Thank you

 God loves to hear us say thanks.

 According to Psalm 107:2-3, the people who could testify of God’s goodness are those He had “redeemed from the hand of the adversary, and gathered from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.” They were to come together and tell of His redemption. That, my friends, is worship.

 

You’ve probably taught your children to say, “thank you.” But do you teach them to only say it once a week or once a year? Or do you want them to learn to say “thank you” as a way of life, so that it’s the exception when they don’t express thanks? Parents often say to their kids when they are young and receive something, “I didn’t hear you say thank you. What do you say?”

 

Far too often, God has to say to us, “What do you say? I can’t hear you. I don’t hear thanksgiving.” One day, a Puritan was sitting down to a meal of bread and water. Most of us would say, “God, I only have bread and water.” But this Puritan looked down at his plate and said, “Bread and water and Jesus Christ too! What more can a man ask?”

 

Praise is not complete until it has been expressed. The goodness of God gives us ample opportunities to be thankful.

Our refuge

 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8 (NRSV)

God is a safe place of security to find refuge for our weary soul. He can be trusted with our deepest fears and most painful wounds, every success, up, down, and moment of confusion and chaos. He does not abuse or manipulate but speaks softly and tenderly, like a loving parent towards their beloved child.

In life, we often find ourselves searching for such places of safety. Due to the brokenness of our human condition, trustworthy places of refuge can be elusive and easily lost. A moment of passion or outburst of anger can sow seeds of discord and distrust. We long for refuge, yet find ourselves regularly hurt and betrayed by those we love the most.

We must not misplace our hope. Are earthly relationships a potential means of grace and taste of the perfect refuge of God? Absolutely. Many of us have known, and know today, the joy that comes from living life in a relationship defined by mutual vulnerability, honor, respect, and trust. Few things in life bring greater joy or comfort. Yet we must remember, even the most trustworthy friend is a fallen and broken creature, capable of great good, yet also someone who will fail to love as they ought.

The failure of others is not a cause for distress In many ways, a correct view of the human condition should prepare us for these moments. Every person is sick and in need of the healing touch of God. As James reminds us, from the same mouth we are able to both speak blessing and worship God, yet at the same time speak curses over our brother or sister (James 3:10).

Every time we encounter the brokenness of someone we love, it is an invitation to remember our own need of healing. Furthermore, it should create in us a longing for perfect love, the safety and refuge that comes from God alone. As the psalmist exhorts us, “Trust in God at all times” (Psalm 62:8). There is never a moment or situation in which God cannot be trusted. Turn to him today and find refuge for your weary soul.

Fire and desire

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. Psalm 84:1-2 (NRSV)

As humans, we are made to desire. The longings we feel are not to be discounted or easily ignored. In fact, they are windows into the state of our soul and health of our heart. So often, the problem is not with desire but is found with the nature of our desire. In short, we love the wrong things.

When our hearts are captured by disordered desires, the solution is not to stop desiring. A failure to desire is a failure to be human and who and how God has uniquely created you to be. God gave you desires as a gift, as a means by which we are made aware of his goodness, grace, mercy, and love.

The Psalms the hymn book of the bible are filled with language of desire and intimate prayers of longing. We see this in Psalm 84: “My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord.” This psalm is an unapologetic embrace of rightly ordered desire and passion. Our problem in life is not that we burn with passion but that we burn with passion for something or someone other than God.

What is it that you desire the most in this life? Fame? Success? Marriage? Children? Power? Whatever it may be for you, the problem often is not with the thing itself, but the fact that it replaces and takes away from your ultimate call to desire the Lord above all things. You and I therefore must choose today to actively and intentionally cultivate holy desires.

The things you desire do not simply happen to you in a passive way. No, we make choices and decisions that lead to the deepening and expansion of our loves. So today, by the power of the Spirit at work in you, choose to pursue God through virtuous habits of faith that deepen your longing for him.

Believe and be baptized

 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Mark 1:9-11, KJV

Do you remember the excitement the day that you made your decision to receive Christ and being baptized  I remember when it was for me at the young age of 8 when I was able to grasp and believe in God intellectually and be baptized, but even with that I must admit that even with my confession of belief it was some time and years before I learned  to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Until I encountered Christ in a more personal relationship in my latter teens, I had only loved the Lord with my mind in my youth, but my heart was far from Him and led to a number of mistakes in my youth. However, once I took personal responsibility for my sins, repented and trusted Jesus, He forgave and purposed me. 

