No, I’m not referring to listening to a quirky ‘80s band every morning. I mean “devo” as in devotional – time spent on God’s Word and prayer, time to focus on the LORD, time invested alone with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  I treasure this predawn time with God.  There is no daily experience sweeter than communing one-to-one with the Creator, worshiping Jesus and soaking in His goodness, grace, mercy and love.

I must admit that this has always been a struggle for me. “Entering into His presence” can be tough for one with a brain like a runaway train, always rattling recklessly down the tracks. 

Clickity-clackity-clack…

One of my Achilles heels has always been that I am better at starting great projects than seeing them through to fruition.  I have stacks of half-filled notebooks brimming with half-baked ideas, half-written stories, half-hashed plots and plans, that stand as a testimony to my unfocused, disorganized, scattershot thought processes.  Collectively they represent a vast array of incompleteness – everything I have ever not done.  (Well, everything I bothered to write down…)

Here’s an example of my runaway train of thought as I study a passage of Scripture:

“Wow… I wonder what Paul means by that.  I oughta do a quick word study to get some depth of meaning here.  Where’s my Strong’s Dictionary…”

“Hmmm… it sure is quiet in this office.  A little Caedmon’s Call in the background would be nice this morning…”

“Jesus and His disciples walked everywhere, and did so either barefoot or in sandals.  How’d they do that?  Too bad they didn’t have sneakers back then.  You know, when your feet hurt, your whole body…”

“What a beautiful sunrise!  I need to get a photo of that for today’s Facebook post…”

“I can’t remember.  Do I prefer Anjou or Bosc pears?”

“Hope Mamaw’s getting settled in her new surroundings.  Lord, please bless her with great joy in her circumstances…”

“Bet it’s steamy over in Guangzhou today.  Man, I’d love to go back there!”

“Focus, focus, focus… Austin will be up soon.  I hope Jennie’s hairdryer doesn’t wake the boy up…”

“Which one is the red pear?  I think it’s the Anjou…”

“I gotta remember to email people tonight about small groups…”

“The weatherman said we might get some snow tonight.  Wonder if it will miss us.  The snow always goes around us…”

“Oh man!  The van is due for an oil change.”

“I wonder if there is some psychological reason why I prefer red pears over the normal tan ones.  The Boscs are the tan ones, right?”

“Boy, do I have a stack of paper waiting for me when I get to work today.  Lord, please help me through the day…”

“I haven’t talked to mom or dad in a few days.  Better call them tonight.  Oh, and remember the emailing that needs done…”

“I wonder if it ever snows in Guangzhou.  Surely not.  I doubt it ever gets cold enough, seeing as how it practically sits on the Tropic of Cancer…”

“Bosc, Anjou… Bosc, Anjou… If I have one of each pear, I could taste them, compare, and know which one I prefer.  I’m sure it’s the red one…”

I think you get the idea.  It takes a lot of concentration some mornings.

Clickity-clackity-clack.

However… if I have a clear-cut destination and directions for my journey, my mind follows along the tracks much easier. With that in mind, and all I have been listening to lately about the Christological approach to theology (Christ-centered Bible teaching that recognized Scripture as a cohesive whole as opposed to a series of parts and pieces, all with Jesus Christ at the center), I have decided to read the Bible.

The whole Bible.

Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.

Creation to re-creation.

Every word.

Even the genealogies and begats.

I am not placing any time constraints on this project, because I do not want to miss anything.  The Bible is not a book to be read quickly.  There is not one wasted word in all of Scripture.  No filler, no fluff.  It is the most economical collection of written works ever scribed and complied.  Speed reading Scripture sorely nullifies the benefits and effectiveness of thorough Bible study.

And, yes, study is the key word here.  I want to know God deeper, understand His will and ways deeper.  This isn’t a race or attempt to impress anybody.  It is just the fulfillment of a desire to read God’s Word in it’s entirety, in succession, as the Protestant canon of Scripture lays it all out. 

Being a theology student for so many years, I have read the entire Bible.  But not necessarily as a whole.  This I what I want to experience: the progressive revelation of God in His Word, in the order it is presented.  I may even throw in some Apocrypha when I finish Malachi, just to get a historical flavor for the 400-year intertestimental period leading up to the appearance of John the Baptist.

