Author	Message
:: :: Christianity :: Daily Strength ..2
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted October 23rd, 2011 09:02 AM   IP              Return On Investment "You were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit." 1 Corinthians 6:20 Long before the US professional baseball season begins each spring, team owners and managers are busy negotiating trades and contracts. They’ll pay large sums of money to get the athlete who will help them win the championship. When the season starts, all eyes are on the newly acquired talent to see if he was worth the cost. The ultimate measure of the player’s success is whether his contribution to the team is a good return on the investment. In 1 Corinthians 6:20, Paul reminds us that we too have been “bought at a price.” The context paints a compelling picture of Christ’s great sacrifice. He liberated us from the cruel slavemaster of sin by buying us with the high price of His own life. Getting a grip on God’s great and loving investment in us should motivate us to gladly consider making His sacrifice rich in dividends. How is that return on His investment measured? By living to bring glory to Him! Our eyes, hands, feet, thoughts, dreams, and desires have been purchased to reflect the wondrous glory of God’s will and wisdom. In other words, we are no longer our own. Paul concluded, “Therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:.20). Living to reflect His glory is the return on investment that makes the Owner of our lives look good! Redemption’s price our Savior paid When all our sins on Him were laid; He took our guilt, He bore our shame That we may glorify His name. —D. De Haan Our choice to bring glory to God yields a great return on Christ’s investment. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted October 25th, 2011 09:07 AM   IP              At the Core of the Crowd “Now the tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were all gathering around to hear him.” Luke 15:1 If Jesus were to walk into your town today, I wonder what kind of people He would attract. If you were like the rest of us, you’d probably expect all the well-put-together churchgoers to show up and occupy the front row seats. But you just might be surprised. In Luke 15:1-32, it wasn’t the good folk who crowded around Jesus; it was the tax collectors and “sinners.” These were the ones who lived in blatant disregard for the law—the problem people in town! Which makes me wonder, what is it about Jesus that attracted them? And why were the “good folk” standing at the fringe of the crowd? Because they were ticked at sinners to begin with and mad at Jesus for hanging out with such unworthy people! Thankfully, Jesus puts things into perspective for them—and for us—with a few lessons about why He hangs out with sinners, by telling the stories of the lost sheep and the lost coin. The point Jesus makes is that sinners have great value to God. Why else would the shepherd go after one lost sheep, or the woman conduct a diligent search for her coin? They had suffered significant loss—a loss like God suffered when sin took people, His prized possession, away from Him. And, to make matters worse, sinners are hopelessly lost. Sheep can’t help themselves when lost, and obviously when a coin is lost, it remains lost until someone finds it. Which means there must be intentional intervention to rescue the lost. That’s why Jesus said that He came “to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). Obviously the grumblers on the fringe didn’t get it, but it was Jesus’ love and pursuit of sinners that drew their hearts to Him. Got any “sinners” near you? Are you feeling a little standoffish and grumpy about them, or are you compelled to love them by launching a rescue operation of your own? After all, I bet you’re glad He went after you—as hopelessly lost and hell-bound as you were. So take a moment to remember what it was like to be lost, and do what you can to attract others to the joy of being found. You can’t go wrong when you’re at the core of the crowd. See you there! Lord Jesus, I want to be at the core of the crowd. Forgive me for attitudes that counteract Your abundant mercy for the lost, and enable me to be Your hands and feet to reach out to those who desperately need to be found. Amen YOUR JOURNEY… •Are you at the fringe of the crowd with the religious folk, grumbling about “sinners”? If so, read Romans 2:3-4, and ask the Lord to replace your judgmental spirit with His heart of compassion. •Are you at the core of the crowd, as one of the “sinners” who has found Jesus? If so, how does this help stir a heart of compassion for other “sinners” around you? •What attitudes and actions in your life might be detracting others from the love of Jesus? Are there some things in your life that attract people to Him? God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted October 26th, 2011 03:48 PM   IP              Braggin' Rights “Rejoice in the Lord!” Philippians 3:1 When Paul advised the Philippians that they should “rejoice in the Lord” he wasn’t telling them to be 24/7 “happy in Jesus” smile machines. I don’t know about you, but people who walk around with a forced “Praise Jesus” smile bother me! I want to throw the Book at them and say, “Jesus wept! What do you think about that?” For sure, Jesus provides deep inner peace and courage in the midst of troubling times. But it’s just a little discouraging to be around some Christians who put on a happy face and deny the reality of the pain and hurt that life inevitably dishes out. So I’m glad that Paul wasn’t asking us to join the forces of these Pollyanna deniers of life as it really is. What he was saying is that we need to stop rejoicing in ourselves and start living to rejoice in the Lord, which is a far more challenging issue given the fact that we instinctively like to rejoice in who we are and what we have done. What I find fascinating—and somewhat convicting—is that Paul was addressing Christians who were rejoicing in themselves because they thought they were better than most other Christians. They were keepers of the Levitical law. These Judaizers obviously hadn’t read Hebrews, where we are told that Jesus fulfilled all the law, putting an end to the need for jumping through all the Levitical hoops. Nevertheless, they were really proud of themselves for their back-slapping good lives. Which is a really good word for all of us rule-keepers who tend to become proud of how spit-polished we are compared to others. Beware: the better you are, the worse you may become! So, to drive his point home, Paul made a list of his bragging rights. They may not seem all that cool to you, but in his day they were worthy of lots of applause. In fact, there wasn’t a Judaizer who could out-class Paul. Then, after listing his accomplishments, he made a surprising statement. He said that all that stuff was like “dung” (Philippians 3:8 The Message) compared to the surpassing value of knowing Jesus! Paul knew that you can’t be taken with yourself and with Jesus at the same time. So he chose Jesus as the one to rejoice in, while his list of “bragging rights” went up in smoke. Paul knew that the focus of his attention would either be himself or Jesus and that you can’t have it both ways. He chose Jesus. So let’s get started on being a lot more enthused with Jesus than we are with ourselves. Make a list of the things that make you feel too cool about yourself—including your religious accomplishments—and rip it up! Start living to rejoice in Jesus, whose unfailing love, mercy, and grace poured out on your life is far better than anything you could even begin to bring to the table. When I was growing up, my dad had a little plaque on his desk that said, “Not I but Christ!” I think my Dad was on to something! YOUR JOURNEY… •What types of things make you feel proud? Your accomplishments? Your possessions? Your experiences? •Do you think you need to be a 24/7 “smile machine” for Jesus? How does Paul’s perspective in Philippians 3:1-21 help you? Does it change your understanding of what it means to rejoice in Jesus and His accomplishments rather than your own? •Read what God has to say about our bragging rights in Jeremiah 9:24. Is there something about Him that you can boast about today? •Ask the Lord to rip up the pride of your heart and replace it with a greater appreciation for His accomplishments in your life! God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted October 28th, 2011 06:39 AM   IP              Who Me, A Wretch? “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 There are a few hymns that I really like, and “Amazing Grace” is one of them. But somehow, like so many other familiar tunes, the weight of the words soon gets lost in our familiarity with the song. From bagpipe bands, to presidential events, to state funerals, to gospel songfests, to nearly every church in America, “Amazing Grace” has been performed so many times that we easily become numbed to its profoundly disturbing message. You know the first line by heart: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me . . .” Hold on. Me—a wretch?! None of us like to think about how wretched we are. We’d rather live in the self-delusion that compared to others we aren’t all that bad after all. We go to great lengths to look and feel good about ourselves. We exercise and diet to lose weight so we look good at the beach. We put makeup on in the morning so that we look good when we get to work. I ask my wife to help me pick out clothes so that I look good when I speak in church. And when someone says, “Hey, you’re lookin’ good!” we feel we have arrived. But here’s the sobering news. If we were to look at ourselves the way God sees us even when we have it all together, we would see something totally different. He sees through all of our efforts to be “lookin’ good.” His vision probes far deeper than the all-too-cool clothes we wear, our makeup, our rippling abs and our great tan. He strips away the layers of self-delusion and penetrates deep into our hearts where each of us is a desperately lost sinner. And, no matter how good you think you are, it’s not until we know that we are like condemned criminals before Him that we can begin to understand how amazing His grace really is. When you can honestly say that His grace saved a wretch like you, you can begin to stand in amazement at the greatness of His grace. In fact, His grace is only a “sweet sound” when you know how deep it had to go to clean you up! What is God’s amazing grace? It’s the outstretched love of Jesus whose agonizing death and victorious resurrection saves us from who we really are—not from who we think we are. Romans 5:8 says: “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He died the worst kind of death imaginable, because it needed to cover the wretchedness of our desperately lost souls. We weren’t lookin’ good when He died for us. If we were as cool as we think we are, He could have stayed in heaven. But like hopeless beggars trapped in the sludge of sin, we needed Him. And so He came and died in our place. Now that’s what I call amazing! Getting over our self-deluded sense of coolness is step one toward reveling in the stunning grace of God. Every once in a long while someone will come up to me and say: “Hey, Stowell, you’re a really good man.” And while I like the sound of that, I know in my heart that I am not a good man. I’m a fallen man in desperate need of help. But by His grace I am a forgiven man. I thank God every day that there was a Really Good Man who lived on the earth 2,000 years ago who hung on a cross to save a wretch like me! YOUR JOURNEY… •Pray and ask God to forgive you for the self-delusion of thinking too highly of yourself and not highly enough of Jesus. Ask Him to give you a fresh awareness of His grace in your life. •Spend time alone with God and meditate on the following Scriptures about grace: Ephesians 2:8-9; Luke 2:40; John 1:14; 2 Corinthians 12:9; and Titus 3:7. •Rate your ability to extend the same grace to others that Jesus generously bestowed on you. On a scale of 1 to 10, are you too gracious (10) or not gracious enough (1)? Ask a close friend for insight about how you can become more like Christ, who was full of grace and truth. •Read James 4:6. Write a brief paragraph about the relationship between God’s grace and humility. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted October 29th, 2011 08:51 AM   IP              Storm Tracker “Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” Matthew 14:29-30 Normally, my favorite way to drive a speedboat is full-tilt, skipping across the water with the wind in my face. But this time my usual penchant for speed was tempered by the precious cargo being towed behind the boat—two of my granddaughters, Sophie, who was 4, and Maggie, who was 6, were going tubing for the first time. Our plan was to pull them gently along behind the boat on a huge tube designed with little cockpits for them to sit in. So, I’m sitting in the driver’s seat of the speedboat and Maggie and Sophie are decked out in their life vests, nestled down into the tube, ready to go on their first-ever tube ride. And, good grandfather that I am, I resisted the lure of the boat’s horsepower and gently eased the throttle down ever so slowly, not wanting to scare the little girls who were already feeling a little tentative. But though well-intended, I was clueless. The tube was not designed to go slow. When pulled fast enough, the tube planes out on top of the water. When pulled slowly, water gushes over the front of the tube and actually pulls it underwater. Well, you can imagine the terrified look on Sophie and Maggie’s faces as the tube took on more and more water! Their panicked cries of desperation could be heard all across the lake. Think of it, only 4 and 6 years old, and headed to Davy Jones’s locker! Needless to say, I stopped the boat immediately and we began reeling the tube in. The whole time we were pulling the tube in, we kept calling, “Look up here, it’s going to be okay! We’ve got you; you’re alright. Look up here!” As they got close to us and heard our assuring words, their panic subsided and you could see their faces relax. They were no longer focused on the water around them and the real danger in the lake. Getting close to and keeping their eyes on the one helping them made all the difference. To me that seems a lot like what happened to Peter in Matthew 14:1-34. No tubes and no speed boat, but real danger nevertheless. His bravery and courage took him quite a distance—in fact, all the way outside of a boat onto storm-tossed waves in the howling wind. For a few minutes, it was just him and Jesus, and Peter was able to do the impossible. He was walking on water! But then his attention got diverted. Suddenly he saw the churning water and the angry waves, and, Scripture records, he became afraid. The circumstances didn’t change, but the focus of his attention did. But then Jesus reached out, drawing Peter’s focus away from the wind and back to Him. Back to the safety and security that Jesus always promises in the midst of the storm. That’s the reminder we need when we’re in the midst of life’s storms. It’s so easy, isn’t it, to fixate on the very real dangers and distress that come with life’s problems. And yet our loving, gracious, infinitely powerful heavenly Father calls out to us: “Look up here; it’s going to be okay. I’ve got you, and I will bring you in safely.” For Peter, it started with a simple, unadorned, heartfelt prayer. “Lord, save me!” We can cry out those same words as we look away from the waves and into the face of our Father today. As the old song says: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace! Remember, He didn’t bring you this far to let you drown! YOUR JOURNEY… •How have you seen God’s saving hand bring you safely through earlier storms in your life? •What “waves” have captured your attention right now? •How can you tangibly turn your attention away from those waves and storms and toward the face of God? God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted October 30th, 2011 08:41 AM   IP              An Invitation To Friendship No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends." John 15:15 I grew up in a home with lots of wall plaques. One had a quotation by poet Claude Mermet that stands out in my mind: “Friends are like melons; let me tell you why: To find a good one, you must one hundred try!” Most of us can identify with that. It’s hard to find good friends. I wonder if God ever feels that way about us? Out of all the people in the Old Testament, only one was ever called His friend. In Isaiah 41:8, God says that He chose Jacob, who was an offspring of “Abraham My friend.” Pretty exclusive club! So you can imagine how shocking it was for the disciples to hear Jesus say, “No longer do I call you servants, . . . but I have called you friends” (John 15:15). Better yet, He is saying that to us as well. So, what does friendship with Jesus look like? It starts with commitment. As He said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (v.14). Then He added the dynamic of communication. He promised to tell us all that the Father has told Him (v.15). Are you listening? And as His friends we begin to bear fruit (v.16), sharing a commonality with Him by reflecting His glory in our attitudes and actions (2 Cor. 3:18). Jesus welcomes you to the privilege of friendship with Him! Are you His friend? What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer! —Scriven Welcome to the privilege of friendship with God. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted October 31st, 2011 06:44 AM   IP              True Confessions "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me." Psalm 51:5 I love coconut. I always have! So, after an exhausting day in second grade, I found a bag of shredded coconut in the cupboard and devoured the whole thing. When my mother went into the kitchen later to bake—you guessed it, a coconut cake—I heard, “Who ate the coconut?!” I knew I was in trouble, but my escape plan was simple—a quick, easy lie: “Not me!” She continued her inquiry with my sisters, but after they denied it, we all heard the familiar words: “Wait till your Dad comes home!” My cover-up plan was doomed to failure, and later that evening I finally confessed. No one had to teach me to lie. As the psalmist David admits, “I was brought forth in iniquity” (Psalm 51:5). But in his sin David knew where to go—to the God of abundant mercy who will cleanse us from our sin (Psalm 51:1-2). When we recognize the ongoing reality of sin in our lives, we are reminded of our ongoing need for the presence of God and the power of His Word to keep us safe and spiritually sane. He is waiting for us to confess our faults and embrace the forgiveness and cleansing that He readily offers. Remember, a refreshing plunge into God’s mercy awaits you on the other side of confessed sin! Out of my shameful failure and loss, Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come; Into the glorious gain of Thy cross, Jesus, I come to Thee. —Sleeper Own up to your sin and experience the joy of confession. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 2nd, 2011 07:30 AM   IP              What's More Important Than Voting? “I urge…that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Don’t forget to vote! We have all heard that call to good citizenship. But beyond being a good citizen, being a good follower of Jesus means that we don’t forget to pray for our leaders. When we do pray, it just may make a difference in our own lives! I don’t know how you feel about the people in authority over you, but if you’re like me, praying for them may not be your first impulse. There are plenty of leaders I would rather vote out of office than pray for! Yet according to 1 Timothy 2:1-2, we are to include them on our prayer list on a regular basis. We may not have “kings” who rule over us, but all of us can name people who qualify as “those in authority”—government officials, police officers, supervisors, parents, teachers, and a host of others who can pull rank on us. Sometimes it’s hard to know how to pray for them, especially if we don’t know them personally. But we can start by praying for what they need. Every leader could use an extra dose of God’s wisdom for the challenges and decisions they face. In addition to wisdom, we should pray for integrity—for honesty and uprightness in their actions and freedom from deceit. Pray that they would have a genuine commitment to doing what is best for those who are under their authority. Ask God to give them humility that will enable them to use their power not for their own gain but for the good of the people. Pray that godly people will be in their circle of influence. Pray that they will come to know Christ as Savior. But our text alerts us to the fact that praying for those in authority is not the end of the line. We ourselves are standing in the need of prayer as well. First, we are called to pray for “peaceful and quiet lives” that are marked by “godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:2). If we pray for our leaders and pursue these character qualities in our own lives, we just might make some progress—and in turn make a marked difference on our society and on our leaders as well. Second, when we pray for those in authority over us, it serves to remind us that they are under God’s authority. And, just as they are under God’s authority, so must our lives be under His authority as well. When we are irritated that others don’t lead as people under the authority of His righteousness, we should think about how He must feel when we don’t live under His authority in the choices we make and attitudes we express. And remembering that He is the ultimate ruler reminds us that our hope is not in earthly “kings” but in the King of kings, who alone has power and authority over even the most powerful rulers. Connect the dots! When we recognize that Jesus is the only One who can make a difference in the lives of our leaders, it should stir our hearts to pray for them. And, as we pray for them, our hearts just may be stirred to focus on the needs of our own lives. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, through prayer, Jesus would change the hearts of those leaders? Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if, through prayer, Jesus would change your heart and my heart? So, don’t forget to vote. And, more importantly, don’t forget to pray! YOUR JOURNEY… •Make a list of the leaders in your life. Ask the Lord to reveal some prayer points for those people, and commit to praying for them on a regular basis. •As a result of his bold witness for Christ, Paul had significant interaction with those in authority over him. Read the book of Acts chapters 22–26, and learn from Paul’s example. •What was the exchange between Paul and King Agrippa in Acts 26:28-29? Have you ever prayed for your leaders like that? •Look for some ways to actively demonstrate your prayer support for leaders. Organizations such as the National Day of Prayer (www.ndptf.org) can help you get started. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 4th, 2011 08:32 AM   IP              Hey, You in the Corner “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 I’ve always been intrigued by the nursery rhyme about Little Jack Horner. At first blush it seems rather cute and innocent. But on further reflection, there is something seriously wrong. The closing line describes the self-congratulating boy with his plum-covered thumb held high saying, “What a good boy am I!” But if he is all that good, what is he doing in a corner? As I recall, it’s bad boys who get sent to sit in a corner. And all the pictures that I remember have him sitting there with a whole pie on his lap. I have never known a mother to give her kid a whole pie! It’s conceivable that he stole it from the kitchen. And if you don’t like my take on the story, then I need to ask you: What is he doing with his fingers in the food breaking every social standard of good eating habits? Then to top it off, he finds a plum in the pie (what did he expect from a Christmas plum pie?) and lifts it high, giving himself the credit for finding the plum. The least he could have done was to shout the praises of his mom for buying the plums and then baking them into the pie! But before we are too hard on Jack, let’s take a good look at ourselves. Compared to a lot of people, we feel pretty good about ourselves. It’s easy to feel self-congratulatory about a lot of things. But in reality the applause is undeserved. Scripture affirms what we already know. When we are honest with ourselves, we have to agree with what God says when He claims that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We are not intrinsically good. Oh, we may do good things now and then, but at the core we are fallen and sinful. We are born with the curse of sin, and we can’t help ourselves. Which is why, when we finally do something good, we become proud and turn the good deed into an occasion to celebrate ourselves. From God’s point of view, we are in the corner for a reason. And in spite of our self-congratulatory ways, we find ourselves with far too much pie on our lap and with our fingers in the food too often! Most serious, however, is our tendency to take the credit for our abilities and accomplishments when the credit belongs to God. Let’s face it—and I want to be gentle here—we would be nothing if God had not given us our brains, the opportunities to succeed, the cleverness to stay ahead of the curve in the marketplace, and, for some, the physical features to turn a head now and then! All that we are and have comes from Him. As James reminds us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). But there we are, forgetting all of this and with raised hand showing off all that God has provided for us, taking the credit for it as we boldly proclaim, “What a good boy am I!” It’s a serious thing to rob God of the glory that is due His name (Isaiah 48:11). So let’s determine that we will tactfully give God the credit for all that we are and are able to do. If He’s been good to you (and He has), get out of the corner and let your world know who it was that put the plum on your thumb! YOUR JOURNEY… •In what ways can you identify with Little Jack Horner? Is there an act of sin, or even a pattern of sin, that you have felt proud of? •To get the full context of Paul’s advice to glorify God in everything we do, read 1 Corinthians 10:23-31. Is there a personal conviction you need to set aside in order to be a help and encouragement to a fellow believer? •Think about the things God has given you—your brain, your talents, your family—and take the time to praise Him specifically for each of those things. Then take it one step further and ask Him to help you use those things for His glory and not your own. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 5th, 2011 08:09 AM   IP              Supporting Our Habit “God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 A businessman buddy of mine has the proverbial “Midas” touch. It seems like every business venture he touches turns to gold. I’ll never forget the day he said to me, “Joe, do you know what really drives me?” Since he’s one of those driven, type-A personalities, I was really curious about what his answer would be. “No, what drives you?” I replied. “Supporting my habit!” Now I was really curious! “Whoa . . . tell me about it. What habit is that?” “Advancing the cause of Jesus Christ!” he said with a grin. “I figure that the more money I make, the more I can give to the work of God.” What a great response! His joy, when it comes to his wealth, is to generously distribute as much as he can to advance the cause of Christ. That’s the kind of attitude Paul is talking about in 2 Corinthians 9:8. As he talks to the Corinthian church about that most delicate subject—giving—he offers an important lesson on biblical economics. The type of giving God is looking for, Paul says, is cheerful, out-of-a-joyful heart kind of giving (2 Corinthians 9:7), not begrudging, gotta-pay-my-Jesus-tax kind of giving. And as we pursue the joy that comes from investing in God’s work, Paul reminds us that God will also “supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness” (2 Corinthians 9:10). We need to be careful here. At this point it would be easy to say to ourselves: “Okay, God, if you give me the Midas touch too, I would be happy to give generously to your work.” Our assumption is that it would be much easier for us to give if we just had more money. But the lessons of human nature tell us otherwise. Often our seasons of financial prosperity draw our attention to bigger homes, bigger cars, bigger mutual funds, and bigger TVs, rather than to bigger opportunities for advancing the cause of Christ. The lure of “more” is highly seductive. Giving to God’s work is not a habit that starts when we’re experiencing material success. It’s a habit best cultivated and nurtured in seasons of depending on God through lean times. Paul points that fact out one chapter earlier when, speaking of the Macedonian church’s generosity, he writes, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2). Which all goes to prove that an attitude of joyful generosity starts now, right where you are, with whatever you have. What a joy it is to be addicted to proving that God and His work is worthy of the very best that we have—regardless of how much that might be! And, speaking of being rich, viewed from a global perspective even the poorest of us have much more than most people do in this world. For reasons best known to God, Christians in our corner of the world have staggering resources by comparison. Which gives us an unusual opportunity to use our wealth to “abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). So, when was the last time you viewed your financial resources as a tool to “support your habit”? Welcome to the joy of the generous habit of advancing the cause of Christ with the resources He has generously poured out to you! YOUR JOURNEY… •How would you gauge your attitude toward giving? Does it tend to reflect more of a “Jesus-tax” attitude, or are you enjoying the privilege of giving with joy? •How have you seen God’s faithfulness in providing for you and your family during seasons of less financial prosperity? •Why is it sometimes difficult to focus on advancing the kingdom when we are prospering materially? How can our attitudes better reflect Paul’s instruction in 2 Corinthians 9:8? God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 6th, 2011 06:56 AM   IP              Joyful Living Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy." 1 Timothy 6:17 Our search for joy takes us many different directions—dream holidays, shopping, food, clothes, friends, cars—the list is almost endless. My guess is that if you perked up at the mention of shopping, holidays, or cars, you might have felt a twinge of guilt. We often view the joy of temporal things as less than spiritual and show our discomfort by apologizing for nice things: “I wouldn’t have bought this, but someone gave me a wonderful deal.” As if real Christians never eat quiche, drive cool cars, or wear designer clothes! No doubt God’s greatest gift to us is our relationship with His Son Jesus. It’s a gift beyond comparison. Jesus promised that when we abide in Him we will experience the fulfillment of His joy (John 15:11), and without that kind of deep, abiding joy the rest of life is mundane at best. But Scripture also casts the joy of the Lord in terms of temporal things. The enjoyment of “things” can be a positive spiritual experience. When we recognize that He “gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17) and that “every good gift . . . is from above” (James 1:17), our hearts should be full of thankfulness and praise. This, in and of itself, is an act of worship! Enjoy the Giver and the gifts. We thank Thee, Lord, for daily food, For plenteous store of earthly good; For life and health we still possess, With house and home so richly blessed. —Mohler Our heavenly Father delights in bringing us delight. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 7th, 2011 07:04 AM   IP              Savor The Flavor "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28 America has often been called “a melting pot.” But obviously that is not the case. Politicians tend to fuel sensitivity to class and color divisions for their own gain. Gender tensions abound. Generational differences are more marked than ever. In fact, cultural observers are starting to say that the “melting pot” metaphor is outdated—that the goal should be a cultural “stew” in which the distinct taste of each ingredient is enhanced by the contribution of the other ingredients. In a world where pride and prejudice abound, Jesus offers us the joy of unity across all the lines that so easily divide us. In His church, the unique flavors of our diverse backgrounds can complement each other, united “through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26) and empowered by His Spirit and our submission to His principles. In Him our diversity doesn’t divide but rather unites and enriches us as we recognize that we all have Jesus, His Word, and His ways in common. As we embrace Him together, our differences become secondary and our mutual love for Him drives us to love each other as He has loved us. Jesus is the master mixer! In His kingdom, pride and prejudice are out, and love and mutual acceptance are the order of the day. Within the church of Jesus Christ The joys of unity abound When love accepts diversity And prejudice cannot be found. —Sper Christ’s love creates unity in the midst of diversity. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 8th, 2011 08:05 AM   IP              New Ownership “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 In the apostle Paul’s day, Corinth was a major trading center, located just a few miles from two major seaports. As the largest city in ancient Greece, the city bustled with activity, including the trafficking of slaves. Even today you can see the ruins of slave blocks where human lives were auctioned and traded. So when Paul writes, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price,” his Corinthian readers had a vivid picture in their minds. A simple walk to the town center took them past the slave market where people were being transferred from one owner to another. Paul seized this metaphor to remind the Corinthians (and us) that when we came to Jesus Christ and accepted His all-forgiving, merciful, gracious love for us—when He canceled our sins on the cross and bore the pain that was meant for us—He essentially bought us. Our bodies now belong to Him. If we’re honest, we probably don’t like the thought of that. Our pride makes us wonder if we would have accepted this deal if we knew that we would belong to someone else. But the reality is that our bodies were never ours to begin with. In his letter to the Romans, Paul points out that before coming to Christ, we are slaves to sin. Our fallen nature is owned by sinful desires, gripped by destructive passions, and bent toward doing what is wrong. A quick scan of the world around us—in fact, a quick scan of our lives without Christ—reveals the hopelessness of people who, in spite of their best wishes and good intentions, are locked in the bondage of selfish, sinful slavery. The liberating reality of the cross is that the death of Jesus paid the price to buy us back from the slave market of sin. So when we are saved, it means that we are under new ownership. God owns us and our body belongs to Him. So, what are the ramifications of life under our new owner? Paul states it simply: You are to glorify God with your body. One way you can do this, if you are a guy, is to refuse to use your eyes as an opportunity to feed your old destructive nature. Looking a woman in the eyes with a sense of care and concern for her welfare enables her to feel safe instead of threatened. When that happens, God is glorified. And gals, getting dressed in the morning by choosing clothes that draw attention to the glory of God in your smile and attitude rather than drawing attention to your body is a great way to start the day to bring glory to Him! When you think about it, our bodies are the total you from the outside in. So every aspect of “you” is a tool with which to demonstrate that you are no longer a slave to Satan and sin but that you have been set free to glorify the new Master of your soul. From our lips to our hands, feet, attitudes, thoughts, and actions, glorifying God in our bodies is an all-consuming privilege with lots of equipment to put into action for Him. YOUR JOURNEY… •Read Romans 6:15-23. What does this passage say about the contrast between life under our previous owner and life under our new owner? •Do a spiritual self-check. Which part, or parts, of your body remain unsubmitted to the ownership of God? What difference would it make in your daily actions if your whole body were submitted to Him? •Think about a practical way to remind yourself at the start of each day (and throughout the day) that you belong to God, not yourself. Then build that reminder into your daily routine. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 10th, 2011 08:03 AM   IP              Snatched From the Fire “Snatch others from the fire and save them.” Jude 1:23 In a conversation with Billy Graham, I asked him what he thought needed to be changed in how we preach to people today compared to the way we preached to people in the 1950s. I expected him to reply with a profound analysis of our culture and the need to contextualize our message. I was surprised, then, when he replied simply and straightforwardly: “Nothing has really changed in terms of the needs of people. Wherever or whatever you preach, you must remind people of their sin, speak to them of heaven and hell, show them to the cross, and urge them to come to the Savior.” He’s right, of course. The message is the same. The problem is, the receptivity of our culture has changed dramatically. The fundamental tenets of heaven, hell, sin, and the Savior are no longer familiar concepts in our culture. And, generally speaking, people quite frankly don’t really want to hear what we have to say about these matters. Why would they, when popular philosophy teaches us that nothing is wrong or right and that we are entitled to believe whatever we wish since there really is nothing that is truly true?! In a no-sin, no-true truth world that cringes when we claim that Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6), it’s easy to give up and lose our nerve. But a lack of urgency in sharing the gospel can lead to tragic consequences for those who need to hear the good news. Which reminds me of the lesson that D. L. Moody, the Billy Graham of the 19th century, learned. After proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to a crowded hall in Chicago, the evangelist closed his message by encouraging the attendees to go home, consider the claims of the gospel, and return the next week to settle the matter in their lives. But that night Chicago heard the ringing of fire alarms and the clatter of horse-drawn water wagons being hurried through the streets. Mrs. O’Leary’s cow had kicked the lantern, and the Great Chicago Fire swept the city—hundreds of lives were lost. Because of that, D. L. Moody committed himself to never again forget to urge people to receive Christ immediately—before it is too late. As Moody learned that night, we can’t afford to wait to share the good news of the gospel in light of the urgent needs of those who are living without a Savior and heading toward a godless eternity in hell. Jude had this sense of urgency when he wrote to the early believers: “I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 1:3), instructing them to “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them” (Jude 1:22-23). Having been snatched from the fire ourselves, how fitting that we too should seek to rescue others. This is the message that has been “entrusted” to us. Let’s pray that the Lord will put a fire in our belly to start sharing His message with urgency! And in the face of a secular, doubting world, remember that we need not be ashamed of the gospel since it is the “power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). No amount of doubting can thwart the power of God to save those to whom we carry the gospel! YOUR JOURNEY… •Do you agree with the statement: “Nothing has really changed in terms of the needs of people”? •What are some reasons why people resist the message of sin and their need for a Savior? •How have you responded to the gospel? If you haven’t responded yet, what are you waiting for? •What is your attitude regarding sharing the gospel? If you lack a proper sense of urgency, pray and ask the Lord to reignite the fire in your belly for the gospel! God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 11th, 2011 08:29 AM   IP              Not Home Yet “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2-3 One of my favorite missionary stories is of a couple who, after decades of faithful service overseas, was returning back to the States. Their heart’s desire was to stay on the field, but their age and failing health concerned their mission board and after packing up their belongings they boarded a steamship bound for New York. Also traveling on the same ocean liner was a popular, well-known government official and his wife. Over the weeks at sea this elderly couple observed the official’s drunkenness, womanizing, and foul language. It was a marked contrast to the lifestyle to which they’d become accustomed. They grew even more disheartened, when, upon their arrival in New York, the official and his wife were greeted with great fanfare—a brass band, reporters and photographers, roses for his wife—the works! And so this aged missionary couple, health broken and spent in their service for Christ, walked off the gangplank and through the crowd, unmet and seemingly unknown. As they walked, a tear trickled down the husband’s cheek. “What’s wrong?” his wife asked. “My whole life I’ve given to serving Christ. We’ve spent ourselves for Jesus and nobody is here to greet us. There’s no bouquet of flowers for you.” His dear wife thought for a minute and then said, “Honey, we’re not home yet. We’re not home yet.” That simple perspective could change the way we live our lives. Jesus, wanting to draw His disciples from earthbound living and pointless pursuits, told them that He was leaving to return to the Father, but that His leaving held a wonderful promise for them. He was going to prepare a place—for them, and for us! And, what’s more, He will return personally to usher us into our new digs. What an incredible promise! That promise kept the disciples from digging their roots too deeply into the stuff of earth. Earthly power and influence no longer held the same appeal. The world’s pleasures lost their luster in the glory of intimacy with Jesus and the fact that He would soon return for them. And temporal, earthbound possessions lost their grip. What trinkets of this world could compare with the treasures that were in store for them in heaven? They conquered seduction, temptation, and discouragement knowing that they weren’t home yet. They lived for the moment when Jesus would return to take them to His incomparable home. We need a little more of that thinking in our daily lives, don’t we? It’s so easy to think that this world and all it offers is all we have. It’s easy to live for the applause of men, for fleeting creature comforts and the accumulation of stuff. We are bent toward making ourselves more and more at home here, at great cost to our spiritual lives, forgetting that a far better home is being prepared for us. So today, when your head is turned by something this world has to offer or when seeds of discontent try to take root in your heart or when you are discouraged thinking that all you have done for Jesus is in vain, remember: you’re not home yet! YOUR JOURNEY… •How has your attention been attracted by the stuff of this earth? •How can a focus on earthbound pleasures, power, and possessions leave us feeling discontented and discouraged? •How does it change your perspective to realize and remember that Jesus is, right now, preparing a heavenly home for His children that will be infinitely greater than anything our limited minds can imagine? God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 12th, 2011 07:36 AM   IP              God's Glasses “It was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.” Psalm 73:16-17 As a kid, I used to devour 3-D comic books, the kind that came with that special set of cardboard glasses. Without the glasses, the pages were blurry. But with the glasses, the images became clear and jumped off the page. Superman’s muscles bulged as he swooped down to rescue Lois Lane from Lex Luther and, hooray, Lex was always eventually foiled! Sometimes, even today, I find myself wishing for the same type of comic-book justice—you know, with the nice tidy ending where the bad guy loses and the hero gets the girl. But life seems to rarely work out like that. Instead, the bad guy ends up with the girl in the tropics, living off of her trust fund! Perhaps you can identify. Ever feel like you (the good guy) always lose, and the bad guys in your life win? Well, if so, you’re not alone. Asaph, the author of Psalm 73:1-28, struggled with this question big time. Many of us can relate to the depth of his discouragement when, after watching the wicked prosper, he wrote, “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence” (Psalm 73:13). Asaph was ticked because being good was getting him nowhere fast. In his mind, he had been good for nothing! Until, that is, he went into the presence of God and saw life through God’s glasses. I guess there are lots of reasons that God lets the wicked prosper, but among them is the fact that the Lex Luthers of this world prosper because God is a God of mercy and grace. He gives good things regardless of whether or not we deserve it. And who of us could begrudge that to anyone, since we all are deep debtors to His mercy and grace? I’d hate to think of where I would be without His mercy and grace! But, your heart cries, where is justice? Why do the wicked go on unchecked while your life seems restrained and difficult? Which was exactly Asaph’s complaint. But, just when it seemed like all was lost for Asaph, he put on God’s glasses and realized that prosperity is more than what we see in the here and now. He said, “It was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny” (Psalm 73:16-17). Reading a little further, we see that their ultimate destiny is the judgment of God. Asaph learned that, in the scope of eternity, the bad guys lose. In other words, what difference does it make if you have a big inning and lose the whole game? I have a friend who says that if all we see is the here-and-now, we will misunderstand everything. How true. I don’t know about you, but I am so ready to trash seeing life without the advantage of God’s 3-D glasses. When I see life from God’s perspective, I discover along with Asaph that true prosperity is found in God’s presence, guidance, and in-depth, long-range goodness to His people (Psalm 73:22-23). From God’s point of view, the wicked do not prosper—not really. True prosperity is in being able to say with our psalmist friend, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. . . . But as for me, it is good to be near God” (Psalm 73:25,28). YOUR JOURNEY… •Read Psalm 73:1-28. The next time you are discouraged by the prosperity of the wicked, meditate on this chapter. •Has God’s goodness to you ever fueled an independent and rebellious spirit? In your journal, write out a prayer asking God to forgive you. •Pray and ask God to give you a look through His glasses when it comes to the bad guys who seem to prosper all around you. Ask Him to give you an eternal perspective on the events in the here and now. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 14th, 2011 07:37 AM   IP              Tell Me The Story All these things happened to them as examples and . . . for our admonition." 1 Corinthians 10:11 Now that I have grandkids, I’m back into the classic children’s Bible stories. Wide-eyed stories like David and Goliath, Noah’s ark, and Jonah and the big fish quickly capture a child’s imagination! But there’s a danger here—not with the stories themselves but rather with our attitude toward them. If we view them simply as kids’ stories, kind of like the Grimm’s Fairy Tales of the Bible, we miss the point. The stories of the Bible were never meant to be outgrown. There are profound lessons to be learned from the amazing accounts of those who faced giants, floods, and fish! Hundreds of years after the fact, the apostle Paul explained that the things that happened to Moses and the Israelites as they wandered through the desert “happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition” (1 Cor. 10:11). These stories are about us. They mirror the tensions we face daily as we too seek to apply God’s will and ways to the realities of our lives. They teach us of the treachery of sin, our desperate need to trust God unflinchingly, and the importance of staying faithful and true to Him regardless of what happens. Don’t ignore the old stories. You might be surprised what God wants to teach you through them. We learn the blessed Word of God To fix it firmly in our heart, And when we act upon that Word Its truth from us will not depart. —D. De Haan Stories from the past can give us pointers for the present. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 18th, 2011 07:51 AM   IP              The Secret That Should Not Be Kept “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16 Douglas Coupland is a best-selling author known for his books about cultural trends in America. In his book Life After God, he no doubt surprises his readers when he shares: Now here is my secret. I tell it to you with an openness of heart I doubt I will ever achieve again . . . My secret is that I need God—that I am sick and can no longer make it alone. I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem to be capable of giving; to help me be kind, as I no longer seem capable of kindness; to help me love, as I seem beyond being able to love. Amazing—an author who has admittedly bought into the godless secularism in our world has let his godless philosophy of life run its course, and at the end of it all he recognizes that something is missing. The unanswered longing in his soul leads him to admit that his “life after God” has left him barren and hopelessly in need. He calls it his secret because it would be almost scandalous in post-Christian America to admit that we do need God after all—the God who has been banished to the outposts of irrelevance. I love Coupland’s candor. Life after God—or actually life without God—inevitably leaves us hollow and disappointed. And if someone like Coupland feels this way, you can bet there are a lot of others who feel the same—a lot of others who live and work where you live and work. A lot of others who just may be in your family or your circle of friends. Well, those of us who live life with God have a secret as well. Our secret is that God exists (Hebrews 11:6) and is all He has promised to be (Psalm 145:13). That He is indeed the answer to our deepest longings (Psalm 34:9-10), and that only He can give us the motivation and power to give, to be kind, and to love (Philippians 2:13). And not only that, but that He gives us the wisdom we need to navigate life’s most complex and confusing problems (Colossians 2:2-3). He brings meaning to suffering and peace in the midst of life’s storms (Psalm 119:50). And most importantly, only God can wipe our slate clean through the death of His Son (Isaiah 53:5). Our secret is that God is all He promised to be! So, when you feel discouraged that no one in your world has any interest in God, remember Douglas Coupland. It takes time for life to come to the disappointing end of itself when it is lived without God. And you never know who around you is coming to the same conclusions as Coupland. When they do, will you be ready to share your secret? Will they have seen enough of the reality of God in your life to want to listen to your secret? And will you have the confidence that your secret is without a doubt exactly what they need and the boldness to share it enthusiastically? My wife tells me that I am not a good secret keeper—and in this case, that would be a virtue! Come to think of it, the fact that the gospel is “the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16) should be on the tip of our tongues ready to be proclaimed whenever we get the chance! I wonder if anyone who knows our secret was near to Doug Coupland when he shared his secret? YOUR JOURNEY… •Get alone with God and meditate on salvation. How do you know you are saved? What has He saved you from? Why are you thankful for your salvation? •If you had the chance to tell someone how to become a Christian, what would you say? Write down the essential elements of the message of the gospel. Then commit them to memory and look for a chance to tell someone your secret! •Take some time to read through the verses referenced above pertaining to your “secret.” How do these verses encourage you to share the joys of life with God? •Have you ever been ashamed of the gospel? If so, ask Jesus to forgive you and to replace your fear with boldness to tell people about Him. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 20th, 2011 06:27 AM   IP              A World of Change “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3 In case you haven’t noticed, our world has dramatically changed. It wasn’t long ago that it would have been unthinkable that nearly 40 million unborn children would be murdered in America. There was a time when kids could pray in public schools. Nativity scenes dotted the lawns of county courthouses and municipal parks—without protest. Marriage was strictly a guy-girl arrangement. And you could even pray in Jesus’ name at graduation ceremonies. I’m not interested in being like the grump who said, “In my life I’ve seen a lot things change and quite frankly I’ve been against them all!” But if you are talking about changing the face of America to the point where God is out and everything else is in, then I have a problem with that kind of change. My problem is wondering how to handle my heart and attitudes. Wondering how to live and respond in a world where the foundations of righteousness are being eroded on nearly every front. How do we, as followers of Jesus, process right and wrong in a world that tells us there are no absolutes? How do we proclaim that Jesus alone is what people really need—that He is the “way and the truth” (John 14:6)—when most people no longer believe that there is such a thing as true truth? You don’t have to be an industrial-strength theologian to realize that the current thought patterns of most Americans fly in the face of what we hold to be true. If there are no absolutes, you can forget about the Ten Commandments. If nothing is ever right or wrong, there is no sin and no need for a Savior. It’s easy to see that believing in what God tells us about righteousness, truth, and godly living leaves us marginalized and outdated. So our hearts cry out with David: “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3). Let’s start with knowing what not to do. Notice that David didn’t wring his hands in despair. He didn’t “flee like a bird to [the] mountain” (Psalm 11:1). Instead, he decided to take refuge in the Unchanging One. His confidence was bolstered by the fact that God was on His holy throne and that His eyes were well aware of what was going on. Reminded of the ultimate judgment that God would pour out on wickedness, David knew that, in the face of unsettling change, staying on course with God is indeed the best and safest alternative. Looking at all the change from God’s point of view, he realized that though the change seemed overwhelming, God is still very much in charge and ultimately victorious. Why would any of us want to go soft on God and His truth in order to feel more “with it,” when we know that the “with it” party train is headed for a disastrous train wreck? So, let’s quit all the hand wringing and feeling sorry for ourselves. Let’s cheer up, knowing that the things that can’t change—such as God’s righteous eternal reign—are still in place! You can go with the change if you choose. I’m going with my changeless God! YOUR JOURNEY… •Has the changing philosophies of our world changed your approach to life, sin, and righteousness in any way? Be specific. •What are some things that God loves and some things He hates? Do you love what He loves and hate what He hates? •Are you willing to take a few hits for God because you stand with Him and His truth? To what extent? In what ways was Jesus unwavering in His willingness to take a hit for you in this ungodly world? •Have you expected this changing, increasingly godless world to be a friend of Jesus? Read what Jesus had to say to us in John 16:33, and rejoice! God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 22nd, 2011 06:51 AM   IP              Word Power I have suffered much; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your word.” Psalm 119:107 It was a beautiful day except for the fact that after a sizzling front nine, my golf game had tanked big time. I felt embarrassed in front of the two other guys I was playing with and really disappointed in myself. Why I tortured myself with golf and call it a game I’ll never know! But like a sports masochist, I keep going back for more pain. As I was stuffing my clubs into the back of my car, trying to put on a good face, I was struck with the fact that I had just spent the afternoon with two guys who have problems that make my lame golf game look like a cakewalk. Both of them have trouble on the home