1  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 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. – Romans 5:1-5 (ESV)

Memorize this passage.

Study it thoroughly.

Let the message sink in your very soul.

Tuck it away in your mind so you can review it anytime you feel troubled, or useless, or hopeless.

Let go of the troubles that plague you.  There’s no reason to carry them any further.

You see, these five simple verses are among the most hopeful in all of Scripture.  Here Paul explains why we have every reason to hope and not fear, be joyous not dreading, find freedom in Christ and not imprisonment in guilt or pain or sorrow.

We have been justified by faith.  In other words, through our faith in Jesus – by placing our trust in and following Him – we have been found innocent.  Every sin forgiven.  The slate wiped clean.  Our records expunged.  The past is done.  Gone.  The old man is gone as well.  We are renewed through Jesus!  So let go of whatever it is in the past that is holding you down.

We have peace with God through Jesus.  The Greek root word for “peace” means “to join”.  In other words, because of what Jesus did on the cross for us, and because we have placed our faith and trust in Christ, we have a very real and tangible connection with God.  The damage done by Adam and Eve has been repaired.  The breach is bridged.  Through Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and now can approach God – anytime – with full confidence that He is with us, He is in control, and we can rest in Him.  So let go of whatever fear is holding you back.

We now stand in the grace – the unmerited favor – of our Heavenly Father, who loves us with a love that is beyond our frail capabilities.  He guides our paths.  He extends such grace to those who believe in Him, trust in Him, rely on Him.  God will change our hearts, form us and shape us and lead us down the path He has designed for our lives.  In His grace we find the right path for our lives, if we will but follow and trust is the Lord, and not our own ways.  So let go of whatever uncertainty is keeping you from stepping out in faith.

Because of all this, we have hope.  Hope in Christ.  Hope for the future.  Hope for the here and now.  Great expectations of salvation and help in time of need.  Will our earthly suffering end?  There is no promise of a pain-free life.  But we find meaning in our suffering, strength in our weakness, strength to carry on because we are being carried by the Lord.  So let go of whatever weakness has you incapacitated and let Christ be your strength.

The Lord is with you always.  The Holy Spirit is within you.  And He is lavishing you with His perfect love.  He has given each of His children the gifts we need: forgiveness, freedom, joy, grace, hope, love…  So let go of whatever it is that keeps you from accepting these gifts from the Lord – whether it’s doubt or hurt or fear or simple pride – and embrace God with great abandon.  Let go of the shame.  Let go of the painful memories.  Let go of the bitterness and hurt.  Let go of the need to feel in control of your life.

Just let go.  Rest faithfully in God.  Seek Him.  Place your whole hope in the Lord.  And discover the amazing peace that comes from simply resting in Him, despite how circumstances may appear.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. – John 6:33 (ESV)

This verse keeps coming back to me.  I cannot tell you how many times I have written about it.

I think God is trying to tell me something.

So often we live our lives out of order.  We put so many things first and try to fit God into our hectic schedules.  Or, probably more often, we don’t treat the Lord as if He is Who He really is: GOD, The God, Creator and Sustainer of the Universe and all it contains.  The Great I AM.  Our Heavenly Father.

It is easy to take God for granted.  After all, when life gets busy, we tend to dart through the hours and days with blinders on, rushing from home to work to school to soccer to bowling to canasta to the movies to mow the lawn to go back to work…

You get the gist.

And all of this turmoil and trouble and time tripping causes us anxiety.  We don’t take time to tend to what is important.  We lose our true focus and, when things go haywire and life hits the proverbial fan, we think, “How did that just happen?”

Then, after we’ve been blind-sided by life, we turn to God.  We run to Him, begging for help.

We promise to go to church every Sunday if only He will ________________ (fill in the blank).

We determine to change, to put our lives right.

We begin seeking God.  And life begins to calm down.  We see God working in our lives and feel genuine joy.  And gratefulness.

Our faith is strengthened.  Our hope renewed.  Our focus sharpened on Christ.

And then…

The shiny object grabs our attention.  We slip into old habits.  If we’re not careful, we let life get ahead of us.  The Lord once more plays second fiddle to our schedules.

And we find our lives in reverse order once again.

The simple truth is this: so many of our stresses would be relieved, so many troubles averted, so many problems avoided, if only we would live our lives in the right order.

With the right perspective.

And the right priorities.