You know Jesus was baptized, not because He was in need of a public display that His sins had been washed away (He was sinless). Jesus humbled Himself to be baptized as an example to all who wished to follow Him to do the same in repentance and faith. Even John, who was the baptizer during this sacred moment, first resisted his role and insisted on Jesus baptizing Him. Jesus’ baptism was not only a lesson in obedience, but also a commission from His heavenly Father that He was well pleased with His beloved Son whom He empowered with the Holy Spirit’s favor.

“When you came to Christ, he set you free from your evil desires, not by a bodily operation of circumcision but by a spiritual operation, the baptism of your souls. For in baptism you see how your old, evil nature died with him and was buried with him; and then you came up out of death with him into a new life because you trusted the Word of the mighty God who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead in sins, and your sinful desires were not yet cut away. Then he gave you a share in the very life of Christ, for he forgave all your sins” (Colossians 2:11-13, TLB).

Have you experienced believer’s baptism? Maybe you were dedicated to the Lord as a child, but now as a teenager, young adult or adult have you personally placed your 100% trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? And, has the sequence of your baptism followed your faith? If not, now is the time to drive a stake of faith in the ground, be born again from above and celebrate your formal conversion with the public declaration of baptism. Going public with your faith solidifies your private commitment with inherent accountability from your faith community and empowers you with your heavenly Father’s favor. You are His beloved child in whom He is well pleased.

Here is a prayer of faith you can pray, and/or help another express their heartfelt trust in Jesus:

Loving Lord Jesus Christ, I place my total trust in you as my Savior who forgives me fully and forever and who loves me with unfailing love. I turn from my sin of pride, fear and unbelief and turn toward you in humility, love and faith. I receive you into my life: the son who died for me, the Spirit who gives me life and the Father who loves me. Give me courage to love and obey you all my life—especially in the first step of public baptism. I thank you and praise you—in your name, I pray, amen. Let someone you love and respect know of your fresh encounter with God.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:16-18).

Getting Aligned

 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40 (NIV)

I do not consider myself a handyman in any sense of the word. While homeownership has forced me to confront this shortcoming and learn my way around a home improvement store, I don’t think it will ever come naturally to me. In fact, it’s often the smallest and simplest repairs that prove to be the most frustrating. Case in point, my son has a bicycle with a misaligned back wheel and a chain that has no intention of staying on, and I have very little hope of providing a lasting solution. At some point in the near future, I am going to have to humble myself and take the bike to someone who is able to restore it to its former glory.

At some point in the past year, your life with Christ may have felt a bit like a bike that can’t keep its chain on. At times your faith may have gone off the rails and you aren’t quite sure how to get it back on track! In moments like these, you and I are faced with a decision. Do we throw up our hands in defeat, or do we press in and search for a lasting and permanent solution? Or, to speak with greater precision, do we recognize our inadequacies and look to the only one who can truly heal us and set us back on track?

The first step to healing is identifying the places in your life that need repair. Though the Lord alone is our source of freedom and life, he invites us to regularly and intentionally examine our way of living and identify places of misalignment or disrepair. As Christians, we turn to the Lord and invite him to begin his work of renovation in our hearts and lives. As the Psalmist says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts” (Psalm 139:23).

As we invite the Lord to lead us in his paths, we must also faithfully and diligently tend to our response to his invitation. We must have a regular habit of self-examination, testing our way of life, and when misaligned and bent out of shape, return to the Lord for our healing and our hope. This is the only way to stay on track.

Prince of peace

 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

This passage of scripture is a reminder that true peace isn’t an arbitrary emotion that comes and goes based on circumstances. It’s not an intangible concept. It’s not just a feeling. Peace comes from a person because peace is a person. Peace is Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace. To be a prince means He is Ruler and Steward. He is the Ruler over peace, and He is the Steward of peace. This is good news because it means that where He rules, peace reigns.

But how can you experience the peace Christ offers? How can you know His peace when your life feels anything but peaceful? Allow Him to rule where you need peace.

In John 14:27, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Jesus is saying, “Choosing to receive my gift of peace and the peace I am is a choice. When you allow me rule over your troubled heart, when you allow me to rule over your fears, when you give me your troubles, I will give you my peace in exchange.” This is good news! Because, maybe Christmas is usually anything but peaceful for you. Perhaps the holiday season always feels like a struggle.

