SYNOPSIS: Sometimes the journey takes us to “the wall.” The proverbial wall is a place that our faith rarely anticipates, but it can become the place where our faith is strengthened the most. You see, the best part of our walk with God is not what he does for us, as glorious as that may be; it is what he does in us! And the faith, humility, trust, and dependence that God desires to develop within us—all the qualities of Christ-likeness—we discover at the wall of adversity. God produced those characteristics of greatness in all of the greats at the wall—Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah, Job, Daniel, Paul, and others. Why should you be any different? So, I’ll see you at the wall!

Moments With God // Focus: Psalm 74:9

We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be.

“God, it seems like you’ve left me high and dry!” That is the essence of this psalm. Have you ever talked to God like the writer of Psalm 74 did? I have! I am not talking about being disrespectful, but I am talking about being desperate.

There have been times of desperation in my life—when a loved one far too young to die was on her death-bed, when a conflict arose that seemed to have no resolution, when a financial need was staring me in the eyes and I had absolutely no answer for it; when an attack came from out of nowhere that just sucked the life out of me—and to be frank, I felt all alone. Overrun with fear, anxiety, and hopelessness, life from my clouded human perspective made it seem as if God was nowhere to be found.

You have had those moments, too. And if we dared to be brutally honest with God, we said something to the effect, “God, where are you? You are really letting me down on this one!” Or worse!

Well, if you are having second thoughts about your unfiltered prayer to God, don’t fret. Jesus had a moment like that, too: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46)

Perhaps your desperate cry to God has been more general—like the one in this particular verse. Your holy discontent has led you to prayerfully complain to God that he never seems to show up in his power and glory, with signs, wonders, and miracles, as he did in days of old—and there seems to be no indication that he will anytime soon. You are desperate for God, but he doesn’t seem desperate for you.

The writer of this psalm most likely penned this prayerful lament after the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC. The Jews were deported to Babylon, the Holy Land had been overrun and defiled by pagans, and God’s people were in a bad way—with no end in sight. Worst of all, God was silent—he wasn’t acting (“no miracles”), he wasn’t talking (“no prophets”) and there was no game plan except for more of the same (“we don’t know how long this will be”).

So the psalmist poured out his complaint—which is always a good thing. And even though it wasn’t in this psalm, God did give his people some profound advice (I guess his advice is always profound since, after all, he is God) through a prophet that served around the same time as the palmist. His words are recorded in Jeremiah 29:1-23. I hope you will take the time to read them.

Of course, this passage contains the verse that everyone loves: “I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and give you a hope and a future.” (Jer 29:11) But read the context. God is, in essence, saying to them, “this difficult time is going to take a while—and yes, I will see you through it—but in the meantime, bloom where I’ve planted you. Even though you don’t hear me or see me, I am still at work. I’m doing my part, so you do your part by staying faithful and useful to me.”

Here’s the deal: You see, the best part of our walk with God is not what he does for us, as glorious as that may be; it is what he does in us! And the faith, humility, trust, and dependence that God desires to develop within us—all the qualities of Christ-likeness—we discover at the wall of adversity. God produced those characteristics of greatness in all of the greats at the wall—Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah, Job, Daniel, Paul, and others. Why should you be any different?

So, I’ll see you at the wall!

“ God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain. —C.S. LEWIS

SYNOPSIS: What would you attempt for God if you knew that he was already where your steps of faith would lead you. How energetically would you press forward if you knew he was waiting there for you to arrive? What level of confidence would you have knowing that God had gone ahead of you and secured your victory even before the battle began? The truth is, when God calls you to step out, he has not only promised to be with you, he has promised to actually go before you, and while you may not see around the bend of faith, God is already there with your victory in hand.

Moments With God // Focus: Judges 4:14-15

Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get ready! This is the day the Lord will give you victory over Sisera, for the Lord is marching ahead of you.” So Barak led his 10,000 warriors down the slopes of Mount Tabor into battle. When Barak attacked, the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a panic.

What would you attempt for God if you knew the Lord was marching ahead of you? What grand thing would you pursue if you knew that he was already where your steps of faith would lead you, waiting for you to arrive? What level of confidence would you have knowing that God had gone ahead of you and secured your victory even before the battle began?

When God calls you to a step of faith, you are guaranteed his presence and his power, which means that you are invincible in the journey. Moreover, he has not only promised to be with you, but he has also promised to actually go before you, and while you may not see around the bend of faith, God is already there, waiting for you to take the victory lap for a victory that he won for you. How cool is that!

That is exactly what the prophetess Deborah is telling the reluctant general of the Israelite army, Barak. He is shivering in his boots knowing that his army is outmanned and outgunned by the Canaanite army of General Sisera. We are told in Judges 4:3, “Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.” 900 iron chariots to Israel’s none…no wonder, on a human level, Barak was not too excited about leading Israel into battle.

But this battle was not going to be fought only on a human level. No battle is. In the spiritual realm, God had already heard the cries of the Israelites and had determined to deliver them from their oppressors under the guidance of Deborah the Judge and Barak the General. In light of that, the fight was over before it even started. Barak couldn’t see that, but Deborah could. That is why she told him, “now get out there and fight, for God is already ahead of you and how guaranteed the victory. C’mon, go take your victory lap.” And that is exactly what Barak did, and a great deliverance for Israel was accomplished.

Perhaps you are a little uncertain about what’s next for you. Maybe you’re not too confident about your future. Maybe the circumstance you face is overwhelming, from a human perspective. You are outnumbered and outgunned. But where God is asking you to step out in faith, those odds do not matter one iota. God is on your side; he is with you, he is actually before you. He is already where he has called you to go, waiting for you to walk into a victory that he has secured for you. You cannot lose. So take heart.

Therefore, because of God’s exemplary record of faithful goodness in leading his people to victory, do not be afraid to trust an unknown tomorrow to a known God. So get ready! This is the day God will give you victory, for he is marching ahead of you. That is God’s promise to you!

In a verse similar to this, King David said to his son Solomon as he gave him the daunting task of building a temple in Jerusalem to the God of Israel,

Be strong and courageous and get to work. Don’t be frightened by the size of the task, for the Lord God is with you; he will not forsake you. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly. (1 Chron 28:20, LB)

Whatever is before you, if God is calling you to step out, then do it with confidence. God is already out there where you have been called to go. And he has guaranteed victory if you will go with him!

“ Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. —CORRIE TEN BOOM

SYNOPSIS: Famously, Simon Peter was a bumbler. But let’s give him some credit: he may not have been perfect—by a long shot—but he sure was passionate! I suspect God prefers the passionate over the perfect. (Just a little hint: there are no perfect people, only those who think they are.) The Gospel writers included Peter’s gaffes with regularity to remind us that God uses imperfect people like you and me, especially the passionate ones!

Moments With God // John 18:25

Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”

Peter usually takes a beating when evaluated alongside the eleven disciples. He gets labeled as the stumbling, bumbling, think-before-you-speak, foot-in-the mouth, inconsistent goofball from Galilee, whom Jesus, for reasons God only knows, selected to be one of his first disciples. Good old Peter—the first-century version of Gomer Pyle in the Lord’s little band of foot soldiers.

But let’s give Peter some credit. He may not have been perfect—by a long shot—but he sure was passionate! And he was there when the Jewish leaders arrested Jesus—at least give Peter credit for that. John 18 says when all the disciples but John fled and Peter, none other than Peter figured prominently in this scene. He was like a bull in a china shop—passionate, yes; perfect, no—but at least he was there:

• He whacked off the ear of one who came to arrest Jesus. (John 18:10-11, NLT) Passionate—but misguided!
• He surreptitiously followed as the High Priest’s SWAT team took Jesus to jail. (John 18:15-17, NLT) Passionate—but fearful!
• He stood among the soldiers as they warmed themselves by the fire. (John 18:18, NLT) Passionate—but silent!
• He denied knowing Jesus when questioned, but at least he was there to be questioned. (John 18:25, NLT) Passionate—but weak!
• He doubled down on his denial when questioned again. (John 18:26-27, NLT) Passionate—but fundamentally flawed!

Yes, Peter bears guilt for all the things we have said—misguided, fearful, silent, weak, flawed, no doubt about it—but passionate? You bet! Imperfect, but passionate to the core! Perhaps that is why Jesus gave Peter so much public attention and placed him so prominently on his leadership team. Like the very flawed King David, Peter had a heart after God.

God can use people like that. In fact, I suspect God prefers them over the perfect. Oh, and just a little hint: There are no perfect people, only those who think they are. Of course, I am not excusing Peter’s imperfection; only explaining it. But I think the reason the Gospel writers included Peter’s gaffes with regularity was not to put him down as the dunderhead we often think he is, but to remind us that God uses imperfect people, especially the passionate ones! He certainly used Peter; he became the leading apostle of the early church, influenced Mark in writing the gospel, and author two very rich epistles.

If you see yourself as imperfect, but still carry that passion for Christ, partner with the Holy Spirit to work on your flaws, but stay in the game. God will use you.

“ Passion, though a bad regulator, is a powerful spring. —RALPH WALDO EMERSON

SYNOPSIS: Where is the greatest, safest, most satisfying place in the world? In the very center of God’s will, that’s where! So why not move there — ASAP. And here is a prayer that is a great first step in making the move in that direction: “Father, not my will, but yours be done!” Have you come to that place where you can surrender what you prefer to what God wills? When you can so entrust your life to the Father’s perfect plan — no matter what that means for you — you will have discovered, as Jesus did, the Divine eye in the midst of every Satanic storm. And that is the greatest, safest, most satisfying place in the world!

Moments With God // Matthew 26:39

Jesus went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Where is the greatest, safest, most satisfying place in the world for you and me? In the very center of God’s will, that is where! That is why praying, “Father, not my will, but your will be done.”

When we can learn to not only pray but earnestly desire God’s will for our lives—unpleasant and undesired circumstances notwithstanding—then we will have discovered what Jesus knew all along when he prayed that prayer on the very night he was betrayed: that he was in the Divine “eye” of the Satanic storm.

Jesus desired his Father’s will more than anything else—even life itself. He knew his purpose in life was to fulfill God’s plan: To redeem a lost world by his sacrificial death. He entrusted his own personal preferences to the One who not only works out all things for his own glory but for the good of his children as well. (Romans 8:28) That is why Jesus, whom Hebrews 12 calls, “the author and finisher of our faith,” looked at the cross with great joy. That is why he heroically endured this ghastly assignment. That is why he even despised the shame of hanging upon that cross like a death-row inmate. For Jesus knew that the path to the crown was by way of the cross. Now, he has arrived and is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Have you come to that place where you can surrender what you prefer to what God wills? When you can so entrust your life to the Father’s perfect plan, no matter what that means, you will have discovered, as Jesus did, the Divine eye in the midst of every Satanic storm. And that is the greatest, safest, most satisfying place in the world!

Take a moment to absorb how Hebrews 12:1-3 says it:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [Jesus and others who heroically fulfilled God’s will], let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Are you struggling with God’s will? Does it seem a little too much to handle? Keep your eye on Jesus! Consider what he went through! For if you endure your cross now, then afterward comes the crown!

Before he was martyred by the Naizis, German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter from prison, “Much that worries us beforehand can afterwards, quite unexpectedly, have a happy and simple solution… Things really are in a better hand than ours.”

Did you catch that? Things are in Better Hands!

That’s why Jesus’ prayer, “Father, not my will, but yours be done,” is a really good prayer for you to pray. Your life—unpleasant and undesired circumstances notwithstanding—is in better hands than yours.

And after your cross, if you endure by doing the will of the Father, comes the crown.

SYNOPSIS: Do you have either a nagging concern distracting you or an overwhelming burden pulling you down? The good news is there is a promise in the Bible that covers all your concerns and burdens: “God will perfect everything that concerns you.” (Psalm 138:8, NKJV) Did you catch that? EVERYTHING! So fulfill your end of the promise: take your concerns to God in prayer, obey what he tells you to do, trust his loving care and complete competence to meet the need, then stand on his promises. You see, with God, a promise made is a promise kept.

Moments With God // Focus: Joshua 21:45

Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.

What a great verse! Toward the end of the Book of Joshua, after Israel had conquered their enemies and had taken possession of their promised land, Israel’s brilliant commander, Joshua, made this declaration: not a single one of God’s promises remained unfulfilled. What an amazing testimony about God’s faithfulness. But more than just a significant piece to ancient Israel’s historical record, the author of the book, inspired by the true Author, God, included this line so that you and I would know that since he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, this will be our experience with God as well.

A certain Bible scholar pointed out that God has made over 6,000 promises to us in the Bible  Some of those promises are universal in nature—all believers anytime and anywhere who are walking in obedience to his commands can claim them  Other promises are quite specific to certain people at certain times, and the Holy Spirit reveals them to us through prayer and the study of God’s Word in response to situations that arise in our lives.

Whether God’s promises are universal or personal, what we are taught repeatedly in the Bible, including this verse in Joshua, is that God is a promise maker, and more importantly, God is a promise keeper  The fact is, God has never broken a promise—not even one  I can’t say that about me, and you probably can’t say that about you, but we can say that with complete certainty about God  With him, a promise made is a promise kept.

When I was a little kid in Sunday School, we would often sing a song about God’s promises that went something like this:

Every promise in the Book is mine
Every chapter, every verse, every line.
I am standing on his Word Divine,
Every promise in the Book is mine!

Over 6,000 promises—and he will bring every single one of them to pass  Here are just a few of those 6,000 promises that are for you  Upon which one will you “stand” today and every day until God fulfills it in your life?

• That he will forgive all your sins  (Psalm 103:3)
• That he will supply all of your needs  (Phil 4:19)
• That he will never leave you or forsake you  (Heb 13:5)
• That he will give you Divine wisdom for your lack of human understanding  (Jas 1:5)
• That he will turn all of your circumstances to your good and for his glory  (Rom 8:28)

What is your area of concern  A promise covers it, so look it up in God’s Word  Fulfill your end of the promise—that’s the big caveat here—and then rest in God’s proven character  What is your end  Pray, obey, trust, and stand  Do that, and you can plant your feet firmly in the certainty of God’s Word because a promise made is kept with him.

Yes, you can expect that “God will perfect everything that concerns you.” (Psalm 138:8, NKJV)

SYNOPSIS: In living out the law of agape love, we become like God—something that truly honors and pleases the heart of our Father. That’s what Jesus said: “You will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.” (Luke 6:35, NLT) That’s a pretty compelling reason for choosing to express unconquerable, benevolent, kind, invincible, reconciling agape love—especially toward people who least deserve it. It is who God is, it is what God does, it is when we are most like God, and it is what his Son asked us to do.

Moments With God // Matthew 26:16

From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

Sorry to be the one to break the news to you, but everybody gets a Judas in life. At one point or another, you will bear the pain of someone you trusted thrusting a knife in your back. It is simply, and sadly, the awful reality of living in a broken world alongside fallen human beings.

Among the sixty conspirators who assassinated the Roman leader on March 15, 44 BC was Marcus Junius Brutus. Caesar not only trusted Brutus, he favored him as a son. According to Roman historians, Caesar first resisted his assassins, but when he saw Brutus among them with his dagger drawn, he gave up. He pulled the top part of his robe over his face, and uttered those heartrending words immortalized by Shakespeare, “Et tu Brutus” … “You, too, my child?”

Julius Caesar was not the only one to know such treachery. The passionate Scottish patriot William Wallace experienced it when Earl Robert de Bruce betrayed him. Not even the brightest theological mind who ever lived—the Apostle Paul—or the most perfect human being ever—Jesus Christ—was spared. No one gets a pass on betrayal.

So here’s the thing: Are you willing to consider the possibility that God has a far deeper work to do in you that can only come through the betrayer’s knife? Charles Spurgeon said,

I bear willing witness that I owe more to the fire, the hammer and the file than to anything else in the Lord’s workshop. I sometimes question whether I have ever learned anything except through the rod. When my schoolroom is darkened, I see the most.

The truth is, the fire, the hammer and the file of a betrayal may result in some of God’s finest craftsmanship—if you keep your heart soft and your eye on him. If you are going through the pain of a betrayer’s wound right now, remember, you are walking where great people have walked before. Their greatness came because they didn’t allow betrayal to ruin them; they learned how to turn their pain into greater usefulness for the Lord.

Jesus responded to Judas’ money-making treachery with obedient submission to God—and transformed the world. Perhaps God wants to use your pain to form you, and to transform your world.

To what enemy do you need to extend unconquerable, benevolent, invincible, reconciling kindness? Go do it! It’s what your Father would do—and you’ve got his DNA.

“ Only a friend can betray a friend, a stranger has nothing to gain Only a friend comes close enough to ever cause so much pain. —MICHAEL CARD

SYNOPSIS: Our calling as ambassadors for Christ is to compel people to righteousness, but we are to do so without being self-righteous and moralistic. If we fail at that, truly our judgmentalism becomes a turn-off to everyone—sinners, saints, and even God himself. And while we have failed at that on occasion, past failure is no reason to abdicate a role that is critical to both the purity of the church and the salvation of the lost—fruit inspection. And a good place to start is by inspecting your own spiritual fruit–both internal (character) and external (works) kingdom produce! That in itself will most definitely keep you from being judgmental.

Moments With God // Matthew 7:16

You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

When I was growing up, I remember hearing the pastor of our church, who happened to be my dad, exhort our small congregation with these words of wisdom: “The Bible says we’re not supposed to judge other people, but it doesn’t say we shouldn’t be inspecting their fruit.” In light of what Jesus taught here in Matthew 7, that pastor was standing on solid theological ground.

