“In a world where success is the measure and justification of all things the figure of Him who was sentenced and crucified remains a stranger and is at best the object of pity. The world will allow itself to be subdued only by success. It is not ideas or opinions which decide, but deeds. Success alone justifies wrongs done. . . . With a frankness and off-handedness which no other earthly power could permit itself, history appeals in its own cause to the dictum that the end justifies the means. . . . The figure of the Crucified invalidates all thought which take success for its standard” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

The world worships at the altar of success. Sadly, so do many within the Church.

We base our value on the number of seats taken on any given Sunday. Our goal is to get converts instead of investing in making disciples who will in turn make other disciples. As a result, according to something I read a long time ago, we are a million miles wide and only an inch deep. We have lots of members who don’t really know what they believe or how to defend it against false teaching.

In terms of our metrics and evaluations, Jesus would be deemed a failure. But we know that in terms of changing the world, no one had more of an impact than Jesus. You could say He was successful, but His goal all along was faithfulness to His Father. That should be our goal as well.

We should be seeking to leave a legacy of faithfulness instead of chasing success as the world defines it.

I found something from one of the blogs that I follow that I thought would speak to you like it did to me. I will include the original post in this post so you can read the entire thing and so that the original author gets credit:

"I am a fool, but that's OK. 
Jesus is wise. 

I am weak, and that's OK.
Jesus is strong.

I am imperfect, and that's OK.
Jesus is perfect in every way.

I am confused and unsure,
but Jesus is all-knowing. 

I am a work-in-progress,
but Jesus is complete and whole. 

I lack confidence,
but Jesus is mighty and bold. 

I am fearful and afraid, 
but Jesus is fearless. 

I live in spiritual poverty, 
but Jesus paid it all. 

I don't know what the future holds, 
but Jesus knows the beginning from the end. 

I worry about what others think,
but Jesus loves me unconditionally. 

I am not "enough",
but Jesus is more than enough for me. 


Thank you, Jesus. Without you, I am nothing. With you, I have joy, hope and confidence to face any battle or challenge. I love you" (Ali).

https://itsagodthing.blog/2023/01/26/i-am-a-fool-but-thats-ok/

It’s been a while. In fact, it’s been about 2 1/2 years since the last time I got to take care of these lovable pups.

The last time there were three of them, but one sadly crossed the rainbow bridge late last year. Still, it’s one of my favorite gigs to look after them for as long as I can.

They’re both older and much calmer, so it’s no trouble at all looking after them. The one in back took a little while to remember me, but once she did, she was back to her old loving ways.

The only drama is finding out what the weather is going to do between now and tomorrow. Snow? Maybe. Ice? Hopefully not. Cold? Most likely.

In the meantime I get to pet some dogs, so life is good.

“…turn us to toward You, Lord — not to comparing our day to anyone else’s day. Help us to drop all our measuring sticks. Because if we walk through life with a measuring stick – our eyes get so small we never see You, God, at all. Measuring sticks always become weapons of Self-Harm and and scales always lie.

They don’t make a scale that ever told the truth about value, about worth, about significance. And all mine tonight is solely in You, Lord. Everything isn’t a marker to make me feel behind or ahead. Everything is a flame to make us see that You, GOD are here. At the end of this week, we’re breaking all our measuring sticks — so we can rest in Your measurement of us in Christ: perfectly loved.  In Jesus’ Name… Amen” (Ann Voskamp). 
#EndofDayPrayer #SoulRest

I’m listening to a book called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. It speaks to the the glorification of busyness and hurry in the present culture. There’s no time for rest.

For most of us that’s true. There’s no time for rest . . . unless you deliberately and intentionally make time for rest. If you take Jesus’ words to heart and come to Him, He gives you shalom — deep soul-rest and wholeness and peace.

He’s not talking about a two-hour nap (although for me sometimes that would do the trick). He’s talking about a reset of heart, mind, body, and soul. He’s talking about relearning rhythms of grace and going from a mindset of hurry to one of balance and purpose.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” (Matthew 11:28-30, The Message).

“It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it — I can’t. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it — I can’t. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like this. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come into me, then I could live a life like that. This is the secret of Christian sanctity. It is not that we should strive to live like Jesus, but that he by his Spirit should come and live in us. To have him as our example is not enough; we need him as our Saviour” (John R. W. Stott).

I’m so thankful that Jesus didn’t die as just another martyr or as a great example to follow.If so, I’m just as bad off as I was before. I’m still lost in my sins and as good as dead.

