More Free Resources
More Free Resources

Home      Facebook     Contact

God May Not Be Changing The Situation

Mar 2, 2021

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. – Romans 8:29

Dear Younger Me,

You’re going to get stronger, tougher and wiser than you are right now.  You will become more forgiving, trusting and loving in the days ahead.  You have heights and depths and widths of potential in using the abilities and opportunities God has gifted you with that you don’t even see yet, but you will.  God loves you just as you are, but He loves you enough to not leave you as you are.  He has an end in mind, to make you into the person He created you to be:  a faith-walking, difference-making, joy-experiencing image-bearer.  He has committed Himself to your long-term transformation as He molds and shapes you to become more like Jesus, and, surprisingly, one of the ways He’s going to refine you is through the fire of hardships.  You’ll struggle to find answers on your own, but in time, you’ll learn to ask God for His wisdom which will never fail you.  You’ll worry and doubt and fear often, but the day will come when you’ll begin to trust in God and experience peace and courage.  You’ll fall short over and over again, but you’ll discover that His grace is sufficient for you as He forgives and frees you from sin.  You’ll feel like many tasks in front of you are impossible, but it’ll become clear that they are no match for you when you rely on Jesus Who gives you strength.  Here is what I want you to understand about difficulties: sometimes God will change the situation; sometimes God will use the situation to change you.  Through every heartache and hardship, God is at work teaching you to look to Jesus, and transforming you to look like Him. When you face troubles and trials, don’t give up hope, because God hasn’t given up on you.  You may feel like everything is falling apart, but He’s actually putting you back together again so you can feel, think, speak and act like the person you were born to be.  When you look back, you’ll find this to be true:  your circumstances may not be different, but you are.

Sincerely,
Older You

It Would All Make Sense If We Knew All He Knows

Mar 1, 2021

For we walk by faith, not by sight.  – 2 Corinthians 5:7

First glances can be deceiving.  Initial observations can be short-sighted.  The opening paragraph doesn’t tell the whole story.  A focal point garnering attention will blur the background.  While it is easy to see the obvious things happening in, around and through our lives, without a careful look through a gospel lens, there is a lot that we can miss.  God is doing a thousand things for us today, and we may not have our spiritual eyes locked in on any of them. That’s why we walk by faith and not by sight: in order to trust that He is at work, even when we don’t know what it is that He is doing.  This brings joy and hope for the difficult times when it seems to us that God isn’t doing much at all.   So, let us… Look back on the day when we first believed.  Look around at the daily mercies poured out on us ever since. Look forward to all that is promised for all who await the return of Jesus.  Remembrance.  Thankfulness.  Confidence.   He has saved us, is saving us and will save us.  For those who are trusting in Jesus, God is always doing much more in us, for us, around us, and through us than we are aware of.  All we see is the show, but He is working behind the scenes.  All we see is the ship, but He is working beneath the surface.  He is precise.  He is punctual.  He is providential.  There is nothing that happens unless it serves His purposes.  We don’t have to make sense out of everything that is going on or that we are going through; but we do need to trust that God is tirelessly at work in ways that would make sense if we knew all that He knows.  And when we can’t see it with our eyes, let us believe it in our hearts.  That’s what faith is for.

Are You Timid? Jesus Offers Courage.

