Do you know how good it feels to help somebody? Have you felt that almost insatiable, giddy, light-headed joy of pouring out your life for someone else? You know, you do something for someone that gives you nothing and you feel like you finally know your purpose in life? If you’ve had this feeling, then you know that there is nothing in this world that fills you up as much as giving your life away to build God’s kingdom; but here’s a question: Do you know why serving others feels so good and is so fulfilling? In Acts 10, Peter said Jesus “went about doing good.” Now, that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but believe me, it is. You see, that phrase ‘went about’ is translated other ways in the New Testament. One place is in Romans 5 where Paul says that sin entered the world through one man and so death spread to all men. That word ‘spread’ is the same word. You see, the curse of sin spread like a disease to all people bringing death, and then Jesus went on a mission spreading His life and goodness. He didn’t just go around haphazardly doing good. This wasn’t random acts of kindness. No, He was intentionally spreading life with military precision wherever darkness and death were. The reason it feels so good to serve others is that whenever you get out there and serve someone in Jesus’ name, you are literally part of Jesus’ mission to reverse the curse of sin and death in the world. As the Christmas song says, “No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.”
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
87. He Has Your Back
You ever feel like the people in your life think they’ve got you figured out and all they see is the worst in you? You ever feel like the folks who know you will never get over who you used to be - like they’ll always see you as that person who did ______ that one time? I don’t want to be remembered for my sins. I don’t want people to always see the worst in me. The only problem is that I keep on sinning all the time! You know how this feels, right? I keep on being the person I don’t want people to think I am! It’s like I want people to believe the best about me even when I don’t always do the best things. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want people to see something in you that is good and kind and sweet, even when you don’t necessarily always live up to it? Here’s the amazing news: Jesus is like that. What I mean to say is, Jesus not only sees the best in you, but He actually sticks up for you. He vouches for you. He is vocal about how much you rock. There is a beautiful verse in the book of 1 John and the basic idea of it goes like this: “The goal of this thing is that you change and actually sin less, but even when you do sin, there’s someone in your corner who believes in you and has your back, and that’s Jesus.” It says that Jesus is your ‘advocate.’ The literal meaning of the word is “to call alongside” and it means that Jesus comes up beside you and speaks up on your behalf. Jesus has your back.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
86. He Shoots Me Straight
Sin is a liar. The urge within you to sin lies to you every single day. Let’s face it: You have a magnetic pull toward the wrong thing. Sometimes you flat-out want to do what’s wrong. You want to do that easy thing that leads to a quick payout but in the end only gives you hurt, isolation and distance between you and the Lord. In short, you want to sin. You do. You actually like it, right? It sucks to admit that; but at the same time, it feels good to admit it too, right? Sin tells you that what you’re about to do is natural. It tells you that this thing you’re about to do won’t hurt anyone. It says everyone does it. It’s not that big of a deal. It will make you feel better about yourself. You deserve it. You’ll feel happy as soon as you do it. But you know better than that. You know these are all lies. You know because you’ve already been down this road before and you know how lonely and sad it makes you feel to do this thing again. You want to know something awesome about Jesus? He respects you enough to be honest with you about yourself. His first sermon went like this: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” That word we’ve translated, ‘repent’ literally means, “change your mind.” Jesus’ first message to a hurting world was, change your mind about what you think this world can give you. Change your mind about what you think sin can do for you. Change your mind about what a life with God is like. Sin is a liar, but Jesus wasn’t afraid to shoot us straight.
Monday, July 18, 2011
85. He Redeems Messes
No matter how much I tell you about it, you still sometimes feel unusable by God, right? You feel like you’ve been too bad or gone to far or messed up too many times for God to write a story that includes you as a player, right? Believe me when I say, I’ve been there. I know how you feel. But trust me when I tell you that no matter who you are and no matter what you’ve done and no matter how far you’ve gone, the Lord has accomplished amazing things with folks way worse than you! I was just reading about Jesus’ family tree today and some of the folks that got to be a part of bringing the Messiah into the world were a total mess. Abraham was a liar who cheated on his wife out of unbelief. Jacob was a manipulating con artist who would do anything and use anyone to get his way. Judah had sex with his daughter in law and then lied about it. Rahab was a prostitute. David was an adulterer who ordered the murder of one of his oldest friends and allies. Solomon constructed pagan temples and worshipped idols for his 700 wives. The Scripture says Manasseh was the worst person who ever lived, and even Mary, the mother of our Lord accused Jesus of losing His mind and tried to arrest Him by force. Some of these folks were unbelievably bad. They were ungodly, compromised hypocrites with lives that would be inadmissible evidence in a Sunday School classroom, and yet, Jesus came from their line into this world. He redeemed their story and He’s redeeming yours. There’s no telling what He wants to do with you!
