There are some things in life that we only get one chance at. Some call it fate, some call it luck, I call it the Grace of God. Seven years ago today, I became the luckiest man alive when the woman pictured here became my wife. We've had some great times together, and our share of bumps together, but one thing is certain: I love her with every fiber of my being, and even though I may not be the best at showing it sometimes, I still count myself the luckiest man in the world.
Here are some other people who got lucky in their own way. Somehow, I still don't envy them. Compared to the grace that God showed me seven years ago (and every day since), these guys just experienced blind luck.
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SCRIPTURE 5:6-8Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.
18-19Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.
6:3-5That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country.
12-14That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God.
22-23But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.Romans 5-6 (excerpts) [MSG]
OBSERVATION
Christ's gift of Salvation, when we least deserve it.
APPLICATION
Adam condemned us to death. Literally. By partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (or, in the vernacular, eating the apple), Adam condemned us to death for eternity. But some two thousand years ago, One Man came along to reverse Adam's act. One Man came along to save us from the evil that had plagued us since the very first man. To save us from the evil that continues to plague us even now. To save us from sin.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, stepped up in our defense when we didn't even deserve to be defended. When we were guilty of sin, He came forward when we deserved nothing short of eternal condemnation and paid the price for our evil ways, so that we don't have to. To us, He gave the ultimate gift by paying the ultimate price. And all that we have to do is accept that glorious gift.
But so much more than just accepting this glorious, undeserved gift, we should then live the kind of life that God would have us live. We should never again give sin the time of day. We should resist the temptation to return to those sinful ways that Our Lord saved us from. But we are human, aren't we, and incapable of never sinning. That's right, as much as we might hope to live right, we just aren't capable of completely eliminating sin from our lives. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We aren't capable of deserving the wonderful grace of God.
But our God is merciful, and willing to forgive us, just for the asking. Oh, what a wonderful God we serve!
PRAYER
Father, I know that I'm not worthy of Your wonderful grace. And that I have let You down more times than I could possibly count. But I also know that You are merciful, and gracious, and that Your love is never ending. Thank You, Father, for the wonderful gift of salvation!
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SCRIPTURE 1-3Moses climbed from the Plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the peak of Pisgah facing Jericho. God showed him all the land from Gilead to Dan, all Naphtali, Ephraim, and Manasseh; all Judah reaching to the Mediterranean Sea; the Negev and the plains which encircle Jericho, City of Palms, as far south as Zoar.4Then and there God said to him, "This is the land I promised to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with the words 'I will give it to your descendants.' I've let you see it with your own eyes. There it is. But you're not going to go in."5-6Moses died there in the land of Moab, Moses the servant of God, just as God said. God buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor. No one knows his burial site to this very day.7-8Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyesight was sharp; he still walked with a spring in his step. The People of Israel wept for Moses in the Plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.9Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. The People of Israel listened obediently to him and did the same as when God had commanded Moses.10-12No prophet has risen since in Israel like Moses, whom God knew face-to-face. Never since has there been anything like the signs and miracle-wonders that God sent him to do in Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land—nothing to compare with that all-powerful hand of his and all the great and terrible things Moses did as every eye in Israel watched.Deuteronomy 34 [MSG]
OBSERVATION God's justice and grace know no limits.
APPLICATION He was arguably the most Godly man in the history of Creation. Born of a pauper and raised by a princess, Moses was used by God to confront Pharoah when all of Israel was held slave to the Egyptians. God did many great and wondrous things through Moses. Moses -- a soft-spoken, ill-prepared stutterer -- was used by God to lead His chosen people out of Egypt into the Promised Land. He was chosen by God to present His Ten Commandments to the people. He was appointed by God to preside as judge over Israel, solving disputes and ensuring that the order was kept. God knew Moses face to face. God appeared to Moses in many forms -- as a cloud over the Tent of Meeting, as the famed Burning Bush -- He even allowed Moses to see Him pass by, though Moses was not permitted to look upon the face of God as the sight would have killed him. But Moses, like many of us, was not a perfect man, and the country he led was imperfect as well. As Israel repeatedly rebelled against God, even Moses at one point questioned God. It was a moment of lost faith that cost Moses his chance to enter the Promised Land. Through Moses, God led Israel to the Promised Land, but he denied Moses the privelege of actually entering the city. God took Moses to a high hill and allowed him to look into the Promised Land -- to see what he was missing. An act of justice? Or grace? I say both. God took Moses to the very gates of the Promised Land, but refused to let him enter, paying the price for his moment of lost faith. Justice, certainly. But at the same time, God had the grace to allow Moses a peek at the great city, to see that His chosen people had actually reached the land of their inheritance. He showed Moses high on that hill that He was a God of His Word, and that Israel would receive her Promised Land. Unmatchable grace. Then Moses died and was buried by God.