Now the world has used Jesus’ words in verse 1, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged” as a sledgehammer against Christians who take a stand on the cultural issues of our day, but Jesus never intended his words to intimidate believers into moral silence. The truth is, we have been called to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) both to wayward Christians as well as lost people who are headed for a Christless eternity. Who better to stand on the wall as a moral and spiritual watchman than an authentic Christ-follower?

Our calling as ambassadors for Christ is to compel people to righteousness, but we are to do so without being self-righteous and moralistic. If we fail at that, truly our judgmentalism becomes a turn-off to everyone—sinners, saints, and even God himself. And while we have failed at that on occasion, past failure is no reason to abdicate a role that is critical to both the purity of the church and the salvation of the lost.

Now as it relates to Matthew 7, what we need to understand is that when Jesus spoke against judging in verses 1-8, he was specifically taking a stand against what had become the national pastime in Israel: evaluating the spirituality of others by their outward observance of the Mosaic law and their acts of religious piety. The fact is, Jesus said in verses 21-23 that there will be those who were pretty good at being religious and who will be able to claim an amazing record of good deeds but will still be refused entrance into the eternal kingdom when they stand before God. Thinking religious piety was their meal ticket to heaven, they will be shocked and dismayed to discover that their good deeds didn’t get them “in” with God—only grace can do that.

So in that regard, we are not to be judgmental, as the Jews had become. We are, however, to evaluate the spiritual quality of those who claim to know Christ by inspecting the fruit being produced from their lives. We are to “know them by their fruit.” What is “knowable” fruit in the life of a Christian?

• The fruit of repentance: John the Baptist called attention to that in Matthew 3:8. This is the first fruit we can observe in a God-honoring life—a complete turnaround from sinful patterns to the pursuit of God’s righteousness.
• The fruit of abiding: Jesus addressed this in John 15, saying that when a believer is fundamentally connected to him, abiding in the True Vine, there will be much fruit that brings great joy to the believer and much glory to God the Father.
• The fruit of giving: In Romans 15:14-29 Paul speaks of the fruit that comes when we financially resource God’s work: redeemed souls and relieved suffering.
• The fruit of the Spirit: The most revealing fruit of authentic faith and growth in Christ is the fruit the indwelling Spirit produces in the believer—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
• The fruit of the light: Ephesians 5:8-12 speaks of observable fruit in a believer that consists of goodness, righteousness, and truth.
• The fruit of praise: Our lips are to offer up the sacrifice of praise that glorifies God through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 13:14-16)

For sure, we must avoid the spiritual pitfall of becoming judgmental. Nothing destroys Kingdom life and blocks Kingdom growth quite like that. Nothing sullies God’s reputation more on Planet Earth than self-righteous pain in the neck busybody believers sticking their opinion into everybody’s business. But if we are going to protect God’s family from false believers and fake teachers, if we are going to exhort and admonish one another on toward growth in grace and the character of Christ, and if we are going to call a lost world to a loving God, we can’t shy away from inspecting the fruit once in a while.

And a good place to start is by inspecting your own! That in itself will most definitely keep you from being judgmental.

“ Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works. —MARTIN LUTHER

SYNOPSIS: Depressed? Practice hope! How? Start by dwelling on the love and kindness that God has for you. Dwell on all the things he has done for you for which you are grateful. Dwell on all the promises he has made to you in Scripture. Dwell on the promise of heaven. Basically, just do some reverse worrying. What do you do when you are worried? You dwell on the negative. So just turn that around and dwell on the positive truth of God’s Word. Do that—practice hope—and watch it “rock your world.”

Moments With God // Psalm 42:11

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

I am not a mental health expert, so don’t go throwing away your meds if you are under the care of a medical professional. And please don’t take this as the final word on clinical depression. So with that caveat out of the way, let me just say that I think the authors of this psalm, the sons of Korah, David’s worship team, are on to something.

And since we believe this sacred book, the Bible, is God’s perfect revelation of himself and his will for mankind, then let’s lean into it as our only rule of faith and practice, perfect in all it affirms. Let’s treat it as we should—as the first, highest, and best authority by which we will live our lives!

So when it comes to the ups and downs that we commonly experience in our daily existence, this psalm reminds us that the sure path to emotional balance and inner joy is to practice hope. The psalmist says, “put your hope in God.” The Apostle Paul said it a bit differently—but he had the same thing in mind: Put on…hope.” (I Thessalonians 5:8)

Practice hope! How? Start by dwelling on the love and kindness that God has for you. Dwell on all the things he has done for you for which you are grateful. Dwell on all the promises he has made to you in Scripture. Dwell on the promise of heaven. Basically, just do some reverse worrying. What do you do when you are worried? You dwell on the negative. So just turn that around and dwell on the truth of God’s Word. Do that—practice hope—and watch it “rock your world.”

Don’t believe that will work? Well, let me give you just one example of how hope can change you. Suppose you were to receive a phone call later today from an old friend who enthusiastically says, “Friend, I have good news. You can take a 7-day trip to Hawaii with my company that won’t cost you a dime. We have room for two more…but here’s the catch: we leave tomorrow evening at 9:00 PM. The boss is taking us on his private jet, and we’ll be staying at his beachfront villa in Maui.” You tell him you’ll call him right back, and the minute you get off the phone, you and your spouse, who was listening in, start thinking and planning. Out comes the pen and paper, and you begin to prioritize what you need to do to make this happen. Then you call the friend back and tell him you’re in.

If that were to happen, I guarantee that you would then begin to ruthlessly align your life over the next 24 hours to pull off that all-expenses paid trip to paradise. You might say that the hope of Hawaii tomorrow changed the way you lived today.

There’s something even better and more permanent than Hawaii. It’s called heaven. So why don’t you live like you are going there tomorrow—every day! Here’s the deal: You’ll be amazed at how hitching your hope to the promise of heaven (or the love of God, or the blessings of salvation, or any other truth of God’s Word) will change everything you experience today—even your emotions.

Practice hope!

“ He that lives in hope dances without music. —GEORGE HERBERT

SYNOPSIS: Given the track record of the Shepherd’s goodness, why would we ever harden our hearts to the Good Shepherd’s voice? It doesn’t make sense, does it? And yet that is precisely what we do when we wander off on our own or want things that aren’t good for sheep or worry over stuff that the Shepherd has under his control (which is everything, by the way). I hate to admit it, but sometimes I am just a dumb sheep—and I have a feeling that you are, too.

Moments With God // Psalm 95:6-7

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…

Sheep. Not the brightest animal on the planet. In fact, some would call them downright dumb. They are defenseless, too. They have nothing within themselves to fight off their enemies. And not only are they dumb and defenseless, but precisely because they are dumb and defenseless, they are totally dependent on the goodness of the shepherd.

Sheep. That’s what we are. And from the description above, perhaps that is exactly why the writers of Scripture chose this particular animal from among all the animals on the planet to describe the people of God. Not bright enough, not strong enough, not sufficient enough to survive apart from the goodness of the Shepherd.

Yes, we are the flock under his care. And that is a good thing because the care of our Good Shepherd has always been sufficient. There has never been a time when the Shepherd has not led us to green pastures or kept us on the safe path or stood guard over us through the night watch or preserved us from the attack of the enemy or brought us through the valley of the shadow of death. In fact, the Shepherd is so good that he even laid down his life to provide eternal life for dumb, defenseless, and dependent sheep like us. There has never been a time when the Good Shepherd has not been more than sufficient for us, nor will there ever be.

So then, given the record of the Shepherd’s goodness, why would we ever harden our hearts to the Good Shepherd’s voice? It doesn’t make sense, does it? And yet that is precisely what we do when we wander off on our own or want things that aren’t good for sheep or worry over stuff that the Shepherd has under his control (which is everything, by the way). I hate to admit it, but sometimes I am just a dumb sheep—and I have a feeling that you are, too.

But today is a new day, and you have a fresh reminder of the goodness and sufficiency of the Good Shepherd. So listen to his voice and follow his command, for he will lead you to that place where sheep do best.

Where is that? I don’t know—I am just a sheep, too. But the Shepherd knows, so just listen and follow.

“ God alone satisfies. —THOMAS A` KEMPIS

SYNOPSIS: One day, sooner than you think, you will stand before God. None of the things you have collected during your earthly journey are going with you. The only thing that will go with you into the next life that will do you any good is what you have done for God. Jesus said of the rich man in the parable, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?” As the poet said, “Tis one life, will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Moments With God // Luke 12:15

Then Jesus said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

We don’t use words like covetousness or greed a whole lot these days, but we should. We Americans are a pretty greedy lot—me included. Our whole economic system is predicated on the hopes that you and I will grow dissatisfied with what we’ve got and go buy something newer, better, and bigger.

For instance, since Jesus told the story in Luke 12:16-20 about a man who thought his property was too small, let’s just take a look at our insatiable thirst for bigger homes. Did you know that the average home size in the United States was 1,000 square feet in the 1950’s, and while the average number of household residents has shrunk since the 1960’s, home size has grown to 2,467 square feet by 2015.

It was a whole different picture when I was growing up. My mom, dad, three other siblings, and a couple of family pets all lived comfortably in a home that was 1,200 square feet, if that. We shared bedrooms, bathrooms, clothes, didn’t have a garage to park our car in, and only one TV—with no remote control! We actually had to get up and walk across the room to change the channel, if you can imagine that.

And we didn’t think anything of it. We didn’t feel poor or cheated or even realize what we didn’t have. We were content! We spent a lot more time together as a family. We ate together. We all drove together in the same car, even when we were teenagers—a family of six crammed into an AMC Gremlin! Or was it a Hornet? Whatever—it was a really ugly car that should have never been made. My point is, we were happy as a lark—we didn’t know what we didn’t know.

We were content—and emotionally healthy. We had discovered what G.K Chesterton said, “True contentment is a real, even active virtue—not only affirmative but creative. It is the power of getting out of any situation all there is in it.”

As a society, we Americans would do well to read Luke 12. It is a tough one, but what Jesus had to say about the deceitfulness of wealth, the debilitating worry over stuff, and our ultimate accountability before God for the stewardship of what we possess is much-needed medicine for the greed that ails our society these days.

One day, sooner than you think, you will stand before God. None of the things you have collected during your earthly journey are going with you. The only thing that will go with you into the next life that will do you any good is what you have done with and for God through faith. Jesus said of the rich man in the parable, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?”

As the poet said, “Tis one life, will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

“ If you cannot get what you like, why not try to like what you get? —UNKNOWN

Synopsis: How do we bridge the gap between the love of a holy God and the repulsiveness of the sinner’s sin? Grace and truth, that is how. That’s what Jesus perfectly and continually modeled. What we find is that Jesus, as Walter Trobisch said, “accepts us as we are but when he accepts us, we cannot remain as we are.” There it is: grace and truth. Jesus brings our sin to the surface, and when we acknowledge it by full confession and humble repentance, he graciously and forever forgives it. Only grace and truth can do that for sinners. Perhaps that’s why prostitutes, publicans, and other sinners like you and me responded to Jesus so readily. At some level, they recognized their sin. That was why truth wrapped in grace was so appealing in Jesus’ day…and still is today!

Moments With God // John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Not too long after my wife and I had moved into a home we had just purchased, our next-door neighbor’s live-in girlfriend asked me, “what do you do?” I told her that I was a pastor. So she said, “Oh, I’m looking for a church…one that doesn’t get all weird and condemning about sin. What about yours?”

I said, “My church—hey, we accept everybody just the way they are—unless you’re shacking up with someone!”

No—I didn’t say that! But it was an awkward moment for me as I scrambled for a way to minimize the offense of the gospel to a person who was far from God and build a bridge that might lead us at some point into a spiritual conversation. I didn’t need to offer condemnation by my words, in the tone of my voice, or with my body language. I didn’t need to convince her of her sins, she was already dealing with that herself. Besides, it is not my job—it is the work of the Holy Spirit to do that. (John 16:8).

Jesus wouldn’t have done that either. Remember, in this very same book, right after the most famous verse in the entire Bible, John 3:16, Jesus goes on to say, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”(John 3:17)

But let’s keep in mind that neither did Jesus come, as C.S. Lewis pointed out, to tell the world that everything was quite alright! Obviously, the world needed a savior—that’s why Jesus came. People need a savior because sin holds people captive. To keep the bad news about sin and the good news about a Savior from them would be the most hateful thing we could ever do.

So how do we bridge that gap between a loving God and the repulsiveness of the sinner’s sin? Grace and truth, that is how. That is what Jesus perfectly modeled. Take, for instance, his interaction with the adulterous woman in John 8. Picture the scene: This sinful woman is standing in the center of a circle, surrounded by self-righteous religious leaders who want her stoned. Imagine her humiliation, caught in the very act of adultery—a private act now a very public sin. Nothing can hide her shame—and make no mistake, sexual sin is shameful, degrading to the people involved, destructive to the innocent family members it affects, and it is odious to a holy God.

This woman is standing before Jesus, exposed, humiliated, tears dripping to the sand. She has been used by men all of her life, and now she will pay for it with her life. She sees the stones; she knows her guilt. Now, all eyes are on Jesus—what will he do?

After some time, Jesus speaks and says to those who want her executed, “Ok, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” And with that bombshell, one by one, from oldest to youngest, they walked away, leaving only Jesus and this sinful woman face-to-face. What now? Would Jesus give her a good moral tongue lashing? No, he just gently asks, “Where are your accusers? Has no one judged you guilty?”

She replied, “No one, Sir.”

At that, Jesus offered these grace-truth words that would utterly right this sinner’s upside-down life: “Then I don’t either. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Behind this amazing display of grace and truth, as Walter Trobisch said, what we find is that Jesus “accepts us as we are but when he accepts us, we cannot remain as we are.” Jesus brings our sin to the surface, and when we acknowledge it by confession and repentance, he totally, graciously, and forever forgives it. The adulteress went away forgiven, with a new clean heart and a brand new chance at life. Only grace and truth can do that for sinners.

Perhaps that is why prostitutes, publicans, and other sinners responded to Jesus so readily. At some level, they recognized their sin. That was why forgiveness was so appealing to them…and still is!

What does the world need more than anything right now? What does your sinful next door neighbor so desperately need? The same thing you need: A whole lot of truth and a big dose of grace!

SYNOPSIS: Never fixate on a spiritual high. Resist the urge to erect a shelter on a mountaintop experience. Don’t rate your current and future Christian experience against those “glory days” of yesteryear. Simply see those experiences for what they are: Fuel for the assignment ahead. Then get back to normal. Climb down off your mountaintop experience and get back in the game. Lost people are still lost down there in the real world and the proclamation of God’s kingdom from your lips and through your life is still the only way they will be found.

Moments With God // Mark 9:9

As they went back down the mountain…

In Mark 9:2-13 we come across one of the most fascinating and mysterious stories about Jesus in the Gospels. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain, and there before their very eyes, for a few moments at least, his humanity morphs into the dazzling brilliance of his divine being. And if that weren’t enough to knock their sandals off, Moses and Elijah, Israel’s two greatest historical and theological figures, suddenly show up and begin to encourage Jesus about his upcoming death.

As you would expect of Peter, the unpredictable disciple offers to set up shop for this impromptu triumvirate: “Teacher, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Mark 9:5)

At that, a cloud covers Jesus and his heavenly guests, the Voice speaks a word of Divine authentication from the heavens, Jesus is suddenly left standing with Peter, James, and John, and everything goes back to normal.

Everything goes back to normal!

That’s when Jesus leads them “back down the mountain” to the real world.

Here’s the deal: God never intends for us to fixate on “spiritual highs”; we are not to build tabernacles around them or make memorials out of them. They are simply means to an end, the fuel to empower us for another spiritual assignment. Jesus didn’t have this encounter with Moses and Elijah just so he could feel special. The same account of the transfiguration in Luke 9:31 (NLT) tells us that these two Old Testament prophets came to encourage Jesus about his upcoming departure—literally, in the original text, his “exodus.” He was about to face the greatest assignment of all—the cross. This mountaintop experience was meant as fuel—encouragement, strength, a reminder of his life’s purpose—for his impending death for the sins of the world.

Don’t get me wrong: I am not down on “spiritual highs.” They are wonderful—and necessary. Just don’t fixate on them. Resist the urge to erect a shelter and live in their warm afterglow. Don’t rate the rest of your Christian experience against them. Don’t build the entire meaning of your existence upon them. Simply see them for what they are: Fuel for the assignment ahead.

Then get back to normal. Climb down off your mountaintop experience and get back in the game. Lost people are still lost down there in the real world and the proclamation of God’s kingdom from your lips and the demonstration of it through your life is still the only way they will be found.

SYNOPSIS: Have you ever watched a hen gather her chicks under her wings in a downpour? When the clouds burst, momma will spread her wings and the chicks will run to her, and in one fell swoop, she will gather all those babies under her wings and hunker down in the storm. The chicks literally disappear as she absorbs the onslaught. In your time of storm, God longs for you to find shelter in the shadow of his wings as he absorbs your storm! But here’s the deal: To survive the storm, you’ve got to run to him! So if you’re in a storm right now, if I were you, I’d start running!

Moments With God // Psalm 91:1,4

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty…He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

My wife and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary several years ago on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Kauai. It was in July, and we were on the rainier side of this lush island, and man was it raining. Several times throughout the day the clouds would burst and the downpour would send both man and beast running for cover.

We had a ground-floor condo for the week that opened up into the grassy interior of the resort, and throughout the week, we noticed a hen and her brood of about five or six baby chicks that roamed the resort, and to our delight, often took their leisure on our patio. Free-range chickens in paradise—what a life!

