There is a way in which we can do everything in life so that God is honored through it. Namely, by handling everything in life in the manner that He intends. We enjoy the good things by expressing gratitude to Him and guarding against prioritizing them over Him. We endure the bad things by trusting Him as our all-powerful provider and looking to Him as our all-satisfying treasure. We experience all things with loving obedience to His commands as we follow His design for how and why and what we do with the lives we have been given.
Lifeopoly, Part 2
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. – Philippians 4:19-20
The way to win the game of Lifeopoly is to go to Jesus. Go immediately, personally, expectantly, honestly, submissively, willingly, hungrily, persistently, confidently, obediently, adoringly, fearlessly, gratefully, humbly, corporately, sincerely, hopefully, lovingly, trustingly and frequently. For those moments we are in over our heads and about to lose our minds, let us go directly to Jesus to collect peace and rest. Whenever we land on a space that has us wondering what to do, let us go directly to Jesus to collect wisdom and guidance. If the next roll leaves us so weak we think we cannot continue on, let us go directly to Jesus to collect strength and endurance. Should some turn scare us, let us go directly to Jesus to collect courage and assurance. As we cause some of the bad things that happen, let us go directly to Jesus for forgiveness and transformation. Of course, even in this world of brokenness and even in our own sinfulness, not every turn turns out badly. Some moves bring us to pleasant places. What should we do then? Go to Jesus. Go directly to Jesus. To thank our God for His gracious gifts, and to ask Him to help us rightly enjoy them so they do not become idols that take us to a bad place. We do not have to handle the demands of this life by ourselves. In fact, we cannot. God never intended for us to. Instead, His Son, Jesus is with us and for us as we round the board. Go directly to Him and be refreshed and reoriented. God’s supply of peace, hope, joy, wisdom, strength, courage, security, companionship, and every other good thing He has for us in Jesus is endless. There is grace for our every roll, every turn, every landing space until this game is over, and it all goes back into the box. Then, Eternal-Lifeopoly begins. In which there are no bad spaces to land. And every player gets fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore with God.
Lifeopoly, Part 1
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. – Philippians 4:19-20
Do you ever feel like the game of Lifeopoly is rigged, and you’re always a roll away from landing on another bad space? As you survey the board, there are unexpected burdens, unreasonable people, unpleasant circumstances, uncertain details, unknown outcomes, unmet expectations, unrealized dreams, unkind words, and unmanageable schedules. All of this can leave you feeling undone! On some days and in some seasons, it’s like every roll of every turn plops you down on a hotel-laden property whose owner demands you pay up. You look at your resources and find that you have a measly $12 and one of the utilities, forcing you to mortgage off your peace, hope and joy. Overdrawn. Overextended. Overwhelmed. There is no way this game is going to end well. Unless… You follow these instructions: Go to Jesus. Go directly to Jesus. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. In other words, don’t try to play the game on your own with your own resources. You. Will. Never. Win. The only way to handle all of the tough landing spaces in this broken, sin-stained world is to go to Jesus. Go directly to Jesus. There is unbelievable grace available for every unsettling thing you face. Let us go to Him over and over to give Him our worries in time of need. Let us go to Him over and over to give Him our worship in time of needs met. How relieving and reassuring and renewing it is to talk to Him about our cares and trust Him to do something about them. Whatever space you find yourself landing on today, go to Jesus for peace, joy, hope, guidance and provision. He will give you gracious help in whatever way He knows is best. Relying on Him is the only way to play the game of Lifeopoly. You. Will. Never. Lose.
