One-a-Day Friday, 12/19/14

Posted on by December 22, 2014
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number 1Mighty God,  (Isaiah 9:6)

As we move toward Christmas week, all sorts of emotions are getting stirred up.  Although we would like to say we are focused strictly on the birth of our Savior, the fact is this can be a really crazy time.  Perhaps you are rushing to wrap—or get—or think of—those last gifts.  Maybe you are frantically trying to get ready to travel—tickets, luggage, ohnowhatdowedowiththedogwhilewe’regone.  Could be you’re receiving guests into your nightmare of a house—good luck with that.

Or you’re moving.

Or you have someone you love in the hospital.

Or you’re broke.

Or things are just falling apart.

Given all that, I feel blessed that you’ve taken the time to read this.  Since you have, make the most of the moment.  Let the words soak in:

He is Mighty God.

Read it again.  Go on.

This King we serve, this Lord we love, this Savior we celebrate is fully capable of meeting the challenges of your day, be they mundane or monstrous.

And he will.

Because you are his beloved.

One-a-Day Thursday, 12/18/14

Posted on by December 22, 2014
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number 1And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, (Isaiah 9:6)

There can be a lot in a name.  My name is Michael, which means, “Who is like God?”  I like that—it’s a constant reminder of the answer…Nobody.  When I begin to get a little too big for my proverbial britches, my very name brings me back to Earth.

Jesus has been given the name Wonderful Counselor.  Think about it—what does a counselor do?  A good counselor does three things—listen deeply, see to the heart of the issue, and offer wisdom.    So, we serve a God who actually listens to us—listens deeply.  He doesn’t just pretend to listen to you while he is mentally planning out his day, the way I might.  He actually considers every word you speak—and those you don’t.

Jesus also sees to the heart of your issue—after all, he knows you better than you do—remember Psalm 139?  You couldn’t hide the truth from him if you tried, so knock it off already.

Wisdom?  Uh…do I need to point out that his words are the very words of God?  Literally?  Yeah, worth listening to.

You, Beloved, have a Wonderful Counselor.  Walk in his wisdom today.

One-a-Day Wednesday, 12/17/14

Posted on by December 22, 2014
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number 1…and the government will be on his shoulders. (Isaiah 9:6)  

Here’s the thing with governments—they’re generally made up of people.  And, well, I hate to tell you this, but people tend toward selfishness and greed.

I just heard a bubble burst…sorry.

Democracy works, except when the people are ignorant, selfish, and lazy.

Oh.

Same holds true for Communism, republics, feudal societies, even theocracies.  On paper, they look great.  It’s when you add the people that things go winky.

Frankly, the best, strongest, most efficient form of government is a benevolent dictatorship.  The problem, of course, is that you can guarantee the dictator part, but not the benevolent bit.

Yet.

But the day will come when we will have an absolute monarch, a king of kings, who will rule with complete authority over all nations.  His reign will be perfect, unhampered by greed, unsullied by sin.  He will know what’s best, want what’s best, do what’s best.

He will be what’s best.

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

One-a-Day Tuesday, 12/16/14

Posted on by December 22, 2014
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number 1For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…  (Isaiah 9:6)

I don’t know if there is anything in life more exciting than the birth of a baby.   The feeling of joy, of life, that you get from holding a newborn—it’s astounding.  It doesn’t even have to be your child.  It can be a friend’s,  a neighbor’s—you can run through the hospital maternity ward, grabbing up random newborns.

I’m not recommending this—I’m just saying.

Hope arrives with every baby.

How wonderful is it that God chose to bring Christ to us in this way?  Think about it—the Christ could have appeared fully grown, striding out of the desert on a Thursday morning.  He could have simply walked into the temple and started preaching.  Instead, we get to see him as a baby—yes, so that his genealogy could be verified and so that prophecy would be fulfilled—but also so that we could see a God willing to humble himself by birth, as he would one day humble himself by death.

Your God loves you so much that he sent a baby—the epitome of life—to call you to eternal life.

Heed the call today, Beloved.

Live the life.

One-a-Day Monday, 12/15/14

Posted on by December 14, 2014
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number 1The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.  (Isaiah 9:2).

The metaphor of light has been around for so long we’ve become numb to it.

