Thursday's Thoughts

Matthew 11:28-30 The Message

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Hmmm...how many times have I said "I'm so tired - weary even.  I don't know what to do or how to do it."  Well, here's the answer - not just for me - but for all of us who fall into this same place.  Yes, life is hard.  Yes, life moves too fast sometimes.  Yes, things don't go well all the time.  Yes, people do things we don't understand, and we end up getting hurt.  Hello!  That's all part of this state of humanity.  How we deal with all of it is ultimately what matters.  I love the part of the quote above that says "watch how I do it."  So there's the answer.  Find out how Jesus did it - how He coped - how He dealt with all the stress - and we can "deal with it" too!  

I know ... you're like me - you want the short version - the microwave answer!  How did Jesus do it?  He stayed in constant contact with His (our) Father!  He surrendered everything He wanted to what His Father wanted.  He didn't do anything that His Father didn't tell Him to do, He did everything Father said do, and He didn't make a move without His Father's direction.

That's it! That's how to live life freely, lightly and abundantly!  And now we know!  What will we do with that knowledge?????

Wednesday's Wist

Mark 8:29 NIV

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
      Peter answered, "You are the Christ."

I've been asked some pretty important questions in my life.  No doubt you have too.

• Will you marry me?
• Do you take this man ... until death do you part?
• Will you have my baby?
• Will you go to the mission field?
• Will you accept this position?

The disciples were asked some pretty intense questions as well.  But the most intense of all questions is this one asked by Jesus in Mark 8:29:  "Who do you say I am?"  

He doesn't ask, "Who do your friends think ... Who do your parents think... Who do your coworkers think?"  He makes it starkly personal by saying, "Who do you think I am?"

Maybe you're like the disciples who weren't real quick to respond.  One ducks his head.  Another shuffles his feet.  A third clears his throat.  But Peter, oh Peter, he lifts his head and looks at Jesus and speaks the words heaven was waiting to hear, "You are the Christ."  Wow!  What about you today?  Jesus asks this same question of you ... "Who do YOU say that I am?"  Don't just give an answer that is expected of you.  Think about it before you answer.  Who is HE to you?  Really!?  Is He? 

Think about it.  "Who do you say I am?"
 

Tuesday's Tidbit

Matt 9:9-13 NLT

⁹ As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.

 ¹⁰ Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. ¹¹ But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”

 ¹² When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” ¹³ Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Wow!  That gives me hope - how about you?  You've gotta wonder what Jesus saw in Matthew!  After all, he was a tax collector - an IRS agent in today's society - and not too popular.  Tax collectors back in the day were seen as the betrayers, the turn-coats because they took from their own people and gave to Rome.  Not only that, but as long as they met their quotas they could tax whatever they wanted as much as they wanted!  Hey-at least our IRS agents are not given quite that much liberty!  People hid when they saw Matthew and his kind coming - yeah, kind of like we try to do when the IRS shows up on our caller ID.

Not only was Matthew a tax collector, but he was a public tax collector.  Some collectors hired other people to do their dirty work for them, but Matthew did his own!  He wasn't shy!  He was the low of the low!  He pulled his stretch limo right into the ghetto and set up shop and demanded his cut.  That's where he was when Jesus called him - right in the middle of doing wrong things the wrong way with the wrong intention!

I also wonder what Matthew saw in Jesus.  Think about it.  He was dirty, holes in His sandals, no headquarters, no big fancy sanctuary to work from, no committees, no Pastor's council and no clout with the local church!  In fact the local clergy won't have anything to do with Him.  This guy claims to be the Messiah??

What a duo these two were!  Whatever it was they saw in each other - it must have been something special!  Matthew heard the call, dropped everything and never went back.  He spent the rest of his life convincing people that this carpenter was the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  Jesus gave the call and never took it back.  He spent His life dying for people like Matthew - like me and you - so we would know that if He had a place and a plan for Matthew - He has one for us, too.
 

Monday's Meditation

“How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.” (John 9:10)

I love this story of Jesus healing the blind man because there are so many facets to it. Every time I read about this man, who was born blind, I come away with another inspiration to keep trusting God. Today, I had to stop and think about the question asked by the blind man’s neighbors. These were people who knew that he had been born without sight.

