It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV

I don’t know about you, but I know that every time my husband and I are on a rocky road, I always think he’s out to get me. I always think he’s playing for the other team and I somehow believe that it is his goal to destroy me.

So what do I do? I fight back.

Isn’t that what Satan wants? He wants us to fight back, to fight against the one person we promised forever to. How easy a task it is to take down a whole family by bringing down a  marriage.  It’s a perfect plan….

except for the fact that I’m not falling for it anymore.

I’ve made a commitment to myself, to my husband and to God that I would start to treat my husband like the man deserves to be treated. How absurd is it that I speak nicer to our male friends than I do to my husband? How ridiculous that I don’t trust my husband as much as I trust a friend.

Dear Satan, you cannot have my marriage. I know you want it, but I want it more. I know you think you’re so smart and you know which buttons to push, but my God is stronger and he is ready and able to stand with me against you. So take your toys and get out of my sandbox!

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:12-13 NIV

Stop fighting back.
Stop hurling insults back at those who insult you.
Stop wishing they would go away.

I wonder how many of us consider the possibility that the person who gives us the most grief about our faith was put there so we could receive this blessing? I wonder how often we realize that we are fulfilling scripture when we are bold enough for the insult hurlers to notice us. I wonder what we miss out on when we fight back to show this world that we will not be stepped on.

So, starting today, I encourage us all to stop fighting back. We look just as bad as they do when we rant and rave and stop and yell and scream. We take on all the characteristics of the world when we fight back in a battle we have no way of winning. We’ve all been there, we all know the battles of which I am speaking.

Lord, have mercy on me as I learn this awful trait called patience. Help me learn to keep my mouth shut when I cannot win lest I incur additional damage on our faith. God, lead me in the path to this blessing. Teach me to rejoice in the persecution. 

You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. Matthew 5:5 MSG

Today’s teenagers face some crazy stuff. I don’t remember it being that hard when I was growing up. There were drugs, but not like there are today. There was violence, but not like there is today. Growing up school was tough, but now, it’s akin to sending your child to war everyday.

But through the ages, one pursuit remains: the quest for an identity.

We want to know who we are, what we’re worth and what we’re made of.
We will seek these answers tirelessly, always seeking, always trying, always testing.
to find out
who
we
are.

You’ll try your whole life to live up to a photoshopped image instead of being happy with the features God wanted you to have.

You’ll try your whole life to work harder and longer to give things to your kids when all they want is you to come to their game.

You’ll try your whole life to be more, be better, accumulate more items than those around you.

Teenagers, if I could only tell you one thing, I would let you know that you will chase this need for an identity, this requirement for inclusion all the years of your life until you get to a point where you realize none of it mattered. The only problem is that this realization usually happens at the end of your life. It usually takes people a lifetime of searching to realize that all the stuff you thought mattered has no real value in the world. All that time wasted; for nothing. Time that never grows back discarded in a quest that was meaningless from the start.

Save yourselves the trouble and find your worth in Jesus. Life a life worthy of calling yourself HIS son or daughter. Everything else that matters will fall into place.

Father God, bless these children as they blossom into adulthood. Create in them a sense of accomplishment, a sense of purpose and a sense of belonging that cannot be taken away.

May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds’, so my hand will not touch you. 1 Samuel 24:12:13 NIV

If everyone in the history of anyone had a right to kill someone, David had the right to kill Saul. Saul pursued David for 14 years. Because God blessed David and rejected Saul, the bitterness in Saul’s heart ran deep for David.  Even though Saul’s daughter married David and David’s best friend was Jonathan, Saul’s son, the king still wanted the anointed boy dead.

Because David reminded Saul of his failures.

Because David reminded Saul of all that he lost.

Because Saul knew he would never, ever be like David.

So, for 14 years, David had to run and hide and allow others to help hide him from the madman who was once his mentor. So, when they came to the cave at the same time, David stood quiet in the darkness, having access and opportunity and justification to kill this man and still he allowed him to live.

David told Saul that even though he had the right, he would not indulge in vengeance. David will not allow himself to be defiled by giving into his selfish need to extinguish his problem for good.

Instead, David showed grace. He showed mercy and he allowed Saul to live.

