Chosen by God: Living as one who is holy and loved

God chose you. What does that mean? How should we respond?

A good friend of mine takes care of the décor of our church. She wanted to buy a picture to hang in our entrance; however, when she went back to the website on which it was for sale, the artwork was no longer available. I told her, “No problem. I can make that.” Now that VBS is over for the summer, this became my new project. We’ll print it out on poster-sized paper and adhere it to palette wood. I haven’t actually done that part yet but this will give you an idea of the look…

I’ve looked at this passage a lot this week as I worked on the layout and design. It’s not surprising but there’s a lot of good stuff in it for us.

God Chose You

“Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved…” (Colossians 3:12).

He created the universe. He gave up the glory of heaven to live among us. He resurrected Himself from the dead. He promised to return in all power and authority to establish a world-wide kingdom of peace. No one else can make any of those claims. They all testify to His power, authority, glory, honor, and just plain old awesomeness.

He’s the One who chose you. He scanned eternity, saw your place in it, and said, “I choose her. She’s one of Mine. I’ll give My life to make her holy and set her apart unto Myself. I can’t help but do so – I love her.”

A Different Lifestyle

I think that kind of love and devotion from One so worthy warrants a response on our part. Sure, we can accept the love and blessing God bestows on us without allowing a transformation within ourselves. We can even choose to reject the love He offers – many do, sadly. However, when I take a moment to consider who God is and His desire to choose me, I can’t help but think my life should look different in response.

Heartfelt Compassion
Mercy, tenderness, and affection should well up deep within us and overflow to the surrounding hurting world. We can’t step over the homeless person asleep on the street. We can’t remain indifferent to the slaughter of the unborn and the subsequent trafficking of their organs. We can’t ignore the struggles of those persecuted for believing the same message of hope in which we believe.

Kindness
Ours should be a life lived with moral integrity as we focus on the good. Not only should an effort to do what’s good mark our lives, but we should also extend that effort to others. We must do what’s right in a given situation.

Humility
The world seeks to promote itself; the follower of Jesus seeks to promote Him. We recognize how awesome He is – I talked about that a little at the beginning of this article. That recognition helps us understand our lower place in the whole scheme of things. Life is no longer all about our power, our glory, or our honor. We now understand it’s all about Him.

Gentleness
Life’s hard; the world is harsh. Into that unforgiving environment, God gently brought a message of grace. He doesn’t beat us up with His Word. He doesn’t torture us until we convert. He comes to us lovingly, quietly, and stirs in us a desire to extend that gentleness to a world already beaten and bruised by their own behaviors.

Patience
Our tendency is to get angry when things don’t go our way. We fly off the handle when people make us mad. But you know what? Those things are always going to happen. Living as one chosen by God means we persevere through those times with a constancy and endurance not seen in those of the world.

Accepting One Another
Did you know that if you want to be a Rockette you have to be a certain height, certain weight, and have a certain leg length? They want all of the dancers to be exactly the same size. God doesn’t choose people who are all exactly the same, however. We come with different backgrounds, personalities, experiences, dreams, and every other descriptor. Sometimes our differences make it hard but God chose others just as He chose us. Our response should be to accept one another – even the different ones.

Forgive One Another
Yeah, He said it. It’s there – and it’s hard. We need to forgive each other. Think about how much God has forgiven in your life. He has forgiven just as much in the lives of His other chosen followers. It’d be pretty messed up of us if we can’t forgive them too. After all, their offense before sinless God is much greater than any offense they’ve made against us. And yet, He’s forgiven all of it.

Love
God’s love is unfathomable. I’m not even going to try to describe it because words can’t describe it. It’s enough that He couldn’t stand an eternity without you. He looked down from glory into our pit of sin where the nastiness of death bound us and suffocated us and said, “I’ll take her place. I’ll go into the pit so she might join Me here.” That’s love. Part of our response is to make every effort to love that way in return. We’ll never fully accomplish it but we can sure spend a lifetime trying.

Peace
Our natural tendency is to war against God; our nature is to rebel and fight His perfect plan. On our own, we’d never live in peace with Him. On the flip side, He never would have granted us peace either except for the sacrifice of the Prince of Peace, Jesus. I don’t think it’s too much to ask, then, that we also live in peace with one another.

Be Thankful
A little gratitude goes a long way. Remember where we started this article – the glorious, eternal, powerful God of all chose you to spend eternity with Him. Then He endured the greatest of torments to make it happen. Take a moment to respond with a “thank you.”

Peace and Equality: Can they really be found?

150 years ago, almost to the day, our nation’s bloodiest war came to an end. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse. Within a few days, President Lincoln was assassinated; by May 9, his presidential replacement, Andrew Johnson, declared an end to all hostilities.