How long will this take?  Who knows?  Our Monday morning men’s Bible study group started the Gospel of John last May/June.  We’re just now in John 9.  It may take a year to read the whole Bible.  At the rate I’m going, it may take a decade.  Frankly, I’m ok with that.  I want to absorb it.  So, I’m studying my way through the Bible, not just reading it. 

I want to know the LORD better.  I want a better walk with Thee.  I want to be a workman worth His wage (not that I can earn anything with God, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try).  I want to be a better Christian – a better husband, better dad, better son and grandson and nephew and uncle.  A better friend and brother in Christ.  A better teacher, better writer, better leader… And I know I cannot do these things on my own.  I cannot change me.

Clickety-clackety-clack.

Only God can truly change the heart and mind of a person.  Only God truly knows what I need.  Only God can keep the train from derailing, or put the locomotive back on the right tracks.  So, it behooves all of us to spend time with Him – in Him, through His Word and prayer.

So today I begin this trek through His Word.  I ask for your prayers as I head out on this journey, that I do not get distracted or derailed.  That I grow through this undertaking – not merely knowing His Word but knowing Him – the Great I AM – better, closer, deeper.  That I stay the course in life that He has plotted for me.  That He makes me a more effective minister of the Gospel.  That God uses me in a great and mighty way.  That it not be about me, but about the LORD.

Clickety-clackety-clack… I hear that train a-comin’.

Definitely Anjou pears…

1. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.” – Psalms 14:1 (ESV)

Clever.  Very clever.  A group of Minnesota atheists raised $3000 to buy a couple of billboards – one in Minneapolis, the other in St. Paul.  They are designed to look just like the billboards a Christian anti-abortion group puts up, bearing a photo of a happy baby and a pro-life message.  It appears the atheists even used the same font style (or one very similar) for the lettering.

And what is the message these atheists want to get across?  The St. Paul billboard states, “We are all born without belief in gods.  Learn how to be a born again atheist.”   The Minneapolis sign reads, “Please don’t indoctrinate me with religion.  Teach me to think for myself.”

Hmmm…

To my mind, the essential problem with atheism is rooted in a skewed view of reason.  After all, a national atheist group is holding their “Reason Rally,” followed by their national convention in Bethesda MD. (Ironically – or perhaps reasonably – enough, the city is named after Bethesda (or Bethsaida) in Israel – the place where invalids seeking healing gathered at the Sheep Pool, and where Jesus gave sight to the blind man.)

Perhaps we should best define the meaning of the noun “reason.”  So that I’m not accused of dogmatic bias on this, I will use a secular source: the Random House dictionary:

1. “a basis or cause, as for some belief, action, fact, event, etc.: the reason for declaring war.

2. a statement presented in justification or explanation of a belief or action.

3. the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences.

4. sound judgment; good sense.

5. normal or sound powers of mind; sanity.

6. Logic . a premise of an argument.

7. Philosophy .

a. the faculty or power of acquiring intellectual knowledge, either by direct understanding of first principles or by argument.

b. the power of intelligent and dispassionate thought, or of conduct influenced by such thought.

c. Kantianism . the faculty by which the ideas of pure reason are created (1).”

To an atheist, there is no God – no Deity, no Creator, no Savior.  What is reasonable to them is that mankind is the be-all and end-all of life.  Humanity lives to please ourselves.  People love one another, but not God.  Human beings define truth.

The problem is that these ideas are not reasonable.  Look around you: you see evidence of a Creator all around you!  Blue skies by day, a brightly lit universe at night.  Trees.  Rivers.  Animals.  People.

People – humans – beings who can think and feel and see and taste and hear and comprehend and write and draw and do. 

And reason. 

But as humans, we are not as smart as we think we are.  Hence, our abilities to reason alone are hampered.  This is why some simply can’t see the forest for the trees when it comes to God.  They reason that if they cannot the Lord, He must not exist.  They will accept such nonsense as Darwinism and not entertain the reasonable view that all of creation must have been created, and thus there must be a creator, and that Creator must be higher than we are.  Some claim it is all “intelligent design,” which basically means there is a God but, to save face, we can’t admit He is God.  How reasonable is that?

What sense is there in living for one’s self?  How can we reconcile that with loving the people around us?  By definition, love is putting the interests of others above self.  How can we prefer ourselves over others and prefer others over ourselves at the same time?  How reasonable is that?

