I'm eager to hear from God this morning! How about you? He's already spoken his goodness to me in the hugs of my children and the beauty around me. Now I'm opening his word to Psalm 5 to see what more he wants to say. Let's read it together, at least twice. Look thoughtfully over each line and let it resonate in your heart. What are you needing to hear most in this moment?
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. (v. 3)
Yesterday I blogged about the frustration of prayers that seem unheard. Here in this statement God is reminding me of some important principles for prayer. One is that I need to keep praying and voicing my requests to God. In and of itself, the process of praying draws me out of the physical and into the spiritual, keeping me in touch with God. To give up praying is to give up on God's friendship. God wants to hear my voice as much as I want to hear his!
Another thing he's emphasizing is that I need to become okay with waiting. It's not my strong suit, I admit. I want God to give me patience...right now! But part of learning to honor and depend on God is coming to grips with the fact that my timetable isn't his to keep. And that's hard. Yet so many times I tell my own kids to wait when they're nagging and insisting that I get up and move right now to do what they want. Funny how it feels perfectly reasonable for me to make them learn to wait! Come to think of it, parents who always jump when their kids say jump are making it even harder for their children to have a good relationship with God. The first time they ask for something and God doesn't give it right away will send them into a crisis of faith.
And then there's expectation. "I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." It's not passive waiting; it's active. It's expectant. From cover to cover of the Bible, God makes it clear that we should pray in expectation that he will grant our prayers. Now a lot of us have learned to hedge our bets with God. We pray but we're afraid to expect a positive answer. Because what if he doesn't come through? We're afraid that if we get our hopes up it will hurt more if we're disappointed. It's less painful to ask God with an attitude of "He may grant this or he many not. I'm sure he'll do whatever is best." That way we can stay at a flat line of faith. No peaks. No valleys. Just keep it level. "He will or he won't. We'll just have to wait and see."
God never says to pray that way. I challenge you to find it in Scripture. "Wait in expectation," he says. "Expect a postive response. Believe that your prayers can move me, even change my mind." God doesn't always give us the answer we want, but he wants us to expect him to give it. He doesn't want us to pray with a fatalistic mindset that he's already decided what he's going to do anyway so our prayers are just a formality. Fatalism is the spawn of religion but not of a real relationship with the living God. Resist it!
Father, I will pray to you. And I will wait for you to answer. I concede that you have a much better sense of timing than I do. And even though you haven't always granted my every request, I will continue to pray with expectation that you will respond favorably--not because of who I am, but because of who you are and the covenant promises you have made through Jesus, your Son. Amen.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Hello, God. Are you listening?
Happy Memorial Day! It's always a good day to hear from our God! Why don't you take a minute and join me in listening to him speak through his word in Psalm 4? This one really strikes a cord with me.
Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God....(B)e merciful and hear my prayer.... (T)he LORD will hear when I call to him. (v. 1, 3)
Right off the bat in this psalm there is a cry from the human heart to know that God actually answers prayer. Few things are as common to the human experience as prayer. Almost everyone prays--at least sometimes. But I don't want to just pray. I want to pray effective prayers. If my cries never reach God's ears, or if he doesn't regard me highly enough to answer, I'm wasting my time. I think that we all long to be heard and for God to respond to our prayers.
I'm going to assume that David, who wrote this, was feeling the same way. The only reason he would say these things is if he were feeling as though God wasn't answering his prayer. So he's pleading with God to respond. He's declaring confidently that God has bound himself by covenant with those who trust him to hear when they call (v. 3). What's frustrating is when I believe that firmly and still don't see my prayers granted.
Right now, one of the biggest concerns I have been praying for--the growth of One Life Church--has still not been granted. At least not to the extent I have prayed for growth. It's a prayer that seemingly would be fully within God's will. And he may still deliver. But in the meantime I wait. And I feel like David, pleading with God to answer my prayer. Maybe you can relate?
It's a comfort to know that even a great man like David, known as "a man after God's own heart," at times felt the frustration of God's silence. It's part of the life of faith. Every spiritual journey includes treks through the wilderness--even Jesus' did. But God does something even in those periods. Sometimes he just wants us to remember that he is sovereign and he is good. He wants me to grow deeper in my trust in him. He wants me to discover that he is enough.
When the wilderness shapes my heart that way I can pray along with David, "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety" (v. 8). And I will continue to offer my requests and wait for the Lord to answer!
How did God speak to you in this psalm? Share it below! First sign in (top right corner of the page) or select Anonymous in the "Comment as" field.
Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God....(B)e merciful and hear my prayer.... (T)he LORD will hear when I call to him. (v. 1, 3)
Right off the bat in this psalm there is a cry from the human heart to know that God actually answers prayer. Few things are as common to the human experience as prayer. Almost everyone prays--at least sometimes. But I don't want to just pray. I want to pray effective prayers. If my cries never reach God's ears, or if he doesn't regard me highly enough to answer, I'm wasting my time. I think that we all long to be heard and for God to respond to our prayers.
I'm going to assume that David, who wrote this, was feeling the same way. The only reason he would say these things is if he were feeling as though God wasn't answering his prayer. So he's pleading with God to respond. He's declaring confidently that God has bound himself by covenant with those who trust him to hear when they call (v. 3). What's frustrating is when I believe that firmly and still don't see my prayers granted.
Right now, one of the biggest concerns I have been praying for--the growth of One Life Church--has still not been granted. At least not to the extent I have prayed for growth. It's a prayer that seemingly would be fully within God's will. And he may still deliver. But in the meantime I wait. And I feel like David, pleading with God to answer my prayer. Maybe you can relate?
It's a comfort to know that even a great man like David, known as "a man after God's own heart," at times felt the frustration of God's silence. It's part of the life of faith. Every spiritual journey includes treks through the wilderness--even Jesus' did. But God does something even in those periods. Sometimes he just wants us to remember that he is sovereign and he is good. He wants me to grow deeper in my trust in him. He wants me to discover that he is enough.
When the wilderness shapes my heart that way I can pray along with David, "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety" (v. 8). And I will continue to offer my requests and wait for the Lord to answer!
How did God speak to you in this psalm? Share it below! First sign in (top right corner of the page) or select Anonymous in the "Comment as" field.
Friday, May 27, 2011
My Shield
Happy Friday and happy Memorial Day weekend! This is Michele journaling for you this morning. Thank you, Chris, for this opportunity! I am reading Psalm 3 and focusing on how secure I am in God's hands. The verses that speak most to my heart this morning are:
But, you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain. (vs 3-4)
I don't know about you, but I sure need to know that I have a shield around me to provide safety and security in this crazy, sinful world. There are some situations in my life that torment me and Satan uses them to try to discourage me and destroy my happiness. We all have situations in our lives that we wish were different, we wish we could change either for ourselves or for someone that we love deeply. It's easy to get discouraged and give up, but that is not what David did when he was running for his life from his enemies, even his own flesh and blood son! David sought the Lord, he knew where his shield and protection were found.
God never said that life would be easy, but he did say that we will never have to go it alone. Giving in to our enemies would only serve to lessen our dependence on God, our faith in our Savior, and our hope for what he is doing in our lives..........and that is just what our enemy wants to do. He will only succeed if we let him!!!
David, our psalmist, found himself running from enemies several times and he continually ran to his God where he found shelter and protection and strength to carry on. We need to follow his example! When life gets hard we have a shield, we have a God who looks down on us and answers our prayer. When our enemies shoot fiery arrows at us we have a shield around us!! Those arrows will only penetrate us if we give in and let them. Besides, I want to be a godly example to my enemies too. If I profess to be a Christian then my life and the way I handle situations should reflect that so that my enemies can see the hand of God in my life. If I just give in I'm not showing my trust that God will rescue me and hold my head high.
Lord, I need your protection and your strength!! Help me to run to you, to cry out to you and trust that you hear me and will answer my prayer. The enemy wants to ruin the blessings that you have provided for my life and he will try any way he can to rob me of them. I will seek you, I will trust you to guide my life and I will depend solely on you for the outcome. Protect others in my life who share in my suffering and give them strength, as well. The situations that we face do not always seem fair, but this is the stuff you use. Help me to remember that and to rest in your shelter and protection.
Please share with us how this Psalm spoke to your heart. We would love to hear your comments! Just choose anonymous in the drop down box and tell us what God is saying to you today. God bless you all and have a great day and a safe weekend!!
But, you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain. (vs 3-4)
I don't know about you, but I sure need to know that I have a shield around me to provide safety and security in this crazy, sinful world. There are some situations in my life that torment me and Satan uses them to try to discourage me and destroy my happiness. We all have situations in our lives that we wish were different, we wish we could change either for ourselves or for someone that we love deeply. It's easy to get discouraged and give up, but that is not what David did when he was running for his life from his enemies, even his own flesh and blood son! David sought the Lord, he knew where his shield and protection were found.
God never said that life would be easy, but he did say that we will never have to go it alone. Giving in to our enemies would only serve to lessen our dependence on God, our faith in our Savior, and our hope for what he is doing in our lives..........and that is just what our enemy wants to do. He will only succeed if we let him!!!
David, our psalmist, found himself running from enemies several times and he continually ran to his God where he found shelter and protection and strength to carry on. We need to follow his example! When life gets hard we have a shield, we have a God who looks down on us and answers our prayer. When our enemies shoot fiery arrows at us we have a shield around us!! Those arrows will only penetrate us if we give in and let them. Besides, I want to be a godly example to my enemies too. If I profess to be a Christian then my life and the way I handle situations should reflect that so that my enemies can see the hand of God in my life. If I just give in I'm not showing my trust that God will rescue me and hold my head high.
Lord, I need your protection and your strength!! Help me to run to you, to cry out to you and trust that you hear me and will answer my prayer. The enemy wants to ruin the blessings that you have provided for my life and he will try any way he can to rob me of them. I will seek you, I will trust you to guide my life and I will depend solely on you for the outcome. Protect others in my life who share in my suffering and give them strength, as well. The situations that we face do not always seem fair, but this is the stuff you use. Help me to remember that and to rest in your shelter and protection.
