December 8 - Ransom for All

 Read today’s texts first: 1 Timothy 1-4

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

There is a time and a need to take a stand
for the purity and simplicity of the gospel. 

Timothy, Paul’s young protégé, was facing disruptive and, possibly, destructive, false teachers infiltrating the church of Ephesus. Paul urged him to instruct his church in sound doctrine, and to boldly correct those who were pursuing “strange doctrines” and “mere speculation” (1:3,4).  As a born diplomat, my inclination is to downplay doctrinal differences and encourage everyone to just get along. But as Paul and Timothy learned, there is a time and a need to take a stand for the purity and simplicity of the gospel.

One example jumped out at me in the reading today. It seems clear to me that our Saviour “desires all men to be saved” and, because of that, “gave Himself as a ransom for all” (2:4,6). These Scriptures, and many others, are obvious in describing God’s impartial love and sacrifice, which is available to all. But there are some who speculate that God has predetermined some for salvation, and by logical extension, others for damnation. There are others, especially today, who take the opposite extreme and interpret these verses to mean all will be saved (universalism). 

There are deliberate tensions in Scripture that help us understand how much greater God is than our limited thinking. We must find a balance in understanding God’s sovereignty and man’s free choice, God’s justice and His mercy. And we must be quick to correct false, or at least misguided, teachings which can flow out of proof-texts and not the “whole counsel of God.”

“Lord, the love and sacrifice You have made available to all of us is far too wonderful not to defend against mere speculation. While You have called me to work together interdenominationally, You have also asked me, like Paul, to encourage my protégés toward sound doctrine.”

December 7 - Peace In!

 Read today’s texts first: Colossians 1-4

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

When faced with a decision which might
compromise your peace, let peace rule. 

For a while “peace out” was the cool way to end a conversation. Paul was cool well before “cool” was cool, but he often started and ended his letters the same way (well, variations like “peace to you” or the very cool “peace to the brothers”). But his letter to the Colossians shows us that the only way to have “peace out” is to start with “peace in”: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful (3:15).

While it seems every beauty contestant wishes for world peace, real peace, like real beauty, starts from within. We can wish all we want but nothing changes on the outside until we make drastic changes on the inside. The sins of our words and actions (3:5-9) bring unsettledness. When we miss the mark (the definition of sin), everything feels off. Temptation promises that we will feel good, but sin, after the fact, always makes us feel bad; it brings chaos to our hearts.

Paul urges us to put off our old self (3:9) and put on the new self, the image of our Creator (3:10-14). We put on fresh clothes every day but how often do we start our days putting on a renewed spirit. When we start our days allowing God to renew our spirits and fill us with His peace, we are ready to let that peace guide us through the rest of the day. If we’re faced with a decision that will compromise that peace, we know what to do – let peace rule.

Oh, and here’s a helpful tip to maintain that peace throughout the day – be thankful. Complainers lack peace on the inside and outside.

“Lord, this word is true every day as well as in the longer seasons of our lives. As I face major adjustments in my life and ministry, I will let Your peace guide me. Peace in!”

December 6 - Joy to the World

 Read today’s texts first: Philippians 1-4

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Real joy doesn’t depend on what’s going on outside.
It’s all about what, or rather who, is on the inside!

Most think joy, or at least happiness, is dependent on circumstances, like health and wealth. Immigrants arrive in droves to Canada and the US in their “pursuit of happiness,” which usually means finding financial comfort. But the arrival of the Son of God to planet earth, compared to the American dream, seemed more like a Jewish nightmare!

Chapter two chronicles what Jesus left behind to become our Saviour, giving up His palatial home in glory, His rights as God, to become not just a man but a servant, not just any servant but one obedient to death, and not just any death but the most tortuous death imaginable. With that end in sight, His inauspicious beginning makes more sense: showing up as a baby, in an insignificant town, dependent on poor parents, dressed in rags, laid in a feed trough, housed in a barn, and announced first to shepherds, who were right up there with tax collectors in reputation. Not exactly the circumstances you would expect with “good news of great joy!”

Paul had learned by following Jesus that his joy was independent of his circumstances. That is why he writes his most joy-filled letter (1:4,18,25,26,2:2,17,18,29;3:1;4:1,4) while being held as a Roman prisoner awaiting execution. Real joy doesn’t depend on what’s going on outside. It has everything to do with what’s on the inside, or rather, who’s on the inside. There’s joy because the Lord has come - to us and in us.