On one occasion when the downpour hit, we were in the room and the hen was right outside our sliding glass doors. When the clouds burst, it looked as if a fire hose had been turned on; it was unbelievable. Then the most amazing thing happened: those baby chicks made a beeline for momma hen. I didn’t know chickens could run that fast. And momma hen spread her wings like she had done it a million times before, and in one fell swoop, gathered all the babies under her wings and hunkered down in the storm. The chicks literally disappeared from sight for about ten minutes, while mother hen absorbed the maelstrom.

As we watched this touching scene in amazement, my wife and I simultaneously commented on these tender verses from Psalm 91: “under his wings you will find refuge.” As moved as we were by the mother hen’s love for her chicks, we were awestruck and undone by the Heavenly Father’s tender but protective love of his helpless kids—chicks like us.

What an awesome thing that we belong to a God who longs for us to find shelter in the time of storm under the shadow of his wings! And what love the Father has for us that he should send his only Son to absorb the storm of sin and protect us from the righteous wrath of the One who cannot tolerate that sin.

And the Son, Jesus Christ, still longs to gather us under his wings, as a hen gathers her brood: “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…” (Matt 23:27)

Our loving God longs to gather you, but here’s the deal: You’ve got to run to him!

“ Nobody seriously believes the universe was made by God without being persuaded that He takes care of His works. —JOHN CALVIN

SYNOPSIS: Justification—just as if I had never sinned! The Good News revealed in the New Testament is that through “faith” in Jesus Christ’s person, and his work on the cross, sinners can now stand before the holy and righteous God “justified”—just as if they had never sinned. That is really good news! And you received this free gift of God’s grace by faith alone—not by your own works of righteousness or inherent merit. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! You stand before God just as if you had never sinned. I don’t know about you, but the only response I have to such amazing and undeserved love is to offer the rest of my life as one unending thanksgiving offering to God.

Moments With God // Romans 3:23-24

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

As a young man, I heard a simple preacher offer this definition of justification: It is just as if I’d never sinned! When you study what the Apostle Paul meant by the word, it turns out that is a pretty good explanation of a highly complex theological construct.

Paul uses the verb, justified, and words derived from its root, thirty times in Romans alone. Obviously, this is an important theme with Paul and the critical core of our Christian faith. Along with “gospel” and “faith” (see chapter 1), this is our theology. The “good news” revealed in the New Testament is that through “faith” in Jesus Christ’s person, and his work on the cross, sinners can now stand before the holy and righteous God “justified”—just as if they had never sinned.

Now don’t miss the beauty of this! Our justification, which was a legal concept, by the way, happened only by what Jesus did on the cross. There he paid the penalty that you legally owed as one who had transgressed God’s law. Not only were you pardoned from receiving the just punishment reserved for all lawbreakers, but your guilt was also removed as well. Not only were you set free, you were totally cleansed—your sin record was expunged. You now stand before God just as if you had never sinned.

Now how can that be? Well, part of the justification package included that not only were you pardoned from punishment and declared not guilty, but you were also literally infused with Christ’s very own righteousness—“everything Jesus” was imputed, literally and spiritually, to you. But that’s not all! As beautiful as that is, it is even more stunningly beautiful that to be imputed with Christ’s righteousness meant that Jesus had to have both your sins and your sin nature imputed to him on the cross—“he became sin on your behalf so that you could become the righteousness of God.” (II Corinthians 5:21)

All of that was legally necessary for you to be made right with God. You owed a legal debt that you could not pay to the Judge of all creation. He loved you so much he sent his one and only Son—perfectly sinless—to pay the full legal price for your redemption by becoming sin and taking the punishment into his own being as he hung on the cross and shed his blood.

And you receive this free gift of God’s grace by faith (saving trust) alone—not by your own works of righteousness or inherent merit. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! You stand before God just as if you had never sinned.

I don’t know about you, but the only response I have to such amazing and undeserved love is to offer the rest of my life as one unending thanksgiving offering to God.

Synopsis: It is precisely out of the darkest of times when someone steps forward to attempt the heroic that the sacrificial bravery of the one lifts the hearts of the many. Courage! Every age, including this one, needs men and women of courage who will be sold out to certain convictions that drive them to act, not because they believe they will walk away with their lives, but because it is the right thing to do. That is courage, and in itself, it is victory. On this Memorial Day, we honor our brave men and women who paid the ultimate price to secure our freedom. #grateful

Giving Honor // 1 Samuel 11:11-13

But when the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their mighty warriors traveled through the night to Beth-shan and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall. They brought them to Jabesh, where they burned the bodies. Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.

Courage! Nelson Mandela, a man of remarkable courage himself, wrote, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Perhaps Mandela was describing the brave warriors of Jabesh-gilead.

We don’t know their names. We don’t know anything about them really. But the one thing we do know is what will cause them to admired as men for the ages: they were courageous. Risking all that they possessed —their homes, their families, their very lives—to invade the much larger and more powerful Philistine territory, they put their sacred honor on the line to honor God. They mustered the courage to rescue the abused bodies of King Saul and his sons, marching through the night straight into the enemy-occupied city of Beth-shan and through whatever resistance the Philistine guard may have mounted. Once they had retrieved them, they gave King Saul, Jonathan, and Saul’s other brothers a proper burial. Moreover, they secured a moral victory in an otherwise dark time for the nation of Israel.

There is not much to cheer in 1 Samuel 31, just this courageous act. Israel is at a low ebb, and the prospects for brighter days is exceedingly dim. There has been no coronation of David as Israel’s new king yet—in fact, that is several years off. Furthermore, at this point, as far as anyone might know, David has sided with the Philistines. This is a dark time indeed for God’s people. But that is what makes what the warriors of Jabesh-gilead did so much more spectacular. It is precisely out of the darkest of times when someone steps forward to attempt the heroic that the courage of one lifts the hearts of the many.

Courage! Every age, including this one, needs men and women of courage. I want to be one, how about you? But where does it come from? Like the men of Jabesh-Gilead, it arises from three intertwined sources:

Principle: They were sold out to certain convictions that drove them to act. N.D. Wilson wrote, “Sometimes standing against evil is more important than defeating it. The greatest heroes stand because it is right to do so, not because they believe they will walk away with their lives. Such selfless courage is a victory in itself.” It was the right thing to do, so they did it.

Compassion: They cared deeply for what had been done to the people of Israel; they cared out of deep loyalty the royal family, and they cared deeply about the reputation of God. As Lao Tzu said, “From caring comes courage.”

Indignation: They were mad. They were morally offended. They were righteously indignant. Their sense of godly pride had been challenged, and they had to respond. Much of the sacrifice to achieve a worthy cause comes from righteous indignation, and the men of Jabesh-gilead were that, fighting mad. Eric Hoffer rightly observed, “Anger is the prelude to courage.”

Courage! Marcus Tullius Cicero, the second-century Roman orator, said, “A man of courage is also full of faith.” To paraphrase Cicero, people of faith must be people of courage—unassailable principle, deep concern, and righteous indignation. That was true of those who died to preserve our freedom. May that be true of you and me, too!

“ A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer. —RALPH WALDO EMERSON

SYNOPSIS: If you are going to be a fully devoted follower of Christ, you will have to think, do and live as Jesus thought, did, and lived—not the least of which is to take on the attitude, exhibit the actions, and live the lifestyle of a servant. By the way, serving is the purpose for which God created you: “You are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do.” (Eph 2:10) Like a fish swims and a bird flies, a Christian serves—and that means you!

Moments With God // John 13:14

Since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.

If you are going to be a fully devoted follower of Christ, you will have to think, do and live like Jesus thought, did and lived—not the least of which is to take on the attitude, exhibit the actions, and live the lifestyle of a servant. Yes—you will have to serve as Jesus served!

Serving is what Jesus did because servanthood was at the very core of who Jesus was and why Jesus came. The Gospel of Mark, the first written biographical account of Jesus, sums up the life and ministry of Jesus with this simple, clear and compelling mission statement:

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)

Fleshing out this mission statement, John 13 presents the servanthood of Jesus in action in the most unusual and unforgettable way: He washed his disciples’ feet. Then, as he completed this humbling task, he said to them, “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.” (John 13:15, NLT)

It is abundantly clear from this passage, along with other scripture, that serving is an unmistakable, unavoidable demand of discipleship. Not only is serving a demand, but when we look at Jesus’ example, we find that serving is also a delight. It is what makes us bless-able: “Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.” (John 13:17, NLT)

Think about it: Serving like Jesus is what puts you at your Christ-like best!

You are called to serve! Paul writes in Philippians 2:5-7, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God…took on the very nature of a servant.” Galatians 5:13 says, “Serve one another in love.” If you are serving, you are fulfilling your basic Christian calling. If you are not, then you are not!

You were created to serve! Like a fish swims and a bird flies, a Christian serves. Ephesians 2:20 states, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Before you were even conceived, God laid out specific plans just for you. You are not an after-thought; you do not just exist; you are on this earth not just to be a potted plant, you were born not just to consume, but to contribute. God deliberately shaped you to serve his purposes, which means that he has placed an important responsibility on your shoulders that only you can fulfill.

You contribute to the Body of Christ when you serve! God specifically created you, converted you, and called you to contribute to the life, health, and mission of a local church. Paul taught in I Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” Verse 12 says, “The body is a unit, though it’s made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.” Verse 18 says, “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” Why? Verse 7 tells us it is “for the common good.” 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”

Perhaps you didn’t realize this, but serving in your church is the primary means of other people receiving God’s grace.

You capture the world’s attention when you serve! Our humble, authentic acts of service put God in a good light. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, “Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:16, NLT) Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this will all men know that you are my disciples: that you love for one another.” It’s by authentic servanthood that you become living proof of a loving God.

Jesus ended the washing of his disciples’ feet by issuing this very simple challenge: Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.” (John 13:17, NLT) It doesn’t get any clearer than that!

SYNOPSIS: It used to be, not more than a mere generation ago, that “thou shalt not drink alcohol” along with a few other inviolable “shalt not’s” was on a corollary set of Ten Commandments that my family and most other families in our brand of Christianity fiercely observed. These days it has gone so far the other way that you may be handed a brewski when you show up for your small group Bible study. Praise the Lord and pass the Coors Light!

Moments With God // Proverbs 20:1

Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

So who’s right: our tee-totaling grandparents or the beer-swilling hipster Christians of this present generation?

How about somewhere right down the middle. In my humble opinion, the Bible doesn’t condemn the moderate consumption and enjoyment of alcohol (I read somewhere that Jesus once turned water into the best wine ever tasted by man), but it does give us some pretty clear guidance on the matter:

• It comes down pretty hard on those who use alcohol in a way that leads to drunkenness: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” (Eph 5:18)
• It issues a clear admonition against alcohol’s mind-altering effects: “Whose heart is filled with anguish and sorrow? Who is always fighting and quarreling? Who is the man with bloodshot eyes and many wounds? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new mixtures. Don’t let the sparkle and the smooth taste of strong wine deceive you. For in the end it bites like a poisonous serpent; it stings like an adder. You will see hallucinations and have delirium tremens, and you will say foolish, silly things that would embarrass you no end when sober. You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. And afterward, you will say, ‘I didn’t even know it when they beat me up…Let’s go and have another drink!’” (Prov. 23:29-35)
• It strongly warns again the false bravado and the negative personality change often associated with drinking: “Wine makes you mean, beer makes you quarrelsome—a staggering drunk is not much fun.” (Prov. 20:1)
• It prohibits the believer’s use of alcohol when it causes another believer to struggle in their faith: “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” (1 Cor. 8:9)

As it relates to whether you should drink “adult beverages” or not, I would simply suggest that you consider the following:

First, consult what the “whole counsel of Scripture” has to say about drink, drinking, and drunkenness. There’s a lot there, by the way. When it comes to alcohol or any other questionable issue, let Scripture interpret Scripture as you form a Biblical opinion on the matter at hand.

Second, as a New Testament believer you have been set free from a long list of religious do’s and don’t’s. So don’t let any legalist draw you back into spiritual bondage. On the other hand, however, remember that just because God permits something doesn’t mean he will bless it.

Third, whenever there is an occasion where you will be offered a drink, ask yourself, “what would Jesus do in this situation?” Seriously, WWJD? I know that might sound hackneyed, but I truly believe it would be a good way to approach this whole matter.

Fourth, there is probably a very good reason why no one ever has said, “beer makes me a better Christian.” Nor has any ever said, “that guy’s drinking habits makes me want to follow Christ.” Maybe for that reason alone—for the health of our discipleship and our Christian witness—we ought to step away from the tap. Just saying!

But whether you and I agree on this matter or not, how about we extend each other a little grace? Or a lot!

“ I like liquor — its taste and its effects — and that is just the reason why I never drink it. —THOMAS JACKSON

SYNOPSIS: Many assume that Jesus commands his followers to blindly forgive, freely forget whatever offense might have occurred, and unconditionally reconcile even with those who show no signs of remorse for what they have done to hurt or offend us. That is not what Jesus said…

Moments With God // Luke 17:3

If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive.

There are two extremes when it comes to forgiveness: On the one hand, we fail to practice it far too often. We conveniently and creatively bypass Scripture’s teaching on this matter so easily that it must grieve the Father’s heart. And this unwillingness to extend forgiveness is such a huge problem in the family of God today, since Jesus tied our forgiveness of others to the Father’s forgiveness of us:

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matt. 5:14-15, NLT)

An unfortunately large number of “believers” will be surprised when they stand before the Great Forgiver and he informs them that the pardon of transgressions they hoped for had been held up because of their own unwillingness to let go of anger, bitterness, resentment, and hurt long enough to extend the hand of reconciliation to someone who had offended them. Jesus is pretty clear about the matter: IF you don’t forgive others, THEN God can’t forgive you! Don’t miss the dependent relationship between being forgiven and offering forgiveness.

On the other hand, we fail to properly understand forgiveness far too often. That is an extreme as well. Many assume that Jesus is commanding his followers to blindly forgive, freely forget whatever offense might have occurred and unconditionally reconcile even with those who show no signs of remorse for what they have done to hurt or offend us. That is not what Jesus said.

Did you notice another very big condition that Jesus attached to this forgiveness directive? “If” a brother sins, “then” when there is repentance, forgive him. We need to be ready to forgive, willing to forgive, generous in forgiving—even if it is seven times for the same thing in the same day, we are called to forgive offenses (Luke 17:4, NLT)—but only if there is repentance.

God himself doesn’t dole out forgiveness unconditionally. He is willing to, but his hands are tied if the offender doesn’t acknowledge their sin, feel authentic contrition in their heart, and offer the fruit of repentance (a change of mind and a change of direction) in their behavior. (Matthew 3:8, NLT, Acts 2:38, NLT)

To forgive, forget and reconcile with an unrepentant person is to go beyond what God himself does. Now in that, there is yet another extreme into which Christians can fall: withholding forgiveness until proper repentance is expressed for every little thing that rubs them the wrong way. My advice to you, if you are guilty of that is to immediately stop being ridiculous. Not everything that gets under your skin falls into the category of a moral offense—so grow some thicker skin and exercise a lot of grace, my friend!

Jesus is calling his followers to a balanced understanding and a generous commitment to the practice of forgiveness. It is the lifeblood of his kingdom, and when it flows rightly and freely from your life, it is your calling card into the throne room of your gracious and forgiving Father.

“ God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination. —AUGUSTINE

SYNOPSIS: Are you as amazed as I am with the speed of time? What once seemed interminable when I was a kid—school, chores, the preacher’s sermon, winter—now seems to rush by like a speeding locomotive. I blinked and suddenly this sixteen-year-old kid panting to get his driver’s license is now older than dirt and panting just walking up the stairs. Watching my wife-to-be walk down the aisle has turned into the new adventure of grandparenting—overnight! Time flies, doesn’t it! I guess the best advice we will ever get as it relates to the speed of life comes in the form of this prayer Moses offered: “Lord, teach me to number my days soberly, so that I might live each of them wisely.” Great idea: soberly assess the number of days you’ll likely have—then live them well.

Moments With God // Psalm 90:10, 12

True story: Kermit the frog was once heard saying, “Time’s fun when you’re having flies.” Okay, not true, but you get the point. Kermit got his idiom a bit garbled, but that is quite understandable when Miss Piggy is stalking you!

Kermit was on to something! The truth is, time does fly—whether you are having fun or not. Moses, who didn’t have the full New Testament picture of life after death, was reflecting on how relatively brief life was when he said in Psalm 90:3-6, 10,

You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered…
The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

How true that is! Are you as amazed as I am with the speed of time? What once seemed interminable when I was a kid—school, chores, the preacher’s sermon, winter, life—now seems to rush by like a speeding locomotive. I blinked and suddenly this sixteen-year-old kid panting to get his driver’s license is now older than dirt and panting just walking up the stairs. Watching my wife-to-be walk down the aisle has turned into the new adventure of grandparenting—overnight! Staring in amazement at the mystery of life as our daughters were born seems like only yesterday. Now they are successful in their own careers, making their way in the world—quite well, I might add, and having an impact in this world.

Time flies!

You could certainly add your own experience to the narrative. And those of you who are older can definitely add an urgent witness to the speed of life even more than I can at this stage of life: Suddenly, the grandkids are getting married; great-grandchildren are arriving; the body is not working quite like it used to even though the mind still thinks of yourself as a youngster, full of vim and vigor; you are facing life without your soul-mate—and something you never dreamed possible is now a gritty reality.

Time flies!

I guess the best advice we will ever get as it relates to the speed of life comes in the form of this prayer Moses offered: “Lord, teach me to number my days soberly, so that I might live each of them wisely.” Great idea: learn to number your days aright, and therein gain a heart of wisdom.