Feb 26, 2021

 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.  – John 16:33

In this world, we will have tribulation.  It’s inevitable.  It’s imminent.  Trouble has either already made its way into your life, or it is on its way.  But.  Take.  Heart.  Jesus has overcome the world.  That means, though He doesn’t always remove the threats from our lives, He does render them powerless to do anything that would prevent us from joyfully enduring and prevailing in the end.  This is possible because Jesus has defeated the biggest threats of all:  sin, Satan and death.  This is possible as we trust in and depend on Him when we face the pain of this world’s brokenness and the persecution of this world’s system of hostility toward God and His people.  Because of Jesus we can have courage; the kind of courage that does not shrink back from saying and doing the right things no matter what people might think of us, what might happen to us and what it might cost us if we remain faithful to Jesus.  Our courage and encouragement are based on this truth:  Jesus has overcome all the tribulations and troubles and trials and tests and temptations of this world!  And He is in our corner.  His power is greater than our enemies, His sovereignty rules over our battles, His promises reside in our hearts, His forgiveness ensures our futures, His presence empowers our lives, and His grace provides for our needs.  Confident in this, we press on!  We press on, faithful in temptation and hopeful in tribulation, for we know that He will graciously keep us and empower us and provide for us and go with us and deliver us and save us because He has promised to do so.  Therefore… Be bold to speak the truth in His love.  Be courageous to face enemies with His love.  Be encouraged in tribulation by His love.  If you are a Christian, take heart today…  He has gotten you this far.  He has always provided for you.  He will do it again. Your tribulation will not last forever; but your joy in Jesus will.

Are You Confined? Jesus Offers Freedom.

Feb 25, 2021

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  – John 8:36

Before we put our faith in Jesus, we were slaves to sin and unable to escape its powerful hold on us.  Too many of us still live as if we are imprisoned by our sin, sorrow and struggles with no way out of the cell that controls and limits us.  Too often we let our regrets from the past, imperfections in the present and fears of the future enslave us as if we are helpless and hopeless to do anything about them.  Too soon we give up, give in and give out when spiritual victory has already been secured and is almost ready to be seen.  Nothing in our story can nullify the Greatest Story Ever Told about the finished work of Jesus Who has won the ultimate triumph over all enemies for us!  He. Has. Set. Us. Free.  Free to say “no” to sin and “yes” to greater delight in Him.  With sin’s power broken, we now have the desire and ability to serve God rather than sin.  This does not deny the existence of or seriousness of what we are facing and fighting against both inside and outside of us.  Yes, our past may include terrible things we have done.  Yes, our present may be filled with setbacks.  Yes, our future may find our lives not going the way we hope they will.   But Jesus has made amends for our past, makes provision for our present and will make a way for our future until we have been fully delivered from the very presence of sin.  We have been released… from shame, from regret, from joylessness, from emptiness, from addictions, from vanity, from futility, from fear, from pride, from lusts, from idolatry, from sin, from death.  We are free to be happy in Jesus, and to the degree that we abide in His words and depend upon His Spirit and feel His presence, we will be.  No more shackles.  No more cages.  No more prisons.  Walk out of that cell and in faith follow Jesus.  Don’t live as if you are still in chains.  You have been set free.

The Battle-Axe Of Discouragement

Feb 24, 2021

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. – Galatians 6:9

There are days when I feel like giving up on trying to make a difference because I wonder if I’m making any difference at all.   Maybe you can relate. These thoughts and feelings aren’t random, they are intentional.  They are the work of the enemy trying to bring us down so he can shut us down.  One of the weapons he wields most frequently is the battle-axe of discouragement.   Satan wants to convince us that our doing good isn’t actually doing much good.  He will skew the facts, point to the wrong metric, and mislabel our actions as failures.  But God doesn’t measure our success by social media likes, comments and shares.  God sees us quietly toiling behind the scenes loving Him by loving others and measures our success not by our fruitfulness or fanfare, but our faithfulness.   It should bring a smile to our faces knowing that what we do brings a smile to His face when we do it for the good of others and the glory of His Name.  When we struggle for the motivation to continue down the sometimes long and lonely road of serving, let us remember that we serve an audience of one.  The enemy wants to discourage us, but be of good cheer … Jesus has wrested the battle axe from his hands and has given us the Armor of God to press on in doing good.  It is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us! By His sustaining grace, His empowering resolve, His enabling strength, His guiding leadership, and His motivating cheer, let us continue to fight the good fight of faith. Nothing we do for His kingdom will ever be in vain.  Therefore… Let us not lose heart or lose hope.  Let us not slow down or shut down.  Let us not give up or give in.  Let us listen for the applause of heaven.  Now we hear from a distance, but someday in His presence.