Are You Grumbling? Jesus Offers Thankfulness.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Aware of it or not, we are constantly analyzing and evaluating how we think our lives are going and where they are heading. Thanklessness usually happens when we don’t like what we see about our lives, or we fail to see God’s grace at work in our lives. If we are grumbling about what we don’t have, what we don’t like, or what we don’t understand, then we will overlook all that He is doing for us and all that He is to us. Jesus offers us reason after reason after reason to be joyful and thankful because He offers us Himself, and He offers us His salvation. Not perishing is a gift that is so spectacular and stunning it is impossible to comprehend its full magnitude. Having eternal life is a gift that is of such pricelessness and preciousness it is impossible to estimate its full worth. From these two mind-blowing, breath-taking kindnesses of God in Christ are an innumerable and inexhaustible inventory of gospel benefits and blessings for those who believe. And we don’t deserve any of it. It’s all because of Jesus. It’s all because of grace. Rejoice! Give thanks! Don’t you see? If you know Jesus, your life is going unbelievably well (even if there is suffering present). If you know Jesus, you’re heading home to everlasting good (even if things are bad on the way). In every circumstance, you have reason to be joyful and thankful because you have Him. You don’t have to look very far or very hard to see the reason, but you do have to look. I’m not talking about looking on the bright side of things, looking for the silver lining, or looking at the glass as half full instead of half empty. I’m talking about looking at reason after reason after reason for rejoicing in Jesus: He puts good things in your life right now, He works out the bad things for good in time, and He has promised that the best possible things you could ever imagine are yet to come.
Glory To God In The Highest
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. – Luke 2:20
The point of creation and Christmas and the coming new creation is that God is glorious, and He desires to be seen as such by a joy-filled, peace-filled, hope-filled people that He has made and redeemed for Himself. The Scripture stories of Christmas are ripe with this: Good news of… Great joy. Peace on earth. Light shining in darkness. Salvation from sin. A forever kingdom. Everlasting life. A Savior. A Reigning King. A Son of the Most High. Christ the Lord. Immanuel. Glory to God in the highest. Christmas shines brightly with God’s ultimate purpose: that He be honored in us and we be happy in Him. While we can taste this in great measure now, we will feast on its fullness when King Jesus returns and everything that dishonors God and everything that makes us unhappy will be removed. For now, we do as the shepherds did upon experiencing the first coming of Jesus: They returned. The shepherds went back to their everyday lives to tend the flock and glorified God on their way because of Jesus. We too have been given an everyday platform to glorify God by trusting Him, thanking Him, obeying Him and loving Him as people watch our lives. So use what you have been given to make Him look great with your life. If it’s a blessing, use it for the glory of God. If it’s a burden, bear it for the glory of God. There is nothing too great to take on and nothing too great to let go of in showing our adoration, affection and allegiance for Him. Until Jesus returns, let us return to live our everyday lives knowing… God is with us. God is for us. God is to be glorified through us.
There Shines An Everlasting Light
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given… and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:6
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Christmas is a broken string of lights for many of us. It’s there, but it doesn’t seem to do what it’s supposed to do. It’s bleak, not bright. It’s melancholy, not merry. This time of year is disappointing, discouraging and depressing for a lot of people for a lot of reasons. Bad memories. Missing loved ones. Financial burdens. Unrealized expectations. Busyness. Jealousy. Commercialism. Rude shoppers. Overshadowed birthdays. Ungrateful gift-recipients. Like the string of lights that isn’t working, there are things in our lives which are broken. We’re a broken people in a broken world where there is much that is not as it ought to be. But there is hope for us, because Jesus came for the very reason so many struggle in this season … to fix what has been fractured in us and our world, in part now and in fullness when He comes again. As we await the future and full restoration of all things, we can experience a sense of renewal in the present because of what we have received in the past: A Son who is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. This is what makes our lives merry and bright! That Jesus is our sympathetic listener and best-advice-giver ever. That Jesus is our strong provider in every area of need and weakness. That Jesus is our caring patriarch who will never walk out on us. That Jesus is our inner peace who brings deep well-being for our troubled and tired spirits. In those moments when we find ourselves struggling, let us turn to Him and trust in Him to illuminate the darkness we are walking in, because there is no greater wisdom, no greater power, no greater care, and no greater peace in the universe than His. For even in the midst of the brokenness of this world, there shines an everlasting Light in our hearts.