PRAYER Father, You have always shown grace and mercy greater than I deserve, just as you did for Moses. I can't imagine how a sinner like I can be worthy of the kind of love and grace You once showed to one so great as Moses. Thank You, Lord, for not making me earn your grace.
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SCRIPTURE:
18-19Noah disembarked with his sons and wife and his sons' wives. Then all the animals, crawling creatures, birds—every creature on the face of the Earth—left the ship family by family. 20-21Noah built an altar to God. He selected clean animals and birds from every species and offered them as burnt offerings on the altar. God smelled the sweet fragrance and thought to himself, "I'll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I'll never again kill off everything living as I've just done. 22For as long as Earth lasts, planting and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, day and night will never stop." GENESIS 8:18-22 [MSG]
OBSERVATION: He is a God of provision, a God of protection, and a God of promise.
APPLICATION: Throughout the earliest history of man, we must have been such a disappointment to God. Like disobedient children, we constantly failed to please our Heavenly Father. Adam and Eve and the first sin. Cain and Abel and the first murder. Eventually, the entire human race, but for one man and his family.
God chose to save Noah and his family from the mass punishment he would deal upon the planet. Eight people, seven of every breed of clean animal, and two of every breed of unclean animal were to be spared. Everything and everyone else would perish.
For nearly 350 days, the Earth was uninhabitable -- buried under the waters of the Great Flood. After the water receded and the Earth dried, Noah and his companions -- human and animal alike -- were tasked to repopulate the world. But first, Noah built an altar and worshipped God, sacrificing the seventh of every clean animal breed to the God who had spared him.
God was happy. After generations of disappointment with His children, God was happy with Noah. So happy that He gave them a promise to never destroy the world again.
Again God dealt out justice, and delivered mercy. Again he practiced discipline, and showed grace. Again we were undeserving, but he loved us anyway.
PRAYER: Father, Thank You for Your love, Your mercy, Your grace. Thank You for never holding a grudge. Thank You for Your provision, Your protection, and Your promise. May Your rainbow be a symbol not only of Your promise, but of Your undying and undeserved love for us.
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SCRIPTURE: 8Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.
9God said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?"
He said, "How should I know? Am I his babysitter?"
10-12God said, "What have you done! The voice of your brother's blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you'll get nothing but curses from this ground; you'll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You'll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You'll be a homeless wanderer on Earth."
13-14Cain said to God, "My punishment is too much. I can't take it! You've thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. I'm a homeless wanderer on Earth and whoever finds me will kill me."
15God told him, "No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over." God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him. GENESIS 4:8-15 [MSG]
OBSERVATION: God protects us, even when we cause harm to others.
APPLICATION: It was the first murder in history. Cain slew his brother Abel over jealousy: jealous that Abel had offered a more pleasing sacrifice to God than he could.
But the "blindness" that had been erased when Adam and Eve disobeyed God opened Cain's eyes to jealousy. And Cain responded with evil: murder.
Cain, like his parents, then hid from God. Like the broad side of a barn, Cain hid from God. Yeah, right.
God punished Cain by banishing him forever. He sent him to No-man's land, told him that the earth would no longer yield its best crops to Cain. But benevolent and forgiving as our God is, He protected Cain -- history's first murderer. God marked Cain so that no one would kill him, and promised to punish anyone who did kill him. To punish them severely.
Our God is truly an awesome God. He clothes us. He protects us. And yet, we continue to fail him.
PRAYER: I want to serve You, Father. I want to praise and worship You all of my days. Though I'm unworthy by own merit, I know that You will always protect and provide for me, just as You always have. Thank You, Father.