And what is truth?  Truth must be absolute, otherwise it is merely opinion.  Without truth, we have no morals.  Without truth, we have no basis for reason.  So, to be reasonable we must have absolute truth.  And, since humanity is so flawed, we simply are not intelligent enough to fully outline – let alone fully comprehend – what truth really is.  How can man, who does not know everything, possibly be the definer of ultimate truth?  How reasonable is that?

The simple truth is that there is a God – a loving Creator and Sustainer of all.  And that God is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit of the Bible.  He Created all this world and the universe around it.  He sustains life on this earth.  (Think about it: your heart beats, your brain functions, your lungs inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, all without you having to think about it.)  And reality – concrete reality – exists, therefore truth must exist.  And that truth comes from the One Who is Truth Himself: God.

2 “The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. 4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord?” – Psalms 14:2-4 (ESV)

The Hebrew word translated here as “understand” is śākal, which basically means to intelligently consider – or, thus, to reason.  If you think about it, it is only reasonable to figure out that God exists, that He is in control of all, and that we had all better be seeking Him. 

Look at verse 4 above.  “Have they no knowledge?” can be translated as “Are they blind?”  (Again, atheists, Bethesda – irony or God?  I know what I believe…)   To truly believe in no belief at all is the epitomy of blind ignorance.  Atheists cling to a faith in no faith.  How sad.  How unreasonable.

5 “There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous. 6 You would shame the plans of the poor, but the Lord is his refuge. 7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.” – Psalms 14:5-7 (ESV)

Living a life that is true and reasonable requires faith in the God Who is Creator and Sustainer of all, who is Truth Himself (and, therefore, Existence Himself), who is Love Himself (for only Love in its purest could bear sinful humanity and, considering all the horrible things man does to his fellow man, we cannot – as a whole – bear one another and, therefore, do not possess the ability in an of ourselves to truly love anyone). 

There is no reason for atheists to claim they believe in liberty of belief yet want to deprive Christians of their rights in the process.  If, as an atheist, one chooses not to believe in God, that is their choice.  I wish it were not, but it is.  However, such a choice does not entitle them to try to take away the rights of Christians (which some have been systematically and legally trying to do since 1959).  And, Christians, don’t despair.  God will have the ultimate victory.  So will those who follow Him.

The simple truth is that our battle is not against atheists, “for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, ESV).  We know all too well where the root of such non-belief in unbelief lies.  As Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10, ESV).  Robbing people of faith – the ultimate endgame of atheism – is spiritual larceny on a grand scale. 

Still, it is far better to be stronger in standing up for our faith in Christ, as opposed to standing against atheists.  We need to let God’s love shine through us, being merciful and kind – being salt and light.  Remember that dark cannot put out light, but light can certainly illuminate the life out of darkness, exposing the lie that it is. Now that is reasonable!

Source: (1) "reason." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 28 Jan. 2012. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reason>.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV).

This is for my Mamaw Day.  Praying you are up and around and feeling better soon.

Pills.  When I was a kid, I hated them.  When I was sick, I was all for the “bubble gum medicine” – that thick, pink liquid that looked like Pepto-Bismol but tasted like Bazooka Joe gum.  But pills… no thanks.  If one of them got caught in my esophagus or, worse yet, went down the wrong pipe and dropped straight into a lung… I shuddered to think of the medical consequences that could befall me at such a young age. 

Pills!  How could my doctor be so irresponsible?  The cure was certainly more dangerous than the disease!  Never mind that our cousin and I had seen my little brother swallow a marble without the least bit of gagging (even when our mom lifted him up by his feet and shook him – although his face was a little red from all the upside-down bobbing).  In fact, he passed the marble the next day without incident.  (Ask Mom.  She’s the one who had the unpleasant task of insuring the little glass orb successfully completed it’s digestive voyage.  Ah, the joys of parenting…)

(Mom, if you’re reading this… he acted of his own volition and was goaded in no way at all into performing such a dangerous act.  We were in no way accomplices in the whole episode.  In fact, we begged him not to do it!)

(Matt, my dear brother, if you are reading this… sorry to throw you under the bus like that.  I love you.  It’s all in fun!  And I didn’t even mention Mamaw’s candy dish, which I will now take my fair 10% share of the blame for breaking.  [Just kidding!])

