Sunday, March 30, 2014

352. He Sees You Through The Eyes Of A Parent



Are you ever suspicious about the way God sees you? Let’s face it, God knows everything about you, so He probably sees you in the worst possible light, right? It’s an easy thing to assume and feel. Most people see God as the Chief of the sin police; and since He’s omniscient, that would probably make Him the head of the CIA version of the sin police. The only problem is that when we look at our relationship through this lens of the troublemaker and the Enforcer, we sell everybody short. I’m not saying you don’t have sin in your life, because you do, but seeing God merely as a sin investigator and seeing yourself merely as a perpetrator makes God less than He is and makes you less than you are to Him, and I can prove it to you. I want you to think of someone in your town or school or church who gets into trouble a lot. Think of someone everyone talks about behind their back. The funny thing is, people are bold and loud about this person’s wrongs with anyone and everyone unless that person’s mother or father is around. If Mom or Dad is in earshot, they show more respect. The thing we always forget is that we are God’s kids. That’s the ultimate lens He sees us through. In Matthew 9, Jesus called a man, “son” and a woman “daughter.” That’s how Jesus sees you. A wise parent sees the sin in their child, but real love goes deeper than disappointment, embarrassment, anger or anything else. There’s a connection and a sympathy that outweighs the wrong. When Jesus sees you, He sees the child He loves.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

351. He Belongs To The Needy



Do you ever find it funny that we spend so much time and energy trying to attain a self-sufficient life when we are so obviously frail and dependent? The really interesting thing is how much our spiritual culture emphasizes and aims for strength, competence and security when our faith doesn’t really promise those things. Indeed, our faith is supposed to be about our need for Jesus. He is the strong One. He is our security. And yet, we are uncomfortable in our own skin. We are ashamed of not being enough and we don’t like to see that need in others. Dependence makes us feel embarrassed on behalf of desperate people, despite the fact that at the core, we are all smoking wreckage in need of critical repair. One week before Jesus went to the cross, He was entering Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey, fulfilling an ancient prophecy as crowds sang Messianic Psalms to praise Him. At the same time, other folks were telling Jesus to silence these crowds because their praise was inappropriate. Matthew tells us the folks worshiping Jesus were the blind, the lame and the children. The folks opposing their worship were the rich, the powerful and the influential. Jesus loved their songs. He stood with and defended the cause of the helpless, the powerless and the voiceless. The thing is, it’s not that Jesus didn’t love those religious leaders opposing Him, they just didn’t think they needed Him. Jesus isn’t for everyone. Don’t get me wrong - everyone needs Jesus, but not everyone knows it. If you know you are totally needy - dependent, powerless and helpless without Him, Jesus belongs to you. He died for you and He lives for you.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

350. He Let Himself Be Excluded



Have you ever noticed how some of the most significant and profound moments of spiritual change happen in the smallest, quietest and most humble situations? This is kind of a weird thing, because lots of Christian-looking events and gatherings are big and flashy - church services and worship concerts in fancy arenas with thousands of people, laser light shows and chart-topping bands. In my experience, however, people’s lives change most in one-on-one conversations in coffee shops while no one else is looking. I’ve seen people really give their heart to the Lord in moments of failure, humiliation, tragedy and disease. Despite the glitzy image and talk of many Christian groups, the Kingdom of God is advancing in the midst of pain and friendship, sorrow and service. There is a place at the end of the book of Hebrews that talks about how the priests in the old sacrificial system would take the blood of the sacrificed animal into the temple, but the bodies would be burned outside the camp, in disgrace. This writer goes on to say that Jesus suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy by His blood. The way of Jesus is that of exclusion and disgrace. It’s the way of service to the weak and troubled. Jesus identifies with the poor, hated, hurting and lonely. The writer then goes on to say that for this reason we should go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore because this world is not our home. Let’s build the Kingdom alongside Jesus. Let’s embrace exclusion, humility, and want. Let’s give ourselves to serve the broken and ignored. This world is fancy and fine, but it is not our home.

Monday, March 17, 2014

349. He Loves Doing Things For You



One of the easiest traps to fall into is assuming that Jesus does things for you because He has to - as if He is fulfilling the requirements of a contract against His own will. The Bible says there are tons of things Jesus is doing for us all the time - praying for us, strengthening us, guiding us, holding us, working through us and even making all things work together for our best. There’s even one place where Jesus says that He’s preparing a place for us in Heaven. If I’m honest, I sometimes picture Jesus carrying out that list with a frown on His face - the way I do chores when I’d rather be curled up on the couch watching a movie. I assume He’s reluctant to work in my life but does it anyway, because if He doesn’t, who will? The thing is, the more I think  about it, the more I realize my assumption about Jesus’ attitude sells Him way short. This week, my wife and I are planning a big party for our kids themed around the Harry Potter books. We’re dressing up as our favorite characters and making food and drinks from the stories. Christy and I are having so much fun putting this party together for our kids because we love them and we love their joy. It doesn’t even feel like work. It’s just what love does. Do I really think Jesus is a less enthusiastic parent than I am? Do I honestly think He’s less joyful, less loving or less fun? No way! Jesus loves working in your life. He loves making a place for you and praying for you because you are His child and He absolutely loves your joy.

