Category Archives: Essential 100

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Angelic Admiration

Essential 100—Read:
I Peter 1:1-2:12

“Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!” (I Peter 1:12)

Even before the Good News was announced at Bethlehem’s manger and authenticated at Calvary’s cross, rumors were spreading in heaven’s court that something big was about to happen. The Triune God had kept his plans for the salvation of mankind a secret from all creation—and it was really bugging the heavenly hosts. They were itching to know!

Little by little, as the time drew near, God began to release bits and pieces of the Good News, but never in completed form. The angels periodically announced to humans that something really big was coming, and the prophets prophesied the birth, suffering and redemptive work of Christ long before it happened, but always as if seeing “through a glass darkly.”

Then it came! Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died as God’s perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind, and rose again as Lord of life, Savior of the world, and Ruler of the universe. But even then, the Good News was still a bit of a mystery to the heavenly beings (as it still is to the unsaved world), because the only beings who could truly grasp this mystery were the one’s who had been redeemed by it.

You see, only undeserving sinners who have been redeemed from sin and death can truly appreciate salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Angles can’t—they can’t be redeemed because they can’t sin. Only humans have the free will to choose this amazing gift of God—and when they do, the mystery is grasped.

All the angels could do was witness it longingly from afar. They witnessed it when Jesus was born, when he died, when he rose, and when you received Jesus as your Lord. They know it is glorious beyond comprehension. But they can’t quite get their angel brains around it—and they envy!

How great a salvation you and I enjoy! No other creature can experience the greatest gift that God has made available in his entire universe. No other being but mankind can take part in the most powerful miracle of all—bigger than the creation of the worlds, bigger than the parting of the Red Sea, bigger than any other sensational miracle in the Bible—and that is the miracle of the new birth. God’s best miracle took place when you were born again!

Don’t take for granted this great gift God has bestowed upon you! Every heavenly being longs to understand what is now yours. On this day, take some time to appreciate God for “so great a salvation, so rich and so free.”

 “There is no mystery in heaven or earth so great as this—a suffering Deity, an almighty Saviour nailed to a Cross.”  ~Samuel Zwermer

Reflect and Apply: Perhaps you might offer this prayer in response to so great a salvation: “Father God, forgive me for neglecting so great a salvation—for taking it, and you, for granted. Thank you for this indescribable gift. How privileged I am, above all your created beings, to be the recipient of this undeserved miracle.”

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A Lopsided Transaction

Essential 100—Read:
II Corinthians 4:1-6:2

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (II Corinthians 5:21)

What an amazing exchange that took place when Jesus hung on the cross as the sacrifice for sin!

  • Jesus became sin so that I could become saved.
  • Jesus was abandoned and I was embraced.
  • Jesus received God’s wrath and I received God’s righteousness.
  • Jesus got what he didn’t deserve and I got what I didn’t deserve.
  • Jesus didn’t get what he deserved and I didn’t get what I deserved.
  • Jesus got what I deserved and I got what Jesus deserved.
  • Jesus went through hell so that I could go to heaven.
  • Jesus endured hatred and I was showered with love.
  • Jesus died so that I could live.

Redemption is such a lopsided transaction, but such is the love of God. I got the far better deal in this exchange, and for that I will never cease to be grateful.

“At the heart of the story stands the cross of Christ where evil did its worst and met its match.”  ~John W. Wenham

Reflect and Apply: All you can say in response to what God has done for you is “Thank you!”  All you can do in response to what God has done for you is to offer your life as an extended thank offering. That is your assignment: Start thanking, in word and deed.

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Love Is…

Essential 100—Read:
I Corinthians 13:1-13

“Now the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:13)

Love is… Love is the beginning, the end, and everything in between. Love is the motive, the fuel and the goal of life. Love is the thing, and there is really nothing else.

God is love. Love is the highest law of his universe. It is the most powerful force in existence. Love is what God intended human beings to know and give. Since God is love, God intended that his highest creation, man, should be love too. That Divine intent was obviously and tragically broken at the fall of man, but in the restoration of his eternal plan, now expressed through the church, God’s love once again is to reign supreme. The church, made up of believers like you and me who have been the unlikely and undeserving recipients of God’s redemptive love, is to embody and express love as God designed it before a watching world.

Love is… Love is a verb much more than it is a noun. Love is a choice. Love is not a poem; it is a principle. Love is a universal law, much like the law of gravity, or the law of sunrise and sunset. Love is an action that originates with God and flows from the redeemed life. Like water naturally flows from a spring, so love should naturally flow out of the life of a Christian unconditionally. Love is, not because of what is done for it, but because of Who is love’s true wellspring.

Your assignment as a Christian, above all, is to love. In all that you do—in thinking and interacting, in acting and reacting, in serving, sharing, and singing, even in expressing the gifts of the Holy Spirit as Paul has been talking about in the two chapters that sandwich this “love chapter” love is to motivate you, love is to guide you, love is to be the outcome.

Everything else in life comes in a distant second to your willingness to be the conduit of God’s love for you flowing through you today. Nothing else is as important.

Love is… And if you will permit it, love will change your world today!

