Saturday, July 30, 2016

Saturday, July 30, 2016

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it

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‭‭Psalm‬ ‭24:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Friday night I heard the story of a father who almost lost his daughter in a swimming accident.  I'll spare the details, but I want you to imagine the horror of looking

​across

a body of water trying to locate your child and not knowing whether she is dead or alive. Your heart is pounding in your chest for what you realize is about eight minutes - but feels like an eternity - of searching for your baby and you finally see her. You run to her. There's nothing that can stop you! No rules, no etiquette. You only find satisfaction in holding her, tangibly knowing that she is okay.  That is the heart of a father for his child. He would move heaven and earth if it was necessary to make sure she was okay.

That is how our Heavenly Daddy feels about his creation…"the world and ALL who live in it" (Psalm 24:1)!  Jesus agrees with this point when He says, "For God so loved

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THE WORLD

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that He gave His only Son" (John 3:16).  Jesus doesn't say that God just loved "the good people" or "the nice guys." He says that God loved (and loves)

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THE WORLD

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- that includes everyone.

What does this mean for us? Well, it forces us to ask at least two critical questions as those who would follow Christ, the One who said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30):

1. If God loves the world, shouldn't we love the world, also?
2. What does that love look like?

The answer to the first question is a pretty obvious "yes." However, to answer the second we return to John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave [sacrificed] His Only Begotten Son..." As Christ-followers we are sons (children) of God (John 1:12), who have received His Spirit (Romans 8:14-15).  Our love is to be sacrificial and unconditional.  When we take on this heavenly perspective we don't get to choose who we love.

Like you, I'm on a journey of learning to love people like my Daddy has loved me - to pay His love forward, not out of obligation to Him, but because I love Him.  At some point on this journey, we need to realize and embrace the

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FACT

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that the Father runs after us like the man I heard about Friday night, who was lovingly searching for his daughter.  Once we do this we begin to get "our love tank" filled so that we can love like God loves. We need to be filled because we can't give what we don't truly (in our hearts) know that we have.  If our hearts don't know it, we're running on empty.  We need that filling daily!

Today, I need to rehearse how much God loves me so that I can, with confidence, love this world and

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ALL

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who live in it...sacrificially and unconditionally.

Lord, may we know deep in our hearts how much You love us!  Help us to believe the truth, that nothing will ever separate us from Your love.

July 29

July 29, 2016

Romans 12:21  ^"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Americans are angry. They are angry about shootings, discrimination, rigged election results, people living above the law, lying politicians, taxes and being manipulated by the media. A recent study of 3,000 American adults found that about half are angrier today than they were a year ago. That is why sociologists have called this the "age of rage."

Kathie and I saw this first hand on Tuesday. We were travelling on the highway when we saw a motorist rapidly speed up and then deliberately cut off a car, almost sending it into the median strip. They missed each other by less than a foot. Both cars were travelling at a high speed so if they had bumped, it would have been a fatal car crash.  Both of these drivers were overcome with evil.  

The world's response to anger is to get your revenge. Jeffrey Kuger wrote an editorial for TIME in June reminding us of this widespread anger and how people are now organized around rage. There are groups called "Vegans Outraged," Dancers Outraged,"  "Gardeners Outraged,"  and even "Knitters Outraged." That last group scares me because they have those long needles.

But there has to be a better way of dealing with our anger than the old adage, "I don't mad; I get even." We now have a whole nation of people getting even.

The apostle Paul wrote Romans after his first-hand experiences of being locked up on trumped up charges. He could have been a man filled with rage. It would have been easy to become overwhelmed by evil. But the gospel changed everything in Paul's life. He had experienced God's grace, love and forgiveness in his life.

Revenge and getting even are contrary to the Gospel. Managing anger well doesn't mean we live with massive doses of denial.  It means that instead of becoming overcome by that anger, we turn it over to the Lord and ask him for the strength to respond with grace and love.  

Here is the good news. Because of Jesus' presence in our lives we don't have to allow anger to control us. We can learn a new way of responding that will keep us from falling victim to the age of rage. When we do what is right, live peacefully, pray for and love our enemy, then we unleash the unseen power of God into the situation. Although evil may try to overcome us, because of Jesus, we are compelled to do no evil in return. 

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"Multiplying leaders to change the world"

Thursday, July 28

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

     How unsearchable his judgements,

     and his paths beyond tracing out.

Who has known the mind of the Lord?

     Or who has been his counselor?

Who has ever given to God

     that God should repay him?

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

     To him be the glory forever!  Amen."  (Romans 11:33-36)

This doxology concludes what many commentators describe as the heavily theological first 11 chapters of Romans, in which Paul has covered many deep topics including sin, grace, election, and sanctification.  In conclusion, he reflects all these topics back on God's character and the (positively viewed) mystery of His mercy.

Yesterday, I read through a blog post about overcoming doubt (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/7-ways-to-deal-with-doubt).  In the article, the author suggested that we should "embrace the mystery" of God's presence.  This passage echoes that sentiment, in which Paul recognizes his inability to understand everything but trusts in the sovereign grace and awesome love of God.