If not for my grandmother, I might never have taken a pill in all my life.  My throat would perhaps, to this day, pucker up and seal off any foreign intruders at the merest mention of the word “aspirin.”  But, my Mamaw Day came up with the solution (and a simple one at that): jelly.

Grape jelly.

One spoonful of the delightful breakfast condiment with said pill tucked in its midst.  The jelly would act as a protective vehicle to fool my throat and carry the offending medicine safely and swiftly to my stomach.  It was a trick she had employed with her kids.  Now I got to be the grateful beneficiary of such wonderful grandmotherly wisdom.

There is something about gratitude that can make even the bitterest pill easier to swallow.  Gratitude – thankfulness – changes our perspective considerably.  We need to realize that we are who we are, where we are when we are, and our circumstances are what they are because of the Lord’s perfect will and plan for our lives.  When we see our lives are safely and securely in God’s hands and realize we have nothing – nothing – to fear or dread (after all, “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” [Romans 8:28, ESV), then we can begin to live a life filled with gratitude for all God has done, is doing, and will do. 

True gratitude fixes our gaze off ourselves and onto our Creator and Savior.  It places Jesus squarely at the center of our lives.  Gratitude is the reflection of a heart that realizes, accepts and believes the forgiveness and peace offered by Christ.

And it makes even the worst, most painful, least pleasant events in (and aspects of) life far easier to take.

As an adult, I still immensely dislike taking pills.  But, knowing I am protected makes them far easier to swallow.  “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 107:1, ESV).

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” – John 8:31-32 (ESV)

We are all no doubt familiar – at least somewhat – with the story of John Clayton, the Earl of Greystoke.  He and his parents ended up stuck on the coast of Africa.  His parents both soon died, and Clayton was taken in and raised by a tribe of apes.  John Clayton’s identity disappeared, replaced by his new primate identity: Tarzan. 

Tarzan thought he was an ape himself.  He acted like one.  He swung from trees, ate what the apes ate, acted as the apes acted… probably even ate bugs off the backs of the other apes.

Of course, Tarzan of the Apes is a fictional work by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  But, in reality, stories abound of puppies raised by cats (and vice-versa) who ultimately believe they are of the species that raised them, not the one that bore them.  In a sense, sin has done the same thing to our created identity.  Man was created to commune with God, to live in His pure and holy presence.

Then came the serpent.  And now we are separated from God, no longer enjoying the identity we were created with.  We identify with the world, identify with our sins (past and/or present), identify with our jobs… 

But, the truth is, our identity is found in Christ.  While I realize that is a phrase that has almost become a pat answer, a feel good line that we may not be able to completely identify with or even grasp the reality of, knowing who we really are – who Christ says we are – sets our record straight and puts our lives in the proper perspective.  It is amazing to discover just how free one is in Christ – set free and separated from the false identities we carry.

Simply, sin branded us with a new identity, that of a condemned person with no eternal hope.  How often do we wallow in the mud of our self-pity and doubt and misery because we just can’t seem to get past some event, some sin, some ill-uttered word in our lives.  Someone referred to us as a failure, or worthless, or unable, or inferior.  Someone won’t let us let go of our pasts, our sins, our regretful words and deeds. 

Maybe that someone close to you, someone you love and respect.

Maybe that someone is you. 

We buy the lie hook, line and sinker that who we were defines who we truly are.  Once we become Christians – believing, professing, seeking His kingdom first, walking in the light of Christ, abiding in His Word – all of that old junk is buried.

Gone.

Scrubbed.

Expunged.

Once we believe – truly believe in God through Jesus Christ – the old is cast away, the new comes in.  Our identity is now that of God’s beloved, forgiven, justified child, on the road to sanctification.

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. – Romans 8:14-17 (ESV)

The use of the word “slavery” in Scripture is a point that may require some clarity.  Because of the United States’ 19th century history, we tend to place certain race-based connotations on the notion of slavery.  While that sad, barbaric practice is truly slavery, the term “slave” in the Bible refers more to an indentured servant – one who had a debt they couldn’t pay, so they worked it off.

“Indentured servant” is a more accurate description of the human condition.  Sin is a debt we can never repay.  We can’t even work it off.  The debt of sin makes paying off a maxed-out credit card look like a cakewalk.  The only way to get out from under the heavy burden of our trespass is to accept the once-and-for-all payment made on the cross by Jesus Christ – perfect, sinless, God-incarnate, dying a gruesome and undeserved execution for our salvation. 

