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Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NCV)
Old Preacher Story Ahead! Story is told of a little boy from the city who visited Grandma and Grandpa’s farm. As was their custom, Grandma and Grandpa, with child in tow, headed off to church on Sunday morning. On returning home Grandma walked with the little boy to the barn to check on some new lambs that had just been born. In the stall next to the lambs was a stubborn old mule. The little boy looked at the mule for some time and then asked a question. “Grandma, Is that old mule a Christian?” Puzzled by the question, Grandma responded, “Why no son, why to you ask that?” The boy responded, “Well, it has the same sad face most of the people had at church today.”
Look around you at the faces of people in church during the worship service. (Be sure not to stare…that’s creepy.) Now, I’ll admit I have a personal struggle with what we call the ‘worship’ part of our church services. I’d like to think there is worship going on but sometimes there is everything BUT worship happening. The praise team can get sucked into performance mentality; the Pastor can be so focused on what he’ll say that he forgets that his worship is far more important than his sermon notes. To others worship is the time cushion that allows late-comers to get into the chairs before the important stuff happens.
So, take a look around. What do you see? Bill and Sally must have had another fight on the way to church; they look like they are ready to bite each others head off. Grandma Jones, as usual is looking around to see who ISN’T there and you’ll be sure she mentions her findings to everyone she sees. Fred is thinking about the ballgame this afternoon. It’s obvious he’s not in tune with the music. Harry wishes we could go back to the good ole’ hymns. He misses the piano, the organ and those good old, doctrine filled songs of his youth.
Okay, perhaps I’m being a bit harsh. None of those examples are real people, but our faces should reflect what we have in Jesus. Whether it be in church, at the office, in the store or on the beach we should reflect our joy with the blessings we have in Christ. Those without Jesus in their lives are burdened with worries, fears, and anxiety. They are looking for an answer to the problems that plague them. They have no hope.
As Christ followers our best testimony to Christ’s love dwelling in us can be the countenance of our faces! A simple smile or a ‘good morning’ greeting to a stranger may be all they need to make their day brighter.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you for Jesus. I thank you for the love, the forgiveness, and the promises of your word and a guarantee of eternal life with you. Help me in my worship and in my daily living to reflect the love I have for you. In Jesus name, Amen.
God is strong and can help you not to fall. He can bring you before his glory without any wrong in you and can give you great joy. Jude 1:24 (NCV)
I sat and watched a group of rock climbers one day as they tried to scale a sheer rock cliff. From a distance it seemed impossible for them to be able to make it to the top safely. It was apparent from my observation which climbers were novices and which were the ‘veterans’ of the group. The novices moved very slowly and tentatively. Some got half way up and came back down by the safety ropes to regroup and try again. One by one the group made it from the bottom to the top safely. With each person’s successful climb you could hear a cheer erupt from the onlookers.
Later, I had the opportunity to ask one of the climbers what he thought were the essential ingredients to a successful climb. He told me that, in his opinion, there were three things each successful climber needed to make it to the top. One was faith in your equipment. The climb I watched was pretty minor but especially on the big climbs you needed to have good equipment and trust that equipment to do what it says it would do.
The second ingredient was remaining focused. He referenced the few ‘novice climbers’. Their biggest problem was that they focused so much on the danger and the possibility of falling and getting injured that they lost their grip. On this climb it was okay because there were safety ropes to lower them to the ground. In a real climb one slip can mean death. “Most climbing accidents are the result of improper use of equipment and/or climber error” He told me. Equipment failure is rare.
Lastly, he said, good climbers don’t climb alone. They would prefer to climb in groups because the support of the group helps them, especially during the tough climbs and during inclement weather. Group support is indispensible when it comes to making it to the top.
As I left I thought about the application to our spiritual lives. When we first start our walk with Christ we are careful to do the things that will help our growth. We read his Word, we pray, we seek every opportunity to make our way up the slippery slope of life.
As we ‘grow older’ in our faith we may tend to lose our focus on the task before us. We may have more faith in our own ability than to trust the equipment. We may be so intent on looking back to our past that we lose sight of the task before us. We may look towards our goal and wonder how we will ever make it to the top. When we lose our focus we increase the chances of losing our footing and falling.
Along with the focus we need to have in our climb, we need to have faith in our equipment. Climbing equipment rarely fails. The word of God and his presence in our lives NEVER fails. But falling is a possibility when we fail to have faith that our God is strong enough to see us to the top.
Lastly, when climbing the sheer rock wall of life, we need each other. Fellowship with other Christ-followers encourages us on the way, reminds us who we are, and gives us another vantage point to see our way to footholds that help us advance.
Proper equipment (Faith in a living and powerful God); Focus (relying on the Holy Spirit to guide us through the daily tasks of life); Fellowship (surrounding ourselves with people who can help us along the way). Three ingredients to making it up the slippery slope of life.
