A Life Worthy

One-a-Day Wednesday, 7/9/14

Posted on July 9, 2014 by michaelJuly 8, 2014

…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

Posted on July 8, 2014 by michaelJuly 8, 2014

And 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

Posted on July 7, 2014 by michaelJuly 7, 2014

number 1 I 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.

One-a-Day Friday, 7/4/14

Posted on July 4, 2014 by michaelJuly 3, 2014

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).

“Hey, Michael, I thought this week was about rest.”

It is, my friend.

“So, what does this verse have to do with resting?”

Stick around and I’ll try to show you.

Today is Independence Day. This day we celebrate our freedom. Of course, as Americans we celebrate our national and political freedom. As men and women of God, we celebrate our spiritual freedom. Christ has set us free from our bondage to sin. He has set us free from our need to try and earn our salvation, to somehow save ourselves. He has set us free from the stress and worry and angst and anxiety which so often attack us.

Hear me, Beloved. I’m not saying that those things are gone. On the contrary, sin and self-righteousness and anxiety are still very much evident in this world and, at times, in our lives. I’m saying that you are no longer in bondage to them.

When Paul wrote the above verse to the Galatians he was talking about freedom from the Mosaic Law. Some Jews had chosen to follow Christ, but still felt compelled to meet the demands of the old covenant. Paul was pointing out that a person who has Christ no longer needs the old law, and to try and follow it is to be like a slave who, once free, returns to his chains.

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that, for some of us, worry and stress operate in the same way as the Mosaic Law.

It’s about power.

The Judaizers liked the Law because it gave them a sense of control over their destinies. They had rules to follow, stuff to do, that they thought would get them to Heaven.

“But Michael, I don’t worry because I feel powerful. I worry because I feel powerless.”

Yes, but it’s still about power. About control. You worry because you know you are not in control, and you desperately want to be. Because if you’re not in control, someone else is, and there’s a part of you that just cannot handle that.

I’m in the same boat, by the way. May I steer? Of course not.

Sometimes trust seems beyond our grasp. And without trust, there is no rest.

And this, after all, is “Rest in Him” week.

So let’s pray for trust today, shall we? I’ll pray for you, and you for me. Maybe we can both get some rest.

Today is the day to celebrate your independence.

And your dependence.

Happy Fourth, Beloved.

One-a-Day Thursday, 7/3/14

Posted on July 3, 2014 by michaelJuly 3, 2014

My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me (Psalm 131:1-2).

I mentioned this Psalm in a post a couple of weeks ago, but it’s still on my heart. The image is so powerful—a small child walking quietly along, holding his mother’s hand and going wherever she leads. The child is not worried about where they are going or when they will get there or how they will pay the rent or who will be President. Mom is there, and so all is well. And that’s all that matters.

God is here.

Isn’t that all that matters?

Take his hand today, Beloved. Walk quietly with him, content that he is here, and so all is well.

Breathe deeply, and have a peaceful Thursday.

One-a-Day Wednesday, 7/2/14

Posted on July 2, 2014 by michaelJuly 2, 2014

Take my yoke upon on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30).

So here’s what I think…

As you well know, a yoke is a contraption that allows an ox, or some other suitable creature, to pull a plow. Oxen are yoked together in teams of two, with one ox leading, and the other ox more or less along for the ride. This second, or “off” ox, is constrained by the yoke to follow the lead ox and do what he does.

Jesus is inviting you to be his off ox.

Follow his lead. Do what he does. Be conformed to his image. That’s the offer. And what is the result of this?

You will find rest for your soul.

Now Jesus could be talking about that rest as a reward for faithfully serving him, but I think it’s more than that. I think rest is a natural byproduct of following Jesus. Because following Jesus means walking in obedience to the Father, and obedience to the Father is the key to a peaceful heart. Think about it—how could Jesus say that his yoke was easy, his burden light? He was going to the cross to bear the sin of all mankind, and he knew it.

He could call it easy and light because it was the Father’s will, and doing the Father’s will put him in harmony with—at peace with—the Father. He was doing what he was sent to do. He was fulfilling his destiny.

When we obey God, when we allow him to direct our steps, we know peace, even when the path itself seems impossibly difficult. When we do what we were designed to do for the One who designed us, our souls will know rest.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus…

What is he calling you to this day, Beloved? Where are you most likely to fight against the yoke? Could that—fighting against his lead—could that be the source of your stress today? Could submission bring rest to your soul?