The Things Of The Season Call Us To Worship
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” – Matthew 2:1-2
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Jimmy is not the reason for the season. Jimmymas is not a thing. No one sings “joy to the world” upon my arrival, has a scene of my birth in their yard, or holds a candlelight service to celebrate who I am and what I mean to their life. This time of year is not about me. And it’s not about you. Yet, it’s easy to make it about us, isn’t it? We can get caught up in what we enjoy about, what we receive because of, and what we get to do during Christmastime and spend very little time getting caught up with Christ. It’s the most wonderful time of the year not because of the festive music, favorite movies, familiar decorations or family traditions that can rightly be a part of our holiday experience; it’s a time of celebration and jubilation and exaltation of Jesus. The days leading up to and climaxing on December 25th are a reminder that every day, every person, every experience, every place in time and space in the created universe shines a spotlight on Jesus at the center. No matter how good it is for us, it is not about us. It’s His story. It’s His glory. The sights and sounds and smells of the season are a bright light that beckons us to come worship Him. Our King was born. Our King reigns. Our King is coming again. Hallelujah! So, let us be glad for all of the special, social, sentimental and seasonal things that we look forward to and like about the holidays; but may that gladness for our personal favorites explode into real adoration of Jesus that centers Him in our hearts and our minds and our lives with such intensity that it kickstarts a daily pursuit of Him that lasts until this time next year when we get to do it all again.
God Didn’t Lower His Standards For Us
We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ … if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. – Galatians 2:16a, 21b
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Who Jesus is and what Jesus accomplished will always be a cheap gift and insignificant to the way we live our lives until we realize the gracious reason it was given and just how much we desperately needed it. By nature and choice we sinned against God as an idolatrous and rebellious people who regularly preferred things over Him and refused to obey Him. We were hell-bound under an eternal death sentence, and there was absolutely nothing we could do to change the inevitable outcome of ruin that awaited us. But God did something. God demanded that we be perfect in order to go to heaven, declared that none of us are perfect and therefore are condemned to hell, and then delivered us by sending Jesus to take our imperfections and be our perfection so we can have everlasting life. Don’t you see? Here is what WON’T get you into heaven: good deeds, church membership, communion, mass, charitable contributions, baptism, religion, parents, denomination, obeying the Ten Commandments, confirmation, sincere belief, Bible knowledge, morality, or being a “good person”. Here is what WILL get you into heaven: Jesus. God didn’t lower His standards for us; He lowered His Son for us. And that changes everything for those who are trusting in Him! We were… Lost, but now found. Bankrupt, but now rich. Condemned, but now pardoned. Enslaved, but now free. Dead, but now alive. We will truly treasure Jesus when this amazing truth about God’s amazing grace penetrates and resides in our hearts: our salvation and everything it includes comes not from the sweat of our brows, but because of the thorns on His.
Jesus Had A Riches To Rags Story
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. – 2 Corinthians 8:9
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It is a riches to rags story. Jesus willingly exchanged all the wealth of His deity for the poverty of His humanity when He took on flesh and came to dwell on earth. Not to a palace, but to a manger. Not to comfort, but to suffering. Not to glory, but to shame. Not to a throne, but to a cross. He left a place where He was worshipped and obeyed to come a place where He would be rejected and killed. Why? It wasn’t because heaven was empty and God was lonely. It wasn’t because God was needy for us to join Him, but rather we were needy for Him to join us. The Bible says He did this “for your sake.” Let that sink in. For. Your. Sake. You couldn’t get to God, so He came to get you. You couldn’t live up to God’s standards, so Jesus lived perfectly for you. You couldn’t break free from sin, so He set you free. You couldn’t atone for your transgressions, so Jesus died in your place. You couldn’t defeat death, so He conquered the grave so you too will rise. You couldn’t earn an eternal retirement, so He paid for your inheritance. You have become rich in salvation, forgiveness, joy, peace, glory, kindness, favor, righteousness and love because of the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Everything good in your life and everything bad that is turned around for good was purchased for you through the finished work of Jesus. And long before it was finished at Calvary, it was started in Bethlehem. For your sake.