It’s like Bob Dylan used to sing, you’re gonna have to serve somebody: the devil or the Lord.  In John 8, Jesus makes it clear.  Follow His Word (as opposed to the Law) – in other words, accept the free gift of salvation through the mercy and grace of God through Jesus Christ – and therein find freedom from sin and the identity thereof.  While we may profess one thing, our actions will ultimately betray us.  We will be exposed as either children of God or children of the devil.  God doesn’t work in shades of gray.  He is black and white.  Take Him or leave Him entirely. 

If you are following Jesus and seeking His Will in your life, wonderful!  Your identity is found in the freedom He has given you.  Your chains have been broken, your sin removed, your identity forever changed through adoption.  Like every adopted child, the day comes when you realize your identity hasn’t always been what you thought it was.  But, take heart.  Accept it.  Understand that you are now a child of the Living God, Creator and Sustainer of All Creation.  Including you.

This means you have nothing to fear.

This means you have nothing to dread.

This means you have the opportunity to turn around and follow Christ.

This means you are a child of God, no longer owing the non-repayable debt of sin.  Your account has been cleared.

And, by the way, in case you were curious…  Tarzan found his true identity again as well.  Twenty years after he was abandoned in Africa, Jane arrived – under amazingly similar circumstances (even landing at the same spot as the Claytons.)  Through Jane, the “Christ-figure” of the story, Tarzan discovers he has believed a lie almost all of his life: that he is an ape.  He discovers he is human.  And, not only that, a human of royal descent. 

As are you.

And now you know the rest of the story.  (Wow… that was a real Paul Harvey moment!)

Good day!

I am amazed at just how much stuff three people can accumulate.  Over the weekend, we picked back up on a huge de-cluttering project we started months ago.  Bags of trash are off to the dump, and boxes of usable goods will be heading to Goodwill.  We are simplifying and ridding ourselves of the chaos and disarray that clutters our home.

If we think about it, life is no different.  We can make ourselves miserable, bitter, anxious, depressed, by hanging on too tightly to the wrong things: past mistakes, sins, regrets, feelings of unworthiness or uselessness, pain, anger, worries…

Do you want to know the trick to having a blessed 2012?  It’s no real secret.  It’s not found in resolutions.  It is found in the simple act of bagging up the garbage in your life and tossing it out.  Now is the time to let go of the trash that traps us and walk out our lives in the light of the freedom we find in Jesus Christ.

Are you hanging on to some sin you committed, held back by the belief that what you once did defines who you are?  Let it go! 

Consider this:

1.  …Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2  Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” – John 8:1-11 (ESV)

The judgmental ones were prepared to stone this woman for her sin, and try to trap Jesus in the deal as well.  But notice Jesus’ reaction to the Phaisees.  He nonchalantly stoops down, writes with his finger in the dirt, and turns the tables on those who seek judgment: let whoever is sinless and blameless cast the first stone.  Then he bends back down to write in the dirt some more.  Jesus was practically dismissive of the Jewish leaders.  Why?  They were not the true authority.  Jesus is! 

And how did Jesus deal with the woman?  Did He berate her?  Did He read her the riot act for her adulterous behavior?  Nope.  “I don’t condemn you.  Go sin no more.”  She was forgiven.  The slate wiped clean.  So, whatever it is that is keeping you from moving forward in discipleship, holding you back from serving or worshipping or life in general… let it go!  Toss it out. 

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. – Romans 8:1-8 (ESV)

Now is the time to prayerfully change your mind, your outlook.  “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2, ESV).  “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:33-34, ESV).

What is troubling you today?  Is it worries about what the future may bring?  Is it condemnation (self –inflicted or otherwise) holding you down?  Is it a sin you just can’t seem to break?  Today is the day.  Now is the time.  Bag it up. Haul it out.  Toss it. 

6  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11  To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” – 1 Peter 5:6-11 (ESV)

God is in control, not you.  Go to Jesus with your troubles and doubts, fears and pains.  Love.  Forgive.  Experience the freedom of Christ.  Don’t take your junk to the Goodwill.  They don’t need it.  Rid yourself of it by running to Jesus and casting it off.

25  At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:25-30 (ESV)

Amen!  Happy New Year!  You are loved.

