A Life Worthy

One-a-Day Thursday, 1/8/15

Posted on January 8, 2015 by michaelJanuary 8, 2015

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 …” (Mathew 11:2-5).

Not to the wealthy.

Not to the powerful.

Not to the strong.

All through this verse, we have seen Jesus giving to those that society ignored. Now he caps it off by giving everything to those with nothing.

His message? Oh, I know you know it, but hear it again. Drink it in—you can never get enough of this:

God loves you. You, who feel so helpless…useless…

Worthless.

The God of Everything loves you enough to sacrifice the dearest part of himself, to know pain and shame and loneliness that he never earned, so that he could be with you.

Always

That, Beloved, is worth getting up on a Thursday for.

One-a-Day Wednesday, 1/7/15

Posted on January 7, 2015 by michaelJanuary 7, 2015

Zombies.

They’re among Hollywood’s favorite monsters.

We seem to be fascinated with the idea of people rising from the dead to walk among us. Of course, when Hollywood raises the dead, you end up with empty, soulless creatures. They are raised from death…to death.

When you think about it, isn’t that what most of humanity is? Animated, but not really alive. Walking the earth, but empty and dead inside.

Spiritual zombies.

Jesus did not raise the dead to death. He raised the dead to life.

Inside and out.

As in Adam all died, even so in Christ all shall be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Walk in life today, Beloved.

One-a-Day Tuesday, 1/6/15

Posted on January 6, 2015 by michaelJanuary 5, 2015

When I was a kid, I said something that really impressed my grandma.

Yeah, maybe your grandma is easy to impress; mine was not.

Anyway, she was speaking to me, but I was not paying attention—bad habit, not impressive. Gram called me on my inattentiveness and asked if I had heard her.

“Oh, I heard you,” I said. “I just wasn’t listening.”

Gram took a moment to praise me for making the linguistic distinction before shredding me for not paying attention to her. Funny how a thing like that sticks in your head.

Christ has healed your ears, spiritually speaking. The sin nature that kept you from hearing God has been defeated.

You can hear, Beloved.

But are you listening?

One-a-Day Monday, 1/5/15

Posted on January 5, 2015 by michaelJanuary 5, 2015

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 …” (Matthew 11:2-5).

Unclean!

OK, that would be a pretty unsettling thing to hear, back in the day. You’re walking down the street, talking to your friends, maybe enjoying a tasty kosher snack, when you hear that word yelled out.

Unclean!

The call would have a certain edge to it—disgust, shock, a touch of panic. It meant that somewhere nearby there was a person with leprosy or some other skin ickiness, and you were gonna want to clear out of the way pronto. This person was blemished, damaged, unacceptable,

Unclean

and if you came into contact with them, you would be, too.

Now imagine that you are the unclean one. You are diseased, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You walk through life knowing that your very self is filthy, inside and out. No matter how hard you scrub, you just can’t get rid of it. No matter what clothes or makeup or mask you wear, you just can’t hide the fact that you are blemished, damaged, unacceptable,

Unclean.

Oh yeah…that was you.

And me.

Until Jesus.

But that is no longer you.

Now you are cured.

Now you are whole.

Now you are clean.

Now you are Beloved.

Take that into your Monday.

One-a-Day Friday, 1/2/15

Posted on January 2, 2015 by michaelJanuary 5, 2015

number 1 OK, back to Matthew…

I spent a little time on crutches when I was in high school. How I got them doesn’t really matter. I may have broken my leg leaping from a burning building while rescuing a small child. I could have smashed my toe delivering a brutal kick to the head of a bad guy while defending my school from terrorists. I might have tripped over one of those concrete blocks in the parking lot. It’s kinda hard to remember.

Anyway, I do remember the feeling of feeling…lame. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t dance—at least not without endangering those around me.

Frankly, there are those who still fear my dancing.