“Open your hearts to the love God instills…God loves you tenderly. What He gives you is not to be kept under lock and key but to be shared.”  ~Mother Teresa

Reflect and Apply: Offer this simple prayer before you do anything else: “Lord, above all else, will you remind me today that I am the living proof of your amazing love? Make me ever mindful of allowing your love to flow through me in every situation I encounter. Use me to change my world through the power of your love.”

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Checklist For the Journey Home

Essential 100—Read:
I Thessalonians 4:13-18 & 5:1-11

“For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.” (I Thessalonians 5:2)

Both of the Apostle Paul’s letters to the Thessalonian church devote a great deal of space to Christ’s return. Paul concludes his first letter by reminding his readers that this great event will happen when people least expect it—“like a thief in the night.” So as believers, we must therefore live each and every moment expecting the unexpected. We are to live with our bags packed, so to speak, ready to leave for our true home—heaven—at a moment’s notice.

What does it mean to live in such a way? Paul gives a checklist of sorts in the final verses of this letter. Perhaps you’ve used a checklist to make sure you have the right things packed in your suitcase before going on an extended trip. As you prepare for the journey home—which by the way, will be an extended trip with no return—here is your spiritual checklist:

  • I Thessalonians 5:6—Be alert! Be on the lookout; remain on guard as to Christ’s return and the evil conditions of the time in which it will take place.
  • I Thessalonians 5:6 & 8—Be self-controlled! Keep your life, your passions, your desires and fleshly drives in check.
  • I Thessalonians 5:8—Be armed! Put on the armor of faith (conviction), love (self-sacrifice) and hope (the assurance of your salvation).
  • I Thessalonians 5:11—Be encouraging! Instead of finding flaws in others, build them up and help them to be ready for Christ’s return.
  • I Thessalonians 5:12-13—Be respectful! Treat your spiritual leaders—ministers and lay leaders—with high regard and love.  Give them respect not because of their position, educational achievements or popularity, but because of the nature of their work.
  • I Thessalonians 5:13—Be at peace! Seek peace actively, not passively, with fellow believers.
  • I Thessalonians 5:14-15—Be active! Get involved with others by warning the idle, motivating the timid, helping the weak, being patient with everyone, and exhibiting kindness rather than retaliation toward those who’ve hurt you.
  • I Thessalonians 5:16—Be joyful! Maintain an attitude of joy no matter what.
  • I Thessalonians 5:17—Be prayerful! Stay in God’s presence continually.
  • I Thessalonians 5:18—Be thankful! Not only in good times, but even in bad times exhibit an attitude of gratitude.
  • I Thessalonians 5:19-20—Be sensitive! Develop a sensitivity and an appreciation for the work of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ; especially as it relates to prophecy.
  • I Thessalonians 5:21—Be discerning! Gain knowledge of the Bible so that everything can be tested against it.
  • I Thessalonians 5:21—Be obedient! Understand what the Word of God says, and be quick to obey it.
  • I Thessalonians 5:22—Be pure! Moral purity should continually characterize your life.
  • I Thessalonians 5:23-24—Be dependent! Fully depend on God and cooperate with the Holy Spirit to bring about sanctification and blamelessness in your life—body, soul and spirit.
  • I Thessalonians 5:25—Be prayerful! Regularly intercede for others before the throne of God.
  • I Thessalonians 5:26—Be friendly! Love and affection must be demonstrable, and an outward expression of your inner affection for fellow believers.
  • I Thessalonians 5:27—Be unselfish! Take responsibility to share with other believers the truth of God’s Word.
  • I Thessalonians 5:28—Be gracious! Live in the light and reality of God’s grace, personally and relationally.

Are you ready to go, or do you need to do some more packing? Jesus may come today, so make sure you’re ready for the journey.

“Our deepest calling is not to grow in our knowledge of God. It is to make disciples. Our knowledge will grow—the Holy Spirit, Jesus promised, will guide us into all truth. But that’s not our calling, it is His. Our calling is to prepare the world for Christ’s return. The world is not ready yet. And so, we go about introducing a dying world to the Savior of Life. Anything we do toward our own growth must be toward that end.” ~Jeffery Bryant

Reflect and Apply: Offer yourself to God: “Lord, I long to see you. Perhaps it will be today!  But whether it is today or a hundred years from now, empower me through the Holy Spirit to live in a state of readiness, ready to go home at a moment’s notice.”

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Your Tombstone

Essential 100—Read:
II Timothy 3:10-17 & 4:1-8

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (II Timothy 4:7-8)

This is the self-summation of Paul’s life—carved in perpetuity by God’s hand in the granite of His eternal Word as a living witness to the faithful life Paul lived.  This is his epitaph, if you will.

And one day you, too, will have an epitaph chiseled on a tombstone.  If you doubt that, take a stroll through a cemetery and you’ll see that everyone gets one.  In fact, I’d highly recommend that stroll, because what you read on the final markers tells a lot about the lives of those buried beneath them…and so it shall be for you!  A New England headstone captured that sobering truth well:

As you pass by and cast an eye
As you are now so once was I

Epitaphs like that confront you with the unavoidable reality that one day you will have your entire life summed up and chiseled onto a stone for others to read. Paul got an epitaph…I will get one…you will get one, too.  The only question is, what will yours say? I hope mine will be like Paul’s:

I have fought the good fight
I have finished the race
I have kept the faith

Whatever you want yours to say means that you’ve got to live your life that way between now and then—starting today!

