A Life Worthy

Tag: Christ’s sacrifice

  • One-a-Day Wednesday, 6/4/14

    number 1…live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God  (Ephesians 5:2).

    This verse goes along with yesterday’s.  One of the most powerful features of God’s character is his unending, unstoppable love.  If we imitate him, as verse 1 tells us to do, we will live a life that mirrors that love.

    And what an example we have to follow.  Jesus loved us, and he told us in a way that goes far beyond words.

    “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

    So how do we do that?  I mean, laying down your life is all well and good if you’re rushing into a burning building to rescue people, or if you dive into traffic to save a toddler.  But that opportunity doesn’t arise very often, and frankly, you can only do that trick once.

    There is another way to lay down your life—but you probably don’t want to hear about it.  This is the daily act of dying to yourself, of putting other people first.  It’s the little things—taking out the trash even though it isn’t your turn, letting someone else have the last doughnut even though you’ve been salivating over it all morning, letting the other car in front of you even though it means you have to slow down and why should you have to slow down why can’t they just wait their turn like everybody else—

    Yeah, it’s that kind of stuff.  Not terribly dramatic; nothing to get you a mention in the paper, but loving nonetheless.  That’s your challenge.

    So, Beloved…what will your fragrant offering be today?

  • One-a-Day Saturday 4/19/14

    Note:  This week, I am sharing from my devotional book Easter: Beyond the Bunny.  I hope you find it valuable as you prepare your heart for Resurrection Sunday.

    number 1Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones (Zechariah 13:7b).

    We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).

    Everybody loves you when you’re winning.

    What happened to the crowds?  Was it just last Sunday that the people were lining the streets, cheering for Jesus?  Now where are they?

    Gone.

    When the soldiers came for Jesus, the disciples scattered.  John followed, but at a distance.  He needed to know what was happening, but he couldn’t bring himself to intervene.

    Peter, like John, followed at a distance.  He mingled with the crowd, where he could blend in and, hopefully, go unnoticed.  While he was standing with a group, a servant girl recognized him.  Here was Peter’s chance to stand tall for Christ.  Here was his golden opportunity to proclaim his loyalty to Jesus and stand with him—die with him, if need be.  After all, that is what he had promised Jesus.

    What did he do?  You know what he did.  He denied his Lord.  Big, strong Peter couldn’t stand up to the questions of the lowliest servant girl.

    What of the rest?  All we know is that they ran for it.

    Don’t be too hard on the disciples.  I’m convinced they genuinely believed that they were up to the challenge.  When Peter said he would never betray Jesus, I think he meant it down to the marrow of his bones.  He didn’t have the courage, because he was only human.  Like us.  We know that John, and Mary, and a few others came to the cross before Jesus died; Jesus even spoke to John from the cross. But in the end, Jesus had to fulfill his purpose himself.

    In the end, Jesus went to the cross alone.

    He went to the grave alone.

    He rose from the dead alone.

    Because he had to.  That was the point—if anyone else could have done it, if anyone else could have helped, we wouldn’t have needed the perfect Son of God.

    Jesus stood alone so that you will never have to.

    Because he loves you.

    You.

    Walk in thankfulness today, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 1/30/14

    number 1Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  (Philippians 2:6-7)  

    He was perfect.

    Complete.

    He knew everything

    Had everything

    Was everything

    Everything that has ever been was made with the thought of his heart and the breath of his mouth.

    But he stepped down from all that into a broken world.  A world of

    Dirt

    And pain

    And tears

    And blood

    And death

    For you

    For me.

    That is the attitude to which we are called, Beloved.  We step into that same world today.  We may know

    Dirt

    And pain

    And tears

    And blood

    And death

    For them

    For Him.

    Are you up to the challenge?

    Me neither.

    Let’s pray for each other today, Beloved.