Please share with us how this Psalm spoke to your heart. We would love to hear your comments! Just choose anonymous in the drop down box and tell us what God is saying to you today. God bless you all and have a great day and a safe weekend!!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Awestruck Wonder
Welcome back! Today, God is still very active in his world and our lives. He wants to help guide us on the right path that leads to life. Join me listening to the thoughts expressed in Psalm 2. Give it a couple of read-throughs. What does God want to impress on you through these words?
I'm drawn to this statement:
Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. (v. 11)
I read this and think how easy it is to fail to give God his due. I mean, what if I had lived at the time of Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great--both of whom conquered the world--and been called in by him, walked into his pristine throne room through the gauntlet of palace guards and stood there before him? Well, actually I wouldn't have been standing! I would have been on my knees, or I would have been slammed to them by a spear shaft across my back. And what if he had given me a charge of some kind? Sent me to carry out some royal decree?
I'm trying to imagine how I would have felt in that moment and as I left the palace. I think I would have been duly impressed with what just happened! Knowing I was kneeling before the most powerful king in the world would have been awe-inspiring! Imagine me in a one-on-one with Julius Caesar! I can picture myself setting out with an intense sense of purpose and a heightened sense of urgency about what he just commanded me to get done. I don't think I would have let much distract me from it. I would have been a man on a mission!
Then I think about how I feel when I come into the presence of God to worship him. I'm thinking about what the level of my intensity and resolution is when it comes to carrying out the mission he has set me on. I think about what I see from my fellow servants. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. This is far from the casual Christianity of many church-goers. Where is the awe? Where is the wonder? It's amazing that God makes himself so near and proves to be so loving. But I wonder if we haven't so domesticated and tamed God that serving his mission is no longer a compelling responsibility? How has the service of the King of the Universe, who holds our very lives in his hands, become such a low priority? If we really thought about who God is, it would unleash an unbridled joy to be in his presence coupled with a profound awe and a sense of urgency to carry out his will.
I know I will stand accountable to you, my King, for the way I have approached your service and your worship. May I never hear you say that I did either half-heartedly, flippantly or that I offered you lame excuses. God, remind me of how fearfully awesome you are! I am on my knees before you right now, fully aware of who you are and who I am in awestruck wonder! I gladly accept your decision to send me!
Please share your impressions of Psalm 2 and how it relates to your life. Sign in on the top right corner of the page or select Anonymous in the "Comment as" field when you enter your comments below.
I'm drawn to this statement:
Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. (v. 11)
I read this and think how easy it is to fail to give God his due. I mean, what if I had lived at the time of Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great--both of whom conquered the world--and been called in by him, walked into his pristine throne room through the gauntlet of palace guards and stood there before him? Well, actually I wouldn't have been standing! I would have been on my knees, or I would have been slammed to them by a spear shaft across my back. And what if he had given me a charge of some kind? Sent me to carry out some royal decree?
I'm trying to imagine how I would have felt in that moment and as I left the palace. I think I would have been duly impressed with what just happened! Knowing I was kneeling before the most powerful king in the world would have been awe-inspiring! Imagine me in a one-on-one with Julius Caesar! I can picture myself setting out with an intense sense of purpose and a heightened sense of urgency about what he just commanded me to get done. I don't think I would have let much distract me from it. I would have been a man on a mission!
Then I think about how I feel when I come into the presence of God to worship him. I'm thinking about what the level of my intensity and resolution is when it comes to carrying out the mission he has set me on. I think about what I see from my fellow servants. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. This is far from the casual Christianity of many church-goers. Where is the awe? Where is the wonder? It's amazing that God makes himself so near and proves to be so loving. But I wonder if we haven't so domesticated and tamed God that serving his mission is no longer a compelling responsibility? How has the service of the King of the Universe, who holds our very lives in his hands, become such a low priority? If we really thought about who God is, it would unleash an unbridled joy to be in his presence coupled with a profound awe and a sense of urgency to carry out his will.
I know I will stand accountable to you, my King, for the way I have approached your service and your worship. May I never hear you say that I did either half-heartedly, flippantly or that I offered you lame excuses. God, remind me of how fearfully awesome you are! I am on my knees before you right now, fully aware of who you are and who I am in awestruck wonder! I gladly accept your decision to send me!
Please share your impressions of Psalm 2 and how it relates to your life. Sign in on the top right corner of the page or select Anonymous in the "Comment as" field when you enter your comments below.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
The Good Life
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We've been through some prophecy, then a letter, and now we're headed for some wisdom literature. I want to spend a little time in a section of the Psalms, fueling my worship to God. So let's start at the very beginning--Psalm one. Just a tip or two first: The Psalms are self-contained poems that were sung and/or read in public worship both in Judaism and in the early church. This is a collection of separately written songs as opposed to chapters in a continuous piece of literature. They are poetry and are rich with imagery and other poetic figures of speech. They are best experienced when read out loud. So give it a try!
What stands out in your mind as you read this psalm?
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.... But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (v. 1-2)
Two lifestyles are contrasted in this psalm. One leaves a person dry, brittle and without anything to show for his life. The other is a life rich in spiritual nourishment that leads to stability, fruitfulness and a future. And what really sets a person down one of these two paths is whose voice they are mainly listening to. They're either following the counsel of people who have no understanding or appreciation of God and goodness, or they're listening to God's clear voice of truth, open and eager to be led by him. The voices in my life make a big difference!
Meditating on God's Word needs to be a part of my daily routine if I want to have the blessed life. Otherwise, I will be easily misdirected by the sinful influences around me that masquerade as icons of success. When I walk through my days listening to the advice of worldly people, I will end up standing for the same empty values that they do and eventually settle into a lifestyle that mocks God and has no use for him (v. 1). I should be careful of the voices I listen to in the media. They are leading me somewhere.
Lord, I love to be in your word and hear your voice there and in every way that you communicate. Please speak into my life today and every day. Thank you for this practice of journaling our conversations. What you have to say is always so helpful to me! Please guide me along in the good life. Amen.
Your impressions from this psalm are definitely requested! Sign into your Google account (top right corner of page) or just select Anonymous from the list in the "Comment as" field and share your thoughts below. God bless you today!
We've been through some prophecy, then a letter, and now we're headed for some wisdom literature. I want to spend a little time in a section of the Psalms, fueling my worship to God. So let's start at the very beginning--Psalm one. Just a tip or two first: The Psalms are self-contained poems that were sung and/or read in public worship both in Judaism and in the early church. This is a collection of separately written songs as opposed to chapters in a continuous piece of literature. They are poetry and are rich with imagery and other poetic figures of speech. They are best experienced when read out loud. So give it a try!
What stands out in your mind as you read this psalm?
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.... But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (v. 1-2)
Two lifestyles are contrasted in this psalm. One leaves a person dry, brittle and without anything to show for his life. The other is a life rich in spiritual nourishment that leads to stability, fruitfulness and a future. And what really sets a person down one of these two paths is whose voice they are mainly listening to. They're either following the counsel of people who have no understanding or appreciation of God and goodness, or they're listening to God's clear voice of truth, open and eager to be led by him. The voices in my life make a big difference!
Meditating on God's Word needs to be a part of my daily routine if I want to have the blessed life. Otherwise, I will be easily misdirected by the sinful influences around me that masquerade as icons of success. When I walk through my days listening to the advice of worldly people, I will end up standing for the same empty values that they do and eventually settle into a lifestyle that mocks God and has no use for him (v. 1). I should be careful of the voices I listen to in the media. They are leading me somewhere.
Lord, I love to be in your word and hear your voice there and in every way that you communicate. Please speak into my life today and every day. Thank you for this practice of journaling our conversations. What you have to say is always so helpful to me! Please guide me along in the good life. Amen.
Your impressions from this psalm are definitely requested! Sign into your Google account (top right corner of page) or just select Anonymous from the list in the "Comment as" field and share your thoughts below. God bless you today!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
No Need Unmet
I hope the sun is shining on you today! You can't see it, but God's glory is certainly shining on you! I'm listening to his Spirit's voice today in Philippians 4:14-23, as we close out this letter for now. I invite you to let God speak to you too by reading through this passage two or three times. His Word is living and active!
This is what God is impressing on my heart:
"I am amply supplied now that i have received...the gifts you sent.... And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (v. 18-19)
Yesterday God was speaking contentment to my heart. Today he is following that up with this very comforting promise to meet all my needs. Whatever I need he will provide! Even if I had to let go of some of what he's allowed me to enjoy, I will still have what I need. That brings me peace!
One important qualification that I see on this promise is that God is making it to those who have generously given to meet the needs of others. This is a promise back to people who were offering monetary gifts to God's mission, which he describes as a "fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God." They were generous givers. They were sharing what they had to allow God's mission to carry on. And he was reassuring them, in case they were worried about what financial effect their offering might have on their future, that they too would be blessed with everything they need.
Sometimes the thought crosses my mind, as I drop my check in the offering basket each week, that I might need that money for something myself. But God has always kept his promise: we've always had our every need supplied! (Not every wish or desire though!) Because I have seen God's faithfulness throughout these many years I really have great peace about any offering I give to him. He's always out-given me!
Father, I will continue to love you with my offerings, trusting in your faithfulness to meet all my needs as I supply the needs of others. Amen.
Join the conversation! Share your comments below.
This is what God is impressing on my heart:
"I am amply supplied now that i have received...the gifts you sent.... And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (v. 18-19)
Yesterday God was speaking contentment to my heart. Today he is following that up with this very comforting promise to meet all my needs. Whatever I need he will provide! Even if I had to let go of some of what he's allowed me to enjoy, I will still have what I need. That brings me peace!
One important qualification that I see on this promise is that God is making it to those who have generously given to meet the needs of others. This is a promise back to people who were offering monetary gifts to God's mission, which he describes as a "fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God." They were generous givers. They were sharing what they had to allow God's mission to carry on. And he was reassuring them, in case they were worried about what financial effect their offering might have on their future, that they too would be blessed with everything they need.
Sometimes the thought crosses my mind, as I drop my check in the offering basket each week, that I might need that money for something myself. But God has always kept his promise: we've always had our every need supplied! (Not every wish or desire though!) Because I have seen God's faithfulness throughout these many years I really have great peace about any offering I give to him. He's always out-given me!
Father, I will continue to love you with my offerings, trusting in your faithfulness to meet all my needs as I supply the needs of others. Amen.
Join the conversation! Share your comments below.