PRAYER: Father God, there are so many times I’ve lost focus on you or relied on my own power and ability to make it through life’s challenges. Empower me with your Spirit to climb the slippery slope of my life relying on you to conquer to obstacles before me. In Jesus name, Amen.
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3:23-24 (NLT)
During a very difficult time in my life I was unemployed and unable to get work in the area of my training. It was a very difficult time for me. Few jobs were available in the first place. Secondly, there were some jobs that I’d have liked to have, but I didn’t have the training. Other jobs required experience that I didn’t have. In an act of desperation I even tried to get a job at McDonalds and was told I was too overqualified.
Needless to say it was a very tough time for me financially, but it was even more damaging emotionally. I ‘realized’ at that time that I wasn’t able to meet anyone’s standards. I felt defeated, worthless, and hopeless.
When we don’t feel like we measure up it affects our entire outlook on life. We can give up on relationships; bury our frustrations in food, drugs or other addictive behaviors and activities. That kind of behavior leads to a negative spiral. We do something stupid and feel guilty about it. We look for relief for our actions which usually leads to more activity of the same, which of course makes us feel guilty so we find some way to comfort our feelings of failure by…yep, engaging in some inappropriate activity of feelings.
Rehab centers and counseling offices are full of people who have, at some time in their lives, felt they didn’t measure up. ‘New religions’ and changes in church policies are put in place to try to make you feel better about your lifestyle. Nothing is working though. We continue to struggle with ourselves.
Part of the problem is we try to meet up to people’s standards. But that’s a losing battle because some people are impossible to please. Others standards are much lower than your own or fickle. What we need is to find a standard which will show love and acceptance. A standard that will make us feel fulfilled no matter what life throws at us. A standard that will lead us to eternal life.
Sound impossible? You are right, it is. That level of standard only comes from God. His standards are perfect. His standards are loving, kind and full of mercy and understanding. So to feel good about yourself and what you do the trick is to live up to the standards of a Holy, Perfect God.
Sound impossible? It is. We are all human. Whether you are gay or straight, pro-choice or pro-life, regardless of your political persuasion or religious affiliation, you have fallen short of the standards God requires for a good life here and eternal life with him.
So what’s the solution to not meeting up to the standards God demands? Jesus. There is nothing you can do in and of yourselves to meet up to Godly standards. Only through the free gift of Jesus Christ can you find the success to live the life God and you desire. It’s not your power. It’s not your striving. It’s accepting the fact you can’t and living according to the grace given through Jesus.
Stop depending on your own actions to succeed. Stop striving to kick the old habits. Let God take that away. Through Jesus you can meet his standards.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank and praise you for your gift of salvation through Jesus. I’m tired of doing the same stupid things over and over again. Forgive me for the things I’ve done to hurt myself and others. Empower me with your Spirit to live free because of Jesus. In your name, Amen.
Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:23-24 (NLT)
Have you ever looked at a group of people and thought to yourself “They have to be brothers/sisters, etc? Ever noticed how often a person’s pet takes on the same personality and sometimes even begins to look like their owner? Ever been in a store or restaurant and had a complete stranger come up to you and ask you if you were so-and-so’s sibling? How about the last time someone came up to you and asked if you were God?
Okay, the last one maybe not so likely since no one really knows what God looks like. The Apostle Paul encourages us though to ‘put on our new nature which we were given so that we’d look just like God’. So, just how does one even begin to look like God? Paul isn’t speaking of physical features of course but he often we are associated with the groups we belong to by our actions and behavior, not our physical features.
Beginning to ‘look like God’ involves two basic actions on our part: Passion and Presence. When you are in love with someone you want to be passionately involved in their lives. You begin to take an interest in their music, their likes and dislikes, their friends. You conversations turn from surface level information gathering to digging into the soul to see that they are really like. Passionate love isn’t blind. You look at your lover and see the faults, the glitches, the struggles. But those things don’t matter because you love them.
Passion for God means we do whatever we can to find our more about him. Although there are many excellent Christian books, authors and speakers to help us on this journey, the best source for learning about God is through his Word. Read the stories. See how God interacts with people. You won’t always understand why he does what he does, but then again, you don’t always understand your physical lover either.
The second step in looking like God is ‘Presence.’ The more you are with someone the more you are passionately in love with, the more you will naturally take on the characteristics of that person. The more you spend time with God in prayer, fellowship with others and alone time with your Father, the more you will begin to act like him. It takes time. In fact it takes a lifetime. But don’t give up. Don’t let the failures and the struggles and the stupid decisions you’ve made keep you from pursuing the one who is passionately in love with you.
God sees your faults. He sees your struggles and failures. He knows you will fail again. Like any passionate lover, he’s more concerned about spending time with you than he is your performance.
PRAYER: Father God. Thank you for being so passionate in your love for me. I don’t deserve your love. I don’t understand your actions. But my desire is to look like you. Empower me with your Spirit to make the changes needed to resemble you in my thoughts, actions and likes/dislikes. In your name, Amen.
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.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 