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The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
All great love stories seem to have the same general plot. You have the hero, the villain and the beautiful damsel in distress that needs to be rescued. The hero will often risk his own life in a battle to the end in order to win the love of his life. No one will stop the mighty man of valor from destroying the enemy in order to win the hand of the one he loves.
When I read Zephaniah 3:17 that’s what I think of, a love story like none other. The God of the universe loves me so much the he pursues me. He will not be denied. The villain is dastardly. It can be relational dysfunction. It can be addictions or worry or an unforgiving spirit. It can be bitterness or physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Whatever it is that attacks me is no match for the power of this mighty warrior who refuses to let me fail.
In the midst of the battle I grow weary. I question whether I’m worth the fight. I see myself as weak and unattractive. I focus on my failures and my past mistakes. Sometimes I even willingly put myself in position for the enemy to attack!
He will not be thwarted. He will not allow me to fall victim to the strategy of the enemy. When I’m at my worst, the mighty warrior is at his best, staying by my side and taking great delight in me.
During those darkest nights. During those times when the battle seems too great and the enemy seems ready to claim the final victory over my soul, I hear music. I hear a beautiful love song in my ear. I listen and am surprised to hear that I am the subject of the love song! Imagine that! Even though I fail on daily basis, the God of heaven takes such great delight in me that he writes a song just for me. In the midst of the battle, that is what I want to remember. I want to hear the words of love and praise my Father in Heaven has for me. I am loved deeply. I’m worth the fight. My warrior will rescue me no matter what the enemy may say.
PRAYER: Father God, my mighty warrior. I’ve failed so many times. My past is strewn with lost battle after lost battle against the enemy. Still, you love me so much you take great delight in who I am. Such truth is too great for me to comprehend. Forgive me for those times I’ve rebelled and ignored your presence. Thank you for your forgiveness, your love and my very own love song. In Jesus name, Amen.
So put all evil things out of your life: sexual sinning, doing evil, letting evil thoughts control you, wanting things that are evil, and greed. This is really serving a false god. These things make God angry. Colossians 3:5-6 (NCV)
Most of the time people get angry because they aren’t getting what they want or something is being taken from them. Anger is a protection thing. It’s driven by the inner desire of want. For example, maybe you are wrongfully accused, which is an attack on your character so you become angry because the charges simply aren’t true!
Anger can take many different forms and many different styles. It can show itself in physical attack and abuse, or in emotional manipulation. It can lay deep inside your heart and fester like a cancer and grow so hard that even love has a hard time penetrating it. The power of love isn’t hindered very often, but anger can destroy its power.
When we think of anger, it’s important to remember that our anger is completely different than God’s anger. In fact there is no comparison at all. If someone tells you they are angry at you, what they are really saying, in essence, is that you have offended them. Their reasons for being offended may be wrong. Their feelings may be completely without merit, but they are angry at you because they feel you have attacked who they are.
God’s ‘anger towards us’ isn’t because we’ve attacked his character or made him feel bad about himself. God’s anger is towards the sin in our lives, and the reason sin makes God angry is because he sees what the consequences of sin will do.
God sees the ravaging effects of immorality on the soul of a young girl and hates what it does to her. Our Heavenly Father sees the destruction of the human body and of families and children brought on by alcohol and drugs. He sees the sobbing children who are victims of divorce. He sees his name being used to abuse those who are struggling with life and it makes him angry. God’s anger is directed towards any activity that he knows will bring painful consequences into our lives.
Dear friend, no matter what others have told you. Regardless of the teachings of religious bigots and false prophets, God is not angry at you because he hates you. God is angry about the sin in your life because he loves you and knows that painful consequences await you if you continue on the path you are on.
Allow his love to permeate your heart. Let his forgiveness remove the fear and the pain. Let his Spirit empower you to break free in Christ. You may still have to face some consequences, but he will walk with you even during those times.
PRAYER: Father God, I’ve always been told you were angry with me for the sin in my life. Now I realize your anger is because you love me and don’t want me to hurt anymore. I don’t want to hurt anymore either. Please forgive me for my failures. Empower me with your spirit to live free of the power of sin in my life. Keep me from being afraid of you. In Jesus name, Amen.
But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Luke 12:31
Ever noticed how those info-mercials on TV make their particular product so inviting? “If you call now you’ll not only get the original item, they’ll throw in something else. But wait! There’s more. Call within a certain amount of time and they will give you a free give valued at some fantastic amount!”
The company attempts to paint a picture for you. First of all, you NEED this product in order to make life bearable. Secondly, if you purchase this product they will do you a huge favor by giving you much more than what you originally asked for. It’s a deal that simply can’t be passed up!
I’m not trying to cheapen life as a Christ-follower when I say this, but in a sense, living for Christ is like the ultimate info-mercial. Think about it for a moment. Here we are, a bunch of rebellious, self-centered, angry, doubting human beings just looking for things our way. It all started in a garden with a perfect climate, and two people who were physically, spiritually and emotionally naked. They had all God could give them yet they chose to rebel.
God said, I know what I’ll do. I’ll send my only son, my beloved son to die a cruel death on a tree. I’ll watch from heaven as they take my ‘little boy’ and strip him naked, beat him so badly that I won’t even recognize him and finally brutally murder him on a tree. They’ll even have the audacity to say they are doing this horrible thing in my name!
But wait! There’s more. Not only will I let them do this to my son, I’ll forgive their sin. Wipe it out completely. No penalty. No condemnation! Then, I’ll send my very own Spirit to live within them. He’ll guide them, show them the way to salvation, and administer grace and strength in their weakest moment.