Are You Wronged? Jesus Offers Justice.

Feb 23, 2021

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. – Romans 12:19-21

Actions will be unkind.  Words will be unpleasant.  Treatment will be unfair.  Neglect will be unnoticed.  Results will be unjust. People will be unloving. There will be things said and left unsaid, things done and left undone, which bruise and break our hearts and spirits.  People.  Will.  Sin.  Against.  Us.   It’s never a matter of will it happen, but when it will happen.  It’s never a matter of will it hurt, but how much it will hurt.  The question is:  what will we do about it?  The normal response is to burn with vengeance inside.  The natural reaction is to bring on vengeance outside.  When someone wrongs us, we often desire to make things right by making them pay for their wrongdoing, or at least we wish we could.  But Jesus modeled a different way of handling the wrongs of others.  The way of love.  The way of forgiveness.  The way of kindness.  The way of good.  The way of grace.  Jesus knows what it is like to be beat down, mocked, betrayed, abandoned, lied about, crucified.  He pressed on during the most difficult times anyone has ever faced, and this was His staggering kindness to sinners like you and me, overcoming our evil with His good on the cross.  We.  Have.  Sinned.  Against.  God.   And Jesus paid our debt. As a result, our role is not to mete out justice; our role is to model His grace.  Conquering evil with evil would be to allow evil to conquer us, but we are commanded to release our instinct for revenge to let God judge, punish and make all things right in His timing and in His way.  God will repay, either by accepting the payment made by Jesus on the cross should they repent and receive His grace, or by making them pay in hell if they do not.  Therefore, let us overcome evil with good and leave it to God to do the work He means to do.  We who have received grace should be the quickest to extend it.

We Are All Believers

Feb 22, 2021

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.  – 2 Corinthians 1:19-20a

There is something you and I need to understand about ourselves.   No matter how little or much we are aware of it, how little or much attention we give to it, how little or much we acknowledge it, its steady and sturdy influence upon our lives is unmistakably clear:  We are believers.  And all of life’s desires, decisions, and deeds flow from one of two basic beliefs:  we believe that we need God, or we believe that we do not need Him.  There is also something you and I need to understand about our God:  He can be believed.  This should give sound to what we say, sight to what we see, rationale to what we think, and reason to what we do.  God always keeps His promises, and His promises for His children are always good. The way to overcome every sin and struggle of the heart is to believe His promises.  Why believe God’s promises? Because God’s promises are kept, lasting, joy-producing, full, better, precious, true, timeless, situation-proof, purchased already, all-encompassing, impossible-to-fail, unbreakable, edifying, powerful, freeing, loving, gracious and are all “yes” for us in Jesus. There is such joyful victory, sweet freedom, complete rest and incredible strength when we believe the promises of God in the moments they are needed.   Listen:  You will believe something today.  When that temptation is offered, that relationship blows up, that meeting goes wrong, that diagnosis is grim, that pleasure is available, that problem shows up, that plan falls through, that sin is appealing, and that thing happens … you will believe something to be true.  Instead of believing sin’s promises that you have been abandoned by God, and you should accept a substitute for God, believe the promises of God.  Place your full weight on God’s Word, for this is the only solid ground in a world full of cleverly-disguised sinking sand.  If He says it, you can believe it.  And if you can believe it, you can experience its life-giving assurances.

