Lives In The Balance

The ultimate purpose of obedience is obedience to God.  Obedience to human authority can get in the way of that.

Parents can be unreasonable, teachers can be demanding, coaches can be harsh, law enforcement can be power-hungry, employers can be self-serving and unfeeling.  All can be unloving.

God is none of these. 

When God commands you how to be or how to act or what to say, it is always in and for your best interest. God doesn't need your obedience to prove His power or to exalt His status.  His righteous omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence don't need your obedience to be validated.  

It is your heart that needs the validation of God.  Listen carefully and respond quickly to His voice. Listen for how He expresses His love, how He speaks to your heart, how He calls you to Love, how He commands your strength and courage. 

Respond in Obedience.  And respond as soon as you can. 

Your life is at stake, so are the lives of those around you.

‘ “Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; and call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”  A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.” ’                   Isaiah 40:1-3.

The Give And Get of Respect

Obedience. Now there's a word we love to hate.  It sounds so demeaning to our American ears. 'Who are you to tell me what to do?'  'I'm my own boss!'  Somehow we have grown to believe that obedience reduces our personhood. 

Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Obedience to the authority above you—parents, teachers, coaches, law enforcement, employers—will have a direct impact on the quality of your life. 

Obedience doesn't mean mindless subservience, it means thoughtful and intentional respect.

Healthy authorities will build your character as you follow their lead. Unhealthy authorities will build your character as you determine how to respect their position while courageously maintaining your own character.

Respect is like love:  The best way to get it is to first give it, and you give it not because of who the other person is, but because of who you are. 

'(Jesus) emptied Himself, taking on the form of a bond-servant, being made into the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He emptied Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.'     Philippians 2:7-8

Small Seeds, Big Harvests

Great things have small beginnings. 

Every human life starts with the union of the smallest human cell and the largest human cell. The journey of thousand miles begins with the first step. The greatest of relationships begin when someone makes a first, maybe tentative, move outside of their comfort zone. 

Your restoration to God starts when you make the simple move to open your heart to Jesus.  That’s when your life really begins. 

So where can You make a small move today that will have a big impact in the future?  Who can you speak words of encouragement to?  Who needs your help in bearing a crushing burden?  Who needs a smile or small acknowledgement from you? 

Who needs your words and works of compassion?  Who needs the authenticity of your caring touch?

There are no small acts of obedience to God.  Listen closely for His still, small voice as He moves you to action.  Your small act of love may be just the ticket to create a better future for someone near you.

Jesus said 'If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain 'Move from here to there' and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you'.   Matthew 17:20

Don’t Just Do Something—Stand There!

Be there. That is the most important thing you can do when someone is hurting. Just be there.

Whether they're hurting because of the sickness or death of a loved one, the sickness or death of a relationship, or some other personal crisis—even a crisis of their own making—your presence can lift them up. Your connection to them might just be the difference between life and death. 

You might have words of comfort or you might comfort them with the silent language of compassion.  Either way, 'being there' is likely to get you way outside of your comfort zone.  Do it anyway. 

No one is designed to carry the burdens of life alone; we are designed to support each other through the valleys of life.  

And as you bear others' burdens remember Jesus is the ultimate burden-bearer.  There is no burden you bear—whether you bear it personally or vicariously—that Jesus will not carry with you.  

'Bear one another's burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.’     Galatians 6:2

Transform Today. Transform Eternity

I was born in a world at war. So were you.  We were born into dysfunctional families, broken communities, and warring countries. 

It was no different for Jesus.  His world was filled with political oppression, His immediate family was struggling and isolated, His very life was threatened from the moment of birth.  

It is so easy to let the brokenness of the world around us shake our faith in who God is and what He's doing.  Even if we aren't personally exposed to the brokenness, we are constantly reminded of it by the various news and social media. 

Remember that Jesus does not spare Himself from the creation that humanity has corrupted.  Jesus steps down into our earthly pain and violence and seeks to heal and cleanse us in the midst of our trauma. He stepped into human history 2,000 years ago. Even more, He steps into your world today, to heal you, to protect you, to direct you. 

Today.

Take hold of His power and join Him in transforming the day before you.  Let His kingdom come, let His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. In you. 

‘Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried, yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.’         Isaiah 53:4-5

Finding Is Just the Beginning

And what do you do with Jesus when you find Him?  Do you treat Him as an acquaintance?  As a friend?  As a really cool teacher?  As a life-coach?

Or do you treat Him as the Very Essence of the Living God?  Do you bow your body and your ego in His presence—not because He needs it—but because your soul does?

When your soul encounters the Very Essence of the Living God, the only proper response is to be comprehensively overwhelmed by His unspeakable and inexpressible and incomprehensible overwhelmingness. 

Yeah—respond to Jesus like that.  And let His inexpressible and overwhelming presence transform and empower the depths of your soul and heart.  