“No man ever repented of being a Christian on his death bed.” ~Hannah More

Reflect and Apply: Write the epitaph that you would like to appear your tombstone.  Now, start living that way!

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Buck Up, Soldier!

Essential 100—Read:
II Timothy 2:1-26

“Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” (II Timothy 2:3)

I admire Paul’s attitude toward discomfort. Whether he was being thrown in prison, beaten with rods, drifting at sea on a plank from the ship that had just wrecked, being kicked out of the city for preaching the Gospel, abandoned by his so-called friends, told he was crazy by government officials, or many of the other various things he had suffered, he treated them as just being part of the job. Suffering was just all in a days work for Paul.

Maybe those city officials were right—Paul was a little crazy. (Acts 26:24)  Who in their right mind has such a lackadaisical attitude about hardship? The answer: One who sees their role in life as a soldier for Jesus Christ.

Soldiers are tough. They endure suffering. They undergo discipline to make them stronger, more battle-ready. They serve at the pleasure of their commander and fight for king and country. And those of us who are citizens of that country are glad for that.

Paul says that we, too, are soldiers. And what is true of a real soldier ought to be true of spiritual soldiers as well. We should expect discomfort—it toughens us. We should leverage hardship to make us battle-ready—we’re in a very real spiritual war, after all. We ought to embrace the suffering that comes as a part of what serving at the pleasure of the Commander means. We need to reframe our thinking so as to see all of life, including persecution, rejection, and any sort of pain, along with all the wonderful benefits and blessings that outweigh them all (II Corinthians 4:17), as the privilege of soldiers fighting for another Kingdom.

And there’s one more thing Paul understood about suffering that made it endurable: The reward at the end of the battle. He knew that he, and everyone else who suffered as a Christian, would also reign with Christ.  It takes a “long view” of life to see it that way, but what a great motivation we have.  If we suffer with Christ, and if we endure for Christ, if we persevere and overcome as soldiers for Christ, we will live with Christ forever and reign in his eternal kingdom.

Reframe your thinking—your suffering now will pay off later in ways that I cannot even begin to describe.  It will be worth it all.

So buck up, soldier!

Carry on.

“When a man has quietly made up his mind that there is nothing he cannot endure, his fears leave him.” ~Grove Patterson

Reflect and Apply: Here is a prayer you may want to offer today: “Dear Lord, you suffered so much for me, and for that I am eternally grateful.  Now Lord, strengthen me to suffer redemptively—without so much as a complaint.  What a privilege to be in discomfort for your sake.  It is such a small price to pay to be a good soldier for you.”

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Breaking News: Your Money Is Unreliable

Essential 100—Read:
I Timothy 6:3-21

“Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.” (I Timothy 6:17, NLT)

I suppose this is akin to closing the barn door after the cows got out, but God’s Word has been telling us all along about the uncertainly of wealth and the foolishness of obsessing over the amassing of a financial fortune. The crisis on Wall Street and the fear and loathing on Main Street that we are now reading about in the daily headlines were predictable, not only because of the greed and incompetence that led to it, but because the eternal Word of God said it would be so.

Obviously, the timing of this ongoing economic instability in the year of a national election gives Americans their best opportunity to put people into positions of power who are true public servants: people of integrity, wisdom, responsibility, foresight, courage, conviction, and selflessness. This is arguably our best chance in a long while to get government right—and we need to rise up as citizens and demand it!

However, the more important opportunity tucked away in these dangerous ecoomic currents is for believers to rethink their financial philosophy.  My suspicion is that most of us—and I include myself—have gotten a little too cozy with the economics of a world system that is fundamentally corrupt and inexorably headed for divine judgment.

I want to challenge you to put your financial philosophy as well as your current economic practices through the filter of I Timothy 6, and see what kind of a grade you come away with. Re-read Paul’s advice to Timothy in light of this current mess; pay particular attention to what he has to say about money and our attitudes toward it. And most important, recalibrate your personal economic practices to come into line with God’s Word, which among other things, profoundly counsels of with this truth:

“True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.” (I Timothy 6:7)

We will get through this current financial mess—I have no doubts. It might be painful and long, who knows, but we will endure. But it will happen again—mark my word.  So why not prepare for it by simply and ruthlessly living according to God’s precepts.

I am not an economist—by a long shot, but I will bet on God’s storehouse principles any day over the Treasury Secretary’s advice!

“The real measure of our wealth is how much we should be worth if we lost our money.” ~J. H. Jowett

Reflect and Apply: Our nation is experiencing a painful reminder that love of money is indeed at the root of all kinds of evil. Allow the tough economic times and the universal financial crisis to remind you of this indestructible financial principle: godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. Just like the coin in your pocket says, put all your trust, including your financial trust, in God.