“Lord, we come to You not because you are our last hope, but because You are our first love.
We’re not waiting to come to You only when we think there’s nothing else we can do. We’re coming to You *before we do anything at all* because waiting on You is *wisest* of all. We trust You to work all this out in Your good time — because that will be the best time, and You are only good and You hold all time. *Kneeling the most lets us stand the bravest.* Tonight we kneel and lay our painful problems in Your hands and thank You for the perfect peace You put in our hearts.
Lord, I confess that I only come to You when I need something. Often, You are my last resort. I acknowledge that when everything is going well, I simply don’t see my need for You. It’s only when life gets difficult and stressful that I finally manage to look up to You.
Thank You for being patient with me. You have shown me more mercy than I deserve. If You treated me the way I treat You most of the time, I probably wouldn’t be here. I’d definitely be a lot worse off than I am.
But Your word says that You are faithful even when I’m faithless. You continue to work in me even when I don’t work at all. You honor Your promise to complete what You started in me even when I make promises to You that I don’t keep.
I know that I can look back and see growth. I can see change. I can see that in the past, my lackadaisical faith wouldn’t have bothered me nearly as much as it does now. I can see that I am more committed to You than I was last year or in the last decade.
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like” (A W Tozer).
Most people have the idea that God is like us — only bigger, stronger, faster, smarter, etc. He’s like the advanced, idealized version of us. But He’s not.
A lot of us have probably fallen into the trap of thinking that God would never do or say something because we would never do or say that. That’s a dangerous theology that puts me as the standard by which God must abide instead of the other way around.
God is not me on steroids. God is not like me. God is completely other. Apart from God’s divine initiative in revealing Himself to us, we could never ever in a million lifetimes know Him. But He revealed Himself generally through creation and specifically through Jesus. One famous author and theologian once said that Jesus was God spelling Himself out in a language humanity could understand.
All this talk about how religion is bad and we just need to follow Jesus is true to a degree. It depends on how you define the word religion. If it’s a set of rules that you need to follow to get to God, then it’s bad. But if it’s a way of understanding God, then it’s a good thing.
Believing in God is essential, but what you believe about God is vital. If you sincerely believe wrong things about God that don’t line up with the God of the Bible, then you’re sincerely wrong. You’ve chosen to follow a god of your own devising instead of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Who we are depends a lot on what we believe about God as much as if we believe in God. How we view God says a lot about how we view ourselves and others.
“I want neither a terrorist spirituality that keeps me in a perpetual state of fright about being in right relationship with my heavenly Father nor a sappy spirituality that portrays God as such a benign teddy bear that there is no aberrant behavior or desire of mine that he will not condone. I want a relationship with the Abba of Jesus, who is infinitely compassionate with my brokenness and at the same time an awesome, incomprehensible, and unwieldy Mystery” (Brennan Manning).
Not every blog post will be a winner. Sometimes, there’s just nothing to write about. Or in my case, the ol’ noggin has shut down for the night. So you get a post like this.
I do think it’s important to fill at least part of your day with something that brings you joy. While it’s important to be aware of what’s going on in the world, it should become your whole day. Make time in your day for listening to music or going for a walk or simple sitting in silence and meditating on the goodness of God.
Also, you should periodically treat yourself to foods that you really like. And by periodically, I don’t mean periodically through the day, but every week or so. You don’t want to become diabetic (or pre-diabetic like me). As with most everything else, moderation is key.
It always helps to keep the big picture in mind. Sometimes, I get caught up in the minutae and forget that what I’m worrying over and obsessing about is finite and temporary. There’s no need to waste energy over something that you probably won’t remember a year from now.
It’s also helpful to keep a mindset of prayer throughout the day. That doesn’t mean you’re constantly in prayer, but as God prompts you through various events or people or memories, keep the conversation with God open.
And at the end of the day, it’s always nice to have a furry friend to come home to. In my case, it’s a very lovable tortoiseshell feline named Peanut, but you should have a dog or cat or hamster or something that will always be glad to see you when you walk through your front door.
