Nothing.

This is the kind of verse that I can easily read, like the sound of, and highlight - only to forget later that it had pricked me with conviction. So, as I think about it, I want to simply pray in response. Maybe someone reading this needs to respond in prayer as well.

Lord God, make this verse true in my life! May I truly be able to pray with the Psalmist that I have nothing in heaven except You! May I truly be able to say that there is nothing on earth I desire except You! I confess that I have not placed you on the throne of my heart, often finding cheap replacements to serve and seek satisfaction in. Though I say with my words that You are all that I have, my life and actions speak otherwise, preaching to the world that I need more than You to satisfy. Lord God, I am reminded of how powerful You are, and how small I am in comparison. Yet, You loved me enough to send Your Son, You love me still to the point of eternal patience, and You will love me eternally, beyond any time I can imagine or understand. I glorify You, Father, because there is no one in heaven or on earth besides You who is worthy of my praise.

Jesus, be to me so ravishingly beautiful that I cannot tear my eyes away from You. Thank You for coming to this earth and living the perfect life that I am incapable of living. Thank You for being the perfect example of humility, sacrifice, and love. Remind me time and again of your glorious and terrible suffering on the cross for my sake. Forgive me for not trembling at the sight of it, for not weeping over Your sacrifice, for not being deeply broken over my sins which were the reason for Your suffering. Jesus, You died for me and rose again, and I am eternally grateful.

Holy Spirit, help me to meditate upon this verse, night and day, to the point that I truly begin to understand the extent of idolatry in my heart. Help me to know how to wage war with and kill the flesh that fights so strongly against me. Help me to confess my sins with conviction, and to turn away from them and flee to the cross. Remind me that my flesh and heart fail because of sin, but that God is my strength and portion forever. Remind me, Spirit, forever remind me that I have only to be silent and the Lord will fight for me. Remind me, Comforter, that God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Holy Spirit, fill me with power from on high so that I might proclaim the mysteries of this treasure hidden in jars of clay, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Create in me a heart that desires nothing other than to be a faithful witness to the glory of Christ, that wants to know nothing among those around me except Christ and Him crucified. Holy Spirit, draw me ever nearer to You because the nearness of God is my good. Finally, Holy Spirit, remind me that God is my refuge so that I can tell all about His works and so, send me out into this world to declare all that God has done for those who are dying without Him.

"What is Truth?"

Pilate asks the question to which everyone wants the answer. "What is truth?"

Not "What?" Pilate, but "Who?"

If only he had known Who he was talking to. If only he had not been so desperate to get out of this situation. If only he had not wanted to please everyone so badly. If only he had listened to his wife and her dream.

There are so many things about Pilate's actions that we can look at now, and wish they were otherwise. But, they cannot be otherwise. If it had not been Pilate, it would have been someone else acting so instrumentally in the crucifixion of Jesus.

But, I can realize that every day I ask the same question. "What is truth?" Every day I live as though I know the answer, whether it is Jesus Himself or some other god of my own making. Every day I have been given the grace to choose: which truth will I follow? Which god will I worship?

Will I believe the One Who came to earth as a man, who declared Himself to be ultimate Truth, who died the death I deserve to die, who paid the price I could never pay for my sins, who rose again and sits at the right hand of God and intercedes on my behalf?

Or will I follow the self-proclaimed truth that I am the master of my own fate, that I live in a world of my own making, that I am the god of my life and no one can take that power, security, or truth from me?

In light of Pilate's choice, so obviously conflicted and wrong after the fact, I must recognize and admit that I too have a choice.

What will I live for this day?

WHO will I live for?

Regret and Repentance.

"The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart."

Genesis 6:6

It seems that there are probably many times where the Lord could be sorry that He created man. We mess up so often.

As a reminder and rebuke to myself, what sins do I insist on repeating that might make the Lord regret having made me? Am I headed down the road to death?

As an encouragement and challenge to myself, how am I confessing those sins and living in the grace that God has given through Jesus and His blood shed for me on the cross?

I want to live a grace-infused, repentance-laden daily walk with the Lord. Where are you in this journey? Let's pray for each other to walk daily in this way.

Lukewarm

                                  

I was reading part of Crazy Love by Francis Chan and this section about lukewarm Christians greatly challenged and convicted me. What aspects of this description fit you and your life? I know I have a lot to repent of after thinking through these things.