Austin is not my adopted child. He is my son – no different than if my wife had carried him in her womb and given birth herself. Strictly legally speaking, my son has not always been my son. But, in reality, from before he was born, Austin has been our child, our beautiful great gift from God. It just took an 18 month gestation period to get him home.

There is no difference in Jennie and I’s minds between his being adopted vs. shared DNA. Austin is, in the truest sense, our child. We were strangers at first in Guangzhou, but grew close quickly. We had pursued the legal hoops adoption hard. (If you thought a mortgage required a lot of paperwork to sign, talk to someone who’s gone down the adoption path.) Austin drew close to us and, by the time we left China, he trusted us. He knew we were his parents and he was safe and secure in our embrace.

The most amazing thing has been witnessing his growth. He has studied us, learned from us, watched us closely and imitated what we’ve said and done. (And still does. Especially the “what we said” part, which in this case isn’t always great, but, we’re human, and sometimes he picks up words like “booger” from his dear old dad.)

Austin’s identity is not what it was during his first year-and-a-half. Back then he was an abandoned Chinese boy, stuck in an orphanage with no real hope for life, destined to be stigmatized by circumstances not of his choosing. Indeed, in China, orphaned children carry a last name that indicates the province where they’re orphanage is located. Their very names – their identities – brand them with a social stigma that is very hard to overcome.

But, on June 23, 2008, all that changed. Guan Xin Rai became Austin Courtney. Today he is a happy, healthy, extremely active American boy – well-fed and greatly loved (and equally loving). He has a smile that would melt an iceberg. His happiness comes from a deep inner place, the peace of knowing he is loved and safe and of great worth. He eats Happy Meals, not congee. He sleeps in a comfy bed with a blankey, a pile of dolls and (most nights) a cat at his feet, not a crib with a plywood bottom – no mattress, no pillow.

That’s not to say the change was always easy for Austin. He had his challenges. For one, when he first walked outside in our postage-stamp yard, he didn’t like it. At all. He had never felt grass beneath his feet and the experience freaked him out a bit. The transition from congee and rice to American food was somewhat difficult. (To this day he is not a big fan of ice cream or other frozen foods, or certain textures.) I can’t imagine how he must have felt, going from nearly 18 months of never seeing anything beyond an orphanage to staying at a hotel in big, noisy Guanzhou and then… halfway around the world to America! From subtropical southeast China to Minnesota. Big blonde people. Round eyes. Odd language. Weird smells. Foreign sights. Nothing at all familiar. He just trusted Mommy and Daddy (and, for the first couple of weeks, he had grandparents helping a lot as well!)

So… why am I sharing all this about Austin with you? Because, whether you realize it or not, you are an adopted child as well. Take a look at this:

“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:12-17, ESV).

The Greek word translated as “adoption” – υἱοθεσία (or huiothesia) – refers to being positioned in a family as a son. In Roman society, an adopted child actually had greater rights than a birth child, because adoptees had legal rights as part of the adoption agreement, not mere social birth rights. To the Romans, they would read Paul’s words in Romans 8:15 in legal terms – we are adopted into the family of God. We are His children. We always have been. But, as Wayne Grudem points out in his classic Systematic Theology, we receive “new spiritual life” through regeneration, “legal standing before” God through justification, and membership in His family through adoption.

What does all this mean? You are God’s child. You always have been. Perhaps it just took a while for Him to bring you home. God pursued you. And, at first, perhaps you didn’t know Him. He was a stranger to you. But, you learn to trust Him. You study Jesus, learn from Him, watch Him closely and try to imitate what He says and does. At first, the relationship may seem awkward – new languages, little that looks familiar to you, being uncomfortable with the grass beneath your feet. And, the nearer you draw to the Lord, the nearer He draws to you.

Soon, you begin to look like your Heavenly Father. You pick up His mannerisms, His Words. The transformation won’t be perfect. You’ll still be an imperfect human. But, your identity has changed. Just like Simon when Jesus changed his name to Cephas, or the Christian-hating Saul who was changed to Paul after his encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road, or my little boy becoming Austin after we signed the papers in China, you are now a new person when you truly accept Christ. Austin still looks Chinese, but he is legally an American. When you look in the mirror, you still look like the person you were before Christ, but you are not. Your identity is found in Jesus Christ. Your eternal future is secure. You are safe in your Father’s hands. You don’t have to choke down congee any longer.