There can be family struggles. Perhaps instead of unity and togetherness, your family is always bickering and arguing. There can be struggles with loneliness. Those you want to be with can’t be with you and that hurts. There can be struggles with unemployment, diminishing finances, or ongoing illness. What a beautiful truth: He alone is the Prince of Peace—and where He reigns, peace rules.

During those times when you are grieved by family relationships, focus on Jesus and ask Him to rule and reign over your interactions with loved ones. Surrender control and let Him comfort you. Ask Him to teach you His way of peace. Allow Him to be your Prince of Peace.

If you struggle with loneliness, let Him comfort you. Invite Him into your quiet moments and allow Him to rule and reign over the times when you feel isolated. Choose not to let your heart be troubled or afraid. Allow Him to be your Prince of Peace.

If you are afraid for the future and are concerned about finances, employment, ongoing illness or something else that is out of your control, surrender your cares to Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). Ask Him to be your Prince of Peace. He will meet you in your trouble.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” John 16:33.

God > Money

 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24

How do you know if you love God or money more? Ask, do you worry more about missing your prayer time or missing your paycheck? Are you more anxious about what the Lord thinks or do you obsess over the opinion of others? Are you driven to seek God’s Kingdom first, or to blindly build your kingdom? Devotion to the eternal or the temporal cannot be a both/and, but a choice of which one really captures your worship and priorities.

Money makes promises it cannot keep, like security, peace and prosperity. The Lord on the other hand makes you promises He does keep, like grace, forgiveness, joy and contentment. When the commands of these two contradict who will you follow, Christ or cash? Decide now, so when you are in the emotion of the moment you do not give in to glittering gold.

What keeps you up at night? Is it how to make more money or how to look and serve more like Jesus? Set your affections above and you will be more effective below. The Lord is looking for His children with whom He can entrust more of His blessings. He longs for the faithful who use their finances to draw lost souls to salvation, hurting people to healing and who boldly pray, “your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven”.

Perhaps you take your family on a mission trip, and see how the masses live with little money, but with a lot of the Lord. It is revolutionary for a soul that has been seduced by the mistress of money to see how believers without stuff affectionately embrace their Lord and Savior Jesus. Expose your faith to the poor, so you are liberated from wealth.

It is a heart issue. Who captures your affections, your Savior or your stuff? Money makes a poor master, but a useful servant. While indeed, Jesus is the trustworthy Master with whom you can place your faith and devotion. Money tries to maneuver itself into a place of priority, but by faith you can relegate it to serve righteous causes. Love Him not it.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

Prayer the ultimate timesaver

 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him… Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. Acts 12: 5, 17

Prayer is a timesaver. It saves the ambassador of Jesus from unnecessary seasons of anxiety. It saves an employer from a wrong hire and the valuable investment of time, money and training in someone who does not stay around for very long. It saves a dating couple from a naïve emotional engagement to marriage without counting the cost of a lifetime commitment to love, to respect, to honor and serve each other. Prayer leads us and empowers us to wait for God’s best.

The flesh forces issues when prayer is void in the relational process. A person who is self-motivated but not Spirit led exerts a lot of energy, but can waste a lot of time. A prayerless approach to life and work can easily end up in a focus on the urgent to the neglect of what really matters. Prayer protects you from the clenches of another’s crisis.

“I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer” (Ezra 8:22-23).

Is prayer the primary focus in your decision making process? Do you rest in the realization that He can be trusted to reveal the way you should go? Do you realize that His truth, though at times counterintuitive, saves you time in the long run? What the Lord is saying may not make sense right now, but later as you look back it becomes clearer and beneficial.

It is not a copout to first pray before you commit, it is a wisest filter for our decision-making process. Our Lord  smiles when we take the time to save time through prayer, and by waiting on His understanding in prayer. The prayerless crazy cycle of overreacting in fear and anger only prolongs the pain, while patient prayer applies heaven’s healing process.

So the Lord’s wisdom reminds us: Are you considering a career transition? Then ask God, in what role in my work can I bring you the most glory? Are you facing a difficult financial decision? Then ask Christ, how should I manage Your resources as a wise steward? Are you estranged from a friend or relative? Pray, what can I do to love them in Jesus’ name? Time is a gift from God that requires prayerful use, not fleshly abuse. So, pray well.

