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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!

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.

Unwanted

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I heard a beautiful story today in a sermon. The story was about 200 or so girls born in a village in India where boys are preferred. The fathers all named them “Unwanted,” because they were hoping for sons.

Later, these girls had a chance to get new birth certificates and choose their own new names. They chose names like “Wanted” and “Happy” and “Beautiful”.

In the same way, some of you have felt Unwanted at times. I know I have. I have a family who loves me and wants me, but some of you had parents that didn’t want you or gave you away or left you.  Maybe it was a husband or a wife. Maybe a son or a daughter. Maybe a close friend. They as much as told you that you were Unwanted.

Have you ever been at a party and felt left out and like you were not wanted there? Have you ever been in a large crowd and felt completely alone, like no one understood you or your circumstances? You thought to yourself that you might as well have been wearing a name tag that read Unwanted.

 Have you ever come to the conclusion in the dark watches of the night that the world would have been better off without you in it? That you are a worthless waste of space?

The good news of the gospel is that through the cross, God is calling the Unwanteds of the world and giving them a new birth certificate and a new name. Your new birthday is the day you said YES to Jesus and his forgiveness bought by blood.

Your new name is what God has chosen to call you. Wanted. Beautiful. Forgiven. Blessed. Son of the King. Daughter of the King. And, my very favorite of all, BELOVED.

When it felt like no one else wanted you, God did. He died to prove it. He still wants you to be a part of what He’s doing. He wants to take the broken and shattered pieces of your heart and your life and put them back together.

He wants to take your unholy mess of a life and transform it into something that shines and radiates the glory of Christ. He wants to take your scars and pain and make them testimonies. He wants to take you and make you a beautiful and glorious witness to the power of His love. He wants you.

If you say YES to Jesus, there’s no telling what He can do through you. You’ll never cease to be amazed at all God does in you and how He uses your hands and feet to bless those in your life. If He could turn the 1st century world upside down through 12 nobodies, imagine what He can do with you!

I can’t wait to see what that will be.

Blessed

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 I could some up my life right now in one word it would be . . . . chocolate. No, not really, although chocolate does take me to a happy place. My life could be summed up nicely by the word “blessed.”

I am so blessed. I have great family, great friends, and a great God who loves me so much more than I deserve. He loves me so much I can’t stay the same. I can’t receive all that love and not become a better person, one who looks more and more like Jesus every day.

I am blessed that I know how my story ends. I know that one day all the injustice and wrong in the world will be made right. I know that everything I’ve gone through that didn’t make sense will make perfect sense and I will see it as what drew me closer to Jesus.

You who read this blog are part of the blessing. You never do realize how much your texts or posts or notes or spoken words mean to me. Sometimes, God has spoken through you to me at just the right time with just the right words to keep me going. You’ve helped me make it through some days.

If I never had another dream come true, if I never had another desire fulfilled, and if I never had another visible expression of God’s goodness, I would still be blessed. If God told me that I had used up all my blessings and had none left, I would be good. I’ve had more than my share already.

I do think there’s more to come. The Psalms say to taste and see that God is good. I have tasted and seen and it is better than any buffet or feast. The love of Jesus is truly better than wine and that love keeps getting better with age.

I will forget this, so keep reminding me. When you forget, I will remind you. That’s what the community of faith is all about. My favorite definition of a friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.

Jesus knows my song and He’ll keep singing it over me night after night until I have learned all the words and can sing it for myself. I think my song starts off something like “All the way my Savior leads me, What have I to ask beside?”

The Life of Faith

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As I get older, the more I learn about what it really means to live by faith. The more I see that the old Sunday School answers and bumper sticker theology just don’t cut it. The more I see my deep need for Jesus and how He is more than able to be all that I need and more.

The life of faith for me is one of amazement and surprise at what God is doing in me. I see how I am different from who I was 6 months ago and how God continues to work in me to be more like Jesus. He keeps bringing people into my life who bless and encourage me and show me a little more of Christ.

I am amazed at what God can do if we bring our mustard-sized faith and give Him just the tiniest place to start in our lives. I’ve seen addictions overcome, strongholds demolished, weakness made strong, defeat turned to victory, and ugly messes made into beautiful testimonies.

