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.