"Lukewarm people:

• Attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go.
• Give money to charity and to the church… as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so.
• Desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions than what God thinks of their hearts and lives.
• Don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.
• Are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers.
• Rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion.
• Gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street.
• Say they love Jesus, and He is a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, money, thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives.
• Love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength.
• Love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves."

May this challenge us all to "return to our first love" through a deeper understanding of God's own love for us.

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5:8

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)..."

Ephesians 2:4-5

Without Christ, we are dead sinners, unable to do anything to help or revive ourselves. PRAISE GOD THAT HE SENT HIS SON TO PAY THE PRICE FOR OUR SIN, TO RESCUE US FROM OUR SIN, AND TO GIVE US NEW LIFE IN HIM!

Never Forget?

We remember, don't we? We remember a lot of things, some good and some bad. Today especially is a day that calls to mind so many thoughts of tragedy and loss that it seems almost unbearable.

September 11, 2001 changed the world. And it changed us with it.

May we never forget how our world was changed on that fateful day. But may we also never forget that millions of people live in that kind of tragedy on a daily basis. May our remembrance spur us to action. May our action show the love of Christ to a dying world. And may our love lead to words that explain the True Word to a world that is lost without Him.

If I'm honest, though, I get really tired of only hearing about that day every year. It's the same articles, the same social media posts, the same "God bless America" that we hear every year. And it's tiring. It's burdensome. It doesn't diminish the loss that some people still feel as piercingly as they did twelve years ago.

This morning as I read through various things, as I thought about the impending action (of whatever form it eventually takes) in Syria, I weighed those things in my mind against all of the other events that occur daily around the world.

Governments force political agendas. Rebels fight for freedom. Children starve to death or die from the dehydration of uncontrolled diarrhea due to dirty water supplies. AIDS runs rampant. Suicide is skyrocketing.

It makes me wonder. Have we gotten so caught up in remembering one event or another that we've ignored present realities? Have we gotten so wrapped up in ourselves that we've neglected everyone else?

Remembering is a good thing. God continually called His people to remember. It's a major theme throughout the Old and New Testaments. It's something that we should do as we live our lives - remember the past events that brought us to the present ones.

But remembering also has a purpose. God didn't just tell His people to remember. He told them to remember so that they wouldn't sin against Him. He told them to remember so that He would receive the glory for the great things that HE had accomplished on their behalf. Remembering is both for our holiness and for His glory. Anything less is, well, sinful.

Even more than our purpose in remembering, is God's purpose in it. There are two aspects that I think we often forget about. First, God remembers His promises to us. And He keeps them. God blesses His people, not only in America but worldwide.

Second, and this cuts me deeply, don't forget about all the things that God chooses not to remember. He says through the Psalmist,

"The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." [Psalm 103:8-12]

In Christ, He offers us chance after chance after chance. He offers us complete forgiveness and forgetfulness in regard to our sin. In Christ, we are washed as white as snow, we are bound by sin and death no more, we are free to live in submission to Him as adopted heirs into His kingdom.

That is the kind of memory that I want to be known for. That is the kind of life that I want to live. One that remembers the past, but doesn't dwell in it. One that sees how far God has brought me, and honors Him rightly for His undeserved grace toward me. If God can do that for me, then my life should certainly reflect it to others.

---

That you might know Christ,

Lady Gaga

Last week Lady Gaga released a new single. Now, I'm not typically a Lady Gaga listener, but for whatever reason I heard it on the radio and surprisingly the lyrics peaked my curiosity. To be sure I was hearing correctly, I looked them up. The chorus is incredibly revealing:

I live for the applause, applause, applause
I live for the applause-plause
Live for the applause-plause
Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me
The applause, applause, applause
[Lady Gaga]

Well, at least she's honest.

But as I listened, I could not keep the words of Paul from resounding in my head.

"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."

 John also contributes to the subject:

"Isaiah said these things because he saw his [Jesus'] glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God."

A difficult question comes to mind: am I as transparent as her? Aside from the accolades of a job well done at work or awards for good performance, social media has contributed just as much to our desire for approval. With friends and followers and likes and shares and view counts and on and on and on, aren't we all prone to "love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God?" If we're honest, aren't we all tempted "live for the applause" just as much as Lady Gaga?