When was the last time you or I took the high road when we were 100% justified to take vengeance on someone who wronged us? When was the last time we showed grace instead of harsh bitterness toward our opponents in life? When was the last time we turned the other cheek?

God, this little verse speaks volumes to us. What we feel is our right is really a moment that we can shine for you. If instead we showed grace instead of taking our well deserved vengeance on someone who has wronged us, we could show them you and not us. God, work on me until I get this. Show me how to put my bitterness and anger aside.

“All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:478 NIV

When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” 1 Samuel 17:23 NIV

What is it about siblings that make them see the worst in us…or us see the worst in them? When I was young, my brother and I fought like cats and dogs; it made my mother crazy. Our whole childhood lives people who would babysit us would say, “I’ll take her but not him” or, “I’ll take him but not her.” No one wanted to watch the two of us together . We were that bad.

And, unless I’m crazy, that’s how 9 out of 10 families were.

David had been anointed. God has passed over all the other brothers in Jesse’s house and now they were just waiting for the moment David was crowned king.  A battle ensued in the meantime and Jesse sent David with food for his brothers. And, instead of being grateful for the bread and cheese David brings, Eliab, the eldest, takes this opportunity to jab at his brother. Even though God himself picked David, the brother still picks at him with child-like declarations.

This was to be one of the first battles God puts David through preparing him for king-ship.  God was molding David, teaching him that not everyone will see him for who he is. David needed to learn that no matter how he acted, people would always question his motives.

We’re a lot like that too. As we walk this walk, living for Christ, there will always be people who question our motives, who hurl insults at us insisting we work on our own behalf and not on behalf of the living God.  Perhaps God is molding us, getting us ready for something more, something bigger and we have a lesson to learn in humility and in grace. Maybe God is building us up for a bigger battle against a bigger giant.

Lord, you took this boy and anointed him King and still his brothers picked on him like the little brother that he was. God teach us, like you taught David, how to stand in the midst of diversity and hold our ground in grace and in love.

So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered, “but he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” I Samuel 16:11-12 NIV

Surely it had to be one of the eldest sons. Perhaps the tall one, the handsome one, maybe the smart one.

No, it was none of these.

God once again chose the one we all least expected… especially Jesse.

Jesse was so sure little David was not the one, he didn’t even bother bringing him in from the field.
Why, Jesse thought, would you ever pick the runt of the litter when the stallions are before you?

And that’s just what God did.

and once he chose David, once he placed his hand on David’s life, nothing was the same.

Everything David touched, everything David tried, all David’s works prospered.

and David knew it – he recognized that this gift was from God and he praised him for it. He worshiped his God when no one else did. He forged that relationship with his Father in heaven when none of the other brothers bothered to.

David knew God had great plans for him and once he knew this, he lived like it.

God, my prayer today is that one person who struggles with their identity or their purpose or their worth hears these words and is fortified by your hand in their life. God I pray for you to work in these lives and to show yourself so they know you are there and love them.

For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king. 1 Samuel 15:23 NIV

See, here’s the thing. When God calls us to do something, be something, live something….

he kinda expects us to do it.

God anointed Saul –  he called him out and set him apart.
God expected great things from Saul. God expected Saul to do crazy things like
obey
follow
lead
learn
pray
give

and instead he
gloated
reviled in himself
made statues to honor himself
and, worst of all
specifically disobeyed what God told him to do.

And there’s a part of me that thinks all the things he did could have been overlooked, the way they’re overlooked for you and me…
but the whole specifically disobeying God thing… that’s the kicker.

What choice does God have when we stick our thumb up at him? What choice does he have but to take his hand off our life?

God rejected Saul; a man he had once anointed – set apart for greatness.
What then is in store for you and me when we knowingly and willingly go against the things God has called us to do?

Father, I pray for your hand to be upon me all the days of my life. I pray that I always heed your words and always do your will for my life. God help me choose the right path.

and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 NKJV

My girlfriend just had a great big brain tumor removed. My 14-year old son came with me to sit at the hospital during the surgery, because as he put it, “I love her more than you do, I’m coming!”

