But most of the time it’s a god or guru of our own creation… our own choosing. This god can be harsh and demanding or loving and lax. You choose. It’s your god… you can imagine this god any way you want.

Religion usually gets us involved in some kind of organization ... a church, a mosque, a synagogue, a lodge, a club, a fraternal organization… a place where we do "good stuff" that we think our god will like. We figure he's up there somewhere keeping score and if we just get enough points we will probably be OK when we die. We may develop rules and regulations or traditions that we think will please our god and when we really get zealous we begin to insist that everyone live this way in order to be called a true believer. For this reason, religion tends to be more divisive than inclusive.

Religion can help us with life but it does not help with death because there is seldom any assurance that we have done quite enough “good stuff” to make it to the “good place” on other side. We can never be certain that our religion is the right way or the best way because after all it’s just our “personal belief system” and there are so many other beliefs out there. This is why many religious people so often fear and deny death. It’s why some will even kill to “get to heaven”.

We need another option. In the end, the first two “R’s” don’t really meet our real needs, nor do they fill the empty place we discover in our hearts when our mortality faces eternity. We need another way to God and believe it or not it’s been right in front of our face since the beginning of man in the book of Genesis. Tune in tomorrow when we reveal the third “R”.

Decisions and Destinations

2012-02-19T00:10:00.003-06:00

February 19

(Isaiah 65:2 NIV) "All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations..."

(John 8:12 NIV) "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.""

(1 John 2:6 NIV) "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."

(Jeremiah 6:16 NIV) "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it."

(1 John 1:5-7 NIV) “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. {6} If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. {7} But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

We can proclaim our allegiance to Jesus all day long in the sanctuary of God… we can sing his praises in the church building to our heart's content… but the true allegiances of our heart are declared at high decibel levels by how we live our daily lives. We may feel spiritually content on the inside but the truth is, our walk happens mostly "out there"… in the world. Are you walking with wisdom and integrity "out there"? Are you walking in the light "out there"?

God’s advice to the Christian about living “out there” is to walk like Jesus. "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. Ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."

So this is our assignment “out there”: walk as Jesus did. Find his way and walk in it.

Just remember: a walk always ends somewhere. Our walk here on earth is not an end in itself. Our walk is taking us someplace. It is a path of preparation for the final destination.

A walk always ends somewhere. Walk in the “good way” here and you will find rest for your soul. Walk in the light here and you will have “the light of life” forever. Live in Christ here and you will live with God for eternity. This is not a hard concept to grasp… but it can be hard to live out. We can pursue our “own imaginations”. We can “walk in ways not good”.

Decisions lead to destinations. So where are you headed? A walk always ends somewhere. Where will your walk end? You decide.

Every Walk Takes You Somewhere

2012-02-18T00:10:00.015-06:00

February 18

(Psalms 1:1, 3 NIV) "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. {3} He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."

(Micah 6:8 NIV) "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

(Isaiah 30:21 NIV) "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it.""

Where we walk makes a difference. Our walk determines not only the course of our life, it determines our destination. A walk is always going somewhere. The very definition of walking includes both movement and direction. Christians, we cannot consistently walk without God and end up in paradise. Where you are right now is the result of where you have been walking and who you’ve been walking with.

Walking with Jesus leads us to a place of positive growth and improvement. We become like trees planted by streams of water. We bear fruit for God. Our leaves do not wither even when the hot winds of life come.

We are called to leave the darkness and walk with Jesus in the light. Our walk in the light can lead to spiritual prosperity… a prosperity that transcends the cheap trinkets of money and wealth. This “prosperity” has to do with our relationships, with our health, with our faith, and with our overall quality of life. God wants us to flourish here on earth and walking with him can increase our chances of doing that.

Now you may be saying, “But it’s all so confusing… I can’t figure out what God wants me to do. I can’t tell what’s bad and what’s good.” Nonsense!

We all know the difference between darkness and light. When it comes to walking on the right path, the problem is not a lack of direction from God. It is a refusal to follow the directions we have been given. "He has showed you, O man, what is good.” We know the way. We have no excuses. We don’t get on the wrong road by accident but by negligence.

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Christians, follow the Jesus of scripture. Walk with him and walk like him. God has given us very clear directions to guide us through this life. The road is well marked and well lit. Just be sure to watch where you walk!

Watch Where You Walk, Stand, Sit, and Wallow

2012-02-17T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 17

(Psalms 1 NIV) "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. {2} But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. {3} He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. {4} Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. {5} Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. {6} For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."

(Psalms 23:3 NIV) "He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

When we walk with people who consistently give us ungodly advice, we will eventually end up in some dark and dangerous places. The danger may be disguised as freedom or fun but make no mistake about it, you will be on the edge of chaos and peril.

One way to prevent that from happening is to watch where we walk. Many think they can walk pretty much anywhere because of their great spiritual strength or their protected and secure status in the Lord. But anyone can "stumble and fall" when they continuously walk in places that are not well lit by the light of God’s word.

The very first Psalm speaks about how we often end up in trouble if we don't watch where we walk. There is a three step regression in Psalm 1 that we should avoid at all costs.

First we are warned not to "walk" in the counsel of the wicked. When we choose to be influenced by ungodly advice, we enter a danger zone where good people can be swallowed up.

Next we are cautioned not to "stand" in the way of sinners. We should not stand in the same way they stand. We should not stand in the same places that they stand. When we “stand in the way of sinners” on a regular basis we will end up living where they live. When we continuously “stand in the way of sinners”, eventually we will lose the strength to “stand in the judgment”.

Then the Psalm writer implores us not to “sit” in the seat of mockers. If we do this on a regular basis, we cannot be blessed by God. Instead we will be blown away like chaff on a windy day during harvest.

Now, notice the regression: walk, stand, and sit. When we don’t watch where we walk, we end up walking by some pretty dark stuff. It catches our eye and the next thing we know, we’ve stopped moving and now we’re standing there… gazing upon it. Soon we are no longer just standing and looking. We are sitting in it… swimming in it… soaking in it.

What started out as a walk ends in a wallow. Our feet took us down the wrong street and we are now sitting in a pigsty. It happens all the time. God knows it. We know it. That’s why the Psalm writer cautions us and prays that God will “guide us in paths of righteousness for his namesake”.

So look around. Where are you walking? Are your feet taking you somewhere you should not be going? Are you standing in places where you should not be standing? Turn around and get back home before you end up sitting in something that you have no business sitting in.

Watch where you walk!

Watch Where You Walk - Light or Dark?

2012-02-16T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 16

"Life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get". Philosopher Forrest Gump

(Ecclesiastes 9:11 NIV) "The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all."

(Psalms 119:133 NIV) "Direct my footsteps according to your word…”

(Psalms 43:3 NIV) "Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me…”

When I was a boy, growing up on the farm, we had a good size corral just east of the big red hay barn where we fed cattle. Occasionally, for one reason or another, we would need to get one or two of the cows into a holding pen and so my Dad and I would go into the corral on foot to do a mini roundup. As we crawled through the fence and into the corral he would often say, “Watch where you walk.”

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why he said that. Choose to ignore his words of wisdom and you could up in a pretty stinky situation… literally. It was great advice then and still is today.

God gives us similar advice about our walk here on this earth. Many times the bible describes our journey through life as a “walk”. It involves time. It involves effort. It involves choices. And it involves watching where you walk.

Forrest Gump was right. Life can indeed be like a box of chocolates. We don’t always know what we’re going to get. “Time and chance” happen to us all.

But life is also like a walk through that farm corral. God warns us to watch our step and the wise person always keeps an eye out. It’s our responsibility to watch where we walk. If we don’t, we can end up in some pretty smelly messes. God wants us to know that we really don’t have to “step in it” over and over again.

If we walk through the corral of life in the light, it will be easier to avoid the messes. The crucial word here is “IF”. We have a choice to make. We can choose to walk in the light with God or we can choose to walk in darkness and end up in a cow pie of a mess.

God can help us avoid these mishaps while we walk, but we have to ask for his direction, his guidance, his light, and his truth. And then we have to heed his words.

No one is going to do the walking for us and no one is going to pay attention for us. This is on us. It’s our responsibility. So watch where you walk!

H.E.A.R.T. of the Matter - The Love Test

2012-02-15T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 15

(1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV) "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. {5} It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. {6} Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. {7} It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. {8} Love never fails."

For several days we’ve been looking at the H.E.A.R.T. of love. Hopefully we've learned some things because today is "test day".

If one looks at 1st Corinthians 13, what we see is a checklist for determining the quality and depth of genuine love. Paul lists 16 characteristics that should be present in our love for one another. These 16 traits of biblical love also make a good personal evaluation. They can help us see how well we are doing in loving our mate. They can also make a good pre-marital checklist for couples considering marriage.

Here’s how the love test works. According to 1st Corinthians 13, the word love will fit in every blank below. But the question is… will your name fit in the blanks? If these traits are the definition of love and we are loving like we should be... then we should be able to place our name where the word love would normally go. See how many blanks you can honestly write your name into. And remember, this is a test, so be honest with yourself. It won’t help to fudge your answers. Tell the truth.

1. _________________________ is patient.

2. _________________________ is kind.

3. _________________________ does not envy.

4. _________________________ does not boast.

5. _________________________ is not proud.

6. _________________________ is not rude.

7. _________________________ is not self seeking.

8. _________________________ is not easily angered.

9. _________________________ keeps no record of wrongs.

10. ________________________ does not delight in evil.

11. ________________________ rejoices with the truth.

12. ________________________ always protects.

13. ________________________ always trusts.

14. ________________________ always hopes.

15. ________________________ always perseveres.

16. ________________________ never fails.

How did you do? OUCH? Me too. Take heart... nobody will be perfect here. Most of us have a lot of work to do. None of us are probably as far along in this area as we thought we were.

So don’t feel defeated... feel motivated. Those lines where you can’t sign your name with integrity should become growth points not sore points.

You will need God's grace and God's help to accomplish this. One of the main ingredients we need for producing genuine love is Jesus. Do you have the Lord in your life? One of the greatest Valentine’s Day gifts you can give yourself and others is to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Have you done that?

Jesus is why many couples remain together today. When couples allow God to change their hearts, not only souls are saved. Marriages can also be restored. Many couples can say with integrity that Jesus is the reason they are together today. Only he can change our hearts so that we want to get better and better at the “love test” above. He not only gives us the tools, he gives us the desire.

So take the love test. It will take a little time but it will be worth it. Praise God for the love traits you already have and ask for his help in those areas where you fall short. You'll be glad you did. Just remember, learning to love is like learning to live… it takes time and you should get better at it as you age. Never quit growing

H.E.A.R.T. of the Matter - Truthfully Yours

2012-02-14T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 14

(Ephesians 4:15 NIV) "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ."

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! We’ve been looking at the H.E.A.R.T. of love for several days now. Today, on this day dedicated to romantic love, we’re going to look at what is perhaps the most important letter in the acronym. Fail at this... and love will likely fade and die in your life. The “T” in H.E.A.R.T. stands for TRUTH.

Truth is the foundation stone that relationships are built upon. Take the truth out of love and the structure quickly falls apart because without honesty, love is always flimsy, tentative, and fragile.

In this world where lying saturates just about every aspect of life Ephesians 4:15 stands out as the gold standard of integrity. Speaking the truth in love contains three ingredients that make it work… three crucial words that make the phrase unique and powerful.

1. SPEAKING - Sometimes we must speak the truth. It must come out of our mouths. Those we love really cannot read our minds! Open your mouth and let it come out. Share how you feel verbally. Say the difficult and the pleasant things. SPEAK the truth.

2. TRUTH - What we speak needs to be the truth. If you are going to say it, make sure it is honest. Don’t just say what you think your loved one would like to hear. Don’t just say something that makes you look good. Speak the TRUTH.

3. LOVE - We are called to speak the truth “IN LOVE”. If we put that qualifier on speaking the truth we can better decide whether to speak or remain quiet. There are times when we can really hurt someone with the truth spoken harshly or hastily, so sometimes “the truth” may need to be left unspoken. Sometimes truth is better kept to ourselves because it is more loving not to speak it.

Gossip and criticism are good examples of this. Sometimes criticism and gossip are actually the truth... but wounding, not improving, could be the goal. Therefore it is not loving to speak it. So sometimes it is good to speak the truth and sometimes it is good to keep our mouth shut. This calls for discernment.

All this may sound a bit wishy-washy to some, but we need to think through our words and decide the proper time and place to speak the truth to those we love.

It is also good to “speak the truth in love” to our Lord. It does no good to lie to God. He always knows when we lie. The more we lie to the Lord, the less we hear His voice. Our hardened conscience can make us deaf and numb.

Some of you have already taken Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Look to him for leadership on this. Jesus was the ultimate truth speaker and the epitome of loving speech.

