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Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Colossians 3:12-15 (NLT)
How do you get up in the morning? The attitude we have when we get out of bed with has a large part to do with the rest of the day. If we get up anticipating a good day, no matter what happens we’ll be more positive than if we start out on the ‘wrong side of bed’. Colossians says we have been raised to new life to share in God’s glory. That means each day should be looked at as a new day! A new beginning. All the old stuff from yesterday is gone. We start new. When you have positive anticipation it’s simply easier to get out of bed. Why do kids that normally sleep in get up early Christmas morning? PRESENTS! The anticipation of the new outweighs the comfort of the familiar.
Once you get up in the morning you prepare yourself for the day. Physically, you shower (or the world hopes you do) and do all the things necessary to make you presentable for the day. In a Spiritual sense we need to put off all the old and put on the new. Approach each new day with the attitude that ‘Christ is all that matters’. You do that by spending some time with your Savior. A word of prayer, some time in his Word. Think of it this way. Would you get up in the morning and say, “I just don’t have time to get dressed this morning. I’ll go naked this once. No one will notice.” Of course not. But we often put off the spiritual preparation for the day because we don’t think it important. Consider your spiritual preparation as important as your physical preparation for the day.
Now you are ready to get dressed. Clothes tell others a lot us. The first thing others see is our clothing before anything else. A person full of cancer, but well dressed looks better than a healthy bum. The following article appeared in a magazine:
Clothes tell a lot about us, our era, our jobs, etc. But the Swiss bank UBS raised eyebrows last month when it’s very conservative dress code was leaked on the Internet. The comprehensive, 44-page document defined how men should knot their ties, and how women should care for their skin. Underwear in a neutral color is, apparently, a must.
The reason we have dress codes is essentially this. Companies or organizations expect a certain look for their employees. The dress code assures that everyone that aligns themselves with that group look the same.
The Bible says we clothe ourselves so others see us as being merciful, kind, humble, gentle and patient. Paul goes on further to say that our ‘clothing’ ought to be such that we ‘make allowance’ for the weaknesses and failures of other people. Why? Because Jesus takes your weakness and failures into account and forgives you time and time again. He wants you to clothe yourself in the same way so that others will know you are associated with him.
The last thing you put on in the morning may be a belt. That’s what it was in the NT times. The belt pulled all the garments together. It was security and it was aesthetic. Going out without your belt would be like going out naked.
So what’s the ‘belt’ we wear to pull all this together? Love. The most important thing you do in the morning, before leaving for the day’s activities, is to put on an attitude of love. Love like Christ gives. Love that says ‘no matter what, I’ll never give up on you.’ The last thing you put on is the first thing others will see!
Now you are dressed for the day. Your earthly situation doesn’t change your heavenly calling. A calling to represent the cause of Jesus Christ. Follow these guidelines and you’ll be dressed appropriately for any weather changes that come your way.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, may I dress each and every day for the activities you lay before me. Empower me to love, endure and embrace those I meet with grace and forgiveness as you have me. Amen.
Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 (NLT)
“I’m tiiiiirrrrrred.” Any of us have heard those words of pseudo agony if we’ve ever had children. Usually it comes close to the end of a fun day at the zoo, a long hike in the park or one of those shopping marathons you vow you’ll never take them on again!
They aren’t just giving you that information for your own well-being. It’s a signal, a request in hiding. If you don’t respond in the way they expect you’ll hear the more direct approach, “Carry me!”
You scoop them up in your arms and depending on the day or time they are soon relaxed, enjoying the rest of the trip, or even deciding your shoulder is a pretty cool place for a nap. A stroller would be easier for you, but how many times have you seen one parent pushing an empty stroller while the other has a sleeping child on their shoulder? How many times have you been that parent? Why is it? Because we all need at times to be carried.
What’s true for children physically is true for all of us spiritually and emotionally. Sure, there are times we may need to suck it up, to push on, to ‘run with endurance the race set before us’, but sometimes the race is just too much. Sometimes the obstacles are too large, the pain too unbearable. We need to be carried.
