I’d like to think that I’d be the exception rather than the rule. You know that most of the people who win the lottery end up going bankrupt, right? That’s because they don’t have discipline with money so they overspend and throw money away and end up in debt.

I’d like to think I’d be different. Sure, I’d buy a nicer car and a modest mansion. Maybe a vacation island or two. Nothing fancy. And I don’t even have to be a millionaire to be happy. I think I could do nicely with $50,000. That would come in very handy right about now.

I’d even tithe my winnings. So everybody wins, right?

I think the old adage is true — you never know Jesus is all you need until He’s all you have. I also think that most of us in America have Jesus plus a lot of other stuff. Jesus has become for many one option among many instead of being supreme in our lives.

I heard a sermon today where the pastor said that any circumstance, good or bad, can be God’s way of pointing us back to our deep need for Jesus. When God takes away what we hold dear, we then can find out that He is the one who truly does supply all our needs through His abundant riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

When we understand that everything we think is ours is really because of God, we can learn better to hold on to things with open hands. We can rejoice whether in plenty or in want because we know that God is our ultimate provision. We can be radically generous because we know that we have received the extravagant grace and mercy of God.

The way I see it, anything that drives me deeper into the presence of God is ultimately good. Anything that opens my eyes to my dependence on Jesus for every breath is a blessing. A famous writer once called his wife’s cancer a severe mercy because through it He saw the faithfulness of God at work in her and in him.

The simple truth is that if I have God and all the world, I have no more than if I had God and God alone. God is and will always be sufficient. God is enough.

“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8:31-39, The Message)

I’m a fan of the traditional translations of the Bible that closely follow the original Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic texts, but every now and then, I like a little bit of The Message to give new insights on old tried and true Scripture passages. Romans 8:31-39 is a good example of something I have probably read hundreds of times to the point where it can almost seem rote. But when you get Eugene Peterson’s unique rendering, it makes the words and ideas seem as fresh and new as the day Paul penned them.

My suggestion is to take these verses and read them over and over until you can say them from memory. Then read them again. Read them until they become embedded in your very being and will come to mind whenever you feel worthless or defeated or just no good. Read them like God is audibly speaking the words to you — over you — with compassion and love in His voice as a Father would speak words of love to his child. Then maybe, just maybe, if we did that we might actually begin to believe and live them out.

That’s one thing I’ve learned over the years. You can never go back and recreate a memory exactly like you remember it. You can go to the same places with the same people, but it will always be different. You are different than you were. So are the other people. Sometimes, even the places have changed.

What you can do is to live in the moment and appreciate it for what it is rather than trying to make it something it used to be, but isn’t anymore. You can look for God to work in a new way and to arrange each chapter a little differently than the one before.

The best moments, the ones you remember so fondly, were you having no expectations except that God would show up somehow and someway. The important part isn’t the details, because most of those didn’t happen quite the way you remember. The biggest part was that God was there and you saw Him moving and working.

Even now, let that be the song of your heart — an unfettered expectation that God will do what only God can do in a way that only God can do it.

I don’t know about any of you, but there are certainly days when I feel very much unqualified. I feel like someone’s going to tap me on the shoulder and walk me back to some 4th grade classroom and say something like, “This is where you’re supposed to be. You’re not grown up to be in the adult world. Now get your big fat pencil and get to writing that essay on what you did last summer”

Some days, I don’t feel much like I’m successfully adulting, much less being a useful servant of God. It’s all I can do to get through the day without having to use the righty-tighty, lefty-loosey hand signals or singing the alphabet song to see which letter comes next.

But God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies those He calls and enables them to do what He asks. All that He requires from me is my surrender and my availability. What God wants from me is simply my YES to whatever He asks, whenever He asks.

The Bible is full of heroic moments and brave men and women. The Bible is also full of God’s chosen people choosing poorly and making incredibly stupid decisions. Or people who saw God move not because of them but in spite of them. They just simply happened to be in the room when God showed up.

One of my favorites is David, the one called a man after God’s own heart. Also, the one who lusted after a woman, lured her into his bedroom, slept with her, got her pregnant, and had her husband (and a few other good men) killed off to cover up his misdeeds. That one.

David is also the one who owned up to his sins, calling them for what they were. He’s also the one who never stopped trusting in God’s goodness, even when he couldn’t see it or feel it. He’s the one who never stopped seeking God because he knew that God was the only one keeping him alive.

May today be the day that you and I can offer an unqualified YES to God, even if we have nothing else to offer. All God needs is a place to start.

I saw a post that said what I wanted to say better than I could have ever said it, so instead of trying to paraphrase it or recreated it, I’m doing the old copy and paste bit and letting you read the original for yourself. It’s worth the read:

“Without the Gospel This Is Laughable.

‘Do everything in love.’ 1 Cor. 16:14

Heavenly Father, “Do everything in love?… seriously? There’s only one reason to take this admonition seriously. We love because you first loved us and gave Jesus as our perfect and complete Savior (1 John 4:19). We won’t love perfectly till heaven, but we are already loved perfectly by you. Now and forever, you love us without conditions, limits, qualifiers, or disqualifiers. It’s only because of your great love for us in Jesus we can risk loving when it’s not easy, won’t be reciprocated, and requires more than we want to give. Help us, Father.