For others, He is still outside knocking on the door of your heart. Let Him in. It’s hard to speak the truth in love unless the King of truth and love lives in your heart. What scripture teaches about love can only become a reality in our lives if Jesus is a reality in our lives. Speak the truth in love to God and to others today.

H.E.A.R.T. of the Matter - Romantically Inclined

2012-02-13T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 13

(Song of Songs 1:2-3,13,15-16) "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth-- for your love is more delightful than wine. {3} Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. ... My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts. How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves. How handsome you are, my lover! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant."

Wow! Is it getting hot in here? This is close to “R” rated stuff… and it’s in the bible. However, the “R” in H.E.A.R.T doesn’t stand for “restricted”. It stands for ROMANCE.

Most males would not claim to be experts on romance. Most of us are “romantically challenged”. We just don’t get it. It certainly does not come naturally. For us, romance is “learned behavior”, but it’s definitely worth learning even though it’s hard work for us.

In romance it’s often the little things that count. Little notes, short glances, a single rose… small gifts of love can go a long way in promoting romance in marriage.

That’s difficult for many of us men. We want to be practical in our gift giving. We have been trained all of our lives not to spend money on foolish things… well, unless you are talking fishing, hunting, golfing or those other guy things. At any rate, we often think that buying practical stuff like a sewing machine, a mixer, or a vacuum sweeper, is a gesture of love, when what qualifies in her book is probably that ring or that necklace.

So while that piece of jewelry can seem foolish to us, it is not foolish at all when it comes to this discipline of romance. Since when does a gift have to be something we like? Instead, it should be something that the receiver of the gift will like. So this Valentine’s Day forget “practical” and think “romantic”. We can do this guys… we really can.

And if you turn it around, there are some things that can romance a man too. Some years ago I went on a ski trip to Colorado with a bunch of men. When I got there and opened my suitcase, I discovered a short note with a heart on it for each day of my absence. Each of those notes had a verse from the Song of Solomon. I’m not going to tell you what they said… but let’s just say I was looking forward to getting home from that ski trip. I had been “romanced”. We’re back to communication again aren’t we?

Christians… God took the time to send us a love note. His name is Jesus. “God so loved that he gave…” This gift was not what most would see as “practical”. It was a lavish display of love as God gave us his very heart.

The one that tomorrow’s holiday is named after also gave from his heart. He gave attention to romance and laid down his life to help others honor their commitment through marriage (see “Staying on Track” from February 9)

Other than our relationship with Jesus, that relationship with our husband or wife is the most important connection we have here on earth. So let’s not neglect the “R” in HEART. Let the romance begin… and may it never end.

H.E.A.R.T. of the Matter - True Devotion

2012-02-12T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 12

(Ephesians 5:21 NIV) "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

(Romans 12:10 NIV) "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."

The “A” in H.E.A.R.T. stands for ACCOUNTABILITY

We can never have a true and lasting love relationship without a willingness to be accountable to one another. The idea that love never asks any questions is ludicrous. It’s an urban myth that needs to be shot down on a regular basis.

Genuine love requires accountability. An unwillingness to be accountable simply means that our passion is minus one of the key ingredients of true “love” as defined by scripture. To be accountable we must be willing to submit and that is difficult for many of us.

Many Christians misunderstand biblical submission. It’s often seen as a one way street, especially by men. But as our two scripture references point out, we need a balance in this accountability/submission area. So it’s important to work out what it means to be both submissive and accountable to those we love.

Perhaps, a better word for this key ingredient of love might be “devotion”. When we are devoted to someone, we naturally submit to them in a healthy way. For instance, if we are devoted to a bowling team, we show up every week, we are on time and we do our best for the team. We may even practice at times. That is devotion. It is also a good example of submission and accountability.

Think of devotion as submission and accountability done with joy. We don’t mind submission and accountability when we are truly devoted to something or someone.

When we are devoted to something we spend time thinking about it. “How can I improve at it? How can I add value to it? How can I benefit the team? What will help us win?” When we are devoted to the one we love we have these same thoughts about our relationship.

Smart couples have discovered that it’s important to let each other know where they are, where they are going, and what they are doing. Is this because they don’t trust one another? No… it’s because they love each other and are devoted to one another. They want their lives to be open and intimate. It’s one of the ways that wise lovers choose to be accountable. We’re back to those railroad tracks of commitment and communication again.

But much of what we see in the media and pop culture today moves us in the other direction... telling us we need to become more autonomous. We’re told that “you need to be “free”… do what suits you best… put yourself first”. It’s deteriorated to the point that “committed relationship” has almost become an oxymoron.

This philosophy is the opposite of biblical accountability and devotion. All it takes to discredit this way of thinking is to look at the world’s track record in the area of lasting relationships. What they are offering is a formula for failure, not success.

The wise couple will stick with the godly HEART principle of accountability. "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." Happy Valentine’s Day.

H.E.A.R.T. of the Matter: Encouraging Words

2012-02-11T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 11

(Romans 14:19 NIV) "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."

(1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV) "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

(Hebrews 10:25 NIV) "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

(1 Corinthians 14:12 NIV) "So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church."

The “E” in H.E.A.R.T. stands for Edification

Edification is one of those words you don’t hear used much in public today. It’s “Christianese” - a word used mostly in church circles. It’s a legitimate bible term that simply means “building up”. When we “edify” another person, we build them up. This is an important ingredient in true love and matters of the H.E.A.R.T.

Good and godly lovers will work at ways to build one another up. We will find ways of telling each other: "You are important. You are special."

This world we live in is a mean place. Encouraging words are in short supply. Media and advertising… even politics… is based on the principle of creating need and discouragement and then supplying a remedy. Running others down is a good way to create a need for our solution. Most commercials are designed to help you see how deficient you are without the product being sold.

We can all use someone who will build us up rather than tearing us down. Words spoken at the right moment… notes left in special places… cards received in the mail… these kinds of things can let us know we are loved and wanted and needed. Many times it can come in just a look of appreciation… you know what I mean… the eyes can say a lot. Most people can tell whether or not they are loved just from a facial expression. Do you have the look of love on your face for that special someone in your life?

This is something that has to be worked at. It seldom happens automatically. It’s takes a conscious effort. It’s a H.E.A.R.T. thing.

There will always be days when we don’t feel like appreciating our loved ones and certainly there are times when they don’t feel like appreciating us. But love, as the band Boston once told us, is more than a feeling. It is a commitment. It’s a state of mind. It is an action. It’s determined.

We should communicate with our loved ones about what builds us up. It’s not out of bounds to sit down and name the things that help us feel appreciated. It’s OK to ask others to do those things for us that feed our self worth. We’re back to communication aren’t we?

Some may be worried about giving that one you love “a big head”. C’mon, there’s enough negative junk in this world to drain the best of us dry. What we really need is someone who refills our emotional tanks.

So “edify away”, lovers! You may be one of the select few doing it in the lives of those you love. Believe me… they will thank God for you.

H.E.A.R.T. of the Matter - Making Harmony

2012-02-10T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 10

(1 Peter 3:8-9 NIV) "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. {9} Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing."

The “H” in H.E.A.R.T. stands for Harmony.

Harmony is important in any relationship but absolutely crucial in love and marriage. The most boring music in the world is done in unison. Everybody plays or sings the same note. It can sound kind of cool for a little while, but pretty soon you start to think, “Gee, I wish they would do something different.” We crave harmony in music because harmony is more interesting than unison.

Couples that sustain their love over the long haul have discovered they can’t sing in unison all the time. They’ve learned they don’t always have to like the same stuff. They don’t always think alike. They don’t always have to be in the same place. They don’t always have to feel the same about things. It’s OK to play different notes as long as they harmonize.

But there is another sound that can be produced when playing musical notes together. While music done in unison may be boring, dissonant music is grating to the ear. Dissonance occurs when you play notes that are too close together. They are not in unison and they are not in harmony. They are in conflict. Dissonant music sounds bad even to the untrained ear. When we hear it, we think, “Something is out of tune”.

Applying the Harmony Principle to our love relationships means we will move together while maintaining the necessary space between us to produce good harmony. We will play the same song but our notes will be different as we stay close enough to harmonize. We need times of being apart and times of being together. We need to be on the same page but not necessarily in the same space or on the same line. We need to be working toward the same end and be in the same key, but if we don’t have the right kind of space between our notes we can’t make good music.

This is what Peter is talking about in the scripture for today. Producing harmony requires give and take. We are called to be sympathetic. We should love like brothers and sisters. We need to be compassionate. We must remain humble. We have to work at forgiveness. We should find ways to bless one another. These are the things that help us maintain harmony and stay in tune.

Harmony is what God really wants to hear coming from our marriages. But harmony doesn’t just happen. It has to be produced; it has to be worked at. We have to move together.

The goal of Christian love is that partners complement, not duplicate, one another. This is not always easy. Both partners in a marriage have strengths and weaknesses as well as ups and downs. Our differences can make for great harmony or they can produce dissonance. Think HARMONY with that one you love today.

H.E.A.R.T. of the Matter - Staying On Track

2012-02-09T00:10:00.004-06:00

February 9

Let your love flow like a mountain stream

And let your love grow with the smallest of dreams
And let your love show. And you'll know what I mean, it's the season.
Let your love fly like a bird on the wing
And let your love bind you to all living things
And let your love shine.
And you'll know what I mean, that's the reason.
"Let Your Love Flow" by the Bellamy Brothers

(Song of Songs 2:4 NIV) "He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love."

Fair warning guys… February 14 is Valentine’s Day. This little holiday, like other holidays with Christian roots, has evolved over time and has been seriously co-opted by commercialism. But it is still on the “must do” list for anyone in love... even though most have no idea why it's called Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day gets its name from a real man named Valentine who lived almost 1700 years ago. He was a priest in Rome when Christianity was fairly new and he eventually became known as the patron saint of lovers.

In those days, the Roman army was forcing young men into military service... but many of them did not want to leave their wives to fight the emperor's wars. As resistance increased, the emperor Claudius decreed that young men were not to marry. He thought that if they didn't have wives, lovers, and children, they would be more willing to go to war for the empire.

Valentine had great empathy for those in love and violated the law by performing many "secret" weddings. He was eventually found out and put to death for his defiance. Later, he was declared a Saint by the church and now on St. Valentine’s Day, lovers celebrate in his honor.

So from today until Valentine's Day, we're going to look at love and marriage... more specifically, Christian love and marriage. Christianity should change the way we love or it’s not the Christianity of scripture.

The bible verse above is buried in the heart of a seldom read book called Song of Songs. Some translations call it Song of Solomon. Reading it is like going through the diary of two people deeply in love. You can feel a bit like an intruder and if you truly grasp the symbolism in Song of Solomon you may find yourself blushing. If Song of Songs were made into a movie today it would likely be rated at least PG-13.

A young woman writes about her lover: “His banner over me is love.” As lovers of Jesus, we should come "under his banner". As we make choices about how to love our mates, God wants to fly his banner of love over us and those we love.

Like a train, love and marriage run on two tracks. Those two tracks are COMMITMENT and COMMUNICATION. Remove either track and what you get is a train wreck. But if we stay on the tracks, these two rails can get us around almost any obstacle the world can put in our way.

COMMITMENT - Without commitment, relationships become lightweight and flighty. “I’m out of here” will be heard a lot more often than, “I’m in it for the long haul.” Commitment is the rail that keeps couples together when we are tempted to go our separate ways.

COMMUNICATION - Without communication, our love can veer off the tracks and derail. This will require two way honesty in speaking and even more genuine listening. Communication is the rail that keeps a relationship on track when we come to those nasty curves in life.

So how’s your communication with the one you say you love? Have you told them you love them lately? How's your commitment level? Is it higher than last year at this time?

If you get nothing else out of these words leading up to Valentine's Day, make sure to find ways to communicate your commitment with those you love. This is not the time to hold back or hold out. Just let your love flow. You'll be glad you did

When Our Back is Against the Wall

2012-02-08T00:10:00.002-06:00

February 8

(Exodus 14:15-22 NIV) "Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. {16} Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. {17} I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. {18} The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen." {19} Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, {20} coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. {21} Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, {22} and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left."

Sometimes in life we get to the place where our back is against the wall and, from all appearances, help is not on the way. These are the times when it becomes difficult to maintain our faith. We think things like, “If God is real and God is good, why am I here in this tight spot where I feel completely abandoned? Why is this happening?”

Our doubting friends may ask us, “Where’s your God now”? And frankly, many times we don’t have an answer because we’re asking the same question in our heart of hearts.

This is how the Israelites must have felt when trapped between the Red Sea and the approaching Egyptian army. But God had an answer for their despair. When their backs were against the wall, God essentially told them, “I will be glorified in the defeat of your enemies, but it will happen in my time and in my way. Your part is to have faith and be obedient. I will bring the victory. Now move toward the sea and wait for my glory to be revealed.”