I fretted a little, because, well, brain surgery is a little tricky - it’s the end all-be all of hard stuff. You know the saying, no matter what ‘it’ is, it’s not as hard as brain surgery.  Plus, who knows what’s going to happen. I wanted to brace him, shield him from anything that could have happened to this woman he loves so so so dearly. As two hours turned into nearly six, I’d be lying if I said I was doing anything but beginning to panic.

Then I saw it.  My boy had a hold of something. He had that peace that surpasses understanding that we always talk about.  He wasn’t worried. He knew (really really knew) that God had her in his hands that day in a way I could not grasp a hold of.  He surprised me with the strength he pulled from knowing God had her back. He told me, “Mom, God isn’t going to let anything happen to Tammy today.” My boy tuned in and knew.

My teenager blew me away and taught me about God, probably without even knowing it. He taught me that to truly live in peace, we have to truly lean on his grace.  God will do what God will do, but my kid knew and trusted that this very day, God was present and aware and answering every prayer and petition for a successful surgery. God came through. Why would I ever have doubted?

Father, the reasons I have to thank you for this child of mine are endless. Today I thank you for his faith. I thank you that it is stronger than mine and that he is strong enough to hold me up with him. God, bless him as he grows into a man of God, living to serve you. Father thank you for the successful surgery for my dear friend. Thank you for her love for my boy and their bond that makes my heart melt. And thank you, dear Lord, for teaching me what it means to really need to lean on you.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NIV

Do you believe it?

really really really believe it?

Because if you don’t, the rest of the story doesn’t matter.

Really.

If God’s word is only true sometimes, then the book doesn’t work.
because it’s
infallible.
unalterable.
undeniable.
it is truth and light and life.

and if the first line is a bunch of junk, why read on? Why bother?

Our faith is based upon the fact that God is alive and his words breath life.
so, how could that be if they aren’t true?

So, I ask, do you believe it?

I believe it. I don’t have to see it or touch it or feel it to know
that God created….

all of it.

 God how to we get past the question that begins with “what if” – how do we teach others that all of the book is true and that it is a hard book and that it is not a politically correct book and that it is a book of truth, discipline and lessons, filled with grace, bound by mercy and provided in love. God, give your children the boldness to believe Genesis 1:1, for without it, John 3:16 is meaningless.

So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen. Matthew 20:16 NKJV

I’m know around my house as “little miss gotta have it, gotta have it now”

and I come by this name honestly. Once I decide I want something, it pretty much needs to be a straight line from A to B for me to get it.

I wonder if things would be different if we lived our faith like this? If we took the Great Commission like this? That once we set our minds to it, nothing got in our way…

Do we not do it because it’s not a shiny piece of technology or a cool pair of shoes?
Do we not do it because it’s something we can’t grab onto?
or, if we’re honest, do we admit it’s because it’s hard to live completely sold out every single day? It’s hard to not have some down time, some time to ourselves to do with as we please.

But then I wonder, who’s missing out on the word of God and the love of God while I’m doing something else? How many people do we miss when our priorities get out of whack?

God, I’m so busy, every single day. There are days I hardly have enough time to get into your Word or pray for my family. God keep my priorities straight. Help me glean where I need to so I always have time for someone who needs you.

 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 NIV

I know what the Word says. I know what it means. I know what I’m supposed to do and how I’m supposed to act and what I’m supposed to not do. I know where I’m supposed to stand.

Then why is it so stinkin hard sometimes? Why do we constantly get in our own way?

I know Jesus is the light of the world, why do I hesitate to tell other people?
I know following him is the only way out of darkness, yet I still insist on lighting my own torch now and then.

and I regret it, every single time.

because I know I’m wrong and I know it’s not the way I’m supposed to do things, not the way I’m supposed to walk this journey.

But for some reason, my stubborn head wants to do things my way.
and my way never works.
it’s never the right decision
it’s never the right words
it’s never the right intentions or motives.

I’m always thinking of myself and not my brother or sister when I get in my own way. That doesn’t work.

Father God teach me to live by your will always and never mine. Teach me to notice when I’m getting in my own way so I can stop and turn to you. We both know that I’m not going to advance the kingdom on my own merits.

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. James 5:7 NIV

No matter how hungry the farmer is, he cannot harvest his crop until it grows to maturity. Wanting or wishing a plant to grow will never make it grow. He must wait, even through excruciating hunger and need, for harvest time.

