A Life Worthy

Tag: a life worthy

  • One-a-Day Tuesday, 11/11/14

    number 1You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.  (Psalm 139:5-6).

    Continuing on yesterday’s theme, there are really two ways to see this passage.  If your heart isn’t right before God, you probably picture a prisoner, bound and chained, surrounded by guards.

    Been there.  Felt that. No Bueno.

    If your heart is right with God, you picture something like a squad of elite soldiers surrounding you, protecting you from whatever may attack.

    Been there, too.  It’s better.

    That’s where David was when he wrote this psalm.  He felt God’s hand upon him, not to hold David down, but to lift him up.  The whole idea was, “Too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”  Think about that for a minute.  You serve a God who loves you more than you can even fathom.

    His angels surround you.

    His hand is upon you.

    He’s got your back.

    Walk in that today, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Monday, 11/10/14

    number 1O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.  You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.  Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord (Psalm 139:1-4).

    Every once in a while you need to give yourself a spiritual systems check.  You know, make sure that everything is in working order, and that nothing is slipping in between you and God.  Psalm 139 is a great passage of Scripture for that.  I find that most people have one of the following three reactions when they read the above passage.  Reread it and think to yourself—which reaction is yours?

    1.  These lines give great comfort.  You love the idea that God knows everything about you, that he even knows your thoughts.

    You, my friend, are in a great place with God.  Proceed to praise.

    2.  These lines creep you out.  There’s something Orwellian about God searching your inmost being.

    Guess what?  You’re not right with God, Beloved.  May I suggest that you spend some time dealing with whatever it is you don’t want God to see in you?

    3.  These lines have no effect on you whatsoever.

    Wow.  You may be in spiritual heart failure.  For what it’s worth, I’m praying for you today, that God would ravage your heart with his all-consuming love.

    You are known, Beloved.  Completely and utterly understood.  And that’s a very good thing.

  • One-a-Day Friday, 11/7/14

    number 1You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Psalm 16:11).

    You know where you’re going.

    You know who awaits you.

    What more do you need?

    Isn’t it good to be beloved, Beloved?

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 11/6/14

    number 1I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. (Psalm 16:7).

    Reason #4,398 to be glad I’m not God: I take naps.

    And when I’m napping, I am not thinking about you.

    Not trying to hurt your feelings here, but it is what it is.

    So, if you need my advice, such as it is, and I happen to be napping, you’re out of luck my friend.

    If it’s night, and I’m actually sleeping—forget about it.

    God doesn’t nap, you know.  He is there for you, his Beloved, every day and all the time.  So at 3am, when your heart finally quiets down enough to hear him, he’s there.

    Speaking softly.

    Listening intently.

    Loving completely.

    Happy Thursday, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Wednesday, 11/5/14

    number 1Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance (Psalm 16:5-6).

    You know, there’s this thing about an inheritance—you don’t earn it.

    Oh, maybe you’re thinking about all the holidays you’ve driven 100 miles just to eat petrified turkey with your freak show of a family and you’re saying to yourself, “You bet I’m earning it.  Every dime!”

    But you aren’t, really.

    An inheritance is a gift you get that was earned by another.  If you earned it, it would be wages.

    When it comes to dealing with God, you don’t want your wages, trust me.

    You want the gift.

    The Psalmist understood this, and he was totally cool with it.  He didn’t stake his claim; he didn’t demand his rights.  He rested in the provision of God and trusted in the One who knew him best and loved him most.

    So how about it, Beloved?  Are you content with the boundary lines that God has laid down for you?  Do you trust him enough to let enough be enough?

    Surely you have a delightful inheritance.

  • One-a-Day Tuesday, 11/4/14

    number 1I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” (Psalm16:2)

    My family is out of town.  It’s just me and the dog.  And things are…different.  It’s not so much that I’m doing different things—I still eat, sleep, go to work, wash the occasional dish.  It’s that, without my family here, it all seems rather…blah.  The people for whom I do these things aren’t here, so my actions feel a little meaningless, a little empty.

    It’s kinda like that in this verse.  Apart from God, I would still have things.  I would still do things.  I would still be things.  But those things would be devoid of meaning.

    They would be robbed of their goodness.

    With God at the center, all things work together for good (Romans 8:28, if you’re wondering).  Without him at the center, why bother?  Whatever I do, or think, or feel…it’s not going to be good.  Because he is what makes it good. In him I live and move and have my being (Acts 17:28).

    So, without him, bupkis.  With him…Woohooo!

    Whadday say, Beloved?  Shall we make today a Woohoo kinda day?

  • One-a-Day Monday 11/3/14

    number 1O Lord, how many are my foes!  How many rise up against me!

    Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.”

    But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

    To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill.

    I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.

    I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.

    Arise, O Lord!  Deliver me, O my God!

    Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

    From the Lord comes deliverance.  May your blessing be upon your people (Psalm 3).

    Now that, Beloved—that oughta kick-start your week.

    Read it twice, out loud—though perhaps, you know, not in an elevator or other public transportation.  Then stand tall, square those shoulders, and walk into Monday secure in the knowledge that you are not alone.

    You are his.

    He is yours.

    That is more than enough—it is everything.

    Go get ‘em,  Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Friday, 10/31/14

    number 1Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.  They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and we are cut off.’  Therefore prophesy to them and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them…Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.  I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live…(Ezekiel 37:11-13).

    Today’s Halloween.  My neighborhood is covered with skeletons and open graves.  They are meant to be scary, or funny, or…

    You know what, Beloved?  I’ll bet no one is intending these images of death to be comforting.  And yet, I’ll never look at bones or graves the same way again.

    Thanks, God.

    Your Word wins.

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 10/30/14

    number 1Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’”  So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army (Ezekiel 37:9-10).

    It’s his power, of course.

    Ezekiel realized that.

    Ezekiel knew that, while he may have spoken the words, they were God’s words.

    God’s Word.

    Oh, the things that God can accomplish through you, Beloved—and yet it is God doing the accomplishing.

    I find that empowering

    and humbling

    at the same time.

    Happy Thursday, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Wednesday, 10/29/14

    number 1So I prophesied as I was commanded.  And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.  I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them (Ezekiel 37:7-8).

    He did what he was told to do.

    He probably didn’t understand what all was happening.

    He might have felt a little foolish, you know, talking to dead bones.

    But he obeyed…and something amazing began to happen.

    What has God told you to do today, Beloved?

    Are you willing?