Take A Moment: Perhaps it would be a good idea to follow Moses’ lead and pray that prayer today—and every day: “Lord, teach me to number my days soberly, so that I might live each of them wisely.”

“ You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire. —SENECA

SYNOPSIS: I doubt that you will ever have a “hit” taken out on your life, like David, but chances are there will be people in your life from time to time who will try to assassinate your character and ruin your reputation. When that happens, you can hearken back to David’s experience and, if nothing else, remember this one thing: Though people can kill your body, assassinate your character, and ruin your reputation, they can never silence your song. David wrote about his near-death experience and how God delivered him, then put a tune to it. Maybe you should do that, too! At the end of the day, evil people will be no more, but your integrity will keep you in favored standing with the only One who has the power of eternal life as well as eternal death. God stands forever. Since you belong to him, so, too, will you stand forever! And that’s worth singing about!

Moments With God // Psalm 59:16-17

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.

David was in trouble—due to no fault of his own. He had been a model citizen. In fact, he had proven himself a true national hero during a military crisis when Israel’s warriors had failed to step up and demonstrate courageous leadership. As you know from I Samuel 17, David had unintentionally made a name for himself on the battlefield by killing Goliath of Gath—the champion-giant of Israel’s archenemy, the Philistines.

As a result of this heroic act, David, still a young man, was recruited into King Saul’s army, and fast-tracked right to the top as captain and confidant to the moody and maniacal king. He was even given Saul’s daughter, Michal, as his wife. But things turned bad when the unstable king began to show signs of irrational and insane jealousy toward David. It got so bad that he took out a hit on David’s life.

David wrote this psalm when he got wind of Saul’s plan, and he was forced to leave his wife, abandon his home and flee for his life. As you can see from the title given in the Psalter, “When Saul had sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him,” Saul henchmen were assigned to stake out David’s dwelling in order to carry out their immoral and illegal plot (Psalm 59:3). And according to David’s song, they were doing more than just trying to murder him: They were attempting to assassinate his character in the eyes of a nation that had come to adore him as their warrior-hero (Psalm 59:10, 12). So, David writes about them and puts a tune to it—a song that immortalizes their evil and invites Divine destruction down upon their heads.

Now you might be wondering what all this has to do with you. Perhaps you’re asking if there is anything in this psalm that elevates it to the status of good devotional material meant for your edification today? That’s a good question—I’m glad you asked. You see, although I doubt that you will ever have a “hit” taken out on your life, chances are there will be people in your life from time to time who will try to assassinate your character and ruin your reputation. And when that happens, you can hearken back to David’s experience and, if nothing else, remember this one thing:

Though people can kill your body, assassinate your character, and ruin your reputation, they can never silence your song.

At the end of the day, evil people will be no more, but your integrity will keep you in favored standing with the only One who has the power of eternal life and death. Powerful people may try to bring you down, but he is true Strength. They may try to force you out, but you belong to him whose name is Fortress. They may make your life miserable, but you are held in the loving care of one who is your Refuge.

Evil people and unfair times will pass, but God stands forever. And you belong to him, so you will stand forever, too! So go ahead and sing.

“ Eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset; eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise. —THOMAS WATSON

SYNOPSIS: Easter has come and gone, and Christ is still risen! But perhaps you’re in a tomb-like experience — you’re in ‘the cave” — and you’re wondering where his resurrection power is for your life. Perhaps you’re complaining to everyone else but God about your cave. If you are, you’re missing a great opportunity to pour out your heart to the only one who can do something about it—the One who conquered death and rose from His cave. So, try talking to the Resurrected One — and be patient, He does His greatest work in caves.

Moments With God // Psalm 142:1

A maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer. I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.

We all prefer to live in the sunshine of God’s grace, but from time to time we get the “cave” instead. “Cave time” is just core curriculum in the school of spirituality maturity. Call it whatever you want: the pit, the prison, the desert, the wilderness—the cave is basic training for believers.

Joseph had a prison; Moses had the desert; Jeremiah had a pit, Daniel had a den, Paul was in and out of jail so many times, like Motel Six, they “kept the light on for him.” Even Jesus had a wilderness. Oh, he got a cave, too. He once spent three days in one. If Jesus had “cave-time,” the cave won’t be optional for you. Every believer gets “the cave.”

What is the cave? The cave is a place of death, it’s where you die to self. The cave is the place of testing; it’s the blast furnace for moral fiber. The cave is where your mettle gets tested, your maturity gets revealed, and your heart gets exposed! Put a person in the cave of distress, discouragement, or doubt, and true character will show up. And if you are brave enough to open up to the truth about yourself, the cave will reveal just how much work God still has to do to get you ready for great things.

Do you remember how the Lord led you through the wilderness for all those forty years, humbling you and testing you to find out how you would respond, and whether or not you would really obey him? (Deuteronomy 8:2)

Likewise, the cave is a place of separation. Not only does God reveal the true you in the cave, but he also strips you of every misplaced dependency. In the cave, God separated David from everything he had once depended on, and all that was left for David was God himself.

Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to both you and your ancestors. He did it to help you realize that food isn’t everything and that real life comes by obeying every command of God. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

The cave was perhaps the most frustrating period in David’s life—but in hindsight, it turned out to be the most fruitful. That’s because the cave is also the place of forging. The cave is where God breaks you down in order to build you up.

For all these forty years your clothes haven’t grown old, and your feet haven’t been blistered or swollen. So, you should realize that, as a man punishes his son, the Lord punishes you to help you. (Deuteronomy 8:4-5)

That’s what God does in the cave. And by the way, God does some of his best work in caves. It was there in the cave of Adullam that David wrote three of his most moving psalms—Psalms 34, 57, and 142, including our key verse:

I cry aloud to the Lord…I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.

If you are in a cave and you are complaining to everyone else but God, you are missing a great opportunity to pour out your heart to the only one who can do something about it. Good things always happen when you get honest with God. So, try talking to him—and be patient, God does great work in caves.

If you doubt that, just remember that empty cave on the outskirts of Jerusalem. For three days, it held a crucified body. But God does great work in caves—the best of which is resurrection. Perhaps that will change your mind about caves.

SYNOPSIS: Hebrews 12:2 says, “For the joy set before him Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame.” What was the “joy” that so motivated him to go through such a humiliating, torturous death? It was you! As he hung between heaven and earth, he saw that one day you would stand with him as one of the redeemed before his Father’s throne. Yes, the cross, with all its suffering and shame, was worth it to Jesus because you’re worth it to Jesus!

Moments With God // Mark 15:24

Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross.

Mark’s account of the betrayal, arrest, trial, suffering, and crucifixion of Jesus is moving beyond words. As you read in the paragraph below his description of what Jesus went through, I would encourage you to remember that Jesus didn’t have to go through pain, shame, and suffering of the cross.

But he did—and the reason was you.

The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters (called the Praetorium) and called out the entire regiment. They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified. (Mark 15:16-20)

Trumped up charges, the mockery of a trial, public humiliation, mental and physical torture and rejection — the Second Person of the Trinity, the Agent of Creation, the Messiah of God’s chosen people — suffered beyond description at the hands of the people he loved. Yet he chose to endure it. Why? He did it for you! Hebrews 12:2 says,

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame.

What was the “joy” that so motivated Jesus to go through such a humiliating, torturous death? I am convinced, my friend, that you were the joy Jesus saw as he hung there on the cross. And when he saw that you would one day stand with him as one of the redeemed before his Father’s throne, his heart swelled even as the life drained from his body, and he said, “it’s worth it!”

All the suffering and humiliation of the cross was worth it to Jesus, because you’re worth it!

“ At the heart of the story stands the cross of Christ where evil did its worst and met its match. —JOHN W. WENHAM

SYNOPSIS: No one has ever seen God and lived to tell about it. But if you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen God. Colossians 1:15 & 19 tell us, “Jesus is the image of the invisible God … For in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” In Jesus, God has identified with you so you can identify with Him. In Jesus, God has come near to you so you can come near to God. In Jesus, God has made a way for you to live before Him with complete confidence and daring prayerfulness. In Jesus, you get a live demonstration of what God is like. That means today, even at this very moment, you can experience all of God through Jesus. How? Simply and confidently “come boldly to the throne of your gracious God, and there you will receive His mercy and you will find His grace to help you when you need it most.” (Heb 4:16)

Moments With God // Mark 10:13-14

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.”

What does God look like? No human being has ever seen him and lived to tell about it. So we are left to wonder.

I love the story of the little girl who was drawing a picture when her mother asked, “Honey, what are you drawing?” Quite confidently, the little girl said, “I’m drawing a picture of God!” The mother reminded her that no one really knows what God looks like. To which the little girl said, “They will when I get done.”

In Jesus’ day, the people of Israel had never seen God. They only knew of him from their wooden rituals, vacuous traditions, and misguided theologies. They had no visible clue as to what God was like, but Jesus came along and said, “They will when I get done.”

So what does God looks like? Just look at Jesus. The Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 1:15, “Jesus is the image of the invisible God.” Verse 19 says, “For in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”

In other words, when you see Jesus, you’re seeing God himself. Jesus is the perfect picture of God; the absolutely accurate image of the Father. Jesus is the invisible God made visible.

So what does watching Jesus tell us about God here in Mark 10? Well, how does God feel about your marriage? Just look at Jesus telling the Pharisees, “What God has joined together let not man separate.” (Mark 10:9)

How does God feel about your children? Just look at Jesus gathering up a bunch of kids in his arms and saying, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.” (Mark 10:14)

How does God feel about your struggle to let go of earthly dependencies? Just look at Jesus’ interaction with the rich young ruler: “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” (Mark 10:21)

How does God feel about your competitiveness with others? Just look at Jesus saying to his disciples, “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.” (Mark 10:44)

How does God feel about the things you care about? Just look at Jesus asking blind Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51)

What is God like? What does he look like? How does he feel about you? Just take a look at Jesus—it will really encourage you. Take a moment just to drink in what Hebrews 4:15 (The Message) has to say about it:

In Jesus, we don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

In Jesus, God has identified with us so we can identify with him. In Jesus, God has come near to us so we can come near to God. In Jesus, God has made a way for us to live before him with complete confidence and daring prayerfulness—we can “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God, and there we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

Wow! In Jesus, we get a live demonstration of what God is like. And that’s a good deal for us way beyond description!

SYNOPSIS: Thankfully, we live in an era where God, in his grace and mercy, has made a way through Jesus for us to approach his throne with confidence and boldness. Jesus, our High Priest who ever lives to intercede for us, bore in his body the brunt of God’s holy wrath for our sin and our perpetual un-holiness. And by his sacrifice, we can stand before God and not be consumed. Thank God, by Christ’s blood, we are made holy.

Moments With God // Leviticus 10:1-3

Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown. Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Moses then said to Aaron, ‘This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: “Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.” Aaron remained silent.

I imagine if we had been front-row witnesses to this terrifying scene, we would have done as Aaron did: Nothing! He couldn’t speak. All he could do was stand there in stunned silence, trying to comprehend what had just happened to his sons. Imagine in the twinkling of an eye seeing your loved ones incinerated by the holiness of God. Imagine trying to come to terms with a loving God who had just revealed his holiness in the most dreadful way imaginable; who had just demonstrated in reality what he had been warning his people about verbally: not to take his holiness lightly.

As I read this story I realize how much I long to behold the glory of the Lord—but only on my terms. However, this sobering story makes me wonder if could I really ever gaze upon God’s holiness and not experience the Nadab and Abihu effect. I seriously doubt it. This cautionary tale is an unforgettable and sad reminder that God is holy and demands holiness from his people—especially from those who minister before him in particular as representatives of his presence to his people.

Not only is it a sad reminder, but it is also an unforgettable reminder: We must not take God lightly or treat the holy as common. To anyone who saw what happened to these two priests, this would be an object lesson they would never forget. When God chooses to make a point, he truly makes a point!

Thankfully, we live in an era where God, in his grace and mercy, has made a way that through Jesus we can approach his throne with confidence and boldness. (Hebrews 4:16) Jesus is our High Priest who ever lives to intercede for us. As our priestly representative, he bore in his own body the brunt of God’s holy wrath for our sin and our perpetual un-holiness. And by his sacrifice, we can stand before God and not be consumed. By his blood, we are saved. By his stripes, we are healed.

God help us, short of the Nadab and Abihu experience, to never forget the undeserved privilege of knowing Jesus and the inexpressible honor of being the receiving end of his sacrifice when he was made our sin offering. God made a point in Jesus’ death, and what an unforgettable point it was!

Now even though through Christ’s substitutionary death we are invited to come boldly into God’s holy presence, let us temper our confidence before God’s throne with humble gratitude that we are standing in a place that in all reality should seal our death sentence to receive grace instead of fire. We don’t deserve to be there; we deserve the punishment of Nadab and Abihu. Yet through Jesus, we are declared holy and thereby approach the throne of a holy God as his holy people.

Truthfully, for reasons polar opposite of Aaron’s, all I can do is stand before God in stunned silence—but not in terror and grief, but in thankfulness and gratitude.

SYNOPSIS: All I need to know about anything and everything I learn in Genesis 1, which is simple yet profoundly this: God did it! In the opening line of the Bible, the first thing I discover about God is that he is the creator of all, and the second thing I learn is that he hovers over the chaos, bringing order, beauty, and glory from it. And that is a great comfort to my soul, for that is his ongoing work in me—and you, too!

Moments With God // Genesis 1:1-2

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

The first thing we learn about God in reading the Bible is that he is Creator. The second thing we learn is that he hovers over the chaos and brings order, beauty, and glory from it.

Now the writer of Hebrews tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Jesus, who is God, whom John tells us was the agent of creation (John 1:1-4) is still actively creating and ordering in the lives of his followers.

I am grateful that through Jesus, creating and ordering is still God’s activity in my life. He is still forming beauty and glory out of my unruly, empty, dark chaotic life. And while it seems that I am a long way from being finished, I am at the present moment his workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).

Thank God for a Creator who finishes his work, for “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

“ How great peace and quietness would he possess who should cut off all vain anxiety and place all his confidence in God. —THOMAS à KEMPIS

SYNOPSIS: Are you a true disciple? The answer is easy: If you are reflecting and replicating the life of the Master, you’re in pretty good shape. If you aren’t, you need to go back and have a serious conversation — should I say, “conversion” — with the Master.

Moments With God // Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

What do real disciples do? Two things actually: They reflect and they replicate.

First of all, authentic disciples become like the Master. They fully devote themselves to his life and they fully obey his teachings. They become like Jesus in thought, word, and deed to the point where his very being is reflected in the essential quality of their being. The Master becomes the sum and substance of their lives. Only by the kind of transformation where the Master is fundamentally reflected from center to circumference in their lives can Christ’s disciples in turn “go and make [other] disciples.” Only then can they teach others to “observe all that [the Master] has commanded.”

That is what it means to be truly Christian. Being truly Christian means being an authentic disciple. One cannot happen without the other—Christianity means discipleship; discipleship means Christianity. Being either is not just in name, it is in the reflection of the Master in the life of the disciple. Calling oneself a disciple is simply wishful thinking without doing the things of discipleship and being in essence the reflection of the Master. Call it what you will, anything less is nothing more than inauthentic discipleship, non-Christianity, a false religion.

Second, authentic disciples replicate the life of the Master through their lives in the lives of others. In other words, they reproduce. Barren discipleship is non-discipleship. True disciples go with the message, bearing the life of the One they reflect and persuading others to follow Jesus.

Disciples don’t just win converts to Christianity; they make other disciples in the way of the Master. To convert a soul to Jesus simply begins the process of discipleship. Conversion is the first step; discipleship is the journey. True conversion begins the journey of authentic discipleship; the convert requires the same full devotion to the Master’s life and the same full obedience to his teaching that took place in the proto-disciple. The Master’s life is replicated in the disciple, who in turn replicates the Master’s life in the convert, who then, in turn, replicates the Master’s life in still others.

That is when discipleship comes full circle and is proven authentic.

Here is the real question in all of this: Are you a true disciple? The answer is easy: If you are reflecting and replicating the life of the Master, you’re in pretty good shape.

If you aren’t, you need to go back and have a serious conversation — should I say, “conversion” — with the Master.

“ Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. —DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

Moments With God // Deuteronomy 8:2-5

Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.

Like Alexander the Horrible, have you just come through a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day? Maybe it’s not just the day, it’s the season you are in that makes you feel like you are on a losing streak—with no end in sight. Perhaps the weight of an unwanted burden is straining your capacity—and if one more thing is added, you will break. It might be that personal failures and shortcomings are constant reminders of your incompetence—you just don’t measure up. Maybe it’s not just your day that is really bad, horrible, and no good—it’s your life, it’s you!

Or so you think. But there’s some really good, terrific news for you! If there is a test in your life that is stressing you to the point of cracking, even if you have to “faith it ‘til you make it,” just know this: God is at work! Moses reminds you that God never allows a test that is not without a purpose and a plan. The purpose is to show you that you cannot do life apart from Him—and knowing that is the highest knowledge a human being will ever attain. The plan is to bring you to a place of humble dependence on His immutable goodness and constant provision—and there is no better place to be. So thank God for tests!

Slowly read and absorb these verses again from the Message translation:

Remember every road that God led you on for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you so that he would know what you were made of, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry. Then he fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew anything about, so you would learn that men and women don’t live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God’s mouth. Your clothes didn’t wear out and your feet didn’t blister those forty years. You learned deep in your heart that God disciplines you in the same ways a father disciplines his child.