We, as brothers and sisters in Christ, need to remember to be patient, through all things, so that we can perform in God’s time, not our own. What good are our works if they are ours and not God’s. Learning to become completely dependent on God and his will is what we should be striving for, not the end result, not the harvest. Our job is to do what God tells us, the rest is up to Him.

Lord God, teach us to listen and wait in you. Teach us to reach for your word and not our own. Teach us to lean on your understanding and not our own. Father, move in our lives so we do your will and not ours.

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.John 10:28-30NIV

O, I love
love
love
love
love
love this verse!

I love because I know I am His. I know I am a daughter of the King. I know that not only do I belong to Him, but no one can take me away from Him.

I know, because I can feel it in my heart. People ask how I can blindly trust a god I can’t see. Phooey I say. I feel him, I see him, I know he is here. I know he is with me just as I know my husband is here, just as i know my children are here.

God is real if you let him be real.

God held you in his hand, named you and then gave you to Jesus. That part blows me away….because I can feel it. I am just as sure that Jesus leads my life as I am about anything else in my life.

It’s true that we live in bondage to this world and it’s not until we lay our lives down that we really live, that we’re really free. It sounds so strange and it even looks strange to write it down, but it is true and it is real.

Will you let God be real in your life today?

Father, I feel you and I know you love me. I know you’ve given me to Jesus and I know he is real in my life. Thank you God for loving me enough to wait for me. Father, it’s my prayer today that one person reading today’s devotion will understand you, maybe for the first time, and seek you.

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Philippians 4:11 NIV

• an uneventful dinner at home
• an overtime shift
• kind words of encouragement from a friend
• a surprise hug from one of the kids

These are not life’s make-it-or-break-it moments, but I have learned that the little things, the small blessings, are what get us through everyday with smiles and content hearts.

Were you passed up on that promotion, again? Be thankful for the job you do have. Are you upset that gas is $4/gallon? Be thankful it’s not $5.

Seeing the bright side of a situation does not come naturally for many. But if you’re one of those people, you have a choice to make.

Are you content with being upset and miserable all the time or do you want to learn to be content with what you do have, right here, right now? What good is any of it if your heart is sour over petty nonsense? Why live one more day looking at the glass, mad at it for only being half empty.

Your half empty is someone else’s brimming over.

Life is relative.

Life it; you only get one.

Lord, today I am praying for all those who see the glass half empty. Lord, I pray that through your love they see how blessed they are with every small victory. Father, teach those who love you to be happy, joyful, content in you, for nothing else matters.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34 NIV

The day I wrote this devotion, I was sitting in a chair, feeding our new grandson.
and I was full of angst.
because this was the same time I would normally be writing.
and, to my complete dismay, I wasn’t writing.

and, I had canceled several plans for this particular weekend because, once again, I had over-scheduled myself.

even though I was doing something so much more meaningful at the moment, spending time with the baby, I was getting all worked up because I wasn’t doing the pre-scheduled activity I was supposed to be doing.

I was stealing my own joy.

and please please please understand I know how hard it is.
I am a woman of lists and scheduled and calendars.
I run a tight ship; and an even tighter schedule.
I thrive on crossing items off my list. I enjoy marking calendar items “finished”

Do you hear what I’m saying? I’m missing the whole point of life.
I’m forgetting to live my life right now. I’m rushing through everything I’m doing, even as I write this, for sake of the clock and the next item on my list.

I don’t want to live this way; do you?

Father God, hear my heart. Teach me Lord to live in this moment. Teach me to love where I am instead of waiting for where I’m going next.  Father, so many of us are dealing with this issue, it’s an epidemic and we don’t even realize it because we’re too busy to stop and see it.

Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Luke 5:27-28 NIV

We talk about it all the time
in church
in small groups
at home.

What it takes to follow Jesus.

and from our first-world living rooms with our first-world lives we say we follow Jesus
as we’re watching shows He would not watch,
as we write checks for things He would not pay for,
and drive our kids to places He would not send them.

but we follow Him….
….
every Sunday at 9:00….
….and some Wednesdays at 6:30 ….
we’re right there with Jesus.

That’s not what he meant.