Monday, May 23, 2011
The Secret of Contentment
Today is my birthday, and I'm very thankful for the opportunities God has given me to be a positive influence in your life! I'm also thankful for all the blessings he has given me--some of them huge, but also the everyday things that add quality to my life. These thoughts I was having today really tie in to what God is also saying to me today in Scripture. I'm reading Philippians 4:10-13. It's amazing how much power God can pack into just a few sentences! Read it with me and let God speak to you, too. What I'm focusing on is this:
I ahve learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in pletny or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (v. 12-13)
I'm so blessed! God has given me life, health, a nice home, reliable vehicles that aren't embarrassing to drive, plenty of good food and clean water on daily basis, fashionable clothes that don't have holes in them, a couple of computers (they're great when they work), and lots of other nice stuff. I even got some nice birthday presents to boot! When it comes to things, I'm content!
It's one thing to get to a level of spiritual maturity that you learn to be happy with what you have and stop endlessly craving more. Wouldn't it be something life-changing to lose the fear of not having enough? That's where my struggle would more often be. It's not so much that I want more. It's just that I don't want to lose what I do have. But God is saying that he wants me to come to a place inwardly where even that fear can't harrass me.
It's not that he wants me to be lazy or foolish--not at all! It's that he wants me to quit basing my satisfaction in life on things altogether. He's saying that if I am right with him, close to him, doing good in this world, loving others and being loved, I am a success. My life is good! I may have some needs that are currently unmet. And while I should pray about those things and pursue a better supply while following God's lead, there's no need in worrying or fretting or feeling discontent about such things. God will take care of all those things for me as I live for him.
If I can get there, I wonder how differently I might live? I bet I would be more generous. I might slow down long enough to enjoy the life I have and the beauty around me more. The secret of contentment is the depth of satisfaction I have in my relationship with Jesus. I am leaning on him, strengthened by his love, filled with his Spirit, fueled by his mission, resting in his hope. I'm nuturing and growing that relationship right now. I hope you are too!
Please share the things that God is speaking to your heart in this text by commenting below. Sign into your Google account first (top right corner of the page) or just choose Anonymous in the "Comment as" field. Be blessed!
I ahve learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in pletny or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (v. 12-13)
I'm so blessed! God has given me life, health, a nice home, reliable vehicles that aren't embarrassing to drive, plenty of good food and clean water on daily basis, fashionable clothes that don't have holes in them, a couple of computers (they're great when they work), and lots of other nice stuff. I even got some nice birthday presents to boot! When it comes to things, I'm content!
It's one thing to get to a level of spiritual maturity that you learn to be happy with what you have and stop endlessly craving more. Wouldn't it be something life-changing to lose the fear of not having enough? That's where my struggle would more often be. It's not so much that I want more. It's just that I don't want to lose what I do have. But God is saying that he wants me to come to a place inwardly where even that fear can't harrass me.
It's not that he wants me to be lazy or foolish--not at all! It's that he wants me to quit basing my satisfaction in life on things altogether. He's saying that if I am right with him, close to him, doing good in this world, loving others and being loved, I am a success. My life is good! I may have some needs that are currently unmet. And while I should pray about those things and pursue a better supply while following God's lead, there's no need in worrying or fretting or feeling discontent about such things. God will take care of all those things for me as I live for him.
If I can get there, I wonder how differently I might live? I bet I would be more generous. I might slow down long enough to enjoy the life I have and the beauty around me more. The secret of contentment is the depth of satisfaction I have in my relationship with Jesus. I am leaning on him, strengthened by his love, filled with his Spirit, fueled by his mission, resting in his hope. I'm nuturing and growing that relationship right now. I hope you are too!
Please share the things that God is speaking to your heart in this text by commenting below. Sign into your Google account first (top right corner of the page) or just choose Anonymous in the "Comment as" field. Be blessed!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Think Peace
A happy Friday to you! I'm praying that God will reveal himself and his love to you today and guide your steps. I'm going back one more time to the well of Philippians 4:4-9 to close out the blog for this week. Today, this is what I'm focusing on:
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things... And the God of peace will be with you. (v. 8-9)
What God is impressing on me is how important my thought world is. Everything I do first originates in my thinking. The kind of things that my mind dwells on determines how I feel. If I spend lots of time listening to and reading and watching programming that's about all what's wrong in the world, the govenerment, the economy, the church or my neighborhood, then I will never enjoy the blessing of true peace. I am choosing to fret instead of choosing to feel joy. I will live instead with pent-up anxiety, anger and frustration. And it will show.
Do I really long for the peace of God to be the dominant overtone of my life? What kinds of things am I dwelling on? I need to intentionally think about the beautiful rather than the ugly, the best instead of the worst, things worth cheering instead of things I feel like cursing. There is so much beauty in my life when I stop and think about it! There is so much to be thankful for and praise God for.
The world is under the dark veil of cynicism and distrust. Some people are only happy when they have something to be upset about. But it's not really happiness, is it? They grow addicted to their negativity. It eats away at their peace and leaves them feeling consistently miserable, convinced that everyone is out to rip them off or steal what's rightfully theirs. Peace comes when you let go of everything, realize that everything you have is a gift of God's grace and revel in all the good that God brings to your life and to the world around you. Sometimes, you just have to look a little more closely to see it!
I hope you choose peace, my friends.
Share your thoughts with us below!
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things... And the God of peace will be with you. (v. 8-9)
What God is impressing on me is how important my thought world is. Everything I do first originates in my thinking. The kind of things that my mind dwells on determines how I feel. If I spend lots of time listening to and reading and watching programming that's about all what's wrong in the world, the govenerment, the economy, the church or my neighborhood, then I will never enjoy the blessing of true peace. I am choosing to fret instead of choosing to feel joy. I will live instead with pent-up anxiety, anger and frustration. And it will show.
Do I really long for the peace of God to be the dominant overtone of my life? What kinds of things am I dwelling on? I need to intentionally think about the beautiful rather than the ugly, the best instead of the worst, things worth cheering instead of things I feel like cursing. There is so much beauty in my life when I stop and think about it! There is so much to be thankful for and praise God for.
The world is under the dark veil of cynicism and distrust. Some people are only happy when they have something to be upset about. But it's not really happiness, is it? They grow addicted to their negativity. It eats away at their peace and leaves them feeling consistently miserable, convinced that everyone is out to rip them off or steal what's rightfully theirs. Peace comes when you let go of everything, realize that everything you have is a gift of God's grace and revel in all the good that God brings to your life and to the world around you. Sometimes, you just have to look a little more closely to see it!
I hope you choose peace, my friends.
Share your thoughts with us below!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Rapture Saturday
So Saturday is it, my friends! Jesus is coming back at 6pm. Or at least that's what Harold Camping of Christian Family Radio is warning. As I was reading through Philippians 4:4-9 again today my thoughts were drawn to this statement:
The Lord is near. (v. 5)
Some scholars have taken that to mean that the apostle Paul anticipated that Jesus' return was near. Based on other things he wrote, that is debatable. I take it mean that Paul felt the nearness of Jesus at all times and it was the source of his joy, his peace and his ability to treat everybody with consideration. But there is no doubt that every single generation of Christians since its beginning have had those who felt strongly that Jesus' return would happen in their lifetime.
Actually, that is exactly how Jesus intended it, it would appear. He warned his first followers to be ready and expect his return. He told them stories to illustrate the danger of thinking his coming was still a long way off and the importance of anticipating it.
So how near is the Lord's return? Could it actually be Saturday? Well, I would have to admit it's possible. But I doubt that God will give Camping the satisfaction of predicting it correctly, especially since Jesus himself made it clear on more than one occasion that nobody knows the precise time of his return--not even he knew! (Matthew 24:36, 44; Luke 21:8) And this isn't Camping's first attempt at predicting it, either. I don't know that we have until Saturday. It may be today!
Some Christians obsess with being on the planning committee for Jesus' return. I prefer to be on the receiving committee. I'm ready today. If he comes today I'll be ready to receive him. If he comes Saturday I'll be ready then too. If his return is delayed until sometime mid-summer or next year or when I'm 75, I'll be looking for him, eager to see him, thrilled to witness the amazing reality of that moment. That is how Scripture teaches us to live. Never were we expected to read the Bible or the highly symbolic prophecies of Daniel and Revelation with a calculator in hand. In response to a question about the time that his kingdom will be fully realized, Jesus himself said, "It is not for you to know the times and dates the Father has set by his own authority." (Acts 1:7) What he did want them to be focused on was this: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses..." (v. 8).
One thing is certain, beyond any doubt. The end of the world will come for you and me in our lifetime. How do I know? It's simple. The world as we now know it will end either at Jesus' return or it will end at our death. And we don't know when either of those events could happen. It could be before you hit the pillow tonight. So it would be a good idea to be ready for it whenever it may happen. I'm ready. Are you? If you're not, please get that way! But don't go selling all your stuff and joining Harold Camping's bunch on a mountaintop Saturday. The odds aren't good and you don't want to be homeless should Sunday morning dawn.
Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly! But if you delay I will celebrate the fact that, regardless whether you come Saturday, you are near today. Amen.
I'd love to hear what God is speaking to you today through this text. First, sign in to your Google account (top right corner) or you can select Anonymous in the "Comment as" field.
The Lord is near. (v. 5)
Some scholars have taken that to mean that the apostle Paul anticipated that Jesus' return was near. Based on other things he wrote, that is debatable. I take it mean that Paul felt the nearness of Jesus at all times and it was the source of his joy, his peace and his ability to treat everybody with consideration. But there is no doubt that every single generation of Christians since its beginning have had those who felt strongly that Jesus' return would happen in their lifetime.
Actually, that is exactly how Jesus intended it, it would appear. He warned his first followers to be ready and expect his return. He told them stories to illustrate the danger of thinking his coming was still a long way off and the importance of anticipating it.
So how near is the Lord's return? Could it actually be Saturday? Well, I would have to admit it's possible. But I doubt that God will give Camping the satisfaction of predicting it correctly, especially since Jesus himself made it clear on more than one occasion that nobody knows the precise time of his return--not even he knew! (Matthew 24:36, 44; Luke 21:8) And this isn't Camping's first attempt at predicting it, either. I don't know that we have until Saturday. It may be today!