Oh, and be sure to cultivate a grateful spirit. That goes a long way toward making your day better when you focus on the good and not the bad.
Today is Palm Sunday and marks the beginning of the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the week leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I’ve been here before, but I feel like so many times I’ve rushed to get through it to what’s next.
This time, I want to slow down a bit and sit under the cross. I want to be still long enough to hear God speak a word over me about what this week means for me and for all those who call on the Messiah out of a genuine faith. I want to be moved to tears and fully take in the price that Jesus paid for me.
I finished an incredible devotional by one of my favorite writers, Charles Martin. It’s called It Is Finished and spends 40 days walking the path that led from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, sparing no details and leaving no stone unturned. It was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, and I hope to read it again some day.
I want Easter to mean more than the Easter Bunny or Cadbury chocolate eggs (though I am very much a fan of both). I don’t want to look at the date on the calendar and miss the point of the day — Jesus who knew no sin became sin for me that I might become the righteousness of God in Christ.
I don’t want to be the same person in seven days as the person who is now writing these words. I want to be more like Jesus, more aware of the sacrifice He made, and more willing to count the cost and take up my own cross. I want to be more of a disciple and less of an admirer. I want to be more of a follower and less of a fan. I want to be a truly biblical Christian and not a watered-down, American Christian.
I’m thankful that God is far more patient with me than I am with Him and takes far more time with me than I ever have with Him. At this point, I say, “Lord, do whatever it takes to make me Yours, Your disciple, Your own. Have Your way in me. Amen.”
This year, I tried something new. I signed up through the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention to pray 15 minutes a day for Muslims during the season of Ramadan (February 28-March 30).
It was the first time I’d ever signed up to pray daily for any length of time. I quickly learned that 15 minutes of praying can seem like a loooong time when it’s just you trying to pray what’s in your head. Thankfully, the IMB posted daily reminders to pray with several prompts to guide my intercession. Plus, I found some other helpful websites to guide my prayer time.
Hopefully, this is not a humble brag. It should be something like if I can do this, so can you or anyone else. I believe that all of the greatest revivals in history began with people on their knees in prayer (or in my case laying in bed in prayer). I believe this time is no exception.
One particular website that caught my attention was from an organization called Missio Nexus. They have a radical prayer goal of seeing 10% of all the Muslims in the world come to saving faith in Jesus by 2028. By my reckoning, there are 1.8 billion Muslims in the world currently, so that would mean 180 million worshippers in heaven who formerly prayed to Allah. Or better yet, round that number up to 200 million. Can you imagine how amazing of an impact that would have on the entire world?
I hope every one of you will find a prayer passion, whether it be for an unreached people group or people from a different religion or even people whose paths you cross wherever you live, work, or play. It really does open your eyes to the great big world that exists outside of your and my needs and wants. Definitely keep praying for those needs and wants because God tells us to do that, but also be mindful of the Great Commission to take the gospel into all the world and the Revelation 5 scene with worshippers from every people group, language, continent, color, and nationality. That’s truly where God’s heart lies.
“It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom. But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely” (Galatians 5:19-23, The Message).
I think that says is all perfectly. Trying to live any other way than the way of Jesus is a facade. It’s like a carnival funhouse where things you encounter may be amusing, but none of it’s real. Everything is an illusion or a deception.
But that’s not how it is with God. What you see is what you get. Or sometimes, what you don’t see is what you get. It’s about trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse, as I heard it put one time. But it’s also living in the unshakable confidence that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God, that suffering is temporary, that the best really is yet to come.
The Christian life is really just a series of oases in the wilderness where we can rest and be refreshed. The wilderness is where we grow and learn. As much as we want our lives to be one continual oasis, God knows we’d never learn dependence on God that way. We’d never mature beyond baby believers. Plus, God is with us in the wilderness as He was with the children of Israel, leading the way the entire time.