Do I think that everyone has to sell off everything and live homeless in the woods to love Jesus, no, of course not. He uses all of us right where we are. But I do think we have to be careful because all the distractions get the better of us
every
single
time.

and if you’re one of the 14 people on the planet that can shut your eyes to distraction, hallelujah… I’m not talking to you today.
I’m talking to the rest of us who say:
I’ll read the bible after my show;
I’ll give more once I get a raise;
I’ll serve when I have more time.

The time is now; we are never ever promised tomorrow. What will you do if you get to heaven and all you have to say is,

“I was going to…… but I ran out of time….”

Father God instill in us a sense of urgency, an urgency to do the things you’ve called us to do right now where we are today. Father, we can all wait until tomorrow, but someone is dying in the meantime, without you.

What do you think?

As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. Ecclesiastes 10:1 NIV

As believers in Jesus Christ and all he stands for, we know the world is watching us. Because we proclaim to the world the good news of the gospel and in that book it tells us how to live.  All those who reject its word sit and wait
and wait
and wait
for us to screw up.

It validates their way of life. If a finger can be pointed at us, they don’t have to change their ways.

Just a little folly (insert the word stupid-ness here if you wish) outweighs wisdom and honor. Just a little mis-step, a little mistake, a momentary lapse of judgement on our part is all some people need to validate their notion that God is not needed in their lives.

It is a had lesson to learn – knowing that if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior that we can do no wrong, even when we screw up, - yet we have to do everything we can to not screw up so those who don’t know him yet might not turn away before ever meeting Jesus.

Our words and our actions matter to man.

Lord, keep my path straight. Help me to not stray from one side to the other. I know that people who don’t know you are watching me, life vultures, waiting for me to fall.  Keep me firm Lord, keep me centered.

How do you walk the tightrope between being blameless before God and watched by man?

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Romans 2:1 NIV

Have you ever heard the phrase that the faults we point out in others are usually the faults we see in ourselves?

Yes, we have a responsibility within the church to hold other believers accountable for their actions. We do not, however, have the authority to pass judgement on them, or, as God says, we ourselves will be judged as well.

There is usually no reason to make the leap from holding someone accountable to judging. God says don’t do it; so… don’t do it. Who wants to have a finger pointed in their face and be told how bad they are? I don’t, even if I deserve it. The church loses more people by the stupid things we do to each other and countless never come to know Jesus just by watching us interact with each other.

We’re called to love. Love our brothers, our neighbors, each other. You can love in accountability and you cannot love in judgement.

And, no, we do not have the ability, the authority or the right to judge those who do not believe. Period. Our job is to love them and let Jesus work on their hearts.

Lord, sometimes I wonder how we get this part so wrong. I wonder how we forget what it was like before we knew you. I wonder why we find it easier to point a finger than it is to love someone through their mistakes. Father teach us all more about your unfailing love so we can pass that on instead of judgement.

Do you find yourself pointing your finger at others even though you know it’s not what we’re supposed to do?

Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, For the LORD will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being snared. Proverbs 3:25-26 NIV

Have you ever done something stupid, really stupid? Something that, as it was happening, you thought, “oh…noooo…”  Yet, somehow, someway, you got out of it, maybe not unscathed, but certainly intact.

I think that is God keeping our foot from being snared.

Even believers get stuck in bad situations. Even believers make mistakes. But it’s realizing that we will not be drowned in the ruin of those mistakes that makes us different. God guards us as he teaches us so we confide in him, and when we do that, we are shielded from the brunt of the storm; we are held close during the worst of it.

Lord, I know I think my life is rocky, but in truth, you keep the hardest blows from hitting me. I know that my trust in you is what shields me from the worst of the storm. Father, help me teach this to others so they can learn to trust you and follow you.

 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:21 NIV

Did you take Spanish in High School? I did. I took years and years and years of Honors Spanish.
I was good.
I even went to Mexico one year shortly after high school and spoke Spanish almost exclusively.

That was (bumble, bumble) years ago. Now, when my son comes home from school and tells me what he learned in Spanish 1, I have no idea what he’s saying.

Use it or lose it.

That’s kinda the way God looks at our love for him. If we use it to glorify others, we will be blessed and our love for Him will be multiplied. If, however, we put our love for God on the back burner and  forget about it, our passion, our drive to share it with others will be taken away from us and instead that void will be filled with the dark things of this world.