The life of faith can never be a half-hearted affair. You have to be all in. But once you’re in, you’re never the same. You never know where this life will take you, but you can be sure that the One driving knows exactly where He’s going. You can trust Him absolutely to lead you right.

It’s not about how much you know or how you’ve got your doctrines lined up in neat little rows. It’s about confessing that I am poor in spirit and boasting in my weakness, because my weakness is where God’s strength works best.

The life of faith is taking you somwhere. The final destination is heaven and total Christlikeness. It’s also a process. As the old commercial said, “Life is a journey. Enjoy the ride.” That goes doubly for the life of faith.

Keep your eyes open and your heart surrendered and your hands unclenched and you will never cease to be amazed at what God does.

What’s Important

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I’ve been thinking all day about my friend Nathan’s family, particularly his wife and 6-year old son. They said goodbye to him for the last time last night. It was also he and his wife’s 12th anniversary.

I also kept thinking about how I lost touch with him all those years ago and never really thought about him until he was almost gone. I rejoice that he is whole and happy and with Jesus, but I regret that I didn’t make the effort to reach out to him.

My lesson for today that I had to learn all over again is this: life is precious and fleeting and by no means guaranteed. Today is all you have. Cherish every moment of it and don’t ever take it for granted.

The same goes for the people in your life. Never let a day go by without letting the people in your life know how much they mean to you. Work is important, but if it gets in the way of the people you love and who love you, then you’ve lost the mission. To-do lists, schedules, and activities aren’t nearly as sacred as loving the people in your life while they’re in your life.

I heard a pastor say that only two things are eternal: God’s Word and God’s people. That’s so very true. Five years from now, you won’t remember what grade you got on a paper or what you did at work or how many checks you had on your list of things to get done. You will remember those people that touched your life and encouraged you when you desparately needed it. You will carry their love inside you even after they’re gone.

Call someone and let them know you’re thinking about them. Text someone and let them know what they mean to you. Say, “I love you,” and don’t just assume the person knows. Go out of your way and deliberately stop your business to reach out to someone. Your words and smiles and hugs and kindness could be what helps that person survive through that day. You could be Jesus reaching out and loving that person and beginning the healing process.

Nathan, for what it’s worth, I was blessed to have you for a friend and to know you. I love you, brother, and I will miss you every day. See you on the other side.

Attention: God Wants You!

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I’ve mentioned before how I was kickball-challenged and almost never got picked to be on either team. I was always assigned to the team that had the last pick. In fact, my entire sports career was spent on the bench watching the better players while I got in the game a few times after the outcome was already decided.

I am still amazed every single day that God wants me. I’m astounded that He wants to use me in what He’s doing in the world. Not only that He wants to use me, but that He’s working through me, often in ways I will never see.

News flash: God wants you. He wants not just your checkbook or your calendar, but you. He’s got an awesome plan to change the world and that plan has your name in it. If you say YES to God, whatever the question, there’s no telling what He will do in you and through you.

God made you and gifted you and called you to a place that only you can serve. There’s somone out there who won’t step inside a church or go near a minister, but you have the best opportunity to be Jesus to that person and turn their world upside down.

The disciples weren’t overly smart or clever or skilled or innovative. They just stuck around Jesus and soaked in everything He had to say. When He spoke, they listened. When He said, “Follow Me,” they did, and the world hasn’t been the same since.

God is calling you and me to be lights in a very dark world. He calls us to be Jesus to the world that for the most part doesn’t know it needs saving. God is able to take your broken life and bless so many others with it and make your failure and wreckage into a beautiful story that will captivate and enthrall those who see it.

God wants you. Not after you get your life right. Not after you complete a 12-step program, get cleaned up, get dressed up, get your act together. He wants you right now, just as you are and right where you are. He’s not calling you to condemn you, but to change you. And He is calling right now.

All it takes for the incredible journey to start is your YES. That’s all.

Fear

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I’ll admit it. I have watched my share of suspenseful and scary movies in the past. There’s something about the adrenaline that comes from the rush of fear from things that go bump in the night. It helps that I know it’s not real.

Sometimes the fear is in real life and seems very real. Then there’s not so much of an adrenaline rush. At least not the good kind.

I have run the gamut of fears. I have been afraid of the dark and afraid of storms and afraid of loud noises. I outgrew those, thankfully.