We need to feel the arms of Jesus around us. We need to feel the security of he hold upon our lives, to know that we will get through this. Maybe not on our own power, but his power is so much greater.
Your need to be carried can be the result of your own mistakes and failures. He’ll carry you.
Your need may be the result of abuse or attack by others, even well-meaning friends and family. He’ll carry you.
Your need may be fueled by loneliness. He’ll carry you.
Your need may be rooted in your past, a past that keeps haunting you. (How could I do that? What was I thinking?) He’ll carry you.
Jesus doesn’t carry you because you are weak (even though you are) he carries you because that’s what loving parents do when the journey is too great. When you are in his arms you have time to rest, time to regroup, time to bask in the safety of his presence.
For those days when you can’t go on, rest in his arms. He’s waiting to carry you through this.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus. I’m tired. I know that the things I’m going through are largely my fault. I know I live in an evil world full of people and things intent on hurting me. Right now I can’t take another step. I want to feel your arms of love and security around me so I can rest in you. Thank you. Amen.
He did this so that we could be the kind of people the law correctly wants us to be. Now we do not live following our sinful selves, but we live following the Spirit. Romans 8:4 (NCV)
I don’t understand genetics. I’m not sure any of us do, but some understand far more than I do about what makes a person the way he/she is. For example, how is it that two people, born of the same parents can be different as night and day in personality, looks, and body shape/size? Or, how is it that a child, separated from parents at birth will have many of the same traits, likes and dislikes at their parents even though they have never ever seen them? These are just a few of the amazing things about how we are put together as human beings.
What’s even more amazing is how we can be ‘put together’ in Christ. We are born into a human body. We are influenced by our surroundings in more ways than we can imagine. The older we get, the more the effects of our past can dictate who we are and how we react to things in our environment.
Jesus came to give each of us a new start in life. Because of his grace and forgiveness we no longer need to be imprisoned by the things that happened along the journey of life.
“But,” you may say, “You don’t understand. I was abused as a child.”
“I know but” you may say, “my parents divorced [died, abandoned me, were drug addicts, are in prison,]. So that’s why I am the way I am.”
I won’t minimize the fact that life experiences have a huge impact on us. We are wounded, bruised and scarred by a whole variety of things. With Jesus in our lives those things that once were destructive influences on our ability to live free can be used for the glory of God. Because of Jesus we don’t need to walk as wounded any longer. That’s what grace is about. That’s what mercy is about. That’s what forgiveness is about.
Jesus Christ is well aware of your past. He sees the scars. He saw the abuse. He knows the feeling of being rejected. He came to free you from the effects of all the bad stuff that’s happened in your past. We no longer need to live the way we once did. God’s Spirit in us gives us new life through Christ. God’s Holy Spirit in us allows us to use the struggles of our past to strengthen those who are hurting.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, my past continues to haunt me. I see myself becoming the very type of person I don’t want to be. I relive the abuse of my past on a daily basis. Forgive me once and for all for the mistakes I’ve made. Free me through your grace to leave the old life behind and live the new life you have prepared for me. Amen.
So do not lose the courage you had in the past, which has a great reward. Hebrews 10:35 (NCV)
You started out strong enough. You went to church and a small group Bible Study. Maybe you even had one in your home and you were the leader. As a young person you had aspirations of being in the ministry or even being a missionary to some far off culture. You had visions of winning entire villages to Jesus Christ.
Then reality hit, and it hit hard. You never saw that divorce coming. If only you’d studied harder in high school, maybe your grades would have allowed you to get into college. Your health issues kept you from attaining many of the dreams you had at one time. You wonder what happened to your spouse. He/she once held the same values, the same fire you had for ministry but now, it’s the one hindrance in an otherwise great relationship and it’s keeping you from feeling fulfilled and squashing your ability to use your gifts.
There are those that will tell you that the level of your ability to ‘live for Christ’ is a measuring stick of your love for him. Often, it’s the other way around. The realization of our weaknesses and failures is proof of our love for Christ. That may seem like backwards thinking, but the more we desire to live for Jesus, the more His Spirit will show us areas that need change…and the more the enemy will try to send us on huge guilt trips.