See if you can unnumb (denumb?) yourself a bit.

Imagine the darkest place, the blackest night you have ever experienced.

Multiply it by a factor of infinity.

A blackness so complete it fills you, seeping in through your pores…crushing… suffocating.  It’s every nightmare, every horror coalesced and distilled into a pure, inky nothing that will consume you.

That has consumed you.

Then…a light.  It’s small at first, like a candle’s flame.  Even so, the darkness recoils from it; hope rushes in to fill the space.  The light grows and spreads until it fills you—or did it draw you into itself?

Hard to tell.

The nightmare, the horror, the emptiness are revealed as fluff and nonsense by the glory of the light.

Yeah, yeah, I know; the imagery is as old as time.  But…

It’s true, you know.

He’s coming, Beloved.

Happy Monday.

One-a-Day Friday, 12/12/14

Posted on by December 11, 2014
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number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13).

According to my study Bible, this line, “Does not appear in the earliest manuscripts.”

But it’s the big finish to the song I hear every time I read this verse.

And, well, it’s written on my heart.

So I include it. Hope you don’t mind.

Have a great weekend, Beloved.

One-a-Day Thursday, 12/11/14

Posted on by December 11, 2014
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number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:9-13).

God makes it clear through James (James 1:13) that he does not tempt us.  But this prayer takes it a step further.  Jesus asks God not even to take us to the place where we may be tempted by, as James says, “Our own evil desires.”

Of which we have so many.

I can’t help but notice the difference between the two verbs.  Lead us not into temptation.  The word lead is passive—it requires us to follow.  We’re not being dragged by a chain, after all.

Yet

Jesus knows, however, that we will not always follow the Father’s lead.  We will wander off on our own, and end up in the places where, according to James, we will be “dragged away and enticed.”

Which requires the second verb.

Deliver.

There is nothing passive about deliver.  It’s about as active as you get.  When we are “dragged away…” we are unable to free ourselves.  Our enemy is stronger than we are.  But thanks be to God.  He is our deliverer.  He—and only he—is strong enough, brave enough, and merciful enough to come and rescue us from the danger we knowingly put ourselves in.

Because he loves us.

Whaddaya say we try to minimize the number of rescues required today, eh Beloved?

Let’s play Follow the Leader.

One-a-Day Wednesday, 12/10/14

Posted on by December 10, 2014
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number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors   (Matthew 6:9-12). 

Depending on your translation, this could read debts, or this could read trespasses.  Either way, it amounts to the same thing: we’re in the wrong, and there is no way we can dig ourselves out.

The story that comes to mind is from Matthew 18.  Jesus tells of a man—let’s call him Michael—who owed his king a ginormous amount of money, more than he could ever hope to repay.  The king, out of his own goodness, cancelled the debt.  Michael danced the boogie dance of delight.  Later, Michael encountered a fellow servant who owed him a few bucks.  Michael was brutal toward his fellow servant, showing no mercy whatsoever.  When the king found out about Michael’s behavior he was, shall we say, unhappy in the extreme.

Yeah, so on second thought, let’s not call him Michael, hmm?

Beloved, as you wend your way through Wednesday, you will encounter people who desperately need a smack upside the head.  Please remember that, even more than a smack, they need grace.

As do you, Beloved.

As do we all.

Happy Wednesday.

One-a-Day Tuesday, 12/9/14

Posted on by December 9, 2014
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number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread (Matthew 6:9-11).

We did this verse yesterday.  I know.

If I keep pausing like this, it will take forever to get anywhere.  I know.

But I had this thought…

Jesus said to them…”The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…” (John 6:33)

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty…” (John 6:35)

I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever… (John 6:51)

Your daily bread awaits, Beloved.

Partake.

One-a-Day Monday, 12/8/14

Posted on by December 8, 2014
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number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread (Matthew 6:9-11).

Frankly, this verse bugs me.

I know…I know!

But really—why couldn’t Jesus have told us to pray for our yearly bread?  It would have cut down on the uncertainty, the stress

the trust

the faith.

Sometimes I feel like one of the wandering Israelites, wondering each day if the manna would be there.

Of course…it was.

Every day.

Chew on that today, Beloved.

Pun intended.