December 1 - I’m Cool With Not Being Cool

 Read today’s texts first: Romans 5-8

MAXIMize YOUR DAY 

Knowing, quoting and living God’s Word
is as cool as it gets! 

As a young teen I had two strikes against me in the “cool” category:  I was an outspoken Christian and I was a nerd.  Those two factors converged when I became captain of a Bible quiz team.  This was a big deal in Foursquare by the late 60’s: matching outfits, high tech buzzer chairs (when you stood up first, your chair number lit up), and teams from all over the world competing at our international conventions.

The competition at that level was so fierce that if you wanted to answer first you almost always had to jump up before the question was fully asked.  You would then have to finish the question before answering. This required extensive Bible memorization.

I did this twice, with the books of John and Romans.  We went all the way to the big show in La La Land with Romans and to this day I can quote much of the book.  This was especially true of Romans 6 because Bill Gothard challenged young men to memorize that chapter to ward off teenaged temptation.

I will never regret committing the Bible to memory and reminding myself over and over again that I am “dead indeed unto sin but alive to God through Jesus” (6:11). As a teenager, I was able to steer clear of the pitfalls so many of the cool guys at school fell headlong into.  When I faced temptation I used to quote all 23 verses of chapter 6.  By the end, I was so distracted by the process I usually forgot what the temptation was.  Beyond that, repeating this powerful passage that resonates at the end with “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” was like spiritual weightlifting.  I felt pumped, spiritually “ripped,” an overcomer – definitely not a nerd in God’s eyes.

“Lord, thank You for the transforming power of Your Word.  Knowing it, quoting it and living it is about the coolest thing I know.” 

November 30 - No Excuses

 Read today’s texts first: Romans 1-4

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

The truth is, those who justify their actions
by saying “there is no God,” are without excuse.

God always holds us accountable for our actions.  Such common sense is becoming less common today. This entitled generation tends to blame everyone and everything else for their bad behaviour:  my family is dysfunctional, she made me angry, I was too drunk to know better, I was temporarily insane.  I remember a recent newspaper story that featured a Victoria woman who “earned” a $60,000 court settlement.  She was a victim, you see – the police put her in restraints for 4 hours for drunken belligerence.  What can we learn from this – you can earn $15,000 an hour if you get drunk, resist arrest, and trash a jail cell!

God says that even those who justify their actions because they didn’t know there was a God are “without excuse” (1:19,20).  They should have known – creation points to a Creator, just like a building requires a builder and a painting needs a painter.  No matter how many Phd evolutionists try to convince you otherwise, common sense should prevail.  There is a God and, as your Creator, you owe Him your life.

But for me to write off these people as ignorant and deserving of God’s judgment is also “inexcusable” (2:1) because I am in no position to judge.  I have my own sin to deal with.  We are all accountable.  Fortunately, the only One who can hold us to account is God.

“Lord, it is right that You do hold me accountable for my actions.  But I am grateful for the riches of Your kindness, tolerance and patience.  It is Your kindness that leads me to repentance (2:4) the only option for someone without an excuse.” 

 

November 29 - Sexual Immortality?

 Read today’s texts first: 1 Thessalonians 4-5; 2 Thessalonians 1-3

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

May we control our morality
on the basis of our pending immortality! 

I remember one of Jay Leno’s blooper headlines from the Ted Haggard scandal:  “Pastor Admits to Sexual Immortality.”  While he may have become “immortalized” because of his sexual immorality, the truth is sexual sin makes us very mortal.  For the past few years I discussed this story with my students in our Spiritual Formation class. It became the introduction to an assignment of setting up “Moral Fences,” a safeguard for their lives and ministries.

The passage says “that you should avoid sexual immorality, that each of you should learn to control his own body” (4:3-4).  Paul had also explained to the Corinthians how sexual sins are the most devastating because they violate our own bodies, which have been set apart as temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).

Moral fences are controls we set up for our lives to minimize temptation and to build the strength we need to overcome the temptations we can’t avoid.  For me, it had to do with telling my wife everything, censoring my entertainment options, memorizing Scripture and practicing spiritual disciplines.  The students came up with some other controls, such as accountability partners for computer use and avoiding potentially compromising dating situations.  I was proud of their resolve to remain pure.