His transformation was obvious to all who knew him. Were they amazed, scared, challenged, or hopeful that some of their own issues could also be transformed? Or were they afraid, doubtful, skeptical, and envious of such a difference in the man. How did they feel about a man who was once pitied, but now could become an equal? Would the new sight provide him with the opportunity to replace them? These are just a few of the questions that come to my mind.

No matter how often I meditate on this particular story, I always end up back at the same point. I rejoice in the fact that Jesus frees us from our spiritual blindness. I can’t begin to count the times that I have struggled, only to find the inspiration and the strength to carry on as I draw nearer to God. It is His goodness and mercy that lifts me and helps me to find His hand at work in my life every day.

Have a great day, and don't forget to count your blessings!!

Friday's Feature

1 John 5:4-7

⁴for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. ⁶This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷For there are three that testify:
 

 

According to Scripture, three things are required for spiritual victory: birth, faith, and truth. In order to enter into the ranks of the victorious, we must be "born of God." It occurs when I accept Jesus Christ as Savior.

Then comes faith. I draw upon the power that is in me. I no longer operate on the basis of human strength, but by faith. I rely upon divine power.

Then is truth. Everything is made possible by the truth, by believing the truth, by living the truth. Allow the truth to invade, reshape, and cultivate your life anew.

Tell me, have you had such a birth?

If so, are you operating in faith?

And the truth---is it the truth you are claiming?

If you've answered yes to all three questions, then it's time for action. Quit hiding behind those excuses! Stop telling yourself it's too late! It is never too late to start doing what is right. Start now. Trust me, you can move from defeat and discouragement to hope and victory if you will simply get off your backside and act now.

Aim high. Go hard after God. Press on. Live out loud!!

Everything is made possible by the truth.

Monday's Meditation

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day" (2 Corinthians 4:16 NLT).

When Paul says that outwardly we are wasting away, all but the young understand what he means. His meaning is lost on the young because by and large they don’t feel like they are wasting away. When you are 18 and just graduating from high school, you feel like your whole life is stretched out before you. You think you will live forever even if you know you won’t. It’s a wonderful thing to be young and full of energy. You might as well enjoy it because life will change your perspective soon enough.

Recently the legendary actor/director/author Woody Allen gave an interview to the New York Times in which he talked about his own faith at the age of 74. He makes it clear that he doesn’t believe in God:

Q. What seems more plausible to you, that we’ve existed in past lives, or that there is a God? A. Neither seems plausible to me. I have a grim, scientific assessment of it. I just feel, what you see is what you get.

Then there is this question:

Q. How do you feel about the aging process? A. Well, I’m against it. I think it has nothing to recommend it. You don’t gain any wisdom as the years go by. You fall apart, is what happens. People try and put a nice varnish on it, and say, well, you mellow. You come to understand life and accept things. But you’d trade all of that for being 35 again. I’ve experienced that thing where you wake up in the middle of the night and you start to think about your own mortality and envision it, and it gives you a little shiver.

For all his earthly achievements, Woody Allen seems to have learned nothing valuable about ultimate reality. As he gets older, he begins to fall apart as we all do sooner or later. But he has no answer for it, no hope beyond his own coming death.

When Paul says we are all wasting away, he means it quite literally. Did you know the human body is programmed toward death? Scientists use the term apoptosis to describe this “programmed cell death.” In the average human adult between 50 and 70 billion cells die each day. Think about that. You lost at least 50 billion cells yesterday, you’ll lose at least that many today. By this time next week, you’ll have lost 350 billion cells to programmed cell death. No wonder we’re all feeling worn out. It’s literally true. When Paul says that “death came to all men” in Romans 5:12, that’s not just true in the spiritual realm. It’s literally true in the physical realm.

We’re dying all the time. Little by little our bodies are wearing out.  
A couple of weeks ago I celebrated (if that’s the right word) another birthday. Here’s what I notice. Newsprint keeps getting smaller and smaller! And I don’t seem to hear quite as well as I did ten years ago. My body doesn’t move as fast as it did twenty years ago. The young people seem a lot younger than they used to. And “old people” don’t seem as old as they seemed when I was young. 