Who am I to say? What do I know? But, maybe…

Oxen are notoriously dull-witted creatures, but they manage to get it right.

I think there’s hope for us, Beloved.

One-a-Day Tuesday, 7/1/14

Posted on July 1, 2014 by michaelJuly 1, 2014

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

Some mornings I look at a verse and I think, “This is so clear, so simple, that trying to ‘explain’ it would only complicate matters.”

Today would be one of those mornings.

Let’s not discuss this verse, Beloved.

Let’s not analyze it.

Let’s just embrace it.

Jesus is inviting you to take the worry, the stress, the anxiety that plagues you today and lay it all at his feet.

He’s waiting…

I’ll meet you there, Beloved.

One-a-Day Monday 6/30/14

Posted on June 30, 2014 by michaelJune 30, 2014

number 1

Lately I’ve noticed a lot of anxiety in the hearts around me. Therefore, this week’s One-a-Days have a theme: Rest in Him.

The Lord your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17).

There’s a whole lot of great theology packed into this verse. Walk through it with me, would you?

The Lord your God is with you The God of the Universe, he who created everything—by which I mean everything—with his spoken word, is on your side. He wants you to succeed; he wants you to prosper.

He is mighty to save This one who is on your side is the Lord of the Universe. He has the power to protect you, to care for you. Look, I love you, my friend, but what can I do? God, on the other hand—when he says he’ll protect you, you know you’re protected.

He will take great delight in you This same Lord of the Universe we’re talking about? He doesn’t just love you. He likes you. He delights in you. You, Beloved. You make his heart sing.

He will quiet you with his love God’s love has the power to calm that stressed out heart of yours. I remember when my kids were little. Sometimes they would be upset, and I could scoop them up into my arms, hold them close, and feel their anxiety melt away. God wants to do that with you, Beloved.

He will rejoice over you with singing You. Your Father is filled with joy over you.

Notice, nothing is said about how much you deserve all this—or don’t—so get the self-incrimination out of the way. Just read the words—two or three or ten times—and let them sink deep. Let him quiet you with his love this morning.

Happy Monday, Beloved.

Treasure

Posted on June 27, 2014 by michaelJune 27, 2014

I crashed a funeral the other day.

I know—color me creepy.

Really, I didn’t mean to do it. My kids were helping with a Vacation Bible School in a park about thirty minutes from our house. Rather than drive all the way there, then home, then back to get the kids, then home again, I went looking for a shady place to park and relax for a couple of hours. I found such a place at a cemetery a few blocks from the park. Plenty of shade, and plenty of quiet.

Yes, I was parked outside the gates. What do you think of me, anyway? Continue reading →

One-a-Day Friday, 6/27/14

Posted on June 27, 2014 by michaelJuly 18, 2014

number 1

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief… (2 Peter 3:10a).

My bride encountered a thief recently. She was loading groceries into the car, and as she turned back to the shopping cart she saw that two pizzas were missing.

I should point out, to preserve my Cathy’s reputation, that she is an excellent, creative cook who seldom resorts to frozen pizza. But it was $5 Friday, and how do you pass that up?

Anyway, Cathy looked up to see the pizza thief wandering through the parking lot carrying our dinner. To my pride and horror, the delicate flower of my heart went after him. She chased the large, menacing man down, confronted him, and retrieved the pizzas.

No blood was spilled; that was sauce on her hands.

My point? You mean, besides that my wife is awesome?

Here it is. She never saw this guy coming. She was minding her own business, doing her stuff, when suddenly the thief was there. He was quick, and quiet, and had it not been for Xena, my Warrior Princess, he would have absconded with our food.

Christ’s return will be like that. It won’t be published in the newspaper a week out. You won’t get a calendar invite or a Facebook message. You will be doing your stuff, and you will look up, and there he will be, riding on the clouds.

It could be any minute.

Are you ready, Beloved? Is your heart right before him? Oh, of course you don’t have it all together—that comes after. But have you repented; did you drink deeply of his forgiveness today? If so, you can go about your business—his business—knowing that if it is today, your heart is right and ready.

Oh, Beloved…what if it is today?

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.