Jesus shows us where we can change. Satan reminds us change is impossible. Jesus gently calls us to him. Satan screams accusations. Jesus calls to you through the darkness. Satan reminds you of the dangers lurking in the dark.
When you feel misunderstood, Jesus understands. When you feel attacked, Jesus sends endurance and safety. When you feel pressured to give in, Jesus sends encouragement to press on. “He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.” Isaiah 42:3 (NLT)
Take courage pilgrim. While we walk this Wilderness Road complete with rocks and the threat of attack from the bluffs on either side of us, we have one who walks with us. He knows the way. He is ready to defend, encourage and protect. He’s ready to walk with us all the way. When we reach the end; when endure this road we’ve travelled; victory will be ours and the reward great!
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I need your strength today to be strong. My own fear of failure and the enemies attack have done their work to keep me defeated. Empower me today to be strong through your Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” Romans 11:3 (NLT)
Ever noticed how a campfire dies out more quickly if you spread the coals out? Once the coals are spread out the lack of heat generated drops the fire dies out much sooner than if you’d left the coals together.
The enemy knows that your spiritual, emotional and even physical well-being is much like the coals in a campfire. He knows that there is strength in numbers and that believers banded together in unity and love are disastrous to his cause. The best way for him to defeat you is for him to break down your endurance.
The lie he wants you to believe in the battle for your endurance is that you are all alone in your struggle. He wants you to believe no one else in your church struggles with pornography and if they knew about your struggle they’d surely ostracize you from the group and make you feel second rate.
He wants you to believe you are the only one that struggles with debt and he’ll remind you of the many sermons you’ve heard about tithing and not using credit cards and not borrowing from the future to acquire the toys of the present.
He’ll tell you that if you were responsible and gifted you’d be hosting the small group Bible Study at your home or at least going to one.
He’ll tell you the addictions, the thoughts and the feeling of being overwhelmed all the time is YOUR problem and if you were living by the Spirit you wouldn’t be going through this.
Once again, the problem with all of this is that in each statement he tells you there is a small element of truth. Remember, he is a master at telling you just enough to keep you down, distracted and discouraged.
His tactics aren’t new. He’s been discouraging God’s people since the beginning of time. The first murder was the result of Cain being discouraged because his offerings weren’t acceptable to God. He felt alone and left out. He became enraged and killed his brother. From that point on the story remains the same. Satan tells us we don’t measure up.
Even the great prophet Elijah experienced it and fell victim to the lie for a short time. He’d just seen God work mightily as a result of Elijah’s prayers. He’d just been empowered by God’s Spirit to kill over 400 false prophets. His prayers brought rain to a parched land. But when Jezebel threatened to kill him Satan whispered in his ear, “You are all alone. There is no one who will come by your side. You are doomed.”
Satan’s attacks seem to come at us at times when God’s been the most real to us. Pastors will tell you that the hours and days after a great outpouring of God’s Spirit, Satan will attack with a vengeance. We see it in our homes as well. When God works, Satan works overtime!
It’s what we do with his lie that makes all the difference in the world. If we believe we are all alone in our struggles we withdraw from others. We feel guilty when we can’t measure up to the standards Satan tells us we need to measure up to. We compare ourselves to others and realize we can never be like them. The more negative the thoughts become the more we withdraw and the more we begin to believe we are total losers in the game of life.
The Truth Statement God wants you to remember is that “The struggles you endure today are not a sign you are alone but God’s call on your life to trust him more.” Just as Elijah discovered that there were many who were waiting to come alongside him, there are many who will come alongside you in your struggle.
Elijah’s ability to endure came after he took some time for physical rest and then found others who would support him. Our trust in God and ability to endure comes as we build around us people we can trust. Like-minded people who will pray with us, dig into God’s word with us and understand our short-comings without judgment. Endurance grows as trust in God increases.
PRAYER: Father during the storms of life I often feel very alone. What I see as my weakness keeps me from experiencing your strength. Empower me by your Spirit to keep from listening to Satan’s lies so I can hear your voice through those you bring into my life to encourage me. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 