Strange as it may seem, Paul views his troubles as part of God’s plan to renew him spiritually. Years ago (this illustration will date me) we used to sing “Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.” It’s not that every day seems sweeter or feels sweeter or that every day is a bed of roses. It’s not. Some days are dark and desperate. But the “sweetness” of Jesus may be seen in his goodness to us in the midst of our trials. From time to time we encounter a saint of God who having gone through deep waters has emerged more beautiful than before. I have seen it happen in those who are dying of cancer. You can see their faith actually growing stronger as their body grows weaker. They are experiencing life in the midst of death. Paul says this is God’s plan for all of his children–daily spiritual renewal. 

That’s the first reason we never give up.  

Friday's Feature

^{Psalm 16-17  (The Message)}
   Going through the motions doesn't please you,
      a flawless performance is nothing to you.
   I learned God-worship
      when my pride was shattered.
   Heart-shattered lives ready for love
      don't for a moment escape God's notice.

“When God wants to do an impossible task, He takes an impossible man and breaks him. As the evangelist, Charles Spurgeon, said, ‘We are but men, frail, feeble, and apt to faint.’ 

I am intrigued by the word ‘broken. ‘ It means, literally, ‘shattered’ in this context.  My sacrifice to God, according to Psalm 51:17 (KJV), is a shattered spirit and a bruised heart. It isn't until the pride of our heart is shattered that we will begin to understand the deep things of God. The shattering and the bruising are so designed by God for the preparation of His ambassadors.  However, this process - the shattering and the bruising are painful to the flesh.  Don't think it isn't!  Any time there is shattering and bruising - it's going to hurt.  But with God, it's so worth it - regardless of the pain.  The best thing I can tell you here is to stay focused on the prize - you will be a usable tool for kingdom work, and the harvest will amaze you!

“God will not despise a broken and contrite heart. All of God’s giants have been weak people. Every one of us is frail, feeble, and apt to faint. The greatest gift you can give God is your weakness - your brokenness and your willingness to be molded and formed into that beautiful usable vessel He created you to be!

Have a great weekend, and don't forget to count your blessings!

Thursday's Thoughts

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (New International Version)

Though the fig tree does not bud
  and there are no grapes on the vines,
  though the olive crop fails
  and the fields produce no food,
  though there are no sheep in the pen
  and no cattle in the stalls,

 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
 I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Given the events in my life lately, I have become well acquainted with this verse.  So many times I ask “Why?,”  “Why me?” and “Why us?”  Often the answer comes back “Why not you?” 

Bottom line ... bad things happen.  I guess the real question is, “Ok, life is falling apart ... now what?”

More than once have I gone to this verse tucked away in an obscure little Old Testament book.  It is probably one of my most comforting verses.  A pastor of mine once paraphrased it this way:  ‘When you cannot praise Me for what I allow - praise Me for who I am.’

There are many, many days when I feel I cannot praise Him for the things that are allowed.  But I can always praise Him for who He is.  My God, my Savior, my Healer, my Provider, my Strong Tower, my Rock, my Hiding Place. my Protector, my Restorer and my Father - my Daddy God - and through all of these things - He sees what I cannot see.  He knows what I do not know.  He sees the big picture, and my vision is oh so limited!

I lose sight of that sometimes.  I get caught up in what is happening in my life at the moment.  It seems to encompass everything.  Sometimes the pain is so great that everything else is blotted out.  In times like these, I dig out my old, favorite marked up - highlighted in Bible and turn to this much underlined and commented upon verse.

Somewhere deep inside of me, I know it is true - even when I don't want to admit it.  All can be falling apart.  Everything can be going wrong.  I may not understand a single thing that is going on around me.

But you know what?

I don’t need to.  It sometimes takes times like these for me to get my priorities straight.  What is it that I REALLY cannot live without?  What is really important in this life?

• That I have God as my Savior.  
• That I walk through these valleys with Him.  
• There may be abundance in the future.  There may not.  
• Things may continue on the way the are.

I still have Him as my my God and Savior.  He still loves me beyond measure - beyond my grasp - even when I have my throw-downs with Him.

Not a single circumstance in my life can change that.

And in that, I can and will rejoice.