front, the kind of trouble that hurts the worst. Robert’s wife has been running him through the wringer of an excruciating divorce. It is something that he does not want and has tried for two agonizing years to turn around. She wants nothing to do with him or reconciliation. My other golf buddy (the one who beat me mercilessly on the back nine) has been living for years with a situation at home that none of us would ever dream of enduring. His wife struggles with severe emotional imbalance and, though at one time was a follower of Christ, now wants nothing to do with Jesus or her husband. She still lives with her husband, so you can imagine what it means to walk into the house after a tough day at work to face a whole new set of challenges at home. He goes to church alone. He sleeps alone. As I closed the back of my Tahoe, I noticed that my golf buddies were talking to each other in upbeat tones. What caught my attention is that they were talking about passages of Scripture that they had shared with each other the week before. As they quoted portions of the passages to each other, the power of the content was compelling: “I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure” (Psalm 16:8-9). “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees” (Psalm 119:71). It was clear to see that they were lifting each other up with the power of God’s Word. Their enthusiasm for the support and joy they were experiencing in God and His Word proved that in times of trouble the Word of God is a source of comfort that infuses unusual strength into situations that put Word-less people into the dumpster. I have to admit that I have never thought of using God’s Word to prop me up when my golf game goes south. But I was reminded afresh that there is unusual power in the Word of God to give us an edge during times of trouble. So, when life hits the wall—go to the Word. And don’t isolate yourself! Find someone else in trouble and be Bible buddies. God loves us and gave us His Word to take us all the way through! YOUR JOURNEY… •Flip through the book of Psalms until you find a passage that speaks to your heart. Memorize the key lines and meditate on them throughout your day. •Pray the passage back to God in personal terms. Share the passage with a fellow struggler. •Keep looking. The Psalms are a therapeutic gold mine! God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted November 27th, 2011 09:46 AM   IP              Lost “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Luke 19:10 It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. A highly anticipated Christmas shopping trip to the mall with our kids and my parents took a dramatic turn for the worst as we suddenly realized that Matt, our five-year old, was nowhere to be found. With fears of kidnapping racing through our minds, we split up to search the mall for Matt. My assignment was the parking lot. In the grip of anxiety I made my way through the fresh fallen snow yelling, “Matt, Matt!” I have to tell you that I felt a little foolish. But being embarrassed by hollering in a parking lot was overshadowed by fears for my son and my need to find him. But, after covering the territory, there was no sign of Matt. More concerned than ever, I went back into the mall to see if anyone else had spotted him. I was hoping beyond hope that either Martie or my mom had found him, but their search had turned up empty as well. Our sense of desperation was hitting new levels when my dad walked around the corner with Matt in hand. Overwhelmed with relief, we asked, “Hey, Dad, where did you find him?” “At the candy counter,” he replied. “Little Matt had his hands behind his back and his eyes were right up at the level of the candy trays.” He didn’t even realize that he was lost! Nor did he have a clue about the kind of danger he was in. Later I found myself reflecting on the experience and thinking that Matt reminded me of a lot of people who are without Christ as their Savior. Lost in the candy world of their lives, they have no idea of how lost they are or of the eternal danger they are in. Today’s Scripture passage is actually the conclusion of the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. As a tax collector, Zacchaeus had immersed himself in the pursuit of possessions, prosperity, and power. By the world’s standards he was doing okay. Sure, he wasn’t terribly well liked, but he had a sense of purpose, was achieving his goals, and thought he had life pretty well figured out. But, entranced by the “candy” of his own gain, he was flat out lost. Jesus searched him out! Going out of the way to call him down from his perch in a sycamore tree, Jesus invaded his life, invited Himself over for dinner, and rescued Zacchaeus from the danger of his self-indulgent, selfish, sinful life. When the Pharisees grumbled about Jesus spending time with a tax-collector, Jesus reminded them that His purpose on earth was “to seek and to save what was lost.” That’s where you and I are before Christ finds us and rescues us. Our preoccupation with the stuff of this world—money, power, sex, comfort, and ease—numbs us to the very real dangers of life without Christ. Without Him we are dangerously lost—and don’t even know it. Thankfully, a gracious, compassionate God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pursue us, find us, and rescue us. That’s the reality of what we celebrate at Christmastime. And, don’t forget, once we are safely His, He sends us to search for others who are lost in “candy” world. So let’s steer their hearts away from the stuff of this world and help them find the real joy of Christmas. YOUR JOURNEY… •Have you recognized your need for Christ and acknowledged that you are lost without Him, or do you find that you are still preoccupied with other things? •What are some of the dangers for those who are lost without Christ? Take a few minutes to praise God for rescuing you. •Amazingly, Christ enlists His followers in His mission to “seek and to save” the lost. Who are some people in your life that need to be found by Christ? Take a few minutes to pray for them today and look for an opportunity to lead them to Jesus. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted December 2nd, 2011 06:49 AM   IP              Kaleidoscope Glory “Oh,the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” Romans 11:33 When was the last time you looked into a kaleidoscope? Remember those long tubes, usually made of cardboard with hundreds of little colored beads at one end? Inside, a series of mirrors within the tube reflect the beads, creating beautiful symmetrical shapes that change as you turn the tube. I’m always amazed to think that even though the number of beads stays the same, the patterns change each time you look into the tube. It’s an amazing picture of harmony and order. I thought about kaleidoscopes recently as I was thinking about the glory of God. I was thinking about the fact that we often only think about one aspect of God’s character. We may look at God’s Word, for example, with only the love of God in mind. We talk about how loving God is, praise Him for His love, and fixate on that one particular aspect of who God is. And, to be sure, God is supremely loving—more than you and I could ever possibly imagine. But the problem with focusing so intensely on just one characteristic of God’s nature is that we then act as if that particular characteristic is set aside in certain contexts. For example, having focused on love, we turn to passages that talk about God’s justice, wrath, and rightful condemnation of a sinful, fallen world and think, “Hey, wait a minute, where did the love go?” Or having obsessed on God’s grace for a while (again, an infinitely worthy place for us to focus our attention!), we turn to God’s holiness and fail to see how it interacts with His grace. The glory of God is that He reflects all of these characteristics, all of the time, all at once! He never ceases to be loving. He never stops being holy. He is eternally gracious, righteous, all-knowing, all-powerful, and present everywhere. Like a kaleidoscope’s changing display, sometimes different aspects of God’s glory are brought to the forefront. As He poured out His righteous and just wrath on sin, for example, when Jesus was on the cross, we also see that God’s love and mercy in beautiful harmony was on display. Think of where you would be if God was just but not compassionate. All-powerful but not good. All-loving but not faithful. The hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” has a great line in it. It praises God as “merciful and mighty.” Where would you be if He was merciful but not mighty enough to exercise His mercy in your life? Or mighty but not merciful? That’s a scary thought! Thankfully God is not a “one-man band”! His character and attributes march in perfect step creating a harmony of joyful praise to His Name! His attributes roll into one huge statement about the radiant expression of all that He is in all His unsurpassed, praiseworthy, stunning perfection. Our joy is that we can spend not only this lifetime, but eternity, gazing into the kaleidoscope of God’s glory. Moment by moment, day by day, new reflections of His character and nature can captivate and motivate our passion for Him. I can’t think of anything more beautiful or worthwhile! Take a look for yourself today. YOUR JOURNEY… •If you’re a follower of Christ, think back to when you first put your trust in Christ. What aspects of God’s glory brought you to that point? •Consider a few aspects of God’s glory. How does His grace interact in harmony with His justice? How does His holiness work in tandem with His love? •What characteristic of God do you usually focus on the most? Spend some time thinking about how that characteristic is linked with the other truths that you know about God’s character. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted December 10th, 2011 12:08 PM   IP              What to Do Until the Stars Fall “Accept what I say… I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.” Proverbs 4:10-12 My biology professor, Max Dowell, was an unapologetic southerner with a drawl as thick as deep-South molasses. And while I’m sorry to admit that I don’t remember a whole lot of biology (I never was much for the Latin names of frogs and the smell of formaldehyde), I don’t think I’ll ever forget the professor who probably had the words to “Dixie” scrawled on his boxer shorts. Having grown up in New Jersey, I needed to listen carefully in class since his accent seemed like a whole different dialect to me. But through all the cross-cultural stuff, there is one thing he frequently said that has stuck. I even find myself repeating it with a southern twang of my own. What it had to do with biology I’ll never know, but periodically he would come out with the phrase, “Do right ’till the stars fall!” We’d all agree that “Do right” is a terrific piece of advice. But coming to grips with that advice may be a challenge. I usually feel pretty good about what I do. And I rarely think I am wrong. But my best-intentioned moves in life are more like ready, fire, aim, instead of well-thought-through strategies on how to do what is truly right. Emotions have a way of pulling the trigger before I fully think the moment through. Rationalizations and excuses have a way of fogging my perspectives so that things that are clearly wrong look like pretty good options. Admittedly, most of the twisted and lame moments of my life have been a direct-connect to times when I have not done what is right. Times when I’ve said the wrong thing, expressed the wrong attitude, caved in to wrong thoughts and desires—and the list goes on. And if you are honest with yourself, you’re thinking that you have the same “Why did I ever do that/say that?” regret now and then as well. We need help! God clears the air by reminding us that, if left to ourselves, we are a risk to most anything or anyone nearby! So, admitting our tendency to repeated misfires is a good beginning. But where do we go from there? Embrace the wonderful fact that His will and ways are always right. When we take our clues from Him, we start being right more often than we’re wrong as we measure all we do by His will and His Word. He is right about forgiveness, generosity, patience, tolerance, humility, and giving our boss a good day’s work. In fact He is right about everything! That’s why He is a righteous God. We nicknamed our professor “Do Right Dowell.” I wonder if anyone would give you a compliment like that? Try living in such a way to give them a chance! YOUR JOURNEY… •What have you done or said recently that you regret? Did you feel that it was right at the time? Did you do it even though you knew it was wrong? What would you do differently if you could go back and do it again? •Do you believe that God is a righteous God? Do you believe that His will and all His ways are always right? •Create the habit of checking in with God—who is always wonderfully right—before you trigger your next attitude, action, or speech. Do this at least once a day just to stay in shape! •Read these additional passages for more insight: Proverbs 14:12 and 1 Timothy 6:11-16. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted December 11th, 2011 07:15 AM   IP              Breaking The Spin Cycle "[Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. . . . He is a liar and the father of it." John 8:44 Politicians are adept at “spinning” the details of a story to advance their own agenda. During a political campaign, spin doctors massage stories to ensure that their candidate is cast in a positive light—often at the expense of the truth. This leaves us with serious questions about what the real truth is. According to Jesus, Satan is the “spin doctor” of hell—the master deceiver who “speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar” (John 8:44). He casts himself as the one who wants to give us unfettered freedom and pleasure, carefully masking his plan to steal, kill, and destroy us (John 10:10). He even spins the loving laws of God by claiming that God’s boundaries are restrictive, simply intended to take all the fun out of living. When we buy into Satan’s damaging lies, we will eventually find ourselves empty and broken—sidelined in our journey with God. Thankfully, Jesus warns us. He says that Satan is the father of lies. And we know Satan is lying when what he tells us contradicts God’s Word. Jesus, on the other hand, is the truth (John 14:6). So, when it comes to sorting out the spin, our only defense against the spin doctor of hell is to listen constantly for the voice of Jesus as we pray and study His Word. And that’s the truth! The devil is crafty, deceptive, and sly; He cleverly tricks us to swallow his lie. But his cunning methods we’re sure to discern If we make God’s warnings our daily concern. —D. De Haan God’s truth stops the spin of Satan’s lies. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted December 12th, 2011 12:08 PM   IP              In Your Head "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel." Galatians 1:6 I love the prayer that begins, “God be in my head.” When I first heard it, admittedly I thought it sounded a little weird. But then I got to thinking how unfortunate it is if in our efforts to get closer to Jesus we focus on our emotional experience of Him and check our brains at the door. Without His truth ringing in our heads, we’re bound to get off track. Just look at the early Christians. False teachers filled their heads with misinformation, saying that salvation and spiritual growth could be attained only through keeping the requirements of the law. When Paul heard of it, he was astonished at how quickly they had gotten off track: “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ” (Gal. 1:6). It’s not just false teachers who lead us astray. Our world is full of twisted thinking like, “If it feels good, do it,” or “The one with the most toys wins.” Let’s face it, you and I can’t afford to check our brains at the door. In fact, intimacy with Jesus begins with getting to know Him, and it’s the facts about Him that make us want to get close to Him. So, strange as it may sound, if you want to stay on track with Jesus, start each day by asking Him to be in your head! God be in my head, and in my understanding; God be in my eyes, and in my looking; God be in my mouth, and in my speaking; God be in my heart, and in my thinking. —Sarum Primer To stay on track, let God guide your thinking. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted December 13th, 2011 10:30 AM   IP              Life on Level One "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer.” Ruth 4:14 In an ancient form of Chinese drama, plays were often performed on a two-level stage. On the first level, the drama would unfold in the natural sequence of the script, while on the second level the last act of the play would be acted out simultaneously. This gave the audience a distinct advantage—they knew how the story would end. In fact, it was not uncommon for the audience to yell to the actors on level one, warning them that their attitudes or actions were threatening the good outcomes of the final act of the play. Life is a lot like living on “level one.” When life on level one is in the dumper, it’s easy to forget that the unseen hand of God is already at work to bring the last act to His glory and our good. It was like that for Ruth and Naomi. Their “level one” was not a pretty picture. After the unexpected death of her husband and two sons, Naomi was left with her two daughters-in-law as a marginalized immigrant in Moab. In an age when men were the sole providers for their families and sons were a badge of honor to a woman, this was no small problem. The level-one cry of this destitute widow is understandable. “The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me” (Ruth 1:21). In Naomi’s excruciating pain, God was at work. Through Boaz’s noble response to Naomi’s destitute need for a kinsman-redeemer, God was in the process of designing a powerful picture of the rescuing work of Jesus to redeem our lives from hopelessness. It was also in God’s providence to place a Moabite woman in the line of Christ to prove that all, regardless of race or background, could be included in His saving grace (Matthew 1:5). How did He get a Moabitess to Bethlehem where she could marry into the line of Christ? He sent Naomi to Moab to bring one back! Without her knowing it, God was positioning Naomi to be greatly used of God. So here’s the lesson. When level one is not a pretty picture, remember that God is the manager of all that plays out in our lives. We are not left to the winds of fate. I love the fact that He never wastes our sorrows and that His hidden hand is working to turn our sorrows into significance. Romans 8:28 assures us: “In all things God works for the good of those who love him.” So, chin up! The God who works on level two guarantees a good and glorious ending. YOUR JOURNEY… •Read Romans 8:28-29. According to verse 29, what is God’s purpose for my life? How does that affect my view of what is “good” for me? •What challenges am I facing on level one right now? How does it help to know that God already knows what level two will bring? •If my life were divided into acts like a play, what act would I be in right now? What act has been played out with an outcome that proved to be good for me? God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted December 14th, 2011 01:20 PM   IP              Grace and Truth The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 It’s a grandfather’s prerogative to tease his grandkids a little bit, right? So when one of my young grandkids is first learning math, I quiz him about his newfound knowledge. “Do you know about math yet?” I ask. “Sure, Papa, I know math.” “Well then, what’s two plus two?” Beaming up at me, he quickly and proudly replies, “It’s four!” “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong. Two plus two is 22. You take one two, put it next to the other two, and you have 22. And,” I continued, “one plus one equals eleven. Three plus three is 33. Don’t you know that? Who’s teaching you math?” Invariably, eyes roll, and I hear, “Oh, Papa, you’re wrong—2+2 is four!” “Are you sure?” I say. “Yes, I’m sure!” is the confident reply. Thankfully, my grandkids are getting a good handle on the fact that truth can’t be played with. Even though I’m older, an authority figure, and a loved one, they are ready to challenge me if I don’t have the facts straight. The truth stands, and they can quickly spot (and point out) the error of my “logic.” As Christ’s followers, we need to get a better handle on that reality. You don’t play around with truth. In fact, as John is telling us about Jesus, he assures us that we know that Jesus is full of grace and truth (John 1:14). People don’t have much trouble with the grace part. Of course God’s grace is amazing, unlimited, lavish, and actively demonstrated in the death of Jesus on the cross. He forgives sins, restores lives, and pours out countless blessings that are neither deserved nor expected. No arguments about His grace. But when we hit the “truth” part, the world walks out in protest. Truth, in so many minds, is a pliable commodity, so flexible that you can have “your truth” and I can have “my truth,” even if they are completely contradictory. Illogically, in the world’s eyes, every claim can be equally valid and, in fact, we are quickly written off as intolerant if we point out the wrongheadedness and false thinking of a worldview that does not line up with God’s Word. John reminds us that Jesus came not only to demonstrate God’s unlimited grace but also His absolute truth. Jesus claimed to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life—the only way, in fact, to the Father. He told the crowd gathered at the temple that He and the Father were one. His truth claims can be rejected or received, with eternal consequences, but they cannot be altered or spun to a more politically correct alternative. They do not sync with false worldviews and are not simply one option among many. So, the question for you and for me is: “Are we playing around with truth?” We wouldn’t be among the first to bend the words of Jesus to fit our own dreams and misplaced desires. And, I should ask, are we able to spot false truth claims and erroneous thinking as quickly as my grandkids spotted my flawed mathematical theorems? And, just as importantly, are we willing to speak out for the truth, graciously yet firmly exposing error for what it is? We can and should be agents of the grace of Christ. But let’s remember the rest of the verse and be agents of His truth as well. It would be really great if 2+2 could be 22 when I am balancing my checkbook, but it is still and always will be four. The truth is the truth and that never changes. Thank God that He has given us truth to keep the balance of the checkbook of our lives in good order. YOUR JOURNEY… •How have you responded to the claims of Christ? Have you embraced Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life? Read Acts 4:12 to see Peter’s affirmation of Christ’s exclusive claims. •In what ways is the world trying to play around with the truth? How do many people