If you claim to follow Christ, then your first priority from the moment you wake up each morning will be to make Him known to as many people as possible. That's the very essence of His final marching orders. None of us has an excuse. There are no exceptions. There is no Plan B. Whether your job is full-time ministry or teaching or working in a coffee shop or anything in between, your primary task is to make disciples of Jesus. His command to all of us is to reject the applause of man and to radically seek out the applause of God, and we do so by our faithfulness to confess Him as Lord and to proclaim His Gospel in all the contexts in which we have influence. The goal is to win the nations, not sit back and hope they figure it out themselves. The goal is to be a faithful witness for Christ and receive the applause of heaven, not spend our lives seeking the things of this world and gaining the approval of men.

It's one or the other. You can't have both. Which will you choose?

---

That you might know Christ,

Labor

[For context, read Ecclesiastes 5 and 6.]

We work so hard, don't we? We spend decades earning and saving money and stuff, preparing for all our 'golden years' of retirement, the time when we can finally do what we really want to do.

At the end of the day, though, that mindset is exactly the problem. The author of Ecclesiastes makes it very clear that if all our efforts are merely for "the mouth," then they will not last. That is, if all the hard work we put in is for temporary, vain pleasures, then we are wasting our time pursuing things that don't last for eternity and don't satisfy the soul.

It occurs to me that in seeking the so-called 'American dream,' we have unthinkingly perpetuated this kind of living. We have settled for finding satisfaction in a life well-lived...for ourselves. We have gotten comfortable with and encouraged the blatant, satanic lie that if we can have just a little more, we'll be satisfied. The basis of this problem, though, is that nothing satisfies the soul except God. Nothing brings the peace that passes all understanding except God. Nothing makes our lives worthwhile except for God. And nothing will last except that which is found in God.

I don't mean to say that having possessions or working hard and working well is bad, or even that planning for the future is bad.

But, then again, maybe I am. A little.

Possessions and work and planning for the future are not inherently bad things. After all, the Bible clearly teaches that God graciously gives to His children and that we are to be wise stewards of those things (Gen. 1, Prov. 31, and so many others). But how often do we treat them as we should? If you are honest, which is more likely: that you use those things for your own glory and your own purposes? Or that you use them to honor and glorify God?

Are you more likely to idolize the gift or worship the Giver?

I fear (at least in the Western Church) that we have allowed this idea to grow, and perhaps even encouraged it to flourish, in order that we might "help" the church grow and "help" the kingdom of God grow.

God doesn't need our help. He allows it.

Instead of "helping," though, it seems much more often we become satisfied with these vain pursuits themselves. As if anything but God could truly satisfy.

So, take an inventory. Check your heart and your motivation for all the things you do and seek after, for all the things you're storing up here on earth. Is it for God? Or is it really just for yourself?

If it is for God, good! The man who recognizes that all his possessions are a gracious gift from the Father is given the ability to enjoy them - because his satisfaction is in the Giver, not the gift. (Ecc. 5:18-20)

If it is for yourself, then God has something else to say. Using some rather graphic imagery, the author of Ecclesiastes says that seeking satisfaction in the gift, rather that the Giver, is so inevitably dissatisfying and pointless that it is better to have been miscarried in the womb. That seems wildly inappropriate, and yet it drives home the painful point:

Life has no purpose apart from God.

"All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet his desire is not satisfied." (Ecc. 6:7) Why? Because he labors to pursue the gift, rather than to please the Giver.

Would you live as though you had never been born?
Or would you live a life of purpose and meaning?

Then begin to view all things as graciously from God and use them generously for God.

In this alone will your soul find rest from your labor.

---

That you might know Christ,

Babel

Photo Courtesy: Kat Masback

Time passes. People come and go. It's all vanity.

This is the central message of Ecclesiastes 1:1-11. The author has come to the end of his life and realized the wastefulness with which he lived his life, and probably even recognized it in the lives of so many others.

Verse 8 captures it well:

"All things are wearisome;

Man is not able to tell it.

The eye is not satisfied with seeing,

Nor is the ear filled with hearing."