Some Christians obsess with being on the planning committee for Jesus' return. I prefer to be on the receiving committee. I'm ready today. If he comes today I'll be ready to receive him. If he comes Saturday I'll be ready then too. If his return is delayed until sometime mid-summer or next year or when I'm 75, I'll be looking for him, eager to see him, thrilled to witness the amazing reality of that moment. That is how Scripture teaches us to live. Never were we expected to read the Bible or the highly symbolic prophecies of Daniel and Revelation with a calculator in hand. In response to a question about the time that his kingdom will be fully realized, Jesus himself said, "It is not for you to know the times and dates the Father has set by his own authority." (Acts 1:7) What he did want them to be focused on was this: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses..." (v. 8).
One thing is certain, beyond any doubt. The end of the world will come for you and me in our lifetime. How do I know? It's simple. The world as we now know it will end either at Jesus' return or it will end at our death. And we don't know when either of those events could happen. It could be before you hit the pillow tonight. So it would be a good idea to be ready for it whenever it may happen. I'm ready. Are you? If you're not, please get that way! But don't go selling all your stuff and joining Harold Camping's bunch on a mountaintop Saturday. The odds aren't good and you don't want to be homeless should Sunday morning dawn.
Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly! But if you delay I will celebrate the fact that, regardless whether you come Saturday, you are near today. Amen.
I'd love to hear what God is speaking to you today through this text. First, sign in to your Google account (top right corner) or you can select Anonymous in the "Comment as" field.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Get This Party Started
It takes time for God to break down the faulty worldview that we inherit from living in a short-sighted, sinful world and to replace it with his own heavenly perspective. If you're like me, you have probably heard a message or read Scripture that really spoke to you, and it made a big difference in your perspective and the way you took on life...for a day, or maybe two. But then a few days or weeks down the road you reflect on how short-lived that change in you was. It didn't take long at all for you to fall back into the old familiar rut.
The reason that happens is that we move on too quickly from the enlightening or inspiring thoughts that bring that temporary change for the better. Somehow we imagine that just hearing it once is all we need, so we're on to the next thing. If only that were the case! But in reality long-term core change rarely comes from simply gaining some new information. The thoughts that may change us for a day or two will quickly fade and be replaced by the ones that we have grown conditioned to thinking day in and day out for years. If we want the change to stick, we've got to spend significant time rehearsing those thoughts that can change us. We have to give them a chance to sink in and replace the old, self-defeating thoughts. Sometimes we just need to settle into a verse or paragraph of Scripture for an extended period of time and let it coach us into making real, long-term change.
All of that to say that I'm not quite ready to move on from the text I read yesterday. I'm going back to Philippians 4:4-9 again. I need to hear it again. This text more concisely describes the life I want than maybe any other single text in Scripture. Today I'm thinking especially about this:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (v. 4)
Rejoice in the Lord. Celebrate Jesus. Revel in him! It's a great thought and I'm sure I don't do it as much or as freely as I should. I wonder, how do you rejoice in the Lord when you feel that he has let you down? Everyone has those times when what we hoped for from God falls through. Some of those things are simply wishes of what would be nice. Others are the deep-down driving desires of our souls. It's the latter I speak of. When I feel immense disappointment in what God has or hasn't done, when I can't make any sense of it, when even his own mission and interests seem not important enough to him to act, it's a real challenge to think of God and feel an overflowing joy. Maybe I'm alone in that difficulty, but I suspect not.
I know for a fact that God is willing to accept our honest emotions, even our disappointment with him or our frustration. Every major figure whose story is told in Scripture had those times. Even Jesus on the cross felt abandoned by God and cried out from a broken heart. But I would much rather rejoice in the Lord. And the key word is "always." As Paul wrote these words he was imprisoned. He had gone to preach and lead people to Jesus and ended up in prison for it, facing possible execution. There had to be some confusion and disappointment that he had followed God's call to go and yet it hadn't gone well, or not as he'd hoped. Yet he still manages to flip that confusion around and rejoice in the Lord.
I think part of the answer lies in what he says just after that: "The Lord is near." That's his conviction. God may seem to be far off and disinterested but he's really not. He's near. He's close by, engaged, and he will keep his promises. He does love me and he's coming for me. I have to remember that it's not my place to make sense of everything that happens or what God's agenda is in each circumstance. I just have to remind myself that he's near and that he will show his love and glory to me in ways that will blow my mind. For now, I just must wait, greatly anticipate that, and rejoice in who he is and what he's already done for me. Rejoice in the Lord always!
Lord, I celebrate you! I will sing and I will dance and I will clap my hands because you are who you are and you love me! I know you will show all your goodness and faithfulness to me in time! That's a great feeling even when now I may be baffled by what you're up to. Amen!
Please give us the blessing of sharing what God is doing in your heart through what he is saying in this text. We would so appreciate it! Sign into your Google account first (top right corner of the page) or just select Anonymous in the "Comment As" box.
The reason that happens is that we move on too quickly from the enlightening or inspiring thoughts that bring that temporary change for the better. Somehow we imagine that just hearing it once is all we need, so we're on to the next thing. If only that were the case! But in reality long-term core change rarely comes from simply gaining some new information. The thoughts that may change us for a day or two will quickly fade and be replaced by the ones that we have grown conditioned to thinking day in and day out for years. If we want the change to stick, we've got to spend significant time rehearsing those thoughts that can change us. We have to give them a chance to sink in and replace the old, self-defeating thoughts. Sometimes we just need to settle into a verse or paragraph of Scripture for an extended period of time and let it coach us into making real, long-term change.
All of that to say that I'm not quite ready to move on from the text I read yesterday. I'm going back to Philippians 4:4-9 again. I need to hear it again. This text more concisely describes the life I want than maybe any other single text in Scripture. Today I'm thinking especially about this:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (v. 4)
Rejoice in the Lord. Celebrate Jesus. Revel in him! It's a great thought and I'm sure I don't do it as much or as freely as I should. I wonder, how do you rejoice in the Lord when you feel that he has let you down? Everyone has those times when what we hoped for from God falls through. Some of those things are simply wishes of what would be nice. Others are the deep-down driving desires of our souls. It's the latter I speak of. When I feel immense disappointment in what God has or hasn't done, when I can't make any sense of it, when even his own mission and interests seem not important enough to him to act, it's a real challenge to think of God and feel an overflowing joy. Maybe I'm alone in that difficulty, but I suspect not.
I know for a fact that God is willing to accept our honest emotions, even our disappointment with him or our frustration. Every major figure whose story is told in Scripture had those times. Even Jesus on the cross felt abandoned by God and cried out from a broken heart. But I would much rather rejoice in the Lord. And the key word is "always." As Paul wrote these words he was imprisoned. He had gone to preach and lead people to Jesus and ended up in prison for it, facing possible execution. There had to be some confusion and disappointment that he had followed God's call to go and yet it hadn't gone well, or not as he'd hoped. Yet he still manages to flip that confusion around and rejoice in the Lord.
I think part of the answer lies in what he says just after that: "The Lord is near." That's his conviction. God may seem to be far off and disinterested but he's really not. He's near. He's close by, engaged, and he will keep his promises. He does love me and he's coming for me. I have to remember that it's not my place to make sense of everything that happens or what God's agenda is in each circumstance. I just have to remind myself that he's near and that he will show his love and glory to me in ways that will blow my mind. For now, I just must wait, greatly anticipate that, and rejoice in who he is and what he's already done for me. Rejoice in the Lord always!
Lord, I celebrate you! I will sing and I will dance and I will clap my hands because you are who you are and you love me! I know you will show all your goodness and faithfulness to me in time! That's a great feeling even when now I may be baffled by what you're up to. Amen!
Please give us the blessing of sharing what God is doing in your heart through what he is saying in this text. We would so appreciate it! Sign into your Google account first (top right corner of the page) or just select Anonymous in the "Comment As" box.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Peaceful, Easy Feeling
I love this passage of Scripture! I'm reading Philippians 4:4-9 today. It's always been a favorite that has spoken to me countless times. Today I'm trying to hear it again as if for the very first time. Lord, what are you wanting to say to me through these ancient yet clearly relevant words today? Ask God yourself and give it a few minutes to read it over a few times.
This is what God is impressing on me:
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (v. 7)
I was just having some anxious thoughts a few short minutes ago, and then I open this up and God is speaking his peace to me. Just what I needed to hear! So, God, this is what I'm hearing you say: Your peace will take its post as a guard protecting my emotions and thoughts from tormenting me. It's your peace you speak of, not a peace that I can conjure up based on my own problem-solving skills or by seeing all the ducks line up neatly in a row. Not that I don't love it when that happens! But you're talking about a peace that isn't produced through circumstances lining up and making sense. It is a peace beyond my ability, or anyone else's ability, to really understand or fully explain. It's a peace that anchors not on smooth waters on the surface but on solid rock deep down under.
I hear you saying that you offer me your peace when I pray more than I worry, trusting you with the outcome, thanking you in advance for keeping your promise to work all things together for good. Help me to remember to do that. Remind me when I'm letting my thoughts run amok. But there's more. To receive your peace I must choose to focus on all the good I see around me and the amazing blessings you've provided, as opposed to obsessing over the problem or the fears that I have. What? One more thing? Okay, what is it? Oh, you're saying that your peace will be mine when I'm busy doing the good I know to do, being about what you're about, being productive and active in following your lead, instead of sitting passively on my hands where worry and anxiety run rampant.
So that's how your peace will rest on me--through turning it over to you in prayer, focusing on the good, and doing what I know to do. Got it! Thanks, Father. By your grace, I'll make it my goal to do just that!
So what is God saying that you need to hear? Sign into your Google account and comment below, or just choose Anonymous from the "Comment As" field.
This is what God is impressing on me:
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (v. 7)
I was just having some anxious thoughts a few short minutes ago, and then I open this up and God is speaking his peace to me. Just what I needed to hear! So, God, this is what I'm hearing you say: Your peace will take its post as a guard protecting my emotions and thoughts from tormenting me. It's your peace you speak of, not a peace that I can conjure up based on my own problem-solving skills or by seeing all the ducks line up neatly in a row. Not that I don't love it when that happens! But you're talking about a peace that isn't produced through circumstances lining up and making sense. It is a peace beyond my ability, or anyone else's ability, to really understand or fully explain. It's a peace that anchors not on smooth waters on the surface but on solid rock deep down under.