In an increasingly technologically sophisticated world, we have become experts in understanding the "how-to" and "what" of this world.  According to Max Lucado, we have become increasingly ignorant as to the "why" of this world.  In some ways, the beauty of technology is the "black box" or "virtual reality," which provides us escape from those deeper existential questions that might instill some degree of panic. Our distant ancestors stared into the star-filled heavens or watched the uncontrollable power of an oncoming storm and instantly realized their smallness and dependence on greater forces.  On the other hand, we may seemingly "control" reality through a five-inch screen that brings us everything our minds could dream, curated by us to bring consistent pleasure.

I understand that this description oversimplifies our lives today; there is certainly plenty of chaos that should and does drive us towards the "dependent dignity" that honors God and brings us wholeness.  Yet, we will do well to emphasize and celebrate the boundless mystery of God because it will draw inexorably into worship.

Please consider the vastness of the universe, the amazing complexity of DNA, the heights of the mountains, the depths of the oceans, the power of love, the sweet aroma of freedom, and the warmth of family and friends.  God has created all of these with just a single word from His lips.  He sovereignly controls it all now and direct all these forces for His good purposes.  We may see His awesome beauty in every single moment.

How have you seen God's mystery today?  How may you celebrate His awesome power, love, grace, or holiness today?  How could you encourage your family and friends to take a similar look?

Lord God, thank You for Your awesome power, love, grace, and holiness.  We will never understand even a portion of Your mysterious ways, but we thank You for making us the beneficiaries of Your sovereign care nonetheless.  Reveal Your truth to our hearts and minds so that we may embrace You more fully and bring glory to Your Name.  In Jesus's Name, amen.

July 25: CDs, Windows, and the glory of God

2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14

Romans 9:1-21

Psalm 19:1-14

Proverbs 20:1

The heavens declare the glory of God;

   the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

   night after night they reveal knowledge.  

I have an old CD (kids reading this, ask your parents what that is) that I still really like.  I play it, but there comes a point when the player is no longer able to read the information.  It fails to comprehend the data that I know is on the disk.  It reminds me of old computers (Windows 2000, anyone?) that would hang when you tried to install and run software too advanced for it.  It also reminds me of how my mind behaves when I try to comprehend the greatness of God's creation.  I look at the sky, and I see the sun, the moon, maybe the stars if it is night time - and then I try to imagine the billions of stars beyond those I can see, the planets circling them...and my mind shuts down.  I just can't.  

The same thing happens when I try to approach the question a different way, to understand how the world works.  Have you ever thought of that?  The sun provides the energy to the plants that feed on carbon dioxide and exude oxygen that we breathe and exhale carbon dioxide and the water rains down from the sky but then winds up evaporated again into the sky so the rain cycles down and the moon creates the tides and the revolution around the sun creates the seasons and...click.  There it went again.  My mind just shut down.

And then I think: God created all this...did creation end when the universe was put in place and set into motion?  And I wonder how it could, and cannot help but think that, having willed everything into existence and having willed the establishment of the rules by which everything exists, God has to continue to sustain this existence. Otherwise, we would have had the seeds of existence in ourselves all along.  So each and every moment, God has to command that everything continue to exist, the way fuel has to continue to flow for the engine to keep running, the way current has to continue to pass through the bulb to keep the light shining.  Shut off the current, the bulb goes dark.  Were God to withdraw His will, I suspect we would revert back into the nothingness from which we came.  

This is our God, on Whom we depend not just for our creation, but for our continued existence.  The commands of the Lord "are radiant, giving light to the eyes."  And in this context, as difficult as it is to comprehend, He and His decrees are most certainly "more precious than gold, than much pure gold".  This is the God whom Asa and Judah sought eagerly, and was found by them.  This is the Lord that could, and did, give "them rest on every side".  I look forward to the day we get to know Him fully, without the mental overload.

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Saturday, July 23, 2016


The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. (Romans 8:15-16)

In 1985, 26-year-old Jody Roberts lived in Tacoma, Washington, working as a reporter for the Tacoma News Tribune. In May of that year, Roberts' friends and family started to notice some strange changes, as she stopped taking care of herself and began to drink significantly more than usual. On May 20, she mysteriously vanished and would not be seen by her loved ones for 12 years. Little did they know that five days later, a disoriented Roberts was found wandering around in a mall in Aurora, Colorado, over 1,600 kilometers (1,000 mi) away. After being admitted to a hospital in Denver it was determined that Jody had amnesia - she had no idea who she was.

Knowing who you are is very important. Over the years I've determined that most issues that people face are either because they don't know who they are in Christ or they have forgotten. In Romans 8, Paul attempts to help the believers at Rome get an understanding of who they are in Christ. He talks about the difference between the law and the Spirit and uses the analogy of Roman adoption to drive home the point.

This is a genius move because every one of his readers would understand what adoption was all about. Here are some facts about adoption:

• Anyone could be adopted.
• Adoption was permanent. Unlike a baby, who could be refused at birth by her/his father for different reasons, an adopted person was accepted and could never be rejected.
• The father would assume and pay for ALL debts incurred by the person being adopted.
• The adopted person received a new name indicating their position in the family
• The adopted person became an heir to the father's inheritance.

