“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).

I believe the Bible talks about how the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. It also says that if you seek to save your life, you’ll lose it, but if you seek to give your life away, you’ll save it. The Apostle Paul speaks to how God chose the foolish to shame the wise, and the nobodies to shame the VIPs (or something to that effect). The mentality of the Kingdom of God is an upside down kind of thinking that doesn’t make sense to most of the world.

In fact, the very same Bible say that the message of the cross is foolishness to the world, but it is life and salvation to all who take it on faith and believe in it with everything they are. I guess you could say that it’s the world’s kind of thinking that is upside down, and the message of Christ and the cross is really turning things right-side up again.

Sometimes, you need to thank God for a provision He has yet to give. I mean that before the prayer gets answered, you thank God in advance for that answer. Thanksgiving isn’t just celebrating when you get what you wanted, but declaring that God is good no matter what. You can choose to be grateful whether the healing comes or not, whether deliverance comes or not. Your circumstances may not allow you to be happy, but joy is still an act of the will that you can grasp no matter how your circumstances play out.

Praise God if the good thing comes, but also remember that if it seems like a bad thing comes, God can work that bad thing into something good, sometimes sooner and sometimes later but always guaranteed. I think the saying goes that when a door closes and until another door opens, you can praise God in the hallway — in the midst of your waiting and uncertainty. Your gratitude might not change your world right then, but it can and will change you and how you see your world in that moment. Then you can thank God whose promises are as good as done.

If you’re not familiar with Amy Carmichael, I recommend the book A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliott. I also recommend Amy’s book, Gold by Moonlight, which deals with abiding under chronic illness and pain.

“Let us end on a very simple note: Let us listen to simple words; our Lord speak simply: “Trust Me, My child,” He says. “Trust Me with a humbler heart and a fuller abandon to My will than ever thou didst before. Trust Me to pour My love through thee, as minute succeeds minute. And if thou shouldst be conscious of anything hindering that flow, do not hurt My love by going away from Me in discouragement, for nothing can hurt so much as that. Draw all the closer to Me; come, flee unto Me to hide thee, even from thyself. Tell Me about the trouble. Trust Me to turn My hand upon thee and thoroughly to remove the boulder that has choked they river-bed, and take away all the sand that has silted up the channel. I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. I will perfect that which concerneth thee. Fear thou not, O child of My love; fear not.

And now…to gather all in one page:

Beloved, let us love.Lord, what is love?

Love is that which inspired My life, and led Me to My Cross, and held Me on My Cross. Love is that which will make it thy joy to lay down thy life for thy brethren.

Lord, evermore give me this love.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after love, for they shall be filled.”

I’m still not a vinyl purist, but I’m understanding the love of what we used to call records a little more. There’s just something magical about putting a record on the turntable and carefully placing the needle on the right groove. It’s an experience that you don’t get by turning on Spotify. I think my new favorite pastime will be laying in bed listening to records.

All i have to do is put on some good vinyl, drop the needle, and let all my cares go. I can get lost in the music and not think about anything else. If I can ever figure out how to connect my wireless headphones, I’ll be in heaven.

It’s nice to know that once in a rare blue moon, something old becomes something new. Something from back in the day comes back for a bit and is cool again. Even if the price of vinyl is ridiculous, it does my heart good to see stores carrying records again. I hear even cassette tapes are making a comeback of sorts. I’m not holding my breath for 8-tracks.

“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).

That’s the key, isn’t it? It’s not me trying harder, but Jesus living inside of me. It’s Jesus living the same kind of life He lived almost 2,000 years ago, but this time through my hands and feet. Will it ever be perfectly played out this side of heaven? No, because my flesh will always get in the way. Still, my life will still be much, much better than it would have been apart from Christ. And the closer I get to hreaven, the more my life will look like Christ’s life and the more I will look like Jesus.

“How can we forgive those who do not want to be forgiven? Our deepest desire is that the forgiveness we offer will be received. This mutuality between giving and receiving is what creates peace and harmony. But if our condition for giving forgiveness is that it will be received, we seldom will forgive! Forgiving the other is first and foremost an inner movement. It is an act that removes anger, bitterness, and the desire for revenge from our hearts and helps us to reclaim our human dignity. We cannot force those we want to forgive into accepting our forgiveness. They might not be able or willing do so. They may not even know or feel that they have wounded us.

The only people we can really change are ourselves. Forgiving others is first and foremost healing our own hearts” (Henri Nouwen).

If bitterness is drinking poison and expecting the other person to die, then forgiveness is the antidote. You have probably heard that forgiveness is like unlocking the door to a prison cell to let the prisoner out only to discover that the one inside was you. The other may or may not be aware of any harm done, but you are the one carrying the burden of bitterness and anger. You are the one stuck in the place where you were wounded, unable to move forward.