Other fears have been harder to shake. There’s the fear that I had that if people really found out what I was like, they would leave me or at least have nothing to do with me. That the real me wasn’t good enough.

There was the fear that if someone didn’t respond a certain way or at all, that I had offended them. I had myself convinced more than a few times that a person was furiously angry with me when they weren’t the least bit bothered.

Of course, there’s the old standby fear: that I will eventually end up alone and I will run off all the people I love.

Fear doesn’t have to make sense to be real. I can know a fear isn’t rational and still have it control me. In fact, fear is always based in a lie that I choose to give power over my life.

The Bible says that there is no fear in love because perfect love casts out all fear. The more you know love, the less you are controlled by fear. The less power it has over you.

I have known nights when fear was in complete control and all I could do was whisper a “Father, please help.” I have known what it’s like to be wrapped up in Everlasting arms and swaddled in perfect love. I have known a perfect peace that settles my heart and makes the fears vanish.

That’s what I pray for you. That you would be so overwhelmed and filled with this Perfect Love that there would be no longer any room for fear to take hold. That you would feel God holding you close, feel His smile over you, hear Him calling you Beloved, and know that nothing can take you away from His love.

The old saying goes, “No Jesus, No Peace. Know Jesus, Know Peace.” I think I would amend it to say, “No Jesus, Know Fear. Know Jesus, No Fear.” The more you know and love Jesus and know how much He loves you, the less you have reason to fear.

That’s a good thing.

Thankful

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 6 Comments

A friend of mine is in his last few days of life. He has brain cancer and isn’t expected to live much longer. That got me thinking about my own life. I really have a lot to be thankful for (to use the words of an old Bing Crosby song).

1) I’m thankful that I woke up this morning. To most people, it’s a given, but I know that someone didn’t wake up this morning. So I thank God I did.

2) I’m thankful for good health. I won’t be competing in any triathlons any time soon or scaling Mount Everest tomorrow, but I am able to do pretty much what I want and get where I want to go.

3) I’m thankful for my family and friends who show me what love looks like and who are Jesus to me on a daily basis. I am better for all of you being in my life.

4) I’m thankful for music and the right song at just the right time that speaks to me when nothing else can.

5) I’m thankful for saving grace and for new mercies and endless second chances that never will run out.

6) I’m thankful for a Love that will not let me go, for the warm embrace of my Abba Father who roots for me and calls me Beloved and looks at me and sees what Jesus did for me and in my place.

7) I’m thankful that somewhere someone will read this and be reminded that God is still good and He still loves them and there’s one more reason not to give up or lose hope.

I challenge you to have your own list of what you’re thankful for. I challenge you not just to think about it, but write it out someplace where it’s a tangible reminder of the goodness of God.

I finally challenge you to live out of gratitude. Thankfulness is so counter-cultural that people can’t help but notice. Thanksgiving as a lifestyle is the best advertisement for Christianity there is and you just may be the only Jesus someone will ever see and the only Bible someone will ever read.

So give thanks.

What I Know For Certain

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I don’t know a lot. Shocker. There’s so much to learn already and new information pops up everyday. Old information changes and is rendered obsolete and it’s just plain hard to keep track. Which is why I read the comics page and the sports page.

I do know a few things that are going to be true tomorrow and the day after that and for as long as I live.

I’ve never ever seen a night that wasn’t followed by day. No matter how dark it gets, the sun is bound to come out soon enough.

I’ve never seen a storm where the clouds didn’t break and the sun didn’t come breaking through. Storms come, but those storms have an expiration date. Storms aren’t forever.

The best part is this.

God is the same through it all. The God over the night is also the same God over the day. The God who watches over you in the storm watches you in the sunshine.

The God who is with you as you stand by the deathbed of a loved one is the same God who will greet your loved one with open arms the very moment that person leaves this earth.

The God who saw you fall and saw your life break into a million pieces is also the God putting those pieces back together and will be the same God who looks at the finished you, better than new and a shining replica of Jesus.

I know this because I’ve been through a few storms and prayed through some dark nights. I’ve been afraid and ashamed and I’ve failed more times that I’ve gotten it right. I know for certain that God loves me the same as if I had never sinned or failed or let fear rule my heart. He loves me the same in the storm as in the sunshine and in the night as in the brightest part of the day.

That’s what I know for sure and that’s what I hold onto always.