Slow Down

Feb 19, 2021

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:38-42

Admit it, some days are a blur.  We wake up, and over the coming hours, it’s a nonstop rush to not fall behind.  Our biggest need for dealing with our overcrowded schedules and overwhelmed minds is not a course that teaches us to get more done in less time.  It’s not a couple of painkillers or some motivational music or our favorite drink from Starbucks.  The thing that will best help us cope with whatever God has ordained to make its way into our lives each day is not better planning, better personnel, or better productivity.  The remedy for busy, frantic lives is not to speed up, but to slow down. The thing that will most help us with what we face each day is to simply spend time with Jesus getting recharged so we can be prepared for what lies ahead, and refocused so we can prioritize the things that matter most.  You’re not too busy to spend time with Jesus.  You’re too busy not to spend time with Jesus! That’s why it is essential that we spend unhurried, undistracted time with Him each day in prayer, Bible reading, stillness and silence.  In doing so, His words and presence will transform our hearts, inform our thinking, rewire our motives, encourage our spirits, guide our paths, govern our feelings, reshape our behavior, source our words, and influence our lives in every good way that He intends.  Time.  With.  Jesus.  That’s the most important part of our day, and it should have the most intentional part of our schedule because it’s the most influential part of our lives. You know what the cure is for being overwhelmed, worried and frustrated about the many things on your schedule?  Making the right choice to spend time with Jesus today.

Are You Ambitious? Jesus Offers Riches.

Feb 18, 2021

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.   – Ephesians 2:4-7

When I was a toddler, I could not have imagined what a rich life I had ahead of me.  I don’t mean rich in money or material possessions; I mean rich in experiences of delight, beauty, pleasure, satisfaction, happiness and wonder.  In time, I discovered the delight of playing with a puppy, the beauty of a mountaintop view, the pleasure of sex with my wife, the satisfaction of writing a well-crafted sentence, the happiness of welcoming my son into the world, and the wonder of gazing into a darkened sky dotted with stars.  These and tens of thousands of other similar, but wonderfully different discoveries only further enriched my life.  But, as good as they have been, these are measurable riches.  They are fixed and finite.  They will end for me when my time on this earth ends.  But that end is just the beginning.  Because of God’s mercy, grace and love toward me in Jesus, I have riches of His kindness awaiting me.   These riches are immeasurable.  These riches are eternal.  There is a glorious eternity looming ahead of me and all who trust in Jesus in which bad things will be eliminated, good things will be perfected and the best things will be unveiled.  What God gives to us because of, through and in Jesus is unimaginably delightful, beautiful, pleasurable, satisfying, joyful and wonderful.  We have an eternity with Him that… Never gets stale.  Never gets boring.  Never gets routine.  Never gets unappealing.  Never gets finished.  There will always be more to discover and enjoy from the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.  Don’t live for this day; live for that day.  Don’t be discouraged by this day; be encouraged by that day.  Take hope in this every day:  for those who are trusting in Jesus, the best is always yet to come.

Are You Threatened? Jesus Offers Security.

Feb 17, 2021

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  – Romans 8:35-39

People go to great lengths to safeguard their money, their jobs, their computers, their phones, their homes, their health, their families, their minds and their lives against internal and external dangers that threaten their well-being. They look for security in a variety of places ranging from the number in their bank account balance to the number on their keypad of their home alarm system to the number of years of seniority at their workplace.  All of the security measures that people take have one thing in common:  they can fail at any time, which means they don’t really offer security at all.  Real security is having something which guarantees a good future for you that can never be lost by you or taken from you.  That’s the kind of security we have in the love that Jesus has for us, even if we experience terrible things in this world because we are headed for another world.   Out of His love for us… He laid down His life for us on the cross so we can be forgiven and freed from the only thing that can truly threaten us, our sin.  He rose from the dead to defeat the final enemy that we could never safeguard against, our mortality.  He sits in the position of power and authority to rule for good the one thing that we struggle to control, our lives.  He prepares for us a place and an inheritance to be enjoyed forever by ensuring the one thing that we cannot, our eternity.  He promises to provide all that we need for all that we face until He brings us safely to the one thing we long for most, our home with Him.  He atones.  He rules.  He prepares.  He sustains.  He delivers.  And there is nothing that can stop Him from loving us like that.   That.  Is.  Security.   Because Jesus loves you… He gave His life for you in the past, He’s walking with you in the present, and He’s coming back for you in the future.  Christian, take heart today, for though your life is not without threats and troubles, your life is safe and secure in the love of Jesus.