But Jesus was more than a martyr and more than an example. He was Messiah. He is my Savior. He offered the great exchange — taking my sin on Himself and giving me His own perfect sinless righteousness. That’s how I live. That’s how I am no longer dead but alive, no longer lost but found, no longer bound by sin but set free.

“I wish thy way. And when in me myself should rise, and long for something otherwise, Then Lord, take sword and spear And slay” (Amy Carmichael).

I think the hardest prayer to pray and really mean is also one of the simplest. It’s “Thy will be done.”

The risk with that prayer is that God’s will often looks like the polar opposite of my will. As one writer put it, praying that God’s will be done may mean that my will is undone.

God’s will is that I look like Jesus. The means to that end are often not the means I might have chosen. The way God makes me more like Jesus often involves having my patience tested to (and beyond) its limit. Often, God uses difficult people and difficult circumstances to smooth away my rough edges. None of those sound like my idea of a good time, but all are what God uses to give my life purpose and fulfillment.

“Thy will be done” means that if there’s anything in me that doesn’t look like Jesus, it has to go. All my dreams and desires that run contrary to God’s will must die.

It seems that I learn a lot more on bad days than good ones, though defeats rather than through victories, and in the midst of pain rather than in the midst of joy. And above all, growing and learning involves a lot of inconvenience and discomfort. Growing up is painful.

Yet while “Thy will be done” is a hard prayer to pray honestly, it’s the prayer that never fails. It’s the prayer Jesus taught His disciples when He told them to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

May that be the prayer of my heart every single day.

It’s been a while since I gave an update on my cat Peanut, who is 5 going on 6 and still a whole lot of fun.

She still loves her naps early and often. She prefers to be awake as little as possible and views those rare times of consciousness as very annoying, as you can see by the above picture.

She also prefers to be underneath a blanket or covers of some kind. If you ever find a cat-shaped lump in the bed, most likely it’s Peanut doing her undercover thing. I really think since it’s winter, she’s doing her best to hibernate until it gets warmer.

She also still loves her belly rubs. There are not many felines that will allow you to touch the sacred tummy without getting attacked, but she actually likes it. She will roll over as a kind of invitation for the belly rubs and gets a little put out when you stop prematurely.

Her name is Peanut, and she’s definitely living her best life now.

It’s easy to spot God in the spectacular moments that feel like the pages of Scripture coming to life in real time, but it’s harder to keep your focus in the middle of dishes and diapers and the daily grind.

It’s not the crises that derail us as much as the monotony of the mundane and the clamor of a multitude of things that vie for our attention and affection.

But if you want to see God in your everyday, look in the small details. Learn to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Make your worship as much about doing dishes and taking out the trash as singing praise choruses.

While in once sense Eden was lost when Adam and Eve fell, in another Eden is wherever and whenever we meet God and hear Him speaking life to us. Eden is where God never stops looking for us as much as we sometimes want to hide from Him.

Lord, help me to practice the art of remaining in Your presence no matter where I am. Help me to remember that you are never far from those who seek You in faith.

If you have tiny humans living with you, aka those with diapers, you will appreciate this liturgy from the book Every Moment Holy. Even if you are childless or have older children, you will still appreciate the analogy:

I remember seeing a picture of someone from an impoverished part of the world who had plastic soft drink bottles tied to their feet for shoes. That image blew my mind and broke my heart at the same time. There I was probably wishing I had newer more comfortable shoes and so many around the world would give anything to have my old worn-out shoes. Or any shoes for that matter.

I also remember reading a post that also wrecked my world in the best possible way. It said that someone out there would give absolutely anything to have one of your bad days. I keep forgetting that if I had a meal today, if I had access to clean water, if I had more than one change of clothing, if I had a roof over my head, then I am considered rich by global standards.

The culture we live in thrives on forcing people into comparison and envy. The idea is that your neighbor put in a pool, so now you need to put in a bigger pool. Your friend bought a truck, so now you need a truck with a bigger engine. You need to keep up with those enigmatic Joneses if you want to be successful.

But if you woke up today, you’re blessed. If you took a deep breath unassisted by machines, you’re blessed. If you could dress and feed yourself, you’re blessed. If you have a place to live, a job, a car that works semi-regularly, and people who love you, you’re rich in blessings.

Don’t let comparison be the thief of your joy. Don’t let envy blind you to your blessings. The key to seeing more of God in your world is thanksgiving. The way to experience more of your blessings is gratitude for the ones you already have.