Sunday, December 29, 2013

326. He Is The King Of Our Hearts



Do you know what it feels like to be overwhelmed with love for Jesus and a sense of loyalty to Him right there in the middle of your day? Maybe you’re faced with a temptation or a difficult decision and you want to live it well, so you turn to Him in your heart and ask Him for the wisdom and strength to follow Him. Maybe you’re by yourself on a walk or a drive and you simply want to connect with Him and be close to Him because you love Him. Maybe it’s the conversations you share with Jesus that no one else knows about or is invited into, but they shape your day and who you are. Sometimes, in your spiritual life, it can seem as though you haven’t grown at all or that you’re so far away from the person you’re supposed to be, but there’s something deeper than that feeling. In the unseen depths of who you are, you love Jesus and you want to please Him and follow Him. Sure, you’re not perfect and you mess up a lot, but you do love Him. That’s the truth about who you are, and it’s precious to Jesus. When Jesus was about to be crucified and was standing before the man who held in his hands the power to spare Jesus’ life or kill Him, our Lord was utterly calm. Pilate wanted to know if Jesus was really claiming to be a king. He was. Jesus told him, “My kingdom is from another place.” Jesus let Himself be maligned and killed because He was saving us. He was taking our punishment and winning our hearts. He became the King of our deepest affections.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

325. He Came To Be Real Friends With Us



Have you ever become friends with someone almost instantly, simply because you and that other person shared some common experience in the past? If I meet someone who remembers watching Magnum P.I. or He Man on TV, I know we’re gonna be friends. If I meet someone who stood in line to get their copy of the Nirvana Unplugged CD the day it first came out and then listened to it four times before dinner, I know we’re gonna be close. There are certain experiences, feelings and cultural events that just make people connect with each other because they both experienced them. One of the best things about knowing Jesus is that He isn’t simply some detached Deity, seated on a Heavenly throne barking out orders and expecting everyone to toe the line. Instead, our God came down from Heaven. He set aside His throne and became one of us. The book of Hebrews says He became “fully human in every way” so that He could know what it’s like down here. That means we have a God who knows exactly what it feels like to be exhausted and depleted but to press on anyway. We have a God who knows what the common cold feels like and what it means to be hungry. He knows the blistering oppression of a blazing sun with no shade and He knows the severity and piercing assault of a cold wind with no shelter. The story of Christmas isn’t just the storybook narrative of a beautiful nativity scene lived out. The story of Christmas is about the God of the Universe living out everything you do because He wants to be friends with you - real, actual, close friends.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

324. He Came For A Fight



Your life, your problems and your relationship with Jesus would be so much easier to figure out if it weren’t for the fact that you have an invisible enemy who lives to make everything more difficult for you. I mean, I know that you and I are sinful and polluted in ways we don’t even know and to depths we can’t even understand, but if the devil and all his cronies weren’t wreaking havoc on our minds and whispering discouraging lies into our ears all the time, we’d be way further down the road than we are right now. Satan is real. He is a jerk and he constantly spews out lies that hold us back, trip us up and take us out. He convinces us that we are worthless and that God doesn’t love us. He assaults our hope by feeding us our worst fears - even if they are complete fiction. Fortunately, Jesus has our back. In fact, Jesus is waging a battle campaign in direct opposition to our enemy. You may not know this, but Christmas is actually all about this fight. You’ve probably heard that the Old Testament is filled with prophecies about the first Christmas. We are told where the Messiah would be born and what He would be like. We learn that He would be born of a virgin and even what tribe and family He would come from. But the very first prophecy of Christmas wasn’t given to God’s people. It was given to His enemy. In Genesis 3, Christmas is not just a promise, it’s a threat. God tells Satan that the woman he tricked will have a descendant that will eventually crush his head. Jesus came to destroy the devil’s work.

Friday, December 13, 2013

323. He's Clearing You A Path



When you stand back from the trouble and pain of your life and look at it all together in one big pile, it’s hard to know what the point is. What is God up to? Why would He allow the things He allows? What does He hope to get out of it? There are plenty of people who will give you lots of specific answers to those questions and you need to be wary of those folks. I don’t think any of us really knows anything about why God allows our troubles and pain. But at the same time, we do know He is up to something. We do know certain things He is doing in the middle of it all simply because He told us. It’s not that we know all the answers, but we do know some of the bi-products of our suffering. For one thing, I think we’re all getting tougher. You may not feel it happening, but you’re growing. Your lows don’t take you as low as they used to, and all the things that used to take you off track have to work harder to derail you. The worldly stuff that used to distract you just doesn’t get you as fired up as it used to and you’re able to bear up underneath more turbulence than you once were. You’re growing. The Lord said He would do this. He said the valleys would be filled in and mountains would be made low. He said rough places would be made smooth and rugged terrain would be made a plain. Jesus is making you a highway to Himself. In all you’ve gone through, God is changing you - clearing a path from your heart to His.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

322. He's The One You're Looking For



You don’t need more money. You don’t need a better house or cooler clothes. You don’t need to be thinner or in better shape. You don’t need to be prettier and you don’t need a better haircut. You don’t need more talents or more opportunities. You don’t need to be more connected to the right kinds of people. You don’t need a romantic relationship that’s just right. You don’t need more sex. You don’t need perfect, beautiful kids. You don’t need more power, influence or respect. You don’t need more attention from your parents, your boss, your teachers, your friends or even your enemies. You don’t need everyone in your life to think you’re awesome or funny or amazing. You don’t need more of this or that. You don’t need more. None of those things I just listed are really all that bad on their own. That’s not a catalogue of sins up there - it’s just a pretty normal list of the kinds of things we desire. The truth is, it’s totally okay to want those things, but you should know that those aren’t the things you really need. If you had everything I just mentioned and more, you wouldn’t automatically be happy, satisfied, fulfilled and at peace. The things on that list are great, but they won’t scratch the deepest itch down inside your heart. You were made to know Jesus. He made you for Himself. Life will always be just short of operational without Him in it. That’s why He came. On that first Christmas, when Mary laid her tiny baby down in a feeding trough, Ancient Promises were being fulfilled. “Suddenly, the Lord you are seeking will come.” He’s all you’re truly looking for.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

321. He’s The Only One Who Knows How Far He Came



Everyone wants the fairy tale romance to be true of them. Everyone wants to have a great story to tell. Everyone wants to be sought after and pursued in epic ways that seem outlandish and even legendary. We all love to hear those stories about the guy who drove across the country through the night just to chase down the girl he loved and tell her face-to-face. We all want to know just how far love would go. What would a person be willing to risk? What would a person be willing to lose in order to have me? That’s what’s so beautiful about the Christmas story. Love Himself came all the way down from Heaven into our world to rescue us. Jesus willingly chose to live a difficult, dangerous life as a poor, unknown, rejected nobody all because you mean so much to Him. He risked everything for love - for you. The thing is, when someone says they drove across the country through the night to be with their love, we understand what that means. We’ve driven when we’re tired. We understand what a long car trip like that requires. Everything is different with Jesus coming down on that first Christmas. The Apostle Paul says that Jesus emptied Himself and took on the form of a servant - being found in human likeness. The King of all became nothing. I don’t know exactly what it means that He emptied Himself. We could never understand the cost of His condescension, but He knew. He knew and He did it anyway. He became nothing for us. The One who is fullness Himself became empty to give us His fulness. Now that’s a love story.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

