A Life Worthy

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).

The cross.

Paul just keeps coming back to it.

As should we

Beloved, there is a constant temptation before us to rely on our own skills, our own talents, our own hard work.  It’s at the core of our being.

Sometimes it spurs us to do great things.

Mostly, it drives us from God. 

Paul didn’t want to risk people following him rather than Jesus, so it kept it simple:

God loves you.

He died for you, because he loves you.

Your debt has been paid, because he loves you.

Come be free, because he loves you.

As you dive into your day, remember: no matter what your job is, your mission is simple.

Show them the cross.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called.  Not many of you were wise by the world’s standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things–and things that are not–to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

Remember the story of Baalam and his donkey?  

That would be you.

No…not Baalam.

And just as God used a lowly donkey to school a prophet, God can and will and does use you.  

Yes, you are weak.  

You’re right, you don’t know the Bible as well as you ought.

Your prayer life?  Well, I wasn’t going to use the word “pathetic,” but if you insist…

Doesn’t mean he won’t use you. 

Of course, he may not use you in the way you lobbied for.  I keep pointing out to God how well he could use me as a multibillionaire writer/speaker/boogie dancer.  He has not yet seen fit to take my advice. 

Go figure.

Still, I trust that he is using me, teaching in my little classroom, writing my little blog, loving my little family.

And he’s using you.  Trust me.

Better yet, trust Him.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength (1 Corinthians 1:25).

You know those people who are better on their worst day than you are on your best day?

You know who I’m talking about.  The person who looks better after sleeping on a bus for three hours than you look on your way to a wedding.  The guy at the gym who lifts more on his “easy” day than you do in a week.  The one who picked up an instrument a week ago and can play the piece you’ve been attempting–unsuccessfully–for years.

Yeah, I like to throw rocks at those people.

Metaphorically…mostly

It’s like that with God, but in a good way.

Not the rock throwing part, the “better than you” part.

He’s just so far beyond us…there’s really no way to quantify him

or question him

or challenge him

and yet we just gotta try, don’t we?

Beloved, before you charge into your Friday, why don’t you soak for a minute in a few simple truths:

He really is all-wise.

He really is all-powerful.

He really does love you.

Happy Friday, Beloved.

For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”  Where is the wise man?  Where is the scholar?  Where is the philosopher of this age?  For since in the wisdom of God the world in its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe  (1 Corinthians 1:19-21).

God doesn’t play tricks.

I don’t think he sat on his throne and thought, “Oh, this’ll be hilarious!  I’ll make redemption so illogical that most people will reject it as foolishness.  It’ll only make sense to utter morons!  I shall build my kingdom upon the backs of idiots!  WooHoo!!”

Man, I hope it wasn’t like that.

God is not saying that we have to abandon our brains in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  After all, he gave us our intellect, and we honor him when we use it for his glory.  But, like everything else in creation, our minds have been corrupted by sin, so that now we look at everything through the egocentric lens of Pride.  This distorts the wisdom of Almighty God and makes it look like foolishness.  That’s why, in his letter to the Romans, Paul says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”  You see, God’s plan makes sense only when we see it in the light of faith and not of flesh.

So as you move into your Wednesday, don’t expect the world to understand.  They can’t.  Instead, ask the father of all wisdom to renew your mind, so that you can use it for his glory.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel–not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross be emptied of its power (1 Corinthians 1:17).

See, this is why Paul is Paul and I am just Michael.

Paul gets it.  He totally understands, right from the start, that you can’t convince someone into Heaven. 

You can’t argue them in.  

You can’t debate them in.

You can’t meme them in.

It’s gotta be the cross.

There’s power in sacrificial love, and the greater the sacrifice, the greater the power.

Hence the cross. 

The gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, mind-numbing, veil-tearing power of love that infinitely transcends my feeble words and useless arguments.

Oh, Father, how could you do it?  How could you give your Son over to such pain, such disgrace, such emptiness?  How could I possibly be worth that, when you and I both know what goes on inside this pathetic excuse for a heart?

You see, Beloved?  That there’s the power that will change a life and save a soul.

Spend a little time at the foot of the Cross this morning, will you? 

Happy Monday.