In the midst of this 150 year anniversary, our nation once again struggles to remember that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” In one of the largest riots in decades, violence broke out on the streets of one of America’s oldest cities – Baltimore, Maryland. According to reports, by the end of the night police had arrested 235 people while 20 officers required medical care from assaults by rioters. Reports also indicated one person was in critical condition due to a building fire. Rioters burned more than a dozen buildings and over 100 cars. Looters destroyed even more businesses as they busted through doors and windows, clearing shelves of food, alcohol, and anything else they wanted.

During it all, I sat securely in my home watching news coverage throughout the evening. I prayed for my cousin and her husband who live within blocks of the riots. I asked myself, “Has our nation come to this? Civilians throwing rocks and bottles at those assigned to serve and protect? City officials blatantly lying on television so those behind them may break in to another man’s business and take whatever they want? When did our society become this?”

Like the Civil War, the tensions were attributed to unequal treatment of black individuals. I’m not sure how rioters rationalize that burning a neighbor’s vehicle or place of business will bring peace and equality to race relations. Seems to me, those rioters are more interested in an opportunity than a civil rights issue.

Peace and Equality

However, not everyone is taking illegal and violent advantage of an opportunity. Many want their voices heard as they non-violently engage in dialogue and peaceful activity. They desire to bring peace and equality to their local community.

Where do we find peace and equality?
I attended my daughter’s spring choir concert last night at her high school. The school’s different choirs performed throughout the evening; at one point, I did a little mental math as I watched. I determined that over 40% of the choir was of a non-white ethnicity. Together, they represented multiple countries across Asia and Africa.

I listened to the voices sing last night and thought, “Our school has made this work.” Throughout the school, all is peaceful and all are equal. I have to believe that’s mainly due to their goal to inspire kids to realize their God-given potential through Christian training. Their goals don’t specify racial equality; however, inherent in the belief in God-given potential and a call to Christian training is the philosophy that all are equal. Racial equality is a natural outcome for those who honestly seek to live according to the Christian teachings of God’s Word.

I know. All kinds of racial groups have used God’s Word to justify all kinds of racial hatred through the centuries. I acknowledge that sad reality.

But what does the Bible really say?

Our Humanity
We’re all made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). He made us all equal in His own creative image.

We’re all descended from Noah (Genesis 10:32).

The evil within us leads us to distinguish and discriminate between people groups (James 2:3-4).

All people need to be told the message of Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus' Death
God loves all of us – the entire world (John 3:16). His death makes salvation equally possible for every single person on the planet.

Jesus’ death united all ethnicities and brings them back to peace (Ephesians 2:13-15).

All are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

Relationships
God asks all of us to love others just as much as He loves them (John 13:34).

Those who harbor hatred toward anyone aren’t living as followers of Jesus (1 John 2:9-11).

God also calls us to be kind and compassionate with all people (Ephesians 4:32).

What I know and what I don’t

I don’t know how a black man living in downtown Baltimore is treated. I don’t know if racial discrimination is rampant throughout their city government. I don’t know how many people there are trying to find solutions to a serious issue and how many are taking advantage of a bad situation to spread violence and promote hatred.

I do know a few things, however. I know that we’re all messed up pieces of the human race. Our common ancestor, Adam, passed down to each of us a genetic bent to sin. And I know that regardless of how much we let that sin control our relationships with each other, Jesus still died to restore our relationships with each other and even more importantly, with Him.

I know that unity through Him is the only thing that will ever bring true peace and equality to the human race.

Courage Until the End: Utilizing the power in our words

Encourage – to fill someone up with courage.

Discourage – to take any shred of courage they have and throw it in the trash.

We wield a lot of power when we choose whether to encourage or discourage another believer.

God has worked with me a lot on the power and necessity of encouraging words over the last few years. A lot of it has showed up on here…

Handling Discouragement

Don’t Diss Someone’s Courage

Encouragement in the Last Days

As we draw nearer to Jesus’ return, it will become almost impossible to maintain our courage. God knew that when He inspired the writer of Hebrews to say, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13, emphasis mine). Did you catch the word “daily” in that verse? We may have been full of courage yesterday, but today it’s zapped. Gone. We need a daily fill up of courage to keep believing, keep loving, and keep serving. Later, he also wrote, “Let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25). As the time of the end draws near, we have to get together and fill each other with courage. Otherwise, we won’t be able to serve as God calls us – by loving and doing good works.

I’ve written a lot about how to deal with the discouragement so prevalent in the last days…

My Peace I Give You

A World in Chaos: What can I do?

Where is God in a Tragedy?