view God’s Word and the truths found in it? •In your time at home, at school, at work, or in your neighborhood, how can you be an agent of God’s grace and His truth this week? God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted December 17th, 2011 07:43 AM   IP              Your Brilliance Factor “For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” Proverbs 8:11 Adrian Grasselly was used to working with precious material. As an expert diamond cutter, he was akin to Michelangelo who could look at a slab of marble and see the statue that was trapped inside. And so, in 1944, when Grasselly began working on that one particular diamond, he studied it for two full months before touching it. Why? Because it was the Liberator diamond—a 155-carat rock worth millions. Because of the magnitude of the treasure, Grasselly spent time thinking through every move in his approach to refining the stone. One wrong move would have instantly ruined the potential of that great rock. Your life and mine are a lot like that stone. We’re all “diamonds in the rough” with great potential. And just like Grasselly, who deliberated for 60 days before touching the diamond, we need to think long and hard about a strategy for the way we live our lives. One choice at a time, you and I determine our brilliance factor for Jesus. Let’s think of our brilliance factor as the sum of the good decisions we make, minus the bad ones. The greater the number of wise choices, the greater our ability to radiate the spectacular facets of Christ’s wisdom and character. Let’s face it. We’re all just a few bad moves away from flawing the brilliance of His glory in us. Choices about what we say, how we respond to trouble, how we treat those who don’t treat us well, what we choose to watch, and how we spend our money are all the strokes of the chisel against the diamond in our hearts. So, how do we know what the downstrokes look like—the strokes that chisel away the rough edges and move us toward brilliance? The transforming work of God in our lives begins when we are willing to live by His wisdom and not our own. Wisdom is seeing all of life from God’s point of view. Since He is perfect wisdom, aligning my choices with His perspective brings the brilliance of His glory to the surface of all my activities and attitudes. Loving my enemies, serving the needs of others, forgiving, being generous, and caring for the needy and the poor are among the transforming downstrokes of His wisdom. A life lived to reveal the brilliance of His glory happens one choice at a time. And you’ll know that you are on the right track when at the verge of every choice, you check in with God to get His perspective and then proceed to chisel away the rough edges according to what is truly wise. I love what the Bible says in the book of Proverbs: Wisdom “is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her” (Proverbs 3:15). When you start living by the precious wisdom of God, there is indeed nothing that can compare! His wisdom will chip away the grit and grime from your life and begin the process of changing you into a priceless gem that radiates His spectacular glory—which, by the way, is your brilliance factor. YOUR JOURNEY… •Read one chapter in the book of Proverbs each day for the month of January. As you read, make a list of important facts about wisdom. •Write down your strategy for increasing your “brilliance factor” this year. Commit to reviewing and using this strategy before making life choices throughout the year. •Spend an hour in solitude and reflect on the choices you’ve made over the past year. Ask God to help you be honest before Him as you assess how many choices have been wise ones. •Is there a specific area in your life where you continually make unwise choices? Consider where these choices will lead you. Find an accountability partner to help you make wise choices in this area. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted December 19th, 2011 07:05 AM   IP              Our Rally Cry “But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.” Luke 10:33 Whether or not you’re a history buff, you probably remember learning about the historic revolutions that launched significant changes in both the economic and intellectual landscape of the Western world. Take our own revolution, for instance, when in the mid-1700s the world heard the rally cry, “Give me liberty or give me death!” and a new era of democracy was born. And not long afterward an equally influential cry rang out from the French Revolution, “Liberty, equality, brotherhood, or death!”—a cry that launched the era of the Enlightenment. While we are thinking of revolutions, my guess is that if I were to ask you who you thought were the most influential revolutionaries of history, Jesus would not have made your list. But that is exactly what He was—a revolutionary who tops all the rest. I’m not sure why we always think of Jesus in terms of His soft side—the meek and mild, gentle, peaceful Jesus. While I’m thankful for that side of Him, I can’t help but notice that there’s more to Him than that. He came to earth to effect radical change. To be sure, there was a clash of civilizations when He brought the values and culture of heaven into enemy territory that was under the management and direction of Beelzebub himself. Jesus did not come to coexist with hell on earth, nor did He come to negotiate a compromise. Rather, He came to conquer hell on earth, to overthrow the regime and set the captives free! He died a revolutionary’s death and rose as a victorious revolutionary who had once and for all de-fanged the enemy of our souls and set us free. And once freed, we are recruited to join the revolution, to get involved in the goal of setting other captives free, and to follow our leader Jesus and take up the rally cry of His revolution: “People matter most!” “People matter most” is the point Jesus was trying to get across when He told the now-familiar story of the Good Samaritan. Let’s face it: Joining the heavenly revolution is a challenge. We live in a world where personal happiness is more important than the welfare of others; in a world where pleasure trumps people; in a world where corporate value and stock prices eclipse the importance of the value of people, their pension plans, and personal welfare. It’s why the crime of genocide still exists; why the problem of abortion continues to thrive; why the question of euthanasia still haunts us. It’s why dads leave their families for the fling of what initially seems like a more-fulfilling relationship. It’s why the affluent can be blind to the needs of the poor and the oppressed. We’re living in enemy territory where people are often pawns and chips on the game table of someone else’s happiness and gain. Jesus came to change all of that: to teach us that people matter most, that eternal destinies are worth sacrificing for, that others count, and that love trumps self-centeredness! The familiar story of the Good Samaritan teaches us that even religious people can miss the point of the importance of “loving our neighbor.” But Jesus is still looking for good Samaritans who will join the revolution and live to prove—as Jesus died to prove—that above everything else, people matter most. Join the revolution today! YOUR JOURNEY… •How has the revolutionary message of Jesus transformed your life? •Read the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. How are you doing in terms of obeying Jesus’ command to “Go and do likewise”? (In other words, which of the three passersby would most characterize you?) •What circumstances or challenges might distract you from the rally cry: “People matter most”? What can you do to eliminate the things that keep you from rallying to Jesus’ cause to care for others? •Think of someone you know who might be “bleeding by the side of the road” today. Take the time to stop what you’re doing and lend a helping hand in the name of Jesus. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
today Administrator Posts: 13135 Registered: Mar 2009  Posted December 20th, 2011 09:34 AM   IP              Don't Just Celebrate…Imitate! "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.” Ephesians 5:1 I can still remember my dad standing there, coat on and hat in hand on Christmas afternoon asking me, “Joe, do you want to come with me?” His question made me uncomfortable because I knew I should say yes, but being deep into playing with my Christmas presents, going with him was not my idea of a great way to spend Christmas afternoon. My idea of Christmas was a time to celebrate Christ’s birth by giving and getting gifts, eating some of Mom’s all-time best cooking, and lots of play time with my new toys! My dad liked all that kind of stuff too. But every year he had something else in mind. He knew that Christmas was more than a celebration of Christ’s birth. For him, the spirit of Christmas had a deeper meaning. He knew that the highest form of honoring Jesus is more than celebration—it’s imitation. In fact, seeing Christmas as merely celebration can have a selfish bent to it. It can end up being primarily about days off from work, parties, family, friends, games, football, gifts, and lots of great food. But imitation—not celebration—pays a higher compliment to the one whose life we celebrate. For Jesus, Christmas was not warm, convenient, or comfortable. In our modern-day materialized blur of Christmas, we must keep reminding ourselves that the birth of Jesus put into motion the central act of God’s redemptive plan, and it came at a cost. Not only did Jesus temporarily relinquish the glorious privileges of heaven, He ultimately gave His life on a blood-stained cross where His sinless body bore the weight of my sin—and yours. Jesus presented our world with a costly redemptive gift. Which is precisely why my dad was on his way out the front door. His mission? To visit an elderly widow who lived down the street. With no children and no family, she spent every holiday alone. And every Christmas my dad, in the midst of celebration, gave the gift of himself, sharing a few moments of companionship to help ease her lonely heart. I learned a valuable lesson from my dad. Around all of our lives there are people who long for a touch from heaven through some caring, even sacrificial, act of love on their behalf. Who are the people you could call on Christmas day? Check your party lists. Is there someone who will go nowhere if not invited by you? Indelibly etched on my memory are those two or three times when I stood up from my toys, grabbed my coat, put my hand in Dad’s, and walked down the street to spend an hour imitating Christ’s gift of Himself. This year, let’s do more than celebrate Christ. Let’s honor Him by imitating the grace of His selfless and sacrificial love for us. YOUR JOURNEY… •What are some ways you can imitate Christ this Christmas? Read Ephesians 5:1-33 for a list of ideas. •My dad’s imitation of Christ made a big impact on me as a kid. What can you do to set an example for the young people or young believers in your life? If you were to say, like Paul, “I urge you to imitate me” (1 Corinthians 4:16), what kinds of Christlike qualities would others see in your life to imitate? •We’re in the final countdown to Christmas. Narrow your ideas down to one action point and then, as the commercial says, “Just do it!” Who knows, your act may make this a Christmas to remember. God, Whose Love Is Always Stronger
Posts: Registered:  Posted    IP
:: :: Christianity :: Daily Strength ..2 Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
< Previous thread | Next thread > | Subscribe to thread | Share