Whatever the test you are enduring, stop what you are doing, set aside your raw emotions, fears, frustrations, disappointment, and anger to reframe your thinking so that you are focusing on God’s purpose and plan for you. Realize how privileged you are that God has allowed, or even caused, and always uses what you are going through for your gain and His glory. Use your test as a building block for our testimony. Think of these wise words from Hebrews 12:7-11,

Endure hardship as discipline. Remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward, there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

So you see, a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day is really not so terrible, horrible, and very bad after all. Reframe your hardship, or your test, as the discipline of your loving Father, because “God disciplines those he loves, as a father the child he delights in.” (Proverbs 3:12)

Got a test? Congratulations, it means you are incredibly loved.

Each of us has an area where we do what we shouldn’t and don’t do what we should, and like the Apostle Paul, we cry out in exasperation, “O wretch that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” That’s the question, isn’t it: who will rescue me since I don’t have much of a track record of self-rescue? The answer, Paul discovered, was the Great Rescuer: “Thanks be to God—it is through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Moments With God // Romans 7:15,19,24

For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do… For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice… O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Huh? Did you catch that? Paul had a convoluted way of saying something pretty straightforward, which was simply this: “I do what I shouldn’t and I don’t do what I should—man, I’m in big trouble!”

Can you relate to Paul? I sure can. He was in a wrestling match with sin, and sin was smacking him around. It was frustrating because Paul knew what he shouldn’t be doing—yet he was drawn to sin like a moth to the flame.

Let me ask you this: Where are you most vulnerable to temptation? What represents your moth-attracting-flame? Maybe it’s a whole container of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey®—perhaps you are an overeater. Maybe you are a sucker for anything that says, “Red Tag Sale”—perhaps you are an over-spender. Maybe it’s an adult site on the Internet—perhaps you’ve got a compulsion for porn. Perhaps it’s alcohol or drugs or gambling or gossiping or griping.

Each of us has an area where we do what we shouldn’t and don’t do what we should. “What a sicko I am! Who will rescue me from the Chunky Monkey®?” That is the question: who will rescue me since I don’t have a track record of self-rescue?

Jesus will! That’s what Paul said in Romans 7:25, “Thanks be to God—it’s through Jesus Christ our Lord!” When Jesus died, he broke the power of sin, so it no longer has a hold on us. Through the power of the resurrection, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God has provided a way out from under every temptation:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Did you catch that? Your battle with temptation is winnable. The last part of the verse says, “But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out.”

That’s good news. There’s always an escape route—always. When you’re tempted, God himself will provide a way out; He will make a way. God has provided a door! But here’s the deal: you must look for it and walk through it!

So, just what are those escape routes?

One way of escape is to immerse yourself in Scripture. Psalm 119:9 & 11 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word…I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

That’s how Jesus battled temptation in the wilderness. Every time the tempter came at Jesus with something that would tear Him away from the Father, Jesus came back at Satan with the truth of scripture. There is no more potent weapon against temptation in your life than in reading systematically, meditating daily, and memorizing strategically God’s Word.

Another escape route from temptation is to become accountable to another believer, especially for your particular weakness. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” We need to bring our temptation into the light of accountability to other people—as difficult as that may be.

Proverbs 27:5-6 says, “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” You would do yourself a huge favor by finding someone with whom you can be accountable for your weakness.

And yet another way out is to ask God to deliver you daily from the tempter. Jesus taught us to pray a daily prayer that acknowledges both our weakness and our need for divine power in this area: “Deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13) As simple as that sounds, the amazing thing is, God hears those prayers. And He provides a way out.

Who will rescue you from this body of death? As Paul says in Romans 7:25,

Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me.

SYNOPSIS: If an altogether holy God, who cannot tolerate sin in His glorious presence, can forget our sins, then certainly we flawed human beings can forget the sins of our fellow sinners. In fact, if we want to be a conduit of God’s love on earth, we have to get really good at forgetting, as God does. Now, can an omniscient God truly forget our sins? No, but what He can do is choose not to remember them. And He does! How does He do that? He creates an unbridgeable chasm between us and our sins, according to Psalm 103:12. So, if God does that for us, then we cannot continue to be record keepers with those who are in our lives—we must become good forgetters.

Make Love Work // 1 Corinthians 13:5 (LB)

Love does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong.

Are you a record keeper? Do you tend to hang onto past offenses, slights, and oversights? Are you one to nurse a grudge? Stop and think about how harmful that is—and not just to the one who has offended you, but to you. Unforgiveness is toxic. As someone has humorously but accurately put it, not forgiving another is like drinking rat poison … then waiting for the rat to die. Christ-followers are to be good forgetters. You see, true love learns to let offenses slip away like water off a duck’s back.

If an altogether holy God, who cannot tolerate sin in His glorious presence, can forget our sins, then certainly we flawed human beings can forget the sins of our fellow sinners. In fact, if we want to be a conduit of God’s love on earth, we have to get really good at forgetting, as God does. Now, can an omniscient God truly forget our sins? Of course not, but what He can do is choose not to remember them.

How does God do that? He creates an unbridgeable chasm between us and our sins, according to Psalm 103:12,

As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Now if God does that for us, then we cannot continue to be record keepers with those who are in our lives—we must get good at letting go of those offenses, slights, and oversights. And one of the most helpful and motivating things we can do to achieve this impossible task is to think early and often about God’s forgetfulness when it comes to the sins for which we have repented. Slowly, meditatively, and gratefully read through these verses on God’s forgetfulness.

• I will be merciful to them in their wrongdoings, and I will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12
• I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins Isaiah 43:25
• I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. Hebrews 10:17
• If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
• And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:34
• Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Isaiah 1:18
• Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out. Acts 3:19
• Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
• Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
• There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1
• He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19

That last verse from Micah led to the Jewish tradition that thought of God as casting our sins into “the sea of forgetfulness.” While there is no mention of that in the Bible, it certainly is an appropriate and beautiful image of what God does for us. And that would be an appropriate and beautiful image of how we should treat the offenses of those who have sinned against us.

So, in light of that, if you are one to hold onto offenses, then stop. It is not the way of Christ! And for sure, it is impossible to be the source of God’s love to people while holding past offenses against them.

Remember, love keeps no record of wrongs!

“ To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. — C. S. LEWIS

SYNOPSIS: There’s nothing random about God; He leaves nothing up to chance. That means for the believer, coincidence is simply God choosing to remain anonymous. As sovereign Lord of the universe, He is ruling over the details of history to bring about His flawless plan. What may seem like happenstance or fate, God has foreordained, caused, or permitted in His perfect will. Coincidence is simply a sovereign act for which He chooses to remain unseen, a miracle for which He prefers anonymity. Yes, He is in control of all things — and that includes your life. So today, and every day, put your confidence in the unrandom God!

MOMENTS WITH GOD // Claim Matthew 2:5,15,18,23

For thus it is written in the prophets…

The birth and life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world, was not the product of random events. It was the direct result of prophetic fulfillment. Thus the phrase linking Christ’s life to Old Testament prophecy is repeated four times in this second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.

Those details of Jesus’ life had been laid out in the mind of God from eternity past and had been written down in the inspired utterances of the prophets of old hundreds of years before Christ was born. The fulfillment of scores of prophecies in minute detail of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus leaves us with a pretty amazing track record of prophetic accuracy…leaving no doubt that those prophecies detailing His second coming will most certainly be fulfilled, too.

There is nothing random about God; nothing is left up to chance. The God of the Bible is the sovereign Lord of the universe and is ruling over the details of history to bring about His flawless plan. What may seem like happenstance or coincidence, God has foreordained, caused, or permitted in His perfect will. Coincidence is simply a sovereign act of God for which He chooses to remain unseen, a miracle for which He prefers anonymity.

God is in control of all things, and that includes your life. David wrote in Psalm 139:16,

You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

God’s Word invites you to live with amazing confidence today, knowing that He is in control of all things, including even the smallest details of your life. Therefore you can say, “all things will work together for my good and His glory.”

“ We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage. —JOHN NEWTON

SYNOPSIS: There is nothing quite like the unleashed power of nature to remind you of how small, insignificant, and truly powerless you are. A fierce storm can be quite unnerving. And so are personal storms! You may be going through one right now. In many respects, the fury of nature is nothing compared to the devastating power of a personal storm. As surely as that storm reminds you of how small, insignificant, and powerless you are, I want to remind you that your God is bigger than your storm, and He is going to see you through it. That’s not to minimize the sense of desperation your storm has brought upon you, but stay secure in this: While storms happen, so does God! In fact, Psalm 104:4 says He makes the fierce winds and the flashing lightning His servants. He will make them yours, too!

Moments With God // Claim Psalm 104:7,32

But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight… he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

There is nothing quite as unnerving as the fury of nature. I’ve never been in a massive earthquake, but the minor ones I’ve been in have been enough to make me shake in my boots. I’ve never been in a hurricane, but I’ve been on the outskirts of a small tornado, and its aftermath blew me away. I’ve never seen hailstones the size of a softball, but I got caught in a storm that pinged me with golf ball-sized hail, and it was enough to send chills up and down my spine.

There is nothing quite like the unleashed power of nature to remind you of how small, insignificant, and truly powerless you are.

Then there are personal storms! You may be going through one right now. In many respects, the fury of nature is nothing compared to the devastating power of a personal storm. In any given week, a half-dozen people will describe to me their own personal storms—everything from unbelievably huge financial crises to untreatable physical ailments to unrelenting relational disasters to unyielding emotional trauma—truly big, hairy, audacious personal gale-force storms. And for the most part, from what I can tell at least, those storms are not the fault of the ones forced to endure them.

You see, storms happen!

I would rather face nature than go through what many of those people are going through. At least a tornado, an earthquake, or a hailstorm comes to an end—and then you can pick up the pieces and begin to rebuild. Most of the time, a personal storm has no end in sight. And when you are in one, you are constantly reminded of how small, insignificant, and truly powerless you are. But there is One who is bigger than the storm. And the psalmist reminds us,

He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. (Psalm 104:3-4)

If you are in a personal storm, I don’t know how long or how devastating it will be, but I do know that God will make your storm his servant—which means that since you belong to God, he will make your storm servant to you as well. God will work the storm for your good—his promise, not mine!

I don’t mean to minimize the sense of desperation your storm has brought you—I think I understand a little of what you are going through. But as surely as the storm reminds you of how small, insignificant and powerless you are, I want to remind you that your God is bigger than your storm, and he is going to see you through it.

Storms happen—but so does God!

“ God is not a deceiver, that He should offer to support us, and then, when we lean upon Him, should slip away from us. —AUGUSTINE

SYNOPSIS: “Adultery will reduce you to a loaf of bread; sexual indiscretion will prey upon your very life,” according to Proverbs 6:26. In other words, you mess around with sexual immorality (or any immorality for that matter), you’re toast! God never intended for our sexual needs to be in the driver’s seat of our lives. Our brain was meant to occupy that position, and our moral core was meant to be our navigator. If you are facing a temptation today, get your brain and your moral core together and let them do their job!

Moments With God // Claim Proverbs 6:27

Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?

“If you play with fire, you’re going to get burned!” That’s what my father used to say to me, and I’m sure his father said to him, and his grandfather said to his father. The reason fathers the world over have to say it is that it seems there is just an innate curiosity little boys seem to have with fire. I’m sure even before matches were invented, back when man lived in caves, wore animal skins, and first discovered fire, some troglodyte dad was telling his son, “Trog, you poke fire with stick, you get bad burn!”

Okay, maybe it didn’t happen quite that way, but around 3,000 years ago Solomon mused in Proverbs 6:27, “Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?” Of course, Solomon’s point is that what is true of physical fire is also true in the spiritual realm—we’re drawn to the very things that can burn us beyond remedy. This chapter in Proverbs mentions three of the biggies:

An unspiritual pursuit of wealth: Specifically, Proverbs 6:1-5 warns us about one of the riskiest, and therefore worst kinds of financial transactions of all: entering into a business partnership without prayerful and careful planning. Solomon doesn’t care whether the business opportunity has great potential or not, he just says agreeing to it apart from God’s wisdom is the height of foolishness. This is particularly true if the business deal is a get-rich-quick scheme, which seems to be the implication here.

If you’ve entered into a deal without doing due spiritual diligence, chances are, you’re going to get yourself burned! The wisest thing you could do would be to quickly and graciously extract yourself from your foolish partnership and chalk it up to a lesson learned the hard way.

If you’ve gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger…Don’t waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess! (Prov 6:1, Message)

An irresponsible approach to success: Perhaps the most common way we play with fire is by rejecting the common sense approach to work and wealth that simply rolls up its sleeves, sees the responsibilities before it, doesn’t over-think what needs to be done, just seizes the day and gets after it.

Solomon describes this approach to life in Proverbs 6:6-11 by illustrating the work ethic, of all things, the ubiquitous ant. More success stories are birthed from the ant’s I-work-hard-for-the-money life philosophy than any other. Far too many people in our day, lured by lust for quick fame and easy fortune, are waiting for their ship to come in. The problem is, they’ve never put their ship out to sea. God will reward you with the good life, but he expects you to get up in the morning, grab your lunch pail, put on your hard hat, and get to work!

A day off here, a day off there, sit back and take it easy—Do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life! (Prov 6:10-11)

An uncontrolled sexual appetite: Need I say more? Solomon knew from first-hand experience what we have observed in the lives of countless high-profile people—men and women—in our lifetime who have crashed once-promising careers and have burned sterling reputations by allowing their sexual drives to do just that: Drive their behavior.

God never intended for our sexual needs to be in the driver’s seat of our lives. Our brain was meant to occupy that position, and our moral core was meant to be our navigator. As strong as our sexual drive is, and as susceptible as it is to temptation, just mark this down: If you give in to your sexual desires apart from God’s plan for sexual satisfaction within marriage, you’re toast man! That’s what Proverbs 6:26 says,

The adulteress will reduce you to a loaf of bread, sexual indiscretion will prey upon your very life. (Prov 6:26)

Well, there you have it. You keep poking your stick in those three fires and eventually, you’re going to get burned. There’s nothing really profound about Solomon’s teaching here; he’s just telling it like it is. And like that little ant in verses 6-8 which doesn’t need anyone to help it discover the deeper, hidden meaning of life, neither do you. The ant just does the right thing. I hope you will, too!

Now, as someone famous has said, go do the right thing.

SYNOPSIS: We live in an age of outrage. The grievance industry is alive and well. Say the wrong thing and you’ll get canceled. And if you think that’s outside the church, think again! Over the past few weeks, I’ve interviewed dozens of pastors from around the country who’ve told of too many heartbreaking stories of church members who’ve been ghosted, canceled, and met with hostility by other “believing” family members and church friends these past two years over politics, pandemic protocols, and cultural concerns. And all of them, like me, have personally experienced the same. What selfishness! Friends, this ought not to be in Christ’s family! Love—agape love—doesn’t ghost a friend or cancel a family member or express outrage when people don’t believe like you, vote like you, or please you. Love does not demand its own way.

Make Love Work // 1 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT)

Love does not demand its own way.

Love is not selfish. You would agree, right?

But think of the selfish nature of our current culture, not only outside but inside the church, which is supposed to be the family of God, characterized by followers of Jesus loving each other no matter what, being loyal to each other no matter what, expecting the best of each other, no matter what, standing their ground in defending each other, no matter what.

“Ghosting” a friend. Cancel culture. The age of outrage. If you think that’s outside the church, think again! Over the past few weeks, I’ve interviewed two dozen pastors from around the country who’ve told of too many heartbreaking stories of church members who’ve been ghosted, canceled, met with hostility by other “believing” family members and church friends these past two years over politics, pandemic protocols, and cultural concerns. And all of them, like me, have personally experienced the same.

What of Christ is there in that?

Friends, there’s no place for this in the Body of Christ. Love—agape love—doesn’t ghost a friend or cancel a family member. It doesn’t demand that people believe like you, vote like you, or live their lives to please you. Love does not demand its own way.

But if you have, I admonish you to repent before God and go to that person you’ve treated unlovingly and ask for their forgiveness. Listen: a friend is born for adversity (even adversity in the relationship), family loves at all times (even when you disagree over mandates or candidates), and unity in Christ is far more important than any temporal earthly concern (including current political beliefs).

Love never, ever demands its own way!

Love—agape love—doesn’t ghost a friend or cancel a family member or express outrage when people don’t believe like you, vote like you, or please you. Love does not demand its own way.

#afriendisbornforadversity

“ Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! — SOLOMON

SYNOPSIS: In this new age of online church, passion for God’s physical house has waned. For many, going to the place of worship is optional, if not irrelevant. Now there are some good reasons for focusing on the spiritual house of God over the physical, but still, if God’s house was so important to King David that he danced exuberantly, and to the Son of David, King Jesus that he made a whip and drove out the merchants making money off worshippers, then should you not have a little passion for the physical house of God, too—or a lot? When you attend church next weekend, I’m not suggesting you let loose with a while dance or crack a whip at people in the lobby, but I do hope the same passionate care for God’s house that consumed David and the Son of David will consume you. Me, too!

Moments With God // Claim Psalm 132:3-5

I will not enter my house or go to my bed—I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.

King David had a passion for the house of God. He couldn’t tolerate the thought that as king he would be able to build himself an unbelievably opulent palace while God’s dwelling was just a simple tent, the tabernacle, that had been used since the days of the exodus.

Then there was the time David publicly danced with delight as the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem to its resting place at the tabernacle. (2 Samuel 6:14) The king’s public display of affection for that which represented the Divine Presence was so extreme that his watching wife despised David for unrestrained worship. But David didn’t care because he was passionate about the house of God. While Michal despised, David danced.