320. He's On Your Side



What do you do when it feels like the world is against you? Have you been there? Do you know how it feels to have people talk about you, whisper about you, doubt you, or even openly oppose you? Do you know the sickening pain in your gut that comes with having enemies who are actively tearing you down? How do you process their criticism?  How much of that stuff are you supposed to internalize or evaluate or respond to? How can you confidently live as yourself when some think you don’t have it? I love how the Apostle Paul says in Romans 8, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” He says it with so much assurance and force that you would think God being on your side means no one will ever stand against you. The only problem is, the world doesn’t work that way. There are times when people are standing firmly against you and you’ll be tempted to fall prey to their attitudes. Paul isn’t saying that God standing for you means no one else will stand against you. He’s saying that if God is on your side, it doesn’t really matter who stands against you. Jesus stood for the hurting, the oppressed, the broken, the sin-weary, the disenfranchised and the outcast. He took up the cause of those too beaten-down to stand for themselves. He believes in you more than you do and He wants a better life for you than you even want for yourself. Jesus is not only on your side, but He’s the one who wins in the end, which means that when it’s all said and done, His side is the only side that really matters.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

319. He Knows There Isn't A Simple Explanation



When something terrible happens to you, do you automatically assume it’s because of something wrong you did? If something doesn’t go your way, is your first instinct to look back at the week you just lived and review the sins you did that you haven’t asked forgiveness for? It’s the most natural thing in the world to assume that bad things happen as a result or a punishment for your sin, but it’s not that simple. If hard times were just a result of sin, we could clean up our act and avoid difficulty and suffering, but we know that isn’t the way things work. God isn’t keeping a tally of your sin and dealing out appropriate punishments for those bad choices and attitudes as a way to get you to step in line. If you want proof, look at Jesus who never sinned, but suffered more than we can imagine. No, the punishment for sin is not a bad day, a car wreck, a disease or financial ruin. The punishment for sin is eternal separation from God and Jesus paid it on your behalf so that you can be forgiven forever. When bad things happen, there is no simple explanation and no place to easily point a finger of blame. One time Jesus saw a man born blind and the disciples asked Jesus who sinned, this guy or his parents? Whose fault is this? Jesus told them it’s not like that. The problem of pain isn’t an equation you work out with your own guilt in tow. In fact, Jesus paid to remove your guilt forever. Suffering is complicated, but it’s not a penalty. Whatever happens, you are not being punished. That is the Good News. 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

318. He Can't Rest While You Hurt



How does Jesus feel when you’re going through a hard time? Does He care? Could you know if He does? What if it feels like He’s not around? What if it feels like He’s too busy or you’re too insignificant? What if He did, though? What if Jesus - God in the flesh - really, truly cared about the pains of mind and heart you feel? What if His Almighty, Eternal Heart was actually and deeply moved by the fissures and cracks in your own? Just take a minute and think on that. Whoa. The heart of God moved by mine. His vast heart trembling while mine breaks. Oh, friends - if that’s true, it’s the most unbelievably wonderful thing that could possibly be. If that’s true, it means my pain isn’t random or meaningless. It means I’m not alone. If Jesus feels it with me, maybe I can face it for a little while longer. The question is, can we know that’s true? Does He feel it with us? One time Jesus met a man who had been paralyzed for thirty eight years. He healed this man and told him to take up his mat and walk, which the man did. The only problem was that this healing took place on a Sabbath - the day of rest. The religious leadership came after Jesus, questioning Him about breaking this ancient law, and Jesus said, “My Father is always at work to this very day, and I too am working.” In other words, the heart of God can’t take a rest when the one He loves is hurting. He feels your hurt. In fact, He won’t even take His own day off when you are in a hard time. He’s at work.

Friday, November 22, 2013

317. His Death Gives You Infinite Value



Do your personal failures have a devastating impact on you? I think most honest people would say that they do. I think most of us are spending quite a bit of time, energy and emotion scrambling for significance. We want to make a difference, or we want the fact that we were here to have made a difference. So many of us are desperately trying to answer the question, “Why do I matter?” and we don’t have lots of satisfactory evidence. The truth is, my worth comes from the fact that God made me in His image and Jesus died for me; but honestly, I don’t believe that all of the time. So often my struggle for personal worth and the debilitating power of my failure shows that I look to my own achievements as the measure of my value. Sometimes, in order to sort this stuff out, you have to consider an extreme case - an example so obvious, it’s not open for debate. When Jesus was on the cross, there was a criminal crucified beside Him who said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This man had nothing. He was dying the most horrible and humiliating death possible because of his disaster of a past. He had no present influence and no future prospects. He had wasted his life and yet, he was lobbying for a place in Heaven. Based on what? He had nothing to offer. His only appeal was to the mercy and love of Jesus. We’re all in the same boat. We bring nothing besides our need and that’s all Jesus wants. You are valuable because He bled for you. He died for the world, yes; but, He died for you.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

316. He Knows We See Dimly



Do you know what it’s like to completely lose your cool and go off on someone, only to find out later that you misread the situation and made a total idiot of yourself? I know I do. If handling situations poorly because of a misunderstanding was an olympic sport, I would have gold medals all over my house. I doubt that I’m the only one, too. We all overreact. We all get really upset. We all know what it’s like to think we have someone figured out, form an opinion about them and then find out later we were totally wrong. The hard thing about this is, we all know that the most important thing is love, but at the same time, we aren’t always very good at loving people. In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul famously says, “If I have not love, I am nothing.” The really interesting thing is that at the end of that chapter, he goes onto say that right now, we don’t see everything very clearly. He says, “we see only a reflection, as in a mirror.” Back in the day, they didn’t have nice, clear mirrors as we do. They looked in polished sheets of bronze, which gives a very poor reflection. In fact, the word translated ‘reflection’ is actually the word “enigma” which means a puzzle. We are trying to love, but we don’t always understand things very well. Sometimes life is an enigma, a puzzle, and Jesus gets that. I want to grow in love. I want to get better at loving people and responding to people, and while I’m in that process, it’s comforting to know that Jesus understands the fact that I don’t see everything clearly yet.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

315. He's Where You Belong



I think one of the worst feelings in the human experience is the feeling of not belonging. Do you know how it feels to be in a room full of people you just don’t fit in with? Whether or not it’s true, you feel these staring eyes full of that loaded question, “What are you doing here?” Not being wanted or picked for something is a terrible feeling to experience, but knowing you don’t belong might be even worse, because it includes all that rejection plus the feeling of personal failure which says, “You’re not like us. It’s not just that we don’t want you, it’s that you don’t have it. You’re not one of us.” That is why one of the sweetest elements of knowing Jesus is the intimacy of His love. In Scripture, the picture is of a Groom who is overwhelmed by His bride. Jesus sees you as His very own love - the one He dreams of and longs for. The picture is of a dad waiting for the return of His lost son. Every day he waits on the porch for some sign of the one He loves coming back home. Knowing Jesus isn’t about religious beliefs and rituals. It’s about coming home to the heart who knows you and has a bedroom light on just for you. It’s about Someone kind and good saying to your heart, “Come back. You belong here. This is the life and the family you were made to know.” You’re not some freak who just doesn’t belong. There isn’t a thing that you don’t have. Truth is, there is a love that was made for you. There’s a heart that is filled up and overjoyed by having you. You belong.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

314. He's Not Thinking What You're Thinking



Have you ever given up on a prayer because it wasn’t answered your way? Sure. I’d say we’ve all done that. Have you taken it further, though? Have you ever followed that up by playing all kinds of mental guessing games over why it wasn’t answered your way? Have you ever thought to yourself that God didn’t do this thing because He didn’t care, because He has bigger fish to fry or just because He’s mad at you? Have you ever wondered whether God is tired or annoyed by you and your requests? I know I have felt that way before. I guess what we’re really doing is interpreting our confusion or hurt by assigning a certain emotion to God. We think, “The only way this makes sense is if He doesn’t care about me, so that has to be it.” Then, we see our relationship with God through that lens. One time a man asked Jesus to come to his house and heal his sick daughter. Jesus agreed and they started making their way back to the house when some guys showed up from the house and said it was too late. The little girl had died. They said, “Why bother the teacher anymore?” In their minds, the only explanation for this tragedy was that Jesus was too busy to be bothered by it. Thing is, these guys completely misjudged Jesus. They put words in His mouth. He wasn’t bothered by the request of this confused, brokenhearted dad. He was compassionate and had an unbelievable plan. I know it’s hard to trust Jesus when you’re in the middle of the dark, but what if He’s not thinking what you’re thinking? What if He’s really on your side?

