thanksgiving

Word Now Breaking Heaven’s Silence

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“Bring your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
Word now breaking Heaven’s silence
Welcome to our world
Welcome to our world” (Chris Rice)

Maybe you’ve experienced silence recently. The kind of silence that is almost deafening and that pervades every part of you.

The silence of a friend who deserted and abandoned you and you’re still wondering why.

The silence of a parent who cut you off and doesn’t want anything more to do with you.

The silence of a prodigal son or daughter who, despite all your pleas and prayers, still won’t come home.

The silence of a spouse who decided you weren’t worth the effort anymore and left you.

The silence of a loved one who left you too soon and you had to say your final goobyes to a marble headstone.

The silence you feel in the middle of the night that keeps you awake with the fear that all that you are and have and do will never be enough and you will never be good enough for anyone, not even yourself. Much less God.

This Advent season, we celebrate the end of Heaven’s silence. For 400 years, God didn’t speak through prophets. For 400 years, the people waited and waited. Some lost hope. Some were barely holding on.

Then on a dark night in a remote village, a sound broke through the silence once and for all. It was the cry of an infant born to an infant virgin teenager in a backwoods village just south of Nowhere.

In that tiny cry, God was speaking to you, saying, “I’m here. I will be your God and you will be my people. I will never ever leave you or forsake you. I have set my affections on you and I will never take them away.”

It is the still small voice that speaks good things about you, that says that you are more than good enough– you are worth dying for. The voice that calls you Beloved. The voice of your Abba Father.

Remember this Christmas, we celebrate more than just a day. We celebrate the one event in history that changed absolutely everything. We celebrate the birth of hope that never dies, of joy that no one can take away, of peace nothing can shake, and of love that never lets you go or leaves you. We celebrate Jesus, the Word breaking Heaven’s silence.

Thoughts from a Good Conversation with a Friend Tonight

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I can’t remember who said it, but I love where I read that true friendship (or any other relationship born out of mutual love of Jesus) is where the Jesus in me recognizes and responds to the Jesus in you.

That’s what happened tonight. I met with a friend and we had really good conversation. It was not just information that got passed along. I think somewhere in the midst of all the spoken words, I found healing and I felt burdens slip away that I wasn’t even aware I had been carrying all this time.

There really is something beautiful about fellowship where we mutually encourage each other, pray for each other, carry each other’s burdens, and be strong where the other is weak. We pray for the other when the other can’t find words of their own.

Sometimes the only way you can love yourself and see yourself as you truly exist in God’s eyes is to have someone else see it in you. Sometimes, you never know how the small acts of kindness you do matter, and you may be completely unaware that you did anything at all, until someone else notices.

True friendships require that I am willing to take time I don’t have to spend with you. It means that I sacrifice convenience for the sake of Christlikeness in the other person. I can’t just be on the receiving end all the time. I must be willing to pour my life into someone else, too.

I am thankful for those small moments when I am comfortable with me and content with all that I have in my hands. I am thankful when I really see that I am far more blessed than all I could ever hope to deserve and all those obstacles are just more ways that God can bless me by showing Himself strong in my weakness.

Thank you, friend, for being Jesus to me tonight and showing me Jesus in myself. May everyone else you meet be as encouraged and blessed by your faithfulness to God as I was tonight.

Advent Thoughts

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I love Advent. Even though I grew up in a Baptist tradition that didn’t include Advent, I am so glad I have found the joy and anticipation that Advent brings. Christmas isn’t a day on a calendar or even a season; it’s an event that changed absolutely everything.

I love the fact that God Almighty became a fetus inside the womb of Mary. I love that He was born to Mr. and Mrs. Nobody in a barn trough and grew up in Nowhere and chose other nobodies and nowheres to be His disciples and first missionaries. I, too, once was a nobody and an outsider who didn’t fit in. In some ways, I still am.

I love the fact that Jesus walked in my shoes and felt all my feelings and saw the same kinds of troubles and pain that I see. I love the fact that He walked my road perfectly and offered up to God for me the kind of obedience I could never even dream of, much less carry out.

I love the fact that God still has a heart for the orphan and the widow, the homeless and the outcast, the broken and the ignored, and all those who don’t fit in anywhere. I love the fact that God has His affections set on me and an loved me with an unquenchable love that I can’t lose or destroy or run off.

I love the fact that while people are human and will eventually fail me and I will fail them, my Jesus never will. While everyone I know, including me, is fickle and changeable as the wind, Jesus is the same in all my yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows, and forevers.

I love the idea that we are celebrating this Christmas season the impossible becoming possible, the unthinkable becoming reality, and all lost causes finding hope again. I love to think that God did this to show that yes, Love would go that far.

I love most of all that today after I forgot again the reason for this Season, You reminded me. You always do. I’m always running away and You’re always waiting for me with open arms. I’m always breaking promises and being weak and denying You, but You are always ready and more than willing to forgive and to finish this great work You’ve started in me.

These and so many other reasons are why I love Advent.