David wanted desperately to build God a permanent structure—a temple. He knew God deserved the best. So he located property for the building, but rather than throwing his royal weight around to get a good deal for it, he insisted on paying full price. David wasn’t into eminent domain apparently, like too many politicians today. He said, “I won’t offer the Lord something that has cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24) David had a passion for the house of God.

God had other plans, however, and told David that it would be his son, Solomon, who would build the temple. So what did David do? He set about to make all the preparations for construction in order for Solomon to have a good head start when he was inaugurated as Israel’s king. (1 Chronicles 22:5) David was passionate for God’s house.

The Son of David, Jesus, was passionate about God’s house, too. Although He predicted that not one stone of it would be left upon another because of God’s judgment against the impure worship taking place there (Matthew 24:2), he did his best to bring purity to it. He drove the moneychangers from the temple—and not with gentle persuasion either. He made whips—and used them. He overturned the tables they had used to carry out their shady commerce. With an illustrated sermon that no one would ever forget, Jesus cleansed the temple. (John 2:13-16) Jesus was passionate about the house of God!

Of both David (Psalm 69:9) and Jesus (John 2:17), the Word of God says, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

We live in a day when passion for the physical house of God has waned. For many, the physical place of worship is downright unimportant. Now there are some good reasons for focusing on the spiritual house of God over the physical, but still, if the literal house of God was important to King David, and the Son of David, King Jesus, should we not have a little passion for the physical house of God, too—or a lot?

So how about you? I’m not suggesting you take a whip to worship with you next weekend, but what I do hope for is that the same zeal for God’s house that consumed David and the Son of David will consume you. Me, too!

SYNOPSIS: Hypocrisy is not a crime, rarely is there any kind of sanction for duplicity, and for certain, being two-faced carries no real social stigma. Yet there is One who doesn’t keep quiet about the nasty ways of the one who says one thing to your face and another behind your back. God’s righteous gaze cuts through the syrupy surface of their lives with utter moral clarity and labels the wickedness of their hypocritical hearts, calling them what they truly are: workers of iniquity. The Bible’s advice about two-faced people: avoid them…and don’t be them!

Moments With God // Claim Psalm 28:3

Do not drag me away with the wicked—with those who do evil—those who speak friendly words to their neighbors while planning evil in their hearts.

There is a category of people whose behavior for some reason we seem to excuse—but God doesn’t. He doesn’t find them acceptable; they and the unseen attitudes of their hearts he finds deplorable. Who are they? They are the kind of people who will say one thing to your face, then another behind your back. Even worse to God than what they say about you is what they think about you in their hearts. The psalmist says they speak peace when they are in front of you, but even before you are gone, their minds are flooded with ill will toward you.

We call them two-faced; the Bible calls them hypocrites. And while two-faced people are unpleasant, our culture pretty much excuses their behavior and accepts their ways. Hypocrisy is not a crime, rarely is there any kind of sanction for duplicity, and for certain, being two-faced carries no real social stigma. Yet there is One who doesn’t keep quiet about their nasty ways. God’s righteous gaze cuts through the syrupy surface of their lives with utter moral clarity and labels the wickedness of their hypocritical hearts, calling them what they truly are: Workers of iniquity.

Now I realize that at this point in your reading you might be thinking this is anything but an encouraging little devotional thought for the day. And truthfully, it is not. Rather, this is an exhortation. And the exhortation I have for you is twofold:

One, it is most likely that you will rub shoulders today with the kinds of people David describes in this psalm. As the Message puts it, they “moonlight for the Devil.” Be cautious around them. Discern their hypocritical hearts and don’t be tainted by their iniquitous ways. If you allow them into your inner circle, watch out: they will ensnare you. So be careful, be very careful!

And two, don’t be one of them. It is so easy to fall into this kind of two-faced living. Ask God to keep you from hypocrisy. Don’t fall into the trap of saying one thing but thinking another in your heart. Ask God for integrity of word and thought.

That’s what David prayed: Keep me from them and keep me from being one of them. I hope you will pray that too!

“ Next to hypocrisy in religion, there is nothing worse than hypocrisy in friendship. —JOSEPH HALL

SYNOPSIS: What is it that is making you cry today? A fractured relationship that’s breaking your heart? A hope that has been dashed or a dream that has died? It is a failed family or a personal sin or the consequences of a past mistake that continues to haunt you? What is it that is making you feel such deep sadness? Entrust those tears to God, and let the very next one that fills your eyes and spills down your cheek be a reminder that your tears never really just dry up and fade into a painful memory, they go right into the bottle of that One who truly cares!

MOMENTS WITH GOD // CLAIM: Psalm 56:8

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book

Aren’t tears a mysterious part of what it means to be human? It is strange that we have the capacity to cry—to expel water from our eyes when we are sad. It seems to serve no real purpose—although science can explain the physiological “why” and mental health experts can explain the psychological “why”.

That still leaves the question of “why” tears—why were we created with that capacity?

Perhaps this psalm provides a clue. Maybe they are to remind us that God cares about the things that make us sad enough to shed tears. So much does he bear our sorrow that he collects our tears in a bottle, as the New Living Translation says, or as other versions put it, “he records them in his ledger.” In other words, God takes note—implying that he is not only aware of our sadness, but he will not forget it.

What is it that is making you cry today? A heart broken by a fractured relationship? A dashed hope or the death of a dream? A failed family? A personal sin? The consequences of a past mistake that continues to haunt you? What is it that you feel such deep sadness over?

It is likely that no one truly knows the depth of what you are feeling right now. Maybe no one will ever see those tears that have rolled down your cheek—and the intense hurt that caused them. Even if they do see your tears, how sad it is that long before your pain is healed, people will forget and move on.

But there is One who sees…and One who cares…and One who never forgets…and One who will never move on! And He wants you to know that, my friend. And that One, your Heavenly Father, simply asks you to take comfort in His compassion for you:

The Lord is like a father to his children,
Tender and compassionate to those who fear him. (Psalm 103:13)

And that compassionate, loving Heavenly Father likewise asks you to place your trust in him. In fact, so strongly does he desire your trust, that he extends the invitation twice in Psalm 56 just to make sure you really know his heart for you:

In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalm 56:4,10-11)

I hope you will do that. Entrust those tears to God. And let the very next tear that fills your eyes and spills down your cheek be a reminder that your tears never really just dry up and fade into a painful memory, they go right into the bottle of that One who truly cares!

“ A child’s tear rends the heavens. —YIDDISH PROVERB

SYNOPSIS: Are your opinions a conduit for arrogance? 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that true love, the kind of love that emanates from God, the kind of love that Christ-followers are to model, is never arrogant. That is, it never struts, never gets a big head, and it never powers up on another. So, how does that play out in the real world of your daily life? Well, I’d say more practically than you’d think. For example, take how you express your opinions. The arrogance that fuels an uninvited, unhelpful, and often uninformed view plows right through the flashing yellow lights of human relationships without pumping the brakes, leaving a trail of relational wreckage — usually in the name of “speaking the truth in love.” And in this age of social media, where there are no flashing lights warning us of dangerous relational curves ahead, isn’t there a lot of that? Whether you are on the receiving end of another’s view, or you are giving your own, keep in mind that an opinion is not divinely inspired, and therefore it may or may not be the truth. And for sure, if offered without gentleness, respect, humility, and grace, it is not loving. True love knows when to speak — and to speak with gentleness, respect, humility, and grace — and just as importantly, when not to speak. Here’s the deal: You have a right to your opinion, but you don’t have a duty to share every thought that pops into your head. So, go ahead and have an opinion, but stay alert to the arrogance that 1 Corinthians 13:4 is calling out if you want to incarnate Christ-hearted love.

Make Love Work // 1 Corinthians 13:4 (HCSV)

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited.

Check out these various Bible translations—each of them faithful to the original text—of the Apostle Paul’s rendering of the second clause of 1 Corinthians 13:4,

Love is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. (J. B. Phillips)

Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head, doesn’t force itself on others, and isn’t always ‘me first.’ (Message)

Love doesn’t flaunt itself. (Modern English Version)

Now I have not been around too many braggadocious, mouthy egomaniacs—thank God—because this verse indicates that those kinds of people, no matter how they try to spin it, are not loving. Not like Jesus, anyway, which is the only kind of love the Christ-follower ought to pursue.

Yet I have been around a fair amount of believers who live with the opinion that their opinion is the only opinion that matters. And they are more than happy to share it—even if it is uninvited. And they do so without the slightest bit of self-awareness they are not obligated to share it, or that others’ opinions are equally worthy of sharing as their own.

I would say those kinds of people—and I hope you are not one of them … and if I am, I hope you will have the freedom to let me know (lovingly, of course)—have a love problem. Their need to share their opinions drags their “love” down into the category of boastful, self-inflated, needing to be impressive, strutting, me first, and flaunting. Listen to how The Passion Translation renders verse 4:

Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance. (TPT)

So, here’s the deal: you have a right to have opinions, but it’s not your duty to share them in an unfiltered way. George Eliot warns of “always making [others] a ‘present’ of your opinions.” The arrogance that fuels an uninvited and unhelpful (and often uninformed) view plows right through the flashing yellow lights of human relationships without pumping the brakes, leaving a trail of wreckage—usually in the name of “speaking the truth in love.” Because it is an opinion, it may or may not be the truth, but for sure, it is not loving.

True love knows when to speak—and to speak with gentleness, humility, and grace—and just as importantly, when not to speak. Go ahead and have an opinion but stay alert to arrogance if you want to incarnate Christ-hearted love.

Why does the Apostle Paul feel the need to point out that love is neither braggadocious nor prideful? Simply because love is selfless, it puts others first, and it edifies the object it loves. Boasting and pride reveal a self-focus that belies corrosive insecurity and a spirit of scarcity. The famed preacher W. Graham Scroggie wrote,

Boasting is always an advertisement of poverty.

Make sure that early and often, you willingly put the people in your life ahead of you!

SYNOPSIS: Just a friendly reminder: the end is near! Hate to break this to you, but it’s coming faster than you think. In light of that, what if you lived every day with the end in view? What if you fast-forwarded the film of your life to the end, to that day when another will speak at a memorial service to eulogize your days on earth? What if you transported in your mind to that day at the end of all ends when you stand before God to give account for the breath of life He had loaned you during your earthly pilgrimage? What you want another person, and more importantly God, to say of you in the end means that you must rewind the tape to the present and begin now to live with the end in view! You see, the end is nothing more than a compilation of the motives, thoughts, attitudes, habits, words, and actions that issue from your head, heart, and hands moment by moment throughout all the days of your life. Yes—there is a way that seems right, but in the end, it produces only death. (Prov. 14:12) On the other hand, there is a way that is right—right in the sight of God—and in the end, it leads to life. We are all headed for the end, that’s for sure, so just make sure the reputation that precedes you will be celebrated by both God and man. Do that, my friend, and in the end, you will be found among the wise!

Moments With God // Claim: Proverbs 14:12

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

Just a friendly reminder: the end is near! Hate to break this to you, but it’s coming faster than you think!

So, what if you lived every day of your life with the end in view? What if you fast-forwarded the tape of your life story to the end, to that day when another will stand before a crowd at a memorial service to eulogize your days on earth? What if you transported in your mind to that awesome and fearful day at the end of all ends, when you, along with all humankind, stand before the Righteous Judge to give account for the breath of life He had loaned you for the 70, 80, or 90 years of your earthly pilgrimage?

What do you hope will be said of you then—in the end?

Here’s the thing, my friend: What you want another person, and more importantly God, to say of you in the end means that you must rewind the tape to the present and begin now to live with the end in view! You see, the end is nothing more than a compilation of the motives, thoughts, attitudes, habits, words, and actions issue from your head, heart, and hands moment by moment throughout all the days of your life. They add up. They count. They form a pattern. They create the trend that is your life. They tell your story. They are your destiny. So be careful with the material you give them because it will come out in the end.

Yes—there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it produces only death. On the other hand, there is a way that is right—right in the sight of God—and in the end, it leads to life.

We are all headed for the end, that’s for sure, so let’s just make sure the reputation that gets there ahead of us will be celebrated by both God and man.

Endings are better than beginnings. Sticking to it is better than standing out. (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

The end!

Take A Moment: If you knew that you had one week to live, what would be the first five things you would put on your “To Do” list? Why not go ahead and do them?

“ I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. —STEPHEN COVEY

SYNOPSIS: Jealousy — ubiquitous among humanity (a fancy way of saying we all struggle with it) — desires to possess what another has: their looks, their lovers, their likes on social media, their popularity, their possessions, their achievements, their accolades, you name it. However, our jealous feelings say more about us than those whose things we covet. In reality, jealousy simply disguises our own insecurities. Worse still, it becomes a tool of Satan, whose leading motivation is jealousy. But the Christ-follower is to be different. Scripture is very clear that “love is not jealous.” So, to combat the possessive love-killer called jealousy and send it packing, we must learn to risk all we have to give for the benefit of those of whom we are jealous. Today, get rid of jealousy by risking what you have to give: your un-jealous love!

Making Love Work // 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance…Love never fails.

Love–agape love, the love that emanates from God’s being—is not jealous. If you truly love a person, then in the passive sense, you will never be envious of who they are and what they have. In the active sense, you will not allow their successes or possessions or looks to lead you to feel insecure about yourself, then allow that feeling to metastasize into fear, bitterness, suspicion, humiliation, plotting, and rage.

Think of how much damage jealousy has unleashed throughout human history. Two classic examples are found in scripture—one in the Old Testament and the other in the New. In Genesis 37:10-12, we are told that Joseph’s brothers were jealous of their father’s favoritism toward Joseph, of the ornate coat he had given him, of Joseph’s dreams of superiority over his brothers. Because they didn’t have what Joseph had, they sold him into slavery. And even that was a far cry better than what they initially plotted to do—to murder him. Then in the New Testament, Matthew 27:16-20 informs us that the Jewish leaders handed Jesus over to Pilate to be crucified because they were jealous of him.

The poet John Milton said that envy is the devil’s own emotion. Oscar Wilde tells the story of the devil “crossing the Libyan Desert, [when] he came upon a spot where a number of small fiends were tormenting a holy hermit. The sainted man easily shook off their evil suggestions. The devil watched their failure and then he stepped forward to give them a lesson. ‘What you do is too crude,’ he said. ‘Permit me for one moment.’ With that he whispered to [the] holy man, ‘Your brother has just been made [the] Bishop of Alexandria.’ A scowl of malignant jealousy at once clouded the serene face of the hermit. ‘That,’ said the devil to his imps, ‘is the sort of thing … I [would] recommend.’” (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Memories and Adventures, 66)

So ubiquitous is the sin of jealousy in the human race that there was even an offering for it in the Old Testament (Numbers 5). Yet jealousy is arguably the hardest sin to recognize and admit to in ourselves. But it’s everywhere; it’s universal. And mark it down: unchecked jealousy eventually leads to relational tragedy.

James 3:16 says, “Where you have envy … there you find disorder and every evil practice.”

Jealousy leads us to do evil. It’s why Cain killed Abel. Abraham’s two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, were torn apart by jealous rivalry. Bitter envy separated Isaac’s two sons, Jacob and Esau. The jealousy of Jacob’s twelve sons rips the family apart. It’s why Saul tried to kill David.

It is throughout the Bible, from beginning to end. And it is still at work in the world today. It is destroying families, killing friendships, ruining community, shrinking hearts, wrecking lives—and it is at work in you and me. Nobody gets a pass on jealousy!

Jealousy desires to possess what another has – their love, success, things, popularity, social media likes, Instagram followers, you name it. But in truth, jealous thoughts and feelings are simply insecurities disguised. However, scripture bluntly tells us that we cannot be both loving and jealous. As Dorothy Sayers said of the mutual exclusivity of love and jealousy,

We can’t possess one another. We can only give and hazard all we have.

And that, my friends, is the way to deal with the problem of jealousy: get rid of it by risking what you have to give—your un-jealous love!

“ Envy slays itself by its own arrows. —GREEK PROVERB

SYNOPSIS: As we passionately pursue God’s purposes, God has passionately committed himself to fulfill His purposes in us. No matter what things may look like—horrible circumstances and hateful people notwithstanding—God will never abandon the work that He has lovingly and painstakingly invested in us, and He will ultimately bring that work to perfect completion. No way—you can’t stop God from doing what God does!

Moments With God // Psalm 138:8

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands.

“God will perfect everything that concerns you.” (Psalm 138:8, NKJV) I have heard my wife use King David’s phrase many times in her public prayers. I like that promise, don’t you? Nothing will stop God from fulfilling His purpose for my life—nothing!

That was the essence of David’s thinking in this psalm. Nothing could get in the way of what God had in mind—God’s perfect will for his life—not even David’s own fleshly desires. That’s the caveat to this truth: the perfecting is of that which is according to God’s will, which of course, is what ought to concern us more than anything else in this life.

The New Testament writer Jude capture the essence of this truth in his benedictory prayer when he wrote, “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25) Likewise, the Apostle Paul wrote similar words in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

How comforting and empowering to know that if we are passionately pursuing God’s purposes, God has passionately committed Himself to fulfill His purposes in us. No matter what things may look like—horrible circumstances and hateful people notwithstanding (Psalm 138:7)—God will never abandon the work that He has lovingly and painstakingly invested in us, and He will ultimately bring that work to perfect completion.

What David had discovered was that when we are for God, and when God is for us, we cannot lose! 2 Chronicles 16:9 reminds us this profound truth,

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

Wow! God so desires to fulfill His purposes in this world that He is actually scouring the earth looking for fully devoted people in order to release His enabling power in their lives. Is your heart fully committed to Him? If it is, then God will find you, and sooner or later you will come into the greatest joy that anyone can ever experience in this life: God fulfilling His purposes for you and through you.