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S: A man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. This was the same Mary who massaged the Lord's feet with aromatic oils and then wiped them with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was sick. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Master, the one you love so very much is sick." When Jesus got the message, he said, "This sickness is not fatal. It will become an occasion to show God's glory by glorifying God's Son." Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, but oddly, when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed on where he was for two more days. After the two days, he said to his disciples, "Let's go back to Judea." They said, "Rabbi, you can't do that. The Jews are out to kill you, and you're going back?" Jesus replied, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in daylight doesn't stumble because there's plenty of light from the sun. Walking at night, he might very well stumble because he can't see where he's going." He said these things, and then announced, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. I'm going to wake him up." The disciples said, "Master, if he's gone to sleep, he'll get a good rest and wake up feeling fine." Jesus was talking about death, while his disciples thought he was talking about taking a nap. Then Jesus became explicit: " Now let's go to him." That's when Thomas, the one called the Twin, said to his companions, "Come along. We might as well die with him." When Jesus finally got there, he found Lazarus already four days dead. Bethany was near Jerusalem, only a couple of miles away, and many of the Jews were visiting Martha and Mary, sympathizing with them over their brother. Martha heard Jesus was coming and went out to meet him. Mary remained in the house. Martha said, "Master, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died. Even now, I know that whatever you ask God he will give you." Jesus said, "Your brother will be raised up." Martha replied, "I know that he will be raised up in the resurrection at the end of time." "You don't have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?" "Yes, Master. All along I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who comes into the world." After saying this, she went to her sister Mary and whispered in her ear, "The Teacher is here and is asking for you." The moment she heard that, she jumped up and ran out to him. Jesus had not yet entered the town but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When her sympathizing Jewish friends saw Mary run off, they followed her, thinking she was on her way to the tomb to weep there. Mary came to where Jesus was waiting and fell at his feet, saying, "Master, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her sobbing and the Jews with her sobbing, a deep anger welled up within him. He said, "Where did you put him?" "Master, come and see," they said. Now Jesus wept. The Jews said, "Look how deeply he loved him." Others among them said, "Well, if he loved him so much, why didn't he do something to keep him from dying? After all, he opened the eyes of a blind man." Then Jesus, the anger again welling up within him, arrived at the tomb. It was a simple cave in the hillside with a slab of stone laid against it. Jesus said, "Remove the stone." The sister of the dead man, Martha, said, "Master, by this time there's a stench. He's been dead four days!" Jesus looked her in the eye. "Didn't I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" Then, to the others, "Go ahead, take away the stone." They removed the stone. Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and prayed, "Father, I'm grateful that you have listened to me. I know you always do listen, but on account of this crowd standing here I've spoken so that they might believe that you sent me." Then he shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" And he came out, a cadaver, wrapped from head to toe, and with a kerchief over his face. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him loose." ... From that day on, [the Pharisees] plotted to kill him.John 11:1-44,53 [MSG] (emphasis added)
O: "To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven." God accomplishes all on His own timeline and for His own purpose.
A: Far be it from me to understand God's plan completely. To know why He does what He does -- that's not my job. It isn't any of my business. Yet. But I know that God has His plans. He has His own schedule. We all will go (or won't go) at a time of His own choosing, in a manner of His own choosing. Just as the daughter of singer Steven Curtis Chapman was struck down at an unexpected time, in an unexpected way, God doesn't always share His plans and schedule with us. If you've heard the Chapmans speak about their ordeal, you know that they're going through quite a rough time right now. Especially young Will Franklin Chapman, who was driving the vehicle that sent his little sister home to the Lord. But they're going through their ordeal with God. By all appearances, they haven't abandoned God. You see Chapman on shows like Larry King, and he can't stop praising God, even through the tears. Just as Mary and Martha had to go to the extent of burying their brother Lazarus so that the glory of God could be revealed when Lazarus walked out of his tomb, so today we might find ourselves in times of toil and strife. We may never know why God takes our loved ones when He does and in the way that He does. We may never know why we lose this job, or that house, or go through divorce and break ups. We may never know, but God does. And He has a plan that, in the end, if we are faithful and obedient, will glorify Him and benefit us.
P: Thank You, Lord, for I know that no matter what comes my way in this life, I have You to guide me through it.
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S: Oh, thank God—he's so good! His love never runs out. All of you set free by God, tell the world! Tell how he freed you from oppression, Then rounded you up from all over the place, from the four winds, from the seven seas. Some of you wandered for years in the desert, looking but not finding a good place to live, Half-starved and parched with thirst, staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion. Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God. He got you out in the nick of time.... Some of you were locked in a dark cell, cruelly confined behind bars, Punished for defying God's Word, for turning your back on the High God's counsel— A hard sentence, and your hearts so heavy, and not a soul in sight to help. Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.... Some of you were sick because you'd lived a bad life, your bodies feeling the effects of your sin; You couldn't stand the sight of food, so miserable you thought you'd be better off dead. Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.... Some of you set sail in big ships; you put to sea to do business in faraway ports. Out at sea you saw God in action, saw his breathtaking ways with the ocean: With a word he called up the wind— an ocean storm, towering waves! You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out; your hearts were stuck in your throats. You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk, you didn't know which end was up. Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.... If you are really wise, you'll think this over— it's time you appreciated God's deep love.Psalm 107 [MSG]
O: Why do we always wait until times are at their hardest to call out to God for help? And when we do, how great is it of Him to always come to the rescue?