I hear you saying that you offer me your peace when I pray more than I worry, trusting you with the outcome, thanking you in advance for keeping your promise to work all things together for good. Help me to remember to do that. Remind me when I'm letting my thoughts run amok. But there's more. To receive your peace I must choose to focus on all the good I see around me and the amazing blessings you've provided, as opposed to obsessing over the problem or the fears that I have. What? One more thing? Okay, what is it? Oh, you're saying that your peace will be mine when I'm busy doing the good I know to do, being about what you're about, being productive and active in following your lead, instead of sitting passively on my hands where worry and anxiety run rampant.
So that's how your peace will rest on me--through turning it over to you in prayer, focusing on the good, and doing what I know to do. Got it! Thanks, Father. By your grace, I'll make it my goal to do just that!
So what is God saying that you need to hear? Sign into your Google account and comment below, or just choose Anonymous from the "Comment As" field.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Dear Friends
Hello, friends! Thank you for participating in this online conversation with God! You may wonder what happened to Friday's entry. Blogger (the site that hosts this blog) was having technical problems Friday and wasn't allowing anyone to post new entries that day. But we're back up and running today, so let's dive right in!
I'm listening to what God is saying in Philippians 3:17 through 4:3. Let's listen together. Read it through several times so that you'll not miss anything and it can soak into your heart. What is especially relevant to you right now? What I am noticing most is the impression God is giving me of how his people should interact. Particularly these instructions:
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel...whose names are in the book of life. (4:2-3)
We can't always agree with each other on every matter. But we can agree in the Lord. In other words, we can agree that what is more important than the issue we disagree about is the relationship we have in the Lord. We can value the spiritual bond between us--created by Jesus at great personal expense--more highly than the satisfaction of winning the argument. Most disagreements can be worked out if we'll just value the relationship enough to invest a little time and risk the discomfort of a face-to-face conversation.
What I have witnessed in church life is the sad reality that this often isn't the case. When some friction happens between us, many people will simply walk away and slam the door on the relationship without having made much, if any, effort to work things out. What God is impressing on me in this text is that the reason people are so quick to do that is that they severly undervalue the relationships he gives us in the body of Christ. A lot of that is the consequence of living in a culture of disposable relationships. Real commitment is hard to come by even in marriages, much less in friendships and relationships within Christ's church. Another factor is that the sheer number of churches in most communities creates a temptation to take the easy way out and just leave and go elsewhere. Our affluent society also gives us this illusion of independence and the mistaken feeling that we don't really need each other. So few deep, lasting relationships form between us. Many make it their intention to keep others at arm's length and just maintain surface-level relationships. After all, that kind of relationship is easy to walk away from when they get uncomfortable. But what are we missing out on? At what expense do these shallow, disposable relationships come?
Just some of the terms used in this text reveal the depth of the relationships that were enjoyed among Christ's early followers. The apostle calls them "brothers." He doesn't just talk about his own personal relationship with God and his own future but speaks of what they share together in Jesus: "our citizenship is in heaven...we eagerly await a Savior from there." He comes right out and tells them he loves them and longs to see them. He calls them his "joy and crown" and refers to them as "dear friends." He sees them as his spiritual partners whose "names are in the book of life."
How would it feel to be part of a fellowship that felt this way about each other? If we did, how much richer would we be as members of the human community? And when some conflict came up between us, we would be much more likely to work it out than walk away. We may not be able to see eye to eye on something, but we can still stand shoulder to shoulder as part of the family of God. And that's when you know you really have something.
Please share with us what God is saying to you in this text. Comment below!
I'm listening to what God is saying in Philippians 3:17 through 4:3. Let's listen together. Read it through several times so that you'll not miss anything and it can soak into your heart. What is especially relevant to you right now? What I am noticing most is the impression God is giving me of how his people should interact. Particularly these instructions:
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel...whose names are in the book of life. (4:2-3)
We can't always agree with each other on every matter. But we can agree in the Lord. In other words, we can agree that what is more important than the issue we disagree about is the relationship we have in the Lord. We can value the spiritual bond between us--created by Jesus at great personal expense--more highly than the satisfaction of winning the argument. Most disagreements can be worked out if we'll just value the relationship enough to invest a little time and risk the discomfort of a face-to-face conversation.
What I have witnessed in church life is the sad reality that this often isn't the case. When some friction happens between us, many people will simply walk away and slam the door on the relationship without having made much, if any, effort to work things out. What God is impressing on me in this text is that the reason people are so quick to do that is that they severly undervalue the relationships he gives us in the body of Christ. A lot of that is the consequence of living in a culture of disposable relationships. Real commitment is hard to come by even in marriages, much less in friendships and relationships within Christ's church. Another factor is that the sheer number of churches in most communities creates a temptation to take the easy way out and just leave and go elsewhere. Our affluent society also gives us this illusion of independence and the mistaken feeling that we don't really need each other. So few deep, lasting relationships form between us. Many make it their intention to keep others at arm's length and just maintain surface-level relationships. After all, that kind of relationship is easy to walk away from when they get uncomfortable. But what are we missing out on? At what expense do these shallow, disposable relationships come?
Just some of the terms used in this text reveal the depth of the relationships that were enjoyed among Christ's early followers. The apostle calls them "brothers." He doesn't just talk about his own personal relationship with God and his own future but speaks of what they share together in Jesus: "our citizenship is in heaven...we eagerly await a Savior from there." He comes right out and tells them he loves them and longs to see them. He calls them his "joy and crown" and refers to them as "dear friends." He sees them as his spiritual partners whose "names are in the book of life."
How would it feel to be part of a fellowship that felt this way about each other? If we did, how much richer would we be as members of the human community? And when some conflict came up between us, we would be much more likely to work it out than walk away. We may not be able to see eye to eye on something, but we can still stand shoulder to shoulder as part of the family of God. And that's when you know you really have something.
Please share with us what God is saying to you in this text. Comment below!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Rising Again
Alright, my fellow God-questers, time to tune in! I'm open to hear from God this morning and I hope you are too. Let's open up his word to Philippians 3:10-16. This is such an inspirational text! I feel a power surge pulsing through my spirit! What is God saying to you here?
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection... (v. 10)
Life's disappointments and unhappy endings may be inevitable, but they are not terminal. I can experience the same power for new beginnings that Jesus did in his rising from death! And that is the truth.
One thing I've noticed as a cat owner is that they are eternal optimists. No matter how many times I put my cat in the utility room for the night, he always thinks this is the night he will get to roam free. Hope springs eternal when I am walking in faith in Jesus. Relationships that appear hopelessly broken can be restored through Christ. Dreams that have been shattered can be recreated new and fresh. Bad choices that have left me fallen on my face do not have the last word. I can rise again! Jesus makes it possible. In fact, he makes the impossible possible in many cases. But there's more to it:
"I want to know Christ...and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death." (v. 10)
That part of the statement doesn't seem to grab me like the first part does. Who wants to suffer or die? Nobody...well, except Texans fans. But God is telling me that that's part of the package. To experience the power of his resurrection means that I must first go with him through sufferings and even death. I can't experience the power of rising again unless I first get knocked down. But the beautiful thing is that whether I'm currently hurting or celebrating, either experience can give me an even stronger connection with my Savior Jesus. Either can build our fellowship, our friendship. Because Jesus experienced both the pain and the triumph, too!
Right now, I'm so glad to be experiencing the power of his rising again! After the long journey through the blackness of loss he is bringing resurrection to my hopes, my dreams, my heart, my future. This is for real, my friend. So if you're in the pit right now just hang on, pray and know that your day is coming! Until then, enjoy the fellowship of the One who suffered for you and now suffers with you.
What did God speak to your heart in this text? We'd love to hear it! Share your comments below.
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection... (v. 10)
Life's disappointments and unhappy endings may be inevitable, but they are not terminal. I can experience the same power for new beginnings that Jesus did in his rising from death! And that is the truth.
One thing I've noticed as a cat owner is that they are eternal optimists. No matter how many times I put my cat in the utility room for the night, he always thinks this is the night he will get to roam free. Hope springs eternal when I am walking in faith in Jesus. Relationships that appear hopelessly broken can be restored through Christ. Dreams that have been shattered can be recreated new and fresh. Bad choices that have left me fallen on my face do not have the last word. I can rise again! Jesus makes it possible. In fact, he makes the impossible possible in many cases. But there's more to it:
"I want to know Christ...and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death." (v. 10)
That part of the statement doesn't seem to grab me like the first part does. Who wants to suffer or die? Nobody...well, except Texans fans. But God is telling me that that's part of the package. To experience the power of his resurrection means that I must first go with him through sufferings and even death. I can't experience the power of rising again unless I first get knocked down. But the beautiful thing is that whether I'm currently hurting or celebrating, either experience can give me an even stronger connection with my Savior Jesus. Either can build our fellowship, our friendship. Because Jesus experienced both the pain and the triumph, too!
Right now, I'm so glad to be experiencing the power of his rising again! After the long journey through the blackness of loss he is bringing resurrection to my hopes, my dreams, my heart, my future. This is for real, my friend. So if you're in the pit right now just hang on, pray and know that your day is coming! Until then, enjoy the fellowship of the One who suffered for you and now suffers with you.
What did God speak to your heart in this text? We'd love to hear it! Share your comments below.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Religious Doggie-Doo
I'm really needing to hear from God. How about you? Why don't you meet me in Philippians 3 and let's settle in with verses 1 through 9. Time to breathe in some God-breath! What is he speaking to your heart?
Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant--dog dung. I"ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. (v. 8 Msg.)
What exactly is the apostle describing as "dog dung"?? (And yes, that is the more literal translation than the softened "rubbish.") He's not talking about money, women, being a high roller. He's talking about the religious checklist he used to keep so meticulously! (v. 4-6) He's saying religion isn't where it's at (to borrow some slang). Religion always degrades into legalsim and/or fatalism. In Paul's case, it used to be legalism, meaning that compulsion to think that you can get yourself right with God by jumping through all the right relgious hoops, keeping all the rules, holding all the right postions, measuring up. Dog dung, he calls it--an apostle of Jesus Christ.