Are You Known? Jesus Offers Love.

Feb 16, 2021

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  – Ephesians 5:1-2

We all keep secrets.  There is not a human being on the face of the earth who fully discloses every thought, feeling, motive, desire, and attitude to others.  We hide many of those things within ourselves, hoping that no one ever finds us out, because we fear that the ugliness we keep tucked away would drive others away.  So, we put on a mask, and we put on a show, make-believing we are something that we are not. But there is Someone who knows the real you and loves you with a costly, undeserved, willing, lasting, transforming, blessing love.   You are fully known by Jesus and fully loved by Jesus, even with all of your sins and shortcomings.  It’s a good thing that He knows every micro-detail about you because you don’t ever have to wonder if He loves the real you or just the sanitized-for-public version of you that others see.  Jesus loves the you behind the mask.  He doesn’t love you more on “good” days when you do all the things He wants you to do, and love you less on the “bad” days when you stray and disobey; He loves you all days and always because you are treasured by Him. To be sure, He doesn’t love your and my sin.  He doesn’t love those sinful things that are tucked away inside of us.  In fact, He hates them.  But that didn’t drive Jesus away from us; that drove Him to the cross for us, so we might be forgiven for and freed from our sins, and welcomed into the family of God.  Then, He stays with us to transform us from the inside out into people who both hide less and less and have less and less to hide.  The One who matters the most, knows us most, and loves us most.  Secure in His love for us, we are moved to love Him back and extend His love to others, knowing that when the all-seeing God of the universe looks upon us in Christ, though He sees everything about us, what He sees most is a beloved son or daughter.

I Only Know The Road Leads Home

Feb 15, 2021

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.   – Psalm 34:18

It is right to mourn over loss.  It is appropriate to grieve over injustice.  It is fitting to hurt over broken relationships.  It is correct to lament over bad test results.  It is proper to feel pain over rebellious children.  It is reasonable to ache over personal mistreatment or persecution. While there is a lot of beauty in this world, it is also plagued with much brokenness.  Sin has touched everything with its destructive contamination, and things do not operate as God originally designed.  We have all experienced the pain of things gone wrong.   Christians aren’t exempt from hurt. No matter what precautions we take to safeguard our lives, no matter how hard we work at being godly people, no matter how diligently we screen who and what we allow to get close to us… something will inevitably come uninvited, unannounced, and unwanted into our lives and cause us pain. Yet… Healing will come. Comfort will come.Justice will come. Restoration will come. Deliverance will come. Joy will come. Salvation will come.  Eternal life will come. This is all true because Jesus has come. He has come to join us in our suffering, indeed suffer in our place on the cross so that one day we can enter into a place where there is no suffering at all.  He made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can someday witness the undoing and remaking of all that sin has tainted.  Until then, He journeys with us, always cheering, always lifting, always strengthening, always guiding, and always providing all we need. We are sometimes left without answers, but we are never left without hope.  Because we are never left without Him.  Take heart and trust Him as you press on down the road that He has marked for you to travel, for the day will come when He will put an end to the hurt you experience along the way.  I cannot say when the road will end.  I do not know what is around the next bend.  I only know that the road leads home.

Are You Unsure? Jesus Offers Truth.