Saturday, November 9, 2013

313. He's Doing The Impossible



Okay, you’ve done the things you’ve done. You’ve made the missteps you’ve made. The person you are today is the result of those decisions and situations. You are who your life has made you, right? In some ways, it’s too late to think about being anything other than what you are and have been, right? I mean, it’s not just as simple as the past being in the past, because every time you look in the mirror, you’re seeing the results of that past. You are who you are because of who you’ve been. But what if that’s not the whole story? What if you could start over? What if you could be a whole new person that isn’t related to the you of your past, but is more truly and essentially you? One time Jesus met with an old man named Nicodemus in the middle of the night to talk about this question. I think they probably met to talk at night because this old man was famous and powerful and wouldn’t want to be seen needing the help and wisdom of a young, poor and hunted man. Jesus said no one sees the Kingdom of God without being born again. Nicodemus was wondering what that could possibly mean. How can an old man start again? It’s as ridiculous as your mom giving birth to you again. But Jesus was serious. The Spirit of God is up to something. In a very real and supernatural way, people who love Jesus get to be something new. The past is gone and your heart is washed and you get to be a true and real you that is completely brand new. Jesus is doing the impossible - the thing we most want.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

312. He's In Love With You



Sometimes your spiritual life feels like the most dry and lifeless thing in the world, right? There are days when you wake up thinking that the only reason you’re towing the line on this Christian thing is a blah sort of ‘what-else-is-there’ attitude. If you’re honest, you don’t feel as though you’re giving a whole lot to Jesus and when it comes down to it, you’re not getting much feedback from Him. Why is that? Why do you have days and weeks where you just don’t feel very much? Well, of course there are tons of possible explanations and some of them are bound to be beyond our ability to understand, but I know for a fact that one reason people struggle through spiritual dry spells is that they just don’t see Jesus the right way. Maybe that’s you. I know it’s been me a ton of times. I know there are times when I see him pulling me over, running the blue lights and sirens, writing me citations for all my sins. There are times I see Him coldly marking endless tallies in a giant ledger while I cower underneath the disappointed eyes staring through the glasses sliding halfway down His nose. I know these are cliche pictures, but I think we still see them. The truth is, Jesus is like a teenager hopelessly in love, slipping notes into your locker, holding open your car door, carrying your books to class. He’s tripping over His words because His heart just skipped a beat when you walked into the room. Jesus isn’t mad or distant. He’s in love with you. He’s pursuing you passionately, saying, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me.”

Friday, November 1, 2013

311. He Cares About Your Love For Him



You know how you look at your own life and heart sometimes and just feel so low down and unworthy? And I mean, we are totally unworthy, of course. We don’t deserve the love of God and we could never earn it. God’s love comes to us as a pure gift and we could never change His mind about it or make Him love us more or less by what we do. And let’s be honest - sometimes that’s tough to swallow. We’d like to give something back, right? It’s not that we really want to earn our keep with God or anything because deep down we know we couldn’t pull that off, but is there something, anything we could do? It turns out the answer is yes, and not only that, but when you do this, it means a lot to Jesus. At the end of the book of Luke there is a character who comes out of nowhere named Joseph of Arimathea. After Jesus died on the cross, he went to Pilate the governor and asked permission to take Jesus’ body down from the cross and bury it. Joseph was a rich and powerful man, and stepping out like this was a bold and risky move for him, both socially and politically. Pilate gave Joseph permission and he took Jesus’ body, washed it, prepared it and then buried our Lord in a tomb he purchased. No one even knew he believed in Jesus, but when it counted, he stood up and loved the Lord. When you love Jesus no matter what it costs you, it doesn’t earn your spot in Heaven or seal your forgiveness, but it means a lot to Jesus. He loves your love for Him. 

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

310. He Doesn't Care About Your Reputation



Okay, so you’re not the person you wanted to be. I get it. You wanted to be something different or something more. You don’t like the way people see you and you wish you could change that script. I know exactly how that feels. You look around at people who made it in the way you wanted to make it, and you wonder why it didn’t happen for you. You see people in your life who seem to have side-stepped some of the pitfalls that have held you back and you just wish things had turned out differently. If you’re like me, you’d do anything to go back and erase or undo some of your worst moments because they feel like stains that won’t wash out. Will you always be this version of you? Can you rise above the past? The good news is, you don’t have to. The God of the Universe wants to hang out with you and give you a life you could never even imagine and the best part is, He really doesn’t care about your reputation. Jesus’ heart beats for you and no matter how much of a let down your think your past is, Jesus couldn’t care less. One time Jesus walked up to a man who was an outcast because of the things he had done. This guy was hated as a traitor to his people and a crook, but Jesus loved Him. He called this notorious character to a whole new life and then went to the guy’s house to hang with all of his sinful friends. Jesus has big plans for you and an even bigger love for you, no matter who you’ve been or what you’ve done. 

Saturday, October 26, 2013

309. He Doesn't Want You To Forget



Do you ever feel like you’re not forgiven anymore? As in, you feel so distant from the Lord that it’s as if your relationship with Him is somehow void and the grace you were banking on has expired? Sometimes, all you can think about are your own failures - those moments where you fell off; and when you’re feeling spiritually dry anyway, the guilt takes over. You start to think the distance you feel from the Lord is because of your sin - in other words, Jesus is holding back from you relationally and emotionally because He’s over your screw ups and basically just tired of forgiving you. This is one of those feelings that’s not true, but we’ve all felt it. I think this is why Jesus said some of the things He did during the last supper. As they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave thanks, broke it, handed it to His guys and then said, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” My whole life, I thought communion was a ceremony to honor Jesus’ sacrifice, but what if Jesus meant something different by it? What if Jesus was saying, “Every time you eat food, every single time you break bread, I want you to remember that I gave myself to be broken for you.” What it it wasn’t just a ceremonial thing, but for every meal? And what if the thing He wants you to remember is that He wanted to die for you. He did this on purpose. He isn’t disappointed or sick of forgiving you. He loves you, and every single time you tear a piece of bread, He wants you to remember His love again.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

308. He Can't Tell Us How Much It Cost



Do you ever struggle to believe that Jesus is for you? Do you ever wonder if He really loves you? Do you ever get so honest and raw about your pain and troubles that you strip away all the churchy stuff and the religious sentiments and just honestly admit that you don’t know how to be sure about His love for you? Sometimes it doesn’t feel like love. Sometimes things are going so badly for you that you don’t feel supported or cared about or even heard by Jesus, right? Some days, it feels like prayer is pointless and you just want to walk away from all of it. In those moments, how can you know for sure that Jesus cares about you? I have an idea. I want you to think about a time that you sacrificed something for someone and they didn’t even know it. Go ahead, try this - think of a time where you did something for someone else and it cost you dearly, but that person never knew. For me, I think about times when my kids were babies and I was sleep deprived but still staying up with them all night in their sickness. They didn’t know and they never could understand it, but I didn’t care. I just loved them. Now think about Jesus. Think about when He was separated from the heart of the Father for us. He lost something that day we could never understand. He could never fully explain the price He paid to have us. Our gratitude for His love is too weak, but He doesn’t care. He gave up more than we could possibly understand because He loves us more deeply than we’ll ever know. 