Life Sucks

The Hand of God

Finding Good Things in Bad Times

Encouragement in general

Jesus may return tomorrow or decades from now; either way, we must keep our courage level full. Our enemy doesn’t want us showing true love or serving in a real way; he knows those things will witness to the world of God’s awesomeness. Our enemy knows if we do those things, people might catch a true glimpse of the Savior of the world. He wants to keep that from happening at all costs. He will do everything in his power to keep you from loving and serving in the same way that Jesus loved and served us. He succeeds when we become discouraged – when our level of courage zeroes out.

I’ve written a lot about the necessity of encouragement in general…

Spark: Five ways to renew the light within you

The God of Peace

Bible Band-aids

Thankful for You: Finding ways to appreciate each other

And yet…

So, like I said, over the last few years God has really been teaching me the importance of encouragement. Even still, the other day someone said something to me that totally discouraged me. In the day that followed our encounter, I felt completely drained. I didn’t want to pray, study, or write. I didn’t want to serve in other areas – forget responsibilities at home, quit on projects at church. As I look back, I realize now that the words of discouragement left me without the courage needed to love and serve in the ways which God has called me.

I tried praying – more out of discipline than anything else. It helped because God is always faithful to hear us when we call out to Him. It wasn’t complete, though. I knew something else was still missing. I knew griping to a friend or my husband wouldn’t help – been there, done that, doesn’t work.

I saw the person. We talked. We worked it out and reconciled the situation. Grace was required on both sides; forgiveness was present. We parted ways once again in unity as fellow believers in Jesus. Once again, I was encouraged.

What’s the point?

Life’s hard and it’s going to get harder. We can’t let little differences keep us down. Sometimes we have to talk to others and work out our problems. They can’t rob us of the courage needed to love and serve God through difficult times.

God says a lot in His Word about pouring grace out all over the place, sacrificing ourselves with unconditional love, humble forgiveness that looks to the other person first, and complete service that gives until nothing’s left to give. We can’t live that way until we have the courage to do so – courage that comes from the power of words poured into us by our fellow believers.

American Sniper: What would Jesus do?

If a man burst into our home or approached me on the street with a loaded weapon intent on killing me, I would be ok with Jimmy shooting him. In fact, I would expect him to do everything within his power to protect me. It’s his job.

It was Chris Kyle’s job to do so as well.

Chris is the hero of the blockbuster movie “American Sniper,” a true story based on his military career as a Navy SEAL. Chris’s accuracy with a sniper rifle saved the lives of countless Americans throughout four tours of duty in Iraq. His accomplishments earned him the nickname “Legend” among his military brothers. The movie isn’t only Chris’s struggle on the battlefield, however, just as Chris Kyle’s life wasn’t only as a military hero. Chris was also a husband and dad; balancing the aggression of the battlefield with the compassion of the home may have been his greatest battle just as it is for many who return home from war.

Despite his heroic actions, the movie has met with strong criticism in social media. One tweet has caught my attention more than others. I saw the movie Saturday night; the movie was still fresh in my pondering mind when I read this tweet,

I admit it – the expression “What would Jesus do?” is kind of worn out. I can’t remember the last time I saw someone wearing a WWJD bracelet. Besides, the question of what Jesus would do is pointless as He doesn’t need a sniper’s rifle to strike down his enemy. The power of His spoken word will be adequate when the time comes. Don’t believe me? Read Revelation 19:11-21. But that’s another battle for another day and time.

All joking aside, I think we understand the point of the tweeter’s question, “What would Jesus do?” The question really asks “How should I – as a follower of Jesus – respond to this situation?” Or, sometimes people use the question to indicate, “What is Jesus’ teaching on this issue?” To that end, I’ve come up with six areas where Chris Kyle is a good example for us as followers of Christ as we engage in the battle.

He enlisted.

It seems basic but we all have to start somewhere, don’t we? Yet, some of us never enlist in the battle. We assume life can be all happy thoughts, peaceful moments, and kumbaya campfires. That’s not reality, though. We may find personal peace in Christ but neither the spiritual nor physical worlds will experience complete peace until eternity begins. Only then will God “wipe away every tear from [our] eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Until then, we better come to grips with reality; wars and rumors of wars will continue until the end (Matthew 24:6) and “we will have suffering in this world” (John 16:33).

He developed his skill.

Chris Kyle appears to have had some natural talent with a rifle. Natural talent doesn’t make you the most successful sniper in American history, however. The movie doesn’t go in to much detail in this area but common sense tells me that Chris spent hours practicing and developing his skill so he would be ready when deployment came.