Just like the Israelites, in most of our “back against the wall” situations, our anxiety and doubt are based in poor theology. We have a faulty concept of who God is and a misconception of what we deserve. We buy into a skewed picture of what God has promised to do in our life. We expect things from God that he has never actually promised. We struggle with “waiting upon the Lord”… and when God doesn’t quickly deliver us, we feel abandoned. We need to read the bible more.

For the Israelites, coming to the Red Sea was just as much a part of God’s wonderful plan as crossing it. It works the same with us. In the desperation of having our backs against the wall, God can become very significant and real. We have to trust him because no one else can deliver us.

As we endure what St. John of the Cross described as “the dark night of the soul” and John Bunyun called “the slough of despond”, some tears will likely flow. There may be some sleepless nights as God works… in His time… in his way… but in the end, God will move on our behalf.

And so we learn once again that in God’s hands, an impossible predicament can become a highway through the sea of despair right into the Promised Land… and that having our back against the wall also means we end up face to face with God. Praise his Name!

Chosen to Choose

2012-02-07T00:10:00.002-06:00

February 7

(Judges 10:14 NIV) "Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!""

(Joshua 24:15 NIV) "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

(Luke 18:22-23 NIV) "When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." {23} When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth."

There is nothing we can do that qualifies us to be chosen. Never confuse that truth with the lie that there is nothing for us to do. Being chosen does not eliminate our choices. The follower of Jesus is chosen to bear fruit… to become stronger, wiser, better, and more mature. That is our calling. Because we’ve been chosen, we respond as chosen people and we change. We change because we’ve been chosen, not so we will be chosen.

Judges 10:14 reveals the sobering truth that even chosen people can make terrible choices. God’s chosen people had foolishly taken up following other gods and their lives had become a mess. So they came running back to the true God assuming that he would just embrace them like they had never left. Instead God told them, “Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you.”

God was saying, “You were chosen to follow me but you did not choose to do so. Now I honor your choice.” Being chosen to follow does not eliminate the need for us to respond by choosing to follow. This principle didn’t end with the Old Testament. Jesus confronted the same kind of behavior during his time here on earth.

A rich young man sought out Jesus one day. This young man had convinced himself that he was a pretty good person and Jesus didn’t really disagree with that conclusion. So Jesus invited the rich young man to come and follow him. This man had been chosen by God! The only stipulation was that he needed to disperse his wealth among the poor of his community. He wouldn’t be needing it as a follower of Jesus.

What the bible reports next is a sad and tragic event. That rich young man effectively said, “Thanks, but no thanks”. He walked away from Jesus because he didn’t like the terms of service. He had been chosen by God but he failed to choose God. He wanted to be known as a follower of Jesus but he didn’t really want to follow. Being chosen does not eliminate our choices.

After we have been “called out” there always comes a time when we are asked to “sell out”. We must choose between following Jesus all the way or hanging onto our old ways. We must decide if being chosen by God is worth abandoning our past patterns of behavior. We must choose whether or not we will follow Jesus. The question becomes, “Will you lay down your life… all of it?”

This is our “Joshua Moment”. It’s that moment when the Lord says, “choose for yourself this day whom you will serve”, and we either declare along with Joshua, “as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD”… or we walk away like the rich young ruler because what we are holding onto is more precious to us than even Jesus. If we walk away, we have officially become an idolater. That’s a “Joshua Moment”. We all have one.

And chosen or not, it’s still our choice. What will you choose this day? What’s in that hand behind your back that you don’t want to give up so you can follow Jesus? Make no mistake about it… it is a problem. And make no mistake about it, we all choose one way or the other. Choose well, chosen one.

Chosen - Humbled by Selection

2012-02-06T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 6

(John 15:16 NIV) "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last."

(Colossians 3:12 NIV) "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

(Matthew 21:31 NIV) ""Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you."

Some Christians think that the idea of being “chosen” will lead believers into being prideful. Certainly that’s not good. But actually, the opposite concept can be even worse. Believing that we did all the choosing will more likely lead to a prideful spirit. So there is danger to be found on both shores of this theological debate.

Pride is indeed a nasty thing. The Pharisees were full of it and Jesus called them on it. They thought that somehow they were qualified for God’s favor because they lived a more righteous life than other people. They prayed more… they gave more… they dressed better… they were richer and wiser. They thought their righteousness had to be the result of their superior choices… and of course, that made them better than the average person. That’s why they were so resentful and contemptuous of Jesus for spending quality time with “those people” who lived on the lower rungs of society.

The Pharisees thought you got close to God by being good. They thought they deserved God’s attention. They thought they had earned God’s favor. They thought they had arrived.

But then Jesus came along and told them, “The prostitutes and tax collectors are entering the kingdom of heaven ahead of you”. WHAT? How could this be?

It could be… because the prostitutes and the tax collectors had been chosen by God to hear the truth. They were not born into wealth and power. Life had stripped them of their smugness, dignity, and pride. They knew they were not good enough to be close to God or to go to heaven. They knew they needed mercy and grace. Perhaps that’s why Jesus chose to spend time sharing the gospel with them instead of with the proud and powerful. Many of these “sinners” came humbly to Jesus, and as a result they entered the kingdom of God ahead of the extremely religious Pharisees.

Rather than making us proud, being “chosen” can lead us to humility. This was certainly true of the apostles after they fully understood what Christ had done for them. They grasped the concept that they had been chosen by God. This did not make them prideful, it made them powerful. They knew they had not been chosen because they were superior, but instead they had been chosen to suffer. Jesus made that clear to them. They were to take up their cross daily and follow him.

They clothed themselves with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." This is the garb of the chosen. What are you wearing today?

God chose you because he is sovereign and wise, not because you are beautiful or strong or good. He chose you because of his grace and mercy. He chose you to bring glory to his name. You have been chosen. Be humbled by that truth.

Chosen - God’s Call

2012-02-05T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 5

“I don't know if Momma was right or if, if it's Lieutenant Dan. I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I… I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time.” Philosopher Forrest Gump

(1 Corinthians 1:1-2 TEV) “From Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus… {2} To God's church in Corinth. Christ Jesus chose you to be his very own people, and you worship in his name, as we and all others do who call him Lord.”

(1 Corinthians 1:26-27 TEV) “My dear friends, remember what you were when God chose you. The people of this world didn't think that many of you were wise. Only a few of you were in places of power, and not many of you came from important families. {27} But God chose the foolish things of this world to put the wise to shame. He chose the weak things of this world to put the powerful to shame.”

(Deuteronomy 7:6 NIV) "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession."

(1 Peter 2:9 NIV) "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

Today, somewhere in the Christian world, two people are going at it over the issue of “pre-destination vs. free will”. Somewhere brothers and sisters are dividing over whether or not we choose God or God chooses us. There have been historic major church splits over this issue. And Jesus wept.

Before we go any further, let me say, I get it. I understand why this is an important issue. But for the life of me I cannot understand how or why those on both sides of the issue can so blatantly ignore scripture that points to the opposite conclusion. If you extracted all the verses concerning these two seemingly opposite positions and placed them on a set of scales, they would weigh about the same. That’s why Forrest Gump’s conclusion above seems wiser than the definitive doctrinal statements of most denominations today. Even Gump had this one figured out… and he didn’t need a degree in theology to get it done.

That’s why whenever I am questioned about whether God knows those who are his in advance or whether we get to choose, my standard answer is simply “YES”.

Scripture clearly teaches that God chose you to hear his gospel and God called you out from your old life and into a new life with him. Scripture also clearly teaches that we can say yes or no. If you are a Christ follower today, it’s because God called you and you said yes.

So God chose you. You’re on his team now. You name will be on his roster for eternity. He won’t cut you for blowing a play. You won’t be traded for a better player. If you’ve fallen behind, get up and get moving again. Don’t quit. God is into team building not player elimination. You have what it takes. God knows this or he would not have chosen you.

But we should also remember that God’s main team rule is that we begin to behave as though we are a “treasured possession”… a “chosen people”… a “royal priesthood”... a “holy nation”… a “people belonging to God”.

So it’s time to scrap the bad attitude, break the old habits, and kick the old addictions. It’s time to quit the lying and conning, and the shuckin and jivin. It’s time to begin living like a people who have been chosen to live forever with God… because you have indeed been chosen.

Things Are Tough All Over

2012-02-04T00:10:00.001-06:00

February 4

(Malachi 3:7-10 NIV) “Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ {8} “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. {9} You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. {10} Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

(Mark 12:42-44 NIV) "… a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. {43} Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. {44} They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on.""

(2 Corinthians 8:1-4 NIV) "And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. {2} Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. {3} For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, {4} they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints."

Many today would say that financially, “things are really rough”. In days like these, God and the church often end up toward the bottom of the list when making decisions about where to spend money. So below is a checklist. When the following things happen, we will be justified in cutting back on our giving to God.

1. When restaurants all over America begin to close because people don’t have the money to dine out. Right now they are booming.

2. When NFL Football, Major League Baseball, NBA, and NASCAR crowds begin to dwindle because people no longer have the money to blow on athletes who make 1,000 times more than they do.

3. When people stop spending millions of dollars a year for soda and candy bars at the QuickShops and 7-11’s.

4. When those fancy coffee shops begin to close because we can no longer afford to pay five bucks a cup on a daily basis for candy coffee.

5. When average people stop participating in sports leagues and bowling leagues and quit buying that hunting and fishing gear because they really don’t have the money.

6. When sales of beer, cigarettes, lottery tickets drop off because putting food on the table is more important than blowing our dollars on junk.

7. When box office receipts begin to suffer for reasons other than just crappy movies. Right now we’re still spending 181 million a week going to movies in the U.S.A. and 200 million a week on home movie rental.

As long as we keep up the above behaviors, it’s really hard to believe the “times are tough” excuse for not giving to Jesus. As long as our spending includes items like those above… we have no credibility with God when we hold out on his bride and try to get by on the cheap.

Most of us who call ourselves Christians want to honor God. We really do want to walk the walk. It’s just that sometimes we get mixed up in our priorities. We mistake our wants for needs. We mistake our habits for necessities. It can happen to the best of us. Maybe we should move God up a notch or two on our list of priorities. Perhaps he should even be at the top.

Risen With Scars - What Now?

2012-02-03T00:10:00.003-06:00

February 3

(Job 5:18 NIV) "He wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal."

(Psalms 147:3 NIV) "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

(Isaiah 30:26 NIV) "The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted."

(Galatians 6:17 NIV) "Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus."

For the last few days we’ve been thinking about our scars. The bottom line is that even though Jesus rose from the dead, he bore the scars of this world. So it will be with his disciples. God will “bind up our wounds” but not remove our scars. In light of that truth, we can do at least three things.

1. We can stop whining and start working.

There are some today… even some in the church who have become addicted to their victimhood. They have begun to worship their scars instead of the Son.

Some people show off their scars on a regular basis as a means of getting attention. Others use their scars as a road to self pity instead of a path to glorifying God. This is a perversion of God’s purpose for scars. Scars remain with us to glorify the Savior not to garner sympathy.

2. We can stop asking for healing and start praying for power.

Many of us want God to heal all our scars. That’s not going to happen. Scars don’t go away… they remain as long as we live. What we really need is power to rise above our scars… power to redeem our scars for use in God’s kingdom here on earth.

So maybe it’s time to stop asking God to remove our scars and begin pleading with God for the power to use those scars. Ask God for the power to forgive yourself for who you were. Ask him for the power to accept who you are now. Ask him for the power to forgive the ones who gave you the scars. Ask him for the power to forgive yourself for those wounds that were self inflicted.

3. We can stop allowing our scars to dominate our lives.

If our focus in life remains upon our scars, our life is out of focus. Our scars are meant to compliment our testimony, not dominate it. They remain with us to focus attention on the Healer, not draw attention to themselves. Our focus should not be on the scars of our past but on the Healer of our present and the bright Hope for tomorrow.

Jesus was changed from a beaten up, crucified dead man into a victorious, vibrant, living man. He bore the scars of this world, but they did not dominate his life. They were not his focus. He arose a victor not a victim. So we need to stop allowing our scars to run our life and start letting Jesus run it.

Many times when we look at ourselves… all we see are the scars. When Jesus looks at us, he sees is the glory that can come to God because of our scars. Will you accept that today?

The disciples who saw and touched the scars of Jesus were changed from a group of hiding cowards into a courageous army of witnesses. They became bold for the cross. They wouldn’t shut up about Jesus even under threat of death. The church they founded upon the risen Christ has endured 2000 years of persecution. Literally millions of people throughout history have been changed by believing.