Saturday, October 19, 2013

307. He's The Only One



You know those times when you are at your absolute worst? And I’m talking about the ones no one else even sees. I mean those times when you are alone with your own thoughts and they are so dark that you can’t believe your self. You know the times when you sink so low that you honestly can’t stand yourself? And I’m not talking about insecurity. I don’t mean you aren’t happy with the way you look or your place in life - I mean that you look in the mirror and despise the twisted depths of who you can sometimes be. In those moments - in the scary moments, Jesus loves you. Now, that is not some kind of throw-away statement. It’s not intended to be a Sunday School given that we all know. Take a minute and let it sink in - He loves you at your worst, when you don’t even love yourself. Whoa. This unbelievable truth is the reason Christians say that Jesus is the only way to God. He’s the only one who could possibly love the worst in us. He’s the only one who would sacrifice Himself for a bunch of train wrecks like we were and sometimes still are. I’m sure there are people you would sacrifice for and even die for. I know there are people I would die for, but at the same time, there are plenty of people I wouldn’t die for. And that’s the difference. Our sacrificial love is conditional on friendship or trust or history or blood. Jesus laid down His life for His enemies - for us, at our darkest selves. That’s why it was said that “there is no other name under Heaven by which we must be saved.”

Monday, October 14, 2013

306. He's Turning You Into A Fighter



Why does God take you through so many hard times? Why do you have to face situations that test you, humble you and even hurt you? Sometimes the intensity and  difficulty of this life seems unnecessary. Do we really need to go toe-to-toe with evil and wrong? Why can’t all the folks who love Jesus just huddle up in a big group and skip all the mess of the outside world? The fact is, this world is not safe, and you won’t dodge all the danger just because you know Jesus. Sometimes Christians want to protect themselves and the people they love from everything difficult, threatening or even damaging. They think shutting themselves away from the influences of the outside world will keep them safe from sin. The problem is that sin comes from within, not from without. Not only is the world a dark place, but we are the reason it is so dark. We are all fallen and broken. We all need to be rescued from ourselves. The world didn’t break itself - we broke it. We can’t protect ourselves from our own hearts. Jesus came into a dark world full of wrong, hate, evil and violence in order to save us. He risked everything and the rescue mission cost Him His own life. Now He is sending us out into that same dark landscape. He’s sending us out into the danger and uncertainty of a sinful world. Some of us will be wounded and some will even give everything, but He’s training us to be tough, battle-hardened fighters. Jesus is looking for people who are willing to join in the fight of a lifetime for the hearts of the lost. Are you in?

Saturday, October 12, 2013

305. He Let Us Go Free



Don’t you hate the feeling that no one really thinks about you or considers you? Maybe it’s a friend or a parent or the person you’re with, but sometimes it can seem as though no one notices your feelings or cares about them. Is anyone looking out for you? Does your heart matter to them all that much? One of the most amazing things about Jesus (and one of the things I love about Him the most) is that even when He was in the middle of the most intense moments of His own personal danger, He wasn’t just thinking about Himself, but the people He loved. When Jesus was being betrayed and falsely accused, just seconds away from being bound and led away into the night to face humiliation, torture and His own execution, His concern was for the welfare of His friends. In fact, He said to the soldiers who came to take Him away, “If you’re looking for me, let these men go.” When things got darkest, He wasn’t thinking about Himself, but securing the safety and freedom of the ones He came for. This is the very heart of the Gospel - that Jesus would risk Himself for the lives of those He loved. He gave Himself for their freedom - and not only theirs, but ours as well. He came to let Himself be captured so that you might go free. He came to give His life in order that you would live. He is always thinking about you. He is always working for your best, even when your best requires His own betrayal, torture and death. Jesus was and is on a mission to make you free and nothing could turn His thoughts from you.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

304. He Has Made Promises



Jesus doesn’t want you to be afraid of stepping out of line. He doesn’t want you to walk through your life on eggshells, worried that you’ll disappoint Him. He doesn’t want you to be terrified of His wrath. He doesn’t want you to go around, hanging your head thinking that you are the most miserable sinner that has ever lived. He doesn’t want you to be afraid of what’s coming because you know that you don’t deserve any better than some doomed future of holy payback. For some folks, their Christianity has made their life awful because it has told them they’re horrible and they should live in a constant state of regretting the person they are. For some people, their Christianity is making them afraid to simply live a normal, balanced life because they’re so afraid of sin that everything is off limits. Jesus didn’t come for that. The Apostle Peter says that we have everything we need for life and godliness. He says that Jesus has given us “very great and precious promises” that should let us play a part in real and full life. In other words, Jesus promised us that we are forgiven. He promised us we’ll never be judged. He promised us that He’s working in us and accomplishing His perfect plan. He promised the Holy Spirit will be inside us, making us new by His power. He promised we’ll never be alone and that He Himself will come back to get us. He promised that nothing could ever snatch us out of His hand and He promised that the Father loves us. Jesus doesn’t want us to mope around, heavy-hearted. He wants us to live in the joy of His outrageous promises.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

303. He Wasn't Just Doing His Job



How can you really know that Jesus loves you? Whether you’re in the middle of a deep trial, pressed and low; or else just muddling through your normal, everyday routine, how can you connect with Jesus and know that His heart beats for you? Will He tell you? Will He actually communicate with your heart? Are you just supposed to look at His life in the Scriptures and find the proof of His love? I’m not really sure what the answer is. I think it’s probably some combination of both of those things. When you know Jesus and you look at His life in the Word - the way He lived and the things He said - I believe He tells your heart the things you’re longing to hear. When you see Him reaching out to weary and broken people, I think He is trying to tell you, “I love you, too. No matter what you’ve done or who you’ve been.” When you see Him healing diseases and calming storms, I think He is trying to speak into the tumult and hurt of your life saying, “I want to bring healing and peace to you.” It’s easy to feel as though Jesus did the things He did out of obligation. He had to save us, because who else could? But when you read about that dark night in the garden and you see Him sweating blood, I think He’s speaking to you. He’s telling you that He gave His blood even before they drew it. He wasn’t just doing His job, but He saved you because He wanted to. Before they took His blood, Jesus was giving it for you. Ask Him to speak that love to you right now.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

302. He's Going To Change Everything



If you feel like your life is falling apart, listen close. If you know what it’s like to be mistreated and personally hurt, lean in. If the hand you’ve been dealt has been filled with suffering, I have some very Good News for you: it won’t always be this way. Your troubles have an expiration date. Pain is having its last last word in your life and then it will be gone forever and ever. The people who have lived to make your life miserable are going to get theirs. You may be in the middle of the fire right now, but soon enough, everything is going to change. Check out this verse in Isaiah 16: “The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land. In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it - one from the house of David - one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.” Do you get what’s being said in those lines? Read it again and just let it soak into your heart. Let those words drown your hopelessness and fear. All the wrongness and unfairness and unkindness of every single life is going to one day be a thing of the past. Some day soon, the One with the most beautiful heart is going to sit on a throne of love and faithfulness and when He does, heartbreak will cease to be a factor in the human experience forever. Worried, broken, troubled heart, never fear - Jesus is coming to reign. Let that name lift your heart right out of your misery. Call out to Jesus like a hurting child calls out for their Dad.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

301. He Knows What It's Like



I don’t really gamble, but I would bet anything that whenever you sin, (especially if you think it’s a really big sin) you believe that not only is God disappointed in you, but He’s also looking at you and thinking, “What’s wrong with you? Are you some kind of freak? Why on earth are you so messed up that you would want something like that?” Most of us think that God not only disapproves of our behavior, but just doesn’t understand us at all. We think God shakes His head at us in disgust, wondering how in the world we are tempted by the things that drag us down and take us out. The truth is so much better than what we naturally think on our own. In fact, one reason the truth is so much better is that it’s something we never would have thought up on our own. If human beings were inventing a religion and simply making up Jesus as a fictional character, we never would have put this part in. Hebrews chapter 4 tells us that Jesus is not unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but has been tempted in every way, just like us, only without sin. Do you realize what that means? It means that Jesus knows what it’s like to want to do the wrong thing. He understands why you desire the things that cause you to fall. He’s not looking down on you for wanting what you want. He gets it. Jesus stood toe-to-toe with those same temptations and overcame them. He never once sinned, but He was tempted by them. He doesn’t look at you like some kind of freak. Our God knows what it’s like down here.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