In Receiving Jesus, We Receive Everything
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. – John 3:16
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When was the last time you thought about eternity and what it would be like to perish forever? When was the last time you rejoiced that you have a completely different eternity awaiting because God gave His Son? When was the last time you contemplated the implications of receiving this gift? Everything bad is turned around and traded in for good when we trust in Jesus! Because in Jesus, through Jesus, by Jesus and from Jesus we are given forgiveness, joy, peace, hope, power, identity, purpose, security, acceptance, courage, transformation, comfort, companionship, help, guidance, endurance and everlasting life. And every entry on this list has a sub-list of its own with staggering promises and provisions from God to those who are born again into His family. And every entry on every sub-list has its own listing of countless practical, everyday ways that God’s gracious gift shows up for us in this life. And this life is not even as much as one drop from all the water contained in all the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers of the world in comparison to what we will receive in eternity when we go to be with God. All this is a gift. An understated gift, for there is much more that could be said of the benefits and blessings of knowing Jesus. An undeserved gift, for there is much more that could be said of the depths of our sinfulness apart from Jesus. In receiving Jesus, we receive everything. For who could add anything to the gift of God’s Son that would make that gift better? Unwrap its blessings afresh today by believing and by loving the One who gave you this Gift as you think about the preciousness and pricelessness of what He means to you.
What Are We Waiting For?
And coming up at that very hour she (Anna) began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. – Luke 2:38
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Advent is a time of hopeful waiting. The question is: what are we waiting for? Life will frequently leave us disappointed and dissatisfied if we are waiting for the right time and the right things to make us feel the right way. Many of us can’t be happy until we land that dream job, achieve that life goal, meet that perfect mate, unclutter that schedule, overcome that health challenge, get out of that hard situation, fix that nagging problem, or discover that magic pill to satisfy us once and for all. It usually doesn’t come; if it does come, it doesn’t live up to our expectations; if it does live up to our expectation, it doesn’t last. And so, we wait. And we wait. And we wait our lives away. The reason we can’t find our satisfaction in the people, places and things of earth is because we were never meant to. Perhaps this frustration and futility is God’s gracious and loving way of showing us that our longings are not being fulfilled because we are not looking to Jesus to give to us what this world never can. As you and I wait for His second coming, because of His first coming, we can be set free from the bondage of sin and its enslaving desires and be fully happy with all that we have in Jesus. So, when you feel dissatisfied, let it be a gift from God to reorient your heart and redirect your gaze to the one place where real contentedness is found … the gift of His Son. Give Him your heart and He will give you His heart satisfaction. What are you waiting for?
Thanks Be To God For His Indescribable Gift
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! – 2 Corinthians 9:15
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The sights and sounds and smells and savoriness of the season bring a warmth to my heart every December. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. But only when we remember that it’s all about Jesus! So… As we walk past the Salvation Army worker, let us pause to remember that Jesus came to earth to work for our salvation. As we hear the Christmas music, let us smile because Jesus has put a new song of praise in our hearts. As we see the decorations adorning our surroundings, let us thank God that one day a crown of thorns would adorn the head of the Christ child. As we notice a beautiful evergreen tree with wrapped packages, let us think back to a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes who would grow up and hang on a tree to bring everlasting life. As we find the perfect gift for a loved one, let us focus on John 3:16 as we realize afresh that God sent us the perfect gift of His Son because we are His loved one. As we see the glow of multi-colored lights, let our own hearts be merry and bright because the Light Of The World has come. As we enjoy a festive meal with our family and watch It’s A Wonderful Life, let us realize that because of Jesus, George Bailey isn’t the only one who is rich with blessings. Over and over, may every fleck of tinsel and every note of a carol and every morsel of a cookie direct our attention to the stunning wonder of Jesus so that we erupt in joyful praise, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