Isaiah identified healing the lame as one of the signs of the Messiah. And Jesus healed. But fixing the body—awesome as that was—was symbolic of greater work within.

Jesus came to heal the broken—

arms

legs

hearts

souls

As you head into your weekend, rejoice, Beloved.

The Healer is here.

Happy Friday.

One-a-Day Thursday, 1/1/15

Posted on January 1, 2015 by michaelDecember 31, 2014

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

New year

New you

Same God

Foreverandeverandever

Amen.

One-a-Day Wednesday, 12/31/14

Posted on December 31, 2014 by michaelDecember 31, 2014

The blind receive sight… (Matthew 11:5)

It snowed last night.

This is not unheard of in our town, but it is rare—about once a year. So, of course, everyone turned out into the streets to watch the snow fall and freeze our collective tucases (tucai?) off.

As I stood looking up into the night sky I noticed that, while I could see the snow collecting on trees and cars and children, it was in fact too dark to see the snow falling.

I could feel it.

I could taste it—at least, I hope that was snow.

But I couldn’t see it.

Then I had one of those flashes of brilliance for which I am known throughout my living room. I took my flashlight, aimed it at the sky, and clicked it on.

Wow.

The sky exploded—figuratively, not literally—with light.

I could see each individual flake as it fell toward me.

It was like white-hot sparks drifting down from some heavenly fire.

It was like being in my very own ticker-tape parade.

It was like travelling in the Enterprise at warp speed—geek brethren, can I get an “Amen”?

It was glorious. So I gave him glory.

If someone had come to me at that moment and asked me to prove that what I held in my hand was a flashlight, it would have been simple.

I could see.

The Light came, and I could see.

Enjoy the view today, Beloved.

One-a-Day Tuesday, 12/30/14

Posted on December 30, 2014 by michaelDecember 30, 2014

Jesus replied. “Go back and tell John what you hear and see…” (Matthew 11:4).

I’m really glad that Jesus didn’t respond with a parable here.

He often did, you know—particularly when he thought that questions stemmed from hard-heartedness, disbelief, or a challenge to his authority. But John has already proven that he belongs in none of those categories.

Jesus also didn’t respond with nebulous promises or obscure references to Scripture. He answered directly, pointing to the things he was doing that clearly identified him as Messiah.

He said, in effect, “Look around and see for yourself.”

I like that he took John’s question seriously, because it means that he takes my questions seriously.

It’s OK to ask him questions, Beloved. He knows your heart.

He formed it, after all.

Happy Tuesday.

One-a-Day Monday, 12/29/14

Posted on December 29, 2014 by michaelDecember 29, 2014

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?” (Mathew 11:2-3)

Kinda startling, when you think about it.

I mean, he’s John the Baptist. He has served Jesus since the womb. He baptized Jesus—hence the title. He has seen the heavens open and the Spirit of God descend upon Jesus.

And now he’s asking, “Am I right? Are you the guy?”

How could he ask that?

Maybe, you know, because he’s in prison.

Maybe John was having a hard time seeing God’s hand in his present circumstances. Maybe he had the same picture of Messiah in his head that most Jews had—a King who would come and free them from their bondage. I know he called Jesus, “The Lamb of God,” but did he fully get what he was saying?

Here he sits, in prison, waiting for the whim of Herod to decide his fate.

And Jesus doesn’t seem to be doing much.

Now, I know you’ve never experienced this, but John was in need of a little reassurance here. He needed to know that what he had been preaching, what he had been living, what he was preparing to die for was really true.

Not a nifty little life philosophy.

True.

And so he asked.

Have you asked, Beloved?

Because, there is an answer. We’ll look at it tomorrow.

Spoiler alert—it’s pretty awesome.

One-a-Day Friday, 12/26/14

Posted on December 26, 2014 by michaelDecember 23, 2014

He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:7)

Not through political activism.

Not through military strength.

Not through personal charisma.

Not through any power of man.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Chew on that today, Beloved of God.