When we live our lives with Jesus at the center – truly spending quality time in His Word and in prayer – without putting our own wants first, we will find that the troubled that deviled us don’t bother us so much.  That’s because we aren’t mulling over our worries and fears and doubts.  We’re focused on the Lord and His will and His ways and His promises.

And it begins to dawn on us that life really and truly isn’t about us.

It’s about Christ.  It’s about what He did for us on the cross.  It’s about seeking His will first and foremost and far above my own imperfect desires and plans.

When we truly seek Go first, and put Him at the center of our lives, we find the peace and joy we so diligently seek.  It’s not that life always gets easier.  But, our focus switches.  And the troubles of this world see far less worrisome in the light of Christ.

If you are finding yourself over stressed, over burdened, over worried, over consumed, over booked, over busy, overwhelmed… stop and consider the order of your life.  Are you putting God first in your life, or trying to stuff Him in a box to fit in your crazy schedule?  Are you truly making Him Lord of your life, or paying Him lip service?  Do you trust Him enough to let Him call the shots, or do you want to be in control and let God have an advisory role in your life?

These are questions I ask myself quite often.  And the honest answer is not always very comfortable.  But I have found that, when I seek God first – when I lay down my control freak tendencies and my worries and fears and doubts and realize that I don’t need to know the outcome but The One Who determines the outcome – then I experience freedom.  I find peace and joy and rest for my soul.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. – Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16  For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. – Psalms 51:14-17 (ESV)

Shiny and new.  That’s how our society likes things.  We would sooner replace something that needs repair than fix it.

These are definitely the days of disposable thinking.  Corporations even help us along by manufacturing products with “built-in obsolescence”.  We had an appliance salesman once tell us that “they don’t build freezers like they to.  If you have an old chest freezer that still works, don’t get rid of it.  The new ones are made to last only about seven years.”  (I have no scientific data to back up the salesman’s statement.  I am merely paraphrasing his words.)

It’s a good thing for us that God doesn’t take that approach.  When sin entered the world, the Lord could have looked at Adam and Eve and said, “Well, they’re broken.  Guess I’d better toss ’em out.  They’re useless now.”

But He didn’t.  Instead He made a way for us.  Even when humanity became so sinful and depraved that God opted to flood the earth and wipe the people from the face of the earth, He waited until only one righteous family (Noah’s) remained.  That way, mankind would not be utterly obliterated, but would have another chance.

Even at that low point, humanity was deemed worthy of saving by God.

God did not create mankind with “built-in obsolescence”.  Rather, it is in our brokenness that we are strengthened, matured, and deemed worthy.  To have a “broken and contrite heart” is to realize our sinful nature and how totally we rely on God.  Our hearts are broken and contrite when we turn away from our old ways and allow God to break us and “create in (each of us) a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within (us)” (Psalms 51:10, ESV).

We are not worthy because of anything we do or say or think.  We are righteous because God has made us so.  Some folks have a hard time with that simple truth.  They want to hang on to past sins and pains like a badge of honor.  While scars are permanent reminders, they should bring back the memory of a wound bound and healed.  The scar means the pain is gone.  The wound is healed.  Scars should bring joy, as they illustrate God working through our brokenness.

Consider this: when we have a broken bone, we cannot fix the injury ourselves.  We need a doctor to set the bone so it will heal properly. As the bone begins to repair, there is a point when the area of the break is stronger than the unbroken parts.  Later, when healing is completed, the entire bone – even the area where the fracture occurred – is of equal strength.

So it is when we are broken in spirit.  Broken in family.  Broken hearted, broken in any way.  We cannot heal ourselves.  We need Jesus.  And when God comes to help us, we are stronger at the area of the break than anywhere else.  Once we are healed, the scar remains to remind us of God’s great love and care for us.

For you.

It is through our brokenness that we find how helpless we are, yet not disposable.  God is with us.  Which is good news, because we cannot survive without Him.  And our scars serve to remind us – and proclaim to others – that God is good!  That the Lord loves us each so much that He sent His Son to die for us.  That He is our healer, The One Who cares for us.

The One Who says we were not created with “built-in obsolescence”.

It doesn’t matter what you have done.  Go to the Lord.  Be utterly broken of yourself and your sin and let God our Father save you.

Mend you.

Heal you.

No, you don’t deserve it.  None of us do.  It is a gift from our Loving Savior.  And what true gift has to be earned?

  We all have – or have had – those moments when we are tempted to not believe that God is near.  Even though He promised to never leave nor forsake (abandon) us, we sometimes get overwhelmed with emotions, worries, pain, insecurity, sorrow… so much so that it can be very very difficult to experience God.
Here’s a quick tip: if you’re feeling like the Lord is nowhere to be found, go outside.