Will you join that group of millions? Why not come to him today, scars and all, and let him love you and make you into the extraordinary person you were created to be.

Stop whining and get to work. Stop asking for healing and start praying for power. And stop allowing your scars to dominate your life. Jesus is risen with scars. Follow his example.

By His Wounds

2012-02-02T00:10:00.002-06:00

February 2

(Isaiah 53:5 NIV) "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."

(John 20:27 NIV) "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

(Genesis 32:25, 31 NIV) "God touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. … The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and Jacob was limping because of his hip."

Sometimes our wounds and scars come from the world. Sometimes they come from our war with God. Sometimes they come because we’ve associated ourselves with the One who was wounded and still bears the scars.

Wounding is not always of God… sometimes it is… but not always. But HEALING is always of God. Christ’s wounds were healed so well by God that the disciples could now touch them. The pain was gone. The blood was gone. His wounds were no longer symbols of shame but had become a memorial to victory. Jesus saw them as trophies now and he showed them off to his disciples.

Today in glory, the wounds of Jesus have become the source for our healing. Christ’s scars have become a source for great hope. Touch Jesus and be healed. Embrace Christ and be saved. Love Jesus and be changed.

In Genesis we read about a man named Jacob. Jacob was a deceiver and a very prideful man. One night he met God in person and the bible says Jacob wrestled with him all night long. He was demanding of God. He would not let go of God. Well, we all know who wins when we decide to wrestle with God. But the bible says that after this night time wrestling match, “Jacob was limping because of his hip". He had indeed received God’s blessing, but he never walked the same again. He came away a changed man but he walked with a limp for the rest of his days. He was scarred for life.

Many of us walk with a limp because of our past life. Sometimes the pain is almost unbearable. These are not wounds we are proud of but they are scars that can be redeemed by God.

But we also may walk with a limp because of our wrestling match with God. If you are a believer today, you are risen with scars. “By his wounds we are healed”. The limp we have is simply a reminder of our long wrestling match with God. Our scars are a memorial to God’s great healing power.

We are risen with scars. Accept it… deal with it… use it for God’s glory.

Redeeming Our Scars

2012-02-01T00:10:00.003-06:00

February 1

(Psalms 130:7 NIV) "O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption."

(Romans 3:23-24 NIV) "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, {24} and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

(Ephesians 1:7 NIV) "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace"

(Job 33:28 NIV) "He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light.'"

(Isaiah 44:22 NIV) "I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.""

(Lamentations 3:58 NIV) "O Lord, you took up my case; you redeemed my life."

(1 Peter 1:18 NIV) "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,"

Redemption is one of the most marvelous gifts of God. The principle of redemption works like this: something of little intrinsic value is changed into something of great value by someone with the power to do so.

We experience the principle of redemption every time we go to a store with coupons. A coupon is nothing but a piece of paper that someone has chosen to make valuable. They are given “worth” by the manufacturer and “redeemed” by the merchant. When we “redeem” those coupons, a worthless piece of paper becomes as valuable as real money.

God does the same thing with our lives. God takes something that was seemingly of little worth and turns it into something of great value. He takes what was shameful and makes it into something holy. He takes the weak and makes them strong.

Through his redemptive power and grace, God can take something that was destructive… something that scarred you… and make it into something useful for his kingdom. Any of our scars can be redeemed if we will bring them to him. Overcoming and redeeming scars can bring glory to God.

This means that none of life’s tragedies have to be wasted. God can take something that was meant to harm us and redeem it to bring glory to his name. Terrible scars can become a grand testimony to God’s redemption.

So we have a choice to make. We can complain incessantly about our scars or we can give them to God and let him redeem them. We can choose to turn them over to God and he can change their meaning. He can transform them into something of great value. What was ugly can be changed into something of great beauty. What was painful can become a comfort and an encouragement to others. What brought us harm can bring healing to someone. Those symbols of damage can become instruments of restoration.

This may come as a shock but Jesus is not in the scar removal business… he is in the scar redemption business. His scars remain but bring glory to God. Why should ours be any different? Why not allow God to start redeeming your scars today?

Scars - The Great Reminder

2012-01-31T00:10:00.003-06:00

January 31

(Luke 24:38-40 NIV) "He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? {39} Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." {40} When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet."

(John 20:27 NIV) "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

After the death of Jesus the disciples were fearful and bewildered. One day while they were together, the risen Christ came and stood among them. They were skeptical and doubtful until Jesus showed them his scars.

He showed them his scars. The resurrected Christ lives today with the scars of his crucifixion and if Jesus lives with scars, so can we.

We all come to Christ wounded. In his grace and mercy, he stops the bleeding and saves our lives. But the scars remain. Sometimes we see those scars as a curse but if you think about it, scars are simply old wounds that have been healed.

Remember this Christian: scars are the evidence of God’s healing. God does not and will not remove them because they speak volumes about his great love for us and his power to restore.

Perhaps you were wounded by a parent who didn’t live up to their calling. Perhaps your scar came from being betrayed by someone you loved and trusted. Perhaps the scarring involves a loss of innocence that can never be recovered. Perhaps your wounding came when you lost someone very dear to you.

All wounding bring pain and trauma. We live with the scars of abuse… the scars of neglect… the scars of a bad habit... the scars of loss… the scars of lying (our lies and the lies of others). Some of us live with the scars of running around in the darkness for too many years. We live with the scars caused by others and with our self inflicted scars. We have our obvious scars and we have our hidden scars.

We can complain, and whine, and protest, but if Jesus lives with scars… so can we.

Why would God allow the scars of the past to remain? Why doesn’t God just heal them and make them disappear with a word?

The answer is simple: our scars serve a valuable purpose. For better or worse, scars remind us of who we were, what we came through, or where we came from. Whether we are proud of them or ashamed of them, they remind us of events we survived by the grace of God. Remembering where we came from can help us appreciate where we are now. It can be good incentive not to return to the “old days”. The pain of yesterday can help us appreciate the peace we have today.

The purpose of scars is not to shame us or defeat us. Instead they remind us of how far we’ve come and what a merciful God we have. They remind us that wounds don’t have to remain open and infected forever. With God there is healing and resurrection. Thank him for your scars today.

Scarred for his Glory

2012-01-30T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 30

(Luke 24:36-40 NIV) "While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." {37} They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. {38} He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? {39} Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." {40} When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet."

Back in 1972 while engaged in farming with my father, we were preparing to pour some concrete. We were cutting some rolled reinforcing wire with long handled wire cutters. The coiled wire had been rolled out on the ground and anchored down at both ends with weights because it was extremely springy. But a crucial error had been made. We had not turned the roll over so that the coil faced the ground.

As the wire was cut, one tine at a time, we had also forgotten about the laws of physics. When that last strand on the roll was cut, the portion of the wire I wasn’t standing on sprang up and one of the sharp tines caught me in the face near my right eye.

There is a lot of force in rolled up reinforcing steel. I was knocked to the ground and blood quickly began to cover my entire face. The good news is that the steel missed my eye by about a half inch. The bad news is that I have a scar today on the bridge of my nose that still occasionally reminds me that I once did a really stupid thing.

Most of us live with scars of one kind or another. They come from all kinds of accidents and mishaps or perhaps even from surgeries. They come in all shapes and sizes. I’m not sure why but senior citizens seem especially proud of their scars and tend to show them off, even if you don’t want to see them. Our external scars are often obvious… out there for everyone to see.

But many of our worst scars aren’t on the outside where people can see them. The scars that cause us the most trouble are often hidden internally. These are the scars that hinder our lives the most. They are emotional and psychological scars. Even though they may be decades old, they won’t go away. They mark us for life. What are we to do?

One thing Christians need to remember is that Jesus knows about scars. In fact he has some significant scars of his own to live with. He showed them off to his disciples like a badge of honor after his resurrection. He used his scars to glorify God.

We can do that too. If we will walk closely with the scarred One… if we will allow him to touch us and heal us and strengthen us… our external and internal scars can also be used to glorify God in a mighty way.

So when you have been wounded, pray for healing. Then when it comes, let God use your scars. It may take some time and some good counsel but old wounds really can be an asset to our witness and service here on earth. “He showed them his hands and his feet.” Luke 24 proves that God can use even the worst of scars for his glory. Let him use yours.

4 Ways of "C'ing God - Church

2012-01-29T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 29

(Matthew 16:18 NIV) "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

(Ephesians 3:10 NIV) "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,"

(1 Timothy 3:15 NIV) "…if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth."

(Acts 8:3 NIV) "But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison."

(Acts 12:1-2 NIV) "It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. {2} He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword."

There’s an old saying about the church that is both encouraging and sobering. They say that the best evidence that God exists is the church. But the best evidence that there is no God… is the church. This institution we call the church can certainly run the gamut. Its history is both glorious and horrendous.

But one thing cannot be denied. Over 2,000 years ago something happened in the lives of the people Jesus called disciples and the church was born. For 2,000 years the devil and his servants have been doing their best to kill it off but it will not die. It thrives in spite of persecution. It thrives in spite of its own sins, flaws, and weaknesses. It thrives… and that speaks volumes about the existence of God and the reality of Jesus Christ.

If there is no God, how can a group made up of such flawed individuals survive in a world so hostile to its existence? If there is no God why have so many suffered so much and still maintained their faith. In fact it would seem that persecution only strengthens this unique group of people.

According to scripture one of the purposes of the church is to make known the wisdom of God in the heavenly realms. How much more here on earth? Wherever and whenever the church couches the gospel in compassion and conviction people turn to God. Perhaps that’s why the church faces so much resistance around the world and even here in the USA.

The concept of “the separation of church and state” has caught on. People who want to insulate public life from God say, “Keep him in your churches and private places of worship. Do not bother us with his laws and his teachings. It’s unconstitutional.”

And so as the church meekly accepts her muzzle in the public square, our culture continues its slide into chaos, anarchy, and sin. Just think of the deterioration that has taken place in society since God’s name and God’s commandments were removed from the courthouses and schools of America in the 1960’s. Whether it’s the cause or the effect, do we really believe that it is totally unrelated?

The world’s strategy seems to be: Keep Creation out. Make the name of Christ unmentionable unless it’s said in a profane manner. Denigrate and isolate the Church. Sear and obliterate the Conscience while people are still young.

Why would the world do this? Because these “4 C’s” we’ve been looking at have power and they are the best evidence for the existence of God.

Creation, conscience, Christ, and the church: their light beckons those who live in darkness. No wonder the Enemy does his best to cover them up or discredit them. But the Light continues to shine. Kill off disciples and even more rise up. Destroy the church and she comes back to life underground just like her Lord Jesus did.

Why not publish and proclaim the “4 C’s” whenever you get the chance. Lift them up in this world that seems so intent on covering them up. Jesus is still drawing people to himself. We can help by giving people good reasons to doubt their agnosticism.

4 Ways of "C'ing God - Christ

2012-01-28T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 28

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus... there's just something about that name". Bill Gaither

(Philippians 2:9-11 NIV) "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, {10} that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, {11} and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

(Acts 4:12 NIV) "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.""

(Colossians 2:9 NIV) "in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form."

(1 Timothy 2:5-6 NIV) "…there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, {6} who gave himself as a ransom for all men..."

(John 3:18 NIV) "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.”

(John 20:31 NIV) "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

What's in a name? Plenty, if your name is Jesus Christ. The name of Christ always produces a reaction in people. For some the name represents a threat. Maybe that’s why so many can “cuss” the name but not discuss it.

“There’s something about that name.” Perhaps this is why secular culture tries so hard to eliminate the name of Jesus from as many public venues as possible. This level of Christophobia has to be about more than just “taxpayer money promoting religion".

You can’t really blame them. The name of Jesus has power. It’s toxic to agnosticism and unbelief. The teachings of Christ stand above all others and drip with the very presence of God. Like God, the name of Christ either draws people or repels them. This makes Christ a good argument for the existence of God.

If you want to know what God is like, look at Christ. He is perhaps the best proof for the existence of a God of grace. It’s no wonder then that Christ and his legitimacy are under constant fire… even in the religious world. The name of Christ is often denigrated by the very ones who should defend him.

So we have a choice to make about the name of Christ. We can fight it. We can flee from it. Or we can let it point us to God. The decision we make directly affects our belief in God because if Christ is real, God is real. One of the earliest creeds of the church was “Jesus Christ is Lord”. Christ is God in flesh. "In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form."

What's in a name? Plenty! “By believing, you may have life in his name."

"There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved". Consider Christ… and believe.

4 Ways of “C’ing” God - Conscience

2012-01-27T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 27

(Acts 24:16 NIV) "So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man."

(1 Timothy 1:5 NIV) "The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."

(1 Corinthians 4:4 NIV) "My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me."

(1 Timothy 4:2 NIV) "Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron."

