One-a-Day Tuesday, 10/15/13

Posted on by October 14, 2013
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number 1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received (Ephesians 4:1).

I know; I keep coming back to this verse.  It’s just too powerful to let go.  Paul is leading the way here—he is living his calling, though it landed him in prison.

So, what is your call?  Let’s keep it simple; after all, it’s only Tuesday.  Your call, beloved of God, is to bring him glory.  How do you do that?  Well, the context of the verse says that you do that by keeping the peace.  At the cross, God brought peace between Man and Man as well as between Man and God (Eph. 2:14-18).  Our job is to live in such a way as to help maintain that unity and that peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)

May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me (John 17:23).

Think about the people you are likely to see and deal with today.  How can you glorify God by being, “completely humble and gentle…patient, bearing with one another in love”? Yeah, I know it isn’t easy—and they’re probably thinking the same thing about you.

Hmmm…prison…solitary confinement…maybe Paul had it easier than I thought.

One-a-Day Monday 10/14/13

Posted on by October 13, 2013
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number 1Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen.     (Eph. 3:20-21)

Now, there’s a kick-start to your week!

I have quite an imagination.  I mean, I can be pretty creative, you know? But I serve a God who can do “immeasurably more” than I can even think of asking for.  Once again, Paul reminds me that God is too big for me to wrap my brain around.  And yet, that power—the power that created the universe—lives in me.  That sound you hear?  That is my brain exploding.

Yes, to him be glory for ever and ever!!!

The Call of the Window

Posted on by October 12, 2013
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window washerOnce upon a time, while sitting in an airport in Bucharest…

Great start to a story, isn’t it?  I should follow up with a tale of espionage, intrigue, fast cars, and spiffy accents.

Except, I’m me.

Once upon a time, while sitting in an airport in Bucharest waiting for my flight, I observed two men toiling at a job both menial and fraught with danger.

They were window washers…sort of. Continue reading →

One-a-Day Friday 10/11/13

Posted on by October 10, 2013
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number 1…and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19). This is kind of Part 2 to yesterday’s thoughts. This love that surpasses knowledge…a love that is more than my brain can contain…frankly, that he loves us at all is mind-blowing—wouldn’t you agree? To be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God…to be so full of God that there’s no room for anything else.  You know what that makes me think of?  It makes me think of the scene in It’s a Wonderful Life when Jimmy Stewart is wooing Donna Reed.  He talks about lassoing the moon, and bringing it down for her. She could then swallow the moon, and the moonbeams would shoot out from her fingertips and the ends of her hair.  That’s what this verse makes me think of.  Paul wants us to be so full of God’s love that it pours out of us—shoots out of us in all directions. He seems to say that, if we could just grasp the giganticatiousness of God’s love, we would be filled to capacity with his…well, with him. Chew on that as you move through your Friday.  Pray that God would help you to know his love, that you might be filled to the brim, and pour out into the lives all around you. God runs a full-service station.  Fill ‘er up. By the by, this concludes the first week of One-a-Days.   I hope you find them of some value.  Please leave me some feedback to let me know if you like this new direction.  Tomorrow should bring a regular, full-length post. Happy Friday.

One-a-Day Thursday 10/10/13

Posted on by October 9, 2013
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number 1And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ… (Ephesians 3:17b-18).

If you only knew.

We can’t understand God’s love.  It is totally beyond our brains.  We can use metaphors—parent and child, husband and wife—but ultimately, they fall short.  Can you imagine a trillion of something?  I’ll give you a hand.  One trillion seconds equates to about 31,000 years.  Which you also can’t imagine, since you’ve been around less than a hundred years.

Most of you.

The problem is, we’re so stinking finite.  How do we grasp the idea of an infinite God, and his infinite love?

It’s a good problem.

I think that, the more we can understand of the sheer magnitude of God’s love for us, the more our problems will shrink in comparison.

Is God’s love big enough to cover…?

Does God love me even though I…?

Can God’s love handle all the…?

If you only knew.

One-a-Day Wednesday 10/9/13

Posted on by October 7, 2013
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number 1For he (God) chose us in him (Jesus) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight (Ephesians 1:4).

You are the chosen one.

Well, maybe not the chosen one, but certainly a chosen one.

Before he made the world, God had you in mind.  He knew who you would be, how you would be, your many sins, your epic, endless failures.

And he loved you.

And he chose you.

Wow.

Consider this: God is not bound by time, right?  Past, present, future—it’s all kind of now to him.  So, when he looks at you he sees you not only as you are, but as you will be.

Holy.

Blameless.

Now, if only you could learn to see yourself as he sees you.

One-a-Day Tuesday 10/8/13

Posted on by October 7, 2013
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number 1Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

Think you aren’t strong enough?

Think you aren’t smart enough?

Think you aren’t rich enough?

Think you aren’t…enough?

You have been blessed with every spiritual blessing.  Not some…not even most.

Every.

All.

I can’t even imagine what all that means, but I’ll bet it means this much: everything you need to live the life God has called you to, He has already given you.

So what are you waiting for?

One-a-Day Monday 10/7/13

Posted on by October 6, 2013
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number 1note: This is the first in a series of daily posts designed to encourage you to live the life to which you have been called.  For more information on this new direction, click here.

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:2).

Have you ever considered the relationship between the words grace and peace? The second truly depends upon the first.  It is only through God’s grace that we can have peace.

Think about it—apart from God’s grace, why should you have peace?  You are a hopeless, pathetic lump, destined for destruction—me too, for that matter. (Feeling encouraged yet?)

Ahh, but you are not apart from God’s grace.  If you belong to Him, you have his grace, sufficient to all your needs.  Your pathetic lumpiness has been forgiven, atoned for.  You, my friend, are complete, you are whole, you are loved.  You are His.

Embrace his grace, beloved of the Father.  Know his peace today.

Change of Direction

Posted on by October 6, 2013
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road signAs you may have noticed, my posting is a bit…sporadic.  My intent is to post twice per week, but it never seems to work out that way.  Call it crazy life, or ineptitudalosity on my part; it is what it is.  So, I’m going in a new direction, and I hope you will come along for the ride.  I am going to post six days per week.

Counterintuitive, huh?

Here’s the plan:  Monday through Friday I am going to post a daily Scripture verse, with a short commentary.  I’m talking short—just enough to give you something to chew on as you move through your day.  It’s called One-a-Day, and I hope you find it worthwhile.  On Saturday, I will post a normal—if you can call it that—post.

We’ll see how this works.

By the way, if you look to the left side of your screen you may see a truly hideous orange tab labeled “Newsletter Signup.” I don’t have a newsletter, and the button does not seem to be connected to anything, so do your best to ignore it. I’m trying to get a “Subscribe” list up and running, so that readers can get an email notification when there are new posts.  But, since I’m going to be posting six times per week, you can just save time and set this as your home page!

So, come back tomorrow morning for your first One-a-Day!

Plans

Posted on by September 27, 2013
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blueprints“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord,

“Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

Plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:11)

Cathy once saw a church play in which little notes would come wafting down from the rafters into the hands of the main characters.  The little notes were from God and contained explicit instructions for immediate situations.

I want that.

Please. Continue reading →