faith

In Everything Give Thanks

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“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 5:16-18).

In everything give thanks.

In sunshine or in storms, give thanks.

In good times and in bad times, give thanks.

In joy or in sorrow, give thanks.

When you’re surrounded by friends and family, give thanks; when you’re alone even in the midst of a crowd, give thanks.

When you’re welcoming new life into the world, give thanks; when you’re saying your final tear-stained goodbyes, give thanks.

When everything is going your way, give thanks; when everything you do turns into a fiasco of epic proportions, give thanks.

When God brings people into your life who bless and encourage you, give thanks; when people give up on you and turn their backs on you, give thanks.

When you’re walking in faith and believing strong, give thanks; when you can’t find the words to pray or even the faith to believe, give thanks.

Give thanks, not for everything, but in everything. Give thanks not for the circumstances you’re dealing with, but in them.

Give thanks that God is working in all these things for the good of those who love Him. Give thanks that there is not one single trial that He can’t turn into gold.

Give thanks if only for the fact that you woke up this morning and drew the next breath. Give thanks if only for the fact that God saw you on your worst day and thought you were worth dying for. Give thanks that He send Jesus to die for you and take your place for the punishment all your sins and failures deserved.

In everything give thanks.

Let thanksgiving be your lifestyle and gratitude be your attitude.

In everyhing give thanks.

 

The Way of Downward Mobility

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Tonight I was touched by these words from Henri Nouwen. I will let them speak to you the way they spoke to me, unedited and in his own words, not mine:

“Prayer means letting God’s creative love touch the most hidden places of our being and letting Jesus’ way of the cross, his way of downward mobility, truly become our way.  And prayer means listening with attentive, undivided hearts, to the inner movements of the Spirit of Jesus, even when that Spirit leads us to places we would rather not go. . . .

I say this with great compassion: we are living in an upwardly mobile society, a society in which making it to the top is expected in some degree of all of us. And aren’t we tempted to use even the Word of God to help us in this upward mobility? But that is not the way of God, the Father, Son, and Spirit. God’s way is not the way of upward mobility but of downward mobility. You know, as well as I do, that the question we will finally hear is not going to be: “How much did you earn during your lifetime?” or “How many friends did you make?” or “How much progress did you make in your career?” No, the question for us will be: “What did you do for the least of mine? What did you do for the lonely in your cities, the prisoners in your country, the refugees within and below your borders, and the hungry all over the world? Have you seen the humiliated Christ in the faces of the poor?”

God has chosen to be revealed in a crucified humanity. That is a very hard realization to come to, yet all authentic prayer will eventually lead us to it. I hope you are able to feel with me our hesitation to let God truly love us in God’s way and to respond fully with our whole being.”

Some Reasons to Be Thankful (When You Can’t Think of Any)

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I heard something today that struck home. If I look at all the people and things in my life as the due reward for what I’ve earned, then I’m not going to be very grateful. If, on the other hand, I see that I have earned nothing and deserve nothing but hell, I see everything in my life as a gift.

Waking up this morning in good health? Gift.

Having the next breath to breathe? Gift.

Having my past crucified with Christ and my sins forgiven forever? Gift.

Having God as my Abba Father who will never leave me or forsake me or give up on me? Gift.

Having family who has never done anything but love me? Gift.

Having friends who amaze, inspire, encourage, and bless me every single day in ways I could never repay? Gift.

Knowing that this love of Christ in me is mine and I can’t do one single solitary thing to earn it, deserve it, keep it or lose it, but only be thankful for it? Gift.

Having access to clean water and food and shelter and clothing and transportation? Realizing that what I take for granted every day makes me rich compared to the way most of the world lives? Believing that God will one day make all the wrongs in the world right and rid the world of injustice, poverty, hunger, disease, and every other evil? Gift.

Being thankful that life is good because the risen Christ is in me? Gift.

In everything give thanks. In everything praise the name of Jesus. In everything know that this Love of Jesus will keep you and carry you though to the end. Amen.

 

Why I Am a Fan of Henri Nouwen

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solitude

“In solitude we can slowly unmask the illusion of our possessiveness and discover in the center of our own self that we are not what we can conquer, but what is given to us. In solitude we can listen to the voice of him who spoke to us before we could speak a word, who healed us before we could make any gesture to help, who set us free long before we could free others, and who loved us long before we could give love to anyone. It is in this solitude that we discover that being is more important than having, and that we are worth more than the result of our efforts. In solitude we discover that our life is not a possession to be defended, but a gift to be shared. It’s there we recognize that the healing words we speak are not just our own, but are given to us; that the love we can express is part of a greater love; and that the new life we bring forth is not a property to cling to, but a gift to be received” (Henri J.M. Nouwen).