I’m learning that in new ways now that I’m no longer doing the things that I once thought were the source of my joy. “Lord, thank You for showing me again that there is joy in my world because the Lord has come to me!”

December 5 - Family Matters

 Read today’s texts first: Ephesians 5,6; Psalms 119:1-80

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Family matters to God and the more you walk with Him, the more your family will matter to you.

I love the lofty, grand images of Jesus and His church that we see so clearly in the book of Ephesians.  But those principles are worked out in the mundane decisions of everyday life.  Maybe they’re not so mundane after all, especially when the end of the book turns its focus on the family.  Family relationships are the proving ground for all ministry and authority.

• Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord
• Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
• Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right
• Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.
• Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord

Sometimes we place church concerns ahead of our own families thinking that we are honouring God first.  But the ministry God has called us to begins at home.  One of the qualifications of an elder (pastor) is to manage their own household well.  Family matters – it’s where we learn to love unconditionally and make disciples.

“Lord, I’m still learning how to love my family unconditionally, regardless of the choices my children and grandchildren make.  But family matters to You and the more I walk with You the more my family matters to me.”

December 4 - The Real Authority

 Read today’s texts first: Ephesians 1-4

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

We rule with Christ now!  It is the church, not the
politicians, who determine the future of our nation. 

While our politicians debate over who is really in charge of our country, my Bible reading provides the answer:  the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come (1:19,20).  The source of all authority is Jesus.

It would be easy to say that Jesus is in charge and sit passively by while we wait for Him to intervene in our current political crisis.  But authority is distributed to us as well: but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (2:4-7).  We rule with Christ now!  It is the church, not the politicians, who determine the future of our nation.

“Lord, I will assume the position of authority You have given me to be a leader, a model for others to follow, and a prayer warrior that exercises Your authority in my nation.”

December 3 - The Right to Rule

 Read today’s texts first: Romans 13-16

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Submission and service lead to increasing authority.
Rebellion leads to the opposite.

It’s always fascinating to read the Bible alongside the newspaper.  Today our new government is committed to wider spending and deeper debt.  Our laws seem to be drifting from their Bible-based moorings. And our culture seems to be embracing the foreign gods of our immigrants while suppressing our founding faith in the one true God. We see that as we approach Christmas, or should I say the “winter holidays”?

Compare these seemingly godless and divisive decisions to the first part of our reading for today: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (13:1,2).  Jesus said that if you are faithful in a few things God will make you ruler over many things.  Submission and service lead to increasing authority.  Rebellion and usurpation will lead to a loss of authority.

But how does this all apply to me?  I’m not the problem – they are!  Maybe I should replace the newspaper beside my Bible with my journal.  These verses especially apply to me. Believers in God’s Word must model for the country an attitude of selflessness and submission to authority and encourage others to adopt the same attitudes.

“Lord, will You please guard my heart and mouth as I model a godly response to the current disunity among our elected leaders.  The only debt I want to have is the continuing debt to love one another (13:8).”

December 2 - Stop – You’re both right!

Read today’s texts first: Romans 9-12

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

God chooses and so do we -
it’s not "either/or" but "both/and"!

Working in a Bible College with students and faculty from over 20 different church groups helped me understand and appreciate divergent viewpoints.  One is the Calvinist/Arminian spectrum, embracing the sovereignty of God and the free-will of man.  This section of Romans helps us understand that it’s not one or the other – they are both true.  Some tensions are just supposed to be there (eg. justice and mercy, faith and works).

God is sovereign and He chooses, as in the illustration of Jacob and Esau (9:16-18).  This was intended to help the Jews (who were like the Calvinists of that day thinking they were the only chosen ones) understand that God could sovereignly include the Gentiles as children of promise (25,26), calling those who were not His people to become sons of the living God.  But God’s choice accounts for man’s choice to accept or reject His provision (9:33; 10:9, 11-17).  The grafting, cutting off and regrafting of chapter 11 (12,15, 20-23) are all dependent on man’s free choice.