When We Could Not Get To God, God Came To Us
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). – Matthew 1:22-23
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There is something about closeness that increases the intensity of the experience and decreases the insensitivity to it. Nearer to the sun produces greater light. Nearer to the fire produces greater warmth. Nearer to God produces greater hope and happiness. If absence makes the heart grow fonder, then surely presence makes the heart grow fuller. But there is a problem: our sin prevents nearness to God because it separates us from Him with no possible way from our side to bridge the gap between us. This is why Jesus came, to become “God with us” so we can be with God. This is why Jesus lived. This is why Jesus died. This is why Jesus rose. So you and I can draw near to God. In doing so, He unleashed the light and warmth of His love with all of its countless benefits and blessings that come from knowing and being close to Him. We who are trusting in Jesus for forgiveness of and freedom from sin need no longer be distant from real peace, real hope, real joy, real comfort, real security, real wisdom and real love because we are no longer distant from God. The greater our trust in Him, the nearer we are to Him. So… Let us look to Him with confidence that He will satisfy our hearts; let us live for Him by faith that He will secure our way; let us long for Him with hope that He will come for us so we can be perfectly and pleasurably in His presence forevermore. And let us remember and rejoice that it’s all because of Immanuel. When we could not get to God, God came to us.
A Happily Ever After Ending
There are many experiences that cause us to weep with joy. It is touching to observe some beautiful act of kindness. It is stirring to embrace a loved one after an absence. It is moving to see someone come back from certain failure. It is emotional to extend or receive real forgiveness. It is uplifting to receive some unbelievably good news, behold the birth of a baby, view the rebirth of a struggling marriage, and witness a life in ruin radically changed for good. But as wonderful and sentimental as each of those occasions rightly are, they do not compare to this stupendous, heart-stirring, joy-producing, emotion-overloading, love-generating occurrence… Jesus died for our sins so that we might have eternal life. We were the ones in need of a beautiful act of kindness. We were the ones who were far away in need of love’s embrace. We were the ones headed towards certain failure in need of a comeback. We were the ones deep in sin in need of forgiveness. We were the ones desperately in need of the Good News. We were the ones dead and in need of rebirth and new life. We were the ones whose lives were in ruin and in need of change. And Jesus set His affections upon us, pursued us, gave us the faith to believe, and graciously rewrote our narratives with the ultimate weep-for-joy “they lived happily ever after” ending.
The Best Way To Be Thankful
The sweetest of all thankfulness isn’t superficial; it goes deep. It goes past feeling happy that certain things are in our lives. It goes past naming those things so it is known that we appreciate them. It goes past even tracing their origin back to God and thanking the Giver for all of our blessings. There is a delightful, wonderful, beautiful experience when our gratitude is not merely directed toward God for His gifts, but toward God for Himself. This happens when we see beyond loved ones, comforts, simple pleasures, touching moments, adventures, favorite things and other wonderful blessings to see something about the character, generosity, supply, and love of God in Christ towards us. Deeply felt thankfulness is rooted in knowing God. Knowing… The peace that comes from trusting Him. The joy that comes from delighting in Him. The guidance that comes from following Him. The hope that comes from believing Him. The courage that comes from walking with Him. The renewal that comes from resting in Him. The love that comes from belonging to Him. The real blessings aren’t peace, joy, guidance, hope, courage, renewal, and love; the real blessing is Him. If everything we label as a blessing was taken from our lives and only Jesus remained with us, we would be infinitely, mind-blowingly, perfectly, eternally blessed. The more we realize the staggering nature of the Gift that can never be taken from us, the more we will rightly enjoy all of the gifts that have been temporarily given to us. The way to be best thankful for all that God has given us is to be most thankful for Him.
