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I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, Philippians 3:10
Be careful what you ask for. To know the power of Christ, to be able to heal, to endure hardship, to sleep in the bow of the boat during a violent storm are all noble aspirations. Every one of them is something each of us would love to attain.
One can not bask in the glory of Christ unless one endures the suffering of Christ. Lest we romanticize the ministry of Jesus on earth let us not forget that many times the only place to rest his head was on the hard ground. He had no place to call home except for the homes of generous friends. Even his grave was donated to him by someone who he may have never met.
Other than a devoted few, his list of friends and followers was a revolving door of people who were looking for an earthly kingdom, who became critical of his alleged rejection of religious Sabbath laws, and the ungrateful that came for healing and, once made pure, were never heard from again. Oh, and the devoted few? They all abandoned him at the cross. Every last one of them.
And his family? On a couple of occasions they came looking for him. Not to follow him mind you, but to quarantine him in the safe confines of the carpenter shop. When his brothers talked about Jesus during his ministry the word ‘lunatic’ was frequently heard. Only his mother seemed to stand quietly in the shadows watching her son grow, minister and eventually die.
The church was no safe haven for Jesus either. He was scrutinized on every front. His motives were misread and misunderstood. He was accused of being possessed by the devil and an affront to everything the Jewish religion stood for.
What made Jesus different? There are perhaps many answers to that question, but one that comes to my mind is that Jesus always held before him the purpose for which he was called. He wasn’t called to be blessed. He wasn’t called to be powerful and respected. He wasn’t called to be a mighty leader. He was called to be a servant and die in the process. But along the way, he changed the world!
Although I shudder at what it might mean, I echo the prayer of the Apostle Paul. Regardless of what it may mean to me physically, emotionally, or socially, I want to know Christ. I want to know him in such a way that his power shows through me to others.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, You showed us in your life that we will be faced with all sorts of trials and tribulations. I want to know you. I want to know your power in my life. I confess to you that even as I pray this prayer I’m nervous about what may lie ahead. Empower me by your Spirit to trust you as I forge ahead on this journey of life. In your name I pray, Amen.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Let the last few words of the above verse sink in. ‘Never will I leave you. NEVER will I forsake you.’
Think for a moment about what that means for you on a daily basis. There is never a time that Jesus is not within hearing range when you need to talk about the things you are troubled by. Never a time in your daily walk that he is not willing to talk with you, comfort you, celebrate with you. There is nothing you can do to make him leave. Nothing you can say he’s surprised by. He’s always there.
Jesus is with you when the doctor tells you the test results. He’s with you as you tend to a sick child. He’s sitting beside you as you write out the bills and worry about where the money will come from.
Sometimes the thought of his presence is comforting. It’s such a relief to know he’s there when the car breaks down, the relationship goes in the tank, the company reorganizes and you don’t make the cut.
Sometimes we ignore his presence. Like the times our minds linger as we watch the cute young thing walks past. The times we willingly visit that site on the internet one more time. Those times when the anger and frustration of life get the best of us and we lash out at those we love the most. The times we lay awake with the enemy named worry by our side.
There are times when the pain is too much. The anxiety to great. The news is too horrific to hear he still, small voice reminding us of his great presence and power. But our awareness of God has nothing to do with the reality of his presence. Our own desires may take us places we never thought we’d go, but they don’t take us from his presence.
When we sin for example, we may feel that we’ve separated us from God, but that’s not true. The issues of life can separate us from SENSING God’s presence, but nothing separates us from the REALITY of God’s presence.
Whatever is troubling you today, whether it is something on a world-wide scale or something close to home; don’t allow the issues of your life to make you numb to his presence. God has promised that he will NEVER leave you or forsake you, and you can take that to the bank!
PRAYER: Father God, there are so many things of late that have distracted me from sensing your presence. So many times I’ve ignored you when life gets in the way. Please forgive me for not living in the reality that you are always by my side. Empower me with your Spirit to live in such a way that your presence will continually guide my thoughts, words and actions. In your name I pray, Amen.
They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32
Have you ever sat and listened to someone share their passion? I’m not talking about the boring person who goes into a tirade about some issue. I’m talking about the person who is so passionate about something that their words bring life to their topic.
You sit and listen to them and are so enraptured by their words that you lose all track of time. Even if you aren’t personally interested whatever it is they are talking about, their verbal and non-verbal communication mesmerizes you to the point where your entire attitude changes.
