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.