A: Just after 9/11, when thousands of people died and millions of others were affected by the attacks on our nation, there was a massive outcry to God. When disaster strikes -- hurricane, earthquake, tornadoes, floods -- we turn to churches for assistance with cleanup, food, and shelter. Recently I heard a traveler with car problems mention that he was contacting local churches to ask for help with the repairs. When times are tough, we call on God for help. When we suffer great loss, we call on God for comfort. When we are in dire need, we call on God to provide. But when things are going well -- we're prosperous, happy, and successful -- we seem more likely to credit our own hard work than the good grace of God. When we have our fifteen minutes of fame, whom do we credit? When was the last time you saw someone in a crowd caught by a TV camera call out to God? Not likely, but I'll bet you can't count how many times you saw someone wave and mouth "Hi, Mom." I love my mom, and I miss her dearly, and she did a great job of raising me and molding me into the man I am today. But the reason she was so successful in doing so was because she was a Godly woman. She taught me to love, respect, and fear the Lord. She taught me to give thanks in all things. She taught me to call out to God in praise as well as in need. To my mother I owe so much, but to my God who blessed me with such a wonderful mother, then continued to bless me with an awesome wife and two great kids, and gave me the ultimate gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, I owe everything. To Him I call out in worship and praise, "I love You, God! Thank You for Your mercy and grace!"
P: Lord, You've given me so much in life. So much that there's nothing I "need" right now. To You, God, I call out with thankfulness.
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S: So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy; you be holy." You call out to God for help and he helps—he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God. Now that you've cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God's living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That's why the prophet said, The old life is a grass life, its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers; Grass dries up, flowers droop, God's Word goes on and on forever. This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.1 Peter 1:13-25 [MSG]
O: God sent His Son to save us from our sins. He wants us to spend eternity with Him. But the gift of salvation is not carte blanche to live our lives here however we want.
A: I was speaking with a new Christian recently who had questions about two points of salvation. First, she asked how someone who had committed violent acts of violation or murder could be saved and go to Heaven. She understood God's plan of salvation, but couldn't understand God's grace -- or God's capacity to have such grace -- as to forgive such heinous acts. We talked and came to the second point, which she found even more troubling. "If someone is saved, and then commits such an act, he can still go to Heaven?" she asked. I explained that God's forgiveness is boundless for a sincere heart. She then asked, "So they can be saved and then do whatever they want, and they'll still go to Heaven?" A later sermon at church explained to her how our salvation cannot be lost, but how we might suffer consequences for our sins even though we are saved. This passage sums that up quite plainly. Salvation is a gift. It costs us nothing. It cost God everything through the sacrifice of His only Son. As true followers of Christ, we are to live life as God would have us live it. Why? If we can't lose our salvation, why does it matter? Because if we love God, we should want to please Him, and we do so by living a life of love and a life that brings others to receive His gift of salvation. We don't avoid a sinful life for the sake of keeping our salvation and avoiding punishment, we avoid a sinful lie for the hope of hearing God say,"Well done, my good and faithful servant."
P: Father, help me to model the life of a Christ follower, to live a life of love, to be a mirror that reflects your grace to everyone I encounter.
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O: In church this evening, the message was on the Communion. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, broken for you. Do this to remember me." After supper, he did the same thing with the cup: "This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you. Each time you drink this cup, remember me." What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.
A: Our church partakes of Communion every Sunday. This can sometimes make the practice seem mechanical, and it can become very easy to forget what Communion is all about. Especially when Communion is taken individually rather than as a group, served by the passing of the serving dishes, as it was done once monthly in the Baptist church in which I was brought up. And if you have kids in church with you, and they see you eating crackers and drinking grape juice, they want some, too. It is all too easy to allow the ritual practice of something such as Communion to become meaningless to us. Have you ever really thought of just what that cracker (unleavened bread, actually) and cup of grape juice signify? Have you given consideration to not just the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, but also the humiliating beating he suffered prior to being lead to Golgotha? The shredding of skin on his back as he was lashed with a whip. The blood spilled in the street before he was even nailed to the cross. And, of course, the brutal nailing of spikes through his wrists and feet, pinning him to the cross. His very suffering and death that led to our salvation. The bread: His Body. The cup: His Blood. The final sacrifice for our sins: His Life for ours. If you feel up to a compelling yet graphic depiction of Christ's suffering, try The Passion of the Christ.