Oh, I know they’ll fail. Some will fail over and over again. But if they repent and come back to me, I’ll forgive them and make things right between us once more.
But wait, there’s more! While they are struggling along the path of life, I’ll be preparing a place for them so that once their time on earth is complete they can come to spend all of eternity with me.
Too good to believe? It is to me too. But it’s true. God doesn’t just give us what we need. Our Heavenly Father gives us far more than we ask for. All he asks from each of us it to confess our sin, and invite Christ to be the Lord of our lives.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank and praise you for your wonderful gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. You not only have given me forgiveness. You have given me freedom to be all I can be and a promised hope of eternity with you. Empower me by your Spirit to live daily for you and not myself. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16
What is God like? Is he an old man who’s completely lost touch with the new things of the world? Is he some irrelevant being or concept that has no real bearing on life in the twenty-first century? Perhaps he’s an angry, vindictive being set on making our lives fearful, miserable and guilt-ridden? Or a God of feeble love, making demands and then changing his mind because he wants everyone to be happy. Maybe, as some think, he’s dead!
There have been many scholars, smart men and women, who have devoted the better part of their lives to proving God’s existence, or his demise; who’ve tried to prove he’s involved in everything, or in nothing at all. But when Jesus walked on earth, he never spent any of his time trying to prove his Father’s existence. Instead his whole life on earth was filled with proving what God is like.
How did Jesus do that? By giving the blind man sight; telling the woman guilty of adultery she was forgiven and not condemned; by pleading with those who were set in their sinful ways or depending on religion to get them through, to come to a relationship of love with God. The list goes on. Healing of the little girl; the raising of his best friend from the dead; reaching out to the homeless; showing kindness to the leper and the widow. Jesus didn’t prove the existence of God, he lived it.
As Christ-followers we shouldn’t waste our time in silly arguments over the existence of God or what he is like. Stop telling the people around you what God likes or dislikes; hates or loves or accepts or rejects. Instead show them what God is like.
Show kindness and acceptance of the person who is of a different sexual orientation. Spend some time in jail (your choice, not the judicial departments!) sharing the love of Christ with those who are there; be kind and polite to the server at the restraint who still hasn’t brought your coffee; be faithful to your spouse; speak without criticism or cussing and swearing; act in love when others react in hate; accept those who reject you; pray for the person you hate more than anyone in the world; stay away from ‘questionable jokes’ and the porn sites.
We weren’t sent here to prove that God exists. He doesn’t need our help in that regard. We were sent here to make such a difference in our world that even the atheist will praise God for our existence!
PRAYER: Father God, Thank you for the example Jesus left us of your love, acceptance and character. As I walk my way today, I ask that the actions I take and the interactions I have with people would leave them in an attitude that says “He/she is what God is like!” And when I get opportunity, empower me to speak your words of love and acceptance when I’d rather spew judgment and criticism. Amen.
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Mark 9:35
There seems to have been an ongoing battle among Jesus’ disciples to establish a pecking order. The comparison game ran rampant. Some would argue their case based on the order in which Christ ‘chose’ them. After all, wouldn’t he pick them the way we choose teams on the playground? The most talented would surely be chosen first, and disciple number 12? Well, you know that story!
I would imagine that the fisherman in the group argued their case for supremacy based on the consistency and size of their catch. Matthew and Judas based their level of importance based on their knowledge of finances and the Roman government, The others all staked their claim to greatness on other personality traits or passion to follow Christ.
We still play the comparison game in our churches and Christian circles. We’ve become more refined, of course. Past sins, divorce and other relational issues, length of time with the master and denominational affiliation will either disqualify you, or make you more qualified, depending on your point of view.
Fact of the matter is, Jesus sets the standard for greatness pretty low. Children, livestock, women and servants were all in the same category in Jesus day. They carried no value in and of themselves. Women were valuable of course if they produced male offspring. Livestock were valuable if there were no blemishes because they were the monetary standard of the day. Children had some value because they would eventually grow up to be heirs (boys) or a way to raise yourself to a higher social level (good looking women).
Servants? Truth be told there really wasn’t a value placed on a servant. The bad ones were sold or killed or given the dirtiest jobs. The good ones were elevated until, of course, they proved themselves inadequate. There was no glamour in being a servant. Wasn’t in Jesus day, still isn’t.
Servants had no choices in life. Their sole purpose in life was to make other people happy and comfortable. Good masters may show some gratitude (to the good servants) but it certainly wasn’t necessary, or the norm. Servants generally received no praise. They were just doing their job after all. There was no Servants Union. No one to advocate for servant rights. No United Servant Code of Ethics.
Still, Jesus calls each of us to be servants in order to show His greatness to the nations. One more thing about being a servant, and this is a hard one to swallow. Being a ‘servant’ to people who we like and who are kind to us? That’s not being a servant. Servant-hood is not based on like-ability. The crabby boss? The obnoxious customer? The angry spouse? Yep. We’re called to serve them.
As Christ-followers, our question is not ‘Should I serve that person’ but, ‘How does God want me to serve that person wisely.’
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. You showed us the ultimate example of how to be a servant by reaching out to the unlovely, allowing yourself to be the object of scorn and ridicule and ultimately dying for me when I didn’t deserve it. I know your command is the same today as it was when you walked with your disciples. It’s hard being a servant in an evil world but I know that is Your desire. Empower me with Your Spirit to be the loving and wise servant You want me to be. Keep me from playing the comparison game. I’m not better or no worse than anyone else when I walk with you. Thank you for being my servant. Help me to serve others in the same way. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 