Look up at the sky.

Notice the blue hues of a clear day.  See the clouds wisping by ever so gently.  Feel the sun warm your skin.  Watch the birds fly by.

If the day is gray, notice the swirl of the sky above.  See the way the clouds turn and swirl.  If it’s raining, feel the drops on your face.  

If it’s night, check out the moon.  Understand the stars are suns, hundreds or thousands of light years away (meaning you are seeing light emitted hundreds or thousands of years ago).  Look at the constellations, the twinkling lights that have guided humans across this earth for eons.

Look at all this and ask yourself: what human can create anything this magnificent, this intricate?  How could this all possibly continue to revolve and move with great purpose and not be guided by the hand of God?  

Look up.  He is there.  Maybe you cannot see Him, but you see His creation.

And His sustaining power.

And He – God the Creator, God our Father – is sustaining you as well.

You are loved, dear one.  Deeply, completely loved.

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? – Psalm 27:1 (ESV)

I have a particular bent against worry and anxiety.  There was a point in my life when fear nearly consumed me.  Like the apostle Peter, the waves nearly pulled me under. 

But God didn’t let me drown.  He didn’t let anxiety get me.  He didn’t allow fear and worry to drag me the bottom of the depths.

Tonight, I sit here thinking about how many of my friends and loved ones are courageously facing cancer.  I think of those dealing with other illnesses, or family struggles, or money issues, or just general anxiety issues.

I know so many of you are hurting, uncertain about the future, mourning,  troubled, saddened, frightened…

This comes straight from my heart to you.  Trust in Jesus.  Trust in the Lord.  I know it may sound like a cliche, which is most unfortunate because faith is the answer.

How often do we struggle over the uncertainty of the future?  If only we knew what was going to happen, we could plan for it.  Save for it.  Brace ourselves for it.  Maybe somehow change – or even avoid – the situation altogether.

The simple fact is we cannot know with certainty what tomorrow will bring.  But we can put our trust wholly in The One Who does.  We can rest in Him and say, “No matter what happens, the Lord is with me.  He is my shield, my helper, my guide, my Father.  No matter what happens, He is beyond circumstances.  He is greater than anything I dread.  In Him I place my full faith.  Not in my limited intuition or intelligence.  Not in my ways.  Not in what others say.  My faith is in God, and He has the final say.  Period.”

Truly, we have nothing to fear.  Nothing past, present or future.  We are God’s and, no matter what, He has a plan.  He will gives us the strength to endure, the wisdom to enlighten, the direction to press on.  He will use us to bless others who face what we each face.

You are not alone.  You are not helpless.  You have a large community of fellow believers in Christ ready to embrace you.  Most of all, you have God.  He will never leave you.  He will not abandon you.  He may have you in a painful season to teach you something.  But, regardless, He is with you.

Can you think of a gift on earth more precious than that?

Photo by S. Sepp.

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! – Psalm 27:14 (ESV)

“Wait” is a four-letter word.  In my mind it ranks right up there with the most offensive four-letter words ever uttered (you know, like “diet” or “kale” [blech!]).  I don’t know about you, but my life is busy (another four-letter word).  Who has time to wait?

Sometimes we’re waiting in traffic (as in “slow” – go ahead and count the letters in that word as well).

Sometimes we’re waiting for something far more serious – a doctor’s report, financial help, healing in a relationship that’s gone sour… any number of troubles that come to us in life.

And waiting isn’t always easy.  Waiting can often lead to worry (worse than a four-letter word by one letter).  And worry leads to anxiety.  And the two together lead us away from faith.

There is good reason why Jesus tells us to keep our eyes on Him.  We are called to abide in Him – to stay (a good four-letter word) in Him, make God’s will – His kingdom – our home.

This leads us to one of my favorite four-letter words: hope.  The apostle Paul reminds us to “rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12, ESV).  When we do these things, we keep our focus on the Lord and His promises.

And, as Peter learned when he walked on the water, staring at the storm will only cause us to drown.  But keeping our eyes on Christ saves us.  He is our hope.  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

Another lesson Peter has shared with us: “…with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8, ESV). God operates on a whole different plane than we do.  He is not contained by time or matter.  The past, present and future are all the same to our Heavenly Father.  He is utterly boundless.

His timing is perfect.

His strength is perfect.

His love is perfect.

His ways are perfect.