(Titus 1:15-16 NIV) "To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. {16} They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him."

At some point in life, every sane person has this innate sense that certain actions are right and others are wrong. It’s called conscience. We can ignore it. We can violate it. We can be schooled out of it. But it’s there. It can be improved with good moral teaching but where did it originate? The best answer is that God implanted his basic moral compass into the humanity he created. It is a gift from God.

It’s amazing how loud a guilty conscience can be. It shouts at us… eats at us… gnaws at us. Why is that? Because deep down inside we know that there is a good and right course and when we are not on it, our God given conscience sets off the alarm bells. This is not the product of evolution. It is created and programmed into us. It is the signature of God.

Consciences are not perfect. Sometimes our conscience can lie to us… especially if we have been unfaithful in listening to the small still voice of God over a period of time. Some will actually beat the conscience into submission rather than heed its warnings. It can be "seared" as with a hot iron. It can be "corrupted" and polluted like a stream full of sewage. The bible speaks of those who have damaged their conscience beyond repair.

Often we get help from the world in silencing this great gift of God. About the same time Darwin launched his frontal attack on creation, another man by the name of Sigmund Freud was launching a movement called modern psychology.

In Freud’s economy the conscience is no longer the voice of God but a sterile voice of “good”... a “super-ego”. If it becomes a source of tension, one can be trained to ignore it, or better yet, eliminate it. Conscience becomes something to deal with instead of something to heed. Guilt becomes an enemy to conquer and vanquish not a friend to listen to. Being happy rather than being obedient becomes the primary goal in life. The individual reigns supreme and is in the driver’s seat. God is assigned to the back of the bus (if he is even allowed on the bus).

Good counseling can be a great asset. It’s actually a very biblical concept. But it should be grounded in a biblical understanding of man. It should have a godly sense of right and wrong. Counseling should never try to do away with the conscience but figure out why the alarm has gone off and make the changes necessary to right our course. Good counsel should help us strengthen our conscience not work at eliminating it.

If we will consider the marvel of the conscience, it becomes a great indicator that there is a God. This kind of tool is not a product of random chance evolution. It was given to us by a God who knows what goodness is and who knows what we are capable of being. Listen for it today. Listen to it today, because in doing so, you are very likely listening to the voice of God.

4 Ways of “C’ing” God - Creation

2012-01-26T00:10:00.010-06:00

January 26

(Genesis 1:1 NIV) "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

(Psalms 19:1-4 NIV) "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. {2} Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. {3} There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. {4} Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,"

(Romans 1:18-25 NIV) "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, {19} since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. {20} For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

(Colossians 1:16 NIV) "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."

(1 Timothy 2:3-4 NIV) "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, {4} who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

The second chapter of 1st Timothy says God wants everyone to come to a saving knowledge of Him. Today we are fortunate to have the gospel in print, but even without it, the Lord is constantly revealing Himself to those whose hearts are open to the truth. He did it with Adam. He did it with Abraham. He did it with Moses. He has done this throughout history. God wants us to know him and so he reveals himself to us.

There are four “C’s” that point to the existence of God… four ways of “C’ing” God - Creation, Conscience, Christ, and the Church. It should come as no surprise that in our culture’s current anti-Christian climate, all four are under relentless attack. Attempts to discredit and cast doubt on all four are both manic and epidemic. So for the next few days we will look at the “4-C’s”.

Let’s start at the beginning. The first five words in the bible are, “In the beginning God created”. God’s Creation calls to all who will listen with its beauty, intricacy, and order. It makes it plain to us there is a God. It negates our every excuse for not believing.

But many today who consider themselves enlightened scoff at the idea of a creator. Creation has been downgraded to a “personal belief”. That’s code for “keep it out of the public arena” and most certainly don’t teach it in our public schools. It’s been relegated to the status of myth and fable.

Taking its place in the limelight has been the theory of evolution. Darwin’s famous theory contains some truth but has mutated into “the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. It has become a religion. What once was a theory has become the Holy Grail… even described by some as “the unifying theory of science”… as if all science would fall apart if evolution was not there to hold it together.

Godlessness does not necessarily always have to involve sex, drugs, or rock & roll. Sometimes it comes in a suit and tie and appears to be wise. It suppresses the truth about the Creator and his creation.

But God is not mocked. God does not concern himself with the latest theory from highly educated agnostics. He concerns himself with those who have not yet suppressed the truth in their hearts. He is concerned about you and he gave you creation to help you believe in him.

God has made it plain to us that he exists through his Creation. “Since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” And that includes you. Thank him today for the revelation.

Good or Evil

2012-01-25T00:10:00.004-06:00

January 25

(Genesis 1:4 NIV) "God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.”

(Proverbs 2:20 NIV) "Thus you will walk in the ways of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous."

(Mark 10:18 NIV) “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good except God alone."

(Galatians 3:27 NIV) "for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."

In the beginning God the Creator brought light out of darkness, order out of chaos, fullness out of emptiness, and something out of nothing. And when he had finished, God pronounced it all good.

God can call something good because God is the definition of good. Without God there is no measuring stick for good. God is both the model and the standard for good.

Those we know as “good people” have followed (knowingly or unknowingly) God’s model of goodness to some extent. Perhaps they have lived out the “Golden Rule” or they have cultivated the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. Although none of us can be good in the way God is good, following God’s pattern for goodness in at least some parts of our life can earn us the reputation of being a “good person”.

But can we really be good in the way spoken of in Proverbs 2:20? Can we really “walk in the ways of good and keep to the paths of the righteous”? And if that is what we desire, how will we know when we have arrived?

This is where it gets tricky. Our culture has so watered down the meaning of "good" that almost everyone can be pronounced "good" today. When the worst of people die you often hear people say, “They were a good person.” That’s because when we compare ourselves with other people we can almost always find someone "worse" than us. This can make us feel pretty “good”.

However, Jesus sets a higher standard with his declaration to the rich young ruler in Mark 10. Jesus declared that no person can be called “good” when compared with God. God simply sets the bar too high for us. He is the Creator and he gets to define the terms.

This is why we so desperately need God's grace. God takes us as sinners and clothes us with his goodness. We then spend the rest of our Christian lives growing into these new clothes God has provided. Along the way God’s grace covers us when our new apparel doesn’t seem to fit us right.

In this first month of the New Year, God is calling us to a new level of goodness. He wants us to put on his good clothes. God wants our lives to be more than “OK”. He wants us to do better than look "pretty good". If we will use his mirror and begin to see ourselves as we really are, God can begin to show us what good clothing looks like.

When his version of goodness begins to grow in us, we have a shot at walking “in the ways of the good” and keeping “to the paths of the righteous." Let him do his work.

Two Not Many

2012-01-24T00:10:00.004-06:00

January 24

(Matthew 7:13-14 NIV) "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. {14} But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

“Yes there are two paths you can go by but in the long run… there’s still time to change the road you’re on.” Led Zeppelin: “Stairway to Heaven”

(John 14:6 NIV) "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

A recent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that, “57% of those who call themselves evangelical Christians believe Jesus Christ cannot be the only way to God and eternal life.”

If that study is true we have a major problem in Christianity because our Lord says something entirely different. It also means that the majority thinking is dead wrong. Always keep in mind that the majority voted not to enter the Promised Land when God said it was time. The majority also picked Barabbas over Jesus. Much of the time, the majority is wrong.

The truth is, Jesus spoke of only two roads, not many roads. There is the broad road and the narrow road. Jesus mentions no middle road… no easy road. There are two paths we can go by but only one of them is safe. Only one of them leads to him and heaven.

Jesus spoke of only two crowds. There is a large crowd (the “many” on the broad road)… and there is a small crowd (the “few” on the narrow road). Jesus never mentions another group. There is no mid-size group… no third or fourth group… no “moderate” group… just the two groups. And we all belong to one or the other.

Jesus spoke of only two gates… the wide gate… and the small, narrow gate. Jesus never mentions a third or fourth gate. What Jesus teaches is that there are no other gates. Only one of the gates opens to him.

Jesus spoke of only two destinations. One road leads to “destruction”. The other road leads to “life”. These are the two destinations of all of mankind. Jesus never indicates there are any other destinations.

Jesus says there are two gates, two roads, two crowds, two destinations, two paths you can go by. He does not say there are many roads, all leading to one place. He says there are two roads leading to one of two destinations. These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus indicated that we all have a choice to make. He says, “I am the way”. This means there is no other way. He says, “No one comes to the Father except through me”.

So the question today is: Will we believe Jesus or will we join the 57% who think his words are optional for open minded Christians? Will you believe God or will you believe the majority opinion of man?

This is important because it makes a difference in how we live. It makes a difference in how we share our faith. It makes a difference in where we end up. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that “life” sounds better than “destruction”.

What road are you on? Which crowd are you traveling with? Which gate will you enter? Which destination will you arrive at?

“Yes there are two paths you can go by but in the long run… there’s still time to change the road you’re on.”

All the Days Ordained

2012-01-23T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 23

“65 years, don't they go by in a blink?” - Anthony Hopkins in “Meet Joe Black”

(Psalm 139:13,16 NIV) "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

(Jeremiah 1:5 NIV) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..."

(Matthew 19:14 NIV) ""Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.""

It's been two years since little Zane died... struck down at just two months old by a stealth killer called SIDS. He just slipped away silently in the night and wouldn’t wake up. I still think about him every day. Every time I see a baby about the age he would be now, I wonder what new thing he would be doing and what he would look like. I imagine his hugs and the songs we would be singing together. I didn't know it would be this hard. And I was just his grandpa.

Grieving is a complex and difficult process. We all travel its road at different speeds. Sometimes we get stuck and wallow helplessly there… unable to break free. Sometimes we postpone or deny it, hoping it will go away... but it never does. It just lurks... waiting for an opportunity to pounce out of the darkness and overwhelm us.

Grief can also isolate and separate us from those we need most. We hesitate to talk about it with the most important people because “we don't want to remind them and make them feel bad”. But mostly, we hold back because it reminds us. It makes us feel bad. It makes us feel helpless. It makes us feel angry. It seems that even our silence can be self centered.

So we bottle up the pain and store it away in a dark place somewhere. We try to ignore it but it always seems to find a way out. Like a ghost, it won’t stay buried. It's always as near as a song or a scent or a sight.

I'm not sure how one survives a wound like this without God and the assurance of scripture. Because Jesus is Lord and we know his word is true, we believe that all the days ordained for Zane were written in God's book before one of them came to be. We believe that he was set apart for a special time and given a unique purpose. The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Who are we to hinder them from coming and going or to curse the One with whom they now stand whole?

When all the days ordained for Zane were over, he went back to his Father… the Creator who knit him together… the One who knew him long before we did.

Most would say “his life was cut short”… that he had too little time to fulfill God's plan for his life. But when you really think about it... what's the difference between two months and sixty five years when compared to eternity?

He left way too quickly in our eyes… but in the eyes of his Creator it was perfect timing. His life mattered. People came to Jesus because of him. He accomplished more for the kingdom in two months than many senior citizens living today.

"All the days ordained”... don’t they go by in a blink. So on this day, take some of your ordained time to praise God from whom all blessings flow… and to whom they will ultimately return. Thank him for the precious gift called Life and live yours well while you still can.

Settling for Healing

2012-01-22T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 22

(Luke 17:11-19 NIV) "Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. {12} As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance {13} and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" {14} When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. {15} One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. {16} He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan. {17} Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? {18} Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" {19} Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well.""

Just about everywhere you look today people and companies are into “wellness”. It usually involves lifestyle changes that prevent health problems instead of just treating them after they present themselves. It’s a really good idea.

Spiritually, we see much the same concept in this true story from the life of Jesus. It paints a picture of a God who wants more than just healing for us. He wants us to be well.

Ten men were healed. Only one came back to say, “Thank you”! He said it loudly and fell at Christ’s feet in worship, praising his Healer even though he wasn’t numbered among “God’s chosen”. He wasn’t supposed to be there. He was a Samaritan… an unclean man. But now he had become a believer and a follower. And because he came back, Jesus pronounced him more than just healed. Christ proclaimed that he was now “well”.

Sometimes I hear people say, “If I could just see this miracle or get that miracle… then I’d serve God faithfully forever.” The cynic in me wants to shout, “No you wouldn’t!”

Just like in this story, nine out of ten people will take miracles from Jesus and never even look back. These nine guys didn’t even bother to say, “Thank you”, let alone, “I will love you and serve you”. Only a "tithe" of the group returned to acknowledge Jesus. Thousands of people witnessed miracles in Christ’s day and continued on their merry way without Jesus.

From this story of one man we can learn at least two things.

First, being healed and being made well are two different things. One is temporary. The other is eternal. Healing lasts only until the next illness comes along and eventually we all die of something. Wellness lasts for a lifetime and beyond. The wise man will seek more than just healing from Jesus. He will seek wellness. One of the worst things that could possibly happen to us would be to die a healed man who had not been made well.