“Lord, I am so glad You are not limited by our theological attempts to understand You.  We do know that You have chosen us because of Your unconditional love for us.  But we also know that for love to be reciprocated there must be the ability to choose to respond.  I choose to believe both of those statements are true and I choose You!”

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.” 

December Devo - True Christmas Joy

I hope this beautiful story in poem inspires you to experience the Christmas joy of giving throughout the Christmas season and the coming new year!

True Christmas Joy by Tennett Morrell

'Twas the day before Christmas, a long time ago
And our beautiful earth was all covered with snow;
Down the street with their sleighs came two manly boys,
Who paused at the window to look at the toys.

Already two others were there looking in;

But their faces were sad, and their clothes old and thin.
And the little one said, "is it because we're so poor
That Santa doesn't come to our house anymore?"

The older one patted his wee brother's head,
And hugged him up closely, as softly he said:
"Oh, maybe he will come tonight, little Tim,
If we ask in our prayers for the Lord to send him!"

The little face smiled, but the boys saw a tear
In the eye of the one who quelled little Tim's fear.
Then slowly and sadly the waifs went their way
To the place they called home, where that night they would pray.

The boys, with their sleighs, followed closely behind,
And neither one spoke, but in each childish mind
A beautiful thought said as plain as could be:
"I'll share with those poor boys what Santa brings me."

When the two reached their home, to their father they ran,
And eagerly told him their unselfish plan.
He was proud of his boys, who now felt that same love
That sent our dear Savior from His Home above.

Next morning, still thrilled with their beautiful thought,
They scampered downstairs to see what Santa had brought,
And they, with the help of their father and mother,
Selected the presents for Tim and his brother.

And as the first light of dawn came into view
The two went their way with the toys bright and new,
And crept very quietly up to the door
Where they'd seen the boys enter the evening before.

As they hurried back home toward their own Christmas joys,
They could not even dream how the other two boys,
On finding that Santa had really been there,
Sent their joy to the One who had answered their prayer.

That night, when the "Santas" were ready for bed,
With a hand of their father on each curly head,
They knew, as they thought of two poor, happy boys,
What's the truest and choicest of all Christmas joys.

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!

November 21 - The Joy of Interruptions

 Read today’s texts first: Matthew 8-10

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

We run short of time for one of two reasons:
mismanagement or doing more than God is asking.

As I read again about this busy time in Christ’s ministry, I recalled an article that had a significant effect on my life.  I read it shortly after a time management course I took at seminary when I learned techniques for keeping time-waster-type people from sitting down uninvited in my office.  This article, entitled The Joy of Interruptions, restored to me a healthy perspective of spiritual time management.

Jesus had 3 ½ years of public ministry, during which time He had to recruit and train disciples to lead churches that would quickly turn the known world right-side up.  This was an aggressive goal for a whole life-time of ministry, but 3 ½ years?  C’mon!  It becomes even more amazing when you read how often Jesus was interrupted.  Even His interruptions were interrupted!  A case in point is found in chapter 9:18-26.  While He was already running late to help Jairus, whose daughter had already passed away, He took the time, after feeling a gentle tug on His cloak, to heal a woman with a chronic blood disease. Somehow He still managed to help Jairus out too, by raising his daughter from the dead!

The article explained that interruptions are often an indication of gifting – people who come to you, seeing in you something you have to offer them.  Helping them is often more important than the paperwork sitting on your desk.

God will fulfill His plan through my life if I am obedient to do what He asks me to do each day.  “Lord, help me to take the time needed to deal with each assignment You give me, whether it seems like an interruption or not.  I know I always have enough time to do Your will.”

November 20 - Living Inside Out

 Read today’s texts first: Matthew 5-7

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Live from the inside out so you can help
turn the world right side up! 

The thesis statement of the Sermon on the Mount is that Jesus has come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it (5:17).  The law works from the outside in.  For fear of physical punishment, we restrict our actions.  But the law has no effect on our hearts or attitudes.  This is the inherent weakness in a legalistic system, be it the church, a Christian school, or a Bible college.

Jesus knew the only way to truly change behaviour was through a change of heart.  Legalism can curb outward behaviour, for fear of punishment or disapproval, but people will continue to sin in their own hearts or in the privacy of their own homes.  That dichotomy is known as hypocrisy, the word Jesus used to characterize the Pharisees.  But our righteousness as followers of Jesus must exceed that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law (5:20).