The context of this passage on immorality is the promise of Christ’s soon return.  My challenge to the students, and to myself, was to live each day with the anticipation that Jesus could return at any moment.  What do I want to be doing at the moment Jesus comes back for me?  “Lord, help me control my morality on the basis of my pending immortality!”

 

November 28 - Destined for Trials

 Read today’s texts first: Matthew 28; 1 Thessalonians 1-3

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Often it’s in the hard trials of our vocation, not the “happy trails” of vacations, where God blesses us most! 

1 Thessalonians 3:2,3 …to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials.  You know quite well that you were destined for them.

Often God blesses Jan and I with wonderful weeks of sun, fun and rest in warm places like Mexico and the Caribbean. The biggest decisions we have to make each day are whether to lounge by the pool or feast at another buffet.  Such is the hardship of being married to a travel agent. 

We call this a “vacation.”  While the word sounds similar to “vocation,” their meanings are entirely different.  Vacation, like “vacant,” implies emptiness or freedom from regular responsibilities.  Vocation comes from the root “vocal” and refers to our calling in life (Eph 4:1).  The Scripture above gives us insight as to the challenges we will face in fulfilling that calling or destiny.  We often think that we will feel closer to God during the times of rest, but I recall a particular vacation when I felt closer to God on my first day back at work than I did all of the week away (from a past journal on this same date).

When I first walked in the college office door that day, a student was waiting for me to hand over the keys to her Dad’s 12 passenger van.  He was donating it to us for tours.  This was a miraculous answer to prayer, but as we went out to look at this gift from God we were shocked to see it had been broken into: the window, steering column and ignition vandalized.  Then, while walking back from a great class with my students and hearing exciting reports from my week away, I was met with numbing news about a family emergency in the life of one of our adjunct faculty.  My office became my prayer closet that day and what I read from the Scriptures earlier clearly came into focus.  The trials Paul experienced in Thessalonica produced the church he was encouraging with his letter.  It speaks of the same hope that inspired the despairing disciples after Christ rose from the dead (Matt. 28).

We are destined for trials because that’s when we cry out to God.  It’s in those moments of need we experience the pervasiveness of His presence and the unlimited potential of His resurrection power.  My prayer is one of thanks for both the vacations I enjoy and the vocation that follows. “Lord, strengthen and encourage me in my faith, so that I will not be unsettled by the trials ahead.  You and I both know quite well that I was destined for them.”

November 27 - Rocky 8

Read today’s texts first: Psalm 125; Matthew 26-27

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

It’s not a hard head that makes you strong;
it’s a soft heart. 

It’s hard to believe that Sylvester Stallone made 8 Rocky movies, his last when he was 72 years old!  In his last two, with the son of his archenemy, Creed, Rocky has finally become the trainer, not the boxer. When it comes to boxing, the expression “you’re not getting older – you’re getting better” does not apply!  However, that expression does work for disciples, Peter in particular.  When he was renamed “Rocky” by Jesus, he was far from living up to that name.  He was the most inconsistent of the disciples, bouncing from saint to schmuck almost mid-sentence.  But we know from his later leadership in the church, as recorded in Acts, he progressively transformed from the reed (Simon) to the rock (Petros). 

In the earlier episodes, however, the “Rock” could not quite walk the talk.  At the last supper, when Jesus is warning His disciples about the night of betrayal ahead, Peter says “even if all fall away on account of You, I never will!” (26:33). Peter is the Sylvester Stallone among the 12 – a little rough around the edges, but all man!  The irony of his empty words is vividly illustrated by the cock crowing a few hours later!  From King of the Roost to Chicken Little in three quick denials!

Sometimes I wish he would just shut up, until I remember I’m just like him.  I hate to admit the number of promises I’ve made and broken in the heat of misguided conviction. But Peter learned, and I’m learning too, that it’s not a hard head that makes you strong; it’s a soft heart.  There’s great wisdom in the comment “there but by the grace of God, go I.”  When we realize how vulnerable we are, we can also experience God’s powerful grace.

The fact that the original Rocky (Peter) gets stronger in every successive sequel gives me hope.  “Lord, I am ashamed of my own broken promises, and my lack of trustworthiness.  But I have learned, through it all, to trust in You.  The hope I have is described in Psalm 125: those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion which cannot be shaken.  From reed to rock to an unshakeable mountain – I can’t wait for the next sequel!”

November 26 - Expect the Unexpected

 Read today’s texts first: Matthew 23-25

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Jesus is coming soon - are you ready?

“As slow as the Second Coming” has become a common expression today.  In reading Matthew 24, you would think Jesus is coming at any moment, but 2000 years have passed since it was written.

I remember as a child learning that the fig tree (24:32-34) likely referred to Israel reforming as a nation.  When that took place in 1948, it was expected that Jesus would return within that generation, typically a 40 year span. Well, 7 plus decades later, we’re still waiting, and our eschatology keeps adjusting with each passing decade.

If we are not careful, we could let our guard down and begin to compromise (24:49).  That’s the very point Jesus was making.  He will come when we least expect it.  That’s why we should live every day with purpose, serving faithfully until the Master returns.

It was the imminence of Christ’s return that inspired the founder of Foursquare to include “Soon-coming King” as one of our four doctrinal hinge-points.  When Sister Aimee would traverse North America on her crusades, she drove her gospel car emblazoned on one side with “Jesus is coming soon” and on the other the question “Are you ready?”

“Lord, I am ready for your return.  May I never question your perfect timing but practice faith and faithfulness as a trusted servant.  I want to live today and the next expecting the unexpected.”

November 25 - Lord It Under Them

 Read today’s texts first: Matthew 20-22

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY 

Instead of exercising top-down management,
learn how to serve from the bottom up.

Jewish mothers always want their boys to be the best: a doctor, lawyer, businessman, right-hand man for King Jesus.  While it’s funny how slow they all were in understanding how God’s Kingdom works, who can blame the “sons of thunder” and their adoring mother for their ambitions of power and prestige (20:20,21)?

In fact, that’s what makes Jesus’ answer so remarkable.  God, who holds the most powerful position in the universe, should understand the authority that comes from a place of power.  And yet Jesus left all of that behind to be born as a helpless baby into a working class family with zero social status.  He worked with His hands alongside His dad in the family shop until He was 30.  Nobody, except His parents, knew He was special.  He didn’t attend the finest school, wear designer clothes, hire a press agent (other than John the Baptist, who smelled of locust breath!),  acquire material possessions, marry into money, achieve worldly success, run for political office, or package His message for the media of the day.

I guess that’s because His message was “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (20:26).  Instead of “lording it over them” He chose to be the real Lord by placing Himself under them.  Now it’s this kind of thinking that makes God’s Kingdom seem so upside-down.  The truth is though, our world has twisted itself upside-down and Jesus is explaining how to turn it right-side up!  Without status symbols, titles, promoters, or positions of power, Jesus still “taught as one who had authority” (9:29).

“Lord, I know that every position I’ve ever held has been given to me by You.  I didn’t ask for them nor strive for them.  I want those who follow me to follow You, and they will if I stay right behind You.  The only authority I have is what You give me, so may I never abuse it.  Instead of exercising top-down management, show me how to serve from the bottom up.”

November 24 - Listen to Him

 Read today’s texts first: Matthew 17-19

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

We must look at the Old Testament through the
person of Jesus, and not the other way around.

What is the significance of Elijah and Moses showing up with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration?  Some have said they are the only two main characters in Old Testament history whose post mortems are unaccounted for (Enoch, notwithstanding).  Elijah bypassed death because of a chariot of fire; Moses died, but his missing bones add an element of mystery.  They are also the two front-running candidates for the two witnesses prophesied in the Revelation.

Another thought struck me as I read the account this time – Moses represented the Law and Elijah the Prophets.  Jesus introduced a new paradigm (called the new covenant or new testament), but He was often misunderstood by the Jewish religious leaders, the masses, and even His own disciples, who listened from an Old Testament perspective.  That could be why Jesus stood side-by-side with Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets (the two main sections of the Old Testament), while the Father shone His spotlight on His Son and said “Listen to Him!”  After the disciples recovered from their fall-face-down fear, they looked up and only saw Jesus.

One of the points of this experience was to illustrate how we must now look at the Old Testament through the person of Jesus, and not the other way around.  He more accurately reveals the heart of the Father.  Of course the Old Testament is inspired and true, but it is incomplete.  If we try to develop a view of the Father based solely on Old Testament imagery, our perspective will be skewed.

A promising graduate from our college was drawn into an almost cult-like teaching that reinterprets New Testament teachings from an OT perspective, instead of the other way around.  He fell into such a legalistic lifeless religion that he missed the point of why Jesus came, and eventually lost his faith in Jesus as Saviour.

“Lord, help me to understand all of Scripture in light of what You said and did when You arrived on planet Earth.  Bring me up short when I lapse into legalism and start to legislate religion for myself and others.  Christianity is not a religion – it’s about relationship with You!”

November 23 - From the Rock to Stumbling Block

 Read today’s texts first: Matthew 14-16

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

The pen might be mightier than the sword
but the tongue has them both beat! 

I’ve often said to my kids, grandkids and students - “Watch Your Mouth” (it’s a message I’ve taught in chapel and in my class on Spiritual Formation). I like to center on the idea that “the tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21).  To illustrate how we can advance God’s Kingdom or Satan’s through our words, I will refer to Peter’s story in Matthew 16:15-23.

It begins with his confession that Jesus is the Son of the living God, which seemed to impress Jesus so much He dubbed Peter “the Rock.”  And then we see this same Peter a few verses later taking Jesus aside to reprove Him for prophesying about His impending death.  This impudence earns him a new nickname – stumbling block.  In the first case, Jesus said that the Father had revealed this truth to Peter; in the second instance Jesus accused him of speaking for Satan, and that he did not have the mind of God.

It seems that we have both godly and ungodly thoughts bouncing through our brains, possibly even simultaneously.  The thoughts are not the problem, but the expression of those thoughts can be.  Jesus said it earlier in reference to the Pharisees: “what comes out his mouth, that is what makes him unclean” (15:11).

“Lord, of all the choices I make each day, none are more important than the words I choose to speak.  May this day be one where I speak Your Words.  I want my life to be positioned solidly on the Rock, instead of being a stone in someone else’s path.”

November 22 - The Yoke’s On Me!

 Read today’s texts first: Matthew 11-13

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Jesus is asking us to come under His yoke,
not the other way around.  

I started the day encouraged again by the passage in Matthew 11:28-30.  I’m told two oxen yoked together can pull, not twice, but four times what one can pull – a perfect example of synergy.  The effect together is far greater than the total of the parts by themselves.  As I looked back on my journal of this day a few years ago, I discovered it was the day I took my Spiritual Formation students to Crescent Beach and I learned what sharing my yoke with Jesus really meant.

When I sat on a massive rock perched on the edge of the crashing waves overlooking the expanse of the Pacific Ocean, I was impressed by my God’s handiwork.  Knowing that the One who created all this was walking beside me and sharing my load was inspiring.  I decided that was a good time to open up about all of the ministry challenges I was currently facing.  Then I waited for God to give me the strategy for dealing with each one.

As I waited, I thought I would lower my sights from the broad horizon to the miniature world at my feet.  Walking from rock to rock, kicking them over in my search for marine life, I walked right into a dead seagull.  This was not the symbolism I was looking for.  As I took time to bury the rotting corpse, God finally spoke to me.  He reminded me of something in my own life that was rotten and needed to be buried with my old nature.  As I thought more about it, confessed it fully, and symbolically buried this habit with the dead bird, I felt the load lift.

I understood at that moment that Jesus was asking me to come under His yoke, not the other way around.  His priorities and values are different from mine.  If I take care of the things He expects of me, He’ll continue to miraculously provide for me and those under my care.  When you think life is going to be a day at the beach, watch out!  You never know what you’re going to run into.  God has a great sense of humour and I love it when His yoke is on me!