November 16 - God Can Use “Crack Pots” Like Me

 Read today’s texts first: 2 Corinthians 3 - 6

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

When God’s light shines through our broken lives,
He gets the glory. 

“We have this treasure in earthen vessels” (4:7)

The real treasure is in us.  We take great care in adorning the outside, but it’s not our good looks or designer clothes that will attract people to Jesus.  When Moses encountered God, it was an external experience because Christ had not yet come and made an internal transformation possible.  He kept his face veiled, not because his face was glowing too brightly, but because it was fading every day.  The glory could not abide.

For us, since Calvary, the glory not only abides, it intensifies, “from glory to glory” (ch. 3).  This glory doesn’t depend on our lives looking perfect and glorious on the outside.  Paul talks about persecution, affliction, distress – in another word, brokenness (ch. 4).  When God’s light shines through our broken lives, He gets the glory.  It wasn’t until Gideon broke the pitchers that the light emanated, scattered his enemies, and advanced the territory of God’s people.

People around me will see the light and be reconciled (ch. 5) when they see God shining through my humanity.  “Lord, teach me to not cover up my humanness with a veil or mask, but to humbly admit my weakness and my great need for Your grace today. To God be the glory!”

November 15 - The Comfort Connection

 Read today’s texts first: Job 41-42; 2 Corinthians 1-2

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

The most dangerous times in our lives
are when everything is going right.

God comforts us so we can comfort others with the same kind of care (1:4).  It is fascinating to read Paul’s explanation of the benefits of suffering right after I finished reading Job’s story.  Obviously, Job’s “comforters” didn’t understand the concept and God pointed that out: “you have not spoken of me what is right” (42:7).

I’ve lived most of my life trauma-free.  With the exception of my mom’s early departure from this world, dying of cancer when I was 13, things have gone very well for me and my family.  I think that may be why I’ve lacked the ability to empathize and show compassion toward those who face real challenges.  I tended to respond like Job’s friends when people shared their struggles with me.  That all changed when I faced the challenge of a year-long period of burn-out.  Suddenly I was able to notice and help so many other people with the same problem.  I also had the capacity to care for other hurting people as well, simply because I had experienced some suffering.  That’s why we are to share in Christ’s sufferings – so we can also share in His comfort, and pass that comforting touch on to others.

Paul went through some incredible challenges: shipwreck, snakebites, stoning, slander, false accusations, imprisonment and ultimately martyrdom.  And yet, Christ’s strength was made perfect in his weakness.  It’s the difficulties in life that keep us close to God.  The most dangerous times in our lives are when everything is going right.  That’s when human pride and self-sufficiency can begin to surface.

When I taught Spiritual Formation at PLBC I would explain to the students that the purpose of spiritual disciplines, like solitude, sacrifice, and fasting, is to defeat our own pride and increase our reliance on God.  The disciplines are a form of voluntary suffering to keep us close to God even when everything is going well!

“Lord, help me to stay close to you at all times, good or bad.  The joy that comes at the darkest times is always the most profound!  Lead me to others who need to know that joy so I can share mine with them.”

November 14 - I Don’t Want to be Sad-You-See

 Read today’s texts first: Psalms 149; 1 Corinthians 15-16

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

The promise of our soon-coming King keeps our
heart in heaven and our feet on the earth.

The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection – that’s why they were sad-you-see!  It’s an old joke, but true.  The same teaching was creeping into the early church (15:12), and it was only 25 years after over 500 disciples had seen Jesus rise from the dead.  Given enough time, pessimism, cynicism, and even skepticism will eventually infiltrate any community.

Now, after 2000 years, it should be expected that Christians will doubt at least the literal interpretation of Christ’s soon-coming and the final resurrection of the dead.  Knowing that, I’m glad the founder of the Foursquare church decided to make that hope one of the four corners of our faith.  I’m with Paul - without the fact of Christ’s resurrection and the hope of ours, there is no good-news-gospel.  We should be very sad, because, if there is no victory over death, both Christ’s first-coming and the promise of His second-coming are pointless.

It’s the imminence of Christ’s return that compels us to live holy lives and share the gospel as often as we can.  It’s what keeps our heart in heaven and our feet on the earth.  This world is not our home, but we are here on assignment. We may not agree about the eschatological events to come or their sequence in time, but we must agree that Jesus will return as He promised and that the dead in Christ will rise.  That is core to who we are as Christians – and that’s why we’re not sad-you-see!

“Lord, help me to keep my heart focused on Your return and my hands busy doing the work you’ve assigned me until You come again.”

November 13 - Revelation Beyond The Revelation

 Read today’s texts first: Job 39-40; 1 Corinthians 13-14

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

We need glorified bodies before we learn the answers to all our questions. Right now, it would blow our minds!

I love this part of the book of Job – when God has the last word!  His series of unanswerable questions gives all of us perspective on how little we know.  Paul described it well when he said “we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror” (13:12).

That’s why we have spiritual gifts – they give us insight and power beyond our limited resources.  And that’s why we know they are for today – right now, in this day of the completed canon (cessationists believe spiritual gifts became out-moded after the Bible was complete).  They only become unnecessary when we see Jesus face-to-face (13:12), when we know what He knows.  We will need glorified bodies by then because when we learn the answers to the questions He asks of Job, it would blow the minds we have right now!

