“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah, in Isaiah 41:10)
“In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (Jesus, in John 16:33)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Paul, in Philippians 4:6-7)
What is your greatest fear today? What circumstance seems about ready to overwhelm you? In the face of whatever anxiety is crouching at your door, the Word for today is: Pause, take a deep breath, and let the promises of today’s Scriptures wash over you. Do not fear… Take courage… Do not be anxious… The peace of God stands ready to set a guard around your heart and mind. Invite the Lord into your place of anxiety, listen for His voice, and take courage that His presence is your security in all circumstances. Trust that He is good, and loving, and faithful to strengthen and help all who turn to Him in time of need.
Eternal God and merciful Heavenly Father, we are desperate for You today. We hunger to know You more deeply; we thirst for a cool drink of Your gracious, loving presence. We come to You again, placing our fears and failures, our hurts and needs, at Your feet. We trust that You will uphold us and grant us peace that passes understanding. Amen.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
A Good Place To Begin
King David, toward the end of his life, prayed a stirring prayer that stands as a model for us these many centuries later. As recorded in 1 Chronicles 29, David had just finished instructing his son Solomon, who would succeed his father as king. David had announced to the people that a holy temple would be built, and he had given generously of his personal treasures to begin the “fundraising” process. As resources began to pour in for the temple, David was overwhelmed with gratitude toward the Source of those resources. He knew that his time on earth was drawing to a close, and he understood that a great endeavor faced his beloved people. And so he focused his heart and mind on the Most High God from whom all blessings would continue to flow. Whatever endeavor we face in this season—however daunting, however scarce the resources for its completion might seem—the place where David began is a fitting place for us to begin. Here is his prayer; I would encourage us to make it our own:
“Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name...”
(I Chronicles 29:11-13)
Amen.
“Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name...”
(I Chronicles 29:11-13)
Amen.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Father's 'Ironman' Love
“To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.” (Jude 1-2)
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” (1 John 3:16)
By now, many have seen the video of a father and his disabled son completing an Ironman Triathlon together. The father pulls the son in a raft through 2.4 miles of ocean, carries him to a specially equipped bike and then pedals him for 112 hilly miles, and finally straps him into a wheelchair and pushes him on foot for 26.2 miles. I’ve seen the clip several times, and each time I can’t help but weep. This father’s love for his boy is a stirring example for me as a dad, and for all who are parents. It’s also a powerful picture of the Heavenly Father’s love for us. In our brokenness, He is our hope and healing. In our weakness, He is our strength. No matter how helpless, lost, confused or laid low we find ourselves, He mercifully, lovingly raises us to heights of joy and hope, peace and purpose that we could scarcely have imagined.
“We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and by nature we were children under wrath, as the others were also. But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace you are saved! He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in [His] kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:3-7, Holman)
For that grace, we give You thanks today, Heavenly Father. Amen.
Dependence Day: In Whom Do We Trust (July 7)
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on [Christ] the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)
Independence Day here in the United States is a great celebration of the birth of a nation—a nation that, as Lincoln said at Gettysburg, was conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all are created equal. Young America needed to break free from Britain in order to thrive. When it comes to the spiritual life, what we need is the exact opposite; we need utter dependence on God. The biblical narrative is filled with accounts of those who depended on the LORD and thrived. It’s also filled with cautionary accounts of those who rebelled and went their own way, typically with disastrous results (see Achan in Joshua 7; Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5). My life, and perhaps yours, attests to this truth, as stubborn seasons of exhausting self-effort contrast with joyous times of relying on God and basking in His presence. Dependence upon God—childlike trust—is the foundation of life for all who would seek to know and serve Him. It doesn’t mean our problems vanish, but the more we submit ourselves under the Father's wise, loving ways, the more we experience a deep contentment and joy in even the most difficult circumstances.
Heavenly Father, you are good, and your love endures forever. As we draw near to You, placing our trust in you, we ask you to deepen our dependence. You are the vine; we are the branches. Hold us fast, that we would remain in you. Thank you for preparing pleasant places for us, both now and in eternity. Amen.