As followers of Christ, we have a gift as well – a special area where God has given us the capacity to serve Him. The capacity to serve is only as effective as natural talent, however. It will get some work done but serving at a higher level requires the development of that capacity. Then we can step into the battle ready to do some damage against the enemy.

He knew his purpose.

Chris Kyle’s job was to protect his fellow soldiers. Period. He didn’t spend time cooking in the mess hall or analyzing intelligence in the offices. His duty – his purpose – was to spend hours staring down the scope of a rifle watching for those who might harm his brothers. That’s what he did and it made him a legend.

We have a purpose as well; we have to know what it is. We can waste a lot of hours doing good things that keep us from the best thing, however. In fact, I believe this is one of Satan’s primary methods of attack for those who follow Christ. He can keep us so busy doing good things that we aren’t effective in our true area of purpose, whatever that might be. The more our relationship with Jesus grows, the more we will know our true purpose. Then, we will be the one striking down the enemy on the battlefield.

He did his job.

He developed his skill. He knew his purpose. All of that is worthless if we don’t step up and do the job. Hours of practice and tons of head knowledge didn’t make Chris a legend. He was a legend because he put it into practice on the battlefield.

When the enemy entered his view on the cross hairs of his rifle scope, Chris pulled the trigger. He didn’t enjoy it but he didn’t regret it either. It was his job to protect the lives of his fellow servicemen. Pulling the trigger accomplished that mission.

Chris also recognized the ripple effects of his job performance. Yes, he took the lives of Iraqis, but doing so saved the lives of countless others. In the immediate sense, it saved the lives of those at the other end of the Iraqi’s gun. It also rippled out into the future as each Iraqi he killed couldn’t kill American soldiers in the weeks, months, and years ahead. The ripples didn’t even stop there. Each time Chris successfully fired his rifle, he took one more step toward keeping the battle off American soil and away from his wife and kids.

Chris served faithfully.

His service was hard. His family suffered as did his health. Sometimes he was unable to save his military brothers. He lived in humble conditions while deployed. No one ever said it was easy to be a Navy SEAL. Likewise, no one ever said it will be easy to follow Christ. If it was, God could have called bunnies and kittens to fight the forces of evil. Instead, He called us – those He created in His image and in whom His Spirit dwells – because through Him He knew we could win the battle.

His service was met with criticism. Obviously, not everyone agrees with what Chris Kyle did. Yet Chris knew his purpose, did his job, and would do so again if he could as he knew it was the right thing to do. Similarly, not everyone is going to agree with or understand when we step up to the spiritual battle. That doesn’t matter; we do it because God called us to do it and it’s the right thing to do.

So in the end

War will continue on this planet. Even more, war will continue in the spiritual realm. Our enemy isn’t a person lined up in our crosshairs; our battle is against forces of evil and powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12). Some of us would like to sit in our pews, following a Christianity that denies hell and demonic forces where everyone lives pretty, peaceful lives. Recognition of Jesus’ teaching realizes, however, that following Christ sometimes means war. We have to enlist in the battle, develop our skill, study to know our purpose, do our job, and serve faithfully until the end.

Good & Evil: Who we are in a world of evil

Boko Haram, a Muslim extremist group in Nigeria, butchers Christians. “Butchers” isn’t too strong of a word; it’s morbidly accurate as the group slices and hacks at the bodies of the non-Muslims. They stop only long enough to determine if the sufferer is ready to renounce Christ and pledge allegiance to Allah. You can read more at VOM’s article, “You can’t kill my soul,” but I warn you that it might make you feel something – a churning of the stomach, a shudder of the spine, an inexplicable urge to fall to your knees and pray for someone in a far off land.

Evil is nothing new; persecution began when God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but not Cain’s resulting in Cain’s murderous assault on Abel (Genesis 4:1-12). Nevertheless, it is part of our current world. How do we face it? How do we respond to bloody stories that don’t fit with our comfortable church-pew Christianity?

I found some help – even some encouragement – in Psalm 37. I hope you’ll take a minute to read it now; all you have to do is click on the link. (Can I be honest here for a second and point out that a lot of people in this world would weep tears of joy for such easy access to the word of God?)

We’re going to take a look at Psalm 37 over the next four weeks. This article will consider who we are, the next two weeks we’ll look at what we do and what God does, and then the fourth week we’ll discuss the outcome.

Who are we? Characteristics of the righteous

I pulled this list of characteristics out of the text of the chapter. Let me start by saying that I dealt with some serious conviction while I did so. You know what I mean – those “Ouch” moments when you read God’s Word and the Spirit points out somewhere deep inside that you aren’t quite living up to what God is asking of you. Yeah, those. But here we go –

When confronted with evil, a child of God is…

37:1, 7, 8 – Not agitated. A confrontation with evil shouldn’t make us burn with anger. That’s hard, isn’t it? When I read the above article from VOM about the beheading of a little boy, anger burned within me. By all accounts, evil is spreading and prospering. Earthly armies can’t stop it but eventually Christ will. Trust me, evil doesn’t prosper and find victory in the end.