Strictly legally speaking, you have not always been God’s child. But, in reality, from before you were born, He has been your Heavenly Father. God loves you with a depth you cannot fathom. He wants you to continue growing closer to Him, bonding with Him, seeking His kingdom – your inheritance. You are God’s child, just as real as Austin is my beloved son. It doesn’t matter what you have done, where you’ve run, who you think you are… What matters is the Lord. What matters is letting our Father transform our very selves, and recognizing just what it means to be His child – and all the blessings and joy that come with it!

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:1-3, ESV).

As a teenager in the eighties, one of my favorite songs was (and, in fact, still is) Nick Lowe’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?” (made famous by Elvis Costello and The Attractions).  Lamenting all the darkness and hatred in “this wicked world,” Lowe finds himself asking, “Is all hope lost?”

For believers in Christ, the answer is simple: no.  Hope is most definitely not lost.  Indeed, to quote another singer (Sara Groves), “Hope stands defiant.”  The question of whether one can truly hold on to hope or whether their grip tightly to a false sense of security lies in the source of one’s hope.  18th century English poet Alexander Pope wrote, quite astutely:

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;Man never Is, but always To be blest:The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

This couplet comes from Pope’s An Essay on Man, written in the 1730’s to “vindicate the ways of God to Man.”   Better still is to view the words of the psalmist:

1  In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! 2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me! 3 Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4  Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man. 5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. 6 Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you. – Psalms 71:1-6 (ESV)

The simple truth is that our source of hope – our only hope at all – is found in the Lord, in God through Jesus Christ.  Our hope is found in faith.  Indeed, the two are intimately interrelated.  Read these two passages and see if you can find any similarities:

24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. – Romans 8:24-26 (ESV)

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. – Hebrews 11:1-3 (ESV)

2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. – Romans 5:2-6 (ESV)

So… to answer Mr. Lowe’s other questions, “Where are the strong? Who are the trusting?”  Well… it is the believers in Jesus Christ, those who live by faith in God, knowing He is our hope.  Not because of our circumstances but despite of them.  Not because of what we see but because of what God says.  Not because we are blind fools ignoring the world around us, but because we understand God is “The Way, The Truth and The Life.”  And we are His children, adopted into His family.  And our hope stretches far beyond the bounds of this sinful, imperfect world.

And hallelujah for that!

28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)

Have you ever seen a yoke? It is a big wooden device that attaches around the necks of two oxen so they will walk in tandem when pulling a cart or doing heavy work. They are bulky, uncomfortable and restraining. One ox has no choice but to go where the other ox goes. If one stops or trips, he may well be dragged along by the other.

If we look at the Greek words rendered “labor” (kopiaō) and “heavy laden” (phortizō), we get a mental picture of someone who is tired from the spiritual battles of life. Not just tired, worn down. Exhausted. On the ropes. Toiling. Struggling. Wondering when – or even if – the troubles of life will at least ease up. Worried. Anxious. Yoked to the burdens of this life.

Are you seeing the picture here? Look to your right. Who are you yoked with? Are you so tied to the problems and troubles and doubts and anxiety of life that, if you stumble, you feel as if you’ll be dragged along or run over? Then it’s time to change yokes. How?

It’s simple: you are going to be yoked to either the world or the Lord. The choice is yours. Our original created purpose is to be yoked to God (which is really no burden at all). However, through sin our inherited yoke is with the world and its trappings (and traps).

The wonderful news in all this is that, through Christ, we can be unshackled from the burdensome yoke of sin and shame and worry, and be united instead with the God of the Universe, with Jesus Who died for our sins. How can you shake off the heavy beam weighing down on your neck? David lays it out for us in Psalm 55:

1 “Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! 2 Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan, 3 because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me. 4 My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. 6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; 7 yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah 8 I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.” 9 Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it; 11 ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace. 12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me— then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him. 13  But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. 14 We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng. 15 Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart. 16 But I call to God, and the Lord will save me. 17 Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice. 18 He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me. 19 God will give ear and humble them, he who is enthroned from of old, Selah because they do not change and do not fear God. 20 My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant. 21 His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords. 22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. 23 But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.” Psalms 55:1-23 (ESV)

David was burdened, troubled by the evil around him. Yet he was yoked to the Lord! His fear is real. His cries for help are real. Look at verses 6 and 7, and selah – pause, ponder and meditate on it. Have you ever wished you could sprout wings and fly away from all your troubles – your worries, guilt, problems, heartaches, injustices…

Yes, David’s troubles are real. But so is his faith. Notice the boldness with which David cries out to His salvation. Moreover, look at verse 22. Here is how we rid ourselves of the old yoke that enslaves us to the world and all the junk that comes along with it. It is a verse that caught Peter’s attention as well: “Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” Could the message of Jesus and David be synthesized any more perfectly?