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on [Christ] the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)
Independence Day here in the United States is a great celebration of the birth of a nation—a nation that, as Lincoln said at Gettysburg, was conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all are created equal. Young America needed to break free from Britain in order to thrive. When it comes to the spiritual life, what we need is the exact opposite; we need utter dependence on God. The biblical narrative is filled with accounts of those who depended on the LORD and thrived. It’s also filled with cautionary accounts of those who rebelled and went their own way, typically with disastrous results (see Achan in Joshua 7; Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5). My life, and perhaps yours, attests to this truth, as stubborn seasons of exhausting self-effort contrast with joyous times of relying on God and basking in His presence. Dependence upon God—childlike trust—is the foundation of life for all who would seek to know and serve Him. It doesn’t mean our problems vanish, but the more we submit ourselves under the Father's wise, loving ways, the more we experience a deep contentment and joy in even the most difficult circumstances.
Heavenly Father, you are good, and your love endures forever. As we draw near to You, placing our trust in you, we ask you to deepen our dependence. You are the vine; we are the branches. Hold us fast, that we would remain in you. Thank you for preparing pleasant places for us, both now and in eternity. Amen.
MidPoint Praise (June 30)
As we reach the halfway mark of 2008, it’s a good time to pause, reflect, and focus (or re-focus) our highest praise on the One from who all blessings flow…
“Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth; sing forth the honor and glory of His name; make His praise glorious! Say to God, How awesome and fearfully glorious are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power shall Your enemies submit themselves to You [with feigned and reluctant obedience]. All the earth shall bow down to You and sing [praises] to You; they shall praise Your name in song. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! Come and see the works of God;” (Psalm 66:1-5a)
Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth. The woman said, “I know that the Messiah will come. He is the one we call Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” “I am that one,” Jesus told her, “and I am speaking to you now.” (John 4:24-26)
To worship our Heavenly Father in spirit and in truth, we need not strive or strain. We don’t have to clean ourselves up before He will welcome us. We simply come, lifting our arms like a child, yielding our hearts, receiving His embrace, and allowing His love to wash over us. As we surrender, He begins to refocus our vision from whatever lesser things we have worshiped to His beauty and greatness. He binds our wounds, heals our souls, renews our minds. We abide in His presence and seek to glorify Him because He is the Glorious One. Who He is, and what He has done—“the works of God”—render us awe-struck, humbled, thankful and filled with joy.
O God, we make a joyful noise today because of the joy you have placed within us. We sing forth glory because You are glorious. Your works are wonderful; we know that full well (Ps. 139), and we thank You for every blessing that You have so generously poured out to us. Amen.
“Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth; sing forth the honor and glory of His name; make His praise glorious! Say to God, How awesome and fearfully glorious are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power shall Your enemies submit themselves to You [with feigned and reluctant obedience]. All the earth shall bow down to You and sing [praises] to You; they shall praise Your name in song. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! Come and see the works of God;” (Psalm 66:1-5a)
Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth. The woman said, “I know that the Messiah will come. He is the one we call Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” “I am that one,” Jesus told her, “and I am speaking to you now.” (John 4:24-26)
To worship our Heavenly Father in spirit and in truth, we need not strive or strain. We don’t have to clean ourselves up before He will welcome us. We simply come, lifting our arms like a child, yielding our hearts, receiving His embrace, and allowing His love to wash over us. As we surrender, He begins to refocus our vision from whatever lesser things we have worshiped to His beauty and greatness. He binds our wounds, heals our souls, renews our minds. We abide in His presence and seek to glorify Him because He is the Glorious One. Who He is, and what He has done—“the works of God”—render us awe-struck, humbled, thankful and filled with joy.
O God, we make a joyful noise today because of the joy you have placed within us. We sing forth glory because You are glorious. Your works are wonderful; we know that full well (Ps. 139), and we thank You for every blessing that You have so generously poured out to us. Amen.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Time To Dream Again
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Jesus, in Luke 12:32)
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:17b-21)
“Whenever I’m upside down, if ever I’m turned around, I will pray. And when I wake up smiling, the world’s a different place; only when I choose, only when I use my eyes to see Your beautiful face…Help me to let go of all these distractions, leave them far behind, and dream again.” (Phil Keaggy)
For many of us, so far this has been a summer of loss and sadness. From tragedies involving children, to neighbors and loved ones succumbing to disease before what we would consider “their time,” our hearts have been heavy. In the midst of our necessary grieving and letting go, I believe the voice of the Lord would speak to us, gently but clearly, with a message of fresh hope: This is not the end, child. Continue to trust in Me. Feel the warmth of My embrace. Fix your gaze on My goodness. Remember My faithfulness. All is well, and will be well. Lift your eyes to dream again—to envision the “good plans” that I have for you in the coming season as you walk with Me. I will be with you always.