Second, to become well and stay well we have to want the Healer more than the healing. The man who returned knew he had been touched by someone very unique… someone who had more to offer him than just a temporary healing of his body. He had found something that went beyond his physical condition. Something in his soul had been stirred. He came back praising God and fell at the feet of Christ. And for this demonstration of faith he was pronounced “well” by Jesus. It was a wise move that we should all consider repeating.

Jesus wants to make you well. Don’t ever settle for just being healed.

The Rain of Pain

2012-01-21T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 21

"Bring me joy, bring me peace. Bring the chance to be free. Bring me anything that brings You glory. And I know there'll be days, when this life brings me pain. But if that's what it takes to praise You, Jesus, bring the rain". Mercy Me in "Bring the Rain"

(Job 16:6 NIV) “Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away."

(Job 30:17 NIV) "Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never rest."

(Job 33:14-16,19 NIV) "For God does speak—now one way, now another— though man may not perceive it. ¹⁵ In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, ¹⁶ he may speak in their ears... ¹⁹ Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones..."

It's easy to spout boastful words guaranteeing our faithfulness to God. Just ask the apostle Peter. We may even be able to sing along with Mercy Me, "Bring the rain". But are we really ready to accept the pain that comes with the rain? Are we willing to let God choose how that pain comes and how long it stays?

C.S. Lewis wrote in his great book, The Problem of Pain: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

Two years ago today I started a journey with pain that shouted at me for months on end. It still mutters at me even today. Ironically, it was increasing pain from an old high school football knee injury that persuaded me to get a total knee replacement. It was daily pain... enough to cause a limp before the surgery. It was irritating and annoying as it "spoke" to me with the volume of a small jam box.

Little did I know that the post surgery pain would be more like the 140 decibel Black Crowes concert I attended last year. That concert lasted about three hours. The din of this pain lasted for most of a year. God's megaphone can be really loud.

When Job spoke of pain he was talking about something he was intimately acquainted with. He knew what he was talking about. Now I know too. During the worst of it, it didn't help if I talked about it or if I didn't talk about it. Pain was a steady companion for the better part of the year. It always seemed worse at night. The "gnawing pain never rested". I was indeed "chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in my bones."

Little did I know that the physical pain was soon to become conjoined with to an even worse emotional agony. When it rains it pours. More on that tomorrow.

God's pain megaphone works really well for communicating our human and spiritual frailties. It disturbs our peace with its screams for attention. It drives a wedge into any little cracks in our faith. It stretches our patience paper thin. It slices up the fruit of the Spirit in our life. It shatters our smug spirituality. It wipes the disingenuous smile off our face and replaces it with clenched teeth. And it can suck the joy out of the best of us.

In the midst of it all God reminds us that he knows about pain... tremendous pain. He too has walked the road of suffering. The whip tore open his back. The rugged cross scraped away at his skin. The nails were hammered into his flesh. His bones were torn out of joint.

He knows. He cares. He endured. And so can we.

Till Death Do Us Part

2012-01-20T00:10:00.003-06:00

January 20

(1 Peter 3:1-10 NIV) "Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, {2} when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. {3} Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. {4} Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

(Proverbs 31:10,25-31 NIV) "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. 26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” 30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 31 Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

I remember when I first read the above verses in 1st Peter. It was about a year after I was led to the Lord by my wife. My first thought was, "That describes her so well."

One of the major factors in my being “won over” had been the behavior of my wife. The reverence, the purity, and the unfading beauty of her gentle and quiet spirit had helped melt away my stubborn resistance to the gospel.

And then as I got into the Old Testament and discovered the Proverbs, the verses in Proverbs 31 again reminded me of the one I loved.

It was almost as if Peter and Solomon had somehow looked through the veil of history and wrote down what they saw in her. But we know they couldn't have done that so how did they know?

They knew because God had spoken to them by the Holy Spirit. God gave them words to describe the many wives who lived in their day and who would live in the future… women who would dare to live under the influence of God's Spirit and become like Jesus.

These great Christian women glorify God with their daily reverence. They have an unfading beauty that goes beyond their outward appearance. They quietly live out their faith and let God speak through them. They often stand alone against great opposition. Their “gentle and quiet spirits” truly are "of great worth in God's sight". They deserve all the credit we can give them.

So on this day of our 44th wedding anniversary, I dedicate this page to the person most responsible for me being here to write it. Happy Anniversary, Sweetpea. Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. You really are "The Best" and I thank God for you every day.

Be Still and Know

2012-01-19T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 19

(Genesis 1:2,4 NIV) "Now the earth was formless and empty, {4} … and he separated the light from the darkness."

(Psalm 46:10 NIV) “Be still, and know that I am God..."

(Psalm 23:2 NIV) "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters..."

(John 14:27 NIV) "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled..."

By the creative word of his mouth God brought order to the formless chaos of the universe. By his authoritative word that order survives today even though chaos seems to always be knocking at the door.

Much of our life here on earth is spent in the struggle against chaos. We straighten out the house or clean up the yard but in a few days it looks worse than it did before. Chaos and clutter seem to have magical powers. They just won't go away. It’s like a curse.

Some people grow up in chaos. It’s programmed into their lives at an early age and it’s hard to delete that program. Others invite chaos in and as a result it reigns in their lives. Chaos is like crack cocaine. We easily get addicted to it. We can get so strung out on noise and activity and stress that we suffer withdrawal when peace comes. Order and peace seem like intruders, so whenever order threatens our habit, we inject a dose of chaos into our lives so we can feel “normal” again. And as we shoot up, serenity is shot down. It’s a vicious cycle that plagues the lives of millions today.

So how can this enemy of our soul be conquered? What’s the solution? Maybe it’s time to try something new because the stuff we’ve been trying is not working. Chaos still reigns.

Forgive my bluntness, but many of us just need to sit down and shut up for a while. We need pipe down, turn it down, calm it down, and slow it down before it shuts us down. We need to chill out before we burnout. We need to cool it before we go down in flames.

We need to take control of our schedules. But first we have to take control of our minds.

We need to learn to be still before our God. We need to quit feeding the chaos. We need to find a way to turn off the incessant noise that smothers the Spirit of God in our lives. We need to put an end to our endless activity and our frantic running to and fro. It doesn't make us important. It makes us impotent.

We need the Creator to speak the word into our dark and chaotic lives. We need the Shepherd to help us lie down in green pastures and lead us beside quiet waters. We need the Comforter to soothe our frantic hearts. We need to settle into the arms of God like an easy chair. We need Jesus... his serenity... his peace.

"My peace I give you", he says. God has brought you here to this page today. Maybe it’s time to take the hint. Hear him today. Experience him today. Be still and know....

Ladders and Leaning

2012-01-18T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 18

(Genesis 1:2 NIV) "Now the earth was formless and empty…”

(1 Peter 1:18-19 NIV) "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, {19} but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."

(John 10:10 NIV) "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

(Colossians 2:9 NIV) "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,"

“Runnin on empty… runnin blind… runnin into the sun but I’m runnin behind.” Jackson Browne

Back in the 1970’s Jackson Browne had a great hit back with a song called “Runnin on Empty”. It struck a chord with a generation who had been asking all the right questions but who had no clue about the answer. Now as that baby boom generation moves into senior citizenship, many have climbed the ladder of success clear to the top, only to discover that their ladder was leaning against the wrong building. They not only spent their lives running on empty... they’re finishing up on empty. This is what happens when you spend your life “runnin blind”.

The bible says that before God spoke the word, the earth was formless and empty. Without God’s word, the world is an empty place. Then God spoke into the emptiness and the chaos. As a result, form and fullness came. It works the same with our “runnin on empty” lives.

God knows about emptiness. He knows about the empty way of life we have inherited and wants it to be different for us. So Jesus came to fill the emptiness. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

God spoke… and the darkness became light, nothing became something, chaos was brought to order, and emptiness was filled. He wants to do that in us. Just as God created something new out of what was formless and empty, Jesus can create something new as he speaks into our formless and empty lives. He can take what was once nothing and make it into something grand and glorious.

As our attempts to fill our lives with activity and stuff all fail, Jesus graciously brings us what we need. He came “to redeem us from the empty way of life handed down to us by our forefathers”. We no longer have an excuse for “runnin on empty”.

God didn’t create us to live empty lives and at some point, emptiness becomes a choice… even an addiction. We must decide to be done with the empty way of life and enter the land of fullness. It is available to us, but we must choose it by choosing Jesus.

Jesus is the right building to lean your ladder against. Lean on him today. Jesus is the Answer. Ask him all those right questions. Jesus is “the fullness of the God”. Let him fill your empty tank today.

Light Me Up

2012-01-17T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 17

(1 Thessalonians 5:5 NIV) "You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness."

When you visit the Cave of the Winds near Colorado Springs, Colorado and take the guided tour, the guide takes you deep underground and at some point tells you his is going to shut off the lights. It is the blackest, thickest darkness you will ever experience.

Light is a most fascinating thing. It literally gives life. Without it we would all die. One of the easiest ways to get rid of an unwanted plant is to simply cover it up with a board or an empty can, cutting it off from light. It needs light in order to live. Without light it will soon perish.

In a similar way God’s light is essential to our spiritual existence. Plants need the light of the sun. People need the light of the Son. God calls us out of darkness into his light because light brings life. Darkness brings death and so if we want life we must come ot of the darkness into Christ’s light.

Light also illumines. That can be good and that can be bad. Sometimes illumination can be a problem for us. Before I was saved, I played in a bar band. Occasionally we would leave our equipment overnight and return the next day to pick it up. We were often shocked at how shabby the bar appeared in the daylight. It had looked so attractive the night before in the dim neon light. But in the light of day it was exposed as the dirty place it actually was.

God does not call us into the light so he can see how dingy our hearts are. He already knows that. God calls us into the light so WE can see the dirt. We may not like it, but God does us a service by exposing our soiled lives. Only then can we see ourselves for who we really are.

Think about your life for a moment. It’s likely that most of the stuff you are sorry for in your life… you did at night. The majority of crimes happen under cover of darkness.

There is something about living in the darkness that brings out the worst in us. Whenever the sun (or the Son) are not present, opportunities for evil increase.

As Christians we are called to leave the darkness and move into the light with Jesus. This means spiritually and physically. Remaining in the darkness will only lead to more dark living. On the other hand, living in the light can help cleanse us and elevate us.

Are you still flirting with the darkness or perhaps even living there part time? Move out permanently. You don’t belong there anymore. Step into the light. God has brought you to this place in your life. Now let him light you up.

Let There Be Light

2012-01-16T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 16

(Genesis 1:1-4 NIV) "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. {2} Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. {3} And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. {4} God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness."

(1 John 1:5 NIV) "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all."

(John 8:12 NIV) "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

(Ephesians 5:8 NIV) "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light"

When everything was really brand new God said four words that changed everything. They are the very first recorded words of God… “Let there be light”. If those are the first words God chose to reveal to us, they must be very significant.

Scientists who have developed the Big Bang theory regarding the origin of the universe have a fascinating belief. They believe that in the moments after the big bang, the very first thing that would have been able to escape the intense and crushing gravity associated with our universe being compressed into a sphere the size of a basketball, would have been light. This warm glow of photons would have been the first visible evidence that something new and wondrous was happening.

It would appear that science has discovered Genesis 1.

Can one really believe that those responsible for recording the book of Genesis thousands of years ago just made a lucky guess? Is it a mere coincidence? Or is it the eye witness report of One who was there? Is it the diary of our Creator?

Do not miss the significance that in the first definitive statement regarding God’s creative love, the word “light” is used. In the very first book of the bible… in God’s first revelation of who he is… “light” comes.

Of all the truths about the essential being of God, one of the most revealing is John’s statement: “God is light”. Just as it is the nature of light to shine, it is God’s nature to reveal himself… to make his glory known… to dispel darkness.

So when Jesus came to earth declaring that he was “the Light of the world”, he was doing more than just using a nice metaphor. If God is light then Jesus is light because they are one. Jesus is God incarnate and could not help but be the Light of the world for it is the nature of the Light to shine.

Likewise, it is the nature of the Christian to be the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14)

If God lives in us how can we help but shine? If Christ does indeed live in us the bible says: “you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light".

So if Jesus lives in us (and this is a part of what defines being a Christian) then we have within us the Light that came with the very first four words of God. Find ways today to allow the creative nature of Christ to emanate from your life. Live as a child of the Light. Let there be light!