37:1 – Not envious. At first thought, why would we be envious of evildoers? But, let me admit, envy flickered in my mind when I found out the ISIS army has $2,000,000 a day in income just from the oil fields they’ve conquered. But again, their success is temporary.

37:6 – Righteousness that shines like the dawn. This isn’t me showing off all my good works to make sure everyone sees them. My righteousness is in Christ; if it shines like the dawn then that is Him in me shining out to the world. That’s a good thing.

37:8 – Not angry nor enraged, in addition to not agitated. Keep the breathing under control; don’t spew words of poison. Stay steady. If you believe God is in control then you should be under control.

37:11 – Humble. Remember, Christ’s righteousness shines through us, not our own goodness. Honestly, we don’t have any goodness on our own anyway. He’s in control. As a child of God, we lay aside our own pride and positions to advance His kingdom.

37:18 – Blameless. We’re not perfect; we’re not sinless. The idea behind being blameless is to be complete or whole. Christ in us – His joy and love manifested in us – completes us.

37:21, 26 – Gracious and giving. We can’t hold tight to what God has given us. When we see evil, our response is to help, reach out, give, and extend grace to those who hurt as a result.

37:22 – Blessed by God. God chose to look on us in favor. He chose to come before us with the greatest gift possible – the life of His Son. He chose to restore us through the sacrifice of that Son. We are blessed.

37:30, 31 – Wise, just, and know God’s instruction. This is another one we can only claim because Christ works in us and through us. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

37:37 – Man of peace. Evil – characterized by pride, anger, rage, greed, and foolishness – leads to restlessness, destruction, and death. But a child of God knows peace even in the midst of evil.

I don’t know about you, but this list will stay with me this week as I see evil become more prevalent in our world. All of these characteristics are contrary to how the world says we should live. If we can implement them in our lives, we can make a difference. We can live the difference. We can shine the righteousness of Christ in a world of darkness.

Please click here for the next article in the series.

Ditch the Devotional: 8 steps to energize your time in God's Word

Three different friends have told me lately that they want to spend time in God’s Word on a daily basis but they don’t know what to do.

They’ve used little devotional booklets but they feel like they need more. These little booklets have their place in spiritual growth. They can be a good resource to help us develop the discipline of spending time with God daily. However, the brief “share a story – tie in to biblical teaching – quote a Bible verse” format often leaves us hungry for more of God’s Word.

They’ve tried reading long portions of Scripture but the time investment is high. The frustration level also increases as they try to figure out the overall message of the text, wonder what words mean and who people are, look up cross references, look for answers to questions, and figure out an application for their life.

I don’t know if this will help, but I shared a technique with them that I’ve used in my own life for a few years now. I’d like to also share it with you.

I developed this method as part of the Grow Barefoot focus theme for each month. However, even if I stopped sharing each day on social media, I would still use this method for a morning devotional time.

Here’s what I do

1 – Pray for God to give me a word for the month. He’s been faithful every time to answer that prayer. However, sometimes He doesn’t give me one until the last day before the start of a new month; I have to be patient. The important thing is that He guides you into a theme; you don’t pick something at random. When you pray, listen for the answer. He wants you to read His Word so He’ll work with you on this.

God knows what your coming month is going to hold; when He guides, you’ll be amazed at how valuable that word will be as you face the month. For example, this month my word is “peace.” That word has been very significant as I’ve helped friends with less than peaceful situations and considered the turmoil breaking out in the Middle East.

Sometimes a theme is very broad; an example of this might be the word “love.” In those cases, I narrow my search to a specific section of Scripture – such as the Psalms, the Old Testament, the Gospels, the writings of Paul, or the writings of John.

2 – Search for the word on a website like Blue Letter Bible or Bible Gateway. I make sure to do the search in my favorite translation. If you have more than about 100 results, consider narrowing your search to a specific section of Scripture as I mentioned earlier.

3 – Copy and paste the results into a spreadsheet. This is just me – I like to use Excel more than Word because I can do more with the results. A lot of people don’t like spreadsheets and are more comfortable with word processing software. That’s fine – not a big deal. Just paste your results into some file you can come back to everyday. Don’t forget to save your file.

That’s the monthly prep work – actually doing it will probably take less time than it has taken you to read through this article so far. Here’s the daily part…

4 – Find a time each day to read through the list and pick a verse. I read through the verses until I find one to focus on for the day. This means I read the list through many times – not the whole thing every day but by the time the month is over I’ve read it a lot.