P: Father, Thank You not only for what You did for me, to save me from my sins, but also for providing me with a constant reminder of the cost You paid so that I won't have to.
S: "These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it. Because they act like they're worshiping me but don't mean it, I'm going to step in and shock them awake, astonish them, stand them on their ears. The wise ones who had it all figured out will be exposed as fools. The smart people who thought they knew everything will turn out to know nothing."[Isaiah 29:13-14 MSG]
O: Today was a very stressful day. The past week, in fact, has led up to it with some unusual happenings at work. First, last week there was a meeting of several District Managers and above at our corporate headquarters. This week, I have a visit scheduled with some people from our corporate headquarters and from a liquidation company that is coming in to pick up several clearance items as part of a test that will likely be rolled out to the entire company if it is successful in my store. I also received word that My District Manager and Loss Prevention Manager will be in my store on Wednesday to look into some high merchandise shrink numbers. And, there is a Store Manager meeting tomorrow for the entire District. It's been a hectic week. My company closed nearly three dozen stores several months ago, and has been struggling financially for quite some time. With a new CEO and Executive Council, the company is trying to reinvent itself. Any time a company is in this situation, it can be difficult not to worry about what might happen next -- restructuring, job eliminations, store closures, etc. All of the unusual coincidences happening at the same time have had me wondering a bit. I say all of that to say this: WOW! Did I have an epiphany today. After stressing over much of this and calling my wife to let out the stress, I sat in my car during a very short lunch and spent some time reading through the Bible. I read several chapters, and shortly after starting what I had planned to be the last chapter, I read the passage quoted above. It felt amazingly like God was trying to speak to me.
A: "These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it." I want my heart to be "in it," but clearly there are distractions and preoccupations in life that tend to steal attention away from God and family. "Because they act like they're worshiping me but don't mean it,..." Of course I worship God. But, when I'm in church, and we're singing, do I feel it? Am I worshipping and praising -- or just singing? And what of the rest of the week? Where is the praise and worship then? "I'm going to step in and shock them awake, astonish them, stand them on their ears." The message is coming through loud and clear now. How easy it could be for my whole world to be turned on it's end by things such as lost jobs or store closures. "The wise ones who had it all figured out will be exposed as fools. The smart people who thought they knew everything will turn out to know nothing." Now I know. See, I felt as if God was trying to get through to me, to tell me that I'm not quite living the life that He would want me to live. Like He had stood me on my ears with all of the uncertainty at work. When my wife and I were looking for our new house, we made several commitments to each other -- and to God -- that we haven't been doing a very good job of living up to. In some cases, we have actually used the new house as one of the excuses for not living up to these commitments. Through this passage in Isaiah, I feel that God has opened up my eyes and made me realize that there are some things that I need to be doing for Him. Funny thing of it is, when I spoke with my wife about it afterward and told her of my epiphany, she said she had been thinking the very same thing last night.
P: God, I hear You. I hear You and I understand. Thank You for bringing me to the realization that we haven't been honoring our commitments to You. Whatever Your Will might be regarding the situation at work, I put my faith in You to see us through it.
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O: God has already provided for us more than money can give.
A: More on treasures. As man has made money the currency of life, God has made love the currency of life. By His love and grace He provided everything man needed in the Garden of Eden: fruit, vegetables, meat, all manner of food sources. Man, unfortunately, chose the forbidden fruit, and God took away the Garden of Eden. He did not, however, take away those other provisions. Plant a seed and the earth will yield produce. Take a cup down to a stream and find the refreshment of clear water (it is only in need of filtration now because of our own doing, not God's). And any patient, determined hunter can find meat for the next meal. Clothing is available from all of these sources, with a little ingenuity. This is not to say that we should live like "savages" and shun all modern conveniences. It is merely to illustrate that God has provided, and continues to provide, for those who trust in Him to provide. Upon banishment from the Garden of Eden, God gave man the curse having to toil for his sustenance. We must work for our food. He took away the ease with which we could partake of His provisions, but He has not taken away the actual provisions. Money is a creation of man. It is something that we have created and assigned a value to in order to facilitate easy and meaningful trade. Instead of bartering for how many potatoes this rug is worth, or how many sheep to trade for that, we now have currency in the form of paper money, which has meaning only because man has assigned it a value. If we did not hold money in such high esteem, the richest among us would quickly become the poorest, and those rich in the trust and love of God would be the wealthiest among us in every way.