Alive to Create

2012-01-15T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 15

(Genesis 1:1, 2 NIV) "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. {2} Now the earth was formless and empty…”

(Genesis 1:27 NIV) "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

(Psalm 51:10 NASB) "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

“In the beginning God created.” With those first five words in the bible God reveals that He is the Creator. He is our Creator. And because God created us in his image, we have inherited his propensity to be creative. If you think about it, the opportunity to be creative is what makes so many of our hobbies enjoyable. And it’s also what makes many of our jobs so boring. Creating is not only a human need, it’s good for the soul. So if we work at a job that is mundane and mechanical, we had best find an outlet to be creative or we could end up with a soul that’s lifeless. We can end up a in a robotic life.

I have been making music since I was a kid. I love it because it makes me feel good. In part, that’s because making music is creative. For too many years I thought it was the performance that made music fun. But I've discovered that creating music can bring as much joy as the performance of music. Now I get as much enjoyment out of producing music from a recorded digital file as I do from performing it. It took me a long time to figure this out.

For several years there was a group of people who gathered regularly at our church to carve wood together. What made that fun? It was creative. They took pieces of shapeless wood and carved them into something unique and attractive. What was once formless and rough could become a thing of shape and beauty. That’s part of the reason people kept coming to that group. Creating things is really fun.

Much of this life’s unhappiness comes from our failure to be creative. Our creativity gets stifled by a host of things including emotional baggage, psychological scarring, occupational boredom, substance abuse, mental anguish, spiritual malnutrition… the list goes on.

It can be a vicious circle. Unhappy people have trouble being creative and their lack of creativity leads to more unhappiness. In the downward spiral, destructive behavior eventually overwhelms the creative genius. Just ask Janis Joplin or Jimmy Hendrix, or Jim Morrison, or John Belushi. Don’t expect an answer though… because their unhappiness, manifested in their addictions, destroyed their unique and creative natures. Their creative nature was eventually destroyed along with their lives.

Sin is always destructive. This is what sets it in direct opposition to the creative nature of God. This is what makes it such a great affront to God. What God has created for good is marred and mutates into something that causes harm.

This struggle between our desire to create and our tendency to embrace destructive behavior is almost universal. But if we will let Jesus continue to recreate us in his image, we can break out of the destructive cycle and become creative again. It’s a life or death issue. Choose life. Live to create.

Growth Always Brings Change

2012-01-14T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 14

(Matthew 15:6 NIV) "… you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition."

(Mark 7:9 NIV) "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!"

(Acts 6:14 NIV) "For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us."

(Matthew 18:3 NIV) "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Yesterday we looked at the biological and spiritual principle: “Things must grow or they die”. It seems plain enough in nature and in the word of God. So why don’t more people and more churches do what it takes to continue growth and vitality? Perhaps it's because they are uncomfortable with the promise of growth… or should we say the consequences of growth.

The promise of growth is this: “Growth always brings change.” Things cannot grow without also changing. So the biggest killer of corporate and personal growth is usually the unwillingness to change.

Let’s face it, we are creatures of habit. We easily get set in our ways. There is safety in routine and comfort in knowing what to expect. But our comfort zones can become danger zones when practices and routines become “holy ground” in our minds. There's a fine line between being "in the groove" and being "in a rut".

If we’re not careful our traditions and practices can become more intoxicating than new wine. Then, like addicts, when change threatens our sense of normality, we erect barriers to hinder it. At that point we cease to grow and begin the process of dying. We have headed down the road to that church graveyard in the sky. It may be a long slow death but we are dying nonetheless.

Many Christians and churches end up enshrining traditional practices. They’ve gotten hung up on what a church building should look like… or what worship music should sound like… or what “real Christians” should look like. This thinking can easily devolve into the kind of thinking that Jesus criticized in our scriptures today.

When God wants to do a new thing, the people who ought to be cheering the most, often end up being the ones who boo the loudest. And that infamous creed of the church, “We’ve never done it that way before”… can easily end up being the first line in a church’s eventual obituary.

Jesus came to start something new. The Pharisees opposed him because he threatened their customs and traditions. But the principles do not change: things must grow or they die... and growth always brings change. So this year, commit to growing and changing because frankly, it’s a matter of life and death.

Things Must Grow or They Die

2012-01-13T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 13

(Ezekiel 17:9 NIV) ""Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots."

(Colossians 1:10 NIV) “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…”

(2 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV) “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.”

“Things must grow or they die”. This saying is true on at least three levels.

First, it is true of our physical body. The very definition of life includes growing, reproducing cells. When new cell growth stops, death is imminent. We are either in the process of growing and reproducing new cells or we are in the process of dying.

Second, the saying is also true of the body of Christ called the church. Churches that strive to just “hold their own” have probably begun the slow process of dying. Many churches that started years ago with high expectations and great zeal are no longer vital. Their “new growth has withered” as God said in Ezekiel. Some are no longer even open today because somewhere along the line they decided, consciously or unconsciously, to stop growing.

Most churches would never confess to this because it sounds so unbiblical. But actions speak louder than words. And once a body heads down this road, eventually, “it will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots”.

Whether you apply this principle spiritually or numerically, new growth is a vital sign of life. Things must grow or they die and churches are either in the process of growing or they are in the process of dying.

Third, this proverb also holds true in our personal spiritual lives. New growth is essential to us. We need to be growing in some way or we will begin to wither. It may not be visible at first but without the life giving water of the Spirit, cracks will begin to appear in our spiritual soil. Without the bread of life contained in the living word of God, a slow starvation of our faith sets in. That’s part of what a daily time with God is about.

The question today is this: will you thrive, or will you be uprooted and stripped of your fruit? Will you wither? The answer to the question lies in our willingness to keep growing. If we maintain growth, we live. If we stop growing, we begin the process of dying.

So keep watering and feeding your faith. Even in times of spiritual drought, stay close to the daily food and water supply that Jesus is continually offering. Things must grow or they die.

Changing What We Want

2012-01-12T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 12

“I love him just enough, to understand this stuff. I want it different, but I don’t want to change. So change what I want.” Songwriter Tony Bowell

(Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV) "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; {23} to be made new in the attitude of your minds; {24} and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

There’s an old saying that goes like this: “Old habits die hard.”

Ain’t that the truth? Once a habit is established, it takes a lot of concerted effort to break it. As ex-smokers, ex-drinkers, and ex-users will tell you, it takes more than a just a resolution and a little will power. But the good news is that it can be done and many have succeeded. So what does it take?

First, it will take a genuine disgust with the way things are and a sincere desire to change. We have to “want it different”. In recovery circles it’s called “Being sick and tired of being sick and tired”.

We have to “change what we want”. We have to recognize that we have been dominated by “deceitful desires” and we can no longer trust our judgment. We have to ditch our pride and look to someone else for wisdom. No program or plan can do this for us. This can only come from God working inside us. That’s the “head” part.

Change will also take a “hands and feet” part. We have to abandon our “former way of life”. We have to “put off our old self”. This will take a divorce from old “buddies” and old “haunts”. We will have to change our environment. We have to change where we hang out and who we hang out with. This will require a complete realignment of routines and priorities. And it will probably cause some hard feelings in those who do not understand.

Change like this will bring some pain as we suffer through physical and emotional withdrawal… but that will eventually wane. None of this will be easy but it can be done.

Breaking a bad habit will also require some “replacement therapy”. We can’t just leave the “old”. We will need to fill our life with something new. We should try to establish two or three new healthy habits to take the place of that old bad one. We have to overwhelm the “old” with the “new”. We have to drown the “old” in the “new”.

Listen, only God is eternal. That means habits don’t have to be forever. Old habits die hard… but they can die. We can change old habits, but we probably can’t do it with something as puny as a resolution. Ask God for change. Then take the next step and ask him to change what you want. Happy New Year!

What Shall I Wear

2012-01-11T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 11

(Romans 13:14 NIV) “Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

(Colossians 3:9-10 NIV) "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices {10} and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."

(James 1:8 NIV) "he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."

(Mark 10:27 NIV) “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

America is fond of spy stories. Perhaps it’s because we enjoy the concept of living a double life. For many, the idea of being someone else part of the time is very attractive. Living a second life, whether in fantasy or reality occupies much of our time today.

This attitude can even spill over into the church as folks appear to be one person on Sunday while living as a different person during the week. The term “Sunday Christian” didn’t just pop up out of nowhere.

As we move into this New Year let’s agree that for the Christian, the double life is not God’s will. The new life God wants for us is to be a total makeover. It’s a 24/7/365 gig. Duplicity is not in God’s vocabulary. God wants us to do more than just call ourselves Christians. Changing our name one or two days a week does not change us in the way God desires.

We all know you have to do more than just change the name of something to make it different. Just renaming a Yugo and calling it a BMW will not change its real identity. You can stick a BMW emblem on that Yugo but it will still be a hunk of junk.

You could also decide to call yourself a brain surgeon but that would not make you one. We must do more than just call ourselves something in order to actually be that something. It takes more than just a decision. Commitment, preparation, training, and discipline are what would make one an actual brain surgeon.

The same applies to being a Christian. It takes more than just a name change. It takes more than just a decision. We have to do more than just call ourselves a Christian. It takes commitment, preparation, training, and discipline.

We have to decide who we really want to be and then live it. If we don’t, we end up being “two-faced” Christians… what James calls double minded people. We can end up trying to live with two personalities in us: our Christian persona and our everyday, real life persona. Both lives end up being a “put on”. We end up a spiritual schizophrenic.

God’s desire for us is that we become single minded rather than double minded. God’s desire is that we take off the old self… put on the new self and leave it on. God’s will is that we put Christ on like clothing and wear him every day of the week. Easy? No. Possible? Yes. With God all things are possible.

In this New Year, don’t just call yourself a Christian. Be a Christian. Live as a Christian. Wear your Christianity… all day… every day… all the time. God has a new self for you to put on… so you won’t have to “put on” anymore. Happy New Year.

A Heart Transplant

2012-01-10T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 10

(Ezekiel 18:31 NIV) "Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel?"

(Ezekiel 36:26 NIV) "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

The only way we can really have new life in this New Year is to get a new heart and a new spirit. God can give us both.

Becoming and being a Christian is not just about having a “change of heart”. It’s about getting a whole new heart. Jesus didn’t come just to do some surgery on your old heart. He came to give you a new one. He came to give you a heart transplant. And the heart you get is his. He died so you could have his heart.

When we are finally ready to die to ourselves, Jesus gives us his heart… he puts his heart into us. We are infused with his Spirit and we become a different person. Does this mean that all our problems will go away and everything spiritual ailment we’ve ever had will go away? No. But it does mean our chances of recovery go up dramatically in this New Year because we’ve got a new heart.

We will need to change our lifestyle and abandon old habits. That’s what damaged our old heart. Ezekiel asks a good question: “Why would you rather die than change?”

Even after we get our new heart we must often live with the damage our old heart did to us. It will take a while to nurse our spirits back to health. Ridding ourselves of our old offenses is a process.

Paul Stookey of “Peter, Paul, and Mary” fame told the story of how he and his wife purchased an old three story “hen house” in Pennsylvania and converted it into a home. They had the building steam cleaned to get rid of the odor of chicken manure but he said that when it rained, you could still tell that it had once been a hen house.

Our lives are sometimes like that. When God moves in with us, he gives us a new heart and a new spirit. He “steam cleans” us if you will. But when it rains in our lives… you can still tell that we once were a “hen house”. The good news is that the scent of the old life will get weaker every day if we don’t continue to contribute to it.

So take heart… a transformation is happening even though you still get an occasional whiff of the old man when things go wrong. God wants to give you a new heart and a new spirit. He was willing to die to give you his heart. It will be a much happier New Year if you accept his gift. Let him do the surgery.

A New Name

2012-01-09T00:10:00.003-06:00

January 9

(Revelation 2:17 NIV) "To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it."

(Genesis 17:5 NIV) "No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations."

(Genesis 32:28 NIV) “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

(Matthew 16:17-18 NIV) “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. {18} And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

What's your name? I'm not talking about the name your parents gave you... I'm talking about the name you've earned somehow. What is that name that describes you in a way that perhaps nothing else can? It may be in the form of a nickname.

Back when I was a wannabe rock star my nickname was "Space Cowboy". Bet you weren’t ready for that. It's a title I spent a lot of time and money to earn. Unfortunately it was a pretty accurate description of who I was.

Now after walking with Jesus for 30 years they call me "Preacher". In my humble opinion that's a lot better name. Thank you, Lord.

Did you know that God has a name for you? It's a name he has chosen and someday when you hear it, you will know exactly why he called you by that name.

In the bible, when God touched a person in a special way he would often give them a new name. Abram became Abraham, which means “father of many”. Jacob, which means "deceiver", had his name changed to Israel, which means “he struggles with God”. Simon the fisherman became Peter which means “the rock”. Saul becomes Paul. And in my case, Space Cowboy became Preacher.