5 – Pull one thought out of your chosen verse and put it into your own words.

6 – At this point you’re going to have to figure out what to do with your verse and thought. Here are some ideas…

• Share it on your favorite social media such as Facebook or Twitter.
• Write them on a post-it note. Stick it to your computer monitor so you’ll see it often throughout the day.
• Text it to your spouse or a good friend.
• Come up with your own, unique method of focusing on the verse and thought throughout the day. If you have one, share it in the comments below to help others!

Whatever you decide, do something with it. This is important as it will help you focus on the verse and thought more throughout the day. Writing or typing it helps your brain retain it plus writing your thought helps you develop it clearly.  

7 – Start noting aspects of the theme that you see repeated. Toward the middle or end of the month you’ll start to see that Scripture repeats itself on some important issues related to your theme. For example, this month is peace. As I read through my list each day, I've repeatedly noticed four key points…

That last one I actually picked up on the last time I focused on peace in April 2013. It led to one of my most highly read blog articles.

8 – Let those key points transform your thinking. Some examples from my peace focus…

• If I hear someone talk about finding peace within themselves or hear of peace talks in the Middle East, I know it’s not true peace because that only comes from a relationship with Christ.
• I start making efforts to live at peace with those around me because peace won’t just spontaneously happen on its own. I have to pursue it.
• Living at peace means I’m also extending grace to others because the two often come in a package deal.
• Peace is possible in my life because God is a God of peace. He who created the universe desires peace within it. That’s why He thought of and instituted a plan to enable peace…a plan that involved the death and resurrection of His Son so we might experience forgiveness and a peaceful relationship with Him.

So there you have it. It may not be perfect; it may not be for everyone. In fact, it isn't. But it might work for you if you give it a try. I encourage you to do so with the start of a new month only a few days away. Be sure to come back and tell me how it went in the comment section!

Jesus' Last Word on Peace

"White House mulls special forces in Iraq crisis"

"Palestinians celebrate Hamas kidnappings of three Israeli children"

"DHS adviser says Caliphate’s return inevitable"

"US adds firepower in Persian Gulf"

"US forces nab suspect in Benghazi terror attack"

This sampling of today’s headlines doesn’t give us much hope for peace. The Middle East has been a bubbling cauldron for years; a boil over of hostilities is inevitable. Unfortunately, that boil over will have worldwide implications. I don’t base that statement on the vast amounts of oil in the region, the possibility of other nation’s troops joining the fight, or conflict between political parties.

The boil over of hostilities in the Middle East will have worldwide implications because of the surety of the prophecy of Scripture. “You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:6-8).

And yet, God calls us to peace. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). The fruit of the Spirit is peace (Galatians 5:22). As much as possible, we are to live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18). God is not a God of disorder but of peace (1Corinthians 14:33).

How do we find peace in a world that’s boiling over?

Jesus gave us some last minute instructions during His last Passover meal with His disciples, a meal we also know as the Last Supper. In those parting words just hours before His crucifixion, Jesus gave us some help for how to live at peace.

These two passages line up side by side to give us three key points on peace. We need to remember these as hostilities boil over around the world.

Peace is from Jesus

Jesus is the source of peace that surpasses our understanding (Philippians 4:7). As He told His disciples at the Last Supper and He tells us today, He left that peace here! He gave it to us. He reminded us that in Him we have peace. He alone can give you peace at all times and in all ways (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

Jesus’ peace is nothing like the world’s peace

The world wants you to suffer. The world loves darkness and delights in evil (John 3:19). The world can’t accept Jesus or His message (John 14:17). The world hates you (John 15:19) and it's corrupt (2 Peter 1:4). But that’s not what Jesus wants to give you. He wants to pull you away from that and toward Himself.

Jesus has it under control

Jesus wants to give you peace. The world wants you to suffer. It’s easy to be afraid or worry because we experience the world all around us. It presses in everyday. As hard as it might seem, we need to let go of the fear and worry, though. We can let go not because of our own strength or because of some false premise of peace in the world. We let go of fear and worry because Jesus has conquered the world. That victory is our source of courage!

Forgotten Love Letter

Imagine a situation with me…

A husband fights with an army combat team in eastern Afghanistan. Everyday his life is in danger; everyday he struggles to accomplish the mission to which he is called.

His wife's love for him runs deep. She serves here by maintaining the home the two have together; she does the work, she pays the bills, she tucks the children in each night.

Date nights are temporarily suspended as thousands of miles physically separate the two. Yet, the wife has a regular tradition. Every Saturday, after the kids are in bed, she sits down to write a letter to her husband. She tells him the important information from the week. She thinks of new ways to remind him how much she loves him and supports him. She shares dreams of the future when their family will reunite again.