Doesn't this adoption stuff sound pretty good?  It is REALLY good, especially if you know that you have a Good Father!  That's the sweet part.  We have a Good Father, who has given us everything through Jesus Christ, even righteousness, joy, life, peace, love, favor and fullness.  He doesn't withhold good things from us (Psalm 84:11).  No one can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39).  We have a great inheritance in Him (Psalm 16:6; Isaiah 54:17).  

Not knowing who we are and who our Father is makes us disoriented and prone to wander.  However, when we embrace this reality we encounter Our Father and Good Shepherd, in whom there is no lack.  The One who leads us beside still waters, down paths of righteousness, and restores our soul.

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Knowing who you are is very important.

Thursday, July 21

"So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.  For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.  But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." (Romans‬ ‭7:4-6‬)

In Romans 6 and 7, Paul explores the implications of dying to sin and becoming made alive in Christ.  Once, he explains, we were slaves to sin, unable to live righteously because of the sinful nature that dominated us.  Through the mercy and grace of Christ -- that free gift that brings us life -- God has granted us freedom.  In view of His abundant mercy, our response leads us to become slaves to righteousness, committed to living out God's purposes for our lives.

Here, in 7:4, Paul writes that we have come to belong to Christ so that "we might bear fruit for God."  We have become free from the chains of sin and now may "serve in the new way of the Spirit."  Our freedom has come at a great price -- the blood of Christ -- and we rejoice and gratefully commit ourselves to magnifying the glory of the One Who has given us life.

What does it mean to "serve in the new way of the Spirit"?  Why is this way "new"?  Paul indicates that the "old" way represented life under the "written code," the law of Moses.  The Scriptures point out that, even if we do not know the law of Moses, the heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19) and that those without the law recognize some moral standards (Romans 1-3).  Living under any such law leads to frustration and entrapment because of our constant tendency towards breaking the law.  Only a casual glance at our world reveals the plague of selfishness and its typical effects.

Simply, the Spirit regenerates and transforms our hearts, minds, and wills so that we have the capacity to "serve in the new way of the Spirit."  Only by God's grace may we go beyond our natural resources, which, as Paul has argued, are inherently flawed.  After receiving Christ as Savior, the renewing of our minds and hearts plays out over our entire remaining lives, but the Spirit's work remains incomplete before our passing into His presence after our deaths or Christ's triumphant return.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus highlighted that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled.  The filling of the Holy Spirit and our hungering and thirsting for righteousness promote a virtuous cycle of blessing and wholeness that brings glory to God and joy to our hearts.

May we seek Him wholeheartedly and rejoice in the freedom to give Him everything.

Lord Jesus, thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit so that we might hear Your voice and respond to it by faith.  Thank You that You have provided everything we need for life and godliness and that we are now free to serve You.  Give us grace through the Spirit to discern Your plan for today and to honor You moment by moment.  We confess that we are often more satisfied with the world's false than with Your true purpose.  Change us from the inside out and spur this hunger and thirst for righteousness that brings You glory and makes our joy complete.  In Your precious Name, amen.

July 22

Psalm 18

 

The story is told of a young man on the first day of his new job. He was a new clerk in the fresh produce section of a supermarket. A lady came up to him and said she wanted to buy half of a head of lettuce. He tried to dissuade her from that goal, but she persisted. Finally he said, "I'll have to go back and talk to the manager." He went to the rear of the store to talk to the manager, not noticing that the woman was walking right behind him. When he got into the back of the store, he said to the manager, "There's some stupid old bag out there who wants to buy half a head of lettuce, what should I tell her?"

Seeing the horrified look on the face of the manager, he turned about and seeing the woman added, "And this nice lady wants to buy the other half of the head of lettuce. Will it be all right?"

Considerably relieved, the manager said, "That would be fine." Later in the day, he congratulated the boy on his quick thinking. He then asked, "Where are you from son?" The young man said, "I'm from Toronto, Canada, the home of beautiful hockey players and ugly women."  The manager looked at him and said, "My wife is from Toronto." The young man said, "Oh, what team did she play for?"

 

We need to be careful with our words because words can do a lot of damage in life. They are the number one source of conflict in our world. There is nothing more inevitable in life than feeling the sting of cruel words. Because of the fallenness of our world we daily find ourselves in situations where we feel attacked, criticized, harassed, misunderstood, and maligned by others. What do you do when you find yourself in that situation? 

 

Psalm 18 shows us what David did when he was attacked.

 

Psalm 18:1-2   I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.

He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

 

David ran to the Lord and asked Jesus to be his defense attorney. Many years ago I was going through a difficult time of conflict and the Lord spoke to me through a little devotional book called, "The Pursuit of God." Here is the section where He spoke to me.

 

"First of all, he should put away all defense and make no attempt to excuse himself either in his own eyes or before the Lord. Whoever defends himself will have himself for his defense, and he will have no other; but let him come defenseless before the Lord and he will have for his defender no less than God Himself." 

 

So the next time you find yourself in a conflict, give up all self defense, take responsibility for your part in the disconnection, and then take refuge in the Lord our fortress. 

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"Multiplying leaders to change the world"