• Help us love well when we’re tired, frustrated, and sleep-deprived.

• Help us love well when we get triggered by past wounds and broken trust.

• Help us love well when conflict is inevitable and necessary—like a boil-lancing.

• Help us love well by remembering the Gospel—more so than real hurts.

• Help us love well by taking back the power we gave people to shame us.

• Help us love well—not using kindness and politeness to get something.

• Help us love well during Thanksgiving. Holidays can be fun, tricky, and messy.

• Help us love well, releasing control, outcomes, and our fears to you.

• Help us love well—by giving grace, not getting even.

Father, keep our hearts alive to your tenacious, wild, outrageous, joyful, transforming love for us in Jesus. That will make all the difference in the world. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ merciful and mighty name” (Scotty Smith).

Tonight, Mike Harder spoke from 1 Samuel 3 about how to hear the voice of God. I often forget that Samuel was a young boy when he had his first real encounter with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. At first, he thought it was Eli calling him, but eventually Eli recognized that it was in fact God calling Samuel’s name.

Eli instructed Samuel to go back to his room and to wait for God to speak. Then he was to answer, “Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening.”

To be able to hear God’s voice, you must be near to God. It’s not a nearness of proximity and distance, for God is omnipresent and omniscient. It’s about a drawing near that happens when you silence your thoughts and prepare your heart to receive the words of God.

I wonder if we don’t hear God’s voice more often because we don’t stay long enough in God’s presence. We’re too much in a hurry to make time and space for God. We want to fit God in among our other activities and priorities, squeezing Him in if there’s room enough in our schedule.

But the question remains: “How badly do you and I want to hear from God?” How much do you need to listen to His voice? Is your desire for God greater than your desire for sleep? Is it more than your desire to watch Netflix? Is it enough for you to eliminate some events from your calendar and to learn to say no to certain people and plans, even good ones, in order to create margin and space in your day to hear from God?

I think when you seek God not in a half-hearted haphazard way but with a whole-heartedness and an intentionality, you will hear Him. When you are committed as Jacob was to wrestle with God and not let go until He speaks, then you will recognize His voice.

Speak, Lord, for Your servants are listening.

I did something that I rarely do these days — I went to an actual movie in an actual movie theater. It’s been a while.

Normally, I like to wait for it to hit streaming services because few films are worth paying the current price of movie tickets. But in this case, I made an exception. I wanted to support a faith-based film from a group that I’ve grown to respect as I’ve gotten to know about them, the Fellowship for Performing Arts, led by one Max McLean.

The film is centered around the story of C. S. Lewis’ 10-year journey from atheism to Christianity. Without giving away too much, the narrative device they use to tell the story is unique and compelling. I feel like Mr. McLean masterfully portrayed the title character and the filming locations gave the production a note of authenticity.

But what captivated me most was the way the movie used Lewis’ own words. I believe a lot of the narrative came directly from his autobiography Surprised by Joy. For once, it’s a faith-based film that actually succeeds at being a good film first, and without being preachy or didactic.

It will make you want to dive deep into the writings of C. S. Lewis, both apologetic and fiction, as well as possibly leading you to check out some of writers who inspired him such as George MacDonald and G. K. Chesterton. I can’t recommend it highly enough for anyone who wants a quality movie about the nuances of faith and intellect.

It always happens. No matter how many times I go away on vacation and no matter how many times I think I’m prepared to accept once more the return to the reality of every day life, there’s always a bit of a letdown. Tomorrow, the real world resumes. And I’m just not ready for it.

I don’t necessarily want to stay in vacation mode forever. Even a great vacation at an ideal destination can get old after a while. There’s only so much you can see and do, plus I would end up gaining about 100 pounds from all the vacation eating.

But the idea of getting up at 5 am to trek 21 miles to a job isn’t my idea of a welcome back.

Still, I think it’s all about perception.

I know of someone who was bedridden from a stroke who would have given just about anything to get to go to work. He said that if he could have gone back to having a job again, he’d never complain about it ever again. Ouch.

Being an adult is sometimes doing the stuff you don’t want to so that you can enjoy the fun stuff later. It’s about appreciating stuff more once you’ve had the satisfaction of having worked for it and earned it.

Then there’s grace. That’s the stuff you get that you don’t deserve. I truly believe that me waking up this morning in good health and having a job that allows me to take vacations is ultimately grace. That’s the goodness of God that I can never earn or get but only receive and be thankful for it.

So yes, I’m grateful for my job. I’m grateful for my life. I’m grateful for mercies that are new every morning — even on Mondays.

Jesus said that He didn’t come for the healthy and the righteous, but for the sinners and the sick. In today’s terms, the church isn’t supposed to be a kind of exclusive country club for the holier than thou set, but a hospital for broken sinners, including the ones whom Jesus has redeemed.

If any church loses its purpose of sharing the whole gospel with the whole person, it should probably close its doors for good. If any body of believers fails to seek out the same ones Jesus came to seek and to save, it should cease to exist.

Jesus also said that churches that have lost their first love need to repent and return to their biblical roots before they lose their anointing. Churches that have made politics, whether left or right, conservative or liberal, their main focus need to get on their knees and repent.

My prayer is that the American church can become like the early church found in the book of Acts. Anything less is not worthy of being called the body of Christ.