May 4, 2024

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I can’t imagine how someone could achieve the goal of praying without ceasing. It seems like prayer would get in the way of the million other things you need to think about in a day. And yet, here is the command: pray without ceasing. What do we do with a burden like that?

Reading the whole sentence is helpful here. Right before we are commanded to pray all the time, we are told to rejoice always and to give thanks in all circumstances. It is somehow possible to experience God’s presence in such a way that you rejoice and give thanks always. We know God is in control of everything from the horrible to the sublime. As we speak to Him, we can look up and see Him in all His grandeur and know, by Jesus, that we can rejoice. Why not speak to Him without ceasing? Wouldn’t you want that all the time?

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to think, all day today, about what I am thankful for so I will rejoice always!

May 3, 2024

2 Timothy 1:12b

… I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

There are two things to see and feel in this verse. Start with the fear of losing what has been entrusted to you. The first things that come to mind are our kids, spouse, job, house, stuff, and cars. Of course we feel the fear of losing those things. But this verse is focused on Paul’s ministry. He fears that the people he is leading to Jesus will fall away or that the Kingdom work he’s done won’t last.

Then comes the relief: God is big enough to guard what He gives us until He brings us home. What are the things you’ve done for the Kingdom? It can feel like a house of cards that keeps falling. Why not just quit? Spend time this morning resolving to go all out for the Kingdom because you can trust God to protect what He entrusts.

Prayer prompt: Lord, let me focus on your strength and trust you to guard what you have entrusted to me.

May 2, 2024

Genesis 1:1

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

What is standing against you today? Is there some big dream you had for your life, some amazing vision of a better world that you were going to make a reality? That kind of thing gets squeezed out of us pretty early. We fail at small things and never seem to attempt the big ones. As soon as school is out and you step into the real world horrible things like debt, ineffectiveness, and apathy drain motivation. It seems like the world is only fine with us moving in one direction: a slow slide toward feebleness. 

But that’s a lie. This world is broken, no doubt, and there are people who want you to quit working for the Kingdom. That’s when you have to remember, this world isn’t their’s. This world is God’s. He made it, He owns it, He rules it. Start today by knowing, deep down, that this is God’s world. Working with Him and for His glory is always worth it. Commit to hope today.

Prayer prompt: Lord, give me the faith to see you behind, above, and beyond my enemies.

May 1, 2024

Philippians 1:6

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

As soon as something godly starts to happen in your life, watch out. If you’re like me, a little increase in discipline or patience, even love, is often followed by a big flop. Maybe you finally see some growth in love and share about Jesus with a coworker. It feels like you’re walking on air as you sing praise to God! Then you get home and start yelling at your kids. How are we supposed to grow when it seems like failure and sin are constantly with us?

Remember who is right beside us helping us. The God who spoke and saw worlds jump into existence has promised that He will finish what He started. Life is littered with projects begun and abandoned, but not for God. Dunked in grace, covered in love, forgiven because of Jesus, we will keep walking and He will bring His good work in us to completion.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I will keep walking because I know you will finish what you start.

April 30, 2024

1 John 4:18

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Is fear a good thing or a bad thing? Like pain or anxiety, God has given us fear as a natural reaction to something we should watch out for. While we don’t want to feel fear, it would be far worse if we didn’t have the capacity. Driving, skiing, and buffets are all much safer with a healthy sense of fear.

In this verse, we see how fear and love interact. Think of God’s love, the love that came down to earth, then went down to death, to bring us from death up to His presence. While it is wisdom to feel God’s holiness and grandeur as beyond our understanding, His love should stop us from feeling a fear to approach Him every minute of everyday. Enjoy His perfect love today!

Prayer prompt: Lord, bring me into the bliss of trembling at your majesty and still walking with confidence into your presence.

April 29, 2024

2 Corinthians 9:8

8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

I often think about the room in Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka Factory that is made completely from the most delicious sweets. If you think too long, it gets a little gross. I’m sure you would get sticky and the sweets would get dusty or dirty or people sweat on them. But if you just let it exist as an ideal, it’s magical and attractive. Why doesn’t an all powerful God give us goodies like that? 

Each word in this verse should go off like a bomb, shaking that question to pieces. Grace from God will abound, pour out, roll over like a wave, so that being totally sufficient, having everything you need, at all times, you can really get to work. Not only has He, the Supreme God, rolled all our needs to dust under His overwhelming provision, He’s also given us a wonderful task and purpose! What more could we want?

Prayer prompt: Lord, please make me always dependent on and expectant of Your abounding Grace!

April 27, 2024

Joshua 1:6-7

6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

Is Christianity a manly religion? I think it may have entered into some people’s heads to regard the faith as something women teach to children. Some see it like a nursery rhyme to instruct good boys and girls on the benefits of cleanliness or obedience. Helpful, maybe, but many see Christianity as something we set down when we get old enough to become our own people.

