A Life Worthy

Tag: a life worthy

  • Bubble

    bubbleI have decided to create a bubble around myself.

    Hold on a moment…there, it’s done.

    My new bubble is a sphere approximately four-feet-seven-inches in diameter, centered on my xiphoid process. (That’s the little cartilage thingie at the bottom of your sternum.  I could have centered it on my belly button, but then you might not have taken me seriously.  I find that we rarely take the belly button seriously, but that is another topic for another time.)  My bubble is invisible, which is why I’m pointing it out.  I wouldn’t want you to stumble into it by mistake.

    I call my new creation Michael’s-no-deception-no-pretense-no-mystery-no-posing-no-evasion-no guilt-no-condemnation-straight-up-straight-forward-I’m-a-big-boy-bubble-of-grace.  For discussion purposes, we’ll just call it “The Bubble.”  (more…)

  • One-a-Day Friday 4/25/14

    number 1Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy (Matthew 5:7).

    I need mercy like you wouldn’t believe.

    Well, maybe you would.

    I mean, I’m not an axe murderer or anything.  It’s just that I know what God requires, I know my heart, and I know that without the mercy of God I wouldn’t make it to my next breath.  So when I read this verse, I get really practical.  Actually, I get a little mercenary.  Or mercy-enary.  I figure, I give and I get.

    As self-serving as that sounds, I think it makes me more merciful.  When I see a need, I think of all the times I have needed mercy. And all the times I will.  And I’m more likely to give.  I guess you could call it making a deposit in the mercy bank.

    That is one account I never want to see overdrawn.

    Think you might need mercy one of these days?

    Then walk in mercy today, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Thursday 4/24/14

    number 1Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Matthew 5:6).

    Father, grant me the hunger that only you can satisfy,

    the thirst that only you can quench.

    Create in me an emptiness that you alone can fill

    because sometimes I think I’m complete

    but I’m not;

    I’m just crowded.

    Father of all desire

    let me crave

    You.

  • One-a-Day Wednesday 4/23/14

    number 1Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).

    Let’s not read too much into this one, shall we?

    I doubt that Jesus was literally promising you the world.  Really—what would you do with it if you had it?  A town, certainly, maybe even a small state—but the entire world?  Come now.  And what about that woman down the street, or the guy at work; do they also inherit the earth?  How do we do the sharesies on that one?  Jesus is teaching that those who walk with God will have all their needs completely met.  The earth and all that is in it are the Lord’s, and he gives joyfully to those who are his.

    On another note, “Meek” is not the same as “Weak.”  When we read this verse, it’s easy to get the picture of these mousey, quiet, timid little people running the world someday.  It makes you wonder how anything would ever get done.  “Meek,” in the biblical sense, means to be humble and gentle before God and man.  A meek person trusts God to provide for him, and doesn’t feel the need to push and shove in order to get what is his.  One who trusts God, fully and completely, isn’t worried about the other guy.  He has nothing to prove and no one to beat.  He can afford to be gentle.

    So, Beloved, will you walk in meekness today?  There may be a small county in it for you.

  • One-a-Day Tuesday 4/22/14

    number 1Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4).

    It’s good to mourn.

    Oh maybe not good in the sense of, “Woohooo, my heart is breaking, I’ve lost everything I love—let’s get ice cream and cheesy puffs!”

    Not good in that sense.

    Good in the sense that it’s a natural part of who we are.  It’s healthy; it shows that we love.  After all, we don’t mourn that which we did not love.

    God mourns.  Jesus mourned Jerusalem (Matt. 23:37).  He wept at the grave of Lazarus.  I believe that the Father mourns those who choose to live and die apart from him. When we mourn, we show that we are made in his image.  We reveal the stamp of our Creator.

    And when we mourn, we are comforted.

    There’s the promise.  The God of all peace, all healing, all love, stands ready to comfort us in our loss.  And that comfort outweighs our pain.

    Eventually.

    So, once again God invites us to be vulnerable and rest in his protection, to be weak and draw on his strength, to be empty and let him fill us, to be broken and allow him to restore.

    When we are weak, he is strong—in us and through us.

    What have you lost, Beloved?  What do you mourn?

    Walk in his comfort today.

  • One-a-Day Monday 4/21/14

    number 1Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3).

    You’re not impressing him.  You know that, don’t you?

    OK, so you pray, and you read the Word, and you tithe; you even visit sick orphans in prison. That’s great.  I applaud you.  But don’t think that you’re going to parlay that into some kind of spiritual currency.  It just doesn’t work that way.

    I sometimes wish it did, but it doesn’t.

    Jesus says to be poor in spirit—to recognize that all you have to offer is really not so much at all.  I once survived for three weeks on generic ramen noodles, a dozen eggs, and tap water.  I couldn’t afford shampoo—I used dishwashing liquid. I don’t recommend it.  Needless to say, I did little entertaining during those weeks.  I knew that I had nothing to offer.

