A Life Worthy

Author: michael

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 7/17/14

    number 1Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him (Job 13:15).

    Job was the poster boy for rough times.

    He was beaten up, knocked down, stepped on.  He had more reason than any of us to think that God had abandoned him.

    Yet what did he say?

    Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.

    Can you say that, Beloved?  Will you hope in him regardless of what happens in your circumstances?  Is your hope based entirely in God’s character, or is it based in your own wants and needs?

    Are there any limits to your hope in him?

    Any “if’s” to your love?

    Something to chew on today, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Wednesday, 7/16/14

    …God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory. (Colossians 1:27).

    I don’t understand how.

    I can’t fathom why.

    I just know what.

    And the what is that the Lord of the Universe has chosen to make his home in you.  Somehow, someway he lives in your heart, and that makes you completely, irrevocably his in a way that will always be a mystery.

    It is, nevertheless, true.

    And that truth is what gives us hope.  The security, the strength, the love that we can never earn is ours by right because we are his.  We are like street urchins who learn that we are, in fact, the lost heirs to the throne of the kingdom.  Vast, unimaginable riches are ours by birthright.  You don’t need to mourn the past—those debts are paid.  You don’t need to fret over the future—glory awaits.  You need only to let him live in and through you today, to let him build his home in your heart.  And that is exactly what he wants to do.  And that is your hope.

    You are his Beloved.

    You are his, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Tuesday, 7/15/14

    number 1We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure (Hebrews 6:19).

    Go with the flow.

    Drift with the tide.

    Float wherever the breeze may take you.

    Uh, no thanks.

    Ships that drift are not happy ships.  They have an awkward tendency to bump into things like rocks and reefs and other ships, with unfortunate results.  Ships need guidance and direction and, when it’s time to rest, an anchor to hold them secure.

    Yesterday we talked about hope.  As you looked at the things your heart aches for you may have seen all kinds of desires: physical healing, financial security, marriage, children, a loved one coming to Christ.  These are all worthy desires, but none will keep you from drifting, because none is guaranteed.  An anchor must be a sure thing, solid and unmoving.

    Like Christ.

    Our hope in Christ is unlike any other hope, because it cannot fail to come to fruition.  Frankly, there is no guarantee that the other hopes we have talked about will ever come to pass.  I would love it if you were healed, or got married, or became wealthy, but nobody has promised you those things—at least, nobody with the power to make them happen.  But Jesus has promised you some pretty powerful things.  He has promised to love you forever.  He has promised that you are his, wholly and completely.  He has promised to be with you, now and always.

    Jesus is not the God of Maybe.

    He is the great I Am.

    So don’t drift through your day, Beloved.  Set your anchor and let your soul rest.

  • One-a-Day Monday 7/14/14

    number 1This week we focus on Hope, because…  

    Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12).

    There’s a whole lot of sick hearts out there.

    We hope, we hunger, we long for something, and it tears at us.  We feel a hole in our hearts, and we yearn for that which will fill it.  And then, after weeks, months, years of patience, we obtain our hope, and all is bliss.

    Except when we don’t.

    Then what?

    I’m going to open the week with a simple question:  What do you hope for?

    I said simple; I never said easy.

    Do us both a favor; don’t tell me—or God, or yourself, for that matter—what you think we want to hear.  Because, “I hope for Christ’s return, when I will be glorified with him and made complete in him,” sounds incredibly spiritual, and is a gold star answer in Sunday School, and is probably even true.

    But it’s not all, is it?

    Dump out your heart this morning.  Sift through all the bits and bobs.  What do you find yourself yearning for, aching for, hoping for?

    What is missing?

    Just something to ponder as you head into your week.

    Happy Monday, Beloved.

  • Roller Coaster

    roller coasterI am not a fan of heights.

    Roller coasters most often involve great heights.

    Therefore…

    When I was about twelve years old, I got to spend the day at Knott’s Berry Farm with my best friend, Michael.  My friend knew I was afraid of roller coasters, and he decided that this was the day for me to conquer my fear.  The roller coaster of choice at the park in those days was called Corkscrew, and Michael was determined to get me on that ride.  He spoke with all the eloquence his twelve-year-old self could muster about safety records and engineering and not being a wusmeister.

    I didn’t want to be a wusmeister.  So I rode the ride.

    Thanks, peer pressure. (more…)

  • One-a-Day Friday, 7/11/14

    number 1My soul finds rest in God alone (Psalm 62:1). 

    It begins and ends here.

    In God alone.

    Beloved, if I had the power to put one thought in your heart this morning, and keep it there all your life, it would be this:

    God is enough.

    He is strong enough.

    He is wise enough.

    He is good enough.

    And oh, he loves you enough.

    Your God is completely, utterly worthy of the trust that is so hard for you to give.

    And you’re so silly, Beloved.  You have trusted God with your eternity, but you have trouble trusting him with your Friday.

    How do I know?  Because I’m right there with you.  We’re in the same boat, fighting over the paddle.

    Does your soul ache this morning?  Is it carrying the burden of too much responsibility, too much pain, too much stress…just too much?

    There’s only one place to go.  And it’s enough.

    He’s enough.

    And he’s waiting for you.

    Have a restful Friday, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 7/10/14

    number 1My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest (Exodus 33:14).

    As Israel moved into the Promised Land, God granted his assurance that he would not leave his children on their own.  He would be with them on their journey, come what may.  God knew that his people needed more than his blessing, more than his power.