Feb 12, 2021

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”  – John 14:6, 18:37b

It is hard to know who is telling us the whole truth, who is withholding the truth, who is distorting the truth, who is misinterpreting the truth, and who is creating their own version of the truth. Think about all that we deal with in trying to know what is true:  fake news, empty promises, false flattery, skewed perspectives, rumors, denial, exaggeration, conspiracy theories, gossip, failed intentions, feel-good philosophies, lies, half-truths, pep talks, plagiarism, alternative narratives, propaganda, broken commitments, insinuation, omissions, and minimization.  We can easily be deceived into thinking something is true when it is not. So who can we count on to be honest with us with what we need to hear?  What is the standard by which we can evaluate all other guiding life principles and philosophies? What truth can we live by so we do not live in vain or error? Who can we believe?  Jesus.  The Son of God is Who we can believe.  We can believe His truth because He IS the truth, revealing all that we need to know about God and His ways as the absolute standard by which everything else is to be measured.  His truth forgives us, guides us, encourages us, corrects us, teaches us, gladdens us, calms us, rebukes us, frees us, reminds us, comforts us, humbles us, lifts us, equips us, empowers us, motivates us, delivers us, changes us, satisfies us and saves us. If we are meditating on and obsessing over, building our lives on and pinning our hopes to, any other truth than what He gives us, we have lost our way.  We must repent of basing our lives on man’s truth, making up our own unbiblical truths, and neglecting the truth of the Scriptures.  Instead, let us strive to read the Bible more frequently, understand it more fittingly, believe it more fully, and live it out more faithfully.    Those who listen to it will hear the sweet voice of Jesus bring words fit for the occasion, giving grace to those who hear.   We can always count on what He says to be true for us and good for us.

Are You Vulnerable? Jesus Offers Care.

Feb 11, 2021

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.  I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.”  – John 10:10-11, 27-28a

The enemy of your soul doesn’t care about you.  His only interest in you is as a victim.  He wants to “steal and kill and destroy,” and the primary way he attempts to do this is by leading you astray.   This is how he does it:  by making sin look attractive and obedience seem restrictive.  Deception, doubt, desire, disobedience and death … that’s his 5-step plan for us all.   He wants you and me to believe that sin isn’t sin, that sin is worth it, that sin is better for us, that sin isn’t that serious and that sin won’t cost too much.  The enemy doesn’t care about you; but Jesus does.  One of the ways that Jesus shows He cares about us and gives His care to us is by establishing boundaries for us from God’s Word. So many people see His commandments as “restrictive rules” that are keeping the good stuff out of our lives instead of seeing them as “gracious guardrails” that are keeping our lives out of the gutter.  He is our Good Shepherd Who protects us, provides for us, empowers us, refreshes us, delights us, guides us and delivers us safely to our eternal home in heaven.  How?  We hear His voice (the words of the Bible, the message of the gospel, the commands of the law, the plans of the Father, the counsel of the Holy Spirit) calling us into His care, and do as He says.  He leads.  We follow.  That’s it.   He takes care of us by taking care of all the rest.  And if we are His sheep, we can be assured that when we do go astray, He will come after us with fierce love and unstoppable power to bring us back.  He convicts us of our sin, corrects us in grace, and calls us back to abundant life in Him. Today, you will hear the convincing lies of the enemy inviting you to go astray and you will hear the sweet voice of Jesus calling you to follow Him in faith.  Who will you believe knows best, offers what is best and is after your best?  The one who wants only to steal and kill and destroy?  Or the One who loves you enough to lay down His life for you?

Are You Needy? Jesus Offers Provision.

Feb 10, 2021

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19

We will often find ourselves in places where we and our resources are inadequate, but never in any place where our need is bigger than God’s ability or reserve, for His supply is in the inexhaustible riches of His glory in Jesus.   Neither His love for us, nor His provision for us will ever run out, which means everything we really need will really be supplied in and through and by Jesus.  Not maybe.  Not probably.  Definitely.  He will provide for every need.   Not some of them.  Not most of them.  All of them, without exception.  Right when we need it, not a second too late. If we don’t have it now, it’s because we don’t need it now.  Listen: God doesn’t define “need” the way you and I do.  What He promises to supply is anything and everything that is required for us to live with joy and fruitfulness as we fulfil the plans and purposes He has for us.  Only He knows what we really need, and we can be sure that we will lack nothing that He determines would be for our good, even if that means seasons of suffering and hardship.  His grace is sufficient!  Though God will often supply our need differently than we expect, we have the promise of the sustaining presence of Jesus with us always to deliver that aid and deliver us safely to our heavenly home. Therefore, we have no reason for fear, worry, panic, discontentment, unhappiness, or whining.  God means for us not to worry about our future because we have the promise of His provision for us in Jesus.  Take heart today, take your cares to Him in prayer, and take a look around for God at work.  You need help.  You will have the help you need.  Because He is faithful, and He is for you.