There are only two kinds of righteousness (right standing with God)--self-righteousness and God's righteousness. A righteousness I try to attain myself or a righteousness I receive as a gift of God's grace. I either think I'm right with God because I'm good enough and right enough and faithful enough, or I know I'm right with God because Jesus is good enough, right enough, and faithful enough to save me. There is no middle ground.
God is telling me here that legalistic self-righteousness is no righteousness at all. And why would I want it, anyway? Receiving the righteousness that only God can give me through his Son Jesus is so far better! It's not about performance; it's about faith. It's not trusting in my own abilities to be good enough. It's trusting in God's gracious offer and what Jesus did for me.
Learning this lesson was so freeing to me, beginning in my early 20s. My Christian pedigree can't give me life. In fact, trying to maintain it has a way of sucking the life right out of me. But knowing and trusting in Jesus, well that is the most life-giving relationship I've ever experienced! And no, that doesn't mean that I don't need to live faithfully. In fact, it gives me the motivation and the power to live faithfully! It doesn't mean I don't need to be engaged in the body of Christ, his church. But there's a big difference between "going to church" to punch my card and perform the ritual versus being an active part of a community of believers to serve together, grow together, encourage each other, and follow Christ into the world together to make a difference.
Yes, Jesus, you have brought me to life! Thank you so much!!
Please relate what God is saying to you here. Sign into your Google account and then comment below, or just choose Anonymous in th "Comment As" box.
Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant--dog dung. I"ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. (v. 8 Msg.)
What exactly is the apostle describing as "dog dung"?? (And yes, that is the more literal translation than the softened "rubbish.") He's not talking about money, women, being a high roller. He's talking about the religious checklist he used to keep so meticulously! (v. 4-6) He's saying religion isn't where it's at (to borrow some slang). Religion always degrades into legalsim and/or fatalism. In Paul's case, it used to be legalism, meaning that compulsion to think that you can get yourself right with God by jumping through all the right relgious hoops, keeping all the rules, holding all the right postions, measuring up. Dog dung, he calls it--an apostle of Jesus Christ.
There are only two kinds of righteousness (right standing with God)--self-righteousness and God's righteousness. A righteousness I try to attain myself or a righteousness I receive as a gift of God's grace. I either think I'm right with God because I'm good enough and right enough and faithful enough, or I know I'm right with God because Jesus is good enough, right enough, and faithful enough to save me. There is no middle ground.
God is telling me here that legalistic self-righteousness is no righteousness at all. And why would I want it, anyway? Receiving the righteousness that only God can give me through his Son Jesus is so far better! It's not about performance; it's about faith. It's not trusting in my own abilities to be good enough. It's trusting in God's gracious offer and what Jesus did for me.
Learning this lesson was so freeing to me, beginning in my early 20s. My Christian pedigree can't give me life. In fact, trying to maintain it has a way of sucking the life right out of me. But knowing and trusting in Jesus, well that is the most life-giving relationship I've ever experienced! And no, that doesn't mean that I don't need to live faithfully. In fact, it gives me the motivation and the power to live faithfully! It doesn't mean I don't need to be engaged in the body of Christ, his church. But there's a big difference between "going to church" to punch my card and perform the ritual versus being an active part of a community of believers to serve together, grow together, encourage each other, and follow Christ into the world together to make a difference.
Yes, Jesus, you have brought me to life! Thank you so much!!
Please relate what God is saying to you here. Sign into your Google account and then comment below, or just choose Anonymous in th "Comment As" box.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
What It Means to Follow Jesus
Growing and staying close to God is a lot like breathing. You have to do it regularly, and it is rhythmic. You intake God's message of love to you and then exhale it through your words and actions. Breathe in; breathe out. Grace and peace. Learn and do. Feel love; give love. So keep breathing!
We're inhaling God's word to us from Philippians 2:19-3:1 on this Tuesday. Don't rush through it too fast, you might hyperventilate. Take slow, deep breaths. Let it be a time that God's peace can fall upon you. Enjoy it! This isn't work! This is pleasure! After reading it through a few times, this is what caught my attention:
I hope in the Lord.... And I am confident in the Lord.... Welcome him in the Lord.... Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! (v. 19, 24, 29; 3:1)
In just a couple of paragraphs, it struck me how many times the phrase "in the Lord" is used. In the Lord. When I'm hungry I look in the refrigerator. When I'm needing something to wear I look in the closet. Sometimes I leave my cds or sunglasses in the car. I have some important papers in the office. But hope, confidence, fulfilling relationships, deep-seated joy...the really important stuff is all found in the Lord! And even more than that, I hear God saying that everything in my life as a disciple should flow from my relationship with Jesus. It is not just one compartment of my life, but the source or hub out of which everything else flows.
My hopes for good things ahead, my aspirations about what I would like to accomplish, my interactions and relationships with people in my life, the attitude that I bring to my circumstances are either sourced in my own fallen nature or they're shaped by my constant awareness of Jesus' personal presence and leadership. This is what it means to follow him.
Practically speaking, today I will parent my kids in the Lord. I will dream about my future in the Lord. I will respond to the people around me in the Lord. I will conduct my upcoming meeting in the Lord. I will find my confidence and significance in the Lord. Any offenses or problems that come my way I will deal with in the Lord. And come good or bad I will most definitely rejoice in the Lord! Because, Jesus, you are always the center of my life and you are always good! Lead me today and I will follow you. I've breathed in; now I'm ready to breathe out.
Your reflections on God's word to you in this text are just as important as mine. Please feel welcome to share them in the comments box below. Sign in using the link on the top right corner of the page (you must have a Google account) or you can bypass that and simply choose Anonymous in the "Comment as" field.
We're inhaling God's word to us from Philippians 2:19-3:1 on this Tuesday. Don't rush through it too fast, you might hyperventilate. Take slow, deep breaths. Let it be a time that God's peace can fall upon you. Enjoy it! This isn't work! This is pleasure! After reading it through a few times, this is what caught my attention:
I hope in the Lord.... And I am confident in the Lord.... Welcome him in the Lord.... Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! (v. 19, 24, 29; 3:1)
In just a couple of paragraphs, it struck me how many times the phrase "in the Lord" is used. In the Lord. When I'm hungry I look in the refrigerator. When I'm needing something to wear I look in the closet. Sometimes I leave my cds or sunglasses in the car. I have some important papers in the office. But hope, confidence, fulfilling relationships, deep-seated joy...the really important stuff is all found in the Lord! And even more than that, I hear God saying that everything in my life as a disciple should flow from my relationship with Jesus. It is not just one compartment of my life, but the source or hub out of which everything else flows.
My hopes for good things ahead, my aspirations about what I would like to accomplish, my interactions and relationships with people in my life, the attitude that I bring to my circumstances are either sourced in my own fallen nature or they're shaped by my constant awareness of Jesus' personal presence and leadership. This is what it means to follow him.
Practically speaking, today I will parent my kids in the Lord. I will dream about my future in the Lord. I will respond to the people around me in the Lord. I will conduct my upcoming meeting in the Lord. I will find my confidence and significance in the Lord. Any offenses or problems that come my way I will deal with in the Lord. And come good or bad I will most definitely rejoice in the Lord! Because, Jesus, you are always the center of my life and you are always good! Lead me today and I will follow you. I've breathed in; now I'm ready to breathe out.
Your reflections on God's word to you in this text are just as important as mine. Please feel welcome to share them in the comments box below. Sign in using the link on the top right corner of the page (you must have a Google account) or you can bypass that and simply choose Anonymous in the "Comment as" field.
Monday, May 9, 2011
All This Work For Nothing?
Welcome back to our conversation with God! Today let's get saturated with what his thoughts that are found in Philippians 2:12-18. It's two short paragraphs but full of encouragement and inspiration! As you read it through a couple of times, take a few moments to ask God, "What are you wanting to say to me today through this Scripture? How do you want this to shape my attitudes and actions? Speak clearly to me, God."
For me personally, this is what God is impressing on me:
Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. . . . Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to all this work for nothing. (v. 15-16 Msg.)
We all want to know that our lives matter. Everyone from the plumber to the president gets a deep satisfaction from seeing that the work they do makes a difference. As a pastor and leader of people, I can relate to the apostle's longing to see the fruit of his efforts in the lives of people he invested himself in. There's nothing like being in the business of helping people grow! Nothing gets me going like seeing someone make strides forward in the right direction, rising to new heights, experiencing more of the full kind of life God wants to give them.
Even if you're not a church leader you are still a minister of Jesus to other people. If you follow Christ, you lead people. And the work of leading and influencing people can be as frustrating at times as it is fulfilling. Sometimes I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels or beating my head up against a brick wall. How about you? There are moments, even days, that all of my planning and effort and attention to detail just seems to fall flat and accomplish little to nothing. Those are hard days! I get discouraged and wonder why I keep trying.
But then someone I'm leading will do something or say something that inspires me! Someone will exemplify the working of God in their lives in some form or fashion, and I know that I was a seed planter or a waterer in that person's heart. Those are the times that I know that my effort is really worthwhile! It's such a great feeling! And it really won't be until the return of Christ that I get to see the full impact of my service. Every person I see in heaven, being rewarded for their faith and the good things they accomplished, that I influenced will fill my heart with an overflowing joy! The frustrations will be oh so worth it. I"ll know it wasn't for nothing, but for something amazing and eternal!
Please share your thoughts with us below!
For me personally, this is what God is impressing on me:
Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. . . . Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to all this work for nothing. (v. 15-16 Msg.)
We all want to know that our lives matter. Everyone from the plumber to the president gets a deep satisfaction from seeing that the work they do makes a difference. As a pastor and leader of people, I can relate to the apostle's longing to see the fruit of his efforts in the lives of people he invested himself in. There's nothing like being in the business of helping people grow! Nothing gets me going like seeing someone make strides forward in the right direction, rising to new heights, experiencing more of the full kind of life God wants to give them.
Even if you're not a church leader you are still a minister of Jesus to other people. If you follow Christ, you lead people. And the work of leading and influencing people can be as frustrating at times as it is fulfilling. Sometimes I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels or beating my head up against a brick wall. How about you? There are moments, even days, that all of my planning and effort and attention to detail just seems to fall flat and accomplish little to nothing. Those are hard days! I get discouraged and wonder why I keep trying.
