Judgment   One-a-Day Tuesday 2/23/16

A life worthy

The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?”  But we have the mind of Christ  (1 Corinthians 2:15-16).

I am not subject to any man’s judgment!

I can do what I want!!!!!

WooHoooooo!!!

No.  And…no.

You know how you have to be careful when you take a verse out of context, otherwise you could destroy your life and those around you while birthing a heretical cult to wreak havoc upon the world?

This would be one of those times.

Look, you are subject to judgment. Deal with it. Swipe a police helicopter for a joy ride, and you will be judged.  Load up at Costco and walk out without paying, and you will be judged.  Try sneaking twelve items through the ten-items-or-less aisle, and I will judge you myself. (Though it should be “fewer,” not “less”–where’s a grammar cop when you need one?)

Paul is not talking about felonious activity.

He’s talking about your spiritual life.

How do I know?  Context, Baby.

Paul has just spent the last several verses talking about the Holy Spirit and making the case that, without the Spirit, it is impossible to understand the things of God.  He continues that thought here. People without Christ will not, cannot, understand your relationship with him.  They will be skeptical, judgmental, even mocking.

So?  Let them mock.  Let them judge.  Let them…skept.

Their judgment has no power over you.  You are a child of the King, and you have diplomatic immunity from the pointing fingers of the world.  So hold fast to Jesus, and to the principles his Holy Spirit has taught you.

But, you know, don’t go wandering through the restaurant sampling other people’s food just “because it looks tasty.”

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

Spiritless One-a-Day Monday 2/22/16  

A life worthy

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned  (1 Corinthians 2:14).

How can they possibly think that?

Have you ever had that question as you read or watched someone espouse beliefs that are, well, ludicrous?

Sure you have.  And you have wondered, seriously wondered, how intelligent, thoughtful, articulate people could say things that sound so…so…

silly.

You know…they’re thinking the same thing about you.

My bride tells me that, before she knew Christ, she was a supporter of “A woman’s right to choose.”  It just made sense to her that a woman should be in charge of decisions regarding her own body.  Those people who championed the rights of a bunch of cells, well, they were just off.

Then the Holy Spirit came and led her into Truth…and everything changed.

She was blind, but now she saw, and she wondered how she could ever have thought otherwise.

Beloved, I’m not saying we shouldn’t have conversations with the world, shouldn’t try to get them to see Truth.  But we must realize that, without the Spirit, people are trapped in a worldview that will not admit God, so there are things they are simply not capable of understanding.

They’re not the enemy.

They’re the ones we’re here to rescue.

Happy Monday, Beloved.

NOTW One-a-Day Friday 2/19/16

A life worthy

This is why we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words  (1 Corinthians 2:13).

You are not of this world.

I know…that’s not original.  You’ve heard it before.

So hear it again.

You are not of this world.

Your wisdom is not this world’s wisdom.

Your truth is not this world’s truth.

Your strength is not this world’s strength.

Your love is not this world’s love.

Your desire is not this world’s desire.

Your treasure is not this world’s treasure.

Your glory is not this world’s glory.

Your destiny is not this world’s destiny.

 

You are different.  Accept it

and rejoice.

Happy Friday, Beloved.

Confidante One-a-Day Thursday 2/18/16

A life worthy

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us (1 Corinthians 2:12).

We have someone on the inside.

Jesus promised us as much. In John 16:12, he said to his disciples, “I have much more to say to you than you can now bear.  But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.”

God knows that his thoughts are beyond us.  Even so, he wants his thoughts to be within us.  He wants us to “get” as much as we possibly can, and a little bit more.  So he sent his Holy Spirit to live within us.  The Spirit works in two ways.  He breaks God’s truth down into smaller bits–glimpses, verses, illustrations–that we can digest.  That’s why you can read a verse for the umpteenth time and suddenly see something you’ve never seen before, or watch a bird feed its babies and catch a vision of God’s provision.

Thank you Holy Spirit.

He also expands us.  He kinda stretches our perception so that we can comprehend–if only for a moment–more of God’s nature.  I remember such a moment, eversolong ago.  I was going through the routines of my day, and in the back of my mind I was thinking about Christ’s return.  Suddenly, my perception shifted, and I understood, believed, knew Jesus was returning with a certainty and power that I had never before experienced.  It wasn’t a vision, just one of those “A Ha!” moments, when, just for a heartbeat, I understood.  

Thank you Holy Spirit.