Henri Nouwen wrote that every single person ever born deals with aloneness, because every single one of us is unique and no one else will ever have our exact problems and issues and hang-ups and phobias.

He said we can either see our aloneness as a wound and thus turn it into loneliness or view it as a gift, where it becomes solitude. In solitude is where we can learn to be still and quiet and know that in truth, we are never really alone. God is with us.

Solitude makes us better people, better neighbors, better friends, better spouses, better lovers, and better disciples. We’re not clinging to each other out of a desparate need to not be lonely, but because we are finally comfortable with who we are in the times when we are alone with no noise to drown out our own thoughts.

That is my own wording of what I’ve been reading in The Only Necessary Thing, a compilation of Nouwen’s thoughts on living a prayerful life. Seriously, if you don’t read another one of my blogs, but read one of his books, I will be supremely happy. He’s that good.

That’s all for tonight. Let me know what you are reading that touches you deeply at the soul level. Maybe it’s a book that will do the same for me. And may the God of the earthquake and the God of the thunder also be the God of your silence and the God of your solitude. Amen.

More About Blessings and Such

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For the record, I thought about calling this blog “Mo Better Mo Blessings,” but decided against it. Be thankful for that.

I had some more thoughts about blessings earlier today when I should have been paying more attention to the sermon. That’s actually where some of my best ideas for blogs come from. Shhh, don’t tell anyone, okay?

Some blessings are only found through suffering and trial and can’t be found any other way.

Some treasures are only found along the road through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, but they turn out to be some of the dearest treasures you will ever find.

Sometimes, the words God speaks to your heart in the midst of great pain are the words that turn out to be life and light and healing. Those are the words you remember most and hold most deeply in your heart of hearts, for those are the ones that go deep and speak to the most hidden, secret parts of you.

Some joys born out of sorrow are the ones that last with you the longest. Long after the storms cease and the suffering ends, these joys remind you like the rainbow of God’s goodness and His faithfulness.

Sometimes worship means the most to you when it costs you something. David once said, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord that which cost me nothing.” Sometimes, the cost is tears. Sometimes, the cost is your time, your talents and your treasures. In some places, the cost of worship may very well be your life.

Hold dearly to these lessons learned in the dark. Treasure the blessings found in storms. Never let go of the words God speaks to you in the midst of your suffering. Those are what will carry you through to the end.

And may you always hear in the night the voice of your Abba singing and rejoicing over you in the night as He does every night.

 

Lessons Learned This Past Week

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I am definitely not above learning new things and even being reminded of some old things I learned long ago but had forgotten. God reminded me of a few things again this past week:

1) Don’t take it for granted that those you love will always be around to hear you say the words, “I love you.” It’s easy, at least for me, to look at my family and friends and think that they will always be around and will always be as strong and healthy as they are now.

2) Life is precious. Treasure it and treasure those in your life while they’re in your life. Say the words so they can hear them and don’t assume they know.

3) Give the people in your life, family and friends,  every benefit of the doubt. I know I’ve listened to my fears about my friends and have been lied to. I choose to listen to the Voice of Truth that says that love hopes and believes the best for people and doesn’t assume the worst. The Voice that says that that kind of love wins.

4) Ferris Beuller was right. You should stop every now and then and look around. Life is short and many people who are trying to keep up with a day planner and make plans for living miss it. Sometimes, you have to sit at Starbucks and drink a peppermint mocha and just listen and watch.

5) God has a way of getting your attention that may not always look loving, but it is. If everything in my life went exactly as I wanted and no one in my life ever got sick or grew old or had pain, I probably wouldn’t see my need for Him. I’d probably go and do my own thing without even the remotest thought of God in my head. The fact is that I still live in a fallen world with the fallout from sin all around me (and sometimes in me as well). I need God every single second of every single day of the rest of my life.

That’s all. I know I’ve said this before, but if this blog was only just for me, it was worth it. I found healing just now getting these thoughts out. I hope you do, too.

Dear Friend

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Dear Friend,

I’m so thankful that you chose to be friends with me. It really is more than I deserve. Every time I count my blessings, I count you and I thank God for you.

You showed me what joy looks like. You showed m what kindness looks like. Most of all, you showed me what Jesus looks like, because I saw Jesus in you.

I just wanted to let you know a few things.

I’m not about to stop praying for you. I’m not about to stop praying and believing God’s best for you. I’m still convinced that God has great plans for you and He will use you in ways that will amaze and astound you.