But of course not. Our faith has conquered nations and the hearts of people small and great. Our faith is one that slays dragons and upends unjust social systems. Your faith will compel you to walk endless distances and climb mountains to the clouds in order to remake the world in the way God wants it. Are you ready to be strong and courageous?

Prayer prompt: Lord, equip me with courage and strength to work for Your Kingdom today.

April 26, 2024

Zephaniah 3:17

17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

I understand that God loves me, but does He like me? Every Christian starts with grace then quickly moves back to works. In grace we trust that God gives us His love, but with works, we have to earn it. Since I still sin, can I go back to God? Is turning from my sin a good idea if God is going to greet me with frowns and whips?

Look at Zephaniah 3:17. How is it possible that any God would treat His creation like that? God is with you, in your midst. He is mighty to save you. He will rejoice over you with gladness and quiet your excuses and your self-justification with His love. He will make the universe ring with His loud singing. Let each of those phrases land in your heart today. God loves you because He is so so good.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I want to turn from my sin and embrace the love you have for me.

April 25, 2024

Psalm 50:1-2

1 The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.

Lord Byron, a British poet, said the world has two types of people: the boring and the bored. The bored would be the worldly-wise who, having experienced much, are now never surprised or delighted by anything. The boring are the simple folks who see a miracle in even the mundane like the sun rising or a child laughing. I know which I’d rather be, and which the Psalmist is. Which are you?

Are you able to look up at something as common as the sky and worship its maker? There is a lie that being regularly near something makes it less valuable, or at least less exciting. Feel the sun on your face, spilling it’s rays from millions of miles away, and pray again to your God. Commit to the brief time it takes to let each amaze you and sing praise to a God who loves you like that.

Prayer prompt: Lord, wake me up to the wonder of the ordinary.

April 24, 2024

Ephesians 3:17-19

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

When we are promised by Scripture to receive more than we ask or imagine, it can seem hard to believe. We can imagine so much! How can God overcome all the delights, the wild fantasy worlds, we try to imagine for ourselves? In these verses, we begin to find out.

God’s love is so intense, He has to strengthen us to endure it. He can’t tell us how great His love for us is because our experiences to this point just aren’t big enough to create the categories. How can He describe the depth of oceans to people who have only stomped parking lot puddles? How can He make you feel the heat of the sun when you have only seen birthday candles? Pray the magnificent prayer of Ephesians that God would make you strong enough to see just how big His love is.

Prayer prompt: Lord, please strengthen me to comprehend a little more of Your amazing love.

April 23, 2024

Luke 8:49-50

49 While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” 50 But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”

What do you do when you’re afraid? A specific fear can be stomped out, like a spider. If it can be addressed quickly, great, but most of the fears that we deal with go deeper. Most of our fears are less defined and more persistent. How do we deal with that nagging, constant fear that what we most want or love will go away?

The man Jesus was speaking to in these verses just lost his only daughter. Yet, when he was sure that what he most loved was gone, Jesus told him not to fear. Jesus assures the man that there is still a solution, a grand solution, to the most awful of problems. Address your fear by looking up to the one who defeated even death.

Prayer prompt: Lord, I hate being afraid. Teach me to believe.

April 22, 2024

In Tim Keller’s new book, Hope in Times of Fear, readers get a long look at how the Resurrection changes our lives. God has come to turn us upside down, even in ways we don’t really think we need.

“Before we become Christians, most of us also think of ourselves as sincere seekers after the truth. We feel like we’re pretty good people. But most Christians, like Paul, look back on their lives and see that they had never really been sincere seekers after truth at all. They had wanted a truth and a God that fit their desire to be in charge of their own lives. And yet God came after them, found them, and graciously helped them see their own blindness and their unwarranted distrust of him. This is what happened to Paul. He thought he knew who God was and who Jesus was, and he got it all wrong.”

Check out Keller’s book to find reasons to believe the Resurrection happened, and a million more reasons to Hope it did.

Prayer prompt: Lord, help me to see my pride so I can turn and embrace real joy.

April 20, 2024

Luke 4:18-21

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” 20 And [Jesus] rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus told us exactly what He came to do: He came to bring good news to those who need it. If you read the part of the Old Testament Jesus quotes from here (Isaiah 61), it tells of the Lord coming to captive, brokenhearted, mourning people covered in ashes and lying in ruins. The Lord picks them up, frees them, cleans them, and fills them with joy. He then has them rebuild the ruined city they were in. What does that mean for us?

Jesus said He fulfilled that prophecy. That meant he was looking at people who were dirty, captive, broken, and sad and He came to make them sing. Jesus has come to make you clean, to forgive you and bring you into the Lord’s favor, where broken things are fixed, captives are released, and joy overflows constantly. Ask Him to forgive you, see your captivity to sin and come to Jesus to be cleaned. He will do it, and you will be free!

Prayer prompt: Lord, make me part of your work to bring people back to you!

April 19, 2024

Matthew 15:32

32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

Ever gotten cash for Christmas? It’s the kind of gift you might expect from a generous if distant uncle, but not from a spouse or parent. We expect the people who say they love us to know something about us. When you get those kind of gifts, even if they’re less expensive, they mean the world. 