Imperfect People Loving Imperfect People

Feb 9, 2021

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  – Romans 5:8

Let’s be honest, loving others isn’t as easy as it sounds.  When we say it out loud, what a beautiful ring it has:  let us simply love the people in our lives.   It not only has a beautiful ring, but it’s a beautiful thing when we look out for the best interests of those around us as we defend, pray for, welcome, involve, help, correct, befriend, equip, encourage, guide, care for, speak life to, and support them.  But it’s not so simple to simply love others, and here’s why:   others don’t always bring out the love in us.   Some of the people where we live, work and play are know-it-alls, gossips, selfish, cry-babies, back-stabbers, unforgivers, troublemakers, lazy, outcasts, judgmental, self-righteous, unkind, power-hungry, cheaters, entitled, drama queens, hypocrites, snobs, clingy, braggarts, and downright unlikeable.  Who would love people like them?  Jesus.  Jesus would love people like them.  Jesus loves people like you and me, who are just like them.  Oh, didn’t you see yourself in that list above?  I certainly felt like it was a mirror to my face for more than one entry.  But Jesus loves us anyway.  Oh, the height and depth and width of His love for sinners like you and me and them!  This is what brings out the love in us for others.  This is our reason to repent of being unloving, of loving selectively, and of being consumed with self-love.  This is the model, means, and motivation for every expression of our love toward the people God has put into our lives.  Jesus loves us.  Jesus loves us.  Jesus loves us.  When we remember and rejoice in this, this will fan into flames our love for others.  For who better to love imperfect people than those who were at their own worst when Jesus loved them anyway?  We will extend love to others when we remember how wonderfully it has been extended to us.

Every Person In Your Life

Feb 8, 2021

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:30-31

Your zip code is not an accident.  You live there.  You work there.  You play there.  But God placed you there.  He worked in ways that you could never comprehend or calculate to divinely position you right where you are at this very moment and this very season.  Life didn’t just take you there.  He did. If God thought it important enough to ordain in which community you and I would live, work and play, we should think it important enough to find out why.  And then, by His grace, get busy doing what He placed us here to do.  While there are undoubtedly very specific things God means for us to do, one over-arching purpose for our divine deployment is to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) Every person in your life is there for this reason: for you to love on them. Have you ever thought about that? God put you where you are, and brought people into your life where you are, so you could demonstrate His love for them, to them. These aren’t just neighbors, co-workers, and team-mates; they are intended recipients of God’s affection to be administered through you.  God providentially orchestrated the events that got you and other people to meet so you could love on them, and point them to the greatest love of them all … His love for us.  Every meeting, every conversation, every interaction, every passing, and every encounter is a wonderful occasion to bless and brighten someone else’s life to the glory of God.   Those intersections where your life meets someone else’s life hold a beautiful, God-given opportunity and responsibility to love like Jesus.

Are You Mistreated? Jesus Offers Friendship.