But then someone I'm leading will do something or say something that inspires me! Someone will exemplify the working of God in their lives in some form or fashion, and I know that I was a seed planter or a waterer in that person's heart. Those are the times that I know that my effort is really worthwhile! It's such a great feeling! And it really won't be until the return of Christ that I get to see the full impact of my service. Every person I see in heaven, being rewarded for their faith and the good things they accomplished, that I influenced will fill my heart with an overflowing joy! The frustrations will be oh so worth it. I"ll know it wasn't for nothing, but for something amazing and eternal!
Please share your thoughts with us below!
Friday, May 6, 2011
The Attitude of Christ
Happy Friday to you all!! This is Michele blogging for you today! I am honored to have the opportunity, once again, to share with you what God is speaking to my heart as I read his Word. Today, I am focusing on Philippians 2:1-11. This text reminds us that we are to have the attitude of Christ as it pertains to our interactions with others. My heart continues to focus on the following:
Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. (vs. 3-5)
This certainly does not speak to my interactions with those who are unlovable! It couldn't......could it?? How about grumpy people who just want to be left alone? Or miserable people who want to drag you down with them when things are going pretty well for you? Are you ever tempted to be envious of others and think that those who have "everything" don't deserve to be served?
This passage tells us that we are to take interest in others. It is not specified which "kind" of others we are to be interested in.......just that we are to take that interest and to think of others as better than ourselves. Being humble means remembering who we are, that we are all imperfect beings who have been saved by God's grace alone. Jesus did not only serve the kind, gentle, respectful crowd. Not at all! God's Word says:
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being (vs. 7)
So, when I come across that grumpy person who thinks that the world owes him/her, or when someone in my life can't stand that I'm joyful and they're not, or when I happen upon someone who seems to have it all, I need to have the attitude that Jesus had. I need to remember that I was once like many of these people and it is only by God's grace that I don't live my life grumpy or in misery or continue to be a lost soul. Just because someone may have a lot of "things" doesn't mean that they have Jesus. I need to do what I can to show the love of Christ and to show that person what it means to be a Christ follower. Lay down my own need to be justified for their behavior against me and determine to love that person......NOT his or her actions.
Thank you, Lord that you did not overlook me. Help me to see others through your eyes and to really love them, to be like you and live to serve others. Lord, fill my heart with an attitude like yours....an attitude of humility and unselfishness. Please take away my need to be justified when someone chooses to behave negatively toward me and replace it with a genuine love and compassion for that person's soul. Please fill my heart, Lord, with your genuine love for all!
Please feel free and welcome to share any comments you may have below!! Thank you for allowing me to share with you and I hope you have an excellent Friday!!
Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. (vs. 3-5)
This certainly does not speak to my interactions with those who are unlovable! It couldn't......could it?? How about grumpy people who just want to be left alone? Or miserable people who want to drag you down with them when things are going pretty well for you? Are you ever tempted to be envious of others and think that those who have "everything" don't deserve to be served?
This passage tells us that we are to take interest in others. It is not specified which "kind" of others we are to be interested in.......just that we are to take that interest and to think of others as better than ourselves. Being humble means remembering who we are, that we are all imperfect beings who have been saved by God's grace alone. Jesus did not only serve the kind, gentle, respectful crowd. Not at all! God's Word says:
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being (vs. 7)
So, when I come across that grumpy person who thinks that the world owes him/her, or when someone in my life can't stand that I'm joyful and they're not, or when I happen upon someone who seems to have it all, I need to have the attitude that Jesus had. I need to remember that I was once like many of these people and it is only by God's grace that I don't live my life grumpy or in misery or continue to be a lost soul. Just because someone may have a lot of "things" doesn't mean that they have Jesus. I need to do what I can to show the love of Christ and to show that person what it means to be a Christ follower. Lay down my own need to be justified for their behavior against me and determine to love that person......NOT his or her actions.
Thank you, Lord that you did not overlook me. Help me to see others through your eyes and to really love them, to be like you and live to serve others. Lord, fill my heart with an attitude like yours....an attitude of humility and unselfishness. Please take away my need to be justified when someone chooses to behave negatively toward me and replace it with a genuine love and compassion for that person's soul. Please fill my heart, Lord, with your genuine love for all!
Please feel free and welcome to share any comments you may have below!! Thank you for allowing me to share with you and I hope you have an excellent Friday!!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Joy Pumper
There's nothing like a word from God to motivate, inspire, encourage, and sometimes convict me, and always to move me in the right direction! Today let's read Philippians 1:19-29. Go through these ten verses two or three times and give the Holy Spirit the space to apply it to your mind and heart. What do you hear him saying? There are several things that strike me. One is this:
I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. (v. 25-26)
When I think about it, that's what I really most want to do with my life--I want to increase people's joy. I want my presence, my example, my service, my words, the way I live for Jesus to have a positive effect on the people I have contact with. Wouldn't it be awesome if that was what we all wanted? But even though there will always be people who seem to want to spread as much misery and discontent as they can, I can make a different choice. I can make the best choice (see yesterday's blog). I can live every day thinking how can I bring someone joy today. How can my life be an oasis of good things for the weary desert travelers around me to catch some refreshment when I'm around? By doing that, I can actually help people make progress in the development of their faith in Jesus ("...for your progress and joy in the faith..."). Now that's something worth living for! That would make me so happy! I would never feel like I am wasting my life or that my existence doesn't matter.
But God, what if my own circumstances are pretty rotten and I don't even feel joyful myself? (I'm not saying that I feel that way now, but there have been times.) Sure, it would be great to be a joy pumper for others! If only you would fix all this stuff for me so I could feel joy myself!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot...Paul was sitting in a Roman prison far away from home, persecuted and unjustly robbed of his freedom as he expressed this thought of wanting to bring joy to the people he wrote to. You're right, I don't have it that bad. So being a joy pumper doesn't require my life to be all roses? It just requires me to choose joy over misery, to know that my life still matters, to let the Holy Spirit fill me and turn my focus outward instead of inward. It just means that I have to decide not to give Satan the pleasure of defeating my spirit, refusing to give in to depression and self-pity, believing that some of my greatest contributions to the world may come through the valleys of my own pain because you, God, are going to use it for good! Well alright, then! I'm with you, Jesus. Let's go pump some joy!
I would love for this blog to be a blessing to more people! Would you help me get the word out? Just send the link to some friends or family members and let them know how it's encouraging you and that think they would like it too. Thanks so much!
Please share you're thougths on this text and how God is impressing it and applying it to your life. You can choose Anonymous from the "Comment as" list or sign into your Google account first.
I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. (v. 25-26)
When I think about it, that's what I really most want to do with my life--I want to increase people's joy. I want my presence, my example, my service, my words, the way I live for Jesus to have a positive effect on the people I have contact with. Wouldn't it be awesome if that was what we all wanted? But even though there will always be people who seem to want to spread as much misery and discontent as they can, I can make a different choice. I can make the best choice (see yesterday's blog). I can live every day thinking how can I bring someone joy today. How can my life be an oasis of good things for the weary desert travelers around me to catch some refreshment when I'm around? By doing that, I can actually help people make progress in the development of their faith in Jesus ("...for your progress and joy in the faith..."). Now that's something worth living for! That would make me so happy! I would never feel like I am wasting my life or that my existence doesn't matter.
But God, what if my own circumstances are pretty rotten and I don't even feel joyful myself? (I'm not saying that I feel that way now, but there have been times.) Sure, it would be great to be a joy pumper for others! If only you would fix all this stuff for me so I could feel joy myself!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot...Paul was sitting in a Roman prison far away from home, persecuted and unjustly robbed of his freedom as he expressed this thought of wanting to bring joy to the people he wrote to. You're right, I don't have it that bad. So being a joy pumper doesn't require my life to be all roses? It just requires me to choose joy over misery, to know that my life still matters, to let the Holy Spirit fill me and turn my focus outward instead of inward. It just means that I have to decide not to give Satan the pleasure of defeating my spirit, refusing to give in to depression and self-pity, believing that some of my greatest contributions to the world may come through the valleys of my own pain because you, God, are going to use it for good! Well alright, then! I'm with you, Jesus. Let's go pump some joy!
I would love for this blog to be a blessing to more people! Would you help me get the word out? Just send the link to some friends or family members and let them know how it's encouraging you and that think they would like it too. Thanks so much!
Please share you're thougths on this text and how God is impressing it and applying it to your life. You can choose Anonymous from the "Comment as" list or sign into your Google account first.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Choices
Grace and peace to you! Let's keep that thought going! Today, let's take it to Philippians 1:8-18. God's message to you and me is living and powerful. You'll get a peek here into Paul's own conversation with God as he sat in prison for preaching Jesus as Savior and King.
And this is my prayer...that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ... (v. 9-10)
Choices are important. To a large degree my life at this moment is the culmination of all of my prior choices. That's why I want to make the right choices today. They will shape my future! So what kind of choices will I make today? Will I make bad choices? Will I be content with average choices? Maybe I'll make good choices. If I let God lead me I won't settle for any of those. He will help me choose not just what is average or good but what is best. And that's because he wants to give me the best life possible! And that's definitely what I want for myself. How about you? We all do. Who wouldn't want the best life possible? But what we don't think about is the fact that the best life possible is built by making the best choices, one at a time.
My problem is sometimes that I can't always figure out what the best choice is. And I'm not talking about whether to go eat at Chili's or Olive Garden. I need to pray about my choices. I need to pray for discernment. I need to ask God to help me through the Holy Spirit and Scripture and sometimes the counsel of godly people to discern what is best.
But sometimes the problem isn't that I don't know what is best. It's just that I don't feel like going to the trouble to make that choice or I would rather take short-term, immediate gratification instead of long-term satisfaction. But when I'm close to God and letting him lead me in my decisions, I'm so much more likely to be able to see the best path and have the inner motivation to take it. And the result is...well, no one will have to wish me all the best because I will already posses it.
Choices really are the building blocks of my life! So what about the bad ones I've already made? What about all the average choices that I've already settled for? Well, they've had their impact in my present. But thanks to God's grace, the beauty of opportunity is knowing that I can improve my life ahead by making the best choices today. For some of us, the best life possible is just one great choice away! By your help and strength I will do that, Jesus.