Yes, God will perfect that which concerns you! In other words, There’s no stopping God!

SYNOPSIS: Do you worry a little—or a lot—about being righteous and morally perfect before God? Well, relax! First off, you can’t, and second, Jesus did it for you. You can’t gain what you’ve already been given. God accepts Christ’s efforts on your behalf as good enough, so you don’t have to be good enough. All you have to do is accept it, believe it, and conform your life to it! In other words, live the rest of your life as one unrepayable debt of gratitude to God for His grace. Now that we’ve settled that, remember that it is not only by grace that we are saved, it is also by grace that we can live the saved life! So, go live like it!

Moments With God // Claim: Romans 10:9-10

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

You cannot be saved by your good works. Period! No matter how hard you try, your “good” is not good enough for the perfectly holy and completely righteous God. Nor can you be saved through an alternative, less stringent means, for only through God is eternal salvation possible.

Moreover, you cannot be saved by your moral perfection—no matter how moral you are or how close to moral you get. As the Old Testament prophet Isaiah pointed out, your righteousness is about as good as a “snot rag”. (Isaiah 64:6). I have actually cleaned that up a bit, because the Hebrew words for filthy rags, ukabeged ehdim, according to some scholars, literally means, “like as rags of menstruation.”

Sorry if that disgusts you, but it’s Scripture—so blame Isaiah. The point is, both our acts of righteousness and the quality of righteousness that we hope they produce, are disgusting to God. So if you are disgusted by Isaiah’s language, think of how God is repulsed by our efforts to get him to save us.

So what hope is there for our salvation? Well, no hope resides within us. None whatsoever. Ephesians 2:1 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” All a dead person can do is lay there and be dead, let alone try to be righteous before God.

No, our righteousness—and let’s be clear, we do have to be righteous to be acceptable to God—comes from Christ alone. You see, God sent his Son to die on the cross—hanging there as our sin—in order to pay the just punishment for sin that we deserved. That is our only hope, that Jesus became sin—our sin—and in so doing, he likewise became our righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says it well,

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

How dishonoring to God’s grace and Christ’s atonement when we, therefore, try to save ourselves by our acts of righteousness and our efforts at moral perfection. The sooner we realize that the sooner we will discover salvation by grace alone through faith, as Paul spoke about in Philippians 3:8-9,

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them [our best efforts] rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

It is only through the power of Christ’s resurrection and our death to self (“becoming like him in his death…” Phil 3:10-11) that our heart—the core of who we are, that which represents every fiber of our existence—will get transformed. And it is out of a transformed heart, and only that, that our tongue can confess Jesus is Lord.

Then, and only then, are we saved.

As the hymn writer said so simply yet so beautifully, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” So relax about trying to be righteous and morally perfect! Jesus did it for you. God accepts Christ’s efforts on your behalf as good enough, so you don’t have to be good enough. All you have to do is accept it, believe it, and conform your life to it!

Now, in light of what God has done, go live the rest of your life as one unrepayable debt of gratitude to God for His grace.

SYNOPSIS: How many days do I have left on Planet Earth? I don’t know. No one does, except God. He knows the exact number of years, days, hours, and seconds that I will occupy my address in this world; the exact moment that my death will occur. But here’s what I do know: God planned me, built me, watches over me, can steer me back on track when I wander, will keep me safe until the Divinely allotted numbers of days ordained for me are up, and then take me to the next life He has prepared for me. My life will be over when He says it’s over — and I’m okay with that!

Moments With God // Claim: Psalm 139:16

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Will you live a long and healthy life? How many days do you have left? How will it end for you? You don’t know. No one does, except God. He knows the exact number of years, days, hours, and seconds that you will occupy your address on Planet Earth; the exact moment that death will come for you.

Now that may not seem like a cheery thought to you, and in fact, most people would find that sobering, at best, and frightening, at worst. Not me. I find great comfort and security in knowing that God has my life so ordered that I will neither die a day sooner nor live a day longer than what has already been recorded in His book. You see, matters of life and death are far above my pay grade, so I will happily let Father God take care of that department, thank you very much.

When I truly and correctly understand this profound truth, then I will be set free from the fear of death to fully live the life that God has planned for me. I can enjoy an intimate walk with the One

• Who was intimately involved in each minor detail of my day (Psalm 139:1-4)
• Who never lets me out of His sight (Psalm 139:5-8)
• Who guides my every move with His Fatherly hand (Psalm 139:9-10)
• Who is not limited by my circumstances (Psalm 139:11-12).

In fact, God is so involved in my life that He was even there at the moment my mother and father conceived me in love, and He superintended even the most infinitesimal details of my physiological and temperamental formation.

God knows me! He knows everything about me. He planned me, built me, watches over me, can steer me back on track when I wander from His purpose (Psalm 139:23-24), can be completely trusted to keep me safe until the Divinely allotted numbers of days ordained for me are up, and then take me to the next life that He has prepared for me.

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand” (Psalm 139:6, NLT), but it won’t keep me from enjoying this day and praising the One who is in charge of it!

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not
have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but
we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—
yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace
with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help us in our time of need.”
~Hebrews 4:14-16

Soul Snacks: What a difference it makes just knowing you have someone in high authority who’s got your back! You live more confidently, act more courageously, risk faith more often, let go of your failures more easily, seek forgiveness more readily, sleep more peacefully, worry a whole lot less, and wake up ready to face the day with more energy that you’ve ever known before.

That’s the privilege Christ-followers enjoy—or should—and that includes you! After paying the price for your sins by dying on the cross, Jesus entered eternity to begin his heavenly ministry as your very own personal high priest. Now, he stands before the Father night and day to represent you. He intercedes on your behalf. He is praying for you. He is rooting you on.

He understands your fears—he faced some pretty overwhelming stuff when he was here. He understands your temptations—all of them. He faced them, too. He knows your weaknesses—he had to overcome them one by one. He knows what it is like to be rejected, disappointed, persecuted, to go without, to have no place to call home, to be misunderstood. He even knows the heaviest weight a human being carries—the reality of one’s own death. Jesus has been there, done that.

But he did all that for you! That’s why he is a faithful, empathetic high priest. And that is why you can come into the very throne room of Father God with complete confidence, walk right up to the throne and ask him for what you need: Help, provision, healing, forgiveness—whatever.

You can do that because of what Jesus has already done—he paid the price for you to do that. That is now your right, your privilege, and your responsibility. You can also do that because of what Jesus is doing right now—he is standing alongside you with his arm around your shoulder before the Father bringing your case before the only One who has the power and authority to do anything about it.

You’ve got a friend in high places—the highest place. That ought to make a difference in how you live today. So show a little moxy, why don’t ya!!!

P.S. “Our peace and confidence are to be found not in our empirical holiness, not in our progress toward perfection, but in the alien righteousness of Jesus Christ that covers our sinfulness and alone makes us acceptable before a holy God.”  ~Donald Bloesch

You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.
~Psalm 56:8, (NLT)

Soul Snacks: Aren’t tears a mysterious part of what it means to be human?  It is strange that we have the capacity to cry—to expel water from our eyes when we are sad.  It seems to serve no real purpose—although science can explain the physiological “why” and mental health experts can explain the psychological “why”.

That still leaves the question of “why” tears—why were we created with that capacity?

Perhaps this psalm provides a clue.  Maybe they are to remind us that God cares about the things that make us sad enough to shed tears.  So much does he bear our sorrow that he collects our tears in a bottle, as the New Living Translation says, or as other versions put it, “he records them in his ledger.”  In other words, God takes note—implying that he is not only aware of our sadness, but he will not forget it.

What is it that is making you cry today?  A heart broken by a fractured relationship?  A dashed hope or the death of a dream?  A failed family?  A personal sin?  The consequences of a past mistake that continues to haunt you?  What is it that you feel such deep sadness over?

It is likely that no one truly knows the depth of what you are feeling right now.  Maybe no one will ever see those tears that have rolled down your cheek—and the intense hurt that caused them.  Even if they do see your tears, how sad it is that long before your pain is healed, people will forget and move on.

There is One who sees…and One who cares…and One who never forgets.  And He wants you to know that, my friend.  And that One, your Heavenly Father, simply asks you to take comfort in His compassion (Psalm 103:13), and to place your trust in him.  In fact, so strongly does he desire your trust, that he repeats the invitation twice for emphasis. (Psalm 56:4,10-11)

I hope you will do that. Entrust those tears to God. And let the very next tear that fills your eyes and spills down your cheek be a reminder that your tears never really just dry up and fade into a painful memory, they go right into the bottle of that One who truly cares!

P.S. “A child’s tear rends the heavens.” ~Yiddish Proverb”

“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be
quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become
angry, for man’s anger does not bring about
the righteous life that God desires.”
~James 1:19-20

Soul Snacks: One of the basic skills we must acquire to meet life’s challenges successfully is in learning how to respond in God-honoring ways to hurtful people, devastating circumstances and crushing disappointments.  How we handle the hurt we experience in our lives will lead either to bitterness or it will open the door to blessing.

I find it interesting that this is one of the first lessons God teaches us in Genesis through the example of Cain and Able.  In Genesis 4, these two brothers, Cain and Able, offer their sacrifices to God.  However, for some reason unknown to us, God finds Able’s sacrifice acceptable, but not Cain’s.  Cain is so thoroughly upset over this, that he sinks into depression, seethes with anger and begins to plot violence against his brother.

God knows the wrestling match going on inside of Cain and comes to him with this challenge:

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

It is important to note that God didn’t explain His reasons for not accepting Cain’s sacrifice, He didn’t address the fairness or unfairness of it, He focused in on Cain’s heart, and challenged him to offer a right response:  “Cain, do what is right, then you’ll get rewarded—the choice is yours,  But know this, how you choose to respond will either lead to blessing or bitterness.

The lesson is clear:  We cannot always control or even change our circumstance, but we can choose how we are going to respond to them.  And how we respond is of utmost importance to God.  What happens inside of us is so much more important to God than what happens to us.

Now fast forward to the ending chapters in Genesis to the story of stories.  The mistreatment of his brothers and the false accusations of Potiphar’s wife lands Joseph in jail.  When, after years of enduring this hardship, he is elevated to the highest position in the land and now has a chance for revenge, how does he respond?

With bitterness?  Anger?  Retribution?  No.  His response is one of grace of the highest order.  Why?  Because Joseph was convinced that God had ordered his life and therefore could bring good out of his circumstances—if he remained faithful and patient:

“Am I God to judge and punish you?  As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil, for he brought me into this high position I have today so that I could save the lives of many people.” (Genesis 50:20)

Are you tempted to complain about your circumstance today?  Is there someone who has hurt you deeply?  Are you enduring unfair treatment or false accusations?  This could be your finest hour…or worst.  It all depends on your response.  How you handle this will either lead to blessing, or bitterness.

Put your life and circumstances in God’s hands.  Be faithful and patience.  Offer Him your trust and let Him work the details out to your advantage.—He knows what He is doing.  Psalm 139:16 says, “Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

I think we can trust Him, don’t you?

P.S. “If a man meets with injustice, it is not required that he shall not be roused to meet it; but if he is angry after he has had time to think upon it, that is sinful. The flame is not wrong, but the coals are.”  ~Henry Ward Beecher

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.”
~Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

Soul Snacks: What is the best way to do the will of God, to always act in ways that please him and invite his blessings not only on the big decisions but on the daily details of life as well?  It is simply to place before him the offering of a godly life.

The Contemporary English Version translates our verse this way: “If you do what the Lord wants, he will make certain each step you take is sure.”

Perhaps you have experienced, like me, that life has only gotten more complex as the years go by.  It is often very difficult to discern the will of God between better and best.  Sometimes there’s a gray fuzziness that clouds the right path where the road forks in our journey.  And since we usually don’t hear the audible voice of God saying, ‘this is the way, walk ye in it!” or have his undeniable hand steering our every forward movement, we are left wondering, “what am I to do?”

According to the psalmist, we can trust that God himself has been closely attending our journey on the path of righteousness.  We have been guaranteed that the Lord has been with us all along the way, and is there now, even in the smallest details of our lives, making sure that our journey will lead to where he pleases.

What a comforting thought—that the steps of a righteous person are ordered of the Lord!  So when you come to a fork in the road, as Yogi Berra would say, “take it”.  If you have been doing your part—praying, obeying, trusting and honoring God, being in fellowship with his people and accountable for your life, studying his Word—God has directed steps that have led you to where you are now.  Now take the fork, God will have directed that as well.

Proverbs 3:5-9 reminds us,

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.

P.S. “If you think little about yourself, you will have rest wherever you reside… If you are silent, you will possess peace wherever you live…To throw yourself before God, to not measure your progress, to leave behind all self-will—these are the instruments for the work of the soul…Give not your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart.” ~Abe Poeman, 4th century Egyptian Monk

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe
in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You,
Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one
in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
~John 17:20-21

Soul Snacks: Jesus spent his last hours on earth praying desperately for the unity of his church. He knew that without unity, the church would fall apart. But with it, Jesus knew that nothing could stop his people from accomplishing the mission of reaching the world with the Gospel.

That is the power of unity. The great preacher Vance Havner once said, “Snowflakes are frail, but if enough of them get together they can stop traffic.” So it is with the church. If we get together in unity in our church, we’ll stop the traffic in our community.

The question is, since we all agree that unity is a powerful and a necessary thing, how do we move from agreement to action? How can we practice unity?

The Apostle Paul gives us some insight in his words to the church in Ephesus:

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 1:1-3)

Did you notice the word, “effort?” Paul says we are to “make every effort” to attain and maintain unity in our church. Frankly, it takes hard, focused, continual, intentional and strategic effort individually and corporately to keep the church united as one.

The word “effort” means to be diligent, to be zealous, to make haste to do something, in this case, being eager and fully dedicated to maintain the unity of the Spirit. It refers to a holy zeal to guard our Christian unity. Why do we need holy zeal? Because Satan’s number one goal is to divide us. That’s why each Christian needs to take the responsibility for the spiritual unity of his or her church.

James Hewitt tells the story of one woman’s unforgettable experience teaching Vacation Bible School with her primary class. The class was interrupted one day about an hour before dismissal when a new student was brought in.

The little boy had one arm missing, and since the class was almost over, she had no opportunity to learn any of the details about the child’s disability or his state of mind. She was afraid that one of the other children would make a comment and embarrass the poor little guy, and there was no time to warn them to be sensitive.

As the class time came to a close, she began to relax. She asked the class to join her in their usual closing ceremony. “Let’s make our churches,” she said. “Here’s the church and here’s the steeple, open the doors and there’s…”

Then the awful reality of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks. The very thing she’d feared the kids would do, she’d done. As she stood there speechless, the little girl sitting next to the boy reached over with her left hand and placed it up to his right hand and said, “Hey Davey, let’s make the church together”.

If you and I give every ounce of effort to keep the unity of the Spirit with other believers, we will make the church together!

P.S. “We must all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately”. ~Benjamin Franklin

“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

Soul Snacks: 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 did deserve.

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.

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

“We are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being
saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the
smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.”
~II Corinthians 2:15-16

Soul Snacks: Smell, like all of the senses, is quite mysterious really.  What may be a pleasing aroma to me may stink to you, to put it bluntly. You may enjoy Aqua Velva; I prefer Burberry Brit.  You may enjoy the fragrance of a freshly cut rose, but the smell I enjoy more than anything is fragrance of cedar.  Weird, huh!  You may find the smell of popcorn cooking in the microwave oven mouthwatering; I can’t stand it.  It causes my throat to close up.  So if you invite me over to your house for movies, ditch the popcorn and let’s have some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies—which I’m convinced is the modern day equivalent of Old Testament manna.

The Bible reminds us that as Christians, we, too, have a smell.  We carry around the fragrance of Christ.  We can’t help it; it just naturally exudes from our being—or at least it should.  Paul tells us that the fragrance of Christ upon us rises up to God as a sweet scent—he just loves the smell. And to others who also wear the Christ-fragrance, it is an aroma redolent with life.

But to those who have rejected Christ, frankly, we stink.  I don’t know how to put it more graciously than that.  When they smell Christ on us, it reminds them of something bad.  It reminds them of the guilt they carry around from being hostile toward God.  It reminds them of the way of death by which the Bible says they travel.  It reminds them of the foolishness of the cross and the sheer lunacy of salvation by grace apart from works.  It reminds them of the boatload of spiritual truth they find unbelievable, narrow, unsophisticated and offensive.  And because of the aroma of Christ on you they may not want you in their presence.

Don’t let it shock you if people have to hold their nose around you every once in a while. And when that happens, just remember: You smell real good to God.

So wear the fragrance of Christ boldly and proudly—you’re wearing the most expensive perfume known to God.

P.S. “How was it that, even in the common tasks of an ordinary life, Jesus drew the praise of heaven? At the core of His being, He only did those things which pleased the Father. In everything, He stayed true, heartbeat to heartbeat, with the Father’s desires. Jesus lived for God alone; God was enough for Him. Thus, even in its simplicity and moment-to-moment faithfulness, Christ’s life was an unending fragrance, a perfect offering of incomparable love to God.” ~Francis Frangipane

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come
after me, he must deny himself and take
up his cross and follow me.’”
~Matthew 16:24

Soul Snacks: Does Christ’s call to discipleship seem a little extreme in comparison to the “easy believism” that passes for discipleship today? You will likely hear a lot more about a life of comfort, security and success these days from spiritual leaders than straight talk on self-denial and cross bearing.