There are so many questions I have for God.  I don’t always understand why things don’t go exactly as I plan or even as I pray.  I often try to help God with His planning!  But I’ve learned with Job that God has a better plan and that He doesn’t always let me in on it.  God never does tell Job why he went through his trials.  The inference from the questions God poses is to just trust Him – there’s stuff you don’t know and can’t know yet.

“Lord, I trust You with my life and I want to endure any test that comes my way with unwavering faith.  Let me learn from Job not to condemn You by trying to justify myself (40:8).  As I remain on this side of heaven, I will continue to seek Your plan and power by using the gifts You offer to and through me.  Yet I long for the day when I will see you face-to-face and ‘I shall know fully even as I am fully known’ (13:12).”

November 12 - Who Has Seen the Wind?

 Read today’s texts first: Job 37, 38; 1 Corinthians 12

MAXIMize YOUR DAY 

The unseeable wind of God’s Spirit
is now the very breath of our spirits.

In reading God’s description of His incredible creation and His capacity to control it, we can’t help but be impressed with His power.  Then to juxtapose those images beside the description of spiritual gifts, suddenly we realize how much power is now resident within us.

There’s so much we don’t know about God and the universe He created.  The unanswerable questions He posed to Job and his friends put them and all of us in our place.  We are only the created. None of us were around when this world was formed and the stars were tossed into space by the hand of God.  The realization that there are those among us, with PhD degrees, who believe that God’s handiwork is a random accident of “nature,” illustrates how limited our knowledge is.

And yet, that same Spirit who brooded over the waters at creation now works His creative power in and through us.  The source of the wind, which in Job’s day was so far removed from us (38:24), blew into the upper room at Pentecost and into every Spirit-filled believer since that day.

“Lord, may I not take for granted the all-encompassing responsibility of being a temple for Your Spirit and the profound privilege of moving at your impulse. When I take time to listen to that still small voice, I can gain glimpses of that awesome power and wisdom Job was unable to understand or experience.  I have seen the wind!”

November 11 - Compete to Win

 Read today’s texts first: Psalms 122; 1 Corinthians 9-11

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Our desire to compete comes from a competitive God, who called us to a life of overcoming!

It’s November 11 and our attention as a nation is on our armed forces.  WW1, WW2, Korea, Afghanistan – we fought to win, to protect the safety of our children and future generations.

While sports are not comparable to life or death struggles on a battlefield, they do show that even in times of peace we are still competitive.  Around this time every year, I get concerned about my beloved Lions heading into the play-off round. Even after a disappointing season, I’m ever optimistic they can surge ahead to reclaim the Grey Cup! How can watching grown men in tights fighting over a piece of pigskin affect some of us so deeply? I say some - my wife is callously unaffected!

Why do we as humans love to compete?  Is it part of our sin nature or God’s image?  Knowing that the reoccurring theme of the Revelation is “overcoming,” I contend that our desire to compete comes from a competitive God.

Paul’s references to running and boxing (9:24-27) hit home with the Corinthians, who were accustomed to hosting the Isthmian Games.  He reminds us all that we compete to win.  He also clarifies what we are competing for – “what then is my reward?” (9:18). He quickly answers the question: “to win as many as possible” (9:19).

He’s not talking about winning wars, races or boxing matches; he’s solely focused on the task of winning souls, willing to discipline himself and sacrifice his own comforts to reach as many people groups as possible.

“Lord, my prayer is that, even while I am watching hockey or football or playing tennis, help me remember the ultimate competition, to wrestle lost souls out of the clutches of our enemy.”

November 10 - Puff Up or Build Up

 Read today’s texts first: Job 35,36; 1 Corinthians 7,8

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Just because something is within our rights,
doesn’t make it the right thing to do.

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (8:1a).  Paul knew that there was nothing wrong with eating meat once offered to idols.  Idols aren’t real gods, so there is nothing sacrilegious or dangerous about eating their leftovers.  But knowledge about our freedom in Christ is not the deciding factor when it comes to conduct – love is.  Paul contends that if someone’s conscience is offended or compromised by our actions, we should refrain.  In other words, just because something is within our rights, doesn’t make it the right thing to do.  Love is the ultimate rule of conduct.

Because I was raised in a Christian home and stayed close to my roots, I arrived at this stage of the journey with a carry-on backpack.  Others around me, though, are lugging around some serious baggage. Some of it they picked up themselves - the consequences of their own bad choices.  But a lot of it has been dumped on them by others.  Because of their wariness of sin and its power to drag them back into bondage, these road warriors set up pretty high guard rails to keep them on the straight and narrow.  In the past I’ve caught myself debating with them over their “legalism,” unaware that they have important personal reasons for their standards.  I often got into discussions with a coworker about which movies are appropriate for Christians (he thinks the Little Mermaid is unacceptable!)

I have set high standards for myself regarding some things, like drinking or gambling, because they can be stumbling blocks for some believers.  But I have often been insensitive in talking about other things, like the movies and TV shows I watch, without first evaluating the standards of those within earshot.

“Lord, may I never be cause for someone to violate their own conscience and fall back into patterns of sin.  Help me be truly sensitive and loving, appreciating where others may be on their journey, bearing as much of their burden as I can rather than adding to it.  May I be aware, before the hot air leaks out, when I’m puffing myself up.  Help me to select loving words that build others up instead!”