Here’s my favorite lesson I’ve learned recently. Jesus + nothing else = everything. End of story.
I know I’ve probably posted this previously, but it’s still worth checking out. I remember distinctly being blown away by the radical sentiment of the author. I found out recently that he was a young pastor in Zimbabwe who was martyred for his faith and a little poem was found among his papers that went something like this:
“I’m a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed. My present makes sense and my future is secure. I’m done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded. I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by Holy Spirit power. My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is heaven. My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my guide is reliable and my mission is clear. I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary. I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus. I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He does come for His own, He’ll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be clear!”
One of the things God is reminding me lately is that there is such a thing as timely grace. I think most of us spend way too much time thinking about possible future scenarios involving us or our loved ones. Or in my case, sometimes obsessively thinking about these things.
It’s easy to get caught up in imagining what we would do if we lost the job or wrecked the car or had a terminal illness in the family. Usually those kinds of thoughts lead to great anxiety as we picture ourselves overwhelmed in such a scenario.
First of all, those what-if cases rarely ever happen. Second, we tend to leave God out when we bring anxiety into the picture where it’s just us trying to figure out what to do and managing it all by ourselves.
Most importantly, we forget one very vital piece of information. In my experience, God will often give you the grace to deal with any of these situations should they ever actually happen. But God doesn’t give you that grace ahead of time. It’s only at the exact moment you need it most that it comes.
Hebrews 4:16 says “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”.
The problem is that we want to be like Israel in the desert with the manna. We want to hoard and stockpile grace in case it might run out. We want plenty of grace in plenty of time to be prepared. But that’s now how God works.
God knows what we need when we need it. Faith means trusting in God’s timing as much as God’s provision. Seeing God come through in the clutch makes our faith stronger and reminds us that all things really do work together for good because God designed it that way.
“My faith demands that I face the uncertainty of the future in the confidence that in any meeting of affliction, I am held by the tether of God’s grace. My way is well known to my Master, and therefore I walk in confidence. No testing will come that will not be accompanied by sustaining grace. If I failed to believe that, I would be impoverished beyond measure and would deny the truthfulness and example of Scripture. God’s provision has been adequate in the past; it will be adequate in the future. The secret of our courage lies in our confidence that the future is controlled by the providence of a sovereign God” (James Means, A Tearful Celebration).
I saw this testimony on Facebook and I had to share. It’s the power of Jesus to save and transform anybody at any point to be a true disciple. I’m copying and pasting the post but also providing a link to the original post in case you want to check it out as well:
“I get a lot of messages from gay men and women asking me how I came out of homosexuality. Many of them tell me they want out of the lifestyle but they still feel sexually attracted to the same sex. What do I do they say and they all ask that same question.
There is no shame in asking those questions or feeling that way because in His time he will show you.
I didn’t want out of the gay lifestyle when Christ came to me. I was happy being gay. I had a boyfriend. I saw no need to change. Christ came to me while I was yet a sinner and began to deal with my heart FIRST. He came to me FIRST while I was living in my sin. I hadn’t repented or anything when he began to deal with my heart. That’s important to note. So many times we want people to repent at an altar in front of everyone and people don’t even know why they are doing what they are doing or why they are even repenting. As Christians we need to be sensitive to the needs of sinners.
When God began to deal with my heart I began to see in the Word of God where I was wrong about the way that I was living. I still felt gay but I began to read in the Bible things that I didn’t want to do…..BUT YET I began to follow what the Word said and NOT how I felt. And so I repented of my sins but at times I still felt gay.
If you will follow the process of Jesus Christ then he WILL change your life! God gave me a poweful revelation of the Love of God that immediately broke the chains that held me bound to that lifetsyle. I felt instant freedom but I still didn’t feel convicted about it.
After repentance I walked away from a lifestyle that I knew and loved and began to follow after a man that I didn’t know and his name was Jesus…..but still felt gay. I told God that if he would help me that I would never go back to that life and it’s now been 6 years now and I have never one time went back to it and I have never slept with a man since then. Never ever.