I’m not about to quit counting you as my friend. By the grace of God, I plan on sticking around for the duration and being the best friend I can be to you and being Jesus to you the same way you were Jesus to me.

There will always be an empty seat at Starbucks and a coffee drink with your name on it. I may not be at my wittiest or most clever, but I promise to listen to what you have to say and encourage you in any way I can.

If you decided you didn’t want to be friends with me anymore and never wanted to see me or talk with me ever again, I would still look on you as a blessing. No matter how long I live, I will always be grateful and thankful for your friendship.

I pray tonight that the God of all peace will surround you and hold you in His embrace. I pray you will hear the sweet voice of Him singing over you in the night. I pray you will wake up in the morning mindful again of new mercies and fresh grace.

Thank you for being my friend.

More Thoughts on Fighting From Victory (And not For It)

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chariots of fire

I normally don’t do follow-up blogs to ones I have posted. Kinda like the line about not repeating this ever again or something like that. Did I mention my brain is a little fuzzy this evening?

Someone posted a comment on my blog that got my attention. I failed to mention or say correctly that we should pray for strength. Absolutely. We should pray that God will strengthen us with power through His Holy Spirit.

It seems to me that sometimes we should claim the power that is already in us. The Bible states that the power that raised Christ from the dead is in us. It is in us because the risen Christ is in us.

The power that my sin couldn’t overcome. The power that death could not conquer. The power that the grave couldn’t hold down. That kind of power.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t pray to be strong, but rather that God would be strong through me. I want to be a vessel that God pours through, that God loves through, that God comes through.

Sometimes I know how I want to say something in my head and for whatever reason, it doesn’t quite come out in print. On a side note, I have become quite familiar with the taste of shoe leather for as many times as I have put my foot in my mouth and said really dumb things. That really makes me feel like a heel.

Pray for strength. Yes. Claim the power of the risen Christ in you. Yes. The point is that you don’t have to live defeated and downtrodden. You can live in victory because the Victor lives in you.

That’s what I am praying and claiming for myself and for all of you tonight. May God’s peace rule your hearts tonight, friends!

As Good as His Word

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Something Mike Glenn said at Kairos tonight really hit home. He said that in an age where people’s word is no longer their bond, we can always trust God because He’s as good as His Word.

The Word in question is the Word made flesh. This Word is fully God and fully man. This Word is the very image of God in bodily form with every bit of the fullness of the deity dwelling there. In other words, if you want to see God, look at Jesus.

God is as good as every promise He’s ever fulfilled and every lost cause He’s rescued and every defeat He’s turned into victory. His promises yet to come are so sure, you can talk about them in the past tense.

I needed that reminder tonight. Today, I was tempted yet again to doubt the goodness and greatness of God. The Accuser whispered in my ear that God really wasn’t as good as His word and I needed to hedge my bet, so to speak, and have my own backup plan ready. That Accuser tells me lies about me, my family and friends and my God.

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story (to borrow a line from a Casting Crowns song). The Word made flesh is the living proof that God is ultimately trustworthy.

I will choose to listen to and believe this Voice. I will take Him at His Word.

Will you?

Thoughts on Fighting From Victory (And not For It)

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chariots of fire

Today, God reminded me of something I knew but had forgotten. Lately, I’ve been praying for peace and stronger faith and for strength to overcome temptation and negative thinking.

I think what God was reminding me was that I already have these things in Christ. In Christ, I have everything I need for life and godliness, as it says in 1 Timothy. So maybe instead of praying for peace, I will claim the peace that passes all understanding.

Instead of praying for stronger faith, I will claim the promise that when I am weak, Christ is strong and that His strength works best in my weakness.

Instead of praying for the power to overcome temptation to anxiety and negative thinking, I will claim the verse that I can take every thought captive and take it to Jesus and leave it there. I’m not saying that I can claim a Bentley in faith and I will receive it. I am saying that God says to those who lack wisdom, to ask.

God says to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, and keep wrestling with God until He blesses you. The victory is won. The enemy is a defeated foe. Never forget that. Death no longer has the final word and the grave is only a temporary resting place. Jesus holds the keys to death and the grave and hell.

Live out of the victory that’s already yours and fight from it and not for it. Believe in faith the promises of God not only for yourself, but for those around you.

Pray strong for someone when that person can’t pray for themselves.

Above all, if we are the winning side, we should be the most joyous, grateful people on the planet. Our thankful hearts will be what gets the attention of the world around us who is still looking for meaning and hope.

They are waiting to see someone whose testimony is not just talked out, but walked out, too.