She hits send.

At the same time, it’s already Sunday morning in eastern Afghanistan. Her husband knows the weekly email sits in his inbox – but he doesn’t bother to read it. Just like he did last week and the week before. Just like he has done every week since circumstances forced them apart.

Eventually, he remembers all of the unread words filling his inbox. He starts to wonder a little about what they might say. But just a little. After all, he doesn’t have time to read all of them as he's so busy with his military responsibilities.

He decides to find someone in his unit who has more time available. He asks his buddy to read through all of the letters and then summarize what they say in just a few words.

When the job is accomplished, the husband knows the overall points his wife tried to share. All is well at home. She loves him. They’ll be back together at some point.

The buddy doesn’t understand their relationship, though. He doesn’t know the priorities of their life together – their past, their goals, their intimacies, and their hopes and dreams together. He fails to communicate the passion and depth of her words.

Interesting scenario, isn’t it?

I can’t imagine a husband serving in the military would actually do this. But many followers of Christ do it all the time.

It’s been many weeks – many centuries – since circumstances forced us apart from our Loved One. He may not write us a new letter every week but He did write us one that’s about half a million words long. In it, He told us what’s going on, revealed the depth of His love and passion for us, and gave us hope for our life together when we reunite.

So often we settle for someone else’s summary of Jesus’ letter so we don’t have to take the time to read it ourselves. Yet, God wants to speak to you personally and intimately through His Word. He wants to pour life, hope, peace, and joy into you through the living power of His Holy Letter.

But I’m SO busy!

Yes, adding one more thing to our full schedules may seem like an impossible task. Modern technology is a great help, though. Apps and podcasts are available that literally read the Bible out loud. Go to iTunes, Google Play Store, App Store, or wherever you download on your mobile device. Search for “Bible” and you’ll find lots of free options – most of which have an option to have the Bible read to you. Then turn it on while you’re at the gym, cooking dinner, commuting to work, or sorting laundry. You won’t hear every word and you won’t be able to stop and study an interesting verse. But your thought patterns will start shifting away from the lies and towards the truth.

For those who haven’t yet entered the world of podcasts, apps, smart phones, and iPads… you can pick up a small, easy to read copy of the Bible at any Christian book store for only a few dollars. You don’t have to lug around a big study Bible. Pick up a small copy that you can carry in your bag or keep in your car. It’s ok to go ahead and read it while you wait at the doctor’s office instead of perusing the latest tabloid lying on the end table. Or, pick it up while you’re waiting in the car line. Or on your lunch hour.

But I don’t understand it!

I don’t believe one translation is absolutely right or absolutely wrong. I do believe, however, that some are a lot easier to read than others. Find the translation that fits you. Try different translations.

For daily reading and studying, I’ve used the New International Version for years. Gradually, though, I’m switching to the Holman Christian Standard Bible. But sometimes I look up the Complete Jewish Bible, the New American Standard Bible, or the English Standard Version just to see what different perspective a word choice might help me understand. Sometimes I even look up the King James Version (gasp!). It’s also interesting to find an easy to read translation such as The Message; you can sit and read through it like you would a novel.

These are all techniques and tools I’ve used over the last several years. Please give one or two a try. Or, come up with your own. If you do come up with another one – I’d love to hear it in the comment section below!

The Hand of God

Life is hard. God never promised it would be any other way. In fact, as the time of Christ’s returns draws closer, life is going to get harder. Sorry, but that’s the reality.

(We hate to admit it, but we all kind of know that time is getting closer, don’t we?)

God gave us a powerful tool to help with the hardness of life. “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. … The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:13, 16).

I began my regular prayer time yesterday morning as I always do. However, only a short time into it, as I started praying for those in my life who are hurting and you know, dealing with stuff, my heart grew heavy.

I started only saying each person’s name. Sometimes I said an individual, sometimes a couple, sometimes whole families. Honestly, although I whispered each name aloud, in my head it sounded like a list of names read at a memorial event after a tragedy. One name…two…ten…twenty…thirty; I don’t know how long my list continued. Eventually, though, I came to the end. The Spirit didn’t prompt me with anymore names.

Then I thought, “Those are the people; how do I pray for such a list?”

I almost immediately had my answer, “Pray for the hand of God in their life.”

Yes, I thought, that’s it. That covers all of it. A hand offers provision for those in need yet still offers discipline for those needing correction. A hand can protect, communicate, and guide. How much more can these things be done when the might of the hand is the power of the one True God?

How does the hand of God cover it all?