You don’t believe me? Go read the verses that follow for yourself. God allows those who say they love him but not proclaim him to be sucked into every depravity.

Don’t waste your life. If you love God, use that love to glorify him. Share it, serve, love, give, but whatever you do, don’t just sit on it.

Father, thank you for the passion you’ve instilled in me. I am eternally grateful I have not been given over, that I am still useful to you and your Kingdom. Father, my prayer is that I never tire of proclaiming your name and your goodness.

 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21 NIV

It’s very simple; yet also the hardest thing you’ll ever do.

Give all you have to the poor and come and follow me.

Jesus talked more about money than any other subject.  It’s true; go look if you don’t believe me. But not one of the times he spoke talked about saving money and putting it away for later. He never said to keep a bunch and do whatever you want with the rest.

He said, give it all to the poor and come follow me.

This is one of those topics that makes me pause. God has our back and he takes care of our every need (not our every want). This makes it very hard to argue that I need to save, even though everything inside of me is screaming for us to put money aside for later.

So what to do? I will pray until God reveals my answer.

Lord God, I wait on you. I don’t know what to do. One answer makes me feel irresponsible to my family and the other makes me feel irresponsible in your eyes. For now, I will lean on your understanding until I know what it is you ask of my family.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 NIV

Have you ever received a second chance? Has the slate ever been wiped clean for you to begin again?

If you know Jesus, it has.

When we surrender our lives, we are given a clean slate, but it’s even better than that. His mercies are new every single morning. There is nothing we can do while under the veil of Jesus that will mar our clean slate.

Every mis-step.
Every mistake.
Every slip-up.

None of them count.  None of them matter; we can never be good enough, so all we have to do is trust who Jesus is and trade your life his.

All you have to do is walk through the door.

Father, the way you love me is amazing. The way you allow me to come to you, knowing I am nothing but sin, breaks my heart. Thank you God for Jesus opening the door so I could run through it and into your arms.

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship Job 1:20 NIV

Read Job.
Read the whole book. It may sound boring, especially in the middle when the three friends go on
and on
and on
about how much they know about Job (even though it turns out they knew very little).

But in the end, Job never turned his back on God. He worshipped in spite of his pain. He worshipped because he knew God and he knew God loved him, even if he couldn’t see through his tears.

and he knew his pain was temporary. He knew that this world was temporary,
and he also knew that forever was forever and turning his back on God now
would cause angst for the rest of eternity.

So he endured the pain and he worshipped.

and Job teaches us, teaches me
that when times are hard and life hurts, raising my hands and worshipping anyway shows God that I trust him.

Holy Lord, I trust you, I trust you with everything I am. I trust you through the hard times, through  the trials in my life. Lord God, I pray for your blessing as I endure this life.

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. Romans 8:10 NIV

Alive or dead
We cannot be both, we cannot be somewhere in the middle.
Since the wages of sin is death, we are either alive because Christ is in us
or we are dead because he does not know us.

We cannot be either. Jesus cannot know us, know we are his and still let us die.
To know him is to live, for he is life itself.

Neither can we renounce him and think we will do anything but die.

There is only one way to life, one way to heaven,
and that is through Jesus.

The choice is ours; life or death.

God, the road indeed is narrow. There are many who think they know the way and that the ways are many.  But those who are yours know that your son is the only way.

And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Exodus 33:19 NIV

Our words matter.

The things we say, the words we use to build people up or cut people down are read and remembered.
and they matter.

More than any other complaint, “Christians are a bunch of hypocrites” is the one I hear most. There are so many who don’t practice what they preach. The words they use on social networking simply validates people’s position.

We can’t preach peace and then post passive-aggressive slurs about someone that hurt us.
We can’t preach love and then share a photo of someone making a bad choice.
We can’t preach forgiveness yet continually condemn those on our wall who do not agree with us.

The gospel is not effective when it’s used to hit someone over the head. No one meets Jesus by force.

Use some common sense. If it hurts someone else, don’t post it. We may be the only Jesus some people ever see. Let’s not make that image a bad memory.

Father God, open our eyes so we can see that the words we say, the words we write, really do matter. Father soften our hearts so we refrain from writing words that hurt.