God keeps up with the details of your life. Jesus saw how these people were hungry because He looked and cared enough to know. Love does that. Follow Jesus; He knows you enough to give you what you really need. 

Prayer prompt: Lord, thank You for knowing me and loving me.

April 18, 2024

Luke 7:13

13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

Is God really there? Does He really hear me? I’ve asked that question more than a pastor probably should. God is so high above us, so shrouded in glory and majesty, would He really see us? If He did, would He really care for us?

Jesus, the Lord, Yahweh in the flesh, saw the woman in Nain who had lost her husband and now her only son. He didn’t just know about it or read it in the obituaries, He saw her and felt compassion for her. Then, and this is almost too much to hope, He fixed it. The cross, the grave, and then the empty grave are enough to shut up forever that needling worry. God hears you.

Prayer prompt: Lord, kill all my doubts by turning my eyes to the glorious gospel of Jesus!

April 17, 2024

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

29 This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

It seems like God is saying, “Live as though the world was about to end.” Well what does that mean? If the news came that a world-ending meteor was about to hit, what would you do? Steve Carell was in a movie where some people gave themselves up to pleasure, some just wept, and some, like Steve, fell in love. In other words, they tried, in a sad way, to do as much normal stuff as possible. But what does God expect of us?

It’s not a meteor that’s coming, it’s God Himself. When He comes, it won’t just be annihilation, but a judgment. With time so short, our priority for God’s glory and the unending good of our neighbors is to introduce as many to Jesus as we possibly can! We can ache for Jesus to return, but we must work flat-out to get as many ready as we can. Who can you tell about Jesus?

Prayer prompt: Lord, please motivate me to work hard for Your glory!

April 16, 2024

Isaiah 40:30-31

30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

These verses hinge on one word: wait. Before the waiting, the strongest and most healthy are falling over in exhaustion. After the waiting, anyone who does the waiting, even old or flabby folks are flying, running, and walking without fatigue. So ask with me, what is the waiting? Is it waiting like sitting at a bus stop? Are we supposed to just hold still, like a hammer, waiting on a carpenter to pick us up? I don’t think so.

Reading these verses along with the rest of Scripture, we are commanded to work, trusting that the Lord will do something amazing if we will just continue. ‘Wait’ is closer to ‘hold on’. Recently a friend told me his growth in the faith seemed to be slowing down. He went from painful and exciting moments of change, to a more settled, daily grind. To him, we say Hold on. Wherever you’re at as you read these verses, if you’ve left behind what God has given you to do, or if you’ve continued but it’s getting hard: hold on. He will renew your strength.

Prayer Prompt: Ask for strength to wait on the Lord, to do things His way.

April 15, 2024

If there is a lie at the heart of every single sin, it has to be the one going all the way back to the Garden. There, Satan tempted Adam and Eve to believe God was holding out on them. He tempted them to break God’s law with the lure of pleasure. If we are going to fight that same temptation, we have to see the lie for what it is.

The quote below is from CS Lewis’ book The Srewtape Letters. Screwtape, a demon and tempter, gives demonic advice to another tempter: 

“Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable.” 

Never forget that pleasure, ALL PLEASURE, comes from God! If we stop believing the lie of the enemy, “at [God’s] right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11b).

Prayer prompt: Lord, I don’t know why You would include me in the pleasure of Your presence, but thank You!

April 13, 2024

Psalm 23:5

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Where will my happiness come from if God forbids so much? He forbids me from even the fantasy of more than one lady (Matthew 5:27-28), from more than a little drink (Proverbs 23:29-35), even from the very American pleasure of wanting what my neighbor has (Exodus 20:17). Should I ever come to the place where I agree that God’s right about these sins, what’s left? How do I get pleasure when He outlaws almost everything the people around me love?

We have to remember where all pleasure comes from. He invented them all. The enemy can only ever tempt us to twist God’s pleasures and in twisting reduce them. God promises to give us the food we need for life, even to load a table with it in the presence of our enemies. He makes our skin and hair soft with oil, He gives us blessings until they fill us up then over flow! We will have to trust Him while we adjust to the pleasures as they were meant to be, but when we do we’ll feel a little bit of Heaven even here on earth. 

Prayer prompt: Lord, teach me to trust You for pleasure by reminding me about all the good gifts You’ve already given.

April 12, 2024

Psalm 3:3

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

I want to be strong. I want my kids to see me as invincible and the one they can run to in trouble. I want to be Captain America, but I’m not. Really, I’m more like the scared kid than the invincible dad. That’s why this verse means so much to me. 

I am the scared kid, but I have an invincible Dad. God is a shield about me, total protection. God gives me what value I have calling me loved and His child. God lifts up my head when it droops from fatigue and discouragement. That’s just how good He is when I go to Him. Commit today to look to Him for your security, your satisfaction, and your identity.

Prayer prompt: Lord, let me look to you to lift my head, to be a strong shield around me.