P: Lord, help me to recognize the ways in which You provide, to be thankful for those provisions, and to use them wisely. Help me to avoid the trap of assigning too much importance to money in my life, and to invest my time and energies in the truly important things like God and family.
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A: It can be too easy, at times, to doubt the goodness of God. How many times have you prayed to ask for God's help or guidance with something and didn't ever hear the answer? How many times have you found yourself in situations in life that were quite trying? Times when you felt that maybe you just couldn't go on, and you asked God for strength, and you didn't feel that He was hearing you? It is said that God answers prayer in three ways: yes, no, and wait. It can be very easy, at times like these, to feel that maybe God isn't as good as they say He is. God reveals Himself to us in ways of His own choosing, not necessarily the ways we might want Him to. He revealed Himself to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they might have least wanted to hear from Him: after eating of the fruit from the forbidden tree. He revealed Himself to His disciples when they expected it so little that they didn't even recognize Him: on the road after his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. Have you ever considered that maybe the only answers you've heard are the yes answers because that's the only answers you want to hear? God reveals Himself to us in His own ways and in His own time. Such as he did on the cross in the form of His son, Jesus Christ. Which is the barometer by which we must measure God's goodness. Not how He answers this prayer or that. Not what is happening in your life today. But the fact that God loved you so much that He died on the cross for your sins. That, my friend, is the Greatest Good.
P: Lord, help me to use my time with You in prayer not to ask for help in areas where I'm struggling, but to ask that You use your divine influence with elected leaders who are making the decisions that may change our lives on earth forever, and to to use Your divine influence with us as we go to the polls to choose who those next elected leaders will be. Help me use my time in prayer to ask that You shower others with blessings. Not that You help me to make ends meet, or land the next big promotion, etc. For I will receive Your blessings through seeing them come showering down on others.
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A: The Bible says that we all sin. Everyone. You. Me. The President. Your Pastor. Even the Pope. No one is immune to sin. Just as we all have sinned against God, we likely have all wronged someone that we love or care about in some way. We've all made mistakes. It's, frankly, easier to make a mistake than not. And if you have children, well, how much of your time do you spend correcting your children for undesirable behavior? The good news: God forgives our sins. Just for the asking. And not only does he forgive, but he forgets them. It's as if that sin that we have confessed and asked to be forgiven was never committed. Can you imagine?! How is that for grace?! But how graceful are we as a society? With our mandatory sentencing, and statutes of limitations -- all things that are needed, unfortunately, to maintain an orderly society. But when was the last time you showed grace to someone you loved? When was the last time you said, "Don't worry about it, it's no big deal. Stuff happens." When was the last time you showed such grace to your own children, as God shows to his children every time we ask? My 4-year old son has been staying with his grandparents since Sunday. It was originally planned to be a two-night stay over, but the snow and ice that fell in Indianapolis on Monday night and Tuesday changed our plans. Due to road conditions, we've had to leave him there for another night. And it's still snowing outside. I have to work today, and my wife is supposed to go pick him up. I miss him. I called him yesterday and spoke briefly on the phone with him, but that doesn't make up for playing Scooby Doo with him on TV, or hide-and-seek, or being awakened when he crawls into bed with us in the middle of the night. It doesn't make up for having him here. And I've thought over these past few days of just how much time I spend correcting him for undesired behavior. Sure, even the Bible says we need to discipline our children. But to what extent? Can I try to be more understanding and more patient with my son? I think so. I think I must. I think I must show my children the kind of grace that God shows me on a daily basis.
P: God, I miss my son. I know he's coming back to us soon, but that doesn't change the fact that I feel his temporary absence. And worse, this time of separation makes me realize that maybe I waste some of the time that he's with us by rebuking him for misbehaving. And I realize today that, instead of rebuking, maybe I should find a way to do more with him. Help me to do that, Lord. Help me to show the grace that You show me. And more importantly, help me to sustain that, not to just slip back into the old practice of correcting him constantly after he's been back home for a couple of days. Remind me, somehow, to show grace.
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Copyright (c) 2005 - 2010 Average Joe American (Jeff Cole)
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There are some things in life that we only get one chance at. Some call it fate, some call it luck, I call it the Grace of God. Seven years ago today, I became the luckiest man alive when the woman pictured here became my wife. We've had some great times together, and our share of bumps together, but one thing is certain: I love her with every fiber of my being, and even though I may not be the best at showing it sometimes, I still count myself the luckiest man in the world.
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