It was about 2 years into my walk with Christ after repentance that Jesus began to show me why I was wrong. I’ll never forget the day that conviction came to me over the lifestyle that I once lived. I felt so
ashamed that day. I cried like a baby. 2 years AFTER becoming a Christian Jesus Christ sent a strong conviction to me. Think about that. I felt so grieved that day knowing that I had grieved the heart of Christ with my old sinful lifestyle but it was 2 years later. Why are we rushing new converts?
I am free from that life today, thank you Jesus!!!
Here’s what I want to tell you today. Repent of your sins whatever they are and wait on the Lord. Do all that you know to do according to the Word of God. Don’t live by how you feel but rather by what the Word says and Jesus Christ will lead you into ALL truth.
Christ is a powerful process if you will just follow. He will deliver you in his time….not someone else’s. He has changed my life little by little by little. Not with BIG things but with the smallest things. He’s still changing my life today.
Today I am delivered. Today I am not gay. Today I don’t have the feelings that I used to have. I am free in my mind. I am so thankful to a God who has saved my soul from eternal fire.
Listen to me when you’re coming out of this lifestyle I want to be honest with you…..most Christians do not know how to help you. It’s no fault to them. They just don’t understand AT ALL. If you are putting your trust in man then you are going to be let down. I want to encourage you to TRUST in God and TRUST what the word of God says….with your whole heart. There are mean ministers who slam gay people for that sake of handclaps from the audience. I’ve been in those services. There are mean Christians who hate the way the way you are. There are mean people everywhere especially in the world. Don’t keep living like you are because someone was mean to you. You are seeking something else because when you lay your head on your pillow you feel deep down that something isn’t right.
When you start coming to church you’re doing to deal with all kinds of nonsense but let me tell you what else I found. I found a group of Christian people who know the power of God and how he changes lives. They have loved me while Christ was changing me. They have helped me more than I ever thought possible. You might be surprised who is sitting in your congregation who have been exactly where you are right now. The enemy wants to bring meaness to the forefront but the LOVE of God is the most powerful thing that there is! Jesus loves you even when others don’t. He died for YOU!
Be honest with God. Tell him exactly how you feel. Tell him that you still feel attracted to the same sex. Talk to God. He knows. He understands. Be honest with him but walk away from anything that doesn’t align to his word. Then give him time to bring you OUT of it.
I found out what coming out of the closet really means….it’s when I came OUT of the world and into His marvelous light!! When I came out of the world I became a new creature in Christ. Old things have passed away and ALL things have become new to me!
I was ‘trans’ formed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2) NOT ‘trans’ formed by mutilating certain body parts. Trans is a Christian word. We are transformed through the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Ghost will lead you into ALL truth! didn’t become gay overnight and I’m thankful that I serve a God who has given me space to make powerful changes in my life.
I am learning what it means to be a man….a Christian man…..because I used to feel like a woman.
“After centuries of handling and mishandling, most religious words have become so shopworn nobody’s much interested anymore. Not so with grace, for some reason. Mysteriously, even derivatives like gracious and graceful still have some of the bloom left.
Grace is something you can never get but can only be given. There’s no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth.
A good sleep is grace and so are good dreams. Most tears are grace. The smell of rain is grace. Somebody loving you is grace. Loving somebody is grace. Have you ever tried to love somebody?
A crucial eccentricity of the Christian faith is the assertion that people are saved by grace. There’s nothing YOU have to do. There’s nothing you HAVE to do. There’s nothing you have to DO.
The grace of God means something like: “Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are, because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It’s for you I created the universe. I love you.”
There’s only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you’ll reach out and take it.
Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too” (Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking).
I always like the acronym for GRACE – God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense.
That means it is undeserved.
It’s the flip side of mercy. If grace is getting what you don’t deserve, then mercy is not getting what you deserve. And salvation involves both.
As Christians we need to be sensitive to the needs of sinners.
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