Friday, July 15, 2011
84. He Said Believers Are Blessed
You’ve had skeptics in your face, right? You’ve had people mess with you or make fun of you for believing in a God you can’t see, right? There are people who challenge you with obtuse, unanswerable questions that are completely irrelevant to anyone’s life, but then they call you a fool for not having an answer, right? Never mind the fact that the New Testament is the most historically accurate ancient document in all of human history with no other competitor holding even a fraction of a candle. Never mind the fact that the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most historically documented fact in all of antiquity. Never mind the fact that the eye witnesses of this miracle sealed their testimony with their own blood after literally changing the course of the world forever. The skeptics in your face don’t want to hear about how the kingdom of God is responsible for the advent of hospitals, charities and institutions for social justice. Here’s the thing: none of that matters. Let the haters keep on hatin’. Here’s what matters: You believe Jesus is Almighty God who put on flesh to live and die for you because He loves you. You believe Jesus rose again to everlasting, indestructible life on the third day. You know that this Jesus is not only changing the world, but He’s changing you. You aren’t who you were. No skeptic can take that from you. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who haven’t seen and yet believe.” That word ‘blessed’ just means, happy, and that’s you. Jesus loves you and you can feel Him, shepherding you through this life. He fills your heart and makes you happy. No hater can rob you of this joy.
Monday, July 11, 2011
83. He Was A Treasure Hunter
You ever had anyone make you feel worthless? I bet you know exactly what I’m talking about. Do you have a person in your life that makes you feel like a complete disappointment? They had plans for you - goals for you, and you didn’t meet them. That is a feeling that makes you want to stop having hopes for your own life because you’ve been made to feel that you are hopeless. I used to play football with this kid who threw up before every single game because he was under so much pressure. His dad had spent his entire childhood prepping him to be a college football star, and deep down he knew he could never live up to those expectations. Sometimes people don’t even have to say it out loud. You can just tell by the look in their eyes that they think you are less than you should have been. Guess what? They were wrong about you. You are not worthless. In fact, there is no scale that could measure your value. Jesus says that you (yes, you!) were a treasure hidden in a field and that when He found you, He was so dead-set on having you that He gladly gave up everything just to make you His own! Thing is, He didn’t give money to get you. He spilled His own precious blood. That’s how valuable you are. You are so infinitely important, that your price tag was nothing less than the very blood of God. Jesus found you, bought you, dusted you off and rejoiced because you became His. According to Jesus, there has never been anything in this world quite so wonderful, special and valuable as you.
Friday, July 8, 2011
82. He Was The Son Of David
Do you ever feel forgotten - like if you walked out of your own life, that no one would notice for a couple of weeks? What if God has forgotten you? I mean, He’s got so much to do, right? Surely my little life has escaped His notice... Sometimes we get so caught up just living our little existence day to day that we can feel disconnected from other people. Not only that, but we also feel disconnected from the Lord and what He’s up to. Before you know it, you’re down in the dumps and you think no one cares. Times like these can sometimes become more frustrating by the fact that you may not be getting that much out of the Scriptures. Maybe you don’t feel all that connected to God and maybe it feels like He’s not holding up His end of the bargain either... as in, He’s not really speaking to you or showing you much in your time in the Word - when you have it. I know that sometimes it feels like God has forgotten you, but I promise you He hans’t. Jesus was called the Son of David. That refers back to the guy God picked to be Israel’s king a thousand years before Jesus was born. God promised David that he would have a descendant sit on his throne forever and ever. Now, over those 1,000 years, it didn’t always look like God was involved or even there at all, but He was always in control, always passing the torch down to another of David’s descendants and then Jesus came along - the Son of David. No matter how dark it gets, God is there. He hans’t forgotten you. He’s keeping His promise.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
81. He Didn't Open His Mouth
Okay, you know that thing where somebody says or does something that really pisses you off or breaks your heart and then fifteen minutes later, when you’re driving away, you think up the perfect comeback? Oh man! Don’t you just want to drive back there, jump up in their face and say it?! Doesn’t it feel like there would be nothing on this earth more satisfying than just giving everybody what’s coming to them? You know, when someone hurts you, the natural feeling hammering against every nerve in your mind and body is that getting them back and making them feel that same pain would be the height of joy for you. The only problem is that our natural way of thinking is a lie. It doesn’t make you feel any better to do that. The only thing retaliation achieves is the multiplication of misery. We tell ourselves it’s justice, but really, it’s just us getting revenge. When Jesus was being betrayed, arrested without cause, falsely accused, mocked, slandered, beaten, tortured and murdered, He never said a word. He just took it. Peter says “He kept on entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.” I know that when someone breaks your heart with the things they say, you want nothing more than to break theirs back, but don’t do it. It’s not going to give you what you think it will. (Now, I’m not talking to someone in an abusive situation - if you are in trouble, get out and get help.) I’m talking about the everyday kind of drama we all face with gritted teeth. Look to Jesus, feel sorry for that sad person and forgive them. Let Jesus mend your heart and leave that person to God.
