A Life Worthy

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

Hear that, Beloved.  God is at work in you.  He’s the Cosmic Contractor, and he’s building a temple for his Holy Spirit.  He calls that temple You.  Of course he’s not finished yet—he won’t be until the day you stand before him.  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.

Reasons why God is more trustworthy than your average contractor:

1. God knows everything.  Your contractor may or may not have finished high school.
2. God is totally in control of your situation.  Your contractor is limited by your budget, local building codes, and those pesky laws of physics.
3. God loves you completely, and wants only that which will be the best for you.  Your contractor—well, I hate to break it to you, but he’s in it for the money.

So you’ve got a few rough edges—OK, so you’re a mess.  It won’t be forever.

As a matter of fact, your forever is going to be amazing.

I thank my God every time I remember you (Philippians 1:3).

I used to have a prayer wall.  This was an area of my room where I had pictures of friends and family posted.  There was no rhyme or reason to the arrangement—just dozens of snapshots stapled to the wall of a dorm room.  Every time I looked at those pictures, I remembered people who were important in my life.  Some of these people I saw every day; some were thousands of miles from me.  Just seeing those photos prompted me to pray for them.

This is what Paul is talking about.  These are people he cares for, people who are important to him.  He wants them to know that he is thinking of them, covering them in prayer even when he can’t be with them.

Who is on your prayer wall, Beloved?  Whose face popped into your mind when you read this Scripture?  Spend some time in prayer for them today.  Start your week by bringing someone you love before the throne of God.

That’s a good Monday, there.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned… (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

You may feel as if they’re all out to get you.

Maybe they are.

You may think that God’s left you to face it alone.

Never gonna happen, my friend.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed… (2 Corinthians 4:7-8).

There’s a science experiment I remember doing as a kid.  You take a metal container of some kind—it has to be metal, and it has to have a lid.  Fill the container about halfway with water and set it on the stove.  Heat it until the water inside is boiling, then turn off the heat and screw the lid onto the container.

Then you wait…

As the container cools, it begins to implode.  It’s like some giant, unseen hand is squeezing the can. The whole thing crumples right before your eyes.  Way cool.

Why does the can crumple?  Pretty simple, really.  By boiling the water, you increase the air pressure inside the can and drive much of the air out.  As the can cools, the air pressure drops, and the can tries to suck more air in—except it can’t, because you put the cap on.  You end up with a can that has very little air inside.  The outside air pressure—the weight of the world, so to speak—literally crushes it.

Tell me you’re making the connection.

You, Beloved, are not empty inside.  You are filled with the treasure of His truth.  This world and all its pressures—crushing as they are—will not destroy you.

So there.

When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”  Jesus replied, “Go back and tell John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.  Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (Mathew 11:2-6).

Jesus was pretty clear about who he was.  He points out here how he fulfills the many prophesies about the Christ—who he would be, and what he would do. The problem was, many people of the time already had a picture in their heads of what the Messiah was going to be, and Jesus didn’t fit.  He wasn’t a warrior—at least not in the way they anticipated.

Jesus hadn’t come to defeat Caesar, but Satan.

Rather than abandon weak, confused theology in the face of Truth, many people of the time missed out on the reality of a relationship with the God of the Universe.

Couldn’t happen today, of course.

Only all the time.

How often have you heard—or thought—something along these lines: “Well, the God I know would never…” or, “I could never believe in a God that…”

Not so very much has changed in 2000 years.

As you head into your weekend, remember…we serve I AM, not I THINK HE MIGHT BE.  Worship the Lord who is revealed in Scripture, not the one constructed in your mind.

Blessed are you, Beloved.

Happy Friday.