Jesus made no of promises of an easy, breezy, carefree Christianity. Rather, he demanded complete obedience, costly sacrifice, and selfless servanthood from those who would follow him. He told them that they would have to eat his flesh and drink his blood if they wanted a part in him. He said people would hate them, misunderstand them, reject them, persecute them, and put them out of the synagogues. And he even promised that people would kill them, believing that in so doing they were helping God out.

Yet the eleven disciples (one of them, Judas, got cold feet) fully bought into Christ’s call to costly discipleship. They left everything they had and everything they knew for a life that promised nothing except a chance to advance God’s kingdom in a resistant, hostile world. They fully understood that the overwhelming bulk of their rewards would come only afterwards, in the afterlife.

And, despite Christ’s less than appealing recruitment campaign, these first disciples, followed in the years to come by countless thousands of other hungry seekers, flocked to this self-denying, cross-bearing brand of Christianity. Jesus was a tough act to follow, to say the least, but these disciples eagerly signed up—and they changed the world.

How? Simply by doing what Jesus had asked: They denied themselves, took up their crosses, and laid down their lives for his sake. Without a political voice, financial resources, social standing, and military might, this unlikely ragtag band of followers conquered the Roman Empire in less than three hundred years.

Such was the radical power of this brand of fully committed discipleship.

Do you worry, as I do, that Christ’s call to costly discipleship would empty most churches of its people in our day. Though most believers give mental assent to cross-bearing and self-denial, in reality there is very little evidence of it in their lives, or in their churches.

If Jesus rebuked Peter (Matthew 16:23) — “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” — for suggesting Christianity without a cross (Matthew 16:24), what do you suppose he would say to us who have suggested Christian discipleship without cross-bearing?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once remarked, “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” We need to remind ourselves of that truth, because you likely won’t hear it from too many pulpits today. A.W. Tozer commented that “it has become popular to preach a painless Christianity and automatic saintliness. It has become part of our ‘instant’ culture. ‘Just pour a little water on it, stir mildly, pick up a gospel tract, and you are on your Christian way.’”

We must aggressively and boldly reject that brand of faith, because that is not the discipleship to which Jesus has called us. And that is not the discipleship that I want for my life.

How about you?

P.S. “Salvation is free … but discipleship will cost you your life.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“God will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when
our Lord Jesus Christ returns.  God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says,
and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
~I Corinthians 1:8-9

Soul Snacks: Do you believe in eternal security?  The eternal security of the believer has been hotly debated for hundreds of years by theologians much smarter than me, so it’s not likely that I’ll resolve the issue for you.

Perhaps you’ve already taken a position on this yourself—most Christians have.  Maybe you’re of the camp that believes you cannot lose your salvation—once you’re saved you’re always saved.  Or it could be you’ve joined doctrinal sides with those who’ve found Biblical support that it is indeed possible to “backslide” and fall away from God.

I grew up in a theological tradition that supported the latter.  I like to say we believed in backsliding—and practiced it regularly.  But all kidding aside, the older I get and the longer I’ve been a Christian, honestly, I’m not sure where I stand on this issue anymore. Frankly, there are compelling arguments for both sides.  I sometimes wonder if there is a third alternative that will be revealed to us when we get to heaven. Wouldn’t that be great!

But one thing I do believe, and that is, if it is possible to lose your salvation—and I say “if” it is possible—it must be exceedingly difficult to walk away from your relationship with God and into a life of sin for the very simple fact of the truth revealed in these verses—I Corinthians 1:8-9.  You see, you are not alone; your salvation is not up to you alone.  In fact very little of it is up to you.  That’s not to say that you don’t have a part to play—you do.  In verse 9, Paul says it is a partnership that you have been called into with Jesus Christ at the moment of your salvation.  You have to believe, obey, love and serve God.

But even then, God is helping you to do that.  According to verse 8, God is giving you the strength, and he will supply the strength to fulfill your end of the partnership until the day Jesus returns and finds you blameless.  Isn’t that great news?  You are not alone in your spiritual journey; someone greater than you is at your side helping you each step of the way.

And he is committed to finishing what he started in you.  Paul says it this way in Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Now here’s the deal, when God starts a good work, he always finishes it.  He doesn’t have a workshop full of half finished projects.  He completes them all—each and every one of them.  And since you are one of his good works, you can have that same kind of confidence Paul talked about that God will take you from the starting line to the finish line of your salvation marathon.

The book of Jude says the same thing, “Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and present you before his throne without fault and with great joy…”  (Jude 24)  God is able.  You may feel weak and incapable in your spiritual walk at times; you may worry if there might be a time in the future where you would walk away from God.  But let me tell you this:  You are not alone.  Your salvation is not all up to you.  God is able to keep you from falling.  God is able to take you from start to finish and present you in the winner’s circle without fault (Jude 24), complete (Philippians 1:6) and blameless (I Corinthians 1:8).

You are not alone.  Your salvation is not all up to you.  If you can lose your salvation—if—then it must be the most difficult thing in all creation, since you will have to overcome God’s saving, sustaining, completing grace to do it.

You are not alone.  Your salvation is not all up to you.  God is able!  You now belong to the Great Finisher!

I hope that makes your day better!

P.S. “If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, his arm over us, his ear open to our prayer—his grace sufficient, his promises unchangeable.”  –John Newton

“Watch out for people who cause divisions…such people are not serving
Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests.”
~Romans 16:17-18

Soul Snacks: I strongly believe that job number one for every Christian as it relates to our personal responsibility in the church is to protect the unity of the fellowship. There is no greater effort to which one can expend his energy. Likewise, there is no greater sin than to be party to disharmony and division among God’s people.

Several sobering passages in Scripture stand as eternal warning signs to us not to enter this territory. One of the most sobering reminds us that to engage in such behavior is to incur the displeasure and anger of God, “There are six tings the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: …a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16-19)

Jesus reminded us that where disunity exists, destruction of the fellowship is not far behind, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (Matthew 12:25)

Paul felt very strongly about disunity as well. Instructing his young protégé, Titus, in how he was to manage the local church, Paul said that division requires an immediate, consistent and aggressive response from church leadership, “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You can be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” (Titus 3:10-11)

That’s how repugnant division and disunity is to God, and on the flip side, just how important unity and harmony is to him. In Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17, our Lord interceded for his church before the Father, praying, “I pray for all who will believe in me…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” (John 17:20-21)

Of all the things Jesus could have prayed for, he was most concerned about the unity of the church. And since it was that important to Jesus, we must allow it to become that important to us as well. We must be very alert to any attitudes and actions on our part, or on the part of others, that would lead to even the smallest crack in the unity of the fellowship to which we belong. We have no right to harm the unity for which Jesus bled and died to preserve.

In light of that, I would suggest a few things that will help you to become one of those true heroes of the faith who helps preserves the unity of the church:

One, realize most of the stuff which causes division really doesn’t matter in the larger scheme of things. Paul told Titus, “avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels…these are unprofitable and useless.” (Titus 3:9) Most of the stuff that divides Christians just doesn’t matter. So just let it go.

Two, realize that there is more that unites us than divides us. We have so much common ground in Christ. If we would focus on that, our differences would be minimized and our common love for Christ would be magnified. Paul challenges us to “do the things that lead to harmony and promote peace in the church.” (Romans 14:9)

And three, get tough with those who selfishly push their own agenda at the expense of maintaining “the unity of the Spirit through the bonds of peace.” As Paul said, warn them once; even warn them a second time. Remind them that God hates disunity and detests the one who foments it. If they continue, if they are a chronic divider, Paul says to “mark them.” In other words, get tough, because the unity of your fellowship is more important than the feelings and wishes of some unhealthy, selfish, immature person who is willing to risk it to get their own way.

God loves unity. And God will bless you if you will love it too.

P.S. “Into the community you were called—the call was not meant for you alone; in the community of the called you bear your cross, you struggle, you pray. You are not alone even in death, and on the Last Day you will be only one of the great congregation of Jesus Christ. If you scorn the fellowship of the brethren, you reject the call of Jesus Christ.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“I commend to you Phoebe…she has been helpful to many, and especially to me.”
~Romans 16:1

Soul Snacks: So who was Phoebe? We don’t really know, except that she was a deacon in the church in Cenchrea—which brings up a whole different matter about women deacons. I won’t go there for now, but, hey, the Bible sure does…

Anyway, we don’t know much about Phoebe, or the other people Paul names as he closes out the book of Romans. Now at this point, I want to do something normally guaranteed to lose your interest at this point—I want to list those names for you. But before I do, promise me that you’ll read through this entire list. You probably won’t be able to pronounce those names correctly, but that’s okay. I can’t either. I just read them really fast and with a lot of gusto, so when people hear me they think I must be an expert in ancient languages. Try it—you’ll impress your friends.

So here they are: There’s Priscilla Aquila, Penetus, Mary, Andronicus, Junia, Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachys, Apelles, the household of Aristobulus, the household of Narcissus, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus and his mother, Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and his fellow Christians, Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympia and her Christian friends, Timothy, Lucias, Jason, Sosipater, Tertius, Gaius, Erastus, and last but not least, Quartus.

Whew! My spell-checker is smoking. I don’t think it will ever be the same again.

So what’s up with these names? Simply this: Paul, the great Apostle, the guy who deservedly gets his name in lights almost every Lord’s Day in churches around the world, knew very well that he couldn’t have done it without the help of his friends. If Paul were accepting an Oscar, he would be up there for minutes listing off all the people he’d like to thank—these names and many others he mentions in some of his other writings.

This great theologian who was largely responsible for the evangelization of the western world didn’t do it all by himself. He needed a little help from his friends in every city where he preached the gospel and planted a church. Though you will likely never hear a sermon or attend a Bible study where these names are given any mention, Paul gives them their props in the eternal Word of God.

My point is, it takes a team to do the work of the Kingdom. For sure, there are leading characters on the Kingdom team, but it’s still a team, mostly of unnamed, unsung heroes who are typically forgotten—except by God. God never forgets. He appreciates the contributions of each and every one—even the lesser lights. And he has stored up indescribable recognition and reward for them in the Kingdom to come. Paul’s mention of them here in the last chapter in Romans is a subtle reminder to us of their contribution to his efforts and of their value to God.

Maybe you are one of those unnamed, unsung heroes who goes unnoticed by everyone else, but your faithfulness is noticed by God. Perhaps you are a Phoebe to a Paul or a Patrobas to a Peter or a Junius to a John, and you wonder if you really matter. My response to you is, “Yes, you matter. We wouldn’t be effective in building God’s Kingdom without you! It takes a team—and no matter how you feel, you are an integral part of that team!”

Yet more important than my acknowledgement is God’s. He has written your name in a book too—one that’s even better than the book of Romans. It’s the Book of Life. And God himself will celebrate your name all eternity long. How’s that for recognition.

So just be faithful doing what you’re doing. Your day is coming!

P.S. “The world was not worthy of the men and women of faith… Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” ~Hebrews 11:38, 12:1

“Everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. But by the free gift
of God’s grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free.”
~Romans 3:23-24 (TEV)

Soul Snacks:  So many people get freaked out by the complexity of religion. They’re intimidated by it, they don’t get it, they don’t want to talk about it—and even if they do want to talk about it, they just can’t wrap their brain around it enough to be able to string enough cogent thoughts together to carry on a stimulating conversation about it.

But that is absolutely not true about true Christianity. I know, “true Christianity” is redundant, but I want to distinguish authentic faith from the junked up, messed up stuff that some misguided folks have turned our faith into. Christianity is simple—so simple, even a caveman can get it. God made sure of that. Here it is in a nutshell in Romans 3. Here the Apostle Paul, master theologian par excellence, who sometimes is not all that easy to grasp, probably foresaw the need for a “Christianity for Dummies” (he was thinking of me!), so he simply, clearly and briefly spelled out the real condition of humankind, God’s offer of salvation, the essence of faith, and the core beliefs of Christianity in this chapter.

I would highly recommend, as a reaffirmation of your faith and as a great refresher for evangelism, that you go back and re-read Romans 3 in a modern translation, like The Message” or The New Living Translation. You’ll be amazed at the profound simplicity of our Christian faith.

Or I can give you the CliffNotes version:

1. The truth about you and me—Romans 3:9-12

“Basically, all of us, whether insiders (Jews who have the Law) or outsiders (Gentiles who live as a law unto themselves), start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it: There’s nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They’ve all taken the wrong turn; they’ve all wandered down blind alleys. No one’s living right; I can’t find a single one.”

2. The bad news—Romans 3:20

“For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are,” i.e., we’ll never attain God’s favor in this life now or in the life to come by being good enough.

3. The good news—Romans 3:21-22

“But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him [without our futile effort to be good enough for God]. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.”

4. Say What?—Romans 3:23-24

“Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners and proved that we are utterly incapable of living up to the standards God demands of us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ dying on the cross to pay for our sins.”

5. How cool is Christianity—Romans 3:25

“God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world—you and me—to clear that world—you and me—of sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.”

That’s it! That’s the Good News—and that news really is good! Religion is complex; Christianity is simple. Religion is about what you have to do; Christianity is about what God has done! Religion requires you to sacrifice to appease your god; Christianity required God to sacrifice his Son to appease himself. In religion, you pay; in Christianity, Jesus paid it all. Religious faith is about works; Christian faith is about belief. Religion leads to death; Christianity leads to life.

Need I say more?

Now I’m not all that bright—on par with a caveman—but I think I’ll take Christianity!  How ‘bout you?

P.S The great reformer Martin Luther wrote of his revelation that salvation is by faith alone, “At last meditating day and night, by the mercy of God, I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that through which the righteous live by a gift of God, namely by faith. Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and had entered paradise itself through the gates that had been flung open.”

“Paul was preaching, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking
until midnight…Paul continued talking until dawn, then he left.”
~Acts 20:7 (NLT)

Soul Snacks: I used to be a big fan of the twenty-minute sermon.  I still am, in fact—when someone else is preaching, that is.  But the longer I preach, the longer I preach, if you get my drift.  After many years of pastoral ministry, now twenty-minutes is just a good introduction.  I’m joking of course—my intros are no more than eighteen minutes:-P

Few aspects of the preacher’s preaching are more prominently discussed than the length of his sermons.  In seminary, we are taught how to “get ‘er  done” in fifteen minutes or so, twenty minutes at the most, and violating that rule of thumb is a good indication that our sermon preparation had been sloppy.  A friend of mine says if you want to preach a twenty-minute sermon, prepare twenty hours; a forty-minute message will take you ten hours of prep time, and an hour-long sermon means you’ve spent about twenty minutes preparing.

In my earlier pastoral ministry I worked years with a phenomenal preacher.  But he was an hour-long kind of guy.  He had great stuff, he just didn’t know how to bring the plane in for a landing, so to speak.  He’d get to the end of his message, and then just circle the airport looking for a spot to bring ‘er down.  If he would have cut that hour in half, his sermons would have gone from good to great.  His preaching kind of reminds me of the story I heard about a man who went to the dentist to have a tooth removed. He asked the dentist what the cost for removing his tooth would be, and the dentist told him it would be $90. The guy told the dentist that 90 bucks seemed like a lot of money for a few seconds work. The dentist said, “If it’d make you feel better, I can pull the tooth out real slow!”

Well, I am here to defend the long-winded sermon—since I now qualify as long-winded.  Hey, it’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it.  And I am in good company.  Paul, the greatest theologian in the New Testament, perhaps in human history, preached so long that one young man named Eutychus, fell asleep while sitting on a window seal and fell three stories to his death.  Amazingly, that didn’t put a damper on the service.  Paul, without skipping a beat, went downstairs, healed the man, then came back upstairs and talked from midnight until dawn.  You go Paul!

Here’s the deal: It’s not the length of the sermon that makes it good or bad, it’s the content of the message…it’s the passion of the preacher…it’s the heart of the shepherd out of which the sermon flows that makes it effective or not.  If you read this entire passage in Acts 20, you get some great insights into the heart of Paul, the long-winded preacher:

Paul was full of faith and confidence in the Lord—“don’t worry, he’s alive…and the young man was taken home unhurt.”  (Acts 20:11-12, NLT)

Paul earned people’s respect through his suffering for the Gospel—“I have endured the trials that came to me…” (Acts 20:19, NLT)

Paul was fearless in his preaching—“I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear.” (Acts 20:20, NLT)

Paul was Christ-centered and cross-focused—“I have had one message…repent from sin and turn to God…the work of telling others the Good news about the wonderful grace of God.” (Acts 20:21, 24, NLT)

Paul was purpose driven—“My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work the Lord Jesus assigned to me.” (Acts 20:24, NLT)

Paul was faithful to God—“I declare today that I have been faithful.” (Acts 20:26, NLT)

Paul passionately protected his flock from danger—“Guard God’s people and feed and shepherd God’s flock…watch out…” (Acts 20:28,31, NLT)

Paul was pure in his motives—“I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes…I have worked with my own hands to supply my own needs.” (Acts 20:33-34, NLT)

Paul practiced what he preached—“I have been a constant example…” (Acts 20:35, NLT)

Paul was selfless—“I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard.” (Acts 20:35, NLT)

It’s no wonder than when he had finished speaking and was getting ready to leave, “they all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye.” (Acts 20:37, NLT)

How long is the perfect sermon, you wonder?  When the preacher exhibits the same qualities that we see in Paul, his sermon can be a long as it takes!

P.S The Puritan pastor Richard Baxter once remarked, “I preach as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men.”  The next time you are listening to your pastor preach, realize that for him, he carries into the pulpit a heavy awareness that eternity hangs in the balance.