Cast off your cares. Cast off your anxieties. Cast them very purposefully and boldly to God, in faith, knowing His will is perfect. In doing so – again in faith – we take on the light yoke of Jesus. Cast off the old ways, learn Christ’s ways and find freedom in Him – life everlasting and abundant! “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, ESV).

Tonight I find myself faced with a choice.  Option #1: I can sit and worry about my troubles, mulling them over, rolling them around in my brain, trying to figure out this and that and running the mental loop of “what ifs” and “I really should haves,” and twist my thinking and emotions into pretzel knots without solving anything.

Or, I can take up option #2: I can sit and prayerfully ponder the Lord our God and take Him at His Word.  I can focus on Jesus and not myself.  I can converse with my Heavenly Father – my Redeemer, my Savior, my Protector – not like He is my buddy, but like a child going to His Father. 

My strength falters.  The Lord’s strength is never failing.  As Jesus said to Paul, “’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV).  In other words, the strength I need is not mine.  It is found in Jesus Christ.  It is found in resting in Him.  It is found through the Holy Spirit Who lives inside me. 

It is the reason Jesus tells us to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:33-34, NIV).  It’s why the Lord tells us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV).

It is why Paul exhorts us to “rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7, ESV). 

It is why Peter warns us, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:6-11, ESV).

The truth is that God is the Truth.  Not how I view my circumstances.  Not the stuff that awakens me at 3:00am.  If the subject of our worry has no eternal value, it isn’t worthy of worry.  Give it to the Lord in faith, trusting that He has a plan and is able to handle whatever we throw His way.  And, if the subject of our worry does have eternal value, it shouldn’t be handled with worry.  Give it to the Lord in faith, trusting that He has a plan and is able to handle whatever we throw His way.

So tonight, I choose option #2.  I choose to concentrate on the Lord Who loves me more than I can imagine.  I choose to spend time with God, seeking His will – His kingdom – and praying for the grace to please Him.  I choose to believe what Jesus said over what I think or feel.  I choose to trust the Lord Most High, Creator and Sustainer of all.  I choose to rest in Him, accepting that His grace is sufficient, His strength is perfect and His love is eternal. 

God loves me, and I am safely in His grip.

So are you, if you believe in Him.

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)

The devil isn’t all that original.  He’s never created anything.  All he’s ever done is lie and pervert God’s creation.  He takes God’s creation, intended to turn our focus to the Lord, and tempts us to make it all about us – our wants, our desires, our fears…

He makes someone else’s blessing our jealousy.

He whispers in our ears, telling us we deserve better.

He empties us of hope, leaving us with a void we try to stuff with food, or drink, or drugs, or entertainment, or bad relationships.

Jesus called him “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10, ESV).  And for good reason.  The simple truth is this: Satan hates you.  And he is going to do all he can to tempt you away from the Lord. 

But take heart!  If you’re a Christian, you have an escape pod.  An emergency exit.  A way out.  To find it, you have to get down on your knees.

No, it isn’t under the bed.

Consider this:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” – Ephesians 6:12-20 (ESV)

Our battle isn’t against people.  It isn’t against this world.  In fact, the battle isn’t really ours.  Ephesians 6:12-20 instructs us to stand strong in God.  Stay in faith, stay in the Word (which is where we find Truth) and stay connected in prayer.  There’s a real good reason Paul warns us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  In prayer, we draw near to God.  And when we draw near to God, He draws near to us! (James 4:8). 

We have to keep our focus on God.  When trouble comes, pray.  When the situation is too much, give it to the Lord.  Remember God’s promises.  If you stumble, take a wrong turn – and we all do – get back up in faith and cling to Jesus.

Satan may not be all that original, but he is a strong adversary.  However, he is also a defeated foe. God is stronger, God is sovereign, and God loves you.  With every temptation (which more literally means “test”) that is leveled our way, the Lord provides a way out.  Drop to your knees and and escape to the safety of Jesus.