“While I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding” (Daniel 9:21-22).

A little contemplation can go a long way

 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Contemplation/meditation is sometimes a lost discipline that draws us closer to God. Body, soul, spirit and mind have an undistracted focus on faith in the ever faithful one, Jesus Christ. Contemplation is not meant to create some ethereal, mystical moment to impress other followers. It’s an immersion of love to be loved and to love like Jesus. The fruit of contemplation is becoming more like Christ. We are conformed into His image as our attention and affections are swept away by our Savior’s love. Contemplation calms our heart, connects our spirit with His Spirit, feeds our soul and energizes our body. We contemplate on God so He becomes greater and we grow in humility.

This phrase in Psalm 19 is a prayer, an apostolic benediction that keeps us centered on what matters most the Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Our words are a reflection of our heart, so we make sure to meditate in our heart on what matters most thoughts, words and actions that please the Lord. Words stirred in grace display luscious art on the canvas of life. Every word is a unique color and creation that brings attention to the Creator, or conspires with enemies of the faith: the world, the flesh and the devil. Love focuses on the faithful Rock, the generous Redeemer.

“Let the words from the book of the law be always on your lips. Meditate on them day and night so that you may be careful to live by all that is written in it. If you do, as you make your way through this world, you will prosper and always find success” (Joshua 1:8, The Voice).

Every life that changes for the good requires reminders and repetition in right thinking, being and doing—otherwise human nature drifts toward dizziness. Good has come out of the pandemic. A recalibration of hurried lives to focus on what matters most in life: faith, family, friends. Yes, some marriages have imploded over intense pain—hurt accelerated to the boiling point. But other relationships have taken the time to repair, regroup and move forward in total trust. If we don’t build in margin to contemplate on the Lord—He can make us lie down in green pastures.

By faith embrace the fact that contemplation saves you time. Your prayers are a sacrifice of praise to God who graciously receives and gives back to you in the form of blessings. The blessing of being healthy. The blessing of the necessities of life being more than taken care of. The blessing of children who want to be with you and who want to serve others. The blessing of work. The blessing of rest. The blessing of being loved and being able to love others well. Contemplate on Christ to change you. Ask Him how He loves you. Pause, listen and do likewise.

“O God, we meditate on your unfailing love” (Psalm 48:9).

Stay focused

Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:28-31

The disciple Matthew tells the story of Jesus and Peter walking on water during a storm. Everyone was in the boat, afraid, not because of the wind, but because they thought Jesus was a ghost. When He identified Himself, Peter said, “OK, if it’s You, tell me to come to you on the water. What amazing faith Peter showed. And Jesus called him. Peter stepped out in overwhelming faith and walked on water. We don’t know how many steps of faith he took, but Matthew says that at one point he looked at the wind and began to sink.

The passage tells us, “And beginning to sink, [Peter] cries out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and took hold of him.” Amy Carmichael, missionary to China, commented on this passage, “How many seconds lie between a man’s beginning to sink, and his actual sinking? A single second or less, I suppose. How swift, then, was the movement of love! And as He was, so He is.”

Jesus saved Peter. He called Peter to experience the height of the joy of faith and obedience. He also let Peter experience the fierce wind, the severe rain, the rocking waves. Jesus Himself had not changed between Peter’s joy and fear, Peter’s focus had, which then stole his faith. When we choose to focus on the wind instead of Jesus, we begin to sink. As our ankles begin to get wet, we are reminded that we have only one sure life boat. Jesus. As quickly as we cry out to our God again, His hand is there.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

Circumstances definitely rock our boats in this life, but that’s not what causes us to sink. Looking at the circumstances rather than God and His precious promises is what causes our noses to go under the waves. Sometimes this submarine-effect happens right after we have stepped out in great faith. We might be experiencing incredible victory when we ever so slightly change our focus and there we go, bubbles and all. In the story of Peter’s sinking, it wasn’t the outside influence of the wind which caused him to begin to sink. It was his response to the wind: Fear.

Fears sink our faith, ultimately sinking us. Truth be told, in this world there is always something to fear. But, deeper truth be told, there is always Someone who gave His all so that He could reach out His hand “immediately” to us even as we are just “beginning” to sink. The remedy to all fear is to take our Savior’s hand and let Him lift us out of our self-focus and bring us again to a microscopic Savior-focused life. We can look closely at every single promise, dissect each one, and we will find Him true. Like Peter, we only have to focus again and call out, “Lord, save me.” As we start the new year let’s leave behind past fears and focus on faith as we move forward.