I had that once in a small way. A professor I had was so passionate about his class that I left forever changed in my attitude about it. The class? Political Science, believe it or not! I took the class as an elective because it was at the time and day I could attend. I had no interest whatsoever in Political Science. I don’t remember the professor’s name. I don’t even remember what year I took the class. What I do remember is leaving the class with not only a new appreciation for the topic, but even considered running for local office!
Passionate people breed passion in others. It’s no wonder then, that when Jesus appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus he instilled passion in them for God. He talked about Moses. He talked about Elijah and Daniel. He smiled as he reflected on the life of David. And why not? He walked with those men. He watched them grow in faith. He felt the pain of their failure and rejoiced in their victories. When Jesus talked about these men, he wasn’t just talking about stories. He was talking about friends of his.
I imagine when Jesus talks about us he is just as passionate. Sure, we fail. Some of us fail miserably. We rebel almost daily. We worry when he says don’t worry. We get angry when he says trust. We get lonely when he says he is with us always. While we grumble and live in defeat he looks on us with pride and, yep, you guessed it, PASSION.
If you didn’t know me and Jesus was talking to you about me, once he was finished talking you’d be passionate about me. Why? Not because I’m something special in your eyes, but because I’m something special in Jesus’ eyes. When you’ve been with Jesus you can’t help but feel passionate about life.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank you for being passionate about me. I confess to you that I don’t feel like I’m much to be passionate about. But I’m thankful that you love me so much. I ask that you would empower me to be so passionate about you that my passion will breed passion for you in those I meet. In your 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.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. Romans 6:22
Harry was your stereo-typical bachelor. He lived alone in a modest home. His yard was seldom mowed. If Christmas decorations were put up, they were put up on December 24 and taken down sometime in July, if they were taken down at all. Harry wasn’t necessarily a slob. He just had better things to do than clean house. So his house was usually dusty and cluttered. He’d wash dishes when he ran out of them. But Harry was happy with this life, for the most part.
Then, Harry met Sally. (No not the movie by the same name!) The more Harry hung out with Sally the more things began to change. The changes were subtle at first. He would shower and shave every day. The clothes he wore were more in tune with the requirements of the social police. He was even known to dust the house and wash dishes on a more regular basis. Not only was his lawn mowed weekly, he even made a few lame attempts at planting some flowers.
What happened to Harry? Was it because Sally nagged him? Nope. Did Sally come over every day to make sure he was dressed appropriately? Not a chance. Did the neighbors complain about the lawn? Well, actually yes, but that wasn’t what motivated him to clean it up.
What was it then the caused the change? One simple word: LOVE. Yep. That’s it. Love. The closer Harry grew to Sally, the more he saw life in a different perspective. He didn’t change because he had to. He didn’t change because it was the only way Sally would hang out with him. Harry changed because he had a new perspective on life. One other thing happened with the change. Harry felt better about himself. He realized that one reason he stayed away from home is because the place bothered him as much as it did his neighbors. Harry had no desire to let his life get stuck in the same rut as it did before Sally came along.
The story of Harry and Sally is a very simple example of what should happen in the life of a person when they decide to say ‘yes’ to Jesus. The change within comes because we are tired of the way we are living and want to change. The closer we walk to Jesus, the more we see areas in our lives we need to clean up. Oh sure there are days when we regress. There are some areas that we may struggle with for a long time. But we earnestly want to see a difference in our lives.
One of the things I struggle with the most in the area of Grace is how easy it is to take the issue of sin lightly. We don’t even like to talk about sin anymore. It’s too negative. Too harsh. Too unbending.
Fact of the matter is, sin of any sort hinders our relationship with Jesus. Does he hate us? NO! Will we lose our salvation? I don’t believe we will. Will our relationship with God and others suffer? Definitely.
Too often we as Christ-followers take the issue of sin too lightly. Believe me, I’m just as guilty or more so than most on this point. We want to change but it comes hard. We may give up and rationalize. “At least I’m not as bad as (the name of a bigger sinner than you). Or, “Thank Jesus I’m forgiven. I’ll just have to confess when I get home.” Until we fully realize the effects sin has on our relationship with God change will not happen.
Don’t let yourself get tricked by the enemy into taking sin lightly. Let the Spirit of God work in you to show you areas that need change. Trust him to direct you. Don’t beat yourself up for failing. Confess that sin and try again.
PRAYER: Father God. I confess that too often I’d rather compare myself with others worse off than I am than to deal with the issues in my own life. Help me to take sin seriously. Empower me to want to change and protect me from the lies Satan tries to feed me to keep me defeated. In Jesus name, Amen.