We are not called to understand everything, or know when (or if) things are going to come to pass.  But we are called to be faithful, to put our full trust in God.  We need to simply lift our hearts to the Lord and know that, no matter how life goes, we are God’s children. He loves us and will never abandon us.  His will (four-letters, great word) eclipses anything we believe we need (yes, four-letters again).

Our strength comes from hopefully waiting on God, knowing He is far above our circumstances.  He has a plan (four letters again) for our lives – for my life, for your life.

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. – Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)

Maybe “wait” isn’t such a bad four-letter word after all.

it is amazing how much we try to limit our limitless God.  We want to define Him, possess Him, contain Him, conform Him to our thoughts and ideas and notions and isms.

The thing is, the Lord is simply too great to measure.  We cannot fully grasp Him and His ways for He is God, the GREAT I AM.  

And we are not.

This is why we have to trust Him, because we cannot fathom Him.  He works beyond the fragile limitations of our imaginations and feeble intellect and logic.

He loves us.  This unbelievable Heavenly Father is to be utterly believed.  He is pure and holy – indeed, He defines purity and holiness – so we can trust Him (as we are commanded to).  He is just so we know He has right on His side (after all, He defines truth and right).  He is infinitely capable and willing, through His unimaginably immense love, strength, grace and mercy, to see us through any / every situation in life.  

He is love.  And, as the ultimate sacrifice for we, His children, our Heavenly Father sent his Son as an utterly perfect sacrifice, bearing our sin and shame and opening a way to be able to approach our Lord and Savior.

He makes a way for us where none seems possible.

He sets on the right path and never abandons us.

He lives within us.

He is our strength, our guide and counselor.  

He is our ever present help in times of trouble.

Why would we want to contain Someone so great?  We cannot box Him in anyway.

Tonight, whatever you’re facing in life, be thankful, for God has blessed you richly.  Be joyous, the Alford is at hand.  

Love God.  Love others.

Reach out in love.

And accept the love you are given.

#StandUpForChrist

 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. – James 4:8 (ESV)

Some days are tough.  It’s hard to get passed the events of the day, and the temptation to latch on to just a little anger, or just a little worry, or just a little doubt, is great.

Instead of following negative emotions, draw near to God.  Pray to Him.  Cry out to Him.  Seek Him.  If you set the junk aside, cast your anxieties and concerns and cares on Him, and humbly, worshipfully, prayerfully draw near to the Lord, He promises He will draw near to you.

It is amazing the peace that comes when we give up the pain and sorrow and replace it with faith and joy, trusting God despite the circumstances.  And, yes, no matter what’s going on, regardless of what has happened, or what you may have done or said, or how deep down in a hole you find yourself, God will be there for you. 

And with you.

You need only be humble and honest, and draw near to God.  Don’t rest on your emotions.  Don’t give in to your fears.  Don’t let the enemy have one ounce of pull over you.  Rest in faith in Jesus.  Know He will never abandon you.  Know the Lord has a purpose for the things you face.

Quiet your soul and seek the Lord.  Draw near to Him.

Now.

Let His peace flow over you.

Now.

Let go of the anxious thoughts, the unforgiveness, the pity, the low emotions, and let God fill you with His love and mercy and grace and joy.

Now.

Know how deeply you are loved.  Know that you are filled with great worth because you are who God created you to be, and you are His child.

#StandUpForChrist

Photo from Compassion UK’s blog site

16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ” – Luke 14:16-24 (ESV)

There is an old saying the goes like this: “You never know what you have until you lose it.”  And the easiest way to lose a gift is to refuse it.

A gift, by definition, is something of value or benefit that is freely given to another without obligation.  No strings attached.  Granted, in our society, there is no free lunch.  When the hucksters on late night TV promise a free gift with your order if you call now, wisdom often pipes up and says, “No, no, no…  The offer is too good to be true.”

Likewise, if a man gives his grandson five dollars to buy some ice cream, that is a gift, given out of love.  No obligations.  No strings attached.  (Except perhaps the hope that you might call or visit more often.)

The host in this parable of Jesus has obviously gone to great lengths to throw a sumptuous feast for his friends.  The celebration has been planned – and the guests invited – well in advance.  This was no surprise party.

And there were no strings attached.  Nobody was getting recruited to sell products and lure friends into a Ponzi scheme or multilevel marketing pyramid.  The host of this banquet simply wanted to be a blessing.