“From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord and he answered me” (Jonah 2:1-2).

Prolonged struggle

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:9-10 (NIV)

In life, there are situations that require immediate and urgent attention, yet there are others that we tend to put off and ignore, though they continue to take their toll on us. Instead of moments of acute crisis, they instead wear us down quietly and slowly over time. Though everyone’s experience has been unique, as I reflect upon the past year, I think for many of us, the initial crisis of the pandemic has given way to a prolonged season of weariness and exhaustion, with many of us wondering if this will ever pass.

When faced with seasons of prolonged struggle, the temptation is to grow inattentive and neglect our life with Christ. Yet as Jesus says in Mark 13, we must keep alert and keep awake in the face of this difficulty! Similarly, Paul encourages us to “put on the new self” and live faithful lives for Christ (Colossians 3:10). What is keeping you from an attentive and purposeful life of discipleship? For some of us, we may be facing an unavoidable crisis in our lives that is all consuming and in need of urgent intervention. However, others of us likely struggle with sins that are subtle and elusive, easily missed by sluggish and sleepy Christians. The drip is quiet enough that, spiritually speaking, we sleep right through it!

Where in your life have you fallen asleep? Where have the little foxes snuck into the vineyard that threaten to steal your joy and leave you unprepared (Song of Solomon 2:15)? Advent is an invitation to learn how to stay awake. May God give us the strength and courage to do so, even in the midst of this dark and difficult season.

Less of me

 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8, RSV

To be born and walk amongst us was Jesus’ supreme act of emptying Himself. He emptied Himself from heaven’s perfection and holiness to earth’s imperfections. He emptied Himself from reigning with the Trinity through all eternity to serving for 33 years in a temporal world so all could see God in the flesh. He emptied Himself of life so through His death and resurrection all who believed could find life on earth and for eternity. Jesus modeled “less of me” so He could humble Himself in obedience to His heavenly Father’s will for His life. Perfect love led Him to assume the body of a perfect life.

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

As we approach the new year, how can the next 12 months be “less of us” and more for God? Not by declaring to friends, family and strangers we are doing more for God, but allowing the Spirit to help them discover this delightful change in us. Perhaps we live a life that underpromises and over delivers—so an apathetic world might wake up, take notice and ask why. And of course, in the course of conversation with the curious, we can humbly refer to our Savior’s love as the motivation for our love. We empty ourselves of self, so the Spirit can fill us and reveal Jesus.

Less of me and more of the Lord. Less of my agenda, and more of God’s will for my life. Less of my demands, and more humble requests of Christ to fill me with His love, so I can support my spouse in her dreams and desires. Less of my needs being met and more attentiveness to my neighbor’s needs: a walk to hear her hurting heart or enjoy a meal together to celebrate her new opportunity at work. Less of me so I can be more available and attentive to my children and grandchildren to know who they are and who they want to become, so they know how special and loved they are by me and their heavenly Father. For Love’s sake, give up my life to give life!

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26-28).

Freedom in Submission

 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 (NRSV)

This time of year, as we slowly make our approach towards Christmas Day, we reflect often upon our hopes and longings as the people and followers of Christ. There are likely many things that we hope for, both in our world at large and in our lives. We long for peace in the world, for faithfulness and courage in our leaders, both civil and sacred, as well as an end to the pandemic that continues to plague our communities it seems more and more daily with no end in sight. Yet in spite of this we also hope for healed relationships, renewed spiritual fervor, and freedom from the sin and evil that so often overtakes our desires and actions.

Hope, therefore, assumes a significant degree of struggle. We must contend for the hope we have in Christ, actively pursuing His Kingdom over and against the other kingdoms that seek to take us captive and steal our joy which is only fulfilled and found in Christ. As James says in his epistle, there are “cravings at war within us” (James 4:1). We long and hope for the rule and reign of Christ to be manifest in the world, yet our hearts are still influenced by sin, and so we continue to crave comfort, power, affluence, and pleasure.

According to James, freedom is found in submission. Yet in the same breath, he ties the idea of submission to the active work of resistance. Submit to God by resisting the devil. We must expand our hearts and imaginations to include a far more robust and engaged understanding of submission, which is a good and powerful thing in the life of the believer.