300. His Love Is Better



Do you ever feel like you don’t know where you stand with the Lord? Maybe it seems like you’ve stepped over a line and now you’re in the penalty box for a while, or maybe you just feel distant and cold. Maybe you haven’t really been reading the Scriptures all that consistently and your prayers seem to go nowhere. Maybe you’re holding onto attitudes you know He doesn’t want, but whatever the case, things just don’t feel right between you and Jesus sometimes. Here’s the thing: the reason so many of us think we’re on shaky ground with the Lord is that we believe His love is like our love. Our love for Jesus is real, but the strength of it comes and goes. Our love for Jesus had a beginning and before that time, we were strangers and enemies against Him. Sometimes we get mad at Jesus and sometimes we simply forget about Him. Our love for Him is a very human love. His love for us is better. His love for you had no beginning. Before He made the world, He knew you and loved you. His love for you doesn’t ever change. He has already made up His mind that you are accepted and righteous and it’s not based on your behavior. His love for you is passionate and pure. In John 15, Jesus said that His love for you is just like God the Father’s love for Him. Whoa. Jesus loves you the way the Father loves Him. That love is endless, boundless, joyful and unstoppable. It’s a love that rips its way right through death. Jesus doesn’t love the way you and I love. He loves us the way we want to be loved.

Friday, September 20, 2013

299. He Cuts You A Lot Of Slack



Have you ever felt like you need a lot of mercy and help, even on your best days? Do you know how it feels to be right on the edge of losing it, even when things are going really well? I know that for me, the more I know myself and the more honest I am with myself, the more grace I need. Even when I’m spiritually fired up and feeling really close to the Lord, I’m bound to be an idiot in one way or another. It always surprises me when I meet a person who wants to measure the health of their spiritual life by looking at the consistency of their own behavior. I mean, really? That’s what you want to go with? If God were to keep a ledger like that, I know I’d be toast, and if the behavior chart included my thoughts, it’d be over. I don’t even know the depth of my own need. I think that when it comes to our personal holiness, most of us are fooling ourselves. That’s why I’m so thankful for Jesus. He doesn’t keep the kind of ledger we think we could live up to. He just pays for everything. He covers our backs on every stupid mistake, slip of the tongue and dark thought. One time Peter ran his mouth to impress some temple officials and implicated Jesus in a tax liability He didn’t owe. Jesus didn’t make Peter pay for His mistake, but instead pulled off one of His craziest miracles to completely sort out the mess. Wow. I need that type of kindness in my life. I want that kind of understanding. I need Jesus to cut me a lot of slack.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

298. He's Closer Than You Think



Have you ever gotten so completely frustrated, alone, afraid, distressed and confused that you wondered where Jesus was? Why doesn’t He respond to your prayers? Why isn’t He showing up to give you help? Does He care about you? Why won’t He speak to you? Why won’t He do something? Where is He? One of the things that’s strange about our belief in Jesus is that it is a walk of faith. It’s something you believe even though you can’t see it. It’s something you’re convinced is true, even when there is no irrefutable evidence. It’s mysterious. Jesus sometimes allows us to go through extremely difficult things. He walks us through trials and suffering. He pulls the rug out from underneath and even breaks your heart and when that happens, it’s reasonable to look around trying to figure out where He is. I’ve watched some people I love go through seasons just like this recently. I’ve seen friends in the depths of these questions and I’ve noticed something really interesting. I’ve watched a person who’s frantically searching around for evidence of Jesus turn around and pray for someone else who’s hurting. I’ve seen a friend desperate to find the Lord in their pain that somehow mustered up the love to extend forgiveness and mercy to someone else who sinned against them. I’ve watched a brother drowning in confusion explain the Good News to people who needed to hear it. In other words, while they were looking for Jesus, I saw Jesus in them. One of the mysteries of our faith is that we don’t just believe in Jesus - He lives inside us. Paul says, “The glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Sunday, September 15, 2013

297. He Knows You're Going To Walk Soon


Romans 8:19

You’re not always going to stumble. You’re not always going to make a mess. One day you’re going to be completely grown. And look, I don’t mean that one day you’ll be a grown up. I’m not talking about your chronological age. There are plenty of adults who have tons and tons of spiritual growing to do. I’m talking about the fact that you won’t always be a person who struggles and backslides. Right now, you’re saved and forgiven and accepted and you’re growing, but you still have this magnetic pull toward the wrong things. It’s a deep and ancient part of your heritage as a human. The Bible calls it your sin nature and you will be engaged in a tug-of-war match with it for the rest of your time here on earth. One day, though, you’re going to take off that sin nature like an old coat, drop it on the ground and walk away from it completely. Right now it’s a fight, but on that day, it will be as easy and natural as changing from dirty, wet clothes into clean, dry ones. The Apostle Paul said that the whole creation knows that this is going to happen to you. Everything God made knows this day is coming and they’re all waiting eagerly to see you transform. From plants to planets, from starfish to stars, they’re longing for the day you leave crawling behind and walk tall forever. The creation knows about this day because Jesus told them it’s coming. He knows that you will soon be a sight to behold - beautiful, strong, radiant and filled with the Love that made the world. You’re not there yet, but soon you will walk.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

296. He's The Best Friend You'll Ever Have



I bet you know how it feels to have a good friend turn on you and become an enemy. There’s nothing more shocking or disorienting. The pain teaches you not to trust that person again, but it also teaches you how to be a better friend. If you know that unique hurt, you should also know that you’re not alone. Jesus knows what it’s like to be betrayed. He knows the way your stomach churns when you find out that someone who was supposed to have your back stabs you in the back instead. You feel foolish and small when you finally realize the truth. Our Lord knows that feeling and He promises He will never betray you. In fact, He prays for you, He watches over you and He will vouch for you in front of His Father and all of Heaven. Jesus knows how it feels to be humiliated. He has felt the uncontrollable feeling of blood rush into His face while being surrounded by laughter and jeers. He knows that feeling and promises He will never treat you that way. In fact, our Lord honors you by calling you His very own child and the love of His life. Jesus knows how it feels to be judged. He has felt fingers of blame in His face and He promises to never judge you, no matter what. He knows how it feels to be abandoned. He knows how it feels to be lied to, mocked and hated. Jesus knows the pain of friendships gone bad. He knows the ache that enemies can cause and He swears by His own blood that He will never, ever do those things to you. He calls you His friend.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

295. He's Not Leaving You Out There On Your Own



You’re not out there on your own. You’re not just running headlong into dumb luck or tough breaks. The mistakes you’ve made are not irrevocable disasters and you are not a lost cause. I think lots of us feel that we are sort of like free agents who are solely responsible for our fate. When bad things happen, or we run into some wrong thing, it’s easy to think, “Now I have to find a way to get out of this on my own.” The problem is that sometimes your troubles are too big to manage and your pitfalls are too deep to climb out of. The truth is, you’re not alone. You’re not a free agent. You’re not the only person responsible for getting yourself where you need to be. Remember the story Jesus told about the woman who had ten coins and lost one? That’s you. You’re like a lost coin. A coin doesn’t have arms or legs to pick itself up, or even a mouth to shout for help. Now, that sounds pretty bleak, but the story doesn’t end there because Jesus said there’s someone who cares about the coin who’s tearing the house apart looking for it. You didn’t make your own storms and even though you fall into wrong, you don’t have to undo your messes. No matter what anyone else in the world calls you, Jesus does not call you a lost cause. In fact, Isaiah chapter 62 says that you will be called “Sought After” and “The City No Longer Deserted.” No matter what you’re going through, Jesus is coming after you. He’s seeking you so relentlessly that His pursuit is now a permanent part of your name.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