It’s Thursday, Beloved.  A pretty ordinary day.  And yet, right now, the God of the Universe is at work within you, guiding you into a truth that the world will never grasp, the truth of the very nature of who God is and how very much he loves you.

So…maybe not so ordinary after all.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

The Thoughts of God One-a-Day Wednesday 2/17/16

A life worthy

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?  In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-11).

Remember yesterday?

You do remember yesterday, don’t you?  I mean, if not, you may want to consider getting some help with that…

Anyway, yesterday I pointed out that we, as finite creatures, are simply not capable of grasping the immensity of what God has in store for us.

That’s true.

But that’s not all.

You see, there is someone who understands the deep things of God, someone who is not limited by our finiteiosity.  Someone who understands God’s mind as if it were his own.

Because, well, it is.

The Holy Spirit, that mysterious third person of the Trinity, understands the Father in a way that is…well…inconceivable to us.

At least to the non-schizophrenic among us.

And here’s the great part. That mysterious Person…the one who understands God so well?  

He kinda likes us. And he’s willing to share.

And that, Beloved, makes all the difference.

Happy Wednesday

Inconceivable    One-a-Day Tuesday 2/16/16

A life worthy

However, as it is written:  “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”  (1 Corinthians 2:9).

It’s inconceivable.

Go ahead.  Try to imagine what it will be like

to be in his presence

to be like him

to be complete.

Do you have a picture in your head?  Great!

You’re not even close.  

You’re a toddler who’s been promised a trip to the beach.  You’ve never been to the beach, but you’ve been told about it.  

The beach has sand–but so does your sandbox.

The beach has water–but so does your bathtub.

The beach has waves–but you’ve been to a swimming pool, and you’ve seen how the water slops around after a big kid does a cannonball.

You know what to expect.

Except not at all.

Inconceivable

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

 

Plague Boy

**This here’s a reprint from a few years ago, when I felt as remarkably unwell as I do today.  

There’s no use denying it—I’ve got the crud.  For the last few days, I have hardly stirred from my big green chair.  I have slept, eaten, napped, read junk novels, snoozed, scrolled aimlessly through Facebook, slumbered, and slept.

I’ve been sick.

There are no spectacular symptoms I can point you to.  No raging fever, no projectile vomiting, no delirium—at least, none that I’ve noticed. I’m not bleeding, either internally or externally.  Neither pox nor pustules are in ready evidence.  I’m just totally wiped out.

Frankly, I almost wish I had some better symptoms. Continue reading

Misunderstood    One-a-Day Friday 2/12/16

A life worthy

None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8).

They meant well enough.

They wanted to protect their world, improve their society

maybe pad their bank accounts–and legacies–a bit

but all in all, they were doing what they thought best.

However

they were making decisions without the Holy Spirit, operating in the wisdom of the world, which isn’t.

And in that worldly wisdom they wrought horror and abomination.

Sound familiar?

Take heart, Beloved.  God used their foolishness, their evil acts, to demonstrate his power and glory.  

And God has a habit of repeating himself.

Happy Friday, Beloved.

Secret One-a-Day Thursday  2/11/16

A life worthy

No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began (1 Corinthians 2:7).

Secrets can be fun.

When my son turned twelve, we got him a puppy.  

Golden Retriever, because…I mean…they’re awesome.

Anyway, we kept it secret until the big day.  Alec came around the corner into the family room and saw that puppy, and he just stared.

“It’s a dog,” he said.

My son is brilliant like that.

He had wanted a dog for quite some time, but we knew that he wasn’t ready for one yet.  When we determined that the time was right, we revealed the secret that brought him great joy.

You see where I’m going, don’t you?  Yes, you do…

God wasn’t playing some cosmic game, nor was he making it up as he went along.  His plan of salvation was set before the world began.  He was simply waiting for the time to be right, for all the pieces to be in place.

And now you’re in on the secret.

You should feel pretty special.

You should feel Beloved.

Happy Thursday.

The Rulers of this Age   One-a-Day Wednesday 2/10/16

A life worthy

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing (1 Corinthians 1:22-24).

We’re surrounded by presidential wanna-be’s.

It’s an election year, so the candidates are everywhere; primping and posing and posturing and preparing to present their potential presidential prowess.

I wanna run and hide in my sock drawer just to escape them.

A year from now, one of these…people will be the leader of our nation, the Commander-in-Chief of our military, arguably the most powerful individual on the planet.

And yet, if that person does not have Christ, they will come to nothing.

Their power, their wisdom, their influence…la nada grande.

Remember that in today’s post-primary pandemonium.  

We may vote for a president, but we serve a King.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.