Small Talk with a Big God

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(Matthew 26:38) Then [Jesus] said to [Peter, James, and John], "My soul is very sorrowful even to death; remain here, and watch with me."

O

In extraordinary grief, in the face of imminent death, having loved ones nearby is comforting--even though temptation and death are ultimately one-on-one battles. Jesus knew that watchfulness (that is, staying alert and prayerful) is crucial at these times because Satan, the deceiver who accuses, has found these to be easy opportunities for his successes.

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If I were there, conversing with Jesus on His last precross night (and presumably my own last night, too), what would I have talked about? How significant would my small talk have been? Here, where only darkness kept their human enemies away, Jesus' love for me is most visible. His great sorrow and compassion moved Him to "sell all He owned and distribute His wealth to the poor [us], so He could have greater treasure in Heaven, so we could follow Him there" (Luke 18:22-25).

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Savior, what has proven to be impossible for me, You have successfully achieved. You paid for my full salvation even while I kept trying and failing. I can never thank You enough for Your forgiveness and Your grace!

Sacred Gifts

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(Matthew 23:19, 20) You blind men! For which is greater, the gift of the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by everything on it.

O

These lost guides scrambled after the wrong goals: they believed their works and sacrifices were the precious commodities of spirituality. They were wrong. The altar represented God's justice and mercy, which made opportunities for them to eliminate their "gifts" of their excessive securities and back-breaking sins. Similarly, the temple represented a place to gather with God and His throne represented His universal government . . . each piece teachings about the character of God, who is Love.

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As much as I'm aware of my sacrifices in life, and more specifically in my service for the advance of my Savior's Kingdom, my sacrifices of praise and thankfulness are most accurate and refreshing when they're focused on the cross. There, Jesus made life available to me. And, as Jesus said, behind that altar is the presence and power of the Living God.

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Lord, how small I feel within the span of Your history of people, Your government of the universe, Your glory. Yet that very smallness encourages me, too. How amazing is Your love, then, that You would pay so dearly to manage all my needs.  I am humbled by Your attention and glorified by Your grace. What kind love this is that You would make me sacred to You!

Timeless Talk

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(Matthew 13:52) And [Jesus] said to [His disciples], "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the Kingdom of Heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

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In Heaven's Kingdom, King Jesus is inseparable from His person and His presence--this is the great treasure, and His Word is an expression of that. In this parable, the King's Old Testament and New Testament revelations of Himself merge into a whole preview of Heaven. Good house managers use both Testaments to make Jesus' presence the center of abundance for their households.

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Millennia ago, King David recorded that God's Words revive souls and cause hearts to rejoice (Psalm 19:7,8). I, too, long to feed my family with fresh insights into ancient revelations, and to be guided by the Holy Spirit so they are indeed fresh, timely, and beneficial. The cool thing is, unlike fragile antiques, God's treasures are durable: everyone in the house can grapple with God's Words as they use them and share them.

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Great Teacher, thank You for the treasures in Your Word and the availability of Your Spirit to help us appreciate it rightly. Thank You, too, for the recorded testimonies from across the centuries of others who have thrived because of treasuring Your Word. Thank You for making our lives richer through their stories.

Free Speech: It Comes from Within

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(Matthew 5:37) Let what you say be simply "Yes" or "No"; anything more than that comes from evil.

O

This was spoken in the context of God becoming human and delivering us from the powerful entrapments of Evil. Specifically, people had been inflating their talk and ideas with wordy promises, hoping their elaborate, overworked props would make them more acceptable and convincing. Ah, the strength of simplicity. They didn't understand love or freedom.

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In this "good advice," I hear Jesus encouraging a much simpler life. No longer do I have to overwork my justifications for who I am or what I do. The honesty of my uncluttered statements and the integrity of my explanations will either confirm or contradict who I am. Phew! I have much better ways to spend my limited time and energy. There are much better issues to attend to.

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Lord, it's clear that Evil would have me fussing over pointless causes. Help me to live simply, to speak plainly and truthfully. I want to live with integrity before You and people. Help me shed the clutter of extra words and misspent anxieties. Thank You for giving us this freedom of thought and refreshing power.

True Knowing III

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(Job 22:3,26) Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are right...? For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.

O
In this chapter, Eliphaz reveals the nature of his relationship with his god. It was so sadly empty (42:7) even though he later parroted the language of someone’s actual relationship. Eliphaz saw his god as a callous, morality-measuring despot, and served either out of duty and dread, though perhaps it was for the delights of the search (while actively resisting ever finding, knowing, or choosing). To bolster his argument, he accused Job of rebelling against his god.

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I’m so glad Job demonstrated a fourth kind of relationship with God: mutual delight. From Eliphaz’s accusatory stance, verses 21-30 compounded Job’s misery; yet, ironcially those ideas formed the anthem of Job’s core values. Out of context, they radiate joy and truth because despite all physical gains or losses, God’s love for us and our reciprocating love and responsive trust for Him delivers us hand-in-hand, safely into eternity (Psalm 16:11, Philippians 2:13; Ephesians 1:5; Luke 12:32).

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Lord, I make this my prayer, my anthem, too. In response to any of life’s issues, my heart’s core, primal response is to tell everything to You. I love You and enjoy You above all else. Knowing that You hear me, I continually pay You my vows of thanksgiving. Such worship pleases both of us (Amos 4:5; Philippians 4:6).

Free Love--With Guard Rails

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(1 Corinthians 10:32,33) Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage but that of many, that they may be saved.

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Trying to please everyone in everything could be very healthy or disastrously sick. So, in this section, the Holy Spirit provided guard rails that keeps our relationships in healthy motion. (1) Help people (v. 23). (2) Build people up (v. 23). (3) Seek all forms of good for others (v. 24). (4) Filter all choices so what remains is an enhanced display of God's image in each person (v. 31). (5) Promote pleasure (v. 33). (6) Leverage circumstances into advantages for others (v. 33). (7) Direct everyone into the riches of salvation through Jesus Christ (v. 33).

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Giving people whatever they want is craziness. If I merely try to please everyone out of fear of ... whatever ... then I become a slave and I lose my unique identity as a special creation of God's. I betray myself and do no good to the people I'm pretending to please. I become confusing clutter. By heeding God's guard rails I heal broken relationships and clean up the wreckage of our social landscape.

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God, help me first to be willing to become as eager as Paul was to please others, and in doing that, help me also to raise my standard of care to Your levels. Trying to please everyone while ignoring Your standards of love is just slavery. I want to be free to truly love people.

Free to Be Me

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(Galatians 3:13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.

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Being redeemed from this curse, as Paul said, results in us receiving the promised Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ (v. 14). This releases us to enjoy the freedom, wisdom, and character that's appropriate for the children of the infinitely wise and merciful Heavenly Father. In contrast, Job--as a type of the suffering Christ--described this curse as being cut off from God's majesty and living like wild dogs, which scavenge and sneak and snarl through life (Job 30:1-11; Revelation 22:15).

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Having had my address on both sides of this curse, I unhesitatingly affirm that being escorted, filled, and guided by the Holy Spirit is the truest freedom. It's life. My experience with the "freedom" of godlessness and feigned godliness outside of Christ is only an illusion, though deeply believed. I found that attaining any center but Christ was only a farce of freedom and life.

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Savior, Comforter, Redeemer, hearing Your name causes something inside of me to leap for hope. Each of Your descriptive names, King Jesus, reveals the generosity of Your character. Thank You for teaching me experientially about Your unequivical goodness. Your grace, the cycle of receiving and being, is much better than my old cycle of proving and failing. Thank You for helping me become my true self.