    They needed him.

    As do I.

    As do you.

    What is your journey today, Beloved?  Are you heading to far-off lands of adventure, or nearby streets of tedium? Are you frightened by the uncertainty of what today might hold, or are you frustrated at the drudgery of another monotonous day of the same-old-same-old?  Either way, you can breathe deeply in the knowledge that the God who first conceived the very idea of you goes with you into this day.  Nothing is going to surprise him.  Nothing is going to confuse him.

    He’s got your back.

    And your front.

    And everything in between.

    Today, even today, you can enjoy the rest that comes from simply being in his presence.

    I hope you do.

    Go get ‘em.

  • One-a-Day Wednesday, 7/9/14

    number 1…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

    You’re not who you want to be.

    I get that—neither am I.

    That “not being who you want to be” business, yeah, that causes stress.

    I get that, too.

    And frankly, if it were up to you to become the strong, caring, mature child of God that you want to be, I’d tell you to pack it in.  It ain’t gonna happen, my friend.

    But it’s not up to you.

    Hear that, Beloved.  It is not up to you.

    You are in the hands and heart of your creator, and he is an artist without compare.

    I have heard that great sculptors can look at a block of stone or wood or clay and see the finished work before they even begin.  It’s like that with God.  He looks at you—lumpy blob of clay that you are—and he sees a work of such beauty, such grace, such power that it will bring tears to the eyes.  All he needs is a little time to bring the beauty from the blob.  He will not forget you.  He will not get bored with you and wander off to watch TV or make nachos.  He will stick with you until his vision is realized, until you are complete.

    So don’t stress because you’re not “there” yet.  You don’t even know where “there” is.  Just let God keep doing what he’s doing.

    Because what he’s doing is fantastic.

  • One-a-Day Tuesday, 7/8/14

    number 1And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

    Here’s the payoff.

    I told you yesterday that when you release your stress and worries to God he would give you something in return.  Well, here it is.

    Peace.

    Oh, so very much better than stress.

    So let’s break this down a bit…

    The peace of God It comes from him.  It is at his command.  You can’t manufacture it; you can’t go and find it.  It is his gift—another form of the grace by which you have been saved.

    Which transcends all understanding Like God’s grace, like his love for us, this peace makes no worldly sense.  Why should you have peace when your life is a teeming, steaming mess?  And yet like his grace, like his love, he gives us this priceless gift because it brings him pleasure and glory.  It’s one of those things I can never get my brain around, but I can get my heart around.  That’s enough.

    Will guard your hearts and your minds Stress is a dangerous thing.  It results from—and produces—a powerful need to control our circumstances.  Left to ourselves, this quest for control can lead us into a whole bucketful of sins.  Left to ourselves, the realization that we have no control can plunge us into despair.  So God sets his peace around you like a bodyguard, protecting you from the attacks of your enemies—those outside and inside.

    In Christ Jesus We only have peace because of the cross.  We are reconciled to God by and through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, and our peace is possible only through him and in him.

    Take his peace this morning.  Receive this gift that he offers.  I call it a gift, but it will cost you something.  It will cost you your façade of power, the cardboard cutout you call control.  Offer it up to him.  He’ll take it from you.  For you.

    Now.

    Release it to him, Beloved.  This illusion that you can manipulate your life, your circumstances, the people around you, it’s got you locked in a cycle of fruitless striving and perpetual despair.  Let God break the cycle—break you, if necessary.

    It will leave you feeling insanely, foolishly vulnerable.

    You will be safer than you have ever imagined.

  • One-a-Day Monday 7/7/14

    number 1I don’t know about you, but I could use another week of resting in Him.  So, since this is my blog…  

    Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, and with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  (Philippians 4:6).

    I can only do so much.

    Like we talked about last week, a huge part of our anxiety comes from the need to control our situation.  When circumstances, or people, are not working in the ways we want, and we aren’t able to change them, we get stressed.  Paul is reminding us here that we are not in control—that we will never be in control—but that we have a lifeline to the one who is.  Rather than relying on our own ability to manipulate our situation, we are called to take the things that worry us directly to God.

    Nothing too big.

    Nothing too small.

    But we need to do it with the right attitude, Beloved.  It’s not a list of demands.  It’s not a blueprint for our lives that we just need God to sign off on.  We are to come with thanksgiving, recognizing that he loves us, he wants the best for us, and he is more capable of knowing and doing what is best than we can ever think or imagine.

    I’m gonna let you in on a secret, just between the two of us.   This verse has often annoyed me.

    Yeah I know—just a touch of arrogance there.

    When I focus on the first part—Do not be anxious about anything—I get frustrated.  It’s like someone telling me, “Don’t think about squirrels.”  All that does is plant the picture of those fluffy little rats firmly in my brain.  Telling me not to worry only makes me worry more, because now I feel guilty and ungodly for worrying in the first place.

    Thanks a lot, Paul.

    But I find that if I focus on the second half of the verse—in everything…present your requests to God—things work a little better.  I do my part by bringing my worries to him, but then I let him do his part and be God, which, frankly, he is ever so much better at than I am.

    Though that’s tough to admit.

    What worries are holding you down today, Beloved?  I won’t tell you not to worry.  I will tell you that you have a really big, strong God who is waiting to hear all about it.  Go to him.  Release your stress to him.  He can handle it.  And he’s got something to give you in return, but we’ll talk about that tomorrow.

    Happy Monday, Beloved.