Yes, worshipping the Living God with the totality of our being is the only appropriate way to respond to His Presence.  But Jesus doesn’t leave it there.  He commissions us as His sons and daughters.

Let’s start today with His grace and mercy and then continue living out the authoritative power of His love.

Focus Scripture:  Jesus said 'I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  I will give to the one who thirsts from the springs of the water without cost.  He who overcomes will inherit these things and I will be His God and he will be My son.' Revelation 21:6-7

Finding Jesus

How far would you go to find Jesus?  What's He worth to you?

Would you undertake a journey of mystery, peril, and the unknown to find Him?  Or would you only be interested if the path to Jesus is easy and predictable?  

You probably invest considerable time and energy finding the right career, the right romance, the right car, the right house in the right neighborhood.  But what is the righteousness of Jesus worth to you?

The Good News is that Jesus isn't hard to find—He's not hiding out.  The other good news is that He was looking for you long before you were looking for Him.  You don't reach out to God, you reach back. 

Today, seek Jesus with your whole heart and mind and soul and strength.  Put down your cell phone and close your daily planner and open your heart to Jesus.  Cast your fear aside and run to Jesus.  His arms are wide open to receive you. 

Then see where He takes you.  See what adventures and wonders and challenges await.

Focus Scripture:  'Simon Peter answered Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We have believed and come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” '  John 6:68-69

You Are Loved

You are loved.  Simple.  Profound.  Mysterious.  Deep truths are like that.

You are loved.  A truth so simple, it’s hard to believe; so profound, it’s easy to overlook; so mysterious, it’s tempting to dismiss.

You are loved.  Stop for a moment.  Let this eternal truth sink in.  Breathe it in, let it invade every cell in your being.  It might be the most important thing you do.  Ever.    

You are Loved.  At our core we know we need it, and at our core we know we don’t deserve it.  So we resist being loved.  We are so wounded we deny we need love.  We are so control-focused we don’t want the vulnerability of receiving love.  We are so drenched in our weak­nesses that we feel unworthy of love.  We are so fear-driven we insulate our hearts from love.

Of all the powers known to man: money, political power, physical prowess, mental acuity, and sexuality, only love has the power to transform you.  But there seems to be a growing shortage of love these days . . . . so much judgement, so much conflict, so much uncertainty, so much focus on our own shortcomings and failures.  It’s hard not to take the negativity personally; hard not to let increasing isolation weaken the core of your heart.

We all seek the love we know we are incomplete without.  Maybe there are many who love you, or maybe you think that no one does.  Either way, I happen to know the truth. 

I happen to know that there is Someone who loves you—the Whole you.  There is Someone who loves you when you’re weak or tempted or empty or rebellious; Someone who loves you for who you are, not what you can do for them; Someone who loves you when all other loves have faded away; Someone who loves you at all times and in all circumstances; Someone who crafted your heart for the fullness of love that only He can bring. 

That Someone is Jesus.

Let the unconditional love of Jesus heal your heart and fuel your courage.  Let the truth that you are loved eternally and completely by the Living God soak into the deepest reaches of your body and soul.  You need to know that the intense and personal love of Jesus will sustain you through the toughest times. 

You are loved.  It doesn’t mean that you’re perfect or even near where Jesus wants you to be yet.  It means He has created you with purpose and He has great pleasure in the man you are and in the man you are becoming. 

Let His enduring and perfect love envelop you.  Let the love of Jesus give you the power to move from the pain of your past and present to the freedom of your future.

The LORD said ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness’  Jeremiah 31:3

The King of Hearts

What rules your heart?  Success? Sex? Thrills? Alcohol?  Money?  Video games?  Possessions?  Caffeine?  Chocolate?  Cars?  Fears?  Past mistakes and regrets?

Maybe a better question is 'Who rules your heart?'  A parent? A boss? A teacher? A friend? A lover?  A spouse?

Your heart is supposed to be Free. Your heart is not designed to be ruled by anything or anyone . . . . except the Living God. 

But God doesn't want to rule your heart for some arbitrary or self-serving reason.  God wants to rule your heart because He is the loving Designer who created it.  And as the Designer of your heart He knows what will bring you ultimate fulfillment, not just temporary pleasure.  He alone knows how to infuse you with deep purpose, not just meaningless activity.  

God alone knows how to maximize the life and joy in your heart.  He is the one who knows how to heal your heart when it's broken, comfort your heart when it's hurting, and complete your heart with what it's missing. 

As we enter a new year, trust God with your heart, your Whole heart.  Let Him in every part.  Let Him see every weakness.  Let Him know every pain.  Let Him heal every wound.  Let the light of His Presence cast out every darkness. 

Let Jesus rule your heart and He will fulfill your deepest and best longings.

Focus Scripture:  'The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall praise Him. The LORD is their strength, and He is a saving defense to His anointed.'  Psalm 28:7-8