294. He Is Amazed When You Believe Him



Most folks think they are a disappointment to Jesus. They think He’s mad at them and frustrated with their lack of progress. Some folks spend so much time asking the question, “Have I failed Him again?” that they miss the chance to ask other really cool questions like, “How close can Jesus and I get?” or even, “What would it mean to follow Jesus right now, today?” We are so sure that we’re in trouble that we’ve never even entertained the possibility that our relationship with Jesus is just fine as it is and could actually get a lot sweeter and closer if we would just relax and enjoy it. I think people imagine that Jesus is like a really strict teacher who’s impossible to please, but what if those people have Him figured out all wrong? What if He’s more like your best friend who always sits beside you in the class? Jesus is probably the most misunderstood person ever, and most people would be shocked if they actually met Him on the street and hung out with Him for ten minutes. What if you found out that Jesus isn’t mad at you, but just really likes you? What if you discovered that He gets a kick out of your laugh? What if you found out He loves to hear you pray? One time an officer in the Roman army made Jesus amazed. Our Lord’s face broke into a wide smile of complete marvel. Why? Because this officer simply took Jesus at His word. What if you could do that? What if you could make Jesus amazed with gladness? Go ahead and try it. Just believe exactly what Jesus says about you and He’ll flip out. 

Saturday, August 31, 2013

293. He Did What He Said To Do



Have you ever had some person in authority over you who told you what to do but wasn’t willing to do that thing themselves? Maybe it was the coach who was terribly out of shape, but blowing the whistle for you to keep running and pushing yourself in the weight room. Maybe it was the art teacher who mysteriously never drew anything. Or maybe for some of you it was a parent or even a pastor that expected and demanded a level of behavior and perfection that you later found out they weren’t keeping themselves. It can be a devastating thing to find out that they people you respect and follow aren’t who you thought they were. It can be frustrating to have to live up to a standard your authorities can’t or won’t uphold. That’s one thing I love about Jesus. He lived the kind of life we never could. His heart was pure and His moral perfection was complete. The hardest things He ever asked us to grow into are things He not only lived out, but they are things He lived out with us. Jesus said we are supposed to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. Now, that is about the most demanding and difficult thing you could ever ask of a person, but Jesus didn’t just blow the whistle and expect us to do it. No, first, He loved us when we were against Him. In Romans 5, Paul says we were reconciled to Him when we were His enemies. He did good to us when we hated Him and now His love is changing us and making us able to grow and love the unloveable as well. 

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

292 He's Letting You Start Over



Welcome to a brand new you. It just happened, right now. You’re new. You’re clean. Whatever came before is gone. Whatever was lingering from your past has been cut off. It doesn’t matter what yesterday was. It doesn’t matter how far out you were. I don’t care if you think you were the very worst person in the whole human experiment, you are starting over right now, this instant. I’ve talked to so many people who love Jesus and even believe the Gospel, and yet they are still dragging around the old bones of ancient sins. They think that part of the reason their life isn’t satisfying or full or deep today is because they squandered a good life with old wrongs. Some folks look at every problem and disappointment as a miniature consequence for their many great sins. They think that they deserve to have a terrible life because of who they’ve been. I don’t know if you ever feel that way, but if so, do something for me. Take a few minutes and day dream about what life could be like if you were perfectly righteous. What kind of blessings would you expect if your record was spotless? Go ahead and just think about that. What would you deserve? What would you anticipate? The truth is, Jesus says you are that righteous and that clean. When He was on the cross, He shouted out a word. The word was a legal word used by bankers and accountants when a debt was paid. We have translated it, “It is finished” and it means that your debts are paid in full and you get to start over, right now. What would it be like to start over? Find out.

Friday, August 23, 2013

291. He Draws You In Where Others Push You Out



If your Christian experience leaves you feeling terrible about yourself, you should know you’re not getting the whole story. If you walk away from church with your head hanging low, they forgot to tell you about the real Jesus. If you hang out with someone who says they know the Lord and you walk away feeling judged or condemned, rest assured that person knows less about Jesus than they’re letting on. Jesus said that God didn’t send His Son to judge the world, but to save it. If you hear something about Jesus that makes you feel like a worm who should live in perpetual shame and fear instead of gratitude, gladness and hope, you heard some false information. When it feels like God is a judge who is impossible to please, you want to run away and hide, right? The old deal God had with His people was like that. Moses came down from a mountain glowing with God’s glory and giving out rules they couldn’t keep. The people were in awe of the glory and afraid of Moses. They failed to meet the standards and wanted to keep Moses away. With Jesus, everything changed. In Mark chapter 9, Jesus went up on a mountain where He was transformed in front of his friends. They saw a glimpse of His radiant, eternal glory, but when He came down the mountain, the people were drawn to Him instead. They were filled with awe, but they longed to be close to Him. Rules we can’t keep and standards we can’t meet make us hide in shame, but grace freely given draws us in. The real Jesus is the one you want to run and cling to.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

290. He's Not Mad At You



Have you ever had the worrisome feeling in the pit of your stomach that God is mad at you? I bet you have. I bet you know exactly how it feels to think that God’s upset with you and you’ve failed once again to get His approval. It’s a dull, throbbing kind of sensation - the fear that you’re in trouble with God. I can remember being in school and being sent to the principal’s office or being told that a teacher was going to call my dad. It feels like that, only about a million times worse, because it’s not the principal and it’s not even your dad - we’re talking about God - the One who knows everything. You can’t fool Him and you can’t hide from Him. When you stand before God, you stand before Him utterly exposed. You are what you are and He knows it. What will He say about you? What sentence will He pronounce over the mess that is these hearts of ours? Well, in Luke 4, Jesus read a section of the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” After Jesus read this, He said, “I am fulfilling this Scripture today.” The thing that’s so cool is that the word “favor” that Jesus used is a word that means ‘acceptance’ and ‘welcome.’ We’re not in trouble with God. Jesus has accepted us completely and is welcoming us with arms wide open.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

289. He Changed The Rules



Do you ever look at your own life and think that even though you’re still kind of a wreck, it’s okay because you still have time to change? For those of us who are all too familiar, the thought process goes something like this: “Well, I’m not there yet, but there’s still time for me to clean up my act and get all holy before this is over and I have to face God.” Have you ever thought that way before? My guess is you have. I bet that even though you’ve believed in Jesus, there are sill places in your heart where you feel disappointed in yourself that you haven’t really cleaned up yet. It can be an overwhelming feeling, waking up every day to face the fact that you failed to measure up. You didn’t meet God’s standard and you didn’t even meet your own standards. At a certain point you look in the mirror and realize that it’s basically always going to be like this. I mean, sure, you’re not the person you used to be. God is slowly changing you, but the more open you become to His Spirit, the more you realize just how polluted you are and how deep the problem is rooted. No, it’s too late to fix this thing and that’s why Jesus came. Jesus not only met the standards, He changed the rules. He took your place in such a complete way that God is now satisfied that you have met the standards. Yes, you read that correctly. Because of Jesus, you didn’t clean it up, but God says you did. The new official story is that you are already holy, righteous, accepted and eternally putting a smile on God’s face. 