Jesus doesn’t make forgiveness easy but possible. He also doesn’t give you an excuse to avoid it. We are to forgive as we have been forgiven. In fact, the Lord’s prayer asks God to forgive us just as we have forgiven others. But whatever the price, the freedom that comes with forgiveness is completely worth it.

It seems lately that cancel culture has overtaken everything. I look at actors and singers whose careers have ended practically overnight because of misdeeds and bad behavior anywhere from recently to decades ago. I think for me, I am not a fan of cancel culture.

Don’t get me wrong. I think that wrong behavior, especially criminal behavior, should have real consequences.

But I’m don’t think that negates everything good that a person has ever done. I definitely don’t think that we should write off people who make mistakes and poor decisions. I’ve said before many times that I am not into karma because I know what I deserve if I had it coming to me.

I’m a fan of grace for me and for others because I know there are times when I’ve been in a place where I deserved judgment and received mercy instead. I still believe that no one is beyond the saving grace of God. No one. And I don’t intend to denigrate someone who is created in the image of God.

If we judged people by their pasts — and solely by the wrongs they’ve done in the past — then we wouldn’t have a New Testament. In cancelling the Apostle Paul, we’d lose all those wonderful epistles. Paul himself even admits that he’s the least worthy of all the apostles and calls himself the chief of sinners.

Again, I believe that sin has consequences, but I also believe that there can be forgiveness and second chances. Just because you were reprobate once doesn’t mean that you always have to be that way. The same Apostle Paul said that for those who are in Christ, the old has passed away and a new way has come. Who you were no longer exists, and the new you is being transformed into the likeness of Christ.

Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn it and cancel it but to save it.

“Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-19, The Message).

The more traditional translations say to “give thanks in everything.” Note that it does not say to give thank FOR everything but IN everything. You don’t have to give thanks when sickness comes or when a loved one passes away or when natural disaster strikes. But you can give thanks that God can work even the worst of circumstances toward your good and His glory.

I had a thought as I was driving home from another Kairos Night of Worship. Often I give thanks after I get an answer to prayer or after an outcome resolves favorably. That’s all well and good. But what if I chose to be thankful BEFORE I got my answer? What if I blessed God in the middle of a trial when the outcome was still in doubt? What if I sang a doxology while I was still in the dark night of my soul?

There’s a popular worship song that says “Even when I don’t see it, You’re working, even when I don’t feel it, You’re working.” So maybe even though I don’t feel particularly grateful at the moment, I can still express thanksgiving. I can say the words while knowing their truth in my mind without feeling them in my heart because I know from experience how unreliable my feelings are while I also know how rock-steady God’s truth is. I can surrender my circumstances while I’m in the middle of them, knowing that God is working even then.

“Let nothing be said about anyone unless it passes through the three sieves: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?” (Amy Carmichael).

I think we could avoid a lot of unnecessary conflict and grief if we paused before we spoke of others. There would be a lot less gossip and hearsay. There would be a lot less derogatory comments about others. In fact, there’d be a lot less talking (which is probably a good thing).

I think a certain passage from the Bible is helpful when deciding how to speak to and about others:

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies” (Philippians 4:8-9, The Message).

If you think on things that are true, reputable, authentic, and so on, you will speak these things. You will live these things. You will be known for these things. If you are constantly seeking God’s face through His word and prayer, then these attributes will become a part of who you are and will naturally flow out of you. Then you will be a true peacemaker.

But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel:
“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine.
When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!
That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you!
I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you” (Isaiah 43:1-4).

I’ve noticed that whenever I’m anxious, it’s usually because taking a problem of mine and envisioning a future scenario without including God in it. It’s like when you think you’ve really messed up at your job, and the boss is going to call you into his office and yell at you and fire you, and then you’ll end up not ever finding another job and wind up homeless. That’s not a real life example of mine but a far-fetched example of where our minds can go if we let them.

The missing ingredient in this worst case scenario is God’s faithfulness. You’re not counting on God’s provision, even though you’ve probably seen it time and time again. You’re reverting to your default reaction of worry and fear.

But that’s when the Bible tells us to take every thought captive. You do that not by ceasing to think about it, but by stopping every thought and submitting it to what you know to be true about God as revealed in His word. You sometimes need to speak your fear out loud and speak against it in the name of the Lord. You rebuke Satan from your thoughts. You read and meditate on God’s word so that you can quote Scripture against these fearful thoughts.

Often, I will pray Scripture because God loves nothing than hearing His own words prayed back to Him. Plus, you are reminding yourself of what God has said about Himself and you.