Have you ever felt like a failure? Maybe someone labeled you as a failure or has said something to you like, “You never finish what you start.” or, “You always quit when it gets tough.” When people decide that you’re a failure, it feels so final. What I mean is, when you get labeled as a failure, it almost seems like being diagnosed with an incurable disease, as if you’ll only ever be a failure no matter what. The thing is, the label of ‘failure’ is really just a clever lie. It’s not that only some people are failures and other people are successes. Everyone fails from time to time. Everyone quits something. There’s no one who simply succeeds at every single thing for their whole entire life, but it doesn’t feel that way, does it? It seems like it’s us against them. They succeed, we fail. They rock, we suck. Well, if you’ve ever felt like a failure, I have great news for you: Jesus loves failures. His heart beats for people who aren’t good enough and don’t quite have what it takes. His love is irresistibly drawn to the folks who strike out and can’t cut it. Once, Jesus was at a wedding where the couple ran out of wine to serve their guests. Jesus didn’t pull this couple aside and give them a lecture about etiquette and the social gravity of their miscalculations! No, He just made more wine. When no disciple knew what to do, Jesus fed 5,000 people. When Peter and his boys fished all night without a catch, Jesus provided fish. If you feel like a failure, Jesus’ heart beats for you, and He turns failures into world-changers. He just wants you to ask.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
118. He Prayed All The Time
Why do we pray? Really think about it... What’s up with prayer? Let’s make this even more personal: Why do you pray? Seriously, if you are a person who prays a lot, why do you do it? What do you hope to get from it? What do you need from it? I suppose that most of us are asking God to help us, and pouring out our hearts about our weaknesses and insecurities and troubles, right? That’s what prayer is about for us. Well, if that’s the case, do you ever wonder why Jesus prayed all the time? I mean, of all the people who ever lived, He’s the only One who could have gotten away with skipping His daily prayers. Jesus was different from us. Jesus was Almighty God with skin on. He was and is equal in power, wisdom, glory and eternal authority to God the Father. Jesus calmed a raging storm with a word. He healed terminal, incurable illnesses from miles away with a thought. Jesus raised people from the dead with a simple command... even once with just a whisper. Jesus didn’t need to take His ineptitudes or insecurities to God, because He was Himself God, who is clothed with power. So, why did Jesus pray all the time? Well, I think He prayed all the time because of love. It wasn’t that Jesus didn’t know what to do in certain situations, but that He just loved His Father and wanted to hang out with Him. It was love. You just couldn’t keep them apart because they loved to be together. What if we injected a little more of that into our lives? What if we prayed just for the love of being with God?
Saturday, November 12, 2011
117. He Turns Enemies Into Family
Are there people in your life who just seem to hate you? Like, no matter what you do, they just can’t stand you? And maybe you don’t even know what you did, but they just seem to be against you. Or maybe it’s that you have some people you just can’t handle. Maybe this person has a personality that doesn’t mix well with yours or maybe they hurt you in the past, but whatever it is, being around them is extremely difficult. Do you know what I’m talking about? Well, one of the things Jesus is all about is dissolving those barriers of hate. When He hand-picked His team of guys who would turn the world upside down as a united force for the Kingdom of God, He picked people who really didn’t get along. In fact, some of them hated each other. For example, Matthew was a tax collector, which meant that he was a Jew who worked for the occupying Roman government, taking money from his own people to give to them. Translation: Most Jewish folks considered Matthew to be a low-down, two-faced, thieving traitor. One of the other disciples, Simon the Zealot, was a member of a grass-roots terrorist organization that hunted tax collectors! So, imagine you’re Matthew and you start following Jesus, who then recruits a dude that literally wants you dead! How would you get a good night’s sleep knowing Simon the Zealot was three sleeping bags away from you?! Thing is, Jesus turned those guys into brothers who loved each other, prayed for each other and went to battle together. He is turning enemies into family. He is taking over the universe and He’s doing it with love.
