Hiding One-a-Day Friday    6/2/17

Posted on by June 2, 2017
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A life worthy

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; night will shine like day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:11-12)

Look, I hate to be redundant, but are you seeing the pattern here?

He sees you.

If we were talking about anyone but God, this would be creepy and you would have every right to make a tinfoil hat and hide in the basement.

Not that it would help.

But this is God we’re talking about.  You know, the One who loves you.  You don’t need to be afraid of what he sees.  You don’t need to be ashamed of what his light reveals.  He knew every sin, every dark thought, every wrong desire long before you were ever born.

He paid for it all before you before you even came to be.

So embrace the miracle, Beloved–not that he can see you, but that he sees you and chooses you anyway.

Happy Friday

Flee One-a-Day Thursday    6/1/17

Posted on by June 1, 2017
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A life worthy

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise up on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me; your right hand will hold me fast  (Psalm 139:7-10).

There is simply no place that God is not.  I love this image. Overwhelmed by God’s presence, I try to flee from him—but there is nowhere to go. Wherever I run, he is already there, waiting to guide and protect me.

Question for today: Where, and why, do you try to hide from God?

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Borders One-a-Day Wednesday    5/31/17

Posted on by May 31, 2017
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A life worthy

You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.  (Psalm 139:5-6).

Continuing on yesterday’s theme, there are really two ways to see this verse.  If your heart isn’t right before God, you probably picture a prisoner, bound and chained, surrounded by guards.

Been there.  Felt that. No Bueno.

If your heart is right with God, you picture something like a squad of elite soldiers surrounding you, protecting you from whatever may attack.

Been there, too.  It’s better.

That’s where David was when he wrote this psalm.  He felt God’s hand upon him, not to hold David down, but to lift him up.  The whole idea was, “Too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”  Think about that for a minute.  You serve a God who loves you more than you can even fathom.

His angels surround you.

His hand is upon you.

He’s got your back.

Walk in that today, Beloved.

Happy Wednesday

He Knows  One-a-Day Tuesday    5/30/17

Posted on by May 30, 2017
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A life worthy

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.  You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.  Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord (Psalm 139:1-4).

Every now and then you need to give yourself a spiritual systems check.  You know, make sure that everything is in working order, and that nothing is slipping in between you and God.  Psalm 139 is a great passage of Scripture for that.  I find that most people have one of the following three reactions when they read the above passage.  Reread it and think to yourself—which reaction is yours?

  1.  These lines give great comfort.  You love the idea that God knows everything about you, that he even knows your thoughts.

You, my friend, are in a great place with God.  Proceed to praise.

  1.  These lines creep you out.  There’s something Orwellian about God searching your inmost being.

Houston, we have a problem…  You’re not right with God, Beloved. What is it you don’t want him to see?  May I suggest that a self-examination and a long talk with your Father are in order.

  1.  These lines have no effect on you whatsoever.

Danger, Will Robinson!!  All joking aside, you are in a very dangerous place, my friend. Scripture is full of those whose hearts became numb to God’s Word.  It doesn’t end well.   I’m praying for you today, that God would ravish your heart with his all-consuming love.

You are known, Beloved.  Head to toe.  Inside and out.  Completely and utterly understood.  And that’s a very good thing.

Happy Monday.

Remember One-a-Day Monday,  5/29/17

Posted on by May 29, 2017
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A life worthy

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

We are called to remember.

So…remember.

Remember the One who died that you might live,

who was bound that you might be set free.

And remember those who have followed His example, leaving their homes behind to travel to foreign soil, where they give their lives that you and I might be free.

Right now, as I write this, some warrior shoulders a rifle, or climbs into a chopper, or races toward a bomb blast, knowing that today could be the day that they are called to give “the last full measure of devotion.”

They may be terrified.

They go anyway.

For you

and me.

Remember, Beloved.

Night One-a-Day Thursday    5/25/17

Posted on by May 25, 2017
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A life worthy

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. (Psalm 16:7).

Reason #4,398 to be glad I’m not God: I take naps.

And when I’m napping, I am not thinking about you.

Not trying to hurt your feelings here, but it is what it is.

So, if you need my advice, such as it is, and I happen to be napping, you’re out of luck my friend.

If it’s night, and I’m actually sleeping—forget about it.

God doesn’t nap, you know.  He is there for you, his Beloved, every day and all the time.  So at 3am, when your heart finally quiets down enough to hear him, he’s there.

Speaking softly.

Listening intently.

Loving completely.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Inheritance One-a-Day Wednesday    5/24/17

Posted on by May 24, 2017
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A life worthy

Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance(Psalm 16:5-6).

You know, there’s this thing about an inheritance—you don’t earn it.

Oh, maybe you’re thinking about all the holidays over the years when you’ve driven 100 miles just to eat petrified turkey with your freak show of a family and you’re saying to yourself, “You bet I’m earning it.  Every dime!”

But you aren’t, really.

An inheritance is a gift that comes to you but was earned by another.  If you earned it yourself, it would be wages.

When it comes to dealing with God, you don’t want your wages, trust me.

You want the gift.

The Psalmist understood this, and he was totally cool with it.  He didn’t stake his claim; he didn’t demand his rights.  He rested in the provision of God and trusted in the One who knew him best and loved him most.

So how about it, Beloved?  Are you content with the boundary lines that God has laid down for you?  Do you trust him enough to let enough be enough?

Surely you have a delightful inheritance.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

Apart From You  One-a-Day Tuesday    5/23/17

Posted on by May 23, 2017
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A life worthy

I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”(Psalm 16:2)

Every now and then, my family goes out of town.  It’s just me and the dog.  And things are…different.  It’s not so much that I’m doing different things—I still eat, sleep, go to work, wash the occasional dish.  It’s that, without my family here, it all seems rather…blah.  The people for whom I do these things aren’t here, so my actions feel a little meaningless, a little empty.

It’s kinda like that in this verse.  Apart from God, I would still have things.  I would still do things.  I would still be things.  But those things would be devoid of meaning.

They would be robbed of their goodness.

With God at the center, all things work together for good (Romans 8:28, if you’re wondering).  Without him at the center, why bother?  Whatever I do, or think, or feel…it’s not going to be good.  Because he is what makes it good. In him I live and move and have my being (Acts 17:28).

So, without him, bupkis.  With him…Woohooo!

Whadday say?  Shall we make today a Woohoo kinda day?

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

My Shield One-a-Day Monday    5/22/17

Posted on by May 22, 2017
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A life worthy

O Lord, how many are my foes!  How many rise up against me!  Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.”

But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill.

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.

I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.

Arise, O Lord!  Deliver me, O my God!

Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

From the Lord comes deliverance.  May your blessing be upon your people (Psalm 3).

Now that, Beloved—that oughta kick-start your week.

Read it twice, out loud—though perhaps, you know, not in an elevator or other public transportation.  Then stand tall, square those shoulders, and walk into Monday secure in the knowledge that you are not alone.

You are his.

He is yours.

That is more than enough—it is everything.

So…go get ‘em.

Happy Monday, Beloved.