Please share your thoughts with us! Comment below. You can choose Anonymous from the list or sign into your Google account first. We hope to hear from you!
And this is my prayer...that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ... (v. 9-10)
Choices are important. To a large degree my life at this moment is the culmination of all of my prior choices. That's why I want to make the right choices today. They will shape my future! So what kind of choices will I make today? Will I make bad choices? Will I be content with average choices? Maybe I'll make good choices. If I let God lead me I won't settle for any of those. He will help me choose not just what is average or good but what is best. And that's because he wants to give me the best life possible! And that's definitely what I want for myself. How about you? We all do. Who wouldn't want the best life possible? But what we don't think about is the fact that the best life possible is built by making the best choices, one at a time.
My problem is sometimes that I can't always figure out what the best choice is. And I'm not talking about whether to go eat at Chili's or Olive Garden. I need to pray about my choices. I need to pray for discernment. I need to ask God to help me through the Holy Spirit and Scripture and sometimes the counsel of godly people to discern what is best.
But sometimes the problem isn't that I don't know what is best. It's just that I don't feel like going to the trouble to make that choice or I would rather take short-term, immediate gratification instead of long-term satisfaction. But when I'm close to God and letting him lead me in my decisions, I'm so much more likely to be able to see the best path and have the inner motivation to take it. And the result is...well, no one will have to wish me all the best because I will already posses it.
Choices really are the building blocks of my life! So what about the bad ones I've already made? What about all the average choices that I've already settled for? Well, they've had their impact in my present. But thanks to God's grace, the beauty of opportunity is knowing that I can improve my life ahead by making the best choices today. For some of us, the best life possible is just one great choice away! By your help and strength I will do that, Jesus.
Please share your thoughts with us! Comment below. You can choose Anonymous from the list or sign into your Google account first. We hope to hear from you!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Grace and Peace
All right! It's time to settle into another part of Scripture for a while as God continues to speak to you and me today from these ancient writings that were inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit. I'm moving from prophecy to epistle--which is just a fancy church word for letter. Would you like to join me in the Letter to the Philippians? It's about half way through the New Testament. It was written by the apostle Paul to Christians living in the Greek city of Philippi.
But we're not here for an academic Bible study in this blog. We're here to listen to God's voice and what he is wanting to say to us as we sit for a few minutes with him each day. Let's start out with the first seven verses of chapter one. Go ahead and take it for a spin. It may seem too short, but that's because we're in too much of a hurry and we tend to skim over Scripture. Instead, soak in in. Get drenched in these seven verses for a few minutes. Pay attention to every little phrase and what its significance might be in your life right now. Let these words shape your heart today. That is the real purpose of the Bible.
For me, I'm immediately attracted to two very powerful words and the way they can change everything about my life and the world:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (v. 2)
Grace and peace. Grace......and peace........ The early Christians commonly greeted each other that way. St. Paul so often extended this greeting as he opened his many letters that are part of our Bibles. He extended grace and peace to the people he was writing to. Our world could use a whole lot more grace and peace, don't you agree?
Let's narrow it down a little further, though. If you're a married person, could your relationship with your mate be blessed by a much more generous serving of grace and peace? What would happen if suddenly you felt free enough from anger and resentment to offer grace and peace to your coworkers or your boss? What if I extended grace and peace to others as freely as Paul did? Would that be a change for the better or the worse? Would I be happier or less happy? What about the others in my life? What about my children? Would they be happier and more vibrant if I were to bring twice as much grace and peace into our relationship as I give them now? Or would they go crazy and grow up to be communist drug smugglers living in Southern California??
When someone--especially a fellow Christ-follower--is beating themselves up about a mistake they made, what if I looked them in the eyes and said, "Hey, grace and peace to you"? What if I said this to myself when I'm beating myself up about one of my own boneheaded missteps? "Grace and peace, Chris. Grace and peace." What if, when someone who has offended me or let me down offers a simple, sincere apology, I were to respond by saying, "You know what? Grace and peace about all of that"? Would my life and relationships be healthier and happier or more stressful and dysfunctional?
In a dog-eat-dog world is it possible to live a life of grace and peace? It is if I remember that God isn't through with people. He's not through with my mate, my children, my boss. He's sure not through with me. That's what Paul went on to affirm a couple of sentences later about his readers: "...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (v. 6). Yeah, that's it! What if I remember that God has poured his grace and peace upon my life and that we're all still works in progress! Maybe I'd like the world I begin to help create...a world where the prevailing dynamic in all my relationships is grace. I might find myself with a lot more peace.
Are you beating yourself up right now about how little grace and peace you've been extending to someone? Well....grace and peace to you. Please share your impressions of what God is speaking to your heart. Comment below (use Anonymous in the drop-down list unless you sign into your Google account first).
But we're not here for an academic Bible study in this blog. We're here to listen to God's voice and what he is wanting to say to us as we sit for a few minutes with him each day. Let's start out with the first seven verses of chapter one. Go ahead and take it for a spin. It may seem too short, but that's because we're in too much of a hurry and we tend to skim over Scripture. Instead, soak in in. Get drenched in these seven verses for a few minutes. Pay attention to every little phrase and what its significance might be in your life right now. Let these words shape your heart today. That is the real purpose of the Bible.
For me, I'm immediately attracted to two very powerful words and the way they can change everything about my life and the world:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (v. 2)
Grace and peace. Grace......and peace........ The early Christians commonly greeted each other that way. St. Paul so often extended this greeting as he opened his many letters that are part of our Bibles. He extended grace and peace to the people he was writing to. Our world could use a whole lot more grace and peace, don't you agree?
Let's narrow it down a little further, though. If you're a married person, could your relationship with your mate be blessed by a much more generous serving of grace and peace? What would happen if suddenly you felt free enough from anger and resentment to offer grace and peace to your coworkers or your boss? What if I extended grace and peace to others as freely as Paul did? Would that be a change for the better or the worse? Would I be happier or less happy? What about the others in my life? What about my children? Would they be happier and more vibrant if I were to bring twice as much grace and peace into our relationship as I give them now? Or would they go crazy and grow up to be communist drug smugglers living in Southern California??
When someone--especially a fellow Christ-follower--is beating themselves up about a mistake they made, what if I looked them in the eyes and said, "Hey, grace and peace to you"? What if I said this to myself when I'm beating myself up about one of my own boneheaded missteps? "Grace and peace, Chris. Grace and peace." What if, when someone who has offended me or let me down offers a simple, sincere apology, I were to respond by saying, "You know what? Grace and peace about all of that"? Would my life and relationships be healthier and happier or more stressful and dysfunctional?
In a dog-eat-dog world is it possible to live a life of grace and peace? It is if I remember that God isn't through with people. He's not through with my mate, my children, my boss. He's sure not through with me. That's what Paul went on to affirm a couple of sentences later about his readers: "...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (v. 6). Yeah, that's it! What if I remember that God has poured his grace and peace upon my life and that we're all still works in progress! Maybe I'd like the world I begin to help create...a world where the prevailing dynamic in all my relationships is grace. I might find myself with a lot more peace.
Are you beating yourself up right now about how little grace and peace you've been extending to someone? Well....grace and peace to you. Please share your impressions of what God is speaking to your heart. Comment below (use Anonymous in the drop-down list unless you sign into your Google account first).
Monday, May 2, 2011
God of All
Today we end the day with God's Word to us. And we also end the latter half of the prophecies of Isaiah. I'm finishing chapter 66 today, starting with verse 15. Please don't miss out by not reading it yourself. Let God speak to you. This is especially relevant to me this week:
I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations--to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. (v. 19)
In my current message series at One Life I'm speaking about Christ and World Religions--how do they relate? How should we approach differences of religion? Are there many paths to God? How could Jesus be the only way? This is one of many statements from God in the Bible that show that he has never been interested in just one nation. It was never just about Israel. It has never been just about the USA. God is the God of all nations. He loves every people group and wants them to know him.
Here he promises to send some of us--those who have seen the signs of God's love and grace in our lives and been changed--to take the word of his salvation to people of other nations and even remote islands that have never heard of him. This is far from the common idea that it's presumptuous to take our beliefs to other cultures and try to teach them about God and his Son, Jesus Christ. There is only one God and he wants to be known by all and to enter a relationship with every man, woman and child across this vast globe. And that requires us to be his messengers, his ambassadors, his representatives--though always with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).
Funny how he specifically mentions wanting to be known by the Libyans. I would guess that there aren't a lot of Americans very interested in taking the Good News of Jesus to Libya these days. I would venture that a lot of us would be rather apathetic to their standing with God. But God isn't. He loves them and wants them to know the truth about who he is and what he has done for them. Perhaps we could at least begin to pray for them?
Father, please open my heart to those nations and cultures and other groups of people that I tend to think little of. Please lay on my heart a burden of love for them so that I will pray for them and maybe even be used by you in some way to share with some of them the hope that I have found in you through Jesus. Amen!
Please share your comments below!
I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations--to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. (v. 19)
In my current message series at One Life I'm speaking about Christ and World Religions--how do they relate? How should we approach differences of religion? Are there many paths to God? How could Jesus be the only way? This is one of many statements from God in the Bible that show that he has never been interested in just one nation. It was never just about Israel. It has never been just about the USA. God is the God of all nations. He loves every people group and wants them to know him.
Here he promises to send some of us--those who have seen the signs of God's love and grace in our lives and been changed--to take the word of his salvation to people of other nations and even remote islands that have never heard of him. This is far from the common idea that it's presumptuous to take our beliefs to other cultures and try to teach them about God and his Son, Jesus Christ. There is only one God and he wants to be known by all and to enter a relationship with every man, woman and child across this vast globe. And that requires us to be his messengers, his ambassadors, his representatives--though always with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).
Funny how he specifically mentions wanting to be known by the Libyans. I would guess that there aren't a lot of Americans very interested in taking the Good News of Jesus to Libya these days. I would venture that a lot of us would be rather apathetic to their standing with God. But God isn't. He loves them and wants them to know the truth about who he is and what he has done for them. Perhaps we could at least begin to pray for them?
Father, please open my heart to those nations and cultures and other groups of people that I tend to think little of. Please lay on my heart a burden of love for them so that I will pray for them and maybe even be used by you in some way to share with some of them the hope that I have found in you through Jesus. Amen!
Please share your comments below!
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