“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to shore. Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly to venture on wider seas where storms will show Your mastery; where losing sight of land we shall find stars. We ask You to push back the horizons of our hopes; we ask You to [lead us into] a future of strength, courage, hope, and love.” (Sir Francis Drake, 16th-century English sailor; courtesy Dan Miller)
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:17b-21)
“Whenever I’m upside down, if ever I’m turned around, I will pray. And when I wake up smiling, the world’s a different place; only when I choose, only when I use my eyes to see Your beautiful face…Help me to let go of all these distractions, leave them far behind, and dream again.” (Phil Keaggy)
For many of us, so far this has been a summer of loss and sadness. From tragedies involving children, to neighbors and loved ones succumbing to disease before what we would consider “their time,” our hearts have been heavy. In the midst of our necessary grieving and letting go, I believe the voice of the Lord would speak to us, gently but clearly, with a message of fresh hope: This is not the end, child. Continue to trust in Me. Feel the warmth of My embrace. Fix your gaze on My goodness. Remember My faithfulness. All is well, and will be well. Lift your eyes to dream again—to envision the “good plans” that I have for you in the coming season as you walk with Me. I will be with you always.
“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to shore. Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly to venture on wider seas where storms will show Your mastery; where losing sight of land we shall find stars. We ask You to push back the horizons of our hopes; we ask You to [lead us into] a future of strength, courage, hope, and love.” (Sir Francis Drake, 16th-century English sailor; courtesy Dan Miller)
The Father and His Children
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship [adoption]. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ ” (Romans 8:15)
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6)
“Look at how great a love the Father has given us, that we should be called God’s children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him. Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:1-2, Holman CSV)
“If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child and having God as his Father…For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God the Father.” (J.I. Packer, in Knowing God)
In the wake of Father’s Day, consider that Jesus, during his earthly ministry, related most frequently to God as “Father” in a way that we might say “Papa” or “Daddy.” This new, intimate approach to the Most High was radical, even revolutionary. Jesus opened the door not only for us to receive salvation and eternal hope, but also to know God more closely than had been previously imagined—to know Him as Heavenly Father. If our relationship with our earthly father has been stormy, strained or even nonexistent, it can be difficult to embrace God as a “father.” God knows this, and His heart of tender love and compassion is full to overflowing for the “fatherless.” Even if we’ve had a great dad on earth, the fatherhood of God is far deeper and richer still. All of us can come to know God more intimately as we soak ourselves in the many Scriptures that describe His incredible love and tenderness, His instruction and correction, His wisdom and guidance, and His embrace of all who are in Christ as “sons and daughters.”
Heavenly Father, we call you Father and thank you for lavishing your unfathomable love on us. For sending Your only Son as a sacrifice to rescue us from the power of sin and death, we are eternally grateful. We bless you and seek to glorify your name today. Amen.
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6)
“Look at how great a love the Father has given us, that we should be called God’s children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him. Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:1-2, Holman CSV)
“If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child and having God as his Father…For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God the Father.” (J.I. Packer, in Knowing God)
In the wake of Father’s Day, consider that Jesus, during his earthly ministry, related most frequently to God as “Father” in a way that we might say “Papa” or “Daddy.” This new, intimate approach to the Most High was radical, even revolutionary. Jesus opened the door not only for us to receive salvation and eternal hope, but also to know God more closely than had been previously imagined—to know Him as Heavenly Father. If our relationship with our earthly father has been stormy, strained or even nonexistent, it can be difficult to embrace God as a “father.” God knows this, and His heart of tender love and compassion is full to overflowing for the “fatherless.” Even if we’ve had a great dad on earth, the fatherhood of God is far deeper and richer still. All of us can come to know God more intimately as we soak ourselves in the many Scriptures that describe His incredible love and tenderness, His instruction and correction, His wisdom and guidance, and His embrace of all who are in Christ as “sons and daughters.”
Heavenly Father, we call you Father and thank you for lavishing your unfathomable love on us. For sending Your only Son as a sacrifice to rescue us from the power of sin and death, we are eternally grateful. We bless you and seek to glorify your name today. Amen.
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