Friday, March 14, 2014

348. He Doesn't Want You To Hold Back On Him



When you’re trying to figure out what it means to walk with the Lord, it’s easy to think that you’re not really allowed to feel the things you feel. There are Bible verses about not complaining, not worrying and rejoicing always; but sometimes you feel sad. Sometimes you feel anxious and disappointed in what you’re facing. So, what does that mean? To be honest, I don’t know. I know those verses I mentioned are the goal. That’s where we want to end up when we’re in the middle of life’s troubles. I know that God has gotten me to the place of having a carefree, full heart that just trusts in Him, even when it’s hurting. I also know that I almost never start out there. When I find myself in a storm, I usually start out pretty confused, disoriented and upset. The thing I’m coming to believe more and more about the Lord is that He’s okay with that. He has a goal for my heart and He knows what it’s going to take to get me to grow into that goal, but I also know He wants me to be myself with Him, even when I haven’t reached the goal. I’m learning that in the place of prayer, I can be me, unfiltered. Isaiah 62 says when you’re really upset about something, you should pray and give yourself no rest. He goes on to say you should give the Lord no rest as well. If you need to bang on His door with your questions, hurt, complaint or frustration, do it. Do it until you get an answer. It’s what Job did. It’s what David did. It’s how Jesus taught us to pray.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

347. He Wants To Change The Way We See, Think And Feel



So many of us have wasted a lot of time trying to please God by following all the rules. The thing is, following rules doesn’t have anything to do with pleasing God. Not only that, but trying to earn God’s approval by walking a perfectly straight line winds up making us worse. When we try to go by the rules, we end up blind, dense and insensitive. When we’re focussed on simply doing things the right way, we lose all traces of simple, basic, common sense. One time Jesus was at a dinner party with some Pharisees - the religious leadership of God’s people. In the midst of the guests was a man suffering from severe and painful swelling in his joints. Jesus had already gotten in trouble for healing people on the Sabbath day. They considered healing to be work and as a result, a violation of the command of that day to rest. Jesus looked at this hurting man and then asked the leaders if it was okay to heal even on the day of rest. They stayed silent. He then said that if they had a child or even an animal that was hurting on the Sabbath, they’d intervene and help out. What’s really interesting is the fact that this dinner party only takes up 14 verses in the whole book of Luke, but two of those verses were used to tell us the Pharisees were speechless. When we focus on the rules and doing everything the right way, we can’t see, think or feel properly. Trying to live right changes us, but it changes us for the worse. Jesus wants to set us free to simply let Him change us.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

346. He's Winking At The Camera



Do you ever feel like your life has gotten completely out of hand? Do you ever look around in your own experience and see nothing but disasters? Sometimes it’s as if you are caught up in your own nightmare scenario and you don’t know the way out. Maybe something happened and you’ve lost all your friends. Maybe no one really understands you and you feel completely alone. Maybe that thing you did in secret has come to light and you’re afraid the ceiling is going to cave in on all your relationships. Maybe you’re out of money. Maybe you’re sick. Maybe you’re about to lose the person you love the most. In those moments, it’s hard to cling to your faith in Jesus, right? I mean, if He’s in control, then why in the world is this happening right now? If He’s calling the shots, why did we wind up in this mess? On the night Jesus was arrested, it seemed as though the world was falling apart. Jesus was betrayed by His friend, falsely accused and sentenced to die even though He was innocent. It looked like the world was having its way with Jesus. Everything was out of control - or was it? There were little moments when Jesus showed He was still running the show. It was like an action hero in a movie winking at the camera when all seemed lost - letting you know he has a plan. When soldiers tried to arrest Jesus, He merely spoke, and hundreds of armed men fell to the ground. It was a little wink. He’s still in control. He still has a plan. In the midst of your confusion, Jesus knows what He’s doing. He’s working for your best.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

345. He Knows You're Going To Have Bad Days


Some days you’re just not feeling it. Some days, you may be tired, cranky, negative, apathetic or else just sad. There are times when you will wake up and go through your whole day knowing you probably should have just stayed in the bed. For folks who believe in Jesus, this is hard news to accept. We don’t like the sound of it. Christians sometimes talk as if the only acceptable way to be or feel or live is totally awesome all the time. We don’t leave space for even the occasional sin. We don’t give ourselves room for a bad day. We don’t make allowances for going through a slump. The interesting thing is that Jesus doesn’t seem as bothered by it as we are. He says sin is bound to happen. He says we should be ready to forgive our brothers and sisters even if they misbehave up to five hundred times. Psalm 103 says that He remembers we are dust and does not treat us as our sins deserve. The fact is, we are going to mess up. We are going to sin and fall and fail. Pretending you can and should make it through every single day soaring on the heights is unrealistic and unkind. Jesus knows you’re going to have bad days as well as good days and He’s ready to walk you through both of them. If you don’t give yourself the grace for an off day, you won’t be able to understand when other people need that same grace. Remember that you and all of your friends are dust. Jesus does, and He’s not in a hurry to move you back into the fast lane when you need a break.