Monday, November 7, 2011
116. He Turns Misfits Into Missionaries
Have you ever secretly wished that you could do something that would change the world forever? Maybe you’ve never had the guts to say it out loud, but have you ever wished that you could do something that would go down in history? Haven’t you dreamed of playing an important role in something that will change everything forever? Last month Steve Jobs passed away and since then, people have talked about how he changed the world - and they’re right, he did. For years, people will benefit from his genius, hard work and innovation. But what if you could have an even deeper and more meaningful impact than Steve Jobs? Now, I know that you’re thinking... “I’m just a teenager, or I’m just an insurance salesman, or I’m just a stay-at-home mom, so how can I change the world? I don’t have the education, the skills, the money or the connections to change the world.” Well, that’s where you would be wrong. Jesus once called twelve guys to Himself who seemed completely incapable of doing anything together. Most of these guys were uneducated and poor. Some of them literally hated one another. Thing is though, the love of Jesus called them, changed them, gifted them, made them bold, fearless and unstoppable! Jesus can turn anyone into a world-changer. He can use you in ways you never dreamed and make waves that will never end. You might sometimes feel like your little life doesn’t count for much, but Jesus can do things through you (right where you are) that will literally change the world forever. Just give Him your life. Surrender your heart completely to Him and then stand back. The world will never be the same again.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
115: He's Making You Like Himself
Why did this have to happen right now? I mean, of all the people that this could have happened to, why me? - Okay, you’ve asked those questions before, right? You’ve felt this way before, haven’t you? I mean, have you ever looked at the walls of your life crumbling down around you and thought, “Why, Lord?” Have you ever felt like the problems and pains of your life all come at precisely the wrong time, so that you can never catch your breath or know where you stand? Have you ever looked at your life, then looked around and thought, “Why is it only me?” Well, you should know that if you have ever asked those questions, you are not alone. In fact, you’re in good company. Some of the people God has used the most throughout the history of the world have been people surrounded and overwhelmed by trouble, hardship, heartbreak, failure, disaster, sickness, loss and incalculable pain. People always sort of assume (and tons of false teachers say) that knowing God means that your problems in this life will disappear, but it’s not true. If anything, the people who know God best are the people who have had the most trouble in this world. Why does God allow that? Well, I don’t know. And really, you shouldn’t listen to people who say they do know, because no one does. Here’s the thing: I can promise you that whatever God is up to, He has a purpose in it. The Bible promises that in all your hardship, Jesus is there and He is at work. In fact, He is working everything together to make you more like Himself - 'The Man of Sorrows' - who will one day overcome everything.
Monday, October 31, 2011
114. He Has A Secret Weapon
In order to end World War II, the United States developed, built and deployed the first atomic bombs. They poured all their resources, energy, science and inginuity into a secret weapon that changed the world forever. I actually live in the little city that engineered the two atomic bombs that ended WWII. Thing is, it wasn’t just the bomb that was a secret, but the whole city! Oak Ridge was just a collection of farms in the hills of East Tennessee until the Marine Corps of Engineers swooped in and constructed a hidden town in a matter of weeks and then shipped in a work force of 75,000 people to make the weapon that ended the war. It was called “The Secret City” and they were really serious about keeping the secret! The army posted guards at every entrance to the little town and built the roads to be like a confusing maze. Everyone who lived there had to wear identity badges and they all had to keep their lives a secret because the hopes of the world were in the hands of those scientists and workers who developed the secret weapon. Did you know Jesus has a secret weapon? Jesus has a battle to fight and the fate of the universe hangs in the balance. In the midst of the fight, He’s pouring His time, energy, power and wisdom into a weapon that will change the tide. That weapon is you. You are Jesus’ hands and feet, eyes and ears. You are the body of Christ, and you may think no one sees or cares about your life, but that is because Jesus is quietly and secretly developing you into the weapon that will change the world forever.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
113. He's Down There
Man, I hate the way it feels to sin again. You know what I mean, right? You made up your mind you would never do that thing again, whatever it was. You went off again. You said that thing again. You looked at that garbage again. You went there with that guy again. You lost control again. You absolutely hated the way it felt to do it last time and you decided and resolved and prayed and cried and then BAM! It happened again. I hate that feeling. And now you’re back there at square one again. Now you’re down there, at what feels like the bottom of a deep well. Now you’re down there with the dregs, and who in the world would want you? Certainly not Jesus, right? I mean, He’s got to be over it by now, right? Jesus is probably completely sick of this crap, right? Well, no. That’s not quite right. I know it feels that way. I know it feels like you’ve gone too far this time and Jesus won’t want to have anything to do with you now. I know it feels like you’re so far down there that He could never delve that low or sink so deep, but guess what? He’s already there. That’s right. Jesus is already down there with you, down in the muck and mire of your deepest, darkest sin. One of my all-time favorite verses in the whole Bible is Deuteronomy 33:27 which says, “The Eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” In other words, Jesus is always down there. See, you can’t out-dive His depth of grace, because how ever far down you’ve gone, He’s underneath, ready to pick you up.