What was your name before Christ? Was it hypocrite, cheat, drunk, user, worrier, adulterer, abuser, manipulator, stingy, self-centered, angry, depressed, phony? Maybe that’s still your name. Would you like a name change?

It doesn’t matter what your name WAS when you come to Jesus because God has a new name already picked out for you. It's a name he chose before you were even created. It's a name you will recognize. It’s a name that says something about you that’s worth living up to and worth remembering. Will you ask God for it… or are you content with the name you carry now? Will you receive and accept the name he has chosen for you? Will you become the person he has called you to be?

Why not ask God for your new name early this year? Then listen hard for his answer. It will very likely change your life. Happy New Year!

A New Covenant

2012-01-08T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 8

(Jeremiah 31:31 NIV) ""The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."

(Luke 22:20 NIV) "In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."

A covenant is “an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified.”

In the Old Testament God established a covenant with his people based in the Law of Moses. Centuries later, God told Jeremiah to prophesy that a new covenant would be coming someday. Hundreds of years later, Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. With his birth, life, and death God established a new covenant with his people.

On the night before Jesus died he had a last meal with his disciples. He told those gathered around his table that the “new covenant” spoken of by Jeremiah had now arrived. He told them he would be laying down his life for this new covenant.

It would be a covenant based in faith and guaranteed by the blood of Jesus. He would become the supreme “sacrificial lamb” as he died on the cross. This new covenant would open up a new way of salvation by grace through faith and this "last supper" was to be a constant reminder of what he had done for us.

When Jesus died on the cross for our sin, God fulfilled his part of the covenant… his end of the bargain. The new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah was signed by God with the blood of his Son.

Now we must decide whether or not to sign on the dotted line. It may not require our blood but it will require a death. It will require that we die to ourselves. God gave the life of his Son to establish the covenant with us. We should expect to give no less than our lives in return. Call it surrender. Call it sacrifice. Call it consecration. Call it whatever you want, but the bottom line is that we can no longer live just for ourselves. Instead we must now live for the One who shed his blood for us... the One who died for us.

There’s a gripping scene at the end of the movie “Saving Private Ryan”. With his last dying breath, Captain Miller tells Private Ryan, “Earn this”. Captain Miller was imploring young Private Ryan not to take it lightly that dozens of men had given their lives to save his. They had died so he could live. They had shed their blood so he could make it home. With just two words Captain Miller admonished Private Ryan to live a life worthy of the sacrifice.

Private Ryan didn’t “earn” his rescue. Neither do we. But Private Ryan did strive for the rest of his life to honor the sacrifice made for him by Captain Miller and the others. The Son of God died to rescue us. Can we do any less? Happy New Year!

New Wine

2012-01-07T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 7

(Matthew 9:17 NIV) "Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.""

Jesus used the metaphor of “new wine” to represent the new life he wants to give us. God wants to pour this “new wine” into our lives but if new wine is put into an old wineskin, the old wineskin will burst and both it and the new wine will be ruined. Jesus said a new, pliable, and fresh wineskin is needed for his new wine. That’s why we must do what it takes to stay pliable.

Growing older in the faith has its benefits but it also has some dangers. We can become self-satisfied and a bit smug if we’re not careful. We can reach a point where we assume we’ve taken in just about all there is to know about Jesus and the faith. We can feel so full of spiritual truth that we fail to see the need for any more. We can reach a place where we feel the preacher is usually talking to somebody else. In fact, we can probably name that “someone”. We can catch ourselves thinking, “Gee I wish “so and so” was here because they need to hear this?”

Get rid of that thought. It’s toxic and harmful. When we get to that “somebody else” frame of mind, we have entered a danger zone. Our wineskin has gotten old.

We all need new wine to remain vital and alive in the Lord, but Jesus says he will not pour his new wine into old wineskins. So we will need to be purposeful about keeping our wineskins new and fresh.

Have you read a new Christian book lately? Have you tried to wrap your mind around any new spiritual concepts recently?

Are you in the word daily in some way asking God to speak to you? Has God said anything new to you recently?

Have you met any new Christians in the past month? Have you led anyone to Jesus in the last year? Did you know that over 90% of Christians never lead another person to Jesus? What’s that all about? We have a Savior but he’s not good enough to introduce anyone else to?

Are you affecting the lives of any non-Christians in a positive way? Are you a witness for Jesus? We really don’t have a choice you know. We’re all witnesses of some sort. We’re either a good one or a bad one but we are always a witness of some sort.

Have you reached out and encouraged someone in the faith lately? Are you helping to disciple anyone? Why waste years of valuable experience? We’re called to pass it on, one on one.

Are you praying that God will continue to change you? Or do you figure Jesus is pretty happy with you just the way you are?

Have you learned any new songs recently, or is it the same old hymn every week? If we’re going to continue to be instruments for the Lord we will need to play his music not ours. And his music is new every morning. Music changes from generation to generation. Don’t get stuck in 1950.

These are just some of the ways we can use to keep our wineskins new. The basic question God would ask is, “What are you actually doing to keep your wineskin from getting old and dry?”

Jesus wants to pour new wine into us for as long as we live, so commit to doing what it takes to keep your wineskin new in this New Year… and in every year we have left here on earth. Happy New Year!

Get a Life

2012-01-06T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 6

(2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV) "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

(Romans 6:4 NIV) "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

Years ago, “Get a life”, became a popular saying. Some might think it odd, but the concept is actually found in scripture. “Getting a life”… a new life… is the reason Jesus came.

When we are born again we become a new creation. We get a new life. God doesn’t just revamp the old. He starts something brand new in us. Jesus changes us from the inside out… from the top to the bottom.

But this new life requires our cooperation. We have to bury the old life before a new life can rise up. We must be willing to let the old man die before a new man can thrive. We have to choose to live a life for God.

This “new life” concept could explain why some persevere in the faith and others don’t. When we come to Jesus we must be interested in more than just a quick fix. Faith can only grow strong in us when we allow God to make us new… one day at a time.

Many who come to Jesus desire the peace that forgiveness and mercy can bring… but they don’t really want a new life. They want God to fix their situation but they don’t want him to change their ways. They see Jesus as an ER doctor. They pray 911 prayers. They want to pay Jesus a quick visit, get some cheap medication, and be on their way down the wide road.

But it takes more than a quick visit to the ER to make us well. Jesus had to die to himself before he was ready for the crucifixion. And the thing is, the crucifixion was the only avenue to the resurrection.

We will need to do the same. Being a genuine Christian means letting go of the old life so new life can thrive. We have to assist in the killing of the old man before a new man can live. If we persist in hanging onto our old life, the new life can never take root. If we keep feeding the old man, the new man will starve to death.

It will serve us well to remember that our old life wasn’t all that great. If it was all that great then why did we end up at the foot of the cross? So if we ended up at the foot of the cross, begging God for a new life, why would we want to hang onto the very things that brought us to your knees?

As Twelve Step people say, “Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.”

The great news in this first month of this New Year is that we really can become a new creation… we really can “get a life”… if we will allow God to do his work. In God’s eyes, we really are “a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Make it so in your eyes. Make it so in how you live this year. Make it so today. Happy New Year!

New Birth

2012-01-05T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 5

(John 3:3-7 NIV) “Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” {4} “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”{5} Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. {6} Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. {7} You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’”

(1 Peter 1:23 NIV) "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God."

(1 Peter 1:3 NIV) "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,"

“Resistance is futile”. The Borg: “Startrek: Next Generation”

When we are spiritually dead, it’s hard for us to imagine how God could ever make us brand new. But God has an “app” for that. He has a solution. We can actually be born again… not of a human mother… but of God… not physically but spiritually. This new birth can happen anywhere, anytime, and in many ways. If it hasn’t happened yet in your life, it could happen to you today.

One night a very religious man came to Jesus with hard questions. His name was Nicodemus. Jesus told him that being born again was the only way to prepare for the next life and God’s kingdom. He told Nicodemus that he should not be surprised by this fact. After all, he was a religious teacher. In effect, Jesus was saying, “C’mon Nicodemus, you should know this by now.”

The problem Nicodemus had is a common one today. He was thinking in terms of man, not of God. He couldn’t figure out what we could possibly do to be born a second time from our mother’s womb. Jesus told him he should be thinking in terms of the Father, not his mother. He should be thinking in terms of the Spirit rather than the flesh. Religion is of the flesh. A relationship with Jesus is of the Spirit.

Peter, alias The Rock, would later write: “in his great mercy he has given us new birth.” Don’t miss the word “GIVEN”. New birth is a gift from God. We don’t deserve it. We cannot earn it. If you’ve been trying to earn it through your religion, you’ve been wasting your time. We can only “receive” it through a spiritual “Father-child” relationship.

That can be hard for us to accept. In our humanness and pride, we want to do something to earn it. But think about it: how many of us “earned” our first birth? We didn’t earn it or deserve it. It happened because of a relationship. We accept that easily enough.

It’s the same way with being “born again”. God answers someone’s prayer and declares that it’s time for new birth to happen. Is today your day to be born again? If so, stop resisting. Allow the will of God to be accomplished. “Resistance is futile!”

Happy New Year!

A New Song in Our Mouth

2012-01-04T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 4

(Psalms 40:2-3 NIV) "He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. {3} He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD."

Music is an amazing gift of God… given to us for his worship, praise, and glory.

The musical scale contains of a mere 7 notes. Yet within the framework of that 7 note scale, music almost as varied as creation can be produced. In just Western culture alone, we have classical, blues, country, jazz, soul, big band, rock & roll, folk, rap, gospel, bluegrass and many other genres. Worldwide the variety is almost endless.

Out of this “do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti” scale, we continue to produce new songs and arrangements that have never been heard before. From this one finite scale comes an almost infinite number of varied sounds, melodies, and arrangements.

What a great metaphor for humanity. God creates each of us as a unique new song of praise to him. Even though we are very similar, we are also very different from everyone else on earth. God gives each of us a melody of our very own.

But as the years roll by, the notes can become muted as our lives slip into the mud and the mire. The strings of our life get stretched, sometimes even broken. We may continue trying to sing from “the slimy pit” but our songs become strained, tainted, and out of tune with God. In the end, we all end up trying to sing solo. We write protest songs instead of praise songs. Our notes end up producing dissonance instead of the harmony God intended.

Then comes Jesus… and in his grace he offers to rearrange our sad song. If we say yes to God’s gift, he puts a new song in our mouth that once again fulfills music’s purpose of glorifying God. The new song he gives us not only gets us back into harmony… it can help others hear the true song of God.

When you really think about it that is not a bad way to spend this next year. Actually, that would not be a bad way to spend one's entire life.

So in this season of the “new year”, why not ask God to lift you from any slimy, muddy, miry pit where you may be stuck. Ask him for a new rock to stand on. Ask him for a new song... and then listen for it. Happy New Year!

We’re Doin a New Thing Baby

2012-01-03T00:10:00.001-06:00

January 3

(Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV) "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. {19} See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

Growing up on the farm, you get placed into the “work force” much earlier than your peers in the city. The unemployment rate is very, very low on the farm. Plowing was one of the first jobs most kids got for an assignment after they were taught how to operate a tractor. Plowing was pretty simple in the old days. Just get the front and back wheels on the right side of the tractor into the furrow and go round and round the field. It was pretty hard to get out of that furrow. It was sort of a primitive GPS system. But if you did get out of that furrow, it was often difficult to get back into it.

I still remember my dad’s instruction: “Son, when you plow you need to look back part of the time to be sure the plow doesn’t plug up with loose straw. Now it will be tempting to look back most of the time because that’s where the action is. Seeing that dirt turn over is what makes plowing fun. But if you look back too long, you can’t plow straight.”

How right he was. More than once I ignored his advice, became fascinated by the work of the plow, and ended up out of the furrow and in a mess.

It’s like that in our lives too. Many of us spend way too much time looking back and so we have a hard time “plowing straight”. We live in the past. Our yesterdays dominate our today. Our past contaminates our present and our history blots out our future. Looking back in regret and despair prevents us from looking ahead in hope.

So here's a theological concept that could change your life if you choose to embrace it. God is far more interested in our present and future than He is in our past.

Listen again to the ancient wisdom of Isaiah: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

We learned yesterday that God loves to make us new. But for that to happen we have to “perceive it”. We have to let go of the old and embrace the new. God has made a new way for us but we must keep our eyes on him in order to see it. We will need to change where we spend the majority of our time looking. We will need to look ahead more than we look back. We will need to look up more than we look down.

This is very doable. Millions of people have learned to do it. With God’s help it is well within our capabilities. It takes some practice. It takes some perseverance. But you can do this. It's a choice we can all make. So why not start today.

Look ahead more than you look back. Look up more than you look down. It’s a new way of looking at life that will change your life. Happy New Year!