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

288. He's Not Afraid Of Your Secret



Somewhere, down in the deep places of who you are, there is a secret you are desperately hoping no one ever finds out about you. There are things in your life and in your past that make you feel gross, and you hate to think about those things because you’re afraid of what they say about who you really are. Sometimes, when you get to thinking about that secret, you start to feel lonely because the secret is something that you think no one would understand. It feels like you’re the only person in the history of the world who has ever done that thing, so you have to protect the secret at all costs. The secret is the thing that makes you feel isolated, different and gross. It makes you feel like if anyone really knew you, they’d reject you as some kind of freak. What if you wore your secret for all to see? In the first chapter of Mark, a man with leprosy approached Jesus. Leprosy is a disease that kills nerve endings which means you can’t feel pain or anything else. Lepers injure themselves without knowing it and suffer the long term effects of untreated infections. The disease winds up making people disfigured and scary to others. People with leprosy were avoided on purpose. It was a sad, lonely life with a secret everyone knew. This guy went right up to Jesus and said, “I know you could heal me, but I don’t know if you would want to.” Jesus felt compassion on him and not only healed the man, but also touched him. Jesus is not afraid of your past. His love can reach into your loneliness and heal all your secret wounds.

Friday, August 9, 2013

287. He Knows There's A Reason Behind Your Wrong



How many times have you tried to change your life by simply resolving to do better next time? Lots of times, right? My guess is that it hasn’t worked at all, ever. Most folks think the way to change is to start with their sin, feel terrible and guilty about it, get all determined that they’ll never do it again, grit their teeth and then try to live a holier life than they are able to. Without fail, these poor folks do that sin again, but now the shame is doubled, because not only was it wrong in the first place, but now they’ve gone and resolved to never do it again, which makes it feels even more wrong. The mounting guilt doesn’t let them approach God for love and wisdom, so they’re even more likely to do it again. I know you do that because everyone does it. I’ve done it a million times. Jesus knows that plan doesn’t work because He knows there are reasons behind our wrong. When He talked to the woman at the well, He didn’t just call her out and say, “Stop sinning.” He talked about her thirst, showed her she was thirsty for real love and then told her who He was. In the end, she left her water jar at the well because she wasn’t thirsty anymore. You probably aren’t going to just stop sinning. Jesus wants to help you understand why you do what you do and show you how He can meet those needs. He wants to help you come up with a plan to change. He is patient and loving. The first step is simply not being afraid to go straight to Him for wisdom.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

286. He Cares About Your Pain



What does it mean when you hurt and no one cares? You know what I’m talking about, right? Something happens to you that gets you down or breaks your heart and everyone else in the world is just going about their day without really noticing that you’re in pain. Although you look okay on the outside, you feel like everything is caving in. It’s easy to feel alone in this world. Everyone has problems of their own to deal with and some people in your life really don’t want to hear about your hurt. Either they don’t care or they just don’t have time to deal with it. Some folks are so entrenched in their own battles that even though they love you, they simply don’t have the energy to give to the healing of your pain. The thing is, even when you feel utterly alone, you’re not actually alone. Jesus loves you, knows you completely and cares about the fact that you are struggling. One time, a guy’s mother-in-law was really sick, so they told Jesus about her pain. The Scripture says that when Jesus heard, He went to her. When He hears about the trouble in your life, He’s right beside you. You can’t see Him or hear His voice, but He lives in your heart and never leaves you alone. He cares about and responds to your pain. Psalm 56 says that the Lord keeps our tears in a bottle and that He keeps a record of our pain on a scroll. When you think no one cares, Jesus cares. Even when you think you’re alone, He’s with you. He’s crying your tears with you and writing down your hurts. You are never alone.

Friday, August 2, 2013

285. He's Going To Let You Finish The Devil



You want to know something I can’t stand about the devil? He’s malicious. In other words, he doesn’t just attack you, he gets personal with his attacks. He knows exactly what buttons to push in your life and he pushes them on purpose. Maybe with you it’s a particular moment in your past he keeps bringing up. Maybe it’s your appearance or your issues with your mom. Maybe it’s your fear of failure, but whatever it is, he knows. He has the information and capitalizes on it. The devil doesn’t just mess with you and try to discourage you, he messes with you in as mean a way as possible because he doesn’t just want to take you off the playing field. He wants you to hurt while you’re out. One of the best things the Bible says is that the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. I love that. I can’t wait for that moment. I have watched the filthy lies of that bitter, defeated pirate tear apart the people I love for too long. I have had my faith and joy kicked around by the meanness of that cosmic thug so many times and nothing would make me more glad than seeing Jesus make it right. But the amazing thing is that the Bible doesn’t stop there. You see, it turns out that not only did Jesus come to destroy the devil’s works, but He’s going to let us play a part in the destruction. Romans 16 says that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. That’s talking about you. It’s personal. You get to finish the devil off like a bug in your house.

Friday, July 26, 2013

284. He's Tons More And Way Better Than You Can Imagine



Do you need love today? Do you need someone to be outrageously patient with you? Are you looking for an ear to listen to all of your problems without ever interrupting or getting worn out? Do you need someone to simply understand all the crazy little things that make you the quirky and unique you that you are? Do you need someone who doesn’t mind if you need to be dramatic or throw a temper tantrum? Are you looking for someone to care about the things that are driving you crazy? Do you just need help? Well, get ready because in Jesus you have Someone who is outlandishly more amazing than you could possibly understand. The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 3 that his job was to make known the “boundless riches of Christ.” In other words, God gave Paul an absolutely impossible job. How can you make known something that is completely unknowable? The riches of Jesus are boundless. That word literally means you are unable to trace the steps of His riches. In everything that is good, He has more of it than you could imagine. He is more patient than you are frazzled. He is more forgiving than you are sinful. He is more peaceful than you are angry or bitter. He has more understanding than you do confusions and questions. Whatever funky thing you’re feeling, He has something beautiful up His sleeve to help you. What’s more, He has infinitely more than enough of whatever that thing is to overwhelm and heal whatever you have going on. He is more and better. He is riches that never end. He is beyond our wildest dreams and will be forever and ever.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

282. He's What Everyone Is Really Looking For



Have you ever just made up your mind to walk away from Jesus and do whatever you want to do? Do you know how it feels to settle the issue in your own heart and then sprint as fast as you can and as far away as you can from Him? Did you know that in the midst of your running away, you’re really not that far from Him? Have you ever thought about the fact that in some ways you’re always looking for Jesus? Even when it feels like you’re running from Him with all of your might and loaded down with the full cargo of all your rebellion, there is a germ of something down deep inside you that is pining after Him - even if you don’t realize it. It turns out that all the things we do to try to fill ourselves up are just weak, watered-down substitutes for something Jesus can give us and actually wants to give us. We want to feel loved. We want to be special and important to someone else. We want fulfillment, purpose and pleasure. We want to succeed at stuff and we like the way it feels to be healthy and balanced. This is why we do the things we do. It makes perfect sense. These are all good and normal desires. God made us to want those things. Our problem is that we try to get those needs met by settling for something that can’t get the job done. Wherever you run, you’re really looking for Jesus and the cool thing is, He can’t wait to meet every single need and desire you have in a way that actually satisfies and eternally fills you up.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

282. He Didn't Seem All That Special



Do you ever look in the mirror and just hate what you see? You probably know all the things you’d change about yourself right now without even having to think about it, right? Maybe you’ve been overlooked or left out. Maybe you know how it feels to be the punchline in everyone else’s joke. Maybe you know what it’s like to have a parent you can never please. The real problem about being in a situation like that is that you can start to believe the talk. You can start to see yourself as expendable and invisible. It’s easy to simply accept the idea that you don’t matter and never will when so many things in your life seem to reinforce that idea. If people say it isn’t much and it doesn’t look like much, what if that’s because it really isn’t all that much? If you’ve fallen into believing that line, you need to take another look at Jesus. He was the poor kid of an unwed teen mom from a hick town and important people publicly threw His illegitimate birth in His face. When people started saying He was the Messiah, other folks would say, “What, from Nazareth? How could anything good come from there?” The Scriptures tell us He wasn’t good looking or attractive, but just a completely plain looking person. He didn’t have the right kind of upbringing or education to be in a position of power. People made fun of Him and accused Him of being a drunk and demon possessed. He didn’t look like anything special, but He was the Savior of the world. No matter what your life looks like, God sees the real you and He loves what He sees.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