You Have Many Reasons To Be Thankful
Every God-given small, medium or large part of your life that would leave a sorrowful void if it were taken from you is a blessing if it is present today. Blessings are, literally, everywhere you turn. You have many reasons to be thankful! Many. Reasons. Yet there is something more that God means for us to express than merely a gladness that we have received certain things that make us happy. It is not enough to experience thankfulness for blessings; even more we should express thankfulness to the Blesser. Gratitude that terminates on the blessing or the deliverer of the blessing and doesn’t rise to God Who is the originator of the blessing is not thankfulness that is pleasing to Him. It is not God’s will for us to have appreciation for the gift without affection for the Giver. God does all these things for our good, but always that He might receive glory for His goodness. We don’t just receive gifts … they were sent to us by God. We don’t earn or merit blessings … they were paid for on the cross by Jesus. We don’t have an anonymous, impersonal Giver … we can know Him personally. We aren’t merely to enjoy what He gives to us … we are to give our hearts to Him. Let us be thankful today for the good things in our lives. Let us celebrate the bad things that are worked out for good. Let us anticipate the best things yet to come. Let us count our many blessings and be glad. Most of all, let us express our adoration and appreciation and allegiance to the One from Whom all blessings flow.
God Gives Us All Things Richly To Enjoy
Pizza tastes good, because it’s supposed to be savored. Sex feels good, because it’s supposed to bring pleasure. A rose smells good, because it’s supposed to delight the senses. A sunset looks good because it’s supposed to fill us with awe. Music sounds good because it’s supposed to tickle our ears.
It is right to enjoy the good gifts of God in the way that He designed them to be enjoyed because that’s why He gives them to us. The sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches of the created world are supposed to be enjoyed because God made them that way as senders and made us that way as receivers … of pleasure. They are ours to enjoy, each pointing us to our greatest gift and greatest enjoyment, God Himself. For those who are trusting in Jesus, the day is coming when the joy we encounter now in part will be unveiled in fullness, and the temporary pleasure we experience on earth will be ours forevermore in the presence of God (Psalm 16:11). Until then, let us be grateful to God for His gracious gifts and enjoy them to God’s glory by treasuring Him more than we do them.
Our Lives Are About Jesus
It’s easy to be mistaken about this. It’s easy to assume this. It’s easy to believe this. It’s easy to want this. It’s easy to live like this. What is this? The idea that your life is about you. It’s not. The Bible teaches over and over again that your life is about Jesus. For example, 2 Corinthians 5:14,15 says… “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” Who are we to live for? Not ourselves. For Jesus, the One who died for us and was raised for us. Today is a good day to be reminded that you and I should… Exalt Jesus. Proclaim Jesus. Model Jesus. Know Jesus. Serve Jesus. Praise Jesus. Believe Jesus. Seek Jesus. Adore Jesus. Please Jesus. Magnify Jesus. Worship Jesus. Defend Jesus. Treasure Jesus. Follow Jesus. Trust Jesus. Enjoy Jesus. Obey Jesus. Love Jesus. As Christians, everything about our lives is because of Jesus and should be used for Jesus.
The Secret Of Contentment
When we become convinced that we cannot be joyful without something desirable that is absent from our lives, or we cannot be joyful with something undesirable that is present in our lives, our gaze has drifted away from Jesus onto our circumstances. The secret to contentment, regardless of what we have and don’t have, what we get to do and don’t get to do, who we are and who we are not, is to expect Jesus to fulfil the longings of our hearts. When we look to Him for hope, peace, rest, comfort, courage, security, companionship, strength, and provision, and trust that He will sustain us and satisfy us in all circumstances, God is honored in us, and we are happy in Him. We can be joyfully content whether we have little or much because we have it all in Jesus.
Fear Not: You Are In The Boat With Jesus
Like the disciples in Mark 4:35-41, you can find yourself terrified by the storm raging around you. But no matter how great the storm that arises in your life, Jesus rules in absolute control over when it rages and when it ceases. If it doesn’t scare Him, it shouldn’t scare you either because you are in the boat together.
Reach out for Jesus today for peace. Be honest with Him about what frightens you, ask Him to calm your heart and give you a fresh faith that He will get you to the other side. Then, worship Him as One who has authority over all things and a purpose for all storms.