Unclean

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For the better part of two days, something that Mike Glenn said at Kairos has been running around in my brain.

He related the story of how God showed Peter a vision in which a whole assortment of food came down from heaven and God said, “Eat.” Peter said, “But that’s unclean and against my religion (I’m paraphrasing a bit here).

God said, “What I have made, don’t you dare call unclean.”

Did you catch that? Let me put it this way. “God said, “I made you, and what I have made, don’t you ever call unclean or ugly or second-rate or worthless or no good. Don’t you dare put down the one I made, because when you do, you’re insulting Me.”

God made you. That gives you great worth. After you fell into sin and brokenness, He redeemed you. That makes you priceless.

Hear this. You are not what you own. You are not what you do. You are not what you drive or where you live or what you wear.

You are not the names people call you or the names you call yourself. You are not your past or your failures or your shortcomings.

You are not your usefulness or your abilities or your net worth or your talent level. None of these things.

You are who God says you are. You are His child, Ransomed, Redeemed, Living Temple, Saint, Saved One, and, my favorite, Beloved.

I love what Henri Nouwen says. Prayer is listening to the One who says good things about you. The One who calls you Beloved and invites you to His lap time and time again.

The Creator God who made all that is knows your name. He knows every deep, dark secret you keep and every promise broken and every lie told and every intention unfulfilled.

And He loves you anyway.

Because of what He did sending Jesus to the cross for you in your place, you are holy, righteous, blameless, innocent, perfect, and His forever.

You are unclean no more. You are the BELOVED!

Going Deeper

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I’m not one to call myself a prophet or to claim I receive prophetic words from God. I think He speaks to me, like He did today, but I’m not the one to judge whether what He said to me was prophecy. The word was “Go deeper.”

That’s what I believe the Spirit of God is telling the people of God: “Go deeper.”

You can stay in the shallow end of your faith and stay comfortable and have one foot in the kingdom of God and one foot in the flashy, multimedia world. You can stay where the water is only ankle-deep and where what you say doesn’t have to match up with how you live.

But You will always live defeated. You will always be a victim and never a victor. Your worship will always be dead, your prayers cold, your Bible just words on a page. You will always be ruled by fear and doubt. You will always give in to temptation and never see deep healing in the deepest , darkest places of your heart.

Going deeper means that maybe you have to sacrifice the hip and trendy crowd for the homeless and the broken crowd. You may stop hanging out with the oh-so-cool artsy crowd and go to the outcasts and the hurting and the shamed.

Going deeper means trading in a feel-good sentimental kind of love for a selfless sacrificial kind of love. It means that you give without any expectations of ever getting back. It means you are willing to lay down your life in a million tiny deaths each day.

Going deeper means that you say YES to Jesus, no matter what. You go where He says go, you give what He says give, you love who He say to love, and you do what He calls you to do.

I will be the first to admit that I have been a casual fan of Christ far more than I have been a follower. But that’s what going deeper means– to stop being a sideline fan who roots for the Home Team and be a follower who gets your hands and feet dirty and messy, but find out that those are the very hands and feet of Jesus touching, reaching, and healing a broken world through you.

This isn’t my normal positive, encouraging blog. This is my blog that says that if you want to know more of this love that is deeper than your sin, wider than your understanding, and higher than your imagination, you have to surrender.

As always, I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody who can save anybody. I’m just one beggar telling other beggars where to find the Bread of Life. I’m a ragamuffin who has joy because my Abba Father calls me His beloved.

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

A Broken Record

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Sometimes, I feel like a broken record. Not the kind like when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record. I’m talking about old-school vinyl records that when scratched would play the same line over and over again.

I’m like that. I’m a broken record. I’m broken. We all are.

As long as I live, I will never stop telling anyone who will listen or read about how God can find anyone at anyplace at anytime, no matter how far gone, and rescue them.

I will never stop being thankful for the grace that saved me and saves you and that never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever fails.

I will never cease to be amazed at the Love that overcame every obstacle, every stronghold, every enemy, even me, to get to me and to win my heart. A Love that won’t let go or give out or give in or give up.

I will never change the message that I have been trusted with– that Jesus died to save sinners, of which I am one of the worst– even if it costs me friends, comfort, security, jobs, health, or even my life.

I hope I sound like a broken record. I hope I sound like I’m stuck on the same line in the song that God is singing to His creation. That no matter what you’ve gone through, no matter what you’ve done or what’s been done to you, Jesus can find you and rescue you and heal you and make you beautiful again.

In those moments when you feel alone, when you feel those friends have abandoned you, when you feel that no one can possibly understand or know what you’re going through, Jesus knows.

He knows you better than you know yourself. And He loves you just the same. If you are the one person who gets that deep down in your soul and to the very core of your being, then all the 99,999 times I have repeated this chorus will have been worth it.

Thank you for faithfully reading these blogs. It means a lot that you care what I have to say. More than that, it means that hopefully, God will use these words to remind you of who you are and Whose you are and just how good He is.