281. He's Enough To Keep You Saved



Do you ever wonder when your walk with the Lord is going to kick into a higher gear? Are you waiting on your love for Jesus to become so real to you that you’re fundamentally different - wanting new things, seeing everything differently and feeling this deeper? The truth is, most folks think their relationship with Jesus is entirely up to them. They think the forward progress of their walk rests on their own shoulders. They believe that the only locomotion for their growth is their own resolve. As a result, lots of believers are pretty down on themselves about where they are spiritually. Maybe you’ve been there. Maybe you know how it feels to think your walk struggles and stumbles along (and probably always will) because you’re just not serious enough. If you know how that feels, you need to hear this. Way back in the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah, Jesus spoke about Himself. Before He ever drew a breath as a baby in Bethlehem, He spoke through Isaiah because there was something He wanted everyone to know about Him. He said, “It is I - speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” He wants you to know that He is powerfully working towards you being saved, rescued, delivered and finished. He’s not passive in the process of your salvation, and He didn’t just get you in the door. He is mighty to save you and keep saving you. He is powerfully changing your appetites and affections. He is mighty to make you love Him and want new things. He is strong enough to take you where you need to go, and if you look back over your life, you can already see that He’s doing it. You’re changing.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

280. He Wants To Share A Secret With You



What are you supposed to do about all your loneliness? Are you supposed to be able to hack your way into the coding of your personality and change the way you interact with people? Are you supposed to act really differently than the person you naturally are just so that people will accept you more? Are you supposed to tell yourself that belonging doesn’t matter as much as you thought it did? What are you supposed to do about the fact that even when you are in a crowded room filled with perfectly lovely people, you sometimes feel as though no one gets you and no one even wants to try? It hurts to be alone and to feel out of place. When you think you don’t fit, it’s a wound that’s deep and it’s a wound that throbs. What if someone really awesome wanted to be your best friend? What if, right there in the middle of your deepest loneliness, someone really amazing just wanted to know you and hang out with you? What if the smartest, coolest, most creative and original person ever thought you were simply incredible and just wanted to spend time with you? Guess what? It’s true. The sweetest, kindest and most loving person ever wants to be your friend. Jesus loves you. He likes you. He’s coming after you. He’s chasing you down through all of your pain and wounds. He knows you better than anyone and He loves you more deeply than anyone. He knows what loneliness feels like and He never wants you to have to feel it again. He wants to start a secret friendship with you today that only the two of you are invited into. 

Friday, July 5, 2013

279. He Offers Peace When It Doesn't Make Sense



Have you ever looked at your overwhelming problems and thought that you’ll work on being peaceful later, after all these storms have passed? I mean, we all realize that a big part of knowing the Lord is the peace that He offers, but how can you have that trusting heart of rest right now, in the middle of everything? Surely peace is something that appears in much more advanced and mature believers, right? Have you ever thought that peace is one of those things that comes with being old, retired and bored? I know that for me, the strain of my everyday struggles leaves me feeling fretful and irritated. I can feel my blood boiling with all of my issues and cares. How can a person be peaceful when our life seems to be in such turmoil? One of the things that amazes me about Jesus during His last hours on earth was His calm, composed manner. This wasn’t just a personality trait, either but rather an unearthly, otherworldly peace that I want. Jesus knew what was facing Him and yet He healed Malchus’ ear, eased Peter’s zeal, reasoned with the soldier who struck Him blindfolded, told the women of Jerusalem not to weep for Him, led the thief on the cross to salvation and even provided a home for His mother with John. He was at ease and in perfect peace throughout the most violent tragedy in the history of the world. God’s peace isn’t just for spiritual ninjas. It’s a gift for everyone. Jesus offers it to you. He’s in control, even when it doesn’t make sense and wants you to be at ease. If you need His peace, just ask Him for it.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

278. He Wanted This First And He Wants It More



Sometimes it seems like your spiritual life is going nowhere, right? It feels like the Scriptures are old, cold and dry. It seems like God is silent as the grave and when you pray, you get nothing. The problem is, you blame yourself for this, don’t you? When you aren’t getting much out of your own walk with the Lord, you pretty much assume it’s because you are to blame. You’re thinking of sins in your life and your own inconsistency. You’re thinking you just aren’t very spiritually mature and you just don’t know what to do. Probably the worst thing that happens is that you think that God is going to distance Himself from you because of this low season you’re having. You assume that God only wants to be close to spiritual studs and not scrubs like you think you are. If any of this describes the way you feel, you need to keep reading. First of all, you aren’t a scrub. You are a beloved child of the Living God. Jesus isn’t punishing your inconsistency by withdrawing His love and presence from you. Another thing you need to know is that this dry spell is just a part of life. It’s not your fault and it’s not a result of your sin. It’s normal, it’s okay and it will pass. In John 15, Jesus said He wants to be your friend. Then, He went on in the very next verse to say that He chose you, not the other way around. This friendship was Jesus’ idea. He wanted you first and He wants to be close more than you can imagine. He understands where you are and knows it’s going to pass.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

277. He Wants To Make A Home In You



Do you know what lonely feels like? Have you ever felt the restless sadness of not having anyone who gets you or really understands you? Do you long to have someone awesome who just wants to be with you or around you? One of the hardest things that happens in life is when a relationship changes or ends. Someone was in your life and you had a connection with them, but then something happened and now it's just different. Maybe you've never had that person in the first place and you long to know what it feels like to be truly understood, accepted and wanted. If you've ever felt this way, I have some unbelievable news for you. Jesus wants to make a permanent home in your heart. He wants to live in you in such a way that you are best friends and never separated even for a second for the rest of your life. When you love Jesus, the most incredible thing happens, where the miracle of Bethlehem and that first Christmas is repeated in your own life. The infinite God who started galaxies spinning and spread out explosive oceans of stars by simply calling out their names makes Himself small. The One who conquered death and hell and holds all power, potential, history and future in the palm of His hands becomes so small that He can hide in the darkest corners of your heart. The One who made you, loves you eternally and understands you completely walks the halls of your heart and mind as if it were His home sweet home so that you always have Him when you need Him. You always have a best friend who gets you. 

Friday, June 21, 2013

276. He Comes After You



Do you ever feel like your Christian life depends entirely on you? Sometimes it feels like the whole thing is resting on the thin ice of your personal consistency or devotion, right? Do you ever think that a bad day or a few skipped quiet times puts your whole relationship with Jesus on the skids? If so, you’re not alone. So many folks see it this way. We’re told to cling to the Lord, to follow Him and to remain faithful. The thing is, all that stuff is good, but it’s very important that in the midst of all that you remember something else that’s very important: the status of your relationship with Jesus does not depend on what you do or don’t do. Jesus started this relationship. It wasn’t your idea. You didn’t choose Him. He wanted you. Before He said, “Let there be light” He knew He wanted you and picked you to be His very own. Jesus pursued you first. He set His heart on you and chased you down through the depths of your hurt, wrong, pain and madness. He fought sin, death and hell to have you and He said that nothing can ever snatch you out of His hand. You’re not holding onto Him. He’s holding on to you. John tells us Jesus “had to go through Samaria” because He was chasing someone down. He went to find a blind man He had healed just to encourage Him. He sought out sinners, the poor, the oppressed and us. He left Heaven on a mission of love to give us the thing we could never earn, no matter how devoted or consistent we think we are. This grace you stand in doesn’t depend on you.