After praying similarly this morning, I decided to look up verses about the hand of God. I wanted to see just how many ways the hand of God may work in our lives.

The hand of God…

• Delivers us from slavery (Exodus 32:11).
• Performs miracles (Deuteronomy 4:34).
• Guides us where we need to go (Deuteronomy 5:15).
• Disciplines us (Deuteronomy 11:2; 1 Chronicles 21:17; Job 19:21; Acts 13:11).
• Offers impenetrable protection (Deuteronomy 32:39; John 10:28-29).
• Brings judgment and vengeance upon His enemies (Deuteronomy 32:40-41, Matthew 3:12, Luke 3:17).
• Is powerful (Joshua 4:24).
• Causes the panic of His enemies (1 Samuel 5:11).
• Brings about the fulfillment of His promises (1Kings 8:15).
• Keeps us free from harm and pain (1 Chronicles 4:10).
• Provides us with all we have, even what we return to Him (1 Chronicles 29:16).
• Rules over the nations (2 Chronicles 20:6).
• Gives us unity of mind (2 Chronicles 30:12).
• Covers us in favor (Ezra 7:6; Nehemiah 2:8; Acts 11:21; et al).
• Offers us protection (Job 12:6).
• Helps the helpless (Psalm 10:12).
• Is filled with righteousness (Psalm 48:10).
• Provides us with work to do (Ecclesiastes 2:24).
• Upholds us and guides us (Isaiah 41:10, 13).
• Holds our reward (Isaiah 49:4, Isaiah 62:3).
• Extends healing (Matthew 8:3, 15, 9:18, 25, et al).
• Catches us when we fall (Matthew 14:31).
• Protects us from our enemies (Luke 1:71, 74).
• Created all things (Acts 7:50).
• Brings us to a point of humility (1 Peter 5:6).

I know life is hard. I also know that no problem exists that isn’t covered under the hand of God. And that is my prayer for each of you today.

As we approach Passover season and the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, I’m reminded of a final act of the hand of God… it was pierced for you.

The Glorification of Busy

You call a friend on the phone to see if they'd like to get together this weekend. They answer...

“Oh, I'd love to! But, Jacob has three birthday parties on Saturday plus his soccer game. We don't really want to go to the birthday parties, but well, each of these kids came to his party last month so we kind of feel obligated to go. Anyway, Jason is working that day so I have to do all the running around by myself. I'm sure by the time I do all that, go to the grocery store, get my nails done, and work out at the gym, I'll be exhausted!”

Why do we answer like this? Why can’t we say, “I’d love to but I already have a lot going on. Maybe an evening next week?”

We are a busy society - no one’s going to deny that. But we’ve moved past being busy. We now glorify it. 

Not only do we cram our schedules full of activities, but we also have to make sure our friends know how busy we are. We have to give them the list of everything going on. We have to make sure they know how over-the-top busy we are.

As Christians, we even like to spiritualize our busy-ness. Have you ever thought or heard something like this…

“I just don’t have time to pray regularly! I mean, after all, I already sing in the choir, serve as an usher, teach a children’s class, and go to small group every week. How can I fit in one more thing?”

Let’s go back to my earlier question – why do we glorify being busy? Here are some possible reasons…

• If people know how busy we are, they won’t ask us to help with something that might make us uncomfortable. And yet Jesus taught, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42).
• Proclaiming our busy-ness makes us appear important; it makes us feel valuable. Jesus’ words deny this, however. We are valuable because God made us. Period. “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26).
• We’re uncomfortable with being still. We pack our lives full so we don’t have to stop and think about what’s missing and what’s important. The ancient Hebrew songwriter knew better, though. He wrote, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
• Our friends will judge us if we aren’t busy enough. It’s become a competition to see who can be the busiest. We only need to focus on one thing though – rather than compete with our friends, we need to focus on what God calls us to do. King Solomon, in all his wisdom, eventually realized this, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Moses knew it too when he wrote, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

Mary Beth Dahl wrote on her blog this week…

“There is a purpose that we are here. There is a reason that this is the age in which we live. There is a plan that involves a hope and a future.

And

We have within us the ability to fully live life, to completely love others, and to introduce the world to hope...

Now is the time to live our lives with purpose.”

She wrote these words as a counter to a lifestyle focused on random sex, partying, and drugs. I think they also counter a lifestyle focused on the glorification of busy-ness as well, especially as we look at the response to this lifestyle in the next few articles.

This article is the first in a series. Continue on…

• Make Choices, Not Excuses
• Choose Not to Stress
• Choose to Enjoy Life
• Choose to Serve God
• Choose to Glorify God

Why do you think we glorify busy-ness? I listed four possibilities earlier – what can you add to the list?