We were made for more, weren't we? The stuff we spend so much time collecting and pursuing is just vanity, an idol built to ourselves and our ingenuity. We're steadily continuing to build the Tower of Babel, a monument to how little we think we need God.

And yet, not a blink or a breath goes by without His sovereign hand guiding it to completion. All things in life, even the assumed, subconscious processes of our temporary, earthly bodies, are the gracious gift of God, at His good pleasure and for His great glory.

So, I close with a question. Will you work to build for God today?

Or will you vainly continue trying to build Babel?

---

That you might know Christ,

Notecard

We've been cleaning out a lot lately and in the process we've discovered many hidden treasures. Some things have been quite embarrassing and made us thankful to be past various stages of life (i.e. middle school...)

Some things, however, have been surprisingly insightful. We have some kind of wisdom stored in these noggins of ours! Anyway, this post is courtesy of Beth. She wrote this down (original to her or someone else, we don't know) an unknown number of years back, and we found it hidden away on a notecard. This is just one example of why I'm so thankful for the wisdom and insight she brings into my life on a daily basis.

"I'm sure most of you have figured out that the sexier you dress the more attention you get. But even though that attention can feel good, it's really not good for you. Everyone deserves to be loved, not lusted over. When you dress to impress, guys notice; but when you try to live a life that's honoring to Christ, a whole different set of guys notice. You just can tell because they're not going to look you up and down. Instead of thinking about you with no clothes on, they're thinking about you in your wedding dress. Instead of one night sex, they're thinking about what it would be like to grow old with you. Instead of wondering if you're a cheap date, they wonder if you're going to be a good mother. So if you're feeling left out because you don't show off your body, you don't date yet, or if you're thinking about taking it a little easier on guys by dressing a touch more conservatively; I promise you're going to get noticed."

To all the single (and married) ladies and gentlemen, know that we have been there. Know that we have struggled in the same ways. Know that we are praying for you as you fight to walk in relational purity before the Lord.

---

That you might know Christ,

Love

As I was reading this morning in Proverbs, I stumbled across this verse and just couldn't get it out of my mind:

"Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions." [Prov. 10:12]

As I read that verse, two thoughts came to mind immediately. First, Rob Bell's controversial book "Love Wins." While I disagree with the proposal that all people will be won to God and that no one will end up in hell, as the saying goes, "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while." Rob has recognized that love is very powerful. For many people, loving them where they are goes a long way to breaking down barriers between them and others. We could learn a lesson from that, especially those who make grand, potentially hurtful statements without thinking about the consequences of their remarks.

The second thought I had, though, was something Jesus said in Matthew 5:

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

Jesus' words indicate that my first thought is a correct one: we must love people, especially those we are expected to love. BUT, He is also communicating to us that we must love our enemies. So, what are the implications of this? Why is Jesus' statement relevant to my reading in Proverbs?

God is gracious in general ways to all of His creation, whether they respond to Him in love and gratitude or not. So, we love all people graciously, whether we agree with them or not, whether they reciprocate that graciousness or not. As Christians, that is our job, as strange as that might appear to others, because we are the people of God, we are aliens and strangers in this world, we are uniquely set apart for God's purposes.

That means we especially love our enemies, those who persecute us, those that we really disagree with. Like the Good Samaritan, we stop by the side of the road to pick up the injured soul and care for them far beyond what is commonly expected. I think there are many people who would do just that, in person. But online, in the easily anonymous world of social media, how many of us have written things that are equivalent to, not just ignoring an injured person, but stomping on their wounds and taking the rest of their money? I would hazard a guess that we're all guilty of that, especially with those we (sometimes very strongly) disagree with.

You see, Jesus set the bar. In spite of being perfectly innocent, He did not argue His case. In the face of radical injustice, Jesus was silent. Isaiah paints the picture this way: "He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed...He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth."

If you are a follower of Jesus, think of your own conversion. Was it Jesus' condemnation of you and your sin that won you over? Or was it His sacrificial love for you in spite of your junk? Our family, friends, and yes, even our enemies, are more likely won to Christ by our love for them than our condemnation. They are more likely to hear and believe the truth of our words when they feel the weight of our love behind them.

"Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions." Will you stir up strife today? Or will you love others?

After all, where would you be if Jesus hadn't loved you?