Feb 5, 2021

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you.  – John 15:13-16a

If there is one thing you can be sure of, it is this:  people will hurt you.  It may be accidental, or it may be intentional, but it will happen.  Repeatedly. You may do your best to keep others at a distance or only allow “positive, encouraging” people to draw close to you, but you will never fully insulate yourself from the toxicity of humanity.   There will be things said and left unsaid, things done and left undone, which bruise and break our hearts and spirits.  But there is a sweet-like-honey truth to overcome the bitter taste of how others treat you:  Jesus is not like others.  He is a friend who will never betray you, lie to you, abandon you, say unloving things to you, neglect you, unfriend you, take advantage of you, condemn you, harm you, pretend with you, mis-prioritize you, belittle you, withhold love from you, or mistreat you.  And no matter how wonderful that is, that’s not all that there is.  Jesus is not only a doer of good to you, He is also an un-doer of bad done to you by others.  They hurt your heart; He heals it.  They distance themselves; He draws near.  They sting you with their words; He soothes you with His.  They overlook you; He pays attention.  They cheat you; He blesses you.  They intend to harm you; He works it out for good.  They judge your sins; He dies for them.  When there is a lack of care, no one cares, others care only about themselves, or they can’t provide the care you need … Jesus is a friend who cares, and He will show you that care in whatever way He knows will do you the most good.  It is stunning that we can be friends with the Creator of the universe.   What a friend we have in Jesus! He loved us most by giving His life for us, He loves us first by initiating friendship with us, He loves us best every single day, and He will love us longest throughout an eternity of joy and pleasure in His presence.

Are You Weary? Jesus Offers Rest.

Feb 4, 2021

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  – Matthew 11:28-30

There is something in our lives which weighs us down and wears us out.  What is it?  It is the burden of trying to be “enough.”  That is, trying to be wise enough, disciplined enough, motivated enough, tough enough and strong enough to get what we want in life, and then at the end of our time on earth, good enough to merit heaven.  It. Is. Exhausting.  We cannot do what we are incapable of doing.  We cannot control what is out of our control.  And we will grow increasingly tired on the inside (lacking hope, desire, energy, well-being) until we lay down our attempts at self-rule, self-determination, self-sufficiency and self-righteousness, and rest in Jesus.   We are not in charge; let’s not try to be.  Jesus invites us to come to Him to rest in His righteousness to merit eternal life for us and rest in His sovereignty to manage everyday life for us.  He is in charge of the results and outcomes.  He controls circumstances and situations.  He commands our future and eternity.  What a relief, what refreshment and what renewal is ours when we embrace this truth:  Jesus is enough.  Resting comes from trusting as we take on the light yoke of following Jesus in faith to do what He tells us and leave the remainder and the results in His hands.  No matter what we face today, let us remember that what happens in our lives is not ultimately decided by chance or luck, humans or demons, Satan or self.   Things will work out as they should.  Because there is a wise, powerful, loving Savior who reigns over all for the good of those who trust in Him.  Things are out of our control.  But they are never out of His.

Are You Unfulfilled? Jesus Offers Purpose.

Feb 3, 2021

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10

The enemy wants you to feel like your life doesn’t have real meaning.  The enemy wants you live in such a way that it doesn’t make a difference.  The enemy wants you to waste your life.   But if you have given your life to Jesus, nothing you do for Him will ever be in vain; to the contrary, it is only what you do for Him that will matter in eternity.  As CT Studd wrote, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”  You were made by Him, for Him and like Him as an image-bearer of God to show and tell the world all about Him through your good works.  When we put our trust in Jesus, we were created anew in Him for this life of good works which God has planned out and supplies what is necessary to carry out.  This is why you were made: to finish the good works that God has prepared long ago for you to do.  Love God.  Love people.  Make disciples.  Share your faith.  Be kind.  Help others.  Encourage.  Bear burdens.  Speak life.   Make Jesus look good in your life by trusting Him, thanking Him and treasuring Him. Do all to the glory of God.  God didn’t create you primarily so you could make a lot of money, take a lot of trips, have a lot of fun, and indulge in a lot of temporary pleasures.  Those things may be a part of your experience, but they are a means to this end: “to let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).”   God means to work through your life to change other people’s lives so that He is honored in them and they are happy in Him now and forever. Today, be mindful of the beautiful calling upon your life:  You were made to be an image-bearer.   A difference-maker.  A Jesus-treasurer.  A God-glorifier.   A good works doer.   That is why you are here … so, go shine your light!