One can assume that the many he invited were not strangers to him.  They may have been friends, family, people he liked and wanted to get to know…

But they all had an excuse to look a gift horse in the mouth.  All were too busy, too self consumed, to be inconvenienced by this man’s loving invitation.

The allegory contained within this parable is simple.  The host, the Lord of the house, is God.  God had invited the Israelites – His chosen people – to a feast, a banquet, a relationship with Him.

And, while they initially accepted the invitation, when Jesus (the Promised and Much-Sought Messiah) came to let them know the feast was ready, they couldn’t be bothered.  They were too into their own Pharisee thing.  They rejected the gift.

And they paid for it dearly.

And now, the gift is offered to us.  We are the blessed recipients of the great feast of the Lord through Jesus Christ.  Often we are invited through pain or fear or sorrow or guilt or shame.  We finally open the invite when we hit bottom.  When the pain becomes unbearable, the anxiety too stressful, the guilt too pressuring, the battle too big… When we have nowhere else to turn, we accept His gift.

We have set before each and every one of us the invitation to come to the Lord’s banquet.  Here we can feast on all the good gifts of God: forgiveness, eternal salvation, our path set straight, amazing grace, truth, righteousness, hope, rest, peace, strength, wisdom, direction, love…

We begin to seek the Lord and, as we do – if we truly look to establish a relationship with our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ His Son – we find ourselves relying less on His gifts and more on Him.  We begin to love God (and others) not for what He can do for us, but for Who He is.  After all, that is how He loves us.  Unconditionally.  No strings attached. Just pure, genuine love.

Today is your chance.  Today you can cast off the ugliness in your life: the anger, the doubt, the fear, the need for control, the dashed hopes and shattered dreams, the broken relationships… Today – right now – you can be rid of the burdensome yoke around your neck.

(Jesus said), “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)

When the servant comes to call of you because the grand feast is ready, and a place for you is set, do not reject the invite.  This is your chance.  This is opportunity knocking.  And if you refuse, you may never know what you just said “no” to.

  Late in the 4th century, two brothers arrived in the desert in Egypt to live among the Nitrian monks.  The sons of a recently deceased Spanish merchant, Paesius and Isaias had inherited a considerable sum of money and wanted to use their windfall to serve Christ.

However, the two brothers each took very different routes in their service.  One took his inheritance and shared it with other monasteries and people and institutions in need.  The other built his own monastery and, instead of spreading his wealth, opened his doors to any who needed help.

After both bothers had passed away, there was some debate among the monks as to who was right in the way they used what God had given them.  There was considerable dissension between those who preferred the method of Paesius and those who favored Isaias’ approach.  The two parties approached Pambo, the founder of the Nitrian monastic order, to settle the debate once and for all.

His answer: “Both were perfect.  One showed the work of Abraham; the other, that of Elijah.”  

It is easy to get caught up in the religion minutae of what it means to follow Christ and exactly how we should go about serving.  The apostle Paul points out the answer quite plainly:

 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. – Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV)

What we do is not nearly as important as why.  Paesius and Isaias both had in their hearts the God given desire to serve others in Christ’s love.  And God gave each the desires of their hearts.  The point isn’t the methodology.  It is their faithfulness.  Each of the brothers used their God given skills, gifts and direction to serve in Jesus’ name.  And, in the end, The Lord honored both – equally.

What has God called you to do?  Are you doing it?  If yes, keep on keepin’ on to the glory of God!  If not, what’s stopping you?  Are you afraid of what others might think or say?  Is God asking something radical of you that you don’t feel you can do?  

If we want to be happy in life, we must be faithful.  We have to listen to the still small voice of the Spirit when he says, “Go here”, or “Feed my sheep”, or “Give it away.”  Nothing we do should be defined or contained by what we believe we are capable of.  For without the Lord, our capabilities are of naught.

Nothing.  

Zippo.

Zilch.

Nada.

But, with Christ, serving Him, seeking Him, loving others in His name, we cannot fail.  Even the things we may believe to be failures are useful in the hands of God, Who works all things together for the good of those who love Him.

Don’t worry about what to do.  Don’t concern yourself with what others think.  Critics are nothing more than people who failed and lacked the courage to get back up and try again.

Listen to the Lord.  Seek His guidance, His wisdom, His mercy and grace, His direction… His kingdom first and foremost.  Go where He says to go.  Do what she says to do.  Fix your eyes on the prize of Christ and run the race set before you – fearlessly, faithfully, joyfully, knowing you have the backing of our Lord God, the Creator and Sustainer of all!

#StandUpForChrist