    When we come to God, we need to realize that we have nothing to offer that he needs.  He owns everything.  He doesn’t need our spiritual ramen.  When we come to him, we need to be poor in spirit.

    The tax collector in Luke 18 had it right.  He came with no demands, but with one simple plea: have mercy.  That’s the ticket to the kingdom.

    It’s Monday.  The Lord of all stands ready to shower you with his love, his grace, his peace this morning.  You didn’t earn it; you can’t pay for it.  But you will need it before the day is out.  Receive it, Beloved.  Open your heart wide and receive it.

  • One-a-Day Friday 4/11/14

    number 1When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever (Proverbs 10:25).

    What storm are you weathering today, Beloved?

    Career?  Relational?  Health?  Financial? Emotional?

    You will survive it.  The promise is right here in this verse.

    The wicked—the children of this world—are swept away by the storms of this life.  That makes sense, because this life, this world, is everything to them.  Literally, it is all they have.  When it blows away, they go with it.

    But you are different.

    You are his.

    Your roots are sunk deep, not into the shifting sands of this world, but into the solid rock of Christ.

    Aren’t they?

    If that question gives you pause, you may want to spend a little time before the Throne of Grace this morning, getting your righteousness on.

    By the way, don’t let that word, “righteousness,” spook you.  It doesn’t mean you have to be perfect.  Righteousness simply means you have a right relationship with God, that when the Father looks at you, he sees past the sin to the Son who died to pay for that sin.  Your sins are forgiven, your debt is paid, and you are right with God—righteous.

    So, if you have any business to do with God this morning—any confession, any repentance, any receiving of grace—do it.  Make sure, before you step out into the storm, that your roots are deep in the Rock.

    Stand firm, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Thursday 4/10/14

    number 1When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom (Proverbs 11:2).

    The world’s wisdom says that the opposite of love is hate, but that isn’t so.

    The opposite of love is pride.

    Love puts the other person, the beloved, first.  Pride puts self first.  God wants your love, and he knows that you are incapable of giving it when you are wrapped up in pride.  So, because he loves you, he will break your pride.

    This is usually a very painful process.

    It’s kind of the classic, “This is for your own good,” scenario.  When you are humble, you are open to God’s love, his teaching, his wisdom.  You can grow when you are humble.  When you are walking in pride you are closed off to really experiencing God, because your world begins and ends with you.

    You have a couple of options, Beloved.

    Option One:  “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time”(1 Peter 5:6).  Trust your reputation, your ego, your self-worth to God.  Let him build his character into you.  Make every effort to subordinate your will to his, and let him work through you.

    Option Bad:  Continue walking in pride until God chooses to humble you.  Because he will.  And the longer it takes, the messier it will be.

    Let me know which option you choose.  I may want to clear out of the way.

    Or get a front row seat.

    Choose wisely, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Wednesday 4/9/14

    number 1When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise (Proverbs 10:19).

    I talk too much.  That revelation comes as no surprise to those of you who know me.  I find that this Scripture could easily be my life verse, and probably many of yours as well.  We have all experienced that moment of wishing we could “unsay” that ill-timed, unkind, ungodly word.

    But we can’t.

    So I’m going to take God’s advice today, and hold my tongue.  Obviously, that will make it difficult to type without getting the keys all wet, so I’ll make my typed words few, as well.

    See, now there’s an image you didn’t need.  I just proved my own point.

    Enjoy the quiet today, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Tuesday 4/8/14

    number 1Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs (Proverbs 10:12).

    It’s amazing what a little attitude adjustment can do for you.  I can’t say that I walk around seething with hatred, but I do have my share of negative attitude toward people.  Because, well, people bug me.

    There, I said it.

    People bug me, and sometimes they bug you, too.  Admit it.  Frankly, people can be idiots at times, and it gets to a person.

    So, what do you do with that?

    You can carry that negative feeling into your interactions with the people who bug you.  I guarantee the result will not be blissful, harmonious fellowship.  You might score a zinger point or two, but in the long run your relationship will be hurt and God will not be glorified.

    Or

    You could try entering the interaction zone wrapped in love.

    I know you don’t feel like loving them—why should you?  They bug.  So don’t try bringing your love.  You’d be pretending and everyone would be able to tell.

    Bring His love.

    You know God loves them—for crying out loud, he loves us, and all we deserve is a slap in the belly with a wet fish.  So try seeing them as God sees them, and perhaps loving them as God loves them.  It’s gonna take prayer, but you can do that.

    You might be surprised at how powerful God’s love is to cover over those things that annoy us about other people.  Sometimes that love gives us insight into why they are the way they are.  Sometimes that love simply grants us extra grace to deal with their issues.

    As I write this, I wonder how many of you will take my advice and apply it toward me today.  Because, frankly, I bug sometimes.  Hmmm…

    Walk in his love today, Beloved.