When I think of submission, by default I picture a wrestling match in which the defeated athlete ceases to resist, no longer putting up a fight in order to be free from the dominance of their victorious opponent. This is not the type of submission James has in mind though. Submission as a Kingdom Ambassador always involves active and intentional resistance. We submit ourselves to the way of God by rooting out every evil desire and intention that has found its way deep within our hearts.

Submit to God today by actively resisting evil and instead pursue a life of humble intimacy with our Lord and Savior.

Bear with me

Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:13 (NRSV)

2020 has been a year of relational extremes. On the one hand, we as a society have spent the year isolated from one another in ways no one alive today has ever experienced. Routines have been upended, habits altered, and patterns of living eliminated entirely. 

As a result, cherished family holidays have been postponed or changed to limit how many can come around, weddings and birthday celebrations cancelled or changed, and work-related travel digitally reimagined (are you zoomed out like me). In the face of such relational isolation, we have therefore been pressed into new rhythms of relationship with those closest to us, usually those living together under the same roof or within the same immediate family. 

Thus, we are simultaneously isolated as never before, and at the same time find ourselves in a heightened form of relational connectivity and intimacy with a few select people, and it is this latter group that I want to focus upon today.

In Colossians 3, Apostle Paul exhorts this young church to bear with one another in love, forgiving just as we have been forgiven by our Lord. It is good to remember that the early Christian communities were humble and intimate, functioning more like a family than a programmatically-driven organization. As such, Paul’s words were less born out of his finely tuned deductive skills and more from a simple knowledge of the human condition: greater proximity requires greater grace.

Over the years, I’ve heard people referred to as those for whom “extra grace was required.” At times, this was simply a Southern way of saying you didn’t care for someone. However, I wonder if you have been surprised during this pandemic by the people requiring extra grace in your own life? A parent? Spouse? Child? Instead of a longstanding difficult relationship, perhaps the disruptive rhythms of this year have forced you into uncharted relational waters with those you love the most?

Even the most cherished relationships require ongoing patience, trust, and mutual respect. In fact, the closer you are, the more this will be tested! And so, take Paul’s words to heart today, and as you remember the endless compassion and tender mercy of our Lord Jesus, choose today to bear with those you love, in love.

Principled living

 Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin. John 19:10-11

Over the years and of course in our present climate, I have watched and noticed politicians, preachers and business leaders wield power and authority in a way that belittles others and inflames selfish pride in the process. These leaders we at times find being very self serving and disrespectful to those who disagree with them, so much to the point that power becomes an ugly show of dismissing principled leadership to justify preferred outcomes. It makes me want to holla and throw up both my hands. This blatant abuse of power and authority should grieve and convict those who fear and want to honor God in their life and leadership as all of us lead in someway. There is an assurance that helps me and that is this: One day He will call the abuser into account, which is how the Lord works. 

When powerful people dishonor honorable people, people of principle must do something. Choosing principled living over a power play of narcissistic living is a believers calling.

I look Jesus calls out the government leader of His day who wrongly and arrogantly thought he held all of the power because of his political position. Assigned by Tiberius to be governor over Judaea, Pontius Pilate presided over the trial of Jesus and gave the order for our Lord to be crucified. While attempting to wash his hands of his decision to dishonor and kill an innocent man, he was reminded by Jesus that all power is from God, on loan to leaders on earth. If that divinely given power is abused there is and will be consequences, as God works through the misuse of power to bring about His will for principled living, and through Jesus, the salvation of humanity.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:9-10).

Do you see the use of power delegated to you by God to be used for the Lord’s purposes? Or, do you subtly use power to advance your agenda, wrecking relationships in the process? The lie is to think that the outcomes seen as positive are justified, even though they are the result of unprincipled, even illegal methods used to make things happen. What a short sighted, self serving approach to life, to dismiss the divine in order to achieve my agenda, my way, in my power. Humility waits on God in principled living, while pride powers through on a destructive path.

Or, maybe you feel the pain of another’s abuse of power. Perhaps your home, work or community does not have a culture of servant leadership, but rather a fear based environment facilitated by faithless, fear based leaders. If so, have the hard conversations and risk feeling ignored and dishonored when you disagree or suggest waiting to make the wisest decisions. A bully in power needs a bold taste of reality by your vulnerability in delivering the truth. God overcomes power with your principled living.

“Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way” (Hebrews 13:18).