And so the attitude behind the action must be adjusted: for murder it’s anger, for adultery it’s lust.  It involves turning the other cheek, going the second mile, loving our enemies, giving quietly, praying in our closets, fasting in secret, laying up treasures in heaven, trusting God for what we need, not judging others, seeking God, and doing what He says.

Such a major attitude adjustment seems impossible – it runs contrary to human nature.  However, Jesus came not only to point out how to live, but to enable us to live that way.  By taking the punishment for our sins upon Himself, He bridged the gap between God and man.  He made it possible for the Spirit of God to live in and through those of us who receive His forgiveness so that we can now live from the inside out!

“Lord, show me when I lapse into legalism, trying to control my own behaviour or the behaviour of others from the outside in.  The only way to live righteously is to allow Your holiness to flow out from a changed heart.  Help me to live from the inside out so I can help turn the world right side up!”

November 19 - A Voice in the Desert

 Read today’s texts first: Matthew 1-4

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

In the desert seasons, when all we think we hear is the Temptor, God’s voice is still speaking to us. 

John the Baptist was the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3: “a voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord” (3:3).  While it may only be coincidence, the next chapter describes Jesus in the desert, which happened to be the launching point for His public ministry.  The experience of His prolonged fast in the wilderness was a spiritual discipline that helped prepare the way through the extreme challenges awaiting Him in the next 3 ½ years.

It was during those 40 days and the ensuing temptation that Jesus remembered His source (“every Word that comes from the mouth of God”), His identity (“don’t tempt the Lord your God”), and the only strategy to dethrone the god of this world (“worship the Lord your God and serve Him only”).  We may think that the only voice He heard in the desert was that of Satan, but there was another voice that He was hearing.  He was still hearing His Father saying “this is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased.”  He also listened to the voice of the Spirit Who led Him into the wilderness.  And, of course, He recalled the written voice of God in resisting the tempter.

It was the convergence of these experiences and His obedience to the process that prepared Him for His destiny.  On the basis of what He heard in the wilderness, He chose His disciples, prepared them for leadership, and wrested the keys of hell and death from the grasp of Satan.

“Lord, when I face my own wilderness experience and think that the only voice I hear is that of my enemy, help me tune in to what you have said in the past, what Your Word says to me now, and what You are preparing me for in the future.  May I respond as Jesus did with obedience to the process so I too can move forward unhindered toward my destiny.”

November 18 - Thrones with Thorns

 Read today’s texts first: Psalms 124; 2 Corinthians 11-13

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

The throne of spiritual authority
often comes with thorns.

Leaping out from the passages today is the red lettering of the Lord’s words, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (12:9).  This statement succinctly explains Paul’s experiences.  Not only was Paul caught up to the third heaven (Paradise), he is clearly co-seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), ruling as an apostle with spiritual authority over the Gentile churches.  This power, though, came at a great price.  Not only did he survive 5 whippings, 3 beatings, 1 stoning, 3 shipwrecks, sleep deprivation, hunger, and now false accusations, he also had a recurring infirmity of some kind which he calls his thorn in the flesh. (I think it was some unsightly eye disease from his other comments in Galatians 4:13-15; 6:11).  It was that thorn and the other sufferings Paul experienced that positioned him in a place of continuing dependence on God’s power, the source of his apostolic authority.

I read one well-known word-faith preacher’s comments on Paul’s thorn in the flesh that shocked me.  She explained the reason why Paul could not have victory over this affliction was because he sought the Lord 3 times.  Her solution: pray only once in faith believing and then confess God’s healing.  To pray again is a sign of unbelief.  I think she missed the point of Paul’s epistle and maybe forgot that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit when he wrote it.  She also may have forgotten the miracles that flowed through Paul’s ministry where even handkerchiefs he touched brought healing.

The throne of spiritual authority comes with thorns, or whatever it takes for us to be aware of our own weakness and reliance on Christ’s all-sufficiency.  David connected with that theme as well when he talked about the Lord on our side: “our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

“Lord, as I face my own struggles, may they continue to force me to my knees, the position of real power.